Islamic Education

 

This unique programme is designed to explore diverse interpretations of ‘Islamic Education’, and to examine the historical, theological and philosophical aspects of classical Muslim educational thought and its institutions.

The programme looks at contemporary Western educational theories and practices to initiate a dialogue between Western models and Muslim educational practice. The use of critical thinking/active learning/teaching skills in Muslim education will also be discussed.

The programme focuses on modern social-scientific research methodologies, and is aimed at Muslim teachers, and at teachers of Religious Education who want to increase their understanding of Islamic Education to address the needs of Muslim students. It is also aimed at those working in higher education in the Arab/Muslim world.

Programme Aims

The core programme areas are: educational modernisation in the Muslim world, specific educational challenges facing the Muslim diaspora in Europe, and British Muslims. Issues covered include: faith based schooling; underachievement of Muslim children, the educational needs of Muslim children in the mainstream educational system; and developing educational intervention programmes to tackle religious extremism among British Muslims.

Assessment

There are no exams. All assessment is by coursework, with most subjects assessed by:

• A Critical Review (2,000 words)
• An Essay (3-4,000 words)
• A Seminar Presentation

Students who undertake an MLitt are required to complete a research dissertation of 15-18,000 words.

Further Study & Careers

This programme will be useful for those who want go onto to teach in the field. Others may use their expertise and the qualifications they have gained to go on to further studies, or to work in areas such as: government services at local, national and international levels; diplomacy; consultancy and project work, developing cooperation in non-governmental and international organisations; the voluntary sector; social and not-for-profit organisations.

The courses at the Al-Maktoum Institute are designed to equip our students with the skills and knowledge to face the challenges of the contemporary world.

Programme Elements

This programme is made up of five taught courses and a dissertation. Students who successfully complete the three courses of the Autumn Semester may exit with a PgC. Students who successfully complete all five courses may leave the programme with a PgD. Students wishing to attain the MLitt must also undertake the dissertation.

Educational Studies: An Introduction

The course examines the social, historical and philosophical foundations underpinning modern conceptions of education, and explores contemporary perspectives on defining the educational process and its central aspects – the nature of learning and teaching. The relationship between education, culture and identity formation is given a special attention. Other content areas are: the role of education in multicultural/multifaith social politics, education and social inclusion, and education and social change.

Core Sources & Approaches in the Study of Islam & Muslims

This course introduces students to approaches and critical scholarship in the core sources of the study of Islam and Muslims – particularly the Qur’an and Hadith. The course focuses on the history, context, structure, theology and interpretations of these texts, with a key goal of placing these issues within a scholarly framework. It also examines academic methodologies for the application of these texts, including tafsir (Qur’anic interpretations), the processes of authentication of hadith (isnad and matn), and the principles of jurisprudence (usul ul-fiqh).

Optional Course 1

Choose one course, subject to availability, from:

• Islam & Muslims in History & Society
• Islam & the West: Multiculturalism, Globalisation & Muslims
• Multiculturalism in Theory & Practice
• Case Studies in Multiculturalism

Islamic Education: Theory & Practice

The course introduces the concept of Islamic Education through critically examining different perceptions and academic approaches developed to define the subject. It explores traditional and contemporary Muslim educational thinking and educational institutions, and discusses the possibility of developing a learnercentred approach in Islamic Education.

Emphasis is placed on the importance of contemporary educational research into Islamic Education, especially research springing from social sciences and directed towards pedagogy and curriculum.

The course also looks at the theory and practice of Islamic Education in the modern Muslim world and in Muslim communities in the West.

Optional Course 2

Choose one course, subject to availability, from:

• Globalisation & Political Islam
• Islam & Muslims & International Relations: Contemporary Issues & 21st Century Challenges
• Islamic Education: Theory & Practice
• History of Bayt al-Maqdis 2: From the Late Crusades to the Contemporary Era
• Women in Islam
• Political Islam
• Islam & Muslims in Multicultural Britain
• Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence (Usul al-Fiqh)
• Editing Islamic Texts & Manuscripts
• Qur’anic Arabic (for non-Arabic Speakers)

Postgraduate Research Methods

This course addresses various research methods in the humanities and social sciences (e.g. analytical, comparative, historical and social) and introduces an in-depth critical analysis of contemporary research methods. Students engage with qualitative and quantitative methodologies in historical, textual, anthropological (ethnographic) and social scientific disciplines. They are also expected to reflect on different methodologies and select appropriate methodological approaches for their own research.

