Thursday, July 24, 2008
This is just a quick link to follow -- an "aside." These are links to interesting things that, for one reason or another, I didn't place into a full posting. Click the link to visit the full article. Go to the blog index for a regular listing of posts.
MEMRI TV: Lebanese Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadhlallah: In the Arab World, Dictatorship Begins at Home - '...We raise our people to submit to the strong. Therefore, nobody expresses opposition. They are afraid. It is better to not talk, to not object. That is why we have tyrants who are like gods. Among the Arab and Islamic peoples, you might find people who criticize Allah and the Prophet, God forbid, but can you find people who criticize mortals like the president or the king? No, this is not allowed. Such people go straight to jail or to the gallows. If you say something against Allah - never mind. If you say something against the Prophet or the imam - never mind. But if you say something against the president, the king, the Emir, or any senior politician - that is not allowed. What does this mean? It means that we have succumbed to being slaves, because this is what slavery means.'
The problem is that the MEMRI excerpt stops at a vital point, namely what is Fadhlallah advocating? From what I know of him, I believe he is NOT advocating Western-style democracy, but IS advocating the primacy of the clerics over their governments.
We need more of the material than the MEMRI excerpt for a clarification.
If you can get more information please e-mail me because I have problems with following up on blogs.