Get your FACTS here about Muslims

I'm well aware that my experience is far from unique. I remember your relating your own experiences in Saudi Arabia (I believe).

It seems that every sensible person from the West who has taken the time to learn about the Islamic World, first hand, has been treated with kindness & hospitality by residents of the Islamic World.

As you know, their concepts of time & "Private Property" are quite different.
I remember that, especially in remote areas, the Bedouin would leave water, fruit etc in the front of their tents for travelers to refresh themselves.
Additionally, when a Muslim host would introduce me to his friends in his village, they would stop what they were doing just to talk for hours over tea & snacks in the village square about American movies, American cars, & life in America in general.

It's especially tragic that the West's AIPAC etc driven "War on Islam" / "War on Terror"[1] has significantly negated the possibility of having similar experiences in similar places today.

Thanks


[1] “Do The Math: Global War On Terror Has Killed 4 Million Muslims Or More”
http://www.mintpressnews.com/do-the...-has-killed-4-million-muslims-or-more/208225/

EXCERPT “A study released earlier this year revealed the shocking death toll of the United States’s “War on Terror” since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but the true body count could be even higher.
Published in March by Physicians for Social Responsibility, the study, conducted by a team that included some Nobel Prize winners, determined that at least 1.3 million people have died as a result of war since Sept.11, 2001, but the real figure might be as high as two million. The study was an attempt to “close the gaps” in existing research, including studies like the Iraq Body Count,” which puts the number of violent deaths in that country at about 219,000 since 2003, based on media reports of the time period.

“Undisputed UN figures show that 1.7 million Iraqi civilians died due to the West’s brutal sanctions regime, half of whom were children.
The mass death was seemingly intended. Among items banned by the UN sanctions were chemicals and equipment essential for Iraq’s national water treatment system. A secret US Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) document discovered by Professor Thomas Nagy of the School of Business at George Washington University amounted, he said, to ‘an early blueprint for genocide against the people of Iraq.’”

In 2009, Stephen M. Walt, a professor of international relations at Harvard, wrote in Foreign Policy:
“How many Muslims has the United States killed in the past thirty years, and how many Americans have been killed by Muslims? Coming up with a precise answer to this question is probably impossible, but it is also not necessary, because the rough numbers are so clearly lopsided.”CONTINUED

 

Thats a pretty silly claim and easily proven wrong. Muslims worship Allah. The religion was started by the prophet Mohamed around the year 600 who claimed the angel Gabriel came to him. They all face Mecca when praying. Thats just off the top of my head and I could go on
An apostate in Islam is one who denies Islam by either their speech or acts not only by joining another religion. In fact both major cects of Islam view the other as apostates and they should be put to death

 

ISIS is crazy and pervert everything Islam teaches.

 

What happened to I know nothing about Islam or apostates ?

 

The OP is about ideology. Does it promote violence, intolerance, &amp; aggression toward your fellow man? Or does it promote peace &amp; tolerance?<br>
<br>
Islam is by nature intolerant, &amp; 'kill the infidels' is part of their ideology. It is not a conflict for muslims to kill any outliers, as they believe it is their duty. Marxism, too, is tasked with destroying 'religion', which they see as 'the opiate of the masses'. So it is in their ideology to purge humanity of this evil, &amp; they believe they are serving the greater good to do so. But some other theistic based beliefs do not promote aggression &amp; intolerance, but the opposite. I submit that Christianity has at it's root, a 'free will' concept that does not impose mandatory belief. It is the basis, imo, for the American view of religious freedom. Humanity has free will, &amp; a free conscience to choose &amp; believe what they wish. So any correlating of Christianity with ideological aggression is unfounded, and is based on a distortion of Christianity, as presented by human aggressors, not the ideology itself.

 

What does the Constitution have to do with it? No one is trying to restrict anyone's freedom of religion.

So we need their help. So what? Do you really think Muslims won't help us because Trump doesn't want Muslims from radicalized parts of the world coming here? What the hell kind of rationale is that? And how much good has trying not to offend them done us?

 

The broader concept of apostasy is treason.

If a Muslim commits a death penalty offense, he is automatically apostate because he has betrayed the community and the faith.

You are taking it too literally.. Muslims realize that you can't see into the heart of a person.

 

Christianity was not always much better.

Just look at the 30 Years War, and the many religious wars we have been engaged in over the millennia.