Dissertation

The dissertation is an independent piece of work of 15-18,000 words in length. The topic to be studied is selected by the student in consultation with a member of academic staff, under whose supervision they develop and write the dissertation.

 

Multiculturalism

 

This is a unique programme on a subject of crucial relevance to the debates and issues of today’s world. The concept of multiculturalism is much debated at many different levels and in a variety of social and cultural backgrounds – both within the UK and around the world.

Some writers have argued that the issue will be one of the defining elements of the twenty-first century and it is very clear that the idea and practice of multiculturalism has dominated political and media agendas consistently through this current decade and is likely to continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Programme Aims

The programme aims to explore in depth the concept of multiculturalism, with specific reference to the development of the concept in academic studies (particularly the past 15 years). The main understanding of the term ‘multiculturalism’ for this programme is as a means to describe contemporary contexts of cultural and religious diversity, and the processes by which such diversity are experienced (by individuals, societies and countries) and managed (by nation states).

Students will be expected to reflect on the ways in which the term ‘multiculturalism’ is used in the wider public debate, in a variety of contexts across the globe.

Assessment

There are no exams. All assessment is by coursework, with most subjects assessed by:

• A Critical Review (2,000 words)
• An Essay (3-4,000 words)
• A Seminar Presentation

Students who undertake an MLitt are required to complete a research dissertation of 15-18,000 words.

Further Study & Careers

This programme will be useful for those who want to go on to teach in the field. Others may use their expertise and qualifications to go on to further studies, or to work in areas such as: government services at local, national and international levels; diplomacy; consultancy and project work, developing cooperation in non-governmental and international organisations; the media; the voluntary sector; social and not-for-profit organisations. The courses at the Al-Maktoum Institute are designed to equip our students with the skills and knowledge to face the challenges of the contemporary world.

This is a unique programme on a subject of crucial relevance to the debates and issues of today’s world.

Programme Elements

This programme is made up of six taught courses and a dissertation. Students who successfully complete the three courses of the Autumn Semester may exit with a PgC. Students who successfully complete all six courses may leave the programme with a PgD. Students wishing to attain the MLitt must also undertake the dissertation.

Multiculturalism in Theory & Practice

This course examines theoretical issues within academic debates on multiculturalism, and focuses on the ‘politics of recognition’; the construction of ethnic identities; the creative interface between national, ethnic and religious boundaries; and the political implications of multicultural diversity. Students engage with the theoretical concepts that shape these debates, such as ethnicity, nationality, identity, integration and assimilation, and explore and examine the practicalities of specific contexts of multicultural practice, mainly using examples from European countries.

Case Studies in Multiculturalism

This course examines experiences of multiculturalism in different national, cultural and geographical contexts. It highlights the effect of context and place on multiculturalism, by looking at different levels of cultural and religious diversity around the world, and puts particular emphasis on state efforts to manage them.

Optional Course 1

Choose one course, subject to availability, from:

• The Theoretical Framework of Bayt al-Maqdis
• Islam & Muslims in History & Society
• Educational Studies: An Introduction

Islam & Muslims in Multicultural Britain

This course examines the historical and demographic developments of the Muslim presence in the UK. It places them in the context of the emergence of a politics of multiculturalism in the past 50 years, along with the processes of settlement and integration of diverse ethnic, religious and cultural minority communities, and their relations with wider society. A major theme of the course is the diversity of British Muslim identities, and communities and the social, cultural and political contexts in which they have developed.

Optional Course 2

Choose one course, subject to availability, from:

• Globalisation & Political Islam
• Islam & Muslims & International Relations
• Islamic Education: Theory & Practice
• History of Bayt al-Maqdis 2: From the Late Crusades to the Contemporary Era
• Women in Islam

Postgraduate Research Methods

This course addresses various research methods in the humanities and social sciences (e.g. analytical, comparative, historical and social) and introduces an in-depth critical analysis of contemporary research methods. Students engage with qualitative and quantitative methodologies in historical, textual, anthropological (ethnographic) and social scientific disciplines. They are also expected to reflect on different methodologies and select appropriate methodological approaches for their own research.

