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Our Place in the World: Road map leads to darkness ("I am ashamed to be a Muslim"
Seattle PI ^ | 11/14//03 | RUSLAN TOKHCHUKOV

Posted on 12/5/2003, 8:48:39 PM by veronica

I am ashamed to be a Muslim ... again. I am originally from a Muslim minority in Russia and I was never quite as ashamed of the Soviet Union, which I left as an anti-Communist emigrant long ago, as I am of the Muslim world that makes even the USSR look free and civilized.

Total gender apartheid, treating women worse than animals, tyranny, oppression, intolerance of any kind of free expression and on and on. The Muslim world is the world of no good news. And now, there's yet another sickening, albeit not surprising, headline: "Jews rule the world by proxy, says Malay leader" (P-I, Oct. 17).

Mahathir Mohamad, the Malaysian prime minister, speaking before a gathering of the world's Islamic leaders, invoked the same old, tired explanation of the Muslims' many ills and ailments: the Jewish conspiracy.

Judging by the many historical references he included in his speech, Mohamad read some history but he proved to be absolutely incapable of learning history's lessons. He alluded to Islam's glorious past when the Muslim world thrived economically and culturally and shone in science, medicine and education while the West was backward and savage, wallowing in the misery, famines and plagues of the Dark Ages.

True, but the roles have since reversed. It is the Muslim world in the Dark Ages now, as one can judge by Mohamad's speech and by his audience's reaction to it. The leaders of 57 Muslim countries greeted this hate tirade with a standing ovation and praised it as "a good road map." How pathetic.

A road map where? Deeper into darkness? During the Seven Golden Centuries of Islam, the Muslim world was tolerant of the Jews and provided a haven for hundreds of thousands fleeing the savage persecution in Europe -- a fact Mohamad acknowledged. But now it is just the opposite.

Mohamad noted that the West surged ahead of the Muslims during the Industrial Revolution. But who led this revolution? The English and the Dutch, the only ones in Western Europe who were tolerant to their Jewish communities.

On the other end of the spectrum was the Inquisition nation of Spain, which was totally bypassed by the Industrial Age, just like the Arabs. It was the only country in Europe that had completely "cleansed" itself of Jews. This put the "purified" Spaniards on a 400-year-long downslide into ever-greater corruption, backwardness, poverty and misery. Finally, after a series of shattering military blows from Anglos, both British and American, the Spanish Empire collapsed like a rotten shack.

No, Mohamad, the Jews do not "take over" the most powerful countries in the world. They help those countries that welcome them to become powerful and successful.

One hundred years ago, 1 million Jews fled from Tsarist Russia to the United States after a wave of pogrom atrocities. Russia's loss was the United States' gain. The Russian Empire had violently collapsed in just a decade and the United States, which entered the 20th century as a third-rate power, emerged from it as the world's unchallenged superpower.

Let's ponder the fate of all once-powerful enemies of the Jewish people: the Pharaohs of Egypt, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Inquisitor Spain, the Russian Tsarist Empire, the Nazi Reich. Did any one of them not suffer a brutal end?

In the Christians' Bible, there's a part about God cursing those who curse the Jewish people and the entire world history seems to confirm it. Now, whether you are Christian or not, whether you are religious or not, whether you call it God's law or the law of history, you have to agree that not one nation that persecuted Jews had escaped very bad consequences. I don't think this law has an exception for the Arabs or any other Muslims.

This is what we the Umma (the world Muslim community) should pause to think about. Only then might we be able to find our way out of darkness. Otherwise, I am afraid, the Muslim world will be beyond redemption.

Ruslan Tokhchukov lives in Redmond.


TOPICS: Editorial; News/Current Events; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: ageofliberty; islam; jews; mahathir
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1 posted on 12/5/2003, 8:48:40 PM by veronica
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To: veronica
Sounds like a "Come To Jesus" lecture to his fellow Muslims.
2 posted on 12/5/2003, 8:50:24 PM by P-Marlowe
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To: dennisw; SJackson; Brian Allen; hchutch; BenF; Nachum; JohnHuang2; yonif; Salem; quidnunc
FYI.
3 posted on 12/5/2003, 8:51:38 PM by veronica (I just realised I have a perfect part for you in Terminator 2....)
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To: veronica
A wrenching, personal "Sister Souljah" moment for author Ruslan Tokhchukov. Timely... and wholly admirable.
4 posted on 12/5/2003, 8:56:16 PM by KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle ("The Clintons have damaged our country. They have done it together, in unison." -- Peggy Noonan)
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To: NRA2BFree
Ping!
5 posted on 12/5/2003, 8:57:25 PM by Mr. Mojo
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To: snopercod; joanie-f
Bump.
6 posted on 12/5/2003, 8:59:08 PM by First_Salute
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To: veronica
Otherwise, I am afraid, the Muslim world will be beyond redemption.

