Ihsan Alkhatib

On February 27, 2008 Schlussel wrote in “How to Fight Terror…” “If I ran Israel, here's what my policy would be: We kill ten of your men for every Israeli you murder. We kill an additional ten for every parent you murder. That's the only way these animals know you mean business.” No comment. This woman was described by the Wall Street Journal as an up and coming conservative commentator.

Funny- but some people don’t get it. In my experience, if someone is bigoted against one minority group, the odds are that he/she is bigoted against other groups as well. Therefore, fighting all hate targeting human beings for who they are, not their actions, is the best strategy. Debbie Schlussel does not seem to get this lesson. On February 28, 2008, she writes in “Why I dislike Pat Condell: Stop sending me ignorant, anti-Israel Englishman’s anti-Islam videos": she writes: "Many readers over the last couple of years have been sending me videos of Englishman Pat Condell. Please stop. I have never posted Mr. Condell's work on Islam, which you'd think I agree with. I do. But here's why I won't glorify the work of Condell by posting it to my readers: Pat Condell is no more than a more affable version of Christopher Hitchens. Like Hitchens, he hates all religions and sees them as morally equivalent to Islam. He's said exactly that. And, more important, Condel...

Hate Watch: Debbie Schlussel Update I will be writing regularly in response to Debbie Schlussel’s blog. Many in the community think she is a vile hater of Muslims. Unfortunately, some good members of our community, reacting emotionally, sent her improper e-mails, even arguably hateful emails or threats. The reason for the anger she generates is that she spreads misinformation about Arabs and Muslims and this misinformation is taken by some who are not knowledgeable as fact. Debbie Schlussel has benefit of the first amendment, just like anyone else. I don’t think there is an “abuse” of the first amendment. All speech deserves protection, including her hate speech, and the answer for such speech is more speech. Her lies/misrepresentations, I call them Schlusseloids, and I will be responding to them by facts and reasonable argument. So here we go: On February 28, 2008 she wrote in “Wimpitude? FBI Hints Around, but PC-Gags Itself on Hezbo Cells in US” She writes: Schlusseloid: We all know ...

Of all politicians in Lebanon, no one gets the Syro-Iranian axis and their collaborators more riled up than Lebanese leader Walid Jumblatt. That by itself is a victory for the outgunned and out spent courageous leader. Even here in Dearborn, an Arab -American newspaper, sadly infected by the unfortunate realities in the Arab world ( an Arab- American newspaper whose Arabic section has a few voices that echo the Syro-Iranian axis and occasionally spread sectarian venom- playing on and reinforcing a ghetto mentality), consistently opened its Arabic -section pages to attacks on Mr. Jumblatt in the most vile and vicious manner. I am disappointed with Mr. Siblani for allowing this to happen. But these attacks- given Jumblatt's stands- What an honor for Mr. Jumblatt! Jumblatt- that witty man with the pithy juicy statements that should adorn Lebanese Hallmark cards. No one says it as it is, in memorable language that has the punching weight of a Mohammad Ali, than Walid Jumblatt. He spoke...

Michele Aoun, Hizbullah’s fig leaf in Lebanon, is not concerned. He is going to be the last person to hide in a hole in the ground from the USS Cole or from USS Nassau. This claim is typical Aoun. Yeah- given his “decorated” history of standing up to military assault, this is so real. I recall seeing this man on Lebanese Broadcasting Station (LBC) screaming that he, in his declared war on Syria, is going to be the last person to leave Lebanon. After the Syrians attacked, it was a matter of minutes that he ran to the French embassy. Despite all that and after years of exile he returns to Lebanon and is able to gather orange supporters! He left his men on the ground with no idea that their general has changed his mind about being the last person out. Many were left to be summarily shot and buried in unmarked graves. And- oddly for an Arab man, he left his wife and daughters to fend for themselves. Only the intervention of the late Elie Hobeikeh, saved them from a sure humiliation and abu...

On Febrauary 27, 2008, the Christian Science Monitor published an opinion column by Iason Athanasiadis’s entitled “Waiting for a US-Iran handshake. ( http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0227/p09s02-coop.html ) The column, based on interviews with the Iranian foreign ministry officials, has Iranian officials boasting that their policy of pragmatism have made them succeed in exerting their influence in the Arab world and the US should be ready to acknowledge that. The news of Iran’s success in regional dominance is greatly exaggerated. The column relies on the words of the Iranian foreign policy elite to draw an overly rosy and inaccurate picture of the status of Iran in the Muslim Middle East. This triumphalism is easily checked by the reality in the Arab world. In attempting to project its influence, Iranian policy has created tensions and conflicts almost every wherein the Arab world in Bahrain, Palestine, Kuwait and Lebanon, among other countries in the Middle East. The Iranians claim they...

There has been much written about Islam and its relationship to democracy and its values. The Danish cartoons controversy is the latest in a string of perceived conflicts between Islam and the tolerance of expression. The other day I received a number of emails urging me to boycott Danish products and educating me on how to identify Danish products. I will not boycott Danish prodcts. I also don't hate Denmark or its people for the offense of a few. One has to wonder if all this anger, sometimes hate, over the Danish cartoons in justified. Of all the problems in the Arab and Muslim world, outsiders insulting the religion is, arguably, not in the top 100 concerns. Take for example illiteracy and economic development. The Muslim and Arab world have scary levels of illiteracy (too high) and economic development (too low). One only wishes these concerns get the attention they deserve. A key question is: Is the anger, boycotts, and violence justified? What does the Koran state on this? A...