Highly interesting lecture / interview about the Middle East and the current state of Islam. It’s no quicky (it’s over an hour), but worth watching for those who like to know more than you can get in regular news. You can also watch the video at the Fora.tv site with some extra functions like video chapters and some background info.

I know this image is from a child bride in Afghanistan … still terrible … 

BBC News: Egypt bans 92-year-old’s marriage (with a 17 year old)

The ministry of justice invoked a law which says the age gap between spouses should not exceed 25 years.

Egypt brought in the law prohibiting the marriage of elderly men to very young girls during the Gulf oil boom.

It was an effort to prevent wealthy men from the Gulf states seeking young poor brides from the Egyptian countryside.

The Middle East is still one of the worst places to be a woman. Unless they work harder on the issue and work on their own chauvinistic egos I can’t take any talk about Arab or Muslim high level of culture seriously. The same applies of course for many Turks - who still enjoy their honor killings …

Bikini + Burka = Bikini.

Now you know why Baywatch was such a hit in Muslim countries - and why there never will be a real Arab remake.

Geert Wilder should be happy, instead of starting a new war between Muslims and Europe he has delivered a useful challenge to both sides. Of course there were the usual Muslim riots in some countries (and mostly by people who haven’t seen the movie anyway), but overall the reaction of European Muslims was neither angry nor violent.

Once again the somewhere a Muslim mob goes bonkers and wants to kill someone for an insult. Once again the West shakes it’s head and tries to understand all the madness about a Teddy Bear named Mohammed. Once again we secular people try to reassure ourselves that only a few radical Muslims are willing to kill poor Gillian Gibbons. Once again the secular people in the West fail to understand that Religion can’t be tolerated, because it will always breed idiocy and violence.

Highly recommended: read some of the comments on the BBC website regarding the current situation with Ms Gibbons and Sudan. Plus: learn how governments once again play the religious card to make petty politics.

Since religious zealots are so en vogue these days here is a reminder of a good old tradition: stoning. A cruel punishment for the eager masses to participate. Since more and more people are calling for tougher punishments for all sort of crimes and even anti-social behavior they should remember WHY we developed a more human system of imprisonment and punishment in the west.

A legal system that is not based on religious rules, nor morals based on any Gods. And the notion was to regard criminals still as fellow citizens - and not as ‘bad apples’ that had to be destroyed or locked away forever.

I think the mob should do the dirty work themselves and have the images burned into their souls - so they never forget.

First dig a whole for your victim.

Call some friends, find some stones - and let’s begin …

It should be said, that stoning is a slow process - it takes some serious battering to kill someone - and watch their agony.

Stoning is still used in some countries.

More? video of an actual modern stoning (not recommended as family entertainment)

Again and again in recent years the Muslim world exploded. Once again pride is more important then sanity. Once again people say ‘we have to respect religion’. Once again flags are burned and artists are threatened. Once again the west doesn’t ‘respect’ Islam.

I am sick and tired of this - and I guess this is also a growing feeling here in Europe from what I have read in European news and blogs.

Sure we Europeans have a long and troubled past with the middle east - because of religion and later colonialism. France and Britain have retreated from the region and the Arabs got to run their own countries. But the cold war and oil once again drew in other superpowers and foreigners. The current trouble spots Iran (read about operation Ajax) and Iraq (more about the troubled history) are a result of foreign intervention, especially by the US. It is a big historic joke that the US tries to bring democracy to a region where it’s oil interests kept totalitarian regimes in power for so long.

Another great success of American foreign policy

Overall Europe continued to trade and support these tyrants and bad regimes as well. Nobody protested against Saddam as long as he was in power, nobody really cared in Europe. But we continued to allow exiles into the EU. Especially London and Paris were full of middle east exiles and rich visiting Sheiks as well. Ayatollah Khomeini planned and executed the Iranian revolution from France. Many other radical islamists went to Europe and stayed underground - because their home countries prosecuted for various reason. Over time many Muslim communities sprang up all over Europe: Turks, Kurds, Iranians, Iraqis and many more. Many of them could live here while their home countries were at war. They were allowed to run businesses, build Koran schools and mosques.

Riots of the underprivileged people are nothing new.

Sure there are a lot ’second class citizen’ ghettos in Spain, France, Britain and Germany. But poverty not only hits illegal immigrants, but also second generation Muslims and so called native citizens. The french riots last year showed that integration isn’t perfect, but poverty and lack of jobs is a problem for almost everyone in Europe and not just a ‘tactic’ against Muslims.

Modern Europe was always interested to see the middle east grow and get on it’s feet. Sure, there was always a certain amount of guilt, because of the colonial past. We also tried to forget about the terrible crusades and the long history of wars between Muslims and Christian Europe. Nobody here in Europe would seriously consider to recapture Jerusalem or Istanbul - instead many hope that Turkey will join the EU one day. The EU has supported many peace initiatives, supported for example the Palestinians although they blew up the Olympic Games here in Munich. Europe was always more interested in long term talks, understanding and trade. We called this soft power in contrast to hard military invention - or in current terms old European ‘weaselism’ against the new American century.

European tourism to the middle east before the Age of Enlightenment

But still there is religion and huge amount of anger against Europe or any infidel in the Muslim world. It doesn’t matter if we sent help to Iran or Pakistan after earthquakes or pay for the Palestinian elections (so radical Hamas can win them in a democratic way). For the radicals and uneducated masses any reason is good enough to burn flags (never though I see a Danish flag on fire) and threaten Europe with bombs again.

The attacks in Spain and London are certainly ‘understandable’, because these countries supported the war on Iraq - which a huge amount of Europeans despised and tried to stop. But any ‘understanding’ stopped with murders like against Theo van Gogh or the bombing of tourists.

