Category Archives: Asia

Link – About Lal Masjid, the Red Mosque, and the San Bernardino Massacre

07 Monday Dec 2015

Posted by in 21st Century Feudal, Conflict - Culture - Language - Psychology, Pakistan

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

The Red mosque was a spiritual centre of the Jihadi wing in the ISI and the ISI’s Jihadi wing provided their support and aid to Maulana AZ in retaliation against Pak Army. GAR Brigade had links with Al-Qaeda’s international network and soon after when ISIS emerged, they maintained a connection with them.

Last year, in 2014, the chief cleric of Lal Masjid Maulana Abdul Aziz made it clear that he respects Islamic State (IS) because of similarity in their missions and has no repentance over supporting IS.

Dahri, Noor.  “The Red Mosque, Maulana Abdul Aziz, ISIS Network & CA Shooting.” LinkedIn, December 6, 2015.

# # #

Link – Erdogan’s Turkey – Israel’s Image

12 Friday Jun 2015

Posted by in 21st Century Feudal, Anti-Semitism, Conflict - Culture - Language - Psychology, Israel, Political Psychology, Politics, Syndicate Red Brown Green, Turkey

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , ,

A large number of the citizens of Turkey, a NATO member, see Israel and the United States as enemies.

A survey conducted recently in Turkey found that nearly half the country’s citizens (42.6%) see Israel as the biggest security threat, followed by the United States (35.5%), and only then Syria (22.1%).

How do they visualize Israel, a country with which they have made several military and trade agreements, as being a security threat? Do they think Israel would ever invade Turkey? Bomb Turkey? Nuke Turkey? This view seems to be based on either religion-induced paranoia caused by Islamic anti-Semitism, or else their understanding of reality has been distorted Nazi-style by Turkish leaders and the media.

Bulut, Uzay.  “Turkish Journalist Uzay Bulut — Turkey’s View of Israel.”  IsraelSeen.com, June 10, 2015.

Turkey was the first – and for decades the only – Islamic country to recognize the Jewish state, opening diplomatic relations in 1949. While Turkey became a member of NATO in 1952, and Israel served during the Cold War as a Western ally to counter Soviet alliances in the Arab world, relations between the two states were low-key through the decades of wars fought between Israel and the Arabs. Yet Turkey never severed the relationship despite Arab pressure to do so. With the end of the Cold War, Israel and Turkey emerged as the most democratic and economically dynamic states in the region. Their foreign pro-Western orientation and their self-perception as bastions of democratic and free market values in an unruly neighbourhood placed them, as was the case during the Cold War years, in the same strategic boat.

Inbar, Efraim.  “The Resilience of Israeli-Turkish Relations”.  11:4 (591-607) Israel Affairs, October 2005; reprinted by The Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, Bar-Ilan University, Mideast Security and Policy Studies No. 63; posted as a PDF online.

Given the neo-feudal and fascist will of Syndicate Red Brown Green, the resilience of Israeli-Turkish relations has not looked good for some years.

What may be looking forward, however, is how well humanity-adverse and anti-Semitic drives and manipulations may be overviewed on the World Wide Web.  Not only may pro-democracy true progressives in the west do the homework on the Putin-Erdogan relationship, brave and independent souls in Turkey (and elsewhere worldwide) may search up “Putin, Erdogan, Democracy”.

Other cool related searches: “Putin, palaces”; “Erdogan, white palace”.

After a while, in the same fashion as the Reuter’s piece on Khamenei, these reports that develop online — and they do add up thematically — create a certain impression and, perhaps, also leave a lasting impression.

Additional Reference

Martel, Frances.  “Erdogan’s Putin-Style Internet Trolls Blamed for Turkish AKP’s Election Losses.”  Breitbart, June 10, 2015.

Sadar, Claire.  “Dreaming of Russia in Ankara: Is Erdogan Following in Putin’s Footsteps?”  Foreign Affairs, February 12, 2015.

Tisdall, Simon.  “Erdogan plan for super-presidency puts Turkey’s democracy at stake.” The Guardian, March 25, 2015.

Relevant on BackChannels: “Anthropolitical Psychology“

I fear to see the term “anthropolitical” take off, but it could happen: in a New Age Strange Way, we’re all going to be part of distinct and meaningful legacy (and ethnolinguistic) cultures, but any will have the option at all times to overview the same rapidly — to see their world mirrored in real time — and inquire into its intellectual arrangements.  From that may come greater discrimination in preferences in values plus an active delineation of “desirable universals” and “critical positive” cultural and intellectual assets.

The English x persons x language shall not rule the world: the worlds of the world must rule themselves differentially even if and while wrapped in a unifying global communications environment.

