Two Books - Two Views

There are 2 books which have had more influence on events in the Middle-East than all of the diplomats and peace plans of the last 100 years combined. One, “The Seven Pillars of Wisdom” is an observation by T.E. Lawrence “of Arabia”, and gives insight into the fragility of the unity amongst the Arab tribes. It is also his personal observation of his experiences in the First World War as a liaison officer working with the Arabs against the Turks in the destruction of the Ottomon Empire in 1916-1918.

He took the title from the Book of Proverbs 9:1: "Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars.” Before the war had begun, Colonel Lawrence had begun a book on the 7 great cities of the Middle East, and their place in history. The finished version is actually the third version; the first having been abandoned by the outbreak of the war; the second having been stolen while on a train in England. (Wouldn’t you love to find that at a yard sale?)

“The Seven Pillars” is actually a rock formation located in Wadi Rum, or, what is present day Jordan. This is where he was based while serving with the British Forces in North Africa. Authorized by Emir Faisal he prepared attacks on the Ottoman Turkish forces from Aqaba in the south to Damascus in the north (present day Syria).

The dedication is one of the most debated in literature, with many believing it was dedicated to the young boy who acted as his aide-de-camp and was named Selim Ahmed, hence the dedication to “S.A.” Others believe the book was dedicated to the unity of the entire Arab race. Here is that poem;

I loved you, so I drew these tides of
Men into my hands
And wrote my will across the
Sky and stars

To earn you freedom, the seven

Pillared worthy house,

That your eyes might be
Shining for me
When I came

Death seemed my servant on the
Road, 'til we were near
And saw you waiting:
When you smiled and in sorrowful

Envy he outran me

And took you apart:
Into his quietness
Love, the way-weary, groped to your body,

Our brief wage

Ours for the moment
Before Earth's soft hand explored your shape
And the blind

Worms grew fat upon

Your substance
Men prayed me that I set our work,
The inviolate house,
As a memory of you

But for fit monument I shattered it,

Unfinished: and now
The little things creep out to patch

Themselves hovels

In the marred shadow
Of your gift.
 

The most unusual thing about this book is that T.E. Lawrence, who was an admirer of the Arab cause to be free of western influence, was the first cousin to Colonel Orde Wingate, the unsung hero of Burma during the Second World War, where he took on the Japanese with no outside support, constituting a third front and diverting valuable Japanese materials, and manpower to the area using tactics taken from the Old Testament, calling his 5 man groups the “Chindits” after the warriors depicted in the Bible. I have often wondered what dinner conversation was like between the two; what with one supporting Arab unity; while the other was an ardent Zionist.

The next book, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” or “The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion” was an anti-Semitic diatribe passed off as real. In it, it purports to verify a worldwide Jewish plan to take over the world financially. It was first published in Russia in 1903 under the supervision of Pyotr Ivanovich Rachkovsky, and then widely distributed in America by Henry Ford, who provided funding for 500,000 copies.  It was later used by Adolf Hitler to vilify the Jews in Germany and elsewhere in Eastern Europe. Many people today still read this book and believe it to be true.

If you are wondering about this post; what its purpose might be; there is none really, beyond calling your attention to these two books which represent a large part of how the Middle East of today became the Middle East of today.

"The Missing Martyrs" by Charles Kurzman

Here is a book which is grossly mistitled - and as a result - a bit misleading. The real subtitle to this book should not be "Why There Are So Few Muslim Terrorists", but rather it should read, "Where are the Moderate Muslims?" The basic premise of this book is that only a small percentage of Mulims worldwide are extremists, and that fact renders the rest of the 1.2 billion Islamic adherents blameless for the acts of the minority. Ah, but were that true...

Let's explore Mr. Kurzman's reasoning a bit. By his thought process the Vatican Sex Abuse scandal is just the product of a few misguided Catholic Priests, and not representative of the religion as a whole, even though the Vatican did everything in it's power to sweep it under the rug.

The whole Nazi thing; just a few errant soldiers taking things too far. Wouln't want to paint the whole German Third Reich with too broad a brush. After all, the people living just outside of the death camps "had no idea."

Is it too much for the world to ask, no, make that expect, the Islamic heirarchy to demand obedience to the Fatwah's issued against terrorism? They seem to have no problem with obeying these edicts against people of other faiths, including cartoon journalists. What is this double standard, other than an excuse for terrorism?

Within hours of Anders Behring Breivik's terrorist attack in Norway, the worlds Christian community had denounced his actions as that of a madman. Compare that reaction to the dancing in the streets by Muslims worldwide after the terrorist attacks of 9-11.

This strip from the Charlotte Observer, third article down, shows the true statistics as per the State Department and the National Counterterrorism Center in their annual report. Terrorism, though currently less sucessful, is clearly on the rise.

I'm afraid that this book does not "wash clean." It is, instead, in my opinion, a manipulation of facts and figures, all of which are designed to have the reader reach a conclusion which is in sharp contrast to the simple reality that mainstream Islam has not done enough to curb the militant dissidents among their ranks. That such inactions cast a light of suspicion on the faith as a whole should come as no surprise. That this review is bold enough to state the obvious, and leave me a bit fearful of the reaction to it, should not.

"An American Carol" with James Woods, Dennis Hopper, Leslie Neilsen, David Alan Grier

It's Fourth of July and the grankids are restless. They want Grandpa to tell them an old time story about the 4th. He begins with ,"Once there was a man who tried to steal the Fourth of July...." The kids protest, stating that this story is really a Christmas tale. He tells them, "Wait a minute, wait a minute..."

What follows is one of the funniest send ups of both the Left and Right as this hilarious satire, based on Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol", unfolds.

Down on his luck film maker Michael Malone is on a losing streak. He needs a hit to maintain his place in the world of cinema. So, when he is approached by two Islamic terrorists, eager to finance his latest Anti-American "documentary", he is naturally eager. He plans to hold an "Abolish the 4th" rally on July 4th as a way to kick off the films premier.

That night, while watching a film of JFK's inaugural address, JFK steps from the screen and confronts Mr. Malone on the error of his thinking. He reminds him of the part of the address that everyone seems to have forgotten. "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty." He then tells Mr. Malone that he will be visited by 3 spirits who will guide him.

The three spirits, General Patton (Leslie Nielsen) George Washington (Jon Voight) and The Angel of Death (Trace Adkins) are all superb in their roles as they try to show Mr. Malone the error of his thinking.

Add in a group of inept Afghani terrorists, who are seeking to manipulate the film director, and this becomes a fast paced and very clever film. The fact that many of the stars are well known Liberals and Conservatives should serve as comfort to any viewers who may be afraid to laugh at themselves. This is a very funny and well crafted film from David Zucker, the Director of "Airplane" and "Naked Gun."