March 2009

Two articles. Two contradicting reports.

Alrighty, first article:

March 24, 2009 (KHARTOUM) — The Sudanese government today acknowledged news reports that US air force conducted airstrikes against arm smugglers last January killing scores of people.

The Egyptian Al-Shurooq newspaper reported this week that US planes destroyed a convoy heading towards the borders carrying arms believed to be on its way to Gaza strip.

The report said that the convoy consisted of 17 trucks carrying 39 passengers that were all destroyed in the operation. None of the people on board the trucks survived the attack.

… The attack is believed to have occurred in a desert area in Northwest of Port Sudan city, near the Mount Al-Sha’anoon.

Okay, so America gets the blame in this one. But then a day later, another article pops up.

March 25, 2009 (WASHINGTON) — An airstrike that targeted a convoy of arm smugglers inside Sudan last January was launched by Israeli planes and not American ones, according to a US television network.

Now, Israel gets the blame in this one. So, who’s responsible? America or Israel? Ah, or as we like to say in Sudan, they’re both one and the same, except America is the body of the snake, and Israel is the head.

Joking aside though, where the hell did the weapons on the truck originate from? How did the US or Israeli air force know about them? Which group were the people on the trucks affiliated to? Who paid them to drive such a long distance? Why did it take two months for this news to surface?

Lots of unanswered questions.

Yup, it’s true. Here’s the story:

On the night of March 5th, 2009, Sudanese security forces had carried out a raid on the house of internet activist and lawyer Abdel Hakim Abdel Rahman Nasr only few hours after he expressed his support to the ICC Arrest Warrant for President Omar al-Bashir on the online International Forum for Nubia of which he was a moderator.

According to the forum administrator, security forces have learned Abdel Hakim’s password on March 6th, 2009 and deleted more than three hundred threads posted by the activist and other forum members.

More here.

Awesome job, lovely security forces. Yeah, let’s see you smack around and beat up more of these cyber activists. I’m sure you’ll manage to silence all of them pretty easily. And hey, if you can’t, you can just block the entire internet in Sudan, sort of like how China blocked all of Youtube.

The following interview would not have been possible without the help of Sudanese Optimist. Both of us would like to thank the ambassador for taking the time to do it. He was incredibly nice and kind to us, and we wish him all the best.

We encourage the mainstream media to use this interview, provided that they appropriately credit Sudanese Optimist and The Sudanese Thinker as their source.

On the technical side, I’m loving the magic of Skype and Audio Hijack. May God bless this age of citizen journalism.

I won’t be publishing an analysis of the ambassador’s answers, some of which at the very least to say were… erm, interesting. But then again, I’m not surprised. He is the ambassador after all, and it’s his job to represent the position of the government.

The questions we asked were:

1. What do you think are the motives behind the ICC decision?
2. What is the current mood in the US/Sudan regarding the ICC indictment? Is it a mood of fear, nervousness, anger, etc…?
3. Why do you think there has not been a national, Arab and African court set up to try those who have committed war crimes in Darfur?
4. Do you think the expulsion of the 13 NGOs is temporary or permanent? How were they involved?
5. Do you think the upcoming elections will still happen?
6. What are Al-Bashir’s current options after the ICC indictment? Is it realistic for him to remain president?
7. What is the United States’ stance on the ICC indictment? What is your outlook on the diplomatic relations between Sudan and the US?
8. Are you optimistic about the future?

Here are the ambassador’s answers. I’ll leave the analysis to you.

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Ever since I’ve started voicing my views on faith more openly online and in real-life, I’ve received mixed reactions from readers, friends and family.

Many are concerned, a few are offended, and others are cheering me on. But ultimately, many of these reactions have been misguided, because of the semantics and hermeneutics in regards to the word faith.

No, I’m most certainly not an atheist and never will be. No, I did not descend into a nihilistic empty existence. No, I haven’t dismissed all aspects of religion. No, I don’t wish to see religion’s complete eradication from the face of the earth. And hell no, I’m not going to “re-embrace” traditionalist Islam “back again” – ever.

Thanks, but no thanks.

I never really did embrace it to begin with anyway. In fact, the overwhelming vast majority of Muslims never have either and never will. Like me, they were just born into it. They were indoctrinated into it.

