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Your letters - posted August 1, 2006

Posted in Q & A on Aug 01, 2006

Posted August 1, 2006

Irshad needs your advice!

Every day, I face one or another ethical dilemma. For example, should I encourage people to sign a petition that condemns Israel outright but essentially lets Hezbollah off the hook? Normally, my answer would be a clear and direct “no.” But the request comes from a young Muslim man who’s written to me before – and who has always been civil, smart, and nuanced. He deserves to be taken seriously. How, then, to respond? Read our email exchange below and let me know if I handled it fairly…

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July 22, 2006

Dear Irshad,

I know you’ll probably want to keep neutral on this discussion, and also would want to remind us that there are Israeli lives ending just as tragically in Northern Israel. Still, if at all possible, could you at least a post a link to the petition below? You have always been pretty good at showing both sides of the story.

I feel so helpless when faced by the enormity of what my friends in Lebanon are suffering, and writing letters to editors and protesting where I can seems so pitiful an effort. I hope that again, you can be fair and show this side of the story.

Thank you whatever your decision,

Mehdi

    Petition

    Save the Lebanese Civilians!

    To The Concerned Citizen of The World:

    “Killing innocent civilians is NOT an act of self-defense. Destroying a sovereign nation is NOT a measured response.”

    Lebanese civilians have been under the constant attack of the state of Israel for several days. The State of Israel, in disregard to international law and the Geneva Convention, is launching a maritime and air siege targeting the entire population of the country. Innocent civilians are being collectively punished in Lebanon by the state of Israel in deliberate acts of terrorism as described in Article 33 of the Geneva Convention.

    The Lebanese people feel left out by the world that is turning a blind eye on the savagery of the Israeli state. Israel does not seem to be capable of approaching any problem outside the realm of the military power bestowed on it by the government of the United States of America and other western governments.

    We are writing you this letter in the hope that this massacre is immediately stopped. It is the universal duty of each individual to defend the innocents and expose the truth. The numerous civilian victims of the Israeli operations are increasing by the hour. The viciousness of the attacks has attained terrifying levels where a child has been cut in three while another was half burned.

    The Israeli war machine, in its blind savagery, is destroying not only our lives but the foundations that could help the civilians survive beyond their massacre. The Israeli Defense Forces are destroying in few hours what Lebanon has spent years and billions of dollars to rebuild.

    Up until now more than 500 Lebanese civilians have been killed and thousands missing under the rubbles , thousands wounded, bridges and infrastructure destroyed, refugees are leaving Beirut in droves and worst of all the enforced siege might lead to a human catastrophe in the next few days. There must be an end to this cycle of violence and continuous violation of international laws and basic ethical behavior.

    Between the blindness of the international community and the deafness of the Arab one, the besieged Lebanese population has no way out.

    Peace begins with justice.

    This petition is going to be sent to all representatives (Senate, Congress, Assembly, etc.) in the USA, Canada, France, Germany, UK and European Union. Moreover, it will be sent to more than 500 media outlets around the world. If you have the contacts of the representatives of your country (not listed above), please email us the list and we will include your country representatives as recipients.

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July 24, 2006

Dear Mehdi,

Thank you for recognizing that I do try to show both sides (and, often, more then two sides) of the issues. Which is why I’d be glad to post the links to a petition – as long as the petition emphasizes that no party in this warfare is free of culpability.

I will post your petition when it condemns not only Israel crimes but also Hezbollah’s crimes of setting up shop in the middle of busy residential districts, so that any attempt to “take out” Hezbollah will necessarily mean hitting innocent people along the way. Hezbollah has always known this. Why are we not condemning their cruel calculus in our petitions?

I will post your petition when it denounces not just Israeli human rights violations, but also Lebanon’s – for example, the fact that in Lebanon, Palestinians cannot, by law, hold full time jobs, purchase property, or become professionals, thus consigning them to more poverty in the refugee camps. Why do our petitions not point out that Lebanon has a share of responsibility for the anguish that ordinary human beings are experiencing?

Far from being neutral, I am on the side of the people who find themselves trapped by all the criminals – Israeli military, Hezbollah, and elements of the Lebanese government. Don’t even get me started on Syria and Iran!

Mehdi, the moment you send me a petition acknowledging the above, I’ll be the first to post – and sign – it.

Best regards,

Irshad

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July 24, 2006

Dear Ms. Manji:

First, I have always respected you and what you do. You remind us that there are multiple sides to acknowledge, multiple issues to address. Not to say that I had forgotten about the Palestinian plight or Hezbollah’s use of human shields when I had previously sent links to the petitions… Hezbollah has brought this upon Lebanon, my only complaint being that it’s hard to sympathize with the Israeli side of things when it looks like the Lebanese have it much harder.

Two points about your letter I find somewhat disconcerting: First, the Palestinian side of the issue is not only not news, it’s hardly relevant.

