In 2003, I and the publication I edit, the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal, became the world’s biggest story for two or three days. Last week I became a “story” without knowing it until later.
First, the 2003 experience. An Iraqi-American author submitted a good article that explained how Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi regime’s intelligence agencies worked. As I edited the article I said to myself — this is absolutely true — that this was one of the most uncontroversial articles I’d ever publish because it was so bland, though useful as a database inventory of Iraqi institutions.
Without my knowing it, the British prime minister’s office plagiarized the article as part of its campaign to justify launching the attack on Iraq to overthrow Saddam. A MERIA Journal reader who opposed the war noticed this plagiarism and brought it to public attention. The reader in no way criticized the journal but only the British government. I should stress that the article said nothing to support (or oppose) going to war with Iraq. I think it was used mainly to make it appear as if the British prime minister’s office had done some research on Iraq.
The story was front-page news around the world. I walked into a room as a famous television personality was discussing the matter with total inaccuracy on the television. Prestigious newspapers got our journal’s name wrong. Only one reporter ever called to interview me. Left-wing sources speculated that the plagiarism involved some kind of Israeli conspiracy to begin the war, though again nothing in the article suggested attacking Saddam.
I was amazed and disgusted. But that’s nothing compared to what has just happened to me.
Before you read the rest of this note, understand that none of those involved have consulted me nor have they used my name. I heard about this by accident after it happened. Other than those directly involved, I’m presumably the only one who knows that this was my article. Here we go.
A well-known television program took an article of mine that appeared on my blog and quoted it on the air. The extract was put up on the screen though the author’s name wasn’t mentioned. It was about the Muslim Brotherhood. The article quoted a Brotherhood leader as talking about his hostility toward Israel, etc. At this point, I was saying to myself: There goes a million dollars in free publicity!
Matthias Kuntzel correctly stated that “The problem is not that the Islamists hide their goals. The problem is that the West does not listen.” http://www.matthiaskuentzel.de/contents/jew-hatred-and-jihad
Chakkah Hu Akbar, (love the moniker…) Precisely.
Unless the narrative fits the agenda of the revolutionary left and their fellow Islamists, then of course ALL proofs are deemed refutable,and ALL lies are complete truths.
Indeed, Orwell’s word IS our reality!!
How about: “The problem is not that the Islamists hide their goals. The problem is that the West does it for them.”
Clearer than the ellipses, I think.
Challah, may I alter your quote sligntly? “The problem is not that the Islamists hide their goals. The problem is that the West does…”. Maybe a little more accurate?
when words fail nothing says Egypt loves Israel more than blowing up gas lines, opening the doors to Hamas, and 200 men showing how much they love JEWS by violent gang-rape in the streets of woman they suspected might be Israeli-
peace ofISLAM? yes when all the world’s people are slaves to ALLAH with self-righteous self-appointed Muslims as his enforcers.
those with ears hear
the rest is tinkling brass
But surely, Mr. Rubin, you have some idea why it’s controversial… for pretty much the same reason that saying “Herr Hitler” wanted war in the 1930s was hard going for Winston Churchill.
Maybe you could write a piece on why the maxim, if you want peace prepare for war, doesn’t resonate with most people. Most of us want to deny uncomfortable realities.
It’s clear that the Muslim Brotherhood is likely to hold much influence in Egypt; people want to accomodate themselves to that; but they don’t want to hear that the MB wants war with the West because they don’t want to think about how they would accomodate themselves to that.
And of course antisemitism has returned to its true home on the fashionable, neofeudalist left. Slighting a Jewish author who says things the elites don’t want to hear, or want the peasants to hear, is now normal. Taking sides in some Oriental squabble is beneath them, not that they would admit this in such archaic, violently un-PC terms. Everyone should just Co-Exist. If the neofeudalists ever do have to fight the Muslim Brotherhood they will perhaps accentuate the fact that this is a pushy, puritanical, overly-literalist, ladder-climbing, middle-class movement, not unlike the Jewish/American enemy. A pox on both your houses.
You are bang on!
Is this the statement? If so, where does Muhammad Ghannem rank in the MB org chart and what was he known for before making this statement? And please cite the quotations from the leader and the deputy leader.
Tangaroa, you use as your citation a so-called “fact-check” organization. Check your own facts; don’t count on any of these kind of sites to tell the truth. And telling Mr. Rubin to prove it to you is lazy at best. May I suggest the site http://www.politicalislam.com. Educate yourself.
Tangaroa, do you have enough decency to be embarrassed?
That wonderful Islamic propagandist machine which has always been 39 steps ahead of Israel, is showing signs of faltering. From Mohammed Al Dura, Jenin and Gaza, Israel was always on the back foot. Now their ‘untruths’ and those of their left wing allies are showing signs of fatigue and are becoming less imaginative. Perhaps it’s the growing signs of an uncoordinated offensive or perhaps the Jewish effort of getting the truth out there is at last beginning to enjoy some success. Keep up the good work.