Dissertation

The dissertation is an independent piece of work of 15-18,000 words in length. The topic to be studied is selected by the student in consultation with a member of academic staff, under whose supervision they develop and write the dissertation.

 

Muslims, Globalisation & the West

 

his programme provides an introduction and exploration of the complex issues and relationships between Muslims and what is referred to as ‘The West’. The programme focuses on issues related to the contexts in which globalisation, dialogue and clash of civilisations emerged. Thus, the political and social underpinnings of globalisation are examined by identifying areas of similarity and difference between the two.

In addition, the programme discusses issues about the concept of political Islam, understandings and misunderstandings about it and whether or not Muslim political thought is incompatible with principles of governance in ‘The West’.

Programme Aims

Key issues for students taking the programme include the emergence of globalisation and its overriding impact on politics and international relations issues relating to Islam and Muslims across the world. The programme investigates the debate of dialogue or non-dialogue, and ongoing concepts and discussions on the perceived threats of Islam to ‘Western’ values, reinforcing the claim made by proponents of clash of civilisations. It also highlights the Qur’anic discourse on peace, dialogue, understanding, the concept of humanity (insaniyyah) and universalism.

Assessment

There are no exams. All assessment is by coursework, with most subjects assessed by:

• A Critical Review (2,000 words)
• An Essay (3-4,000 words)
• A Seminar Presentation

Students who undertake an MLitt are required to complete a research dissertation of 15-18,000 words.

Further Study & Careers

This programme will be useful for those who want to go on to teach in the field. Others may use their expertise and qualifications to go on to further studies, or to work in areas such as: government services at local, national and international levels; diplomacy; consultancy and project work, developing cooperation in non-governmental and international organisations; the media; the voluntary sector; social and not-for-profit organisations. The courses at the Al-Maktoum Institute are designed to equip our students with the skills and knowledge to face the challenges of the contemporary world.

The programme focuses on issues related to the contexts in which globalisation, dialogue and clash of civilisations emerged.

Programme Elements

This programme is made up of six taught courses and a dissertation. Students who successfully complete the two courses of the Autumn Semester may exit with a PgC. Students who successfully complete all six courses may leave the programme with a PgD. Students wishing to attain the MLitt must also undertake the dissertation.

Islam & the West: Multiculturalism, Globalisation & Muslims

This course introduces contemporary academic debates on the complex interactions between what are broadly labelled ‘Islam’ and ‘The West’. Adopting a mainly socio-scientific viewpoint, it emphasises the issues of multiculturalism and globalisation, which frame these transnational relations and networks. Students reflect on the history of encounters between Muslims and ‘The West’ (and Europe in particular), exploring concepts such as the ‘clash’/’dialogue’ of civilisations. This is related to sociological literature on globalisation and multiculturalism, with particular reference to examples of Muslim cultures and societies in contemporary contexts.

The Theoretical Framework of Bayt al-Maqdis

This course examines the theoretical and conceptual framework within which Muslims approach the region of Bayt al-Maqdis, addressing all the key social, religious, historical, geographical, and political aspects. The course focuses on a number of key questions: What are the reasons for Muslims having close links and concern with Bayt al-Maqdis? What is the significance of Bayt al-Maqdis to Islam and Muslims? Does Bayt al-Maqdis have any special status compared with any other region? Attention is paid to the vision of Bayt al-Maqdis, its boundaries, and the Circle Theory of Bayt al-Maqdis.

Multiculturalism in Theory & Practice

This course examines theoretical issues within academic debates on multiculturalism, and focuses on the ‘politics of recognition’; the construction of ethnic identities; the creative interface between national, ethnic and religious boundaries; and the political implications of multicultural diversity. Students engage with the theoretical concepts that shape these debates, such as ethnicity, nationality, identity, integration and assimilation, and explore and examine the practicalities of specific contexts of multicultural practice, mainly using examples from European countries.