They burned and tortured Jews who they claimed falsely converted to Catholicism in Spain (which is what the main reason for the Spanish Inquisition actually was). And of course, the little side-note that all property seized from the Marranos so convicted reverted to the Crown and Church. And Spain was deep in debt (which was why the crown took a gamble on finding a shortcut to the East).

 

All true.......

 

Everyone here from the West, who has actually gotten out of their Barcalounger and gone to the Islamic world has related positive experiences so why don't you rather than reciting limited knowledge about the Islamic faith?

Briefly put, ISIS is a Western & Israeli funded & supported[1], [2], [3] aberration intended to cause internecine strife in the Islamic World in order to further Zionist regional hegemony[4] i.e. the Oded Yinon Plan

ISIS is strongly opposed by Muslims throughout the Islamic world[5] and the U.S. has refused to aid Iran's fight against ISIS / ISIL[6] presumably to aid the Zionist Yinon Plan of "Divide & Conquer".

The US had limited but good relations with the Islamic world until the Z.O.A.(later, AIPAC) compelled Truman to support the Zionist Colony in already inhabited Palestine.

the following two quotes help to explain how the US is suddenly at odds with the Islamic World:

&#8220;There was not a single act of Arab terrorism against Americans before 1968, when the U.S. became the chief supplier of military equipment and economic aid to Israel.&#8221;

"Every time anyone says that Israel is our only friend in the Middle East, I can't help but think that before Israel, we had no enemies in the Middle East."-- John Sheehan,

If you're wondering why there is currently Islamic enmity toward Western Governments, please consider how you would feel if Muslims had massacred millions of Christians:

&#8220;Do The Math: Global War On Terror Has Killed 4 Million Muslims Or More&#8221;
http://www.mintpressnews.com/do-the...-has-killed-4-million-muslims-or-more/208225/

EXCERPT "Published in March by Physicians for Social Responsibility, the study, conducted by a team that included some Nobel Prize winners, determined that at least 1.3 million people have died as a result of war since Sept.11, 2001, but the real figure might be as high as two million.
In 2009, Stephen M. Walt, a professor of international relations at Harvard, wrote in Foreign Policy:
&#8220;How many Muslims has the United States killed in the past thirty years, and how many Americans have been killed by Muslims? Coming up with a precise answer to this question is probably impossible, but it is also not necessary, because the rough numbers are so clearly lopsided.&#8221;CONTINUED

As early as 1973 when I was in the Islamic World, the question I was most frequently asked was: "Why do Americans suddenly hate us?"
I tried to explain the toxic influence of our Zionist dominated Major Media on lazy members of American society and America's Zionist controlled Mid East Policy making but they still couldn't understand how a country so advanced could be so easily duped[7] by so few malevolent & manipulative Zionists





[1] &#8220;UN Finds Credible Ties Between ISIS And Israeli Defense Forces&#8221;
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/02/05/isis-idf-link/


[2] &#8220;Turkey and Israel Are Directly Supporting ISIS and Al Qaeda Terrorists In Syria&#8221;
http://www.geoengineeringwatch.org/...orting-isis-and-al-qaeda-terrorists-in-syria/


[3] &#8220;NOT AGAIN: More US AID, Missiles Shipped to al Nusra and ISIS in Syria, Iraq&#8221;
http://21stcenturywire.com/2015/03/...-to-al-qaeda-al-nusra-and-isis-in-syria-iraq/


[4] &#8220;The Yinon Plan, &#8220;Greater Israel&#8221;, Syria, Iraq, and ISIS: the Connection&#8221;
http://beforeitsnews.com/economy/20...ria-iraq-and-isis-the-connection-2768224.html

EXCERPT &#8220;The Zionist Plan for the Middle East, also known as the Yinon Plan, is an Israeli strategic plan to ensure Israeli regional superiority. It insists and stipulates that Israel must reconfigure its geo-political environment through the balkanization of the surrounding Arab states into smaller and weaker states...."CONTINUED


[5] &#8220;In nations with significant Muslim populations, much disdain for ISIS&#8221;
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tan...ant-muslim-populations-much-disdain-for-isis/
EXCERPT &#8220;According to newly released data that the Pew Research Center collected in 11 countries with significant Muslim populations, people from Nigeria to Jordan to Indonesia overwhelmingly expressed negative views of ISIS.

