All Things Not Considered

Pay Per Cheat

What if there was a way that would absolve you of any guilt if you happen to slip and cheat on your partner? Well, if you are the cheating type, you can rejoice. There’s a website that will actually "help you because you can’t help yourself." When you happen to fall to temptation and commit a bad deed, you increase jealousy, hate, and ill will in the world. But don’t feel bad, because when you pay a small fee to this website, you, in a way, atone for your sin and you indirectly reward someone else for being honest and faithful.

This concept made me think of other ways where it could surely make a difference. Imagine if we had a website for the corrupt government officials they can use to expunge their guilt by paying for all their nefarious decisions that caused human despair in and outside of their countries. I will bet you that the atonement money from this current administration alone would feed millions of people and alleviate much duress off many innocent people all over this world.

I know this is a utopian dream for neither one of them thinks they have done anything wrong. They are wrapped up in their imperialistic ambitions and any action they take is duly justified in light of their ‘noble’ and ‘idealistic’ goals. But as McNamara has showed recently, exceptions, or you might term them miracles, do happen. Maybe, just maybe, some of them will get to a certain age where their guilty conscience will drive them to make amends and atone for their costly blunders.

Faith, Citizenship, and Identity

This is the result of a recent poll conducted by the Pew Research Center. Based on the question, it seems like Moslems, regardless of where they reside, identify with their religion more than their countries’ citizenship. Conversely, the Christians consider themselves more of citizens than members of their religion.

Many Christians in the US identify more with their religion than with their country. This distribution is rather skewed when compared to the European countries. One is left to wonder as to the reasons behind this and to the relationships between secularism, secularization, modernism, and of course, religion.

• Why is it that invariably, Moslems identify with Islam more than their country of residence?
• Why is it that the US numbers are statistically different than other countries in the West?
• Why is the Moslems distribution in France more balanced than any other place?
• What does this tell us about the Moslem/Christian dialog around current and future issues?

These and other questions will be addressed in a future article on this blog. Stay tuned.

Injustice in the Justice Department?

In defining Justice, the French political philosopher Baron de Montesquieu said:

"Justice is a relation of suitability, which actually exists between two things. This relationship is always the same, by whatever being it is perceived, whether by God, or by an angel, or finally by a man.”

Justice is after all the pillar upon which our laws are based. These laws in turn, determine the extent and limitations of our personal freedoms. I am not here to lecture judge Alberto Gonzales on the philosophical or practical meanings of Justice for he is far more adept at explaining it than I could ever be. However, looking at the current situation in the Justice department, one has to wonder how much justice and fairness is still left unpolluted by the heavy dark cloud of dishonesty that lingers around the attorney general. A cloud that has thickened after eight US prosecutors were recently let go.

US Attorneys serve four-year terms coincidental to the presidency and are retained or dismissed at the end of their terms at the pleasure of the President of the United States. It is not unusual for the US attorney general to clean house when a new administration takes over. It is however, unprecedented to oust eight US prosecutors after a disastrous mid-term election. What makes this firing more suspicious is a succession of contradictory statements from judge Alberto Gonzales himself.

First the judge said that the firing were performance related. We later find out that all eight US attorneys had no blemishes on their performances. One of victims of this purge is Mr. Iglesias. He was actually ranked as a high performer by the none other than the White House. Second, We are told that the judge was never involved in the decision making process. Emails from the department show that he attended a meeting that started the firing process. Third, we are told that the White House never knew about the firing nor was it involved. Emails and records contradict that statement as well. Last, we are told the firing were not politically motivated. But when we learn about the Republicans senators and the influential party members who have complained about these US attorneys to the White House, we can easily deduce the main reason behind the firing.

Montesquieu also said:

“Men are capable of unjust actions because it is in their interest to do them, and they prefer their own satisfaction to that of others. They always act with reference to themselves -- no one is gratuitously wicked; there must be a determinant reason, and this reason is always a reason of self-interest.”

It is factually obvious that the Justice Department has been politicized to support the causes that are near and dear to the Republican Party. Furthermore, these facts have eroded people’s faith and respect for this judicial institution. It is time to let judge Gonzales go because this country needs a credible attorney general who has the confidence of the American people and the backing of the House and the Senate.

In Memoriam

Thank you for teaching me how to walk. My feet are still too small to fill in the footprints you have left behind.

I miss you more than words could ever express.

March 25^th, 1995. 3:13 AM.

Iraq Occupation - 4 Years Later

It has been four years since President Bush decided to start his brazened invasion of Iraq.  $400 billion, 3,100 American casualties, over 600,000 dead Iraqis, and over 2 million refugees later, our commander and chief has still the audacity to stand in front of the world and to continue to ask for our support. 