This is a shocking and infuriating anecdote and a sign of the times, Prof. Rubin. I would have put your second comparison to Orwell (the inversion of freedom and slavery) somewhat differently, and wrote about the crazy-making propaganda machine here: http://clarespark.com/2009/08/09/what-is-a-corporatist-liberal-and-why-should-they-frighten-us/. Because of the allergy to the dissenting individual, all individual opinions, no matter how informed (as yours are), are suspect and must be erased. Hence you must be the Invisible Man (with apologies to Ralph Ellison).
Why aren’t you identifying the name of the program, the quote, the institution, the “expert” and the MB leader?
Good question.
I have no doubt that BR is telling the truth but if you really want to kick butt you have to name names.
Hopefully, the reason, he didn’t name names is his lawyers are busy completing their filings and asked him to wait until the lawsuits have been filed.
Yes, Prof., Nycerbarb asks good questions. I’d love to add one: Can you sue the plagiarizers?
Check into some interesting stuff at Delta Airlines. As a codeshare with Saudi Airlines, they are getting into flak about potentially having to follow Saudi rules on Jews. At the same time, they are reducing flights to Israel. Something worth investigating
Tangaroa, Nycerbarb and Carol D:
Instead of asking Mr. Rubin who, what and where – why don’t you do your own research and discover the truth for yourself? Novel idea – wouldn’t you say? Just think how much more intelligent you would appear to others? Not to mention, you would finally realize how much the MSM has covered up. There is wisdom behind the verse that says “and the truth will set you free.”
First, go to his blog and read some of his posts on the Muslim Brotherhood. Look at the lower left column and click on “Muslim Brotherhood”. Seems a logical starting point, does it not?
Here’s one of Mr. Rubin’s blogs to help you begin your journey to intellectual maturity:
“October 6, 2010
Special Dispatch No.3274
Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide: ‘The U.S. Is Now Experiencing the Beginning of Its End’; Improvement and Change in the Muslim World ‘Can Only Be Attained Through Jihad and Sacrifice’”
Then, look up Muhammad Badi (Badie)…for the MB leader’s own statements (he has a weekly letter to his terrorist group that provides all kinds of information regarding their stance on all things anti-Islamic. This should provide you with an eyeopening experience into the truth behind the MB.
I agree GB should have posted the source (if GB is the well known program discussed by Mr. Rubin) and the show may have included the info on their website instead of the actual program as is their habit, but at least the word is being spread.
Muslim Brotherhood’s Egyptian leader Mohammed Badie: “Waging Jihad is Mandatory”
“Arab and Muslim regimes are betraying their people by failing to confront the Muslim’s real enemies, not only Israel but also the United States. Waging jihad against both of these infidels is a commandment of Allah that cannot be disregarded. Governments have no right to stop their people from fighting the United States. “They are disregarding Allah’s commandment to wage jihad for His sake with [their] money and [their] lives, so that Allah’s word will reign supreme” over all non-Muslims.”
Source: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2666863/posts
These “truth-o-meters” are silly contrivances that convince only the already persuaded. Shocking as this media coverup is, it’s not much of a surprise. You start with W.’s “religion of peace” meme, him presumably doing it in order not to have to fight all the world’s Muslims at the same time. Then factor in that the MSM have always been sheep, following each other’s lead. And now they have a president to follow, as well. What chance is there for independent thought, let alone truth?
Dick, there is only groupthink now. We are a collective. No more individuals.
All the people in the west needed to know was that Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden’s No. 2 man in al Qaeda, was the head of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt for a while. Do we really need to know anything more than that about the Muslim Brotherhood?
Fighting the revolutionary war was controversial – who cares what the left tries to stop with their indecent censorship games?
Maybe its controversial because they’ll cut your head off, kidnap your daughters, rape them and force them to convert to Islam, and burn your home and church if you dare to call them “radical.”
Personally, I’d settle for “evil.”
I wish everyone would just take a breath and stop being mean to the religion of peace. After all, it is the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt that is protecting women by conducting virginity tests on the streets to make sure that they have not been asaulted. It is the Muslim Brotherhood that is helping fight urban blight by burning Christian churches and homes. It is the Muslim Brotherhood that is protecting the morality of the society by honor killing women. Need I go on? Please everyone, stop using facts to make the poor Muslim Brotherhood look bad. After all, they have been chosed to rule the middle east by your President, how could that be wrong?
…to a Soviet-style or (1984)-type denial of reality.
That’s the name of the game.
(BTW, is it alright to call the Muslim Brotherhood a$$holes ?)
…yes. yes it is.
“The problem is not that the Islamists hide their goals. The problem is that the West does not listen.”
Insights here into the mentality that is Islam and why, exactly, attempts at nation building & unbelievers and infidels like ourselves coddling the believers are dead ends.
Our Sharia-Compliant Afghan War
And, to add to your list of double speak, a “radical” Muslim Brotherhood member is actually quite moderate, traditional, quite reformational in practice, just getting back to basics and doing what good Muslims historically do for the last 1400 years (note, the state of Israel has only officially existed since 1948). Israel is hardly the independent variable for explaining current Muslim behavior world wide. I would only note that a radical Muslim would not be doing honor killings, jihad, in short, not a traditional Muslim, and doubtless would be considered a “bad” Muslim by his traditional fellows for not pining for 72 virgins in heaven.