In Lebanon, a victim of one of the most recent attacks, almost every person surveyed who gave an opinion had an unfavorable view of ISIS, including 99% with a very unfavorable opinion. Distaste toward ISIS was shared by Lebanese Sunni Muslims (98% unfavorable) and 100% of Shia Muslims and Lebanese Christians.
Israelis (97%) and Jordanians (94%) were also strongly opposed to ISIS as of spring 2015, including 91% of Israeli Arabs. And 84% in the Palestinian territories had a negative view of ISIS, both in the Gaza Strip (92%) and the West Bank (79%).(*)&#8221;CONTINUED


[6] &#8220;US rejects Iran's offer to cooperate against Islamic State&#8221;
https://www.rt.com/news/189752-iran-us-isis-cooperation-offer/
EXCERPT &#8220; The US has rejected a proposal from Iranian officials regarding cooperation between the two nations in fighting against the Islamic State (IS)&#8221;CONTINUED


[7] &#8220;What Do Israelis Think About Americans? Start With Disdain.&#8221;
http://forward.com/articles/216074/...out-americans-start-with/?p=all#ixzz3U6lIMhyL

EXCERPT &#8220;Jerusalem &#8212; Though Israel is a famously fractious society, Israelis tend to agree on one thing: Their strongest supporters are an inherently dupable people.

&#8220;Most Israelis think Americans are pro-Israel and we can sell them anything, especially mud from the Dead Sea,&#8221;
&#8220;Or &#8212; just regular mud with a &#8216;Dead Sea&#8217; sticker on it.&#8221;

An American might respond with the saying &#8220;Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me,&#8221; and observe that this outlook, with deep roots in the American psyche, rebuts the Israeli stereotype of Americans as ever-trusting.
But for many Israelis, the question is, why trust anyone even once?

In a secretly recorded video of a 2001 discussion with a group of terror victims in the Ofra settlement in the Israeli occupied West Bank, now-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out this widely held perception.

&#8220;I know what America is,&#8221; Netanyahu, told the settlers. &#8220;America is a thing that can be easily moved, moved in the right direction.&#8221;
The fact that Israelis see their benefactor as overly credulous also breeds resentment in some corners of Israeli society."CONTINUED

 

^Another person who has no clue of the difference between past history and the present.

- - - Updated - - -

Hatred and bigotry against Jews is the most murderous bigotry in world history across history. It is ever present and as we see again on this forum as well.

 

First you tell us the war on terror did this.

But you then started trying to prove the case which claims the vast majority died due to sanctions.

Bush 43 got sanctions removed. And his forces fought those with guns. And defeated those forces that used guns. And put an end to sanctions.

The smaller number used by the author can be largely blamed on those who used explosives. They made car bombs. They made truck bombs. They did not mind one bit blowing up a major Mosque. We can't blame Bush for those deaths.

One factor making it hard is the speed which Muslims bury the dead. They don't take a week or more as we do in the West. They get them buried often the next day.

When a country is using car bombs to kill their own people, how can people walk about to count the dead?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_car_bombings

 

Is he kicking your pals out?

 

Someone is engaging untruth here. Plenty have said they had bad experiences

Of course they express negative opinions of ISIS who wants to kill them as apostates . They do not follow the example of Mohamed while ISIS does. ISIS is his true followers

 

1. Re:

If you claim that "Plenty have said they had bad experiences", it should be easy for you to cite at least 3 of the "Plenty" of bad experiences in the Islamic world.

Where are they?

Experienced travelers to areas that are different in their cultures generally do not have bad experiences with the local residents because they have enough sense to behave properly. i.e. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do", behave as any good guest would behave either when in someone's home or in someone's different country.
Experienced travelers generally have good experiences where ever they go by attempting to use the native language, respecting local customs, being polite to others, not blaming others for your own personal issues etc

Inexperienced travelers who have bad experiences in different cultures usually can't get along with with people in their own country. This especially holds true when they are around people who are of different ethnic or religious backgrounds then their own. Then there are misanthropes who are unable to get along with others anywhere under any conditions.


2. Re:

When you claim that: "They do not follow the example of Mohamed while ISIS does." you're only exposing how little you know about both the Islamic faith and ISIS / ISIL as ISIS is a perversion of the true Islamic faith.