Definitely, especially if the radical elements continue to blow up buildings and persecute anyone who doesn't agree with their views.

7 posted on 12/5/2003, 8:59:50 PM by Reaganwuzthebest
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To: veronica
Ruslan Tokhchukov lives in Redmond

Ever heard of Salman Rushdie? You better move, sir...
8 posted on 12/5/2003, 9:01:29 PM by walford (Dogmatism swings both ways)
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To: veronica
Write it up in Ay-rab, and run it in the world-wide Muslim press.
9 posted on 12/5/2003, 9:01:49 PM by onedoug
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To: dennisw; Cachelot; Yehuda; Nix 2; veronica; Catspaw; knighthawk; Alouette; Optimist; weikel; ...
If you'd like to be on or off this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.
10 posted on 12/5/2003, 9:03:37 PM by SJackson
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To: veronica
A good piece, although the Jews weren't nearly as well-off under Islamic rule as the author implies.
11 posted on 12/5/2003, 9:05:02 PM by Steve_Seattle ("Above all, shake your bum at Burton.")
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To: veronica
It's amazing to see this printed in the PI. It's a liberal rag in a very liberal city.

SM
12 posted on 12/5/2003, 9:05:47 PM by Senormechanico ("Face piles of trials with smiles...it riles them to believe that you perceive the web they weave.)
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To: veronica
Now, whether you are Christian or not, whether you are religious or not, whether you call it God's law or the law of history, you have to agree that not one nation that persecuted Jews had escaped very bad consequences.

Interesting theory. Many, many kingdoms and religions have come and gone and Judaism still exists. The southern states, which tend to be conservative, tend to support Israel and have much better economies than the liberal states, where anti-Sematism is becoming more prevalent. To that extent, conservatism is rising while liberalism is failing.

13 posted on 12/5/2003, 9:07:13 PM by Blood of Tyrants (Even if the government took all your earnings, you wouldn’t be, in its eyes, a slave.)
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To: Senormechanico
"It's amazing to see this printed in the PI. It's a liberal rag in a very liberal city."

Yes, you would think they would have spiked this in favor of a story denouncing Bush for posing with the not-for-consumption turkey.
14 posted on 12/5/2003, 9:07:37 PM by Steve_Seattle ("Above all, shake your bum at Burton.")
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To: veronica
How long will it take for an Imam to issue a fatwa agianst the author?

I'm guessing not long.

15 posted on 12/5/2003, 9:09:24 PM by Damocles (sword of...)
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To: veronica
One can feel ashamed of the behavior of fellow Christians without feeling ashamed of being a Christian, because these sorts of atrocities are not TAUGHT by Christianity.

The problem is, they ARE taught by Islam. I hope this Muslim considers the implications of what he is admitting.

As for the golden age of Islam, that's all relative. Jews have been intermittently persecuted and tolerated by Islam just as they have been in most countries of Europe. Incidentally, England kicked out its Jews in the late middle ages, and only legally readmitted them in the mid 17th century. Russia and Poland persecuted the Jews at some times but welcomed them in others, which is why so many Jews ended up in those countries.

Even in Islam's golden age, the rulers were absolute tyrants. Scheherezade is a typical Islamic story. She survived, but the same Sultan who learned to admire and marry her had cut off plenty of women's heads earlier. He was just persuaded to be in a better mood, but he was still an absolute tyrant.
16 posted on 12/5/2003, 9:10:13 PM by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: veronica
Something that needs to be repeated millions of times by muslims until it sinks in. But, will anyone listen? No matter, those who can speak up, must do so and maybe in several generations, things will change.
17 posted on 12/5/2003, 9:11:17 PM by Kirkwood
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Comment #18 Removed by Moderator

To: veronica
Absoultely well written.....echos from his heart..

seems very close to finding out that his other concepts about Islam are flawed too... Islam was and is barbarian in nature and brought forth zero as beneficial except that that was stolen from infidels that they conquered and claimed as inovations by islamics.

And the severe moral code of Sharia law hides the most grossly immoral society that ever existed.. Google up some quotes by the Allatolyah Komeini... which are outrageous or worse..

19 posted on 12/5/2003, 9:18:17 PM by hosepipe
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To: Blood of Tyrants
Christians from the old south in particular seem to better appreciate the historical teachings of Judaism which prophesized the coming of the messiah. You don't get much of that up in the northern states and with Christian denominations without southern roots.
20 posted on 12/5/2003, 9:20:59 PM by Kirkwood
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