Symposium Report: Part Two
At the April 29, 2006 America's Truth Forum, the first speaker (online bio) was Brigitte Gabriel, a tiny woman who spoke with convincing passion. She brought the attendees to tears as she spoke of her experiences during the Islamic revolution in her native land of Lebanon. Ms. Gabriel maintained that the worldwide Islamic revolution began in Lebanon, some four years before the 1979 revolution in Iran.
Before the takeover, sometimes referred to as a civil war, Lebanon was a republic, often referred to as "the Paris of the Middle East," and a nation of multiculturalism and diversity. Multicultural and diverse — Sound familiar?
In 1970, Lebanon took in various Muslim refugees. These welcomed refugees, who never intended to assimilate and who had another agenda, became a majority, and in Ms. Gabriel's words,
“Outside and inside Muslims put their heads together."Ms. Gabriel went through her 9/11 when she was ten years old:
"I knew I was wanted dead because I was born a Christian."From the ages of ten through seventeen, she and her family lived in an eight-by-ten bomb shelter underground—no bathrooms, no light—and ate grass to stay alive; to bring water back to the shelter where she and her parents were hiding, Ms. Gabriel, just a child, had to crawl under snipers’ bullets. In the middle of the night, Israelis would come to bring real food and to minister medical aid; Ms. Gabriel believes that if not for these Israelis she and her family would have perished in that hole in the ground.
Many of the monstrosities committed during Lebanon's takeover were never reported by the media. For example, the revolutionists would capture a family with a small baby and kill them in a horrifying manner: one of a baby’s legs tied to the father and the other leg to the mother, then the parents forced apart, thereby pulling apart their own child and watching themselves kill their baby.
When Ms. Gabriel was thirteen years old, shortly after they took shelter in their hole in the ground, her family got word that they would most likely die the next day. In preparation for her death and burial, and so as to look good for her own funeral, the young girl dressed in her best dress—her Easter dress, blue with white flowers—and her mother put a matching ribbon in her hair. The family waited to die. The attack didn’t come, and in 1982, Israelis entered Lebanon and rescued Brigitte Gabriel.
Excerpt from Ms. Gabriel's web site:
"We are facing an enemy that uses children as human bombs, mothers as suicide bombers, and men driven by the glory of death and the promise of eternal sexual bliss in heaven. We are fighting an enemy that loves death more than we love life....So many times in history in the last 100 years, citizens have stood by and done nothing allowing evil to prevail...[N]ow it is time to stand up against the terror of religious bigotry and intolerance."Read more about Brigitte Gabriel at American Congress for Truth.
And if you ever have the opportunity to hear this lady speak in person, go! Ms. Gabriel speaks with passion and, as a survivor of Islamic terrorism, gives unique and unforgettable insights.
Addendum: Watch the video interview of Brigitte Gabriel. It is available at the bottom of the left sidebar here.
The same geopolitical ideology which led to what Ms. Gabriel described has a strong base in today's Western world. The followers of Allah really believe that they have the religious duty to bring about the establishment of the worldwide caliphate, Islamic utopia. In that regard, radicals and "moderates" have the same goal.
52 Comments:
this woman's personal journey and bravery know no bounds. an exceptional human being. and if she has more than one fatwa, i wish she'd share.
where are my manners? excellent article, aow, excellent.
warren roast today at beak's...or was that roasted warren...we'll see...
Of course Poultry will be by and blame her plight on the Israelis.
Our other Marxist with Zero social skill will mutter something about Maronite Facists mention Zionist Aparthied eight or nine times incoherently . Marxists are predictable blame everyone but the sons of Allah.
I remember hearing about Lebanese villagers sneaking to the Israeli border to hand thier children over for medical care! It was a gross miscarraige of justice! But justice doesn't hunt in the mohammadean world! Thank G*D for those who tell the truth and those who receive it! I have heard a little about this lady and what a warrior she is! Thanks for the link Aow, will read it later.
Good morning and G*D bless!
tmw
Another amazing prediction come true. Anyone see my shake and bake Duck kit
Go, Beak, Go!
I read this while feeding my 9-month-old baby a bottle, and the part about mothers and fathers being tied to their babies ripped my heart out!
Thanks for another great post, AOW!
