Jesus of Mesopotamia

(11 pm – promoted by ek hornbeck)

There are two major classes of falsehoods the U.S. government uses to justify its incursions into the Middle East and occupation of Iraq.

The first is a contrived threat to the U.S., like Saddams’s cache of WMD’s or links to Al-Qaeda, desgined to invoke fear and patriotism in mainstream Americans. Though much discussed and long ago debunked in the liberal blogosphere, it’s being dusted off and reused for Iran.

The second class of lies is aimed at a different group – the Christian right-wing of America. This catergory of lie says that the U.S. must invade and occupy the Middle East because America’s Christian way of life is threatened by “Islamo-Fascists.” (Any liberal who objects is fascist too.)

The standard m.o. for this class of lie is to denigrate Islam by equating it with terrorism and to paint a picture that shows Muslims hate America for its Christian beliefs. This 2nd class of lies is designed to rally the Christian right to support war and the Republican party – and is the focus of this diary.

Like the first, it allows them to kill with impunity.

Shortly after September 11, 2001, George Bush stated:

“This crusade, this war on terrorism is going to take a while.”

He was widely criticized in Europe and elsewhere for raising “fears that the terrorist attacks could spark a ‘clash of civilizations’ between Christians and Muslims, sowing fresh winds of hatred and mistrust.”

Former press sectretary Ari Fleischer tried to diffuse the situation, but whether Bush meant it or not (who knows what the hell he means at any given moment), the right has kept this rhetoric up ever since as a way to curry favor with their fundamentalist Christian base.

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Isa ibn Maryam

If there’s one thing the blogosphere has taught me, it’s that the way to fight the rhetoric and propaganda of the Bush administration and right-wing fanatics is with information.

In that vein, here’s some information on Islam:

Sura Maryam is the name of the 19th Chapter (Sura) of the Qur’an.

One of only 8 chapters (out of 144) named after a person, the Sura Maryam tells the story of a woman called Maryam, Umm Isa.

Maryam is a Semitic name which means Mary in English.

Christians know her as Mary, Mother of Jesus.

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Here’s a study in contrasts:

On college campuses across America this week, conservatives are gathering together to listen to right-wing luminaries such as Ann Coulter and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) as part of David Horowitz’s Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week.

In the Qur’an, Jesus Christ is called Isa ibn Maryam: Jesus son of Mary. Islam holds that Jesus was born of Mary and had no biological father. The Qur’an states that the virgin birth of Jesus was due to the will of Allah. Neither Mary nor Jesus are considered devine by Muslims, but they are both held in very high regard.

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Bush vs. Bush (on God)

I often think the best way to neutralize the President is simply be to let him debate himself:

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News Item:

Mon Oct 22, 4:14 AM ET

BAGHDAD – The U.S. military said its forces killed an estimated 49 militants during a dawn raid to…(blah blah blah blah….etc…)

…

An uncle of 2-year-old Ali Hamid said the boy was killed and his parents seriously wounded when helicopter gunfire pierced the wall and windows of their house as they slept indoors.

“The body of Ali Hamed…is prepared to be washed for burial in the Shiite holy city of Najaf…on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2007.”

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2  years  old.

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Epilogue:

President Bush said…that he senses a “Third Awakening” of religious devotion in the United States that has coincided with the nation’s struggle with international terrorists…

“A lot of people in America see this as a confrontation between good and evil, including me.”

WaPo

Wonder if the Virgin Mary would agree?

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This diary was inspired by and is dedicated to Ali Hamed, 2, who deserved a longer chance at life.