Islam & Muslims & International Relations

This course examines politics and international relations – with particular reference to the development of Muslim international relations – in the light of Islamic political and legal frameworks, contemporary issues and the challenges of the 20th and 21st Centuries. It looks at the dialectics of ideal and application, by exploring the concepts of justice, humanity and equality in Islamic sources, and relating them to particular case studies and theories of international relations. The course evaluates relationships between Muslim and non-Muslim states, the political concepts of shura (consultation), caliphate and hakimiyyah/ siyadah (sovereignty), and the Madinah wathiqah (document/agreement/constitution) and its application in contemporary contexts. It also looks into the implications of the 9/11 tragedy for foreign policy and international politics. The course allows students to learn and critically review the different theories in politics and international relations from both Muslim and ‘Western’ perspectives.

Globalisation & Political Islam

This course focuses on the analysis of the broad frame of globalisation: its history and ramifications and its impact on relations between peoples, nations and states. It also looks into the different response models that Muslim states and ideologues have taken to face up to the challenges and opportunities that globalisation has provided. The course reviews issues relating to the dialogue of civilisations and its foundations in Islam. It also examines the competing theses of whether there is an inevitable ‘clash of civilisations’. In this way, students are introduced to the Huntington’s thesis of ‘Clash of Civilisation’ and Fukuyama’s ‘End of History’ thesis, as well as to proponents of cyclical patterns of civilisation such as Ibn Khaldun, Toynbee and Spengler. The course also examines the debates about so-called ‘Political Islam’, the background to its emergence, and the different Muslim responses to globalisation and civilisational dialogue.

Postgraduate Research Methods

This course addresses various research methods in the humanities and social sciences (e.g. analytical, comparative, historical and social) and introduces an in-depth critical analysis of contemporary research methods. Students engage with qualitative and quantitative methodologies in historical, textual, anthropological (ethnographic) and social scientific disciplines. They are also expected to reflect on different methodologies and select appropriate methodological approaches for their own research.

Dissertation

The dissertation is an independent piece of work of 15-18,000 words in length. The topic to be studied is selected by the student in consultation with a member of academic staff, under whose supervision they develop and write the dissertation.

 

Al-Maktoum Institute | Prospects.ac.uk

Postgraduate taught and research programmes validated by the University of Aberdeen

Who we are

The
Al-Maktoum Institute is an exciting and innovative development in teaching and research in the study of Islam and Muslims.

We are an independent research-led place of higher education, offering postgraduate programmes (taught masters and PhD), which are validated by the University of Aberdeen.

Our Patron and Sponsor is HH Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance of the United Arab Emirates, whose vision for multiculturalism is at the heart of Al-Maktoum Institute.

Our staff and students come from diverse national, cultural and religious backgrounds including Muslims and non-Muslims. We believe that there is an urgent social need - both locally and internationally for all elements of society to be engaging within the debates on the study of Islam and Muslims, and to be doing so together with each other within the same classroom.

Where we are

 

The Institute is situated in the lively city of Dundee, Scotland. As Scotland's fourth largest city, Dundee offers all that's best of city life and yet, because it is compact and easy to get to know, it still retains a friendly atmosphere. With a large student population in Dundee there is always plenty of life going on.

As well as having the River Tay and rolling countryside on its doorstep, being at the heart of Scotland's road and rail network puts spectacular scenery, skiing, championship golf, mountain climbing and fishing within easy reach. It is hard to believe that the bustle of Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh is a little more than an hour's drive away. Close to Dundee there are also many castles, mountains, and cultural sites and events, as well as much more to enjoy and discover.

Our students also appreciate that Dundee is a relatively low cost city to live in.

 

First accept Israel as a Jewish State. Then we can talk about Statehood | Why Israel?

 

Benyamin Netanyahu hit the nail on the head yesterday. The problem is not whether the world accepts a Palestinian State. It is whether the Palestinians accept a Jewish State.  

The bottom line of this conflict is the deep-seated refusal of Israel´s neighbors to accept the existence of a Jewish State in the Middle East. Until Israel´s neighbors accept and embrace the existence of Israel as a Jewish nation, no compromise solution concocted by President Obama or anyone else will lead to lasting peace.

If we have learned one lesson from the last 100 years it is that imposed political solutions never lead to lasting peace.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can´t make it drink.

Recognizing a Palestinian State at this point in time would be the worst thing the international community could do. Once a State is created, there is no turning back. A State cannot be “undone” when things go wrong.

