Displaying posts tagged with

“Muslims”

Sep
25
2009

A Very Dirty Business: AJN Watch Gets Personal

AJN Watch is a nasty little site, run by people who have some serious issues with the Jewish News, homosexuals, and now me, among others.
What makes their latest post so special is that they feel they have stumbled upon some extremely hot, breaking news.
What these people do not realise is that their, “latest scoop” is [...]

Sep
10
2009

Part Six – Axis of Honour Final: Palestinian Suicide Terrorism

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six – Axis of Honour Final: Palestinian Suicide Terrorism
The aim of this series has been to demonstrate a universal framework for understanding suicide terrorism, dismantling the notion that such tactics could only emerge from Islam. At the same time, I have been extremely critical of those wanting to downplay [...]

Aug
25
2009

Part Five – Axis of Honour: Dislocation, Family, and Terror

You probably remember the refrain, during the Bush years, that the Islamists objected to our freedoms and our way of life – that this is why America was attacked on September 11.
This is not exactly in the realms of profound analysis, and belonged with Bush’s ill advised response soon after the attacks, that America was [...]

Aug
20
2009

Part Four – The Axis of Honour: Honour, Modernity, and al Qaeda

To read the previous posts in this series, click on the links below:
Part One: Introduction
Part Two: Honour, Communalism, and Islamist Suicide Terrorism
Part Three: Honour and Shame
Part Four: Honour, Modernity, and al Qaeda
The first three instalments of this series asked whether it was possible to find an ultimate cause for suicide terrorism, without falling back on [...]

Aug
19
2009

Bren Carlill of AIJAC Responds to Part Two – Axis of Honour

Bren Carlill, responding in comments, to the second in the The Axis series,  makes some very interesting points – not least of which, is that his piece in The Australian was edited so that key information was omitted.
After reading his comment, I think it’s appropriate to retract my implication that he views all Muslims/Arabs as [...]

Aug
17
2009

Part Two – The Axis of Honour: Honour, Communalism, and Islamist Suicide Terrorism

Terrorism, Terrorists and Suicide Attacks: Our Representatives Fail to Shed much Light
The first post in this series took issue with the flaccid thinking of some academics and policy makers. They are, however, no worse that many non-academics (in the media and lobby groups) on the right.
Bren Carlill of AIJAC, recently wrote in The Australian, [...]

Aug
11
2009

The Axis of Honour: Honour, Communalism, and Islamist Suicide Terrorism – Introduction

This is a huge topic. I’ve decided to devote a number of posts to it, rather than compose one mega thesis.
It will read as a series – the political analysis equivalent of a Dickens serial, though probably less lucrative.
Unfortunately, the nature of this sort of blog (until I get someone with technical abilities to spruce [...]

May
26
2009

Reader Response 5: Israel, Kangaroo Courts, Unity, Speaking Out, and Subheadings

Today, we’ve not only experienced a major spike in readership, we have also seen a plethora of comments, some of which we’ll answer in this post.
Firstly, Israel is clearly integral to a Jew’s identity – whether said Jew is pro- or anti-Zionist. We find it hard to imagine a Jew without an opinion either way. [...]

May
24
2009

The New Week: Ideas from SJ Readers 2 – Jewish Priorities, the Media, Jewish Schools, and our Leadership

This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series Ideas from SJ Readers

While we strongly agree with Yoram on this, we do not agree with his extrapolation that we should not focus too much on the media, or get caught up in its “glamour.” Yoram believes that we are not in any danger of an imminent “pogrom,” and with this we would also agree.

…That does not mean that relations between our community and the Muslim community have not deteriorated considerably. There are many unpleasant actions and events that can take place before large scale violence occurs. It’s also important to remember that communal violence of any stripe never erupts without a long lead-up of perceived insults to honour. One of the hopes of The Sensible Jew is to catch the destructive tendencies of our leadership before any lasting and long term damage is done. Indeed, danger is not imminent, so we are blessed in that we have this opportunity, during a time of peaceful relations with other communities, to build networks and on-the-ground relationships that will prevent a slide into inter-communal animus.