Muhammad as Terrorist (fwd)

["Clement M. Henry" <chenry@mail.la.utexas.edu>]

Here are the wise comments of a colleague at the U of Michigan.

*****************************
Clement M. Henry
Professor of Government
University of Texas at Austin
Austin TX 78712
tel 471-5121, fax 471-1061

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2002 08:05:08 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Muhammad as Terrorist

Date: Mon, 07 Oct 2002 01:58:23 -0400
From: Juan Cole <jrcole@umich.edu>

Jerry Falwell's absurd charge on CBS's Sixty Minutes on Oct. 6 that the
Prophet Muhammad was a terrorist was leaked late last week and has
attracted some reaction in the Gulf region and farther afield.

According to Agence France Presse, Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi
responded by saying, "This insult of the holy Prophet Mohammed by a
Christian priest is part of a propaganda war by the US mass media and the
Zionists."

The Secretary General of the organization that groups the foreign
ministers of Muslim countries (Organization of the the Islamic
conference), Abdul Wahed Belqeziz, commented that the remarks were "proof
that the US wants political, cultural and military domination of the
world."  He added that "Islamic countries, and above all the OIC, must not
stay silent in the face of such unashamed accusations, and must not permit
this clash of religions and civilisations sought by the expansionist and
aggressive Zionists."

Kashmiri Muslims, already pretty upset over their living conditions,
rioted over the remark, clashing with Indian police.  There were calmer
processions of protest among Muslims in India, who were targeted earlier
this year by the Hindu nationalist government of Gujerat for widespread
massacre.

In contrast to the general feeling in the Gulf region that Zionists put
Falwell up to this statement, the Anti-Discrimination League's Abraham
Foxman condemned Falwell's statements.  Falwell is part of a
fundamentalist movement known as Christian Zionism, and has often
championed what he perceives as Israeli interests, but seasoned observers
stress that the fundamentalists have their own agenda and do not need or
take direction from others.

My own response to Falwell's comments has appeared at the History News
Network [full text posted in Thread 23]:

http://hnn.us/articles/1018.html


sincerely,


Juan Cole
University of Michigan