“dougf and David W. Lincoln, see my reply to Morton Doodslag.”–Drima
Thank you very much for both an interesting initial commentary and for a useful and valid follow-up. I am impressed by your sincerity and your ‘values’ and as I said, you probably have to ‘be’ in any one place to truly appreciate the subtleties of that place.
Perhaps it’s all just a matter of ‘bad press’.
But— with all respect two minor little quibbles do continue to give me pause. And these are directly from your two recent citations.
How many people actually protested in the UK about the asinine behaviour of the ‘few’ Sudanese extremists ? Was it thousands or merely a handful ? And were there protest marches in Khartoum about this obscene hi-jacking of a ‘tolerant’ religion ? Did the ‘extremists’ get put in their proper place by the Sudanese people ? Are they like the loons who march in neo-Nazi rallys in Western cities in 2007 ? Or are they more like the loons who marched in Nazi rallys in 1934? You imply the former but forgive me if I still suspect the latter.
Which brings up my second reservation. You cite a comment in a Sudanese Newspaper as evidence of a prevailing mood in the country. Quite apart from the fact that ‘elite’ opinions tend to be very divergent from the values of the street, we still have the telling fact that is quoted directly in the very opinion piece you cite.
“The current rulers of Sudan” are the ones making and enforcing the RULES. Did we judge the values of the Reich by consulting with some powerless sophisticate in Berlin or by the actions of the leadership ? Should we not evaluate both Sudan and Islam in Sudan by the same criteria?
If you and your friends that are offended and humiliated by your ‘current’ Regime, are not enforcing the Rules nor for that matter even making the rules that are enforced, are you the driving or the driven forces in Sudan ?
In short while I sincerely appreciate your insights, I remain unconvinced that you are driving HISTORY in the area. And I remain unconvinced that the ‘small minority of extremists’ are either that small a minority, or that un-representative of the prevailing culture.
There have been some polls lately that indicate a Muslim backlash against the violent insanity of those who have become the public ‘face’ of the faith. But I am nor really sure of the WHY behind this development. I would very much like to believe that it is all due to an intellectual revulsion to fanaticism and extremism. But a small voice keeps whispering something about it being merely a matter of a ‘ strong horse, and a weak horse.
I guess we both live in hope that the small voice is wrong and that what we see as REALITY in the Sudan will soon become more reflective of what you say IS the reality of the Sudan.
But all that aside, thanks again for your insights into a country so far removed from my own. Very much appreciated and valued.