The current Holy Anger against some old cartoons from Denmark show how Europe and the Middle East have really progressed. Europe has left behind religions fanaticism and developed stable democratic societies - we are currently trying to transcend the nation state. Yes, Europe has progressed better and more since the middle ages then the Middle East.

House of Saud - power, sand and oil - but no democracy in sight.

Yes, you can call me an European cultural snob any day - I would be proud to wear that title! I prefer the rule of law over tribal loyalty. I prefer equal rights over woman in bee keeper suits. I prefer democratic elections over Kings, Sheiks, Mullahs, Royal Families and old hereditary or religious traditions. I prefer a freedom of press and disgusting jokes over Fatwas against Artists and Newspaper Editors - or raging protests against a simple beauty contest (yep, that was in Nigeria - but still the same frame of mind). Give me a corrupt Silvio Berlusconi over a President Ahmadinejad or terror leader like Yassir Arafat.

A ‘mature’ society must be able to cope with different ideas, even insults and threats in a civilized manner. That includes any nation. Burning the Danish flag because one of it’s newspaper published a stupid cartoon is rather strange. Threatening to bomb and kill people over a stupid joke is simply daft.

Kemal Atatürk showed the world that a modern country and Islam can exist side by side.

While Europeans demonstrate against wars in the Middle East and against Terrorism - the people in the Arab world seem more to protest for war and revenge - and support even terrorism. Still many Muslims dream about recreating the old Caliphate. But dreaming such dreams of old empires and conquest are out of date. Hitlers ‘Lebensraum’ idea didn’t work, neither did the communist dream of a united workers planet.

I am sure there are many people in the Middle East and Muslims who only want peace and do not support radical ideas - but it’s about time these people start to show us that they are in control and support a peaceful global society.

Muslims have to give up their conspiracy theories about Europe (and to a certain degree America) and start building their own stable societies and economies. Most of all they have to take responsibility and don’t hide behind your religion to build a better world for everyone. Once Damascus and Baghdad were on top of the world and leading centers of wisdom and enlightenment, highly tolerant and global trade powers. My dear Muslims, if you want that to happen again, then start to teach your kids, build up your economies and use your brains instead of guns and explosives.

*repost from 2006*

Click here to visit this great online exhibition. Europe almost didn’t survive it’s early Christian seclusion. Most knowledge of the romans and Greeks had been lost, science and exploration grinded to a total stop. Good thing that the Muslims / Arabs kept the Light of Knowledge burning. Europe had to re-import all that old knowledge via trade with the Muslims with Italy or Spain. This restarted the European spirit - the Renaissance heralded a new era.

So enjoy and explore this interesting exhibition that shows how advanced the Arab / Muslim world was. Too bad they also had their falldown and still haven’t recovered the cultural and scientific greatness they once had.

Until the late 12th century almost any cultural life or innovation had died in Europe. Christian mysticism and symbolism had completely taken over all the great minds. Thanks to the Arabs and many wars we started to exchange ideas again and rediscover lost authors and wisdom of Greek and Roman origin.

Not only animals, but also culture, art and science can be completely eradicated. Beware of religious fundamentalism, it won’t tolerate any knowledge beside itself and keep it’s followers dumb.

There are several American ’security experts’ and weirdos who say, that Europe is the real threat to American security - because it is the perfect breeding ground for terrorists.

The shoe bomber was a British national - right! The killer of the Dutch director van Gogh was also born in the Netherlands - right! Didn’t Germany harbor a cell of 9/11 terrorists - right?!

According to some sources somewhere between two to seven million Muslims live in the US - while Europe has around twelve to twenty million.

First of all they are not just ‘one kind of people’. Germany is host to many Turks, while Britain has people from many Arab nations as well as Asian Muslims. France and Spain are of course closer to African Muslims, because of their history (remember Spain was once conquered by Muslims). They sure are all Muslims, but they share very different backgrounds and languages. Just as many white Europeans are Christians - but hardly all follow the catholic church.

These bloody protestants - all terrorists! Burn them all! We need to protect our communities!

Many Muslims are living at the fringes of normal European societies, which is normal for most immigrants that have no local family connections, no money and hardly any education in modern jobs. There is obviously the language barrier and some xenophobia as well. But even ‘native’ Muslims in their third or even fourth generation live at the fringes. Why? Because many of these cultures simply stay within their own ghettos. We have Turks here in Germany who lived here for thirty years, but hardly speak German, know teutonic culture or have even contact to any Germans. They stay in their little Istanbuls and prefer it that way. The same is true for many communities in France, Britain, Netherlands etc.

But makes such a strong and rather stubborn refusal against integration everyone a terrorist? Of course not.

Uhhh, scary Muslims …

First of all we simply can’t and won’t control these 20 million people. We Germans already tried that method - it was called Konzentrationslager. Yes, immigration is a problem here, but it is not a flood of Muslim hordes sweeping Europe.

Of course we have also problems with terrorists here - but which one do you mean? IRA? ETA? Red Brigades? PKK? Or even Neo-Nazis? Al Qaeda is simply the newest member of a very annoying club. And once again we refuse to let them dictate our life’s and civil liberties. And there is no protection against them: even Muslim countries get bombed by Muslim terrorists. Plus no law or a gazillion policemen will guarantee absolute security. That is an illusion.

No headscarfs and bombs allowed in European schools

So yes, we Europeans want these Muslims, even though we still stay strangers to each other and still have to learn a lot on both sides to live with each other.

If America feels threatened by foreigners, then it should remember it’s old isolationist’s traditions and maybe shutdown it’s borders - Japan did this for several hundred years more or less successful.

American TV show about a Christian white male trying to be a Muslim for 30 days. This is fun … more or less …