Doc's Talk: Teaching Children to Die

Friday, February 01, 2008

Teaching Children to Die

MEMRI
Memri.org | 1/31/2008

In two columns in the Saudi daily Al-Watan, titled "What's Happening in the Girls' Schools?" and "Who Will Sound the Warning Bell in the Girls Schools?" Halima Muzaffar criticizes the Saudi education system for using scare tactics and for instilling in young children the fear of death, as part of their religious education. She claims that this "culture of death" is the reason for the spread of terrorism in Saudi society. This is not the first time Saudis have protested against the school system. A MEMRI Special Dispatch from 2004 looks at criticism in Saudi Arabia regarding the intensive focus on death in Saudi schools, with columnists, university lecturers, and parents discussing the emotional damage suffered by schoolchildren as a result of this focus and calling on the Saudi Education Ministry to put a stop to it. [1]

The following are excerpts from the two columns by Ms. Muzaffar:

"Girls' Schools... Are Inculcating Extremism [in Pupils]"

"It appears that, for some teachers, [employing techniques based on] sterile drilling and destroying the girls' talents are not enough... They are also trying to destroy their souls through fear. These teachers are spreading 'the culture of death' without any supervision or control. Perhaps, in their ignorance, they are trying [in this way] to imbue their lessons with a moral [message]... and perhaps they are [only] doing this so they can put down 'religious activity' in their personal files... in the hope of receiving special commendation [from the administration].

"[But] whether inadvertendly or intentionally, the girls' schools are inculcating extremism [in the pupils]. Extremist women teachers with a pessimistic outlook on life are using scare tactics [in educating the children]. The Ministry of Education and Culture must not ignore this.

"Why can't religious guidance be administered without resorting to the discourse of fear? Why is the Ministry of Education and Culture ignoring these ideological attempts to transform our girls into lifeless and sickly creatures, and into future mothers who will be easily manipulated by a terrorist father, brother, or husband - because [in their early school years] they were polluted by [ideas] of terror, death, and rejection of this world?

"A woman I know noticed that her eight-year-old daughter was distressed: She suddenly began wetting her bed at night, and suffered from nightmares that made her cry. This was caused by stories told by one of her teachers, about the tortures of the grave and the hammer-wielding angels of destruction called Munkar and Nakir [2]... [and] about the Angel of Death who does not rest until he has taken the souls that he is commanded to take, and about the agonies of dying suffered by those who were slack in their observance of the religious commandments. All these [stories] were aimed at encouraging the girls to pray. [But] this teacher, and others like her, forgot that the best way to encourage innocent girls and prompt them to do things is to instill in them the love of Allah, of His Paradise, and of His mercy.

"As one of the older generation, I still remember how schools would bring [into the classroom] women whose job it was to wash the bodies of the dead, wrap them in shrouds, and weep over them, causing our little eyes to water in fear... I will never forget how, during the first year of junior high, as part of our religious studies, the [school] administration [brought] one of these body-washers [to speak to us]. She taught us how to wash the body of our mother, sister, or other female relative, in case we had to do this in the future. She [also] told us about the terrible things that happen to the dead, [and stressed that] only those who had devoted themselves entirely to the faith were spared [these horrors]... You can imagine how [the girls] fainted and cried - which, unfortunately, was considered to be to the credit of the woman who frightened us, so that other schools began to compete for her services."

"This 'Culture of Death' is the Main Reason that... Terrorism [Is] Endorsed by Our Society"

"Let me put it plainly: We must realize that this 'culture of death' is the main reason that the ideological terrorism of takfir [accusing others of heresy] and various [other] sorts of terrorism are endorsed by our society. To eradicate this cancer, we must address its roots - namely, the social seclusion of women. [3] [We must reform the upbringing of] the young girls who will later become women, mothers, and educators - for it is they who will shape the next generation. We must stop exploiting their innocence. We have had enough generations of closed[-minded people] who know nothing but death and perdition." [4]

In a follow-up article, titled "Who Will Sound the Warning Bell in the Girls Schools?" Muzaffar wrote that her first article had evoked numerous responses from parents, who agreed with her and added stories of their own. She said:

"A reader named Saleh Al-Salouli told me that one day, his daughter returned [from school] in shock after the teacher had forced them to watch an execution... This story should alert the girls' schools [to the existence of a problem], and make the [Education] Ministry considerably tighten its supervision [over the schools]. For how can they continue to employ a principal who had turned an execution into part of the curriculum for little girls?...

"A reader named Muna related that her 12-year-old daughter has suffered from anxiety and nightmares since she heard [from her teacher] about the tortures of the grave and about the maggots that consume the bodies of the dead... And a reader named Muhammad [wrote] about how surprised he was when his daughter, a fifth-grader, told him that it was forbidden to watch Tom and Jerry on television. Her teacher had decreed so...

"There were [also] responses [too harsh] to report here. But I urge the officials [of the Education Ministry] to read them, for they reflect the views and experience of the readers. [I urge the ministry] to take them seriously, since they show that the girls' schools are trying... to exploit the [young pupils'] innocence in order to disseminate the culture of death and extremism." [5]

[1] MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 730, "Educators and Parents Protest Against 'The Culture of Death' Taught In Saudi Schools," June 11, 2004, http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP73004.

[2] According to the Islamic faith, Allah sends the destroying angels Munkar and Nakir to question the deceased in the grave regarding his religion and beliefs. If his answers are unsatisfactory, the angels break his bones with their hammer.

[3] The writer plays on the word "seclusion" which also means "veiled."

[4] Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia), January 8, 2008.

[5] Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia), January 15, 2008.

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

Doc's Talk