Addendum – June 15, 2015

Efraim Inbar, a professor of political studies at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University and director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA), is not optimistic about AKP’s imminent political downfall and does not expect a change in Turkey’s attitude toward Western nations and Israel.

“The struggle over the soul and identity of Turkey continues,” Inbar told JNS.org, explaining that while “the election is definitely a blow to the AKP, [the party] still remains the major political force in Turkey.”

JNS.org via The Algemeiner.  “Will Erdogan’s Election Setback Mean Improved Relations With Israel?”  June 14, 2015.

# # #

Link – Among those In the Endless Lists – Pakistan’s Ismaili Community

17 Sunday May 2015

Posted by in 21st Century Feudal, Conflict - Culture - Language - Psychology, Islamic Small Wars, Links, Pakistan, Politics

≈ Leave a comment

It was left to one of the wounded to drive the pink community bus full of the dead and dying to the nearest hospital.

Ismaelis are an international community of Muslims who, like other Shia, revere the Prophet Mohammed’s son-in-law Ali but also the Imam Ismaeli, and ­believe in a more allegorical, mystical interpretation of the Koran.

Muslims of all sects benefit from the philanthropy of their spiritual leader, the Aga Khan, whose charitable foundations ­finance schools, hospitals and the revival of classical Islamic culture and architecture throughout the Muslim world.

Hodge, Amanda.  “Ismaeli community in Pakistan mourns: For whom does bell toll?” The Australian, May 16, 2015.

Four days ago:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32717321 – “Pakistan gunmen kill 45 on Karachi Ismaili bus.”

Three days ago:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/14/opinions/moghul-bus-attack-pakistan/ – “Pakistan at turning point on terror?” — “Extremists have a modus operandi: They destroy any and every evidence of pluralism, tolerance, and openness — which is why they focus on minorities, history, and scholarship, saving a special ire for Muslims who disagree. In Karachi, they targeted a group of Muslims — Ismaili Shia — who played a critical role in Pakistan’s formation. Don’t think that wasn’t deliberate.”  (Op-ed by Haroon Mohgul).

Two days ago:

Pakistani police say they have arrested 145 people over an attack on a bus carrying Ismaili Shia Muslims that killed at least 45 in Karachi.

Those arrested are thought to include 90 students from a madrassa, or religious school.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32751457

Yesterday:

Sources further said it is expected that investigators will evaluate evidence regarding the connection of Indian spy agency ‘RAW’ in the attack.

There was no intelligence report present of such an attack, sources added.

http://www.geo.tv/article-184984-No-evidence-of-Daesh-involvement-in-Karachi-bus-attack-Sources

With reference to Geo’s non-reporting reportage: Huh?

Today:

The terrorists did not attack and fire randomly. They put in single bullets to the head — a hallmark of executions — as if the murder was in response to a conviction, a crime. And these enemies of the state made it clear that in their eyes our Ismaili brethren, among others, are guilty by virtue of their faith.

http://tns.thenews.com.pk/43-pakistanis-died-bus/#.VVieLblVhBc Op-ed in The Sunday News section of the The International News by Waqqas Mir.

Waqqas Mir, a lawyer, goes on in his condensed and lucid opinion to note the following:

No number of laws could have saved those 43 Pakistanis who died on that bus. No number of military courts will deter such murderous violence. But effective state action, driven by the political will to counter religious bigotry at its inception could have gone a long way. Groups like the ISIS and their partners are out to destroy our states as they exist. And the state must overcome its shortcomings. Religion is a constantly available sledgehammer that everyone can use in this country. Despite repeated failure, the state has been apologetic about coming up with a pluralist discourse. It is high time that this changes.

Pakistan is a country of ghosts. They are everywhere, the victims and the perpetrators both. On Wednesday morning, six gunmen wearing police uniforms stopped an Al Azhar Garden bus carrying 60 Ismaili Muslims in Karachi. The bus picked up Ismailies from the housing society dedicated to their community on the outskirts of the city and drove them to work. It was a journey the passengers made every day.

The gunmen boarded the bus. Sub ko mar dalo, one of them is reported to have said. Kill them all. By the time the gunmen got back on their motorcycles and fled, they had murdered 43 people.

Bhutto, Fatima.  “‘In Pakistan, anyone and everyone can be a target'”.  The Hindu, May 15, 2015.

