israeloutlook.com

I should be frightened.

With everything that is going on… with all the existential threats… Coupled with my return to Israel over the next few months…

You’d think that I would be petrified. Shaking in my boots. You’d think that any thought of returning to Israel would be the last thing that I’d want to do.

But, I am returning to Israel – and paying a fairly hefty price for that return, I might add.

Why?

Because I believe in miracles. Oh, I believe in lots of other things too, and I can certainly point to many other reasons why I am returning to Israel. But, the main one is miracles. I believe in them.

I should be frightened.

With everything that is going on… with all the existential threats… Coupled with my return to Israel over the next few months…

You’d think that I would be petrified. Shaking in my boots. You’d think that any thought of returning to Israel would be the last thing that I’d want to do.

But, I am returning to Israel – and paying a fairly hefty price for that return, I might add.

Why?

Because I believe in miracles. Oh, I believe in lots of other things too, and I can certainly point to many other reasons why I am returning to Israel. But, the main one is miracles. I believe in them.

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One interesting observation put forward by Dr. Bernard Lewis in his interview with The Jerusalem Post (‘The Iranians do not expect to be attacked’, Jan. 31, 2007), is this one: 

The Arab states are very concerned about the Shia revolution. They see a militant, expansionist Shia movement which already seems to be spreading from Iran to Iraq, through Syria to Lebanon, all the way across to the Mediterranean and eastward to Afghanistan and Pakistan and so on.

One interesting observation put forward by Dr. Bernard Lewis in his interview with The Jerusalem Post (‘The Iranians do not expect to be attacked’, Jan. 31, 2007), is this one: 

The Arab states are very concerned about the Shia revolution. They see a militant, expansionist Shia movement which already seems to be spreading from Iran to Iraq, through Syria to Lebanon, all the way across to the Mediterranean and eastward to Afghanistan and Pakistan and so on.

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Enter the Mahdaviat.

We’ve talked about the Nazism at the roots of the Palestinian national movement. We’ve hinted at the genocidal racism at the roots of other Sunni radicals.

But, what about the Shia?

What lies at the root of Shiite radical Islam?

Something far, far more frightening than neo-Nazi ideology. When dealing with Nazis, you can at least appeal to their sense of self-preservation. Yes, yes I know that they preach self-immolation in the form of suicide bombing, but that’s for the rank and file. The leadership are far more concerned with living well and sending their kids to London to earn advanced degrees in eyewear – like Hafez did for his boy Bashar.

Enter the Mahdaviat.

We’ve talked about the Nazism at the roots of the Palestinian national movement. We’ve hinted at the genocidal racism at the roots of other Sunni radicals.

But, what about the Shia?

What lies at the root of Shiite radical Islam?

Something far, far more frightening than neo-Nazi ideology. When dealing with Nazis, you can at least appeal to their sense of self-preservation. Yes, yes I know that they preach self-immolation in the form of suicide bombing, but that’s for the rank and file. The leadership are far more concerned with living well and sending their kids to London to earn advanced degrees in eyewear – like Hafez did for his boy Bashar.

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To outsiders, the difference between the Sunnis and the Shiites seems rather vague and esoteric. They both absolutely believe and venerate the Qur’an (aka Koran), the holiest book of Islam. They both call themselves Muslim. They both go on Hajj every year to Mecca, in Saudi.

But, they seem to have spent the last 13 centuries killing each other.

I won’t go too deeply into the differences here. A deeper discussion can be found in the links at the end of this piece. But, I will discuss some general differences in character.

History

To outsiders, the difference between the Sunnis and the Shiites seems rather vague and esoteric. They both absolutely believe and venerate the Qur’an (aka Koran), the holiest book of Islam. They both call themselves Muslim. They both go on Hajj every year to Mecca, in Saudi.

But, they seem to have spent the last 13 centuries killing each other.

I won’t go too deeply into the differences here. A deeper discussion can be found in the links at the end of this piece. But, I will discuss some general differences in character.

History

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The Arab world is on the verge of yet ANOTHER major defeat. Yet again, the Arab world is at war – and losing it. And in fact, they’ve probably already lost it.

What war am I talking about?

The hearts and minds of their people.

The Arab world is engaged in an ideological war. The weapons are words, ideas and ideals – and the cement mixer. The battlefield is the classroom, the news vendor and the mosque – and the construction site.

The Arab world is on the verge of yet ANOTHER major defeat. Yet again, the Arab world is at war – and losing it. And in fact, they’ve probably already lost it.

What war am I talking about?

The hearts and minds of their people.

The Arab world is engaged in an ideological war. The weapons are words, ideas and ideals – and the cement mixer. The battlefield is the classroom, the news vendor and the mosque – and the construction site.

Read Full Post »