Answers to Lubna's questions

Submitted by Jeff (United States), Mar 1, 2006 at 14:54

Lubna, I'll attempt to answer the list of questions in your diatribe.

-When the Buddha statue was bought down didn't this cause disdain and protests in the western world?
You're quite right, this despicable act of destruction, in addition to the Nazi-like requirement forcing Hindus to wear identity labels to mark themselves for discrimination, drew disdain and protests from much of the world, though I don't recall any Arab states having any big problem with it. The protests in Asia, Europe and America came through religious leaders and diplomatic entreaties not to go through with the destruction of a cultural treasure, and were all completely ignored. There were no resulting deadly riots in Thailand, Korea or Japan. I don't recall any Buddhists rioting anywhere, in fact. No death threats. No whining about the free press that published offensive pictures of the destroyed religious images. See the difference?

Could anybody question the holocaust ever took place?
I'm not sure how to take this question. Are you simply incredulous that anyone would ever question this sad and well-documented period of history? (I'm with you on that.) Or are you asking if questioning the holocaust can be done legally, because stupidity and ignorance are not illegal? In any case, I have seen Nazis on TV in the USA denying the holocaust (and saying they want to finish the job in the next breath). The American Nazi Party and other hate groups make this absurd claim routinely, and have since shortly after the end of World War II.

And what about Garrudi when he just implied that the holocaust never occurred and if it did the number of Jews burnt in gas chambers wasn't as huge as reported? Wasn't he brought to trial and again protests were supported diligently in your media?
Sorry, I'm not familiar with Garrudi. I will say, however, that though I cannot speak for Germany and Austria, considering they lived through the holocaust (those who were allowed to live)perhaps the restrictions they have speech and display of Nazi symbols are understandable. I can tell you Nazis are free to display their symbols of hate and to try to spread their lies in the USA, which they do publicly with no fear of arrest.

-So why when it comes to Islam we can't find those same defending arguments?
What arguments? How many Muslims were systematically murdered in Germany under Hitler's reign?

-Why don't we demand Italy and Germany to clean the Eastern desert in Egypt of all the land mines buried there since World War II and killing innocent people up to this day? Isn't that uncultivated land a source of economic depression for our country
I don't know, why don't you? We still have thousands of missing in action in Italy from World War II but our countries are still friends. The land mines problem sounds very serious; another alternative would be for your government to spend some of the billions of dollars it has received in American aid to perform mine removal activities.

-Why doesn't anybody ever question the nuclear bombs thrust heartlessly at Hiroshima and Nagasaki and killing thousands of innocent people? Even the American soldiers that executed this operation received extensive psychiatric treatment.
Actually, Lubna, I hear Arabs question this all the time. Strange, isn't it, I never hear any Japanese question it. The American flyers did not receive "extensive psychiatric treatment." Some received counseling, which says something about their humanness. As usual, you throw out the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as though the US just one day decided it would be fun to drop a couple of new atomic bombs on some cities somewhere. The truth is a bit more complex, and has to do with an event called World War II. Japan declared war on the USA. Japan attacked the USA. Japan attacked China, Korea, the Philippines, Southeast Asia, Burma. They had to be stopped. Ask a Korean if he or she thinks Japan had to be stopped. The Korean peninsula was transformed into a huge and brutal slave labor camp, in which thousands died and from which thousands of girls were taken by force and sent around Asia to be sex slaves for Japanese troops (until they died after a few months and were replaced by more). The Japanese army killed more people in one week in Nanjing with bullets, knives and flames than were killed at Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. Ask a Chinese if he or she thinks Japan had to be stopped. Are you familiar with the standard Japanese mode of attack on a city, employed again and again in China? First, bomb homes, hospitals, public buildings, etc, to create havic and panic. Then, when the streets are jammed with hysterical, screaming women, children, old folks, babies, come in low with fighter planes to strafe the crowds with machine gun fire from the air. Perhaps you have no problem with this behavior. We did. The air attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, tragic as they were, were done in the hope of ending the war without the need to invade Japan. An invasion of Japan would have cost many, many more Japanese lives than did the bombings. After the war we stayed and helped to rebuild Japan and institute a democratic government. Japan and the USA are friends and have been since shortly after the end of the war. I own a Japanese car. I have been in Japan many times; I have always felt very welcome there and enjoy the warm hospitality of my Japanese friends and colleagues.