Here are some facts.

1. Neither President Abbas nor the Palestinian leadership accept the legitimacy of Israel as a Jewish State. None of the Palestinian leaders have ever openly accepted the legitimacy of Israel as a Jewish State. In his recent New York Times Op-ed (16th May), President Abbas stated clearly that the Palestinians’ objective is to use Statehood as a springboard for the Palestinian refugees to be transferred back to Israel (thereby destroying the Jewishness of the State), and to launch further political and legal attacks on the legitimacy of Israel. Hamas refuses – and will always refuse – to accept the legitimacy of Israel as a Jewish State within secure borders.
2. The Palestinian National Authority under Mahmoud Abbas has entered into a unity deal with Hamas. Hamas is likely to have a controlling influence within a new Palestinian State. Hamas’ stated objective – its raison d’être – is to eliminate the Jewish nation. It refuses to recognize Israel, and it continues to promote terrorism. Under any scenario, it is likely that a new Palestinian State will refuse to accept Israel’s existence as a Jewish State, and be extremely hostile towards Israel.
3. Israel is a tiny country. The former Israeli Prime Minister Eban referred to the 1949 Armistice Lines (often erroneously referred to as the “1967 border”) as the “Auschwitz border”.  If Hamas and its allies are enabled to operate from within the 1949 Armistice Lines, Israel would be practically indefensible.
4. International law does not support use of the 1949 Armistice Lines as a border. While the Palestinian Arabs may have certain rights to self-determination, the “West Bank” as such does not “belong” to the Palestinian Arabs. International law does not require Israel to pull back to the 1949 Armistice Lines, or to give the West Bank automatically to the Arabs or anyone else. On the contrary, Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 recommend, and “Oslo II” (the 1995 Israel-Palestinian Interim Agreement obliges, Israel, the Palestinians and the international community to pursue a negotiated solution in which the rights of all parties to “live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force” are guaranteed. They certainly do not envisage or require a unilaterally imposed solution. The lines existing at the outbreak of the 1967 Six Day War were cease-fire lines only, NOT internationally recognized borders. Countries which recognize an Arab State of Palestine on the basis of the so-called 1967 lines are arguably breaching their own commitment to support a negotiated settlement of all final status issues, including borders.   
5. At the end of World War I, following the collapse of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, the international community undertook to create a safe homeland for the Jewish people in the area then known as “Palestine”. This was in recognition of the historical connection of the Jewish people to the land and (in light of centuries of persecution) their right to self-determination. This was part of an overall internationally-recognized package which took full account of the interests of the Arab and other populations in the region, and ultimately also led to the creation of several independent Arab States in the region. The right of the Jewish people to establish a homeland in the area originally known as Palestine in peace and security was a fundamental and non-negotiable part of this settlement. It remains a fundamental principle that even today has legal, historical and moral force. Recognition of a unilaterally declared Palestinian State based on the 1949 Armistice Lines – with or without “land swaps” – would breach our fundamental obligation as an international community to ensure that the Jewish people have a safe homeland. It would threaten the historical and legal rights of the Jewish people with respect to Jerusalem and the “West Bank”. And it would completely undermine the existing framework of agreements which are based on the principles of recognition of Israel and negotiations to settle all final status issues – including Jerusalem, secure borders and Palestinian refugee

The way forward to peace is through mutual acceptance leading to bilateral agreements and genuine cooperation, not through one-sided unilateral measures.

 

Obama’s achievement: the mouse that roared | Why Israel?

 

By Melanie Philips….I don’t know what strategic purpose Obama had in mind for addressing the Middle East impasse when last Thursday he made the first of a series of speeches on the subject. Whatever this may have been, that speech produced one satisfactory result. The Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, for once started to tell the west a few home truths about what it was doing.  

With the world’s cameras trained upon him and looking Israel’s potential nemesis in the eye, Netanyahu at last did what he and other Israeli prime ministers should have done a long time ago. He seized the moment, and used the presence of the icily immobilised President to speak electrifyingly over his head to the American people and the world about the likely terrible consequences for Israel of the President’s policy. He began to strip away the pretence, to tear off the fig-leaf. This President’s stated policy would destroy Israel’s existential security. It’s a message the American people need to hear, over and over again.

