July 7th, 2005 
Duane 
The series of Live 8 concerts have confirmed what many Africans and people of African decent have known for years: Our motherland is in dire need of help.
After much pleading and protest from people around the world, G8 nations are discussing this week how to alleviate the financial debt on these African nations that is being blamed for rampid poverty that has flooded these nations for years (the bigger issue is corrupt African leaders who squander donated money–for another discussion).
This recent show of radical Islamist prove to us once again that these groups care for no one but themselves. Not only has there been a loss of innocent life on the streets of London, but meetings to discuss how to provide aid to Africa have been disrupted causing Tony Blair (a person who has spearheaded a campaign to collect additional aid money for Africa) to leave these meetings.
Strangely enough, there are those in the black community who share a level of sympathy for Islamic terrorist simply because they see it as yet another dark-skinned group that is being oppressed by the “wicked” white American empire. I strongly disagree with the notion that these same groups that will kill a child at a blink of an eye has any love for me or my people. Here are just a few reasons:
‘We Want to Make a Light Baby’
At first light on Sunday, three young women walked into a scrubby field just outside their refugee camp in West Darfur. They had gone out to collect straw for their family’s donkeys. They recalled thinking that the Arab militiamen who were attacking African tribes at night would still be asleep. But six men grabbed them, yelling Arabic slurs such as “zurga” and “abid,” meaning “black” and “slave.” Then the men raped them, beat them and left them on the ground, they said.
“They grabbed my donkey and my straw and said, ‘Black girl, you are too dark. You are like a dog. We want to make a light baby,’ ” said Sawela Suliman, 22, showing slashes from where a whip had struck her thighs as her father held up a police and health report with details of the attack. “They said, ‘You get out of this area and leave the child when it’s made.’ ”
Suliman’s father, a tall, proud man dressed in a flowing white robe, cried as she described the rape. It was not an isolated incident, according to human rights officials and aid workers in this region of western Sudan, where 1.2 million Africans have been driven from their lands by government-backed Arab militias, tribal fighters known as Janjaweed. (more…)
Here’s more:
The sophisticated Arabs along the Nile in Sudan have always regarded the Darfur tribes as primitive. They are widely referred to as “Zurug†– roughly “niggers†– and have been subjected to a prolonged “Sudanisation†strategy.
In 1987 some 27 Arab nomad groups united in an attempt to drive the blacks from Darfur. The response of the Fur and other black tribes was to form their own militias. Early this year Sudan’s president, Omer Hassan Ahmed El Bashir, vowed to annihilate the rebels, who deeply worry Khartoum because, unlike the black rebels in the south, they are fellow Muslims and cannot be condemned as “infidelsâ€Â. (more…)
THESE ARE MORE THAN JUST ISOLATED INCIDENTS!!
You can go all throughout history and find this same pattern of racism and abuse towards black Africans from Islamist who feel that they are the master race and that all infidels (those who are not of the Muslim persuasion) should be annihilated.
People like Louis Farrakhan will raise all hell about alleged Koran abuse and demand that the US government does something to stop this “crime”, but has yet to take a firm stance of protest against the atrocities being committed by his religious “brothers” against African men, women, and children. How about sending some of his bodyguards over there to protect at least one child?
On 9/11, numbers of innocent people (including black folks) who went to work like everybody else to earn a living so that they could pay bills, put food on the table, take care of an ailing family member, etc. had their lives snatched from them. To these terrorist, these innocent people were nothing more than sacrifices for America’s “arrogance”. Who gave these people the right to assign our brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, best friends, co-workers, etc. the day of their death under the guise of “fighting for freedom”?
In light of the recent terrorist activity in London, those that feel that they either speak for the “oppressed” or are joined with them in some way need to reevaluate who exactly are the oppressed. For black folks in this situation, the answer is obvious.
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so, are you saying islam is to blame? i’m not sure i get who that’s aimed at. the muslims, or the people who sympathize with them? or both?
