NYDailyNews

Islamic States Have a (Deadly) Way With Words

This week, Islamic foreign ministers are gathering in the Persian Gulf city of Doha (in Qatar) to discuss where they stand on America's response to the Bin Laden Holy War.

First they will talk. Then they will issue a statement. It will sound reasonable, but it will not be. Not if you know how to translate Islamic political word games.

Word Game No. 1: The Islamic States will solemnly declare that they support the war on terrorism — providing there are no innocent civilian casualties.

Translation: They do not support the war on terrorism.

Because terrorists live among civilians, and often are civilians, it is, in practical terms, impossible to fight them without civilian casualties.

The Islamic regimes murder copious numbers of their own civilians to stay in power. In recent years, Algeria has slaughtered more than 50,000 Moslem fundamentalists. Twenty years ago, the Syrian government killed upwards of 10,000 in the town of Hama. "Moderate" Egypt has massacred thousands of extremists and thrown thousands more into medieval dungeons. Iraq gasses its civilians. Iran sends children into battle. Sudan systematically starves its black Christian dissidents.

Word Game No. 2: The Islamic States will denounce terrorism, but not movements of national liberation.

Translation: Whatever Moslems do to "infidels or hypocrites" is, by definition, not terrorism. The gunmen, suicide bombers and holy warriors presently at work in Israel, Nigeria, Western China, India, the nations of the former USSR, Turkey, the Balkans and the Philippines are freedom fighters. Only those who fight back are terrorists. And that goes double for America.

Word Game No. 3: Islam is a religion of peace; terrorism is a perversion.

Translation: Okay, maybe there is no such thing as an Islamic peace movement. Maybe Moslem countries are embroiled in the great majority of the wars being fought on the planet earth. Maybe Osama Bin Laden is the idol of the Islamic masses. Maybe he is most popular in the mosques and religious schools of the Middle East. But Islam is peaceful because we say it is. And if you disagree, the entire Islamic world will rise up against you. So beware.

Word Game No. 4: The only way to deal with terrorism is to address its root causes.

Translation: You are the root cause. You impoverish us by buying our oil and humiliate us with foreign aid. You protect the Jews (not that we're anti-Semites, God forbid. We only hate the Zionists because they control the world).

Most of all, your success as a civilization makes us seem like primitive, fanatical failures to our own children. So we use our schools, mosques, newspapers and airwaves to teach them that you are godless infidels. But hey, nothing personal.

And remember, in the bloodless war against non-Islamic terrorists outside the Middle East, we are with you all the way.

Original Publication Date: 10/10/01

-- Anonymous, October 10, 2001