This morning, the consequences were already plain. Obama had shifted his position. Not much, but enough to demonstrate one crucial fact: that Israel’s most potent weapon of all is the truth, and when it chooses to wield that weapon its tormentors begin to crumble.

This is what Obama said last Thursday:

‘The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states.’

Here’s the thing. Obama spoke correctly when he referred to the ‘1967 lines’ rather than ‘borders’. There are no 1967 borders. Israel actually has no borders. All it has are the 1949 ceasefire lines, which is where Israel was left when it fought off the attempt by five Arab armies to exterminate it at birth. These lines were referred to as the ‘Auschwitz borders’ because within them no country could possibly defend itself against its enemies. They left Israel at its narrowest point a mere nine miles wide — as Netanyahu said, less than the Washington Beltway. A return to the 1967 lines would mean exposing Israel once more to the likelihood of destruction, and such a proposal runs counter to the spirit and the letter of UN Resolution 242. True Obama added ‘with land swaps’. But no realistic land swaps could make up for this fatal vulnerability.

When Obama was interviewed by a star-struck Andrew Marr on BBC TV this morning, he said the ‘1967 lines’ formula had always been accepted as the basis for a solution. Not true, as Dore Gold and Robert Satloff explain here. Not true, as Glenn Kessler explains in the Washington Post.  Successive administrations carefully stepped round this minefield in accordance with Resolution 242. It is the Palestinians who talk about returning to the ‘1967 borders’. The sting in what Obama did was to adopt the Palestinian position as US policy. Wrote Kessler:

He did not articulate the 1967 boundaries as a ‘Palestinian goal’ but as U.S. policy… for a U.S. president, the explicit reference to the 1967 lines represented crossing the Rubicon.

What’s more, he appears to have ambushed Netanyahu with it. So the Bibimouse finally roared.

By Marr’s interview this morning, Obama was signalling that he was shifting his position. Now the 1967 lines were to be not the basis of the solution but the basis for negotiations. In his speech to AIPAC today, although he reverted to his original formulation he did so to cover his tracks as he further finessed this shift in his position:

By definition, it means that the parties themselves -– Israelis and Palestinians -– will negotiate a border that is different than the one that existed on June 4, 1967.  (Applause.) That’s what mutually agreed-upon swaps means.  It is a well-known formula to all who have worked on this issue for a generation.  It allows the parties themselves to account for the changes that have taken place over the last 44 years.  (Applause.)  It allows the parties themselves to take account of those changes, including the new demographic realities on the ground, and the needs of both sides.

So from being the basis for a solution, the 1967 lines had become ‘a border that is different’. It was also notable that, on both occasions, Obama offered the Palestinians nothing. He said the Fatah/Hamas deal was not on. He said Israel couldn’t be expected to sit down with people who were intent on its destruction.

True, he didn’t say what he should have said: namely, that the US would now accordingly cut off the funding to the Hamas/Fatah alliance. Nor did he say that the PA could also not be a partner for peace until it too repudiated its refusal to accept Israel as a Jewish state and stopped inciting its people to murder Jews. For the real problem, of course, is that Obama insists that Mahmoud Abbas is a true partner for peace, even though he is just as much of a rejectionist as is Hamas. As the Washington Post sternly observed:

The president appears to assume that Mr. Abbas is open to a peace deal despite growing evidence to the contrary.

And the paper suggested that the precondition for any diplomatic success by the President in the Middle East would be

restoring trust with Israel, rather than courting a feckless Palestinian leader.

Instead, Obama has adopted in these speeches what might be termed the Mafia Gambit: the implied threat to Israel that either it accepts the ‘1967 Auschwitz borders’ or runs the gauntlet of UN recognition and further western delegitimisation.

As a set of demonstrably meaningless and cynical platitudes, Obama’s speech to AIPAC today — with all its ambiguities and narcissistic petulance skilfully captured here by the Telegraph’s Toby Harnden — was a corker. Try this for example:

And we will hold the Palestinians accountable for their actions and for their rhetoric.

