A Further Comment...Attended a Lecture by John Zogby

Submitted by Matthew J. Fleming (United States), Nov 20, 2002 at 12:35

Several days ago Saturday, November 16, 2002 I attended a lecture here in Utica, New York by James Zogby's brother John. In our local newspaper the Observer Dispatch I had read about a survey that Mr. Zogby's company had conducted in several Arab Muslim (Kuwait), non-Arab (Pakistan), as well as 3 non-Muslim(Venezuela) countries. In addition I had also read James Zogby's article intrepreting the results "It's the Policy Stupid". Since both articles implied that the Muslim countries only held US policy in support of Israel against us, I wanted to go and see what Mr. John Zogby would have to say.

At the end of Mr. Zogby's comments I took the opportunity to make two points. 1) While it is true that the United States does support Israel, there are a number of incidents where the United States has favored both Arabs and Muslims in our foreign policy. Several of the examples I gave were support of Turkey against Greece, support of Pakistan against India, and although undoubtedly about oil, the Gulf War liberated Kuwait (Sadly the Zogby poll reflected a highly negative view of the United States in Kuwait even after saving them 12 years ago) and saved Saudi Arabia from Saddam's aggression. 2) Although the poll reflected an overwhelming preoccupation with Israeli treatment of the Palestinians, the Arab/Muslim world might do well to also look at itself and it's treatment of non-Muslims in particular the killing and enslavement of the Christian and animist Sudanese. After making these points I asked Mr. Zogby if perhaps the Arab/ Muslim World loathing of the United States might also stem from the inveterate dislike of non-Muslims santified in the Qur'an. While evading the question, Mr. Zogby did comment that after the events of September 11th he was both ashamed and wanted to try and make sure that such an event never happens again. I could only infer that yes this survey does imply that United States policy towards Israel did cause September 11th. (I cannot myself deny the same however the two Mr. Zogbys might also do well to have read Osama bin Laden's "fatwa" in which he declared war on the United States. Number one on the list was the presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia. The Israeli/Palestinian issue was almost at the bottom.).

During the exchange Mr. Zogby invited me to get the titles of several books from him at the end of the lecture. At this time I explained to Mr. Zogby my take on the Israel/Palestinian issue. I explained to him that since one of the purposes of Zionism was to provide a nation where Jews could live in safety and security, in this regard it is a failure since Jews lives are threatened daily by terrorism. I also added that since under Sharia Law non-Muslims are not allowed to fight back if a Muslim strikes out at them, that Jews fighting back with Muslims in self-defense drives them crazy. Mr. Zogby also suggested that I read "Orientalism" by Edward Said which I ordered from www.amazon.com yesterday. I was carrying a copy of Bat Ye'or book "Islam and Dhimmitude: Where Civilizations Collide". Upon looking at it Mr. Zogby commented that although the book did look interesting he did not care for some of the of the authors reviewing it on the back cover. I also explained to Mr. Zogby that most of my post 9/11 opinions were formed from reading such Arab and Muslim writers as Ibn Warraq, Fouad Ajami, Joseph Farah, V.S. Naipaul(a writer of Hindu descent), and most importantly Ali Sina's writing on www.faithfreedom.org. Mr. Zogby dismissed these writers as "self-hating" Arabs. Because of the constraits of time Mr. Zogby invited me to send him an e-mail. After speaking with him I thought an appropriate question to ask would be to ask him who actually funded this survey since the cost of sending people overseas must have been immense. Although the responses of the survey mentioned above were not surprising the funding of the survey would be both interesting and telling. Yesterday I did e-mail him this question. However I do not expect that I will get a response.

Although the fact that James Zogby would write for a newspaper that would publish selections from the "Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion" I found it equally disturbing that Mr. Zogby would also have his article "It's the Policy Stupid" published on www.mediamonitors.net. As a member of www.iabolish.com (An organization that seeks to eradicate the slavery of the Christians and animists in the Sudan and throughout the World) and a supporter of Maria Sliwa, an independant journalist also working to end slavery, the fact that Mr. Zogby's article would appear in the same venue next David Hoile's articles downplaying and denying the suffering of the Southern Sudenese is equally unsettling. During John Zogby's lecture he emphasised that the Arab/Muslim World took the suffering of the Palestinians "personally". I guess that I have taken the trouble to write all this shows that I as the descendant of dhimmis (non-Muslims under Islamic Law, in my case Sephardic Jews from Morroco) myself take the suffering of my fellow "dhimmis" in the Sudan (the Christians and the animists) "personally" as well.

Most sincerely yours,
Matthew J. Fleming

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