Oh come off it, Ducky. The only thing tragic about the Sabra and Shatila "massacre" is that no one caught it on videotape so I could play it back at my leisure with popcorn and a laugh track.
Nah. Phalangist rebels playing scorched earth on the "Palestinian" assassins of Gemayel and their fellow "refugee" terrorist harborers as the IDF looks on is one of those moments in history where Justice Incarnate briefly touches the world and people who need to be exterminated in fact are.
As in, "couldn't happen to a nicer guy?"
tmw
Ariel Sharon should recieve the Nobel Peace Prize for allowing the Phlangists to round up PLO terrorists and execute them.
Ducky
This is typical Commie nonsense . Lets replay the entire Lebanese Civil War and there were plenty of massacres by Pseudostinians carried out against the Maronites. The incedent you are refering to had zero to do with Sharon. However you are predictable in that no matter where an event happens lets blame the Jooooooos and hold the Muslims responsible for nothing.
Another example of Commie anti semitism courtesy of Poultry.
I went to college with a Lebanese Christian. I knew him as far back as 1978, before the Iran hostage takeover. His father was a doctor who went to Cuba and then left when Castro came to power.
His family had left Lebanon years before that because of religious persecution so she might be right in her statement that the revolution began in Lebanon and not Iran.
I remember when Lebanon was still called the Paris of the Middle East. Islamic radicals destroyed a secular prosperous country.
The disassembling of Lebanon as a "Christina" state happened with all the support and blessings of Moscow. For the Muslims it was their first stage of Jihad or regaining the grounds lost after the collapse of the Sultanate.
Moscow tried to create its own semi-Marxist organizations in the region for all the obvious reasons.
And so the interest of the International communist movement and the Various Islamic organizations met.
I remember these days very clearly when we had Palestinians, Syrians, Lebanese Muslims, Libyans and Iraqis everywhere in Poland.
Soviet block provided training in various fields for all these people as well as funding for their hardware and infrastructure.
Also a lot of funds were transferred to the West for various communist 5th column organizations to organize support and PR in the West in support of the Invented Palestinian nation and freedom for Muslims in Lebanon.
As we all know most of the Palestinian and Lebanese are now in the West.
Brigitte Gabriel is one of them but unlike many others who decided to carry on with their lives she decided to fight back.
She is hated by the Western communist with venomous intensity because she knows what it is all about.
It takes a lot of courage to do what she's done against the depraved Islamic culture. She reminds me a lot of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali born Dutch MP.
Ducky regurgitates another Leftist cookie-cutter propaganda piece, "Any survivors from the Sabra and Shatila massacre present at the forum to testify to Sharon's profound humanity?"
As bad as those massacres were, there is a key point that Ducky (the Jihadist Video Collector) did not discuss. There is a really good reason why he doesnt go into further detail.
The massacres were a response to attacks by the PLO and their allies on the Christians. While that does not excuse the behavior of the Christian Militias it also places some responsibility for the massacres on the PLO.
When the Christian majority government gave the PLO refugee in their country they made a huge mistake.
The PLO had just fought a bitter war with Jordan, who hosted the PLO HQ before it moved to Lebanon. The PLO got kicked out because they were trying to take control of that country in exactly the same fashion that they were attempting in Lebanon. They couldnt even get along with their fellow Muslims, so its no wonder they were ungrateful and cruel to their Christian hosts.
Ms. Gabriel was soon to pay for her country's naive attitude towards its Palestinian guests.
In my view, everyone living in the Middle East deserves criticism for the current state of affairs in that sand box. Western nations have played an important role in today’s difficulties, too. Israelis, Arabs, and western interests have not acted prudently or judiciously within the “crossroads of culture” in the past 100 years, but it is clear that anti-Semitism has existed within Western society for at least fifteen hundred years, and that Arabs adopted “Machiavellian” strategies against the Jews in order to maintain their own Islamic empires. What I do not understand is why no one seems to be disposed, or capable, of going forward from this point. There does not seem to be a “moral high ground.”
There are hundreds of thousands of “tragedies” in the Middle East, and this woman’s story is but one of them. Murderous behavior by any faction is immoral, the more so when justification for such behavior rests within supposed “religious” beliefs. It is pure poppycock to think that any such conduct can be justified on religious principles. It is irrational to think that God is taking sides in the “holy war” perpetrated by Muslim extremists.