 

You don't seem able to grasp the simple reality that the Western / Colonial powers are over THERE killing THEM while in the process of extracting native natural resources:



&#8220;The crime of making Americans aware of their own history&#8221;
http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com...-making-americans-aware-of-their-own-history/

EXCERPT &#8220; Is history getting too close for comfort for the fragile little American heart and mind? Their schools and their favorite media have done an excellent job of keeping them ignorant of what their favorite country has done to the rest of the world, but lately some discomforting points of view have managed to find their way into this well-defended American consciousness.
Then came the Islamic cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen, who for some time had been blaming US foreign policy in the Middle East as the cause of anti-American hatred and terrorist acts. So we killed him. Ron Paul and Tony Bennett can count themselves lucky.
What, then, is the basis of all this? What has the United States actually been doing in the Middle East in the recent past?
&#8226; the shooting down of two Libyan planes in 1981
&#8226; the bombing of Lebanon in 1983 and 1984
&#8226; the bombing of Libya in 1986
&#8226; the bombing and sinking of an Iranian ship in 1987
&#8226; the shooting down of an Iranian passenger plane in 1988
&#8226; the shooting down of two more Libyan planes in 1989
&#8226; the massive bombing of the Iraqi people in 1991
&#8226; the continuing bombings and draconian sanctions against Iraq for the next 12 years
&#8226; the bombing of Afghanistan and Sudan in 1998
&#8226; the habitual support of Israel despite the routine devastation and torture it inflicts upon the Palestinian people
&#8226; the habitual condemnation of Palestinian resistance to this
&#8226; the abduction of &#8220;suspected terrorists&#8221; from Muslim countries, such as Malaysia, Pakistan, Lebanon and Albania, who were then taken to places like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, where they were tortured
&#8226; the large military and hi-tech presence in Islam&#8217;s holiest land, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere in the Persian Gulf region
&#8226; the support of numerous undemocratic, authoritarian Middle East governments from the Shah of Iran to Mubarak of Egypt to the Saudi royal family
&#8226; the invasion, bombing and occupation of Afghanistan, 2001 to the present, and Iraq, 2003 to the present
&#8226; the bombings and continuous firing of missiles to assassinate individuals in Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan, and Libya during the period of 2006-2011

It can&#8217;t be repeated or emphasized enough. The biggest lie of the &#8220;war on terrorism&#8221;, although weakening, is that the targets of America&#8217;s attacks have an irrational hatred of the United States and its way of life, based on religious and cultural misunderstandings and envy.

The large body of evidence to the contrary includes a 2004 report from the Defense Science Board, &#8220;a Federal advisory committee established to provide independent advice to the Secretary of Defense.&#8221; The report states:

Muslims do not hate our freedom, but rather they hate our policies.

The overwhelming majority voice their objections to what they see as one-sided support in favor of Israel and against Palestinian rights, and the long-standing, even increasing, support for what Muslims collectively see as tyrannies, most notably Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan and the Gulf states. Thus, when American public diplomacy talks about bringing democracy to Islamic societies, this is seen as no more than self-serving hypocrisy."CONTINUED


You've repeatedly made your xenophobia clear in starting this thread & submitting other Posts illuminating your fear of those "Evil Muslims" in other threads. If you hate members of a different culture you're only exposing how little you have exposed yourself to those different cultures.

Try weaning yourself from anti Islamic MSM and mustering the courage to see the rest of the world yourself rather than fishing for bigoted U-Tubes from the comfort of your Barcalounger.

 

That's simply your own skewed Zionist opinion & your Hasbara drivel has very little to do with the truth.

This whole thread is premised on the bigoted notion that Islam is an evil religion.

When has there ever been a racist thread under the name of: "Get your FACTS here about the Jews" ?

 

Hundreds of thousands, eh? Out of 1.6 billion? What did the other 1.5995 billion Muslims do?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOSHX4VREV8

(The guy talking in London is Choudary. Hard to believe that guy hasn't been locked up and/or deported yet.)

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7344381.stm
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33522204
http://tvblogs.nationalgeographic.c...p-abroad-where-are-they-now-stephen-comiskey/

(Relevant quote: "When your friend suggested that you escape to either Egypt or the United Arab Emirates, what went through your mind? Did you ever consider it as an option?
Of course I considered it!! I knew the risks that would be involved, but I just wanted to go home. I could see myself on a ship crossing the Red Sea. Freedom. You think all kind of crazy (*)(*)(*)(*). I just wanted out of that hell hole.")

There's also the consideration that "guests" get treated much differently, especially Western guests with money, than do locals like women, homosexuals, and apostates.

YOUR opinion on whether ISIS is a true or perverted version of Islam is irrelevant. THEIR opinion is that they are following the example of Muhammad and are carrying out their actions in the name of Islam. And they aren't alone. MOST Muslims believe in Shariah law, and MOST Muslims believe criticism of Muhammad should be punishable by death. These beliefs are fundamentally incompatible with Western belief in a) freedom of speech; b) freedom of religion; and c) equality of all before the law.