# # #

Pakistan – A Declaration of Character – Correspondence from Quetta

19 Thursday Feb 2015

Posted by in Asia, Conflict - Culture - Language - Psychology, Islamic Small Wars, Pakistan

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

Verbatim as received:

YE JO DEHSHAT GARDI HAY YE JO TALIB GARDI HAY YE JO ISI GARDI HAY ….ES KAY PECHAY WARDI HAY(KHAKI WARDI/….THIS WAS THE SLOGAN OF PAKHTOON STUDENTS JOINED BY THE STUDENTS OF ALL OTHER COMMUNITIES AT QUAID E AZAM UNIVERSITY ISLAMABAD………THEY WERE PROTESTING AGAINST THE INDISCRIMINATE AIR STRIKE AND ARMED FORCES SHELLING OVER THE VILLAGES OF SOUTH-WAZIRISTAN,THAT TOOK
THE LIVES OF ALMOST 300 INNOCENT TRIBLES… I WISH THE AUTHORITIES COULD HEAR THEIR VICES…….BEFORE IT TURN INTO THE SLOGAN OF SEPERATION LIKE THAT OF BALOCHIS…………IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE THE HISTOTY OF 1971 IS BEING REPEATED….

Being an american studies student, i observed some similarities in US.PAK history n society, in the US Negroes suffered alot even they still live as C class citizens.Same is the case here in Paki society with Pakhtoons n balochs…..The Americans killed ruthlessly the natve Red Indians,same is being done in tribal areas of pakistan.Both enjoy Federal system of govt.the only difference is that in the US, the federating units joined the centre willingly, while Pakistan draged the units forcefully to join…..

war is a new pakistani movie ,released some months earlier. i just happened to watch it n found it absolutely biased n anti pakhtoon. it shows pakhtoons vs state.taliban are not only pakhtoons there is a huge group of punjabi taliban aswell.furthermore, taliban are only 1 percent of pakhtoon population, we also consider them a paid force of others n cancer for our society.out of those 50 thousand pakistanis who lost their lives in terrorist attacks, 40 thousand werw pakhtoon.we the pakhtoon are the main sufferors of terrorism.we lost our mosques,schools,colleges,homes n beauty of our cities……but still we the pakhtoon are shown as a terrorists……such a movies are spreading nothing but hatred………..to counter terrorism pakistani nation should be shown as a one nation…n pakhtoon,s sacrifices must be realised n acknowledged othrwise results may not favourable 4 our pakistan.

The distance between the writer of the above letter and personnel within Pakistan’s Frontier Corp, for a start, may be reduced to zero with a single URL copy, paste, and send.

As much has been bound to happen for some time — if you are reading this, you are probably also having an Awesome Conversation with the World and playing some part in the New Global Intelligentsia’s People’s Diplomacy.

God willing.

Officialdom may be too busy, too distracted, or too important to trifle with either corrections in impressions expressed by the writer or to engage where intellectual engagement may be due.

Get over it.

*

” . . . taliban are only 1 percent of pakhtoon population, we also consider them a paid force of others n cancer for our society.”

American conservatives have long wanted Muslims caught in the path of Islamofascist ambitions to speak up.

So done.

In Pakistan and other states with boundaries defined by old “Great Game” politics, the yearning of a deeply rooted ethnolinguistic culture comes through clearly in what is a declaration about being Pakhtoon and not being Taliban nor part of the Pakistani national program that too handily sacrifices Pakhtoon interests and lives in various ways, including in the display of mobilized counterterrorism forces or operations for audio-visual ingestion in Washington, D.C.

“B’ni Israel”, the followers of the Pashtunwali, the “Yousafzai‘s” — “The Yusufzai tribe (literal translation The Sons of Joseph) of the Pashtuns of Afghanistan, who collectively refer to themselves as the “Bani Israel“, have a long tradition connecting them to the exiled Kingdom of Israel” — source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribe_of_Joseph — are not my enemy and should not be made so.

With courage and tenacity, the truth that tyrants would rather suppress and dissolve emerges with the solidity of the authentic — a real history on the land replete with ancient artifacts and mentions matched to living culture and language.

# # #

Link – On Pakistan’s Troubled Dream

26 Monday Jan 2015

Posted by in Links, Pakistan

≈ Leave a comment

The country’s founding father Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s August 11, 1947 speech is mentioned and quoted so liberally among the moderate circles that it has become something of a cliché.

However, what is not often related is how a federal secretary arbitrarily decided to censor it before its release. It proves that even as early as 1947 there were souls who desperately wanted to give the country a religious character.

Pitafi, Farrukh Khan.  “How Do We Reinvent Pakistan’s National Dream?”  Dawn, January 26, 2015.

# # #

Gülen and the Gulls (the American Public)

05 Monday Jan 2015

Posted by in Conflict - Culture - Language - Psychology, Islamic Small Wars, North America, Political Psychology, Psychology, Religion, Turkey, United States of America

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

In a normal public school district, you’d be able to tell who the vendors are, but in charter world, it’s purposely opaque. It must amount to millions of dollars of business that aren’t going out to bid, or that in all likelihood, aren’t even going out to Americans.

http://www.tbfurman.us/2014/07/a-patronage-empire-concept-and-its.html – 7/31/2014.