Israel is not attacking Lebanon because of their cruel treatment of Palestinians. I understand it doesn’t make the Lebanese good people that they do what they do, depriving the Palestinian people of basic human rights, but it also doesn’t make what’s happening to Lebanon somewhat justifiable.

Second, while I agree that Hezbollah hiding in dense residential areas is deplorable and the reason for part of the high death count, when you consider that I know, from first hand reports from friends there that they attacked Baabda, Jounieh, Zouk, Alley (Maronite Christian areas) Shtoura, Zahle, and Tripoli (Sunni Muslim areas) that point loses some of its power as well. Claiming that the Sunnis or the Maronites may have aided Hezbollah is very easy to dismiss. Also, considering that a large number of the dead were killed trying to escape the South, admittedly Hezbollah territory, and you begin to wonder how many actually died shielding anything of value to Hezbollah.

Furthermore, a while ago I wrote with concerns about the Hirsi Ali petition on your site. I mentioned that the writer seemed to equate Islam with evil, and many of the signatories agreed. Your response, partially edited:

“I agree with you that the author of the petition, and many of its signatories, are taking an all-or-nothing approach. They see absolutely nothing redeeming or salvageable about Islam. I respectfully part company with them on this front. However, I’ve come to realize that we in the progressive movements make a big mistake if we avoid supporting each other simply because we disagree on a few matters. The fact is that that you and I are working for the same overall goals as the dyed-in-the-wool atheists who slam Islam. You and I are working for freedom of conscience, humanity in faith, and an appropriate separation between religion and politics. Having spoken with Ayaan on any number of occasions, I can assure you that these are her values too. The rest, as they say, is politics.”

It seems, to me at least, that in certain cases, it is ok to post a petition that you admit has inflammatory and negative messages as long as it serves a good end, where in another, the end of saving Lebanon is not to be served unless the petition includes severe self condemnation and reduces Israel’s responsibility in the matter. Rereading the petition, it seems the author does not deny the Israeli’s the right to self defense, only that the excessive measures it has taken seems to help no one. Israel should answer to the same international laws that the world insists Lebanon adheres to.

Again, I respect you and the validity of the points you wrote to inform me of. I do not find them reason enough to dismiss the petition, as outlined above, but I again respect your choices.

Sincerely,

Mehdi

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July 30, 2006

Dear Mehdi,

Today of all days, when an Israeli air strike has reportedly killed 60+ innocents, I’m more sympathetic than ever to a petition like this. I denounce murder, no matter who perpetrates it. And this is not a conclusion I’ve reached since the latest air strike. As I explained in my earlier message, I stand with those who are victimized by all the sides, including criminal elements in the Israeli Defense Forces.

Problem is, the differences that you and I have are not simply semantic. They have everything to do with factual accuracy and therefore my own journalistic integrity. Perhaps you have the luxury of viewing this war as an activist. Activism is necessarily polemical. It’s the very opposite of a “measured response.” By contrast, I’m not an activist in the conventional sense. I’m a journalist who insists on going to where the preponderance of evidence takes me. That necessarily means I have to weigh the facts (and propaganda) from every camp. So when major facts are missing from a response, such as the petition you’ve asked me to post, my journalist duty is to probe what’s not being said. Taking into account the missing information, I then have to draw my own conclusions.

In my previous message, I already gave you two examples of what’s not being said in the petition. You dismissed one of my points as irrelevant. You accepted the validity my other point but decided that this is not enough to make the petition lop-sided. What, then, about additional facts missing from the activist analysis - facts that, if acknowledged, would lead to a more “measured response” on your part?

Here’s what I mean: When the petition below announces that “Lebanese civilians have been under the constant attack of the state of Israel for several days,” that’s only partially true. One missing fact is that Lebanese civilians who are CHRISTIAN have complained that they are under attack by Hezbollah and not just Israel. See, for example, this story in the New York Times.

Mehdi, is the pain of Christian civilians less worthy than that of Muslims? If not, why are activists trivializing these reports of Hezbollah’s horrors?

The first email you sent me about the current war expressed your personal feelings of powerlessness to do anything substantive. In the spirit of being pro-active and imaginative, I have an idea: How about putting aside the petitions that people are sending to you and writing your own “Manifesto for a Measured Response Among Activists” — a manifesto that recognizes the military terrorism and civilian anguish of all sides, as well as the need for people of good faith and sincere convictions to stop demonizing each other’s nations?

I would post and publicize such a manifesto because it’s about recognizing our shared humanity rather than compelling decent people to dig in their heels and stop talking.

Remember the message you sent me last February about the Danish cartoons? You wrote, “I feel the cartoons accomplished what they set out to do: stop the dead lock in conversation and get people talking again. Say something, anything, but don’t stop talking.” Amen, brother.

I look forward to your “Manifesto for a Measured Response among Activists.”