They were gradually talked into tragically devaluing their God-given reason and making it subservient to revelation, (something traditionalist Islam sadly demands).

Worse, most of them simply go on with their lives without any deep second-thoughts about a belief system that isn’t really theirs, but one which was constructed for them by their parents, the schools they studied in and the houses of worship they revere.

It is the dangerous booby-trap. It is the easy unexamined life dominated by unexamined faith. It is apathy. It is the blue pill of The Matrix.

It. Is. Bliss.

(The Blue Pill of The Matrix)

Defining Faith

It is now abundantly clear to me that faith is a word which holds radically different meanings in different minds.

It is something with dynamic multiple dimensions, and one that has taken me years of mental torture, and psychological misery to better understand and decipher.

We bicker passionately and contest the other’s views about it even though we’re often essentially talking about the same thing.

We react aggressively and feel provoked because we falsely assume its definition is the same on all sides involved.

We waste time and energy debating it, before we’ve even attempted to epistemologically examine and dissect with the mighty sword of reason just what the heck it entails in the first place.

So what is it? What is faith anyways?

Well, philosophically speaking and simply put, I define faith as the belief in something without the rational and empirical evidence to back it up. Hence, in the presence of evidence, one would not require faith.

Using that definition as my basis, I’ve dissected seven different categories of faith which profoundly impact us all in our everyday life. Some of them are good, and others, horrendous. In the next series of posts I do my best to explain each category with clear examples.

Category #1: Good Non-Rational Faith

Category #2: “Good” Non-Rational Faith

Category #3: Bad Non-Rational Faith

Category #4:

Category #5:

Category #6:

Category #7:

The following speech by Sam Harris is inevitably going to offend some of you. This is not why I’m posting it. You see, while I have some severe disagreements with Sam Harris, his rationalist stance on mysticism and spirituality is unique amongst the major well-known atheists of today, and I believe deserves attention.

Part 1 of 2

(In minute 23 of the above video, Harris begins delving into the subject of mysticism and spirituality)

The man has actually spent years meditating and for a short while was even the Dalai Lama’s bodyguard. Moreover he dedicates an entire chapter in his NY Times best-seller The End of Faith to discussing contemplative traditions in a largely positive light, something he’s received lots of heat from many atheists for.

[click to continue...]

Editor’s note: The following is a guest blog post by J, a Finnish friend of mine. He’s one of the few people I know in real-life with whom I deeply enjoy discussions about meditation, mysticism and philosophy. I don’t necessarily agree with everything he says in this short piece, but thought it relates well to the topics discussed here. (Pic Source).

This is a story about the rise and fall of a great civilization and how its ruin may hold the seed for humanity’s greatest hopes.

The Golden Age

Towards the end of the Umayyad Caliphate the Islamic Empire had established itself as one the largest empires in human history. The Muslim civilization became a cradle of intellectual development with cities like Baghdad and Cordoba as the crown jewels.

Much of the knowledge from ancient civilizations, Greece, India, the Byzantine Empire, and many more, was stored and translated by Muslim scholars. Thinkers such as Ibn Sina , Ibn Rushd, and Al-Ghazali pushed the boundaries of science, philosophy, and spirituality.

This aptly named Golden Age, a renaissance before the Renaissance, lasted for over 500 years. A perfect storm of Mongol hordes and repeated Black Death epidemics left the empire in tatters, and a marginalization of ijtihad cast a further shadow on Baghdad’s role as the world’s intellectual centre.

The European Renaissance

Throughout this period Europe had lain in relative obscurity with constant warring taking its toll and religious fundamentalism rooting out most freethinkers. However, all of this was about to change as classical texts and Muslim scholars started pouring in, seeking shelter from the vicissitudes facing the Muslim civilization.

It is with this background that we must look at great men like Leonardo, Copernicus, Galileo, and Martin Luther, who forever changed the course of history. The European Renaissance had become the heir of the Golden Age of Islam.

The Tragedy of Modernity

At first the newly unshackled human creativity and reason engaged curiously with religion, art, and science. But soon science started eating its way into the other cultural spheres, pushing true mystics such as Meister Eckhart out from the mainstream discourse.

And herein lies the true tragedy of modernity. Spiritual rapture and transcendent realization were placed into the same category as religious dogma, which then inevitably led to the disenchantment of our world and the crisis of meaning we face today.