20,000 more troops will be heading into this quagmire soon.  Their mission is to stop the insurgency, terrorism, and the sectarian genocide that this war has directly created and is ultimately responsible for. 

The current living conditions in Iraq are appalling. The poverty, disease, and deplorable living conditions are the bequests of this president whose political myopia and lack of moral decency know no boundaries.  Lest we forgot, he and his administration first told us that Saddam as an imminent threat to the US.  Once we invaded and found no WMD’s, the pretext for the war shamelessly shifted to a more noble cause, spreading democracy.  To this day, the reason is still changing according to the needs of the White House PR machine and the message it tries to sell.

Why did we invade Iraq? Contrary to popular belief it’s not because of the messianic instincts of an incompetent president who believes that foreign policy is an expression of God’s will.  And it is surely not because this government has suddenly discovered a moralistic call to democratize a tribal Middle East. The three reasons were to protect and strengthen the state of Israel, to turn Iraq from a centrally planned to an oil based market economy, and to stave off any attempt by China or India to have the geopolitical upper hand in that region.

So where does this leave us today?  The surge has temporarily quieted down the Shiites while the US troops are ‘taking care’ of the Sunni insurgents. We are told that this new strategy is different than all others and if we stand behind it and give it time it will eventually succeed.  The big test will come when the US forces are deployed out of Iraq. What will happen then?  In the absence of a politically comprehensive plan to unite Sunnis and Shiites and in the absence of an Iraqi army force to keep the peace, this diplomatic atrocity and human morass will only worsen.  But who knows, maybe by then this administration would have led us into a war with neighboring Iran.  Thus giving this monster a second head.

Many of us have come to term with Mr. Bush’s limitless ignorance and with his presidential hubris.  What remains unconscionable is his belief that he remains the only and ‘ultimate decider’. Even if we pretend to fight for Democracy abroad, we need to have the moral decency to abide by its precepts within this country first.

Atlas from Ourika Valley

This is a view of the beautiful Atlas Mountains from the valley of Ourika.  It's wintertime and the snow adorns the summit tops of these prestigious peaks.  For centuries they’ve been erect, sturdy, charismatic, and serene, playing the role of the protector of Marrakech.

Islam and Secularization

Considering how Islam was recently used to rationalize the tyrannical authoritarian regimes of the Talibans in Afghanistan, their masters, the Wahhabists in Saudi Arabia, and the ayatollahs in Iran, it is no wonder that the Western scholars and people alike views the term ‘Islamic Democracy’ with a doubtful eye. Some of them reject this notion outright stating that Democratic precepts cannot be reconciled with fundamental Islamic values. While others posit that an Islamic Democracy can only exist insofar as there’s no a priori moral framework around it. And this brings me to the issue of secularization and its role as a democratization agent.

As the theologian Harvey Cox states: “ secularization is the process by which certain responsibilities pass from ecclesiastic to political authorities” (US). Whereas secularism is an ideology based on the suppression of religion from public life (Turkey). If you look at the two-faceted histories of the US you will easily discern the rhetorical from the factual version. As recognized 2 centuries ago by Alexis de Tocqueville, religion, with its Judeo-Christian moral framework is the keystone of the American political system. One only needs to pay attention to the political language around such polarizing issues as abortion, gay rights, stem cell research, and government funded ‘faith-based initiatives” to understand the importance of religion in the US and how it permeates every fiber of its constitutional structures. I would highly recommend a book by Esther Kaplan called: “With God on Their Side: George W. Bush and the Christian Right”

Despite what we read in the history books, the true pillar of US democracy is not the symbolic words in “Separation of Church and State” as it is the long political evolutionary process of secularization based NOT on secularism but on pluralism. Pluralism is what defines democracy and not the moral framework it sits upon.

Islamic pluralism can be quite succinctly summed up in these two verses:

Qu’ran (42:38) “Those who hearken to their Lord and establish regular prayer; who (conduct) their affairs by mutual Consultation; who spend out of what We bestow on them for Sustenance”
In this verse, the Qur’an clearly orders Muslims to perform all their affairs thru (Shura) or consultation to mitigate the risks of oppression and authoritarianism thus inviting opposing views and opinions.

Qur’an (2:256) “There’s no compulsion in religion.”
The depth of this message was alas lost in translation when the purveyors of a different flavor of Islam established their pure and unadulterated line of demarcation between the sphere of peace (Dar Al-Islam) and the sphere of war (Dar Al-Harb) forever plunging us into a constant turmoil with devastating consequences.

In my opinion, the secret to democratization rests within the confines of inclusion, acceptance, and tolerance of everybody’s ideas and opinions. Past and contemporary History is peppered with examples where a failure to accommodate for diversity have had long lasting and painful scars in our collective political, religious, and societal psyche.