I believe that there are factions on both sides of this issue who are working very diligently to maintain the conflict. Sadly, American foreign policy has not been an improvement over French or British strategy in this region. Our modern leaders would have done well to follow Mr. Washington’s advice about avoiding foreign entanglements.
But now that we are at this particular junction in history, our task should be simple. We should embrace the attitude of Theodore Roosevelt. We must know our enemy. We must be willing to take any action that will best serve the interests of the American people, the foremost of which is to accord them the greatest social service of all: to remain alive and free. Yes, even dorks like “Ducky.” All other considerations should be secondary.
I admit it: Iran Watch's comment made me smile after a long day of working on grade averages. I've just started on those end-of-year grades.
Missing Link said, She is hated by the Western communist with venomous intensity because she knows what it is all about.
Freedom Now said, Leftists often say that we need to understand the motivations of Islamist terrorists, but dont like it when we dont understand they way that what they want us to.
Both Missing Link and Freedom Now have already explicated what I was going to point out, and with more knowledge of Lebanon that I have.
Why is it that the slaughter of innocents, such as those like the Gabriel family, doesn't matter to leftists, who often designate themselves as "compassionate"? Those of us who are not Leftists are supposed to 'fess up and have one huge guilt trip every time any group other than the Left does "a bad thing."
My conclusion: only the lives of terrorists and murderers matter to the Left. Leftist/Muslim/Communist lives lost allow the Left to whine about both wrongs and perceived wrongs, and promote false persecution by clouding and spinning the facts.
As Brooke pointed out, the story about the murdered baby is heart-breaking. Apparently some cannot be touched by even that egregious act.
Remember that very famous photo from the Vietnam War? Everyone probably knows the picture I mean--the one with the military officer about to shoot the grimacing man. The msm had no problems publishing that image. So why do we not publish the photos of evil acts perpetrated by head-sawing-off jihadists? Our sensitivities might be offended? Sure, but maybe then we'd have a grasp of what this enemy is all about.
Mustang said, There are hundreds of thousands of “tragedies” in the Middle East, and this woman’s story is but one of them. Murderous behavior by any faction is immoral, the more so when justification for such behavior rests within supposed “religious” beliefs. It is pure poppycock to think that any such conduct can be justified on religious principles. It is irrational to think that God is taking sides in the “holy war” perpetrated by Muslim extremists.
I hate to speak in generalities, but for the sake of saving time, I'm going to....Islam is a religion which began as a political ideology (unify the tribes), whereas other religions which began as faith and along the way became perverted into political ideology. There's the difference, IMO. Furthermore, nothing is more dangerous than religious zealotry partnered with the idea of "submit or die," and enforced by the sword. The world has seen 1400 years of the Muslim sword hacking its way through the Middle East and even into Europe; we're seeing that sword now in Africa as well. And those of us who are not Leftists are just supposed to say, "Oh, well. Poor. mistreated Muslims." I think not!
At this point, I want to bring up the Hamas Charter, which is based on Islam and the tenets thereof.
Excerpt from the Hamas Charter, which mentions the Lions Club as an enemy:
They [???] also used the money to establish clandestine organizations which are spreading around the world, in order to destroy societies and carry out Zionist interests. Such organizations are: the Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs, B’nai B’rith and the like. All of them are destructive spying organizations.
Read the Hamas Charter. It's a clear declaration of us against them, application of Dar al-Islam against Dar al-Harb, until all the world is Dar al-Islam. Of course, Israel is the first target, but it won't end there.
I respect this lady so much. She spoke in Memphis Tennessee at the University of Memphis. The Muslims in the area did everything they could to keep her from speaking. She is brave. And yes, there is a growing Muslim population in Memphis just like there is in every large city in the USA. Americans just don't recognize it yet.
TMW,
I remember hearing about Lebanese villagers sneaking to the Israeli border to hand thier children over for medical care!
In her speech, Ms. Gabriel had nothing but praise for the Israelis. She was nursed back to health in an Israeli hospital, once she was rescued.
Beak,
Your prediction about the feathered one was correct. Sure enough, he came quacking by.