A Second Chance?

Sadly, the Western civilization is unlikely to ever have a second chance at Renaissance. The baby has been thrown out with the bath water and the culture now faces the arduous task of recovering or, more often than not, importing, the wisdom and practice of mysticism.

Yet there is a glimmer of hope in this story. Many Muslim countries are now coming to terms with a clash of the religious and scientific cultural spheres. A second chance at Renaissance? How will you answer the call?

Apparently the lovely Avigdor Lieberman is likely to become Israel’s next foreign minister, which is sort of great news for all Arab countries. I mean, think about it. With the appointment of Lieberman, you my dear Israeli readers can kiss goodbye the idea of Israel being the only democracy in the region. Eh, actually it was never the only democracy before this whole Lieberman thing to begin with. There’s Iraq too now, remember?

Either way, good luck trying to justify to the world the likely choice of this wonderful dude as the public face of Israel. And obviously, the whole “it was a reaction to Gaza” explanation isn’t gonna cut it. Lieberman is an appalling racist shithead, pure and simple, and quite frankly, I can’t wait for the “entertainment” ahead if all proceeds as predicted.

Should be fun seeing him and Clinton shaking hands and chilling together.

Meanwhile, why in Sanity’s name is Israel demolishing Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem? Let’s see what Haaretz says.

Israel has in recent days issued orders for the demolition of 80 Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem it says were built illegally.

But Palestinians say they cannot receive proper building permits from Israeli authorities, and the planned demolitions are means to assert Israel’s control over the disputed city.

Seriously, you’ve got to be freaking kidding me.

So, Israel happily continues expanding its illegal settlements – ones which have been opposed even by Reagan, the man the Red Elephants revere and worship – yet Palestinians building homes without cute permits deserve to have their homes demolished?

WTF? This is bullshit.

And hey, guess what, I’m not the only one concerned about this.

Israel is under increased pressure from the United States over settlement construction. In the past month, since Barack Obama was sworn in as U.S. president, Israel has received four official complaints from members of the new administration regarding various issues linked to West Bank settlements.

A senior government official in Jerusalem told Haaretz that the complaints represent a gradual increase in American pressure vis-a-vis settlement activity. “This is going to be one of the main issues that the Obama administration will be dealing with in the coming weeks and months,” the official said. “It is not going to be easy to argue with them.”

Four official complaints?

OOooo, dum dum dum, *scary violins playing in the background* … Israel must be trembling, I bet.

Right.

Only time will tell if those are empty words or signs of genuine pressure and change in US foreign policy under Obama to put a needed end to the expansion of Israel’s illegal settlements.

I mentioned a few months ago that I’ll be sharing with you all a sneak-preview of my upcoming book. Well, this little something I’ve taken the trouble and effort to prepare for you is not it.

The sneak-preview is still in the making, but for now… I unveil to you Dirty Muslim Blogging – The New Politics of Ignorance, a tiny ebooklet that’s certainly inspired by ideas from my upcoming book.

I hope you enjoy it.

Here you go.

Download Your FREE Limited Copy of Dirty Muslim Blogging – The New Politics of Ignorance >>>

Well, well, what do we have here.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — A top congressional Republican on Sunday criticized President Barack Obama’s expected decision to reverse the Bush administration’s limits on embryonic stem-cell research, calling it a distraction from the country’s economic slump.

Yada yada yada.

… Obama’s move, scheduled for Monday morning, is part of a broader effort to separate science and politics and “restore scientific integrity in governmental decision-making,” White House domestic policy adviser Melody Barnes said Sunday.

Awesome.

… Because stem cells have the potential to turn into any organ or tissue cell in the body, research advocates say they could yield cures to debilitating conditions such as diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and spinal injuries. But because work on embryonic stem cells involves the destruction of human embryos, many conservatives supported the limits former President George Bush imposed by executive order in 2001.

Erm, okay. I’ll leave it for Sam Harris to articulate.

More reason. Less unexamined faith please.

Sweet?

Hey George Clooney, I hope you and your well-meaning but rather sadly incompetent liberal friends at Save Darfur  and Enough Project are happy.

Great, the arrest warrant has been issued, now what? Huh, now what?

What about you Nicholas Kristof?

Listen guys, I appreciate your well-meaning sentiments. I really do. We all pretty much agree on the goals: a peaceful, stable, and democratic Sudan.