 

Ive seen posters here speak of bad experiences
Tell me what ISIS does that Mohamed did not. They follow his example to a tee. Those who dont act like ISIS are the perversion of Islam.

 

You must be pretty desperate to slander Muslims to have to scour the internet to find 3 bad travel experiences that were barely inside the Islamic World.
Generally, people who are eager to slander Muslims are easily duped & poorly educated victims of America's Zionist dominated, pro Israel Major Media[1], [2]

OR

Members of Israel's army of paid, trained, & scripted State Supported Hasbara Trolls.[3]

One of your cherry picked examples occurred just outside of Istanbul, the other was committed by the IS & the 3rd was in Saudi Arabia.

Apparently, you couldn't find any bad travel experiences deeper inside the Islamic world where I was (Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, S.E. Turkey etc)
When I asked for examples of bad travel experiences in the Islamic world, I meant bad experiences had by individuals Posting comments at this forum. So far no one participating in this forum has come forward to relate a bad experience while traveling in the Islamic world.
&#8220;RiaRaeb&#8221; & &#8220;Margot2&#8221; are the only other Posters who have traveled in the Islamic world & both, plus myself have had nothing but good experiences while doing so. You're welcome to read their comments on this thread to confirm that fact.

You are also mistaken in your opinion that: "There's also the consideration that "guests" get treated much differently, especially Western guests with money, than do locals like women, homosexuals, and apostates."

I can't speak for &#8220;RiaRaeb&#8221; & &#8220;Margot2&#8221;, but even though I had well worn clothes, a small backpack & very little money, my Muslim hosts wouldn't let me use it as they insisted on paying for EVERYTHING while I was their guest.
As I related earlier, it is highly insulting to your Muslim host to attempt to pay for ANYTHING while in their company.

Briefly put, the Muslims I met who were either my hosts or brief & casual acquaintances made while sleeping in parks, the desert or on mosque grounds seemed to make every effort that my visit to their land was as safe & enjoyable as possible.


Finally, you are grossly mistaken if you are suggesting that most Muslims are supportive of the tenets of ISIS / Daesh.
In fact the vast majority of Muslims strongly oppose[4], [5] the Israeli, U.S. etc supported ISIS[6], [7], which seeks to destroy a cohesive & stable Mid East for the imposition of the Zionist "Greater Israel" (Oded Yinon Plan) & the furthering of Zionist Regional Hegemony[8]






[1] &#8220;&#8220;Zionists Control 97% Of World's Media!&#8221;
http://northerntruthseeker.blogspot.com/2009/09/zionists-control-97-of-worlds-media.html


[2] &#8220;U.S. media coverage reveals a pro-Israel bias&#8221;
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion...erage-reveals-a-pro-israel-bias/#.Vhb3Zc02XUR


[3] &#8220;Israel&#8217;s Information Ops&#8221;
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/israels-information-ops/

&#8220; The hasbara comments are noticeable as they tend to sound like boilerplate....

...Students are paid as much as $2,000 monthly to work the online targets.

the commenters generally go by American-sounding names and they never indicate that they are Israelis or working on behalf of the Israeli government.

They tend to repeat over and over again sound bites of pseudo-information, most recently maintaining falsely that Hamas had started the &#8220;war&#8221; and that Israel was only defending itself.

The commenters operate in the belief that if something is repeated often enough in many different places it will ipso facto gain some credibility and create doubts regarding contrary points of view."CONTINUED


[4] &#8220;Nobody hates ISIL more than Muslims&#8221;
http://qz.com/553243/nobody-hates-isil-more-than-muslims/


[5] &#8220;In nations with significant Muslim populations, much disdain for ISIS&#8221;
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tan...ant-muslim-populations-much-disdain-for-isis/


[6] &#8220;ISIS is a US-Israeli Creation. Top Ten &#8220;Indications&#8221;
http://www.globalresearch.ca/isis-is-a-us-israeli-creation-top-ten-indications/5518627


[7] &#8220;UN Finds Credible Ties Between ISIS And Israeli Defense Forces&#8221;
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/02/05/isis-idf-link/


[8] &#8220;The Yinon Plan, &#8220;Greater Israel&#8221;, Syria, Iraq, and ISIS: the Connection&#8221;
http://beforeitsnews.com/economy/20...ria-iraq-and-isis-the-connection-2768224.html