Why do we respect German civilization and technological advances and not connect it to Nazism and to Germany's history? Because we are objective, something you must learn. We read and then discuss and filter the positive elements, unlike you.
Lubna, you really amaze me. We have been friends with Germany since the day World War II ended in Europe. We helped them to rebuild their shattered nation and economy, helping to create what's been called the economic powerhouse of Europe (we couldn't help the eastern part, under Soviet domination at the time; the difference between eastern and western Germany is still noticeable). We've been buying Volkswagans by the thousands since shortly after the war. Twice in 20 years German troops sprang from their borders to spread murder and mayhem. They routinely murdered defenseless civilians in the streets of neighboring countries. They transported millions out of those countries to highly organized slave labor and death camps. And today, all those countries get along fine, and work together closely. The eastern border of France, twice overrun by German troops just 60 and 80 years ago, is now completely open. I drive across it without so much as a passport check. (Is that how it is for you, going from Egypt to Libya?) So, Lubna, we don't need you to lecture us on being objective or filtering any positive elements. I've noticed the Iranian government respects German civilization so much that listening to Beethoven is now a crime.

- Why is the historian David Irving being put on trial in Austria nowadays and actually sentenced to 3 years imprisonment because he dared question the holocaust ever took place although he cited this expression 16 years ago ??!! Isn't there some connection with timing and the recent appalling cartoon uproar?
Well, as I said, I can't speak for the Austrian laws against Nazi propaganda, but if David Irving wishes to speak such nonsense, he can do it legally in the USA. I think the timing of this court case vs the cartoon riots and murders is just a coincidence, but it's also perfect timing for those who like to see conspiracies everywhere.

-Why does Ms. Karen Hughes appear on Jazeera TV saying we want to ‘share' a good life with the Palestenians but we can't support Hamas as it is a terrorist group. However Hamas came to power as a result of democratic elections and although America supposedly respects democratic values it will not support them. So when Palestenians defend their land which is rightly theirs and abstain from acknowledging Israel they are considered terrorists ??!! ...Why don't you take Jews back to Europe where they belong, where the majority lived before they were given what is not theirs by Balfour? Or doesn't the western world dare do that? Isn't there some sort of political duplicity here? 2 measures of freedom
I honestly don't know why Ms. Karen Hughes bothers to go on Jazeera TV and say anything. But I can tell you, we do not have a problem with the democratic process taking place in the Palestinian territories. We're very happy to see another place added to that short list of places in the Arab world that tolerate such things. Who knows, maybe someday Palestinians will also have a truly free press and an independent judiciary. We also have a democratically elected government, and we can make policy, too. We don't have a law that says we must send millions of dollars to every elected government on earth. And our policy is not to send millions of dollars to murderers who vocally reject the peace agreements negotiated by the previous government (who, I've been told a million times, was also freely elected). Most of us don't understand why kept sending millions to Arafat; where are all those schools, homes, power plants? After all the millions Arafat received from the US and Europe year after year, you'd think Israelis would be going to the Palestinian territories for medical care and employment, instead of the other way around. Maybe we'd be more inclined now if Palestinians didn't murder Americans when they try to deliver scholarships to young Palestinians. You're quite right, the western world does not care or dare to kidnap millions of people from Israel or anywhere else and force them to live elsewhere. I don't think the thousands of Jews forced from Syria, Iran and Iraq really think of Europe as their home. I never hear a word about their "right of return."

Who ever accused Islam of intolerance of other religions? We are compelled in Islam to believe in Moses and Christ and would not agree to any such mockery to them. How would you feel if any Muslim made fun of Moses or Christ?
Probably about the same as we felt when Palestinians desecrated the Church of the Nativity.

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