Hey, the man should go into vaudeville. So far, Abbas and co have had a laughably free pass despite their serial aggression, bad faith, reneging on treaties and repeated expressions of exterminatory aggression and incitement to hatred and murder of Jews. Yet it’s Israel alone upon which Obama has dumped, by expecting it to make suicidal concessions to its attackers. At best, Obama remains even-handed between Judeophobic exterminators and their victims; that puts him on the side of the exterminators.

The fact is that, for all his ludicrous protestations of friendship towards Israel, Obama believes the Palestinians have a legitimate grievance over the absence of their state. He thus believes their propaganda of historical falsehoods and murderous blood libels. He therefore believes it is a just solution to reward murderous aggression. And that makes Obama a threat not just to Israel but to free societies everywhere.

Nevertheless, it is a shocking fact that the British government‘s position is now even more hostile towards Israel than is Obama’s. For while Obama was very clear that the alliance between Hamas and Fatah was insupportable, the British Foreign Secretary William Hague actually expressed delight at this deal. As the Telegraph’s Benedict Brogan pointed out on his blog about Obama’s proposal:

William Hague on the Politics Show today backed the plan enthusiastically. ‘I hope Israel and the Palestinians will treat the whole change that is now going on in the Middle East as a case for the, the added urgency of the peace process rather than as an excuse not to engage in the peace process,’ he said. Asked by Jon Sopel whether it wasn’t a bit much for Israel to reduce itself to a 10m wide strip when Hamas and its state sponsors still work for its destruction, the Foreign Secretary sounded weirdly optimistic about what a Fatah/Hamas team up could achieve: ‘The reconciliation of the two Palestinian factions is something that is potentially an important step forward because it means there’s a united Palestinian entity for Israel to negotiate with, but it does require them to enter into negotiations in the right spirit and recognising Israel’s right to exist.’

To stretch an already tired metaphor beyond endurance: Obama threw Israel under the bus, but after cries of horror from passers-by stopped and offered the casualty a sip of water; the British, however, proceeded to kick the injured party’s head in.

Bottom line: Obama has started his re-election campaign. Nothing he says is to be taken more seriously than his need to whip the feeble American Jews back into line. And that’s not hard. The few crumbs he threw out to pacify them should do the trick, despite the unusually wary reception he seems to have received at AIPAC today.

Bottom bottom line: it’s all a pile of steaming irrelevance. The Arabs aren’t going to play anyway. The immediate reason for the nine-decade war thus remains firmly in place. The deeper reason, that the aggressor is indulged and rewarded by the west and thus has every incentive to ratchet up his rejectionism and aggression, also remains firmly in place.

That is what Netanyahu has to address. He has to tell America and Britain that this murderous impasse is their fault — and that only they can end it by refusing for the first time to indulge and reward those committed to the destruction of Israel, the real cause of the continuation of this conflict. Netanyahu did well last Friday. Now he has to turn telling truth to power into a new strategic approach.

 

Islamic Creativity - Wall | Facebook

 

Why I am Proud to be a Muslim I am truly proud to be a Muslim because I know Islam is the right religion and I am on the right path. Islam is the second largest religion in the world and the fastest growing religion in the world. Everything I have belongs... to Allah. Islam tells us everything from what happens to us when we are born to when we die and also what is going to happen to us after death. I am proud to be a Muslim because everyone in Islam is treated equally even if you are an Arab or non-Arab, white or black, you are treated equal. In Islam we pray salah five times a day, one before sunrise, one at noon, one in the afternoon, another one after sunset and the last one before going to sleep. These five salah help me remember Allah and when I remember Allah I don’t misbehave, I don’t do foolish things and I don’t do things that make Allah or my parents unhappy. Islam is a pure religion because it shows us how to live an excellent life and go to paradise in the Hereafter. It teaches me manners like how to behave with my elders. It tells us to fast in the month of Ramadan so it shows us how poor people sometimes live without food and water and it tells us to share our wealth with the less fortunate in the form of Zakah (poor-due), and sadaqa(charity). In Islam there is a purpose for everything. The Holy Qur’an is a huge miracle because no one on the surface of earth can write such a beautiful book like the Qur’an. The Qur’an is the only Holy Book, which has not been changed by mankind from the time it was revealed by Allah through our Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam.. I am proud to be a Muslim and I believe that all Muslims should be proud to be Muslims because Islam is a true religion with God.See More

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