EXCERPT &#8220;The Zionist Plan for the Middle East, also known as the Yinon Plan, is an Israeli strategic plan to ensure Israeli regional superiority. It insists and stipulates that Israel must reconfigure its geo-political environment through the balkanization of the surrounding Arab states into smaller and weaker states.
&#8220;Greater Israel&#8221; consists in an area extending from the Nile Valley to the Euphrates.
Israeli strategists viewed Iraq as their biggest strategic challenge. This is why Iraq was outlined as the centerpiece to the balkanization of the Middle East and the Arab World. In Iraq, on the basis of the concepts of the Yinon Plan, Israeli strategists have called for the division of Iraq into a Kurdish state and two Arab states, one Shiite and the other Sunni.&#8221;CONTINUED

 

I have lived in the ME, and yes I have had bad experiences. One still causes me occasional PTSD.

But overall, my experiences have been very positive. On the average, I would say the people I met there have been highly positive.

And I have had a great many negative experiences right here in the US, so I am not sure what that matters at all.

 

The Scofield heresy has been quite successful among uneducated Christians.

 

Wow, just wow.

For one, there have been no Colonial Powers there in over half a century.

Nobody is taking their resources. They control it themselves.

And they are killing each other. It is not some phantom "colonial power" that is rounding up the Muslims by the hundreds and executing them in town squares by burning them alive and cutting their heads off.

 

Re:

Read & learn:


&#8220;The crime of making Americans aware of their own history&#8221;
http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com...-making-americans-aware-of-their-own-history/

EXCERPT &#8220; Is history getting too close for comfort for the fragile little American heart and mind?

Their schools and their favorite media have done an excellent job of keeping them ignorant of what their favorite country has done to the rest of the world, but lately some discomforting points of view have managed to find their way into this well-defended American consciousness.

Then came the Islamic cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen, who for some time had been blaming US foreign policy in the Middle East as the cause of anti-American hatred and terrorist acts. So we killed him. Ron Paul and Tony Bennett can count themselves lucky.

What, then, is the basis of all this? What has the United States actually been doing in the Middle East in the recent past?

&#8226; the shooting down of two Libyan planes in 1981
&#8226; the bombing of Lebanon in 1983 and 1984
&#8226; the bombing of Libya in 1986
&#8226; the bombing and sinking of an Iranian ship in 1987
&#8226; the shooting down of an Iranian passenger plane in 1988
&#8226; the shooting down of two more Libyan planes in 1989
&#8226; the massive bombing of the Iraqi people in 1991
&#8226; the continuing bombings and draconian sanctions against Iraq for the next 12 years
&#8226; the bombing of Afghanistan and Sudan in 1998
&#8226; the habitual support of Israel despite the routine devastation and torture it inflicts upon the Palestinian people
&#8226; the habitual condemnation of Palestinian resistance to this
&#8226; the abduction of &#8220;suspected terrorists&#8221; from Muslim countries, such as Malaysia, Pakistan, Lebanon and Albania, who were then taken to places like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, where they were tortured
&#8226; the large military and hi-tech presence in Islam&#8217;s holiest land, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere in the Persian Gulf region
&#8226; the support of numerous undemocratic, authoritarian Middle East governments from the Shah of Iran to Mubarak of Egypt to the Saudi royal family
&#8226; the invasion, bombing and occupation of Afghanistan, 2001 to the present, and Iraq, 2003 to the present
&#8226; the bombings and continuous firing of missiles to assassinate individuals in Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan, and Libya during the period of 2006-2011

It can&#8217;t be repeated or emphasized enough. The biggest lie of the &#8220;war on terrorism&#8221;, although weakening, is that the targets of America&#8217;s attacks have an irrational hatred of the United States and its way of life, based on religious and cultural misunderstandings and envy. The large body of evidence to the contrary includes a 2004 report from the Defense Science Board, &#8220;a Federal advisory committee established to provide independent advice to the Secretary of Defense.&#8221; The report states:

Muslims do not hate our freedom, but rather they hate our policies.

The overwhelming majority voice their objections to what they see as one-sided support in favor of Israel and against Palestinian rights, and the long-standing, even increasing, support for what Muslims collectively see as tyrannies, most notably Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan and the Gulf states. Thus, when American public diplomacy talks about bringing democracy to Islamic societies, this is seen as no more than self-serving hypocrisy.
The report concludes: &#8220;No public relations campaign can save America from flawed policies.&#8221; (Christian Science Monitor, November 29, 2004)CONTINUED