Related:

http://gulencharterschools.weebly.com/concept-schools-favored-vendors.html – September 2013.

Also from TB Furman:

Basic research, basic due diligence, basic critical thinking skills— these are the only things required to figure out that there are multiple connections between this transnational social/political/religious movement and the three charter schools in Chicago, that these connections are purposely blurred to keep people uninformed, and that this phenomenon is consistent with the established patterns of behavior of the Gulen Movement worldwide.

http://www.tbfurman.us/2014/04/taking-good-long-look-at-concept.html – 4/9/2014. Page contains audio recording and slide show, “Gulen 101”.

Related: Herkul – This Week: The Broken Jug: Droplets of Wisdom from the Heart: “Genius Minds and Flourishing of Talents.”  12/21/2014.  The main web appears in Turkish while the English version appears to begin on the page cited.  After practically and classically describing a narcissistic personality, Gulen goes on to say:

“By even developing a certain code of rebellion of their own, they might begin to refuse even very plausible thoughts developed as a result of serious pondering and forget the fact that doing things for the sake of God is exalted above all.

Actually, what lies at the root of such wrongs is a lack of learning manners. In the past, people who were responsible for education were very good teachers of manners as well.”

Behave!

🙂

And obey Gülen — as regards aspects of the autocratic, authoritarian, unreasoning, and cult-of-personality dimensions evident in the Fathullah Gülen story, Rachel Sharon-Krespin’s Middle East Forum piece (Winter 2009) contains plenty for related reflection.

TB Furman’s latest: “The Million (Billion?) Dollar Question Charter School Oversight.”  January 3, 2015.

Related: Sharon Higgins’ Charter School Scandals blog.

Today, despite the rhetoric of European Union accession, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has turned Turkey away from Europe and toward Russia and Iran and reoriented Turkish policy in the Middle East away from sympathy toward Israel and much more toward friendship with Hamas, Hezbollah, and Syria. Anti-American, anti-Christian, and anti-Semitic sentiments have increased. Behind Turkey’s transformation has been not only the impressive AKP political machine but also a shadowy Islamist sect led by the mysterious hocaefendi (master lord) Fethullah Gülen; the sect often bills itself as a proponent of tolerance and dialogue but works toward purposes quite the opposite. Today, Gülen and his backers (Fethullahcılar, Fethullahists) not only seek to influence government but also to become the government.

“Fethullah Gülen’s Grand Ambition” – Turkey’s Islamist Danger – by Rachel Sharon-Krespin – Middle East Quarterly – Winter 2009, pp. 55-66.

Gulen, once respected by Erdogan, is now vilified and branded an “assassin” — a reference to Hassan Sabbah’s violent medieval cult. Thousands of public servants allegedly close to the Gulen community have been removed from their jobs. Some have been arrested.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/12/turkey-erdogan-gulen-war-benefit-lesser-known-islamic-groups.html#ixzz3NxZdUY00 – 12/30/2014.

“A Gülen organization controls the real estate companies that own their schools. They charge rent to their own schools and taxpayers foot the bill. They refuse to answer public records requests, falsify attendance records, and cheat on standardized tests. Yet, Ohio continues to grant them charters to operate.”

Scott Beauchamp quoting Matthew Blair in in article in The Atlantic, “120 American Charter Schools and One Secretive Turkish Cleric,” August 12, 2014.

No more tender a national achilles heel offers itself to America’s enemies quite like public education.

That Fethullah Gülen’s organization has run itself into trouble against Turkish autocrat Erdogan fits with the same emerging neo-feudalism that has surfaced in Russia, i.e., cabal of shady nouveau riche rise to operate organization out of the public’s view, exploit the same, any which way (and they produce sufficient tell-tale propaganda to prove it), and live lavishly promoting their favored or more convenient ideological or religious program – but then they must contend with one another.

There is a “Gulen Movement 101, Session One”.

This, however, is what I have listened to while working on this piece:

Sharon Higgins’ closing questions:

  • Have these charter schools been built on a foundation of exaggerations, half-truths, and lies?
  • Why won’t public officials publicly address this situation?
  • Americans are still in the dark because no national reporting has been done that portrays the extent of the GM’s (Gülen Movement’s) presence here?
  • Why are taxpayers — who don’t know about this group — being forced to fund these schools?

 # # #

Link – Pakistan’s Military Backbone Extolled

22 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by in Islamic Small Wars, Pakistan

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

A wounded nation on the edge of rage heard with sheer horror and disbelief as the mandated leader encapsulated the collective wisdom of the political parties in a committee that would take a week to decide what the plan of action should be. And then to ensure that no wound was deprived of any salt, Mr Sharif talked politics and joked with Imran Khan sitting next to him.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/809904/sharif-sharif-and-us/ – 12/21/2014.

# # #