Marxists are predictable blame everyone but the sons of Allah.
And the sons of allah blame all their "troubles" on the Jews. The tune gets old.
Nanc,
I can't bring myself to roast Warren. After all, he wields an axe!
Of course, the axe isn't the real reason.
My one comment at the roast sounded like a eulogy. Mercy!
Nanc,
if she has more than one fatwa, i wish she'd share
Her site was hacked the last few days. She must have more than one fatwa!
This is deep AOW. I am having yet ANOTHER moment. A moment of painful, jarring realization of yet more of the awful truth. We have a big problem. A very big problem. How did this happen all these years and we were not aware? Until 9/11 I had no knowledge of the threat of Islam. Not one tiny tidbit of knowledge. Grizzly Mama needs to go and do another readjustment - I need to get used to it again. My view of the world has changed with these strange and awful acquisitions. It hasn't been all at once and it hasn't become any easier. YIKES.
I adore this woman now that you've introduced her to me. God bless her and keep us all strong. My God - Ducky is an ass....
I love it when women in the ME begin back-stabbing Islam and the depraved culture that exists over there. The treatment of women in those societies is about as sick as it gets--yet you'll never hear NOW complain about the Iman's or Jihadi's.....too many pro-lifers over here to condemn right?
Lebanese and Syrian Christians made up the bulk of the Middle Eastern immigrant community in the city I just moved from. My dance teacher was one, with parents from both countries. I ended up meeting all of them. Many left after attacks on their Churches, in one case where a Priest was shot in the Beirut area for ringing his church bell.
Hate to back up Ducky ( I REALLY hate to back up Ducky), but many did say that with all of the conflict, many were also killed by "the Jews". I will back Israel until my dying breath, but eyewitness accounts were told to me of many shootings by Jews there (prior to Israel's birth--one woman I knew was 92 when she passed away in 04) and Israeli Jews afterward. Bad situation all the way around from what the older immigrants said.
AOW--thank you for the reports though. And to add some fuel to the fire, Ducky, you are aware that the fighting with the Jews is more recent and that all non-Muslims in these CONQUERED countries were treated as little better than SLAVES for centuries, right? I want a straight-up answer for once Ducky, if you will oblige please.
You know, we Americans are accused of a lot of things, including denial, evasion, and laziness. I'm sure that there are many in the population who are guilty of any or even all of these things, but I think much, perhaps even most, of the blame must be placed on the media.
The media refuse to publish complete accounts of much, if not most, of the horrors brought upon innocents around the world by Islam.
Their fear? They say it's to "protect" us against undue distress. In reality, however, at least one major reason for withholding information is to protect the enemy against justice.
The reason for that? They are hostile to our values. Their tools are Political Correctness, diversity, multiculturalism, moral equivalency - well, you know.
Pictures and sounds convey information that can't adequately be conveyed by words alone. The proverb, "a picture is worth a thousand words" nails it. "The Twin Towers collapsed, three thousand people were killed, and some choose to jump to be killed quickly on impact rather than be consumed by flames" doesn't really give the truth - "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth" - as would be required in a court of law, the very forum of justice.
We NEED words AND sounds AND pictures; short of actually witnessing the events that justifiably horrify us, we can gain the truth, the complete picture, in no other way. Information gained through all the senses is remembered better than just through words.
In order to respond to any event or practice, we first need to identify the problem accurately and as completely as possible. In a real sense, we, the people, are judge and jury. Whenever we receive information about events, we respond - an example of our level of concern and response to the widespread information about Katrina, for example, was overwhelming.
Such is not the case with respect to the "Islam Problem" or the growing problem about the relationship between Hezbollah and the area of the Tri-Border region of South America (Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina) and the gangs in the United States.
The reason for our failure to understand is largely that it is not covered by the media with the same vigor as Katrina was. If we had been as ignorant of Katrina's devastation as we are about Islam and the Borders, we would not have responded so well.
Unless we are well and completely informed, we cannot make an accurate and just assessment, leaving us vulnerable to bad policies and ineffective response.
In the blogosphere, there are many of us who are trying to educate our fellow citizens about the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. We often have to fight an uphill battle, though, because so much of the truth is deliberately withheld from us in order to further an agenda which conflicts with reality.