Where we sharply part ways is on the means, and to put it bluntly, I think yours are utter shit.

(New York) – The Sudanese government’s announcement that it will expel 10 international aid agencies places the lives of more than 1 million people in Darfur at risk, Human Rights Watch said today.

What’s your plan now Clooney and Co.?

Sit back and wait for the super reliable UN and so-called international community to pursue… yeah, what’s that thing called again, wait, let me remember, oh yeah “aggressive diplomacy”…

… to change  the evil hideous ways of our deeply “beloved” Omar Hassan al-Bashir, aka the “protector” of Sudan and Islam waging a jihad of pure awesomeness against the Evil Western Zionist Piggy Ape CrUSAders, right?

Seriously, what’s your plan?

Lobby, what’s his name again, yeah, President Barack Hussein Obama to do something, anything right? Pursue “aggressive diplomacy” too right?

Right.

As if the economy is in such wonderful shape and American tax payers are in the mood for another US-led military adventure abroad.

Ladies and gentlemen, I wish my predictions were wrong, but it is precisely because of the above quoted text that I’ve been reluctant to support the ICC warrant as explained in this previous post of mine.

For the millionth time, the pursuit of justice is highly important but not at the great risk of endangering the very people facing the injustice in the first place.

Alex De Waal, a true Sudan-expert and scholar who’s actually lived in Darfur and written numerous books on Sudan agrees (HRW’s Richard Dicker and Scholar, Mediator Alex de Waal Debate ICC Indictment of Sudanese President for Mass Killings in Darfur).

Julie Flint agrees too. She’s another real Sudan-expert, unlike the other experts or so-called Sudan experts who are dangerously out of touch.

Here’s to hoping the humanitarian situation doesn’t worsen into a disaster.

Thanks to the lovely Sudanese Optimist, I found this AlertNet link which features a number of Sudanese bloggers. I was also just kindly notified by Global Voices Online that CNN’s Inside Africa covered their roundups of the Sudanese blogosphere.

Awesome.

Keep’em coming fellow Sudanese bloggers. Heck, tell your Sudanese friends to start blogging too. We could certainly use a litte more activity around here.

Here are the thoughts of Sudanese bloggers so far in reaction to the ICC’s arrest warrant for our lovely dictator. First, let’s check what Nesrine at Cif thinks of this:

Toothless and badly-timed as the indictment of Sudan’s president may be, morally we cannot afford not to support it.

… The timing was unfortunate. Many in the Arab world are still reeling from the recent incursion into Gaza and governments are continuing to capitalise on anti-western sentiment. The ostensible hypocrisy of targeting Bashir when apparently Israel and the west are impune renders his martyrdom on the altar of international double standards convenient for Arab or African heads of state living in their own glass houses.

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This is an open thread to discuss the upcoming ICC decision on the arrest warrant for dictator Omar Hassan al-Bashir. It’s expected to be announced in a matter of hours.

Here’s my analysis. Here’s the in-depth one by Enough Project. It’s awesome, but they’re placing too much hope on the international community and the UN I think.

Dear fellow Sudanese bloggers, drop a link to your own blog post on the matter in the comments section so that it will get noticed by the media. I’ve got a number of journalists emailing me, and they’re all interested in hearing what we Sudanese bloggers have to say about this.

Everyone else, share your thoughts, if any. This is potentially history in the making. Meanwhile, I’m gonna go find me some pop-corn.

Let the “entertainment” begin!

UPDATE: Ooo, surprise of the century! So what’s gonna happen now? Will Bashir get overthrown by Salah Gosh or something? Dum dum dum… the plot thickens! Oh yeah. More pop-corn please.

UPDATE: This is bad news, and I’m not surprised at all by it. Here’s the latest from Rob Crilly’s Twitter stream:

10 NGOs being kicked out of Sudan altogether. Include Oxfam, Care, ACF. Got calls seconds after ICC presser started

hearing it may be 13 NGOs, probably cannot confirm at this time of night

Getting increasingly irritated by celebrations for the ICC. People should check out what’s happening here, not listen to Save Darfur

NGOs appealing. Will Khartoum have the balls to see it through? Masters of reversing decisions, centre overruling regional authorities etc

laptops and phones being taken from charities here now

More here.