I believe CNN uses this same “truth-o-meter”. Those behind the so-called “truth” meter have an agenda, and it’s Leftist. They simply re-assert their known biases, re-labeling it as “truth” — they don’t research anything. So, obviously, the Muslim Brotherhood is all about peace and love, and it’s an Arab Spring! so anything said to the contrary must be a lie! (Yes, it’s 1984).
Seriously…
All one must do to reveal the truth behind Islam and its adherents is to simply examine the life and deeds of its “original sin”, namely a murderous thug named Mohammad.
Any “revelation” of this mans conduct, no matter how cursory or sanitized, is quite condemning of the whole cult.
The mainstream media could simply ask:
“…he commanded hundreds to be ritually beheaded, and WATCHED it unfold all day long? This is the Perfect Man you seek to emulate?”
And thus the truth be known.
Any reading of the life of Mohammed simply and efforlessly condemns Islam as the horrible institution it is, no doubt or question about it.
Its a relatively simple exercise, the conclusions drawn simply referred to as “self evident” by better civilizations.
Oh, to live again where such simplistic truths prevailed among honest men.
2012?
“This is the closest thing I’ve ever seen and experienced to a Soviet-style or 1984 -type denial of reality”
This is daily fare in where I am from. Which is somewhere in Europe. I don’t remember a time when the media didn’t lie about Israel, or America. Or any other non-leftist cause. It’s kinda annoying because you have to resist everything you hear. Ephraim Kishon wrote about it, but that was years ago. It happened already way before I was even born.
It would be a nice conspiracy by the way, but I think this is voluntary self deception.
The Muslim Brotherhood is the group making the deal with the Global Government. You know, the one attacking Libya. Therefore, the Muslim Brotherhood is off limits to truth, and facts. The Global Government needs the Muslim Brotherhood to control North Africa, and Egypt to help create a economic region. One of ten.
There are many examples of the New Age. White washing the Muslim Brotherhood is just one. New York city becoming the New Sodom, is another. The ATF allowing weapons into Cartel hands on purpose…
What is wrong has become right, and what is right has become wrong. G-d stated it would be this way near the end.
Why aren’t you naming names?
Rose, such a marvelous reply. You can always tell who gets their inormation rom “fact-check” sites, talking point sites, and TV comedians. They are very sure of everything; the problem is that what they are sure of is not true. And they are contemptuous and challenging to those who do their own research. I have heard people say things like, “Obama is a Christian. He said so.” (And they are VERY sure that islam is for peace, while Israel practices apartheid.) That type of intellectual laziness (more in the young right now, I’m araid, but not always) has gotten us to the position we are in. Thank you for your wisdom.
willful blind = stupid
Darwin will sort them out, but not until significant damage is done. ..incidently I am not sure that the Darwin filter will be kind to any of us. the only thing is this method is not determining the strongest among us but the brutal.
I plan to vote them off the island at the next tribal meeting. no immunity granted.
…because TRUE Islam does not want we ‘infidels’ to know what they REALLY are up to. The definition of infidel is, someone who doesn’t believe the way you do…so doesn’t this make THEM infidels in OUR country? They don’t believe what WE believe, so I think it does make THEM the infidel. I will bow to NO man, NO man-made god/idol. I serve only ONE God, the Almighty God who is MY Father in heaven. Please, do NOT equate the koran/quran with God’s Holy Word. Thank you.
Blair and co would have quoted a fortune cookie if it enabled his messianic dream of war.
Remember his first attempt, now known as the dodgy dossier, included swathes of ‘information’ filched wholesale from a student thesis which had been posted on-line.
Others included intel from a very dubious source indicating that Saddam was obtaining Yellowcake from Niger. Another canard.
Obviously sources were not quoted, ‘to protect our intelligence assets’ you understand.
As they say, yeah right.
Saddam was bad. Others are badder yet we haven’t steamrollered their lands in the pursuit of ‘spreading democracy’.
Nothing changes. How can it when even the US Director of Intelligence describes the MB, set up by Al-Banna and furthered by protege Qutb as a strictly Islamic answer, as mainly secular?
Those who deny that the militant Muslim Brotherhood has no desire to establish Sharia are ignorant of history. The Muslim Brotherhod reflects the militancy of Islam in the 8th century which overran the Middle East, all of North Africa and part of Spain. Christianity, which flourished in those areas disappeared almost overnight. The Muslim Brotherhood also reflects the militancy of Islam, in its attempt to overun Europe in the 15th century when it was only stopped at the gates of Vienna. Islam is a threat to the whole of the western world. It has infiltrated England and it wants to do the same in the United States. Those who preach tolerance for Islam are seeking not only their own doom but also those who think that militant Islam is a threat to the United States of America.
STOP FALLING for the Zionist jew media sound bytes like SHEEPLE and look at the REAL ENEMY within – the Zionists who control our Fed Reserve and media. And responsible for 9/11
The MB is NOT “radical”. No Islamist or Islamic terrorist group is “radical”. They are actually just fully practicing muslims. They are simply following the commands of their pedophilic false prophet in his unholy book.
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