Once again, I present my favorite expression:
"At some point, our collective heads will come up out of the sand, probably propelled by the force of an explosion. We'll stand, mouths agape like so many fish out of water, trying to comprehend a situation we've done our best to ignore."
aow - O.T. - if you travel no where else today, you have GOT to see this:
http://americasnewcrusaders.blogspot.com/
a.c. needs an award.
cubed said...
"The media refuse to publish complete accounts of much, if not most, of the horrors brought upon innocents around the world by Islam."
This should not be much of a surprise when our President still doesn't tell the truth about Islam.
Pim's Ghost,
many did say that with all of the conflict, many were also killed by "the Jews".
I think that the msm publicized that information. I heard the information when I was in college; as a result, I had a skewed view of politics in that portion of the Middle East--and for the longest time, I considered myself "pro-Arab." But once I got the facts straight--or as straight as is possible when one is trying to get the straight of a pretzel (Pardon the silly metaphor, but it was one of my father's favorites)--I started seeing the "Palestinian" situation very differently.
But has the msm publicize what Ms. Gabriel relates? Not much and not enough, as Cubed pointed out.
During World War II, did the msm try to promote all the "good" about the enemy we faced? I don't think so, not to any extent. One needs to demonize the enemy to rally the people to support the total defeat of the enemy. That may be an ugly fact, but it is a fact nonetheless.
In this "war" in which we are now engaged, we spend a lot of time trying to understand and to humanize the enemy. Why don't we spend more time trying to understand and to humanize the victims of the enemy? If that means showing film footage of beheadings, so be it. As Cubed so eloquently stated, We NEED words AND sounds AND pictures; short of actually witnessing the events that justifiably horrify us, we can gain the truth, the complete picture, in no other way. Information gained through all the senses is remembered better than just through words.
Like Iran Watch, I'm tired of hearing news stories which have little significance--except to promote the station's or the newspaper's ratings. For many months, very important stories about developments in Iran never made the front page, and those stories are off the front page right now. Stories about Iran and the megalomaniac who threatens the world order should be front and center. Otherwise, the following will happen, from The Truth Project:
"At some point, our collective heads will come up out of the sand, probably propelled by the force of an explosion. We'll stand, mouths agape like so many fish out of water, trying to comprehend a situation we've done our best to ignore."
Crusader,
GWB doesn't "get it," as far as I can tell. I recently got a letter from the White House about the topic after I'd sent a particularly scorching email.
In the letter, the Director of White House Communication stated something about getting my "views." Well, the White House got my views, all right.
Nanc,
I saw Crusader's article. Made my day!
Thanks so much..this woman deserves the honor u are giving her!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
AOW--I do agree. I'm just, as usual, seeing the dhimmi point of view. Once the fighting really began between the Jews and Arabs in the area, the Christians really fell to the bottom of the heap, and that's why the majority of Arabs in the US are still Orthodox Christians, despite what the Muslim Taqiyya factories are saying about them converting people and outbreeding us.
But after centuries of dhimmitude themselves, the Jews really fought with what has to be considered one of the greatest successful battles against the Muslim aggressors since the days of Charles Martel, Jan Sobieski, El Cid and Vlad Tepes. Hell, Jews were still considered PROPERTY of the local muslim leaders in most Middle Eastern countries up until the 1920s! Property! Who can blame them for reclaiming their own land? Well, I could tell you who, but we all know who.
Anyway, I just saw United 93 and right now I just want someone to fly a plane right into the kaaba. During the Hajj. And so did everyone else who walked out of the theater. It was great, I've never seen so much ranting offline! Of course we may have ended up a vigilante mob, but these usually quiet and collected suburbanites were barely composed at all after the film.
I'm going to see it tomorrow (actually, later today by the timestamp)
Whoa I'm up late..
Pim's Ghost,
these usually quiet and collected suburbanites were barely composed at all after the film.
I saw United 93 at the first showing here. Until I saw the news later that weekend, I had thought that just the audience of was a part had been so affected by what we saw on the screen. We sat in silence inside the theater for a few minutes, then sat in our cars before we were able to drive away.
