Friday, February 10, 2012

My letter to CSMonitor RE "Talk to Hamas? Talk to Taliban? Thank the Arab Spring for those possibilities."


RE: Talk to Hamas? Talk to Taliban? Thank the Arab Spring for those possibilities.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2012/0208/Talk-to-Hamas-Talk-to-Taliban-Thank-the-Arab-Spring-for-those-possibilities

Dear Editor,

I very much appreciated your editorial today "Talk to Hamas? Talk to Taliban? Thank the Arab Spring for those possibilities." Kudos to the Arab Spring and to all the many heroic and forward thinking Arabs who seek self-governance and dignity through peaceful means. I totally agree that empowering non-violence is crucial , as is valuing moderate, reasonable, intelligent, and compassionate people.

Hussein Ibish, Senior Research Fellow at The American Task Force on Palestine , a firm advocate of a fair and just negotiated settlement to once and for all end the Israel/Palestine conflict understands Islamists better than most, and he wisely points out the importance of "introducing inviolable constitutional principles protecting the rights of individuals, women and minorities."

However, even with that sage advice I am a quite wary about pushing the all-inclusive message too hard as I have noticed that extremists and hate mongers (in addition to radical Islamists) all like to piggy back on real struggles for real freedom, happily usurping momentum for a just cause in order to gain positive publicity, popularity and funds for their own self absorbed projects and careers. Even moderate Islamists might be a very risky investment because the potential for religious tyranny is always a very real danger, no matter which religion: Both Israel and Palestine's best chance is to let religion be a private matter, not a state funded project.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
"Religious conservatism invariably focuses on social and sexual control. Women are the most immediate targets and primary focus of the authoritarianism of the religious right, wherever they may be. As Islamists seem to be finally getting their chance at gaining a share of power in the Arab world, the greatest and most immediate danger they pose is to women’s rights. That is why it is up to everyone else, including both secularists and religious moderates, to insist on the introduction of inviolable constitutional principles protecting the rights of individuals, women and minorities...Socially conservative Arab parties have a right to participate in government, but not to reduce women to second-class citizenship." Hussein Ibish

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