One member of the audience, however, yawned and laughed throughout the movie. He was a young Middle Eastern man, at least so appeared, and didn't sit silently in his seat when the movie ended. Rather, he immediately left the theater as if what he saw on the screen didn't matter. All eyes glared at him as he made his exit (He had to walk at least the last half of the theater's aisle, as he sat near the front, almost directly in front of me). No vigilantes present in the movie house.
Outside the theater after the movie was over, a total stranger and I talked about what we'd seen and about how we had felt on 9/11. When I told her that I had visited Shanksville a few years ago, she asked me for directions.
Mr. Beamish,
I'll be interested in your take on the film. After all that my husband has heard about the movie--from me and on the news--he now wants to go to the theater. And he very rarely wants to see a movie at the cinema house!
I'll go to see United 93 a second time with my husband. I wonder if my reaction will be as strong as the first time I saw the movie.
What a good person
American Crusader said...
"...our President still doesn't tell the truth about Islam."
And THAT'S the terrible truth. He just refuses to examine the facts.
Remember, folks, keep focused on this as the next election approaches.
We have some very important work to do. There are a number of issues on which some of us stand divided, but we really need to put them aside so that we can pull together to be alive to debate our differences in the future.
We are really at that very basic point; we need to stay alive. Everything else pales by comparison to the importance of this issue, so our primary focus simply MUST be on getting a candidate who "gets it."
Cubed,
Does any candidate "get it" about both Islam and the borders issue?
Religion of Pieces,
Maybe a Jewish baby doesn't get any dispensation. Ms. Gabriel didn't say what the ethnicity of the baby was.
Of course, she witnessed many such murders. But what she had to say caused me to stop taking notes, from time to time.
Excellent post, Always. Cubed's comment about needing to stay alive is also most important. We all need to reflect long and hard on that one.
I so wish the President would take a drink! I could sit him down next to me then and try and disabuse him of his false notions about Islam. His sobriety must be getting in the way! He appears to be 'too good' to understand that there are some 'religions' which are just plain evil. Islam is such a religion.
Mark,
I believe that President Bush believes that all religions speak to that which is good in man. I'm willing to bet that he learned that idea at Yale, maybe in a course called Comparative Religions.
I can see you sitting down with GWB right now. He'd choke if you laid it on the line about Islam!
Always:
He'd choke if you laid it on the line about Islam!
:-)
Yes, I think he would! Somebody should have laid it on the line to him long ago.
That's why he'd need that drink - and perhaps a big fat cigar in the Churchillian manner - to help him swallow the medicine!
I'm very suspicious of all these 'too good to be true types' that have no perceivable foibles. People who don't drink, don't smoke, go to church on Sundays, and all the other 'goodie-goodie' things that people are supposed to do; and then they suck up to the Saudis, and take the money and run!
Na! Give me real people who don't pretend to be holier than thou. People who pretend not to have faults actually have more faults than you think!
Flapdaddled?
Befuddled?
Bemused?
Mark,
GWB would be befuddled were you to tell him like it is. I find it hard to be bemused when it comes to dhimmitude.
Islamic utopia
Oxy-freakin-moron if ever i saw one. She is an amazing woman, AOW. Great report!
Esther,
Brigitte Gabriel is one of the most powerful speakers I've ever heard. In some ways, what she said reminded me of what Anne Frank went through.
Words Of An American Hero
"The intimidation takes a toll on you," Ms. Gabriel said in an e-mail message to friends after the Memphis speech. "I was dreading this all day, ever since my hosts told me they had been receiving hostile e-mail about my lecture. It was weighing so heavily on my heart. My stomach was in knots. I got a migraine headache. I knew I was
going into battle, and there was no way out of it. I was nervous and stressed. Each time this happens, I hate it and it makes me feel that I don't want to do it anymore. But I will do it. I will never stop. If we stop, the Islamists will have won. We cannot allow that to happen." -Brigitte Gabriel
http://whengoodmendonothing.com
Just Plum Ducky,
Thank you for stopping by and for leaving that statement from Ms. Gabriel.
Right now, I'm reading her book Because They Hate. Of all the many books I've read related to Islam, this is the book which has given me nightmares. Why? Because America is following the same path as we let in those who want to destroy our way of life.
Brigitte Gabriel is my hero.
Note: I now post at a different site. It is here. Stop by any time.
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