Those that feel that in Allah’s name actions like this are justified (that does not encompass all practicing Muslims) AND those that sympathize with them because they interpret this as retaliation against “Western Imperialism”.
oh, i see. just out of curiosity, do you feel the same way about people who kill clinicians and patients at abortion providers in the name of Christ? i don’t think i asked before.
anyway, i don’t interpret this as justified retaliation, but i can’t help but have some anger towards bush and others for putting us in harm’s way. like on september 11th all i could think was, we might die because of his arrogance and foolishness. and his arrogance was evident still today. it was like he barely took time to acknowledge those injured and killed before he started spewing double-dog-dare-ya threats for terrorists to attack again. i’m not saying he should succumb to the terrorists, but i don’t think he should be openly antagonizing them, either. if he didn’t feel so safe (what with slews of security agents), i don’t think he would be so smug.
do you feel the same way about people who kill clinicians and patients at abortion providers in the name of Christ? i don’t think i asked before.
Yes indeed. And I have spoken out against those actions along with millions of other Christians as well. You won’t find that in the news.
Let me ask you this question: “Have you ever asked ANY writer to make the distinction between radical Christian groups and Christians in general?
As I have said on this site many times before, being critical of American policies is a good thing. Constructive criticism is what this nation is built on.
-I guess that arrogance was non-existent when Clinton was in office. Let’s not make this into a partisan political thing.
i’m not saying he should succumb to the terrorists, but i don’t think he should be openly antagonizing them,
Why not? they “openly” killed about 3,000 innocent people. They “openly” killed people in London. They have continuously and “openly” killed (and still are) and raped innocent Africans.
well, many people viewed as radical by the “mainstream” don’t see themselves as radical at all…
my statement about bush’s arrogance wasn’t “partisan political” at all. i’m saying that until we (as a nation) are in a position to be so arrogant, we shouldn’t be. we are not in control of the situation. if they bomb us tomorrow, all we can do is listen to another “we will not lose” speech from bush. but i’m tired of speeches. i want to feel safe.
This needs to be put in perspective. There are 100s of millions of Muslims in this world. Those that have committed this awful act and similar ones are not even in their thousands so lets not get into this Islamphobia/hatred line of thought. At times like this it is easy to get taken up with all the spin and hype and nonsense that our so called leaders come out with. As for Tony Blair – he is an opportunist and a liar of the worst kind. See my post today on the London bombing. As for his so called campaign to increase aid and cancel debt that is pure spin and has no bearing on reality whatsoever.
we are not in control of the situation. if they bomb us tomorrow, all we can do is listen to another “we will not lose†speech from bush. but i’m tired of speeches. i want to feel safe.
How many busses have you rode where one of these terrorist blew it up? How many cafés have you dined where it was wiped out by some suicide bomber? How many American building have fallen since 9/11 due to terrorism?
You will get no argument from me that Bush has room for improvement; however, I think we can both agree that since 9/11 our country has been safe from terrorist activity like what we have seen today in London. Thanks to our young men and women who are out there fighting these guys out there so that we can enjoy freedoms like sitting here and chatting online. If I am not mistaken, the streets of London are covered with security cameras to prevent this kind of activity. Needless to say it didn’t work today. Security in general will never be perfect; however, our intentions to eradicate such destructive active should be perfect. We may not get the soul-stirring speeches from Bush like Jesse Jackson, but honestly we are seeing the results everyday. Unfortunately the mood amongst many people is to just focus on what America ain’t doing.
how many planes had the september 11th victims traveled on before that day that had blown up? None, obviously, but that had nothing to do with the one they boarded that day. just because i haven’t blown up “yet” doesn’t make me safe. and i can’t believe that however “safe” we have been since september 11th should be to bush’s credit. i think when they want us, they can get us. and our soldiers aren’t still fighting for us to enjoy freedoms like the internet. their fighting other people’s wars. and i won’t get into whether that’s right or wrong, because honestly i haven’t yet decided how i feel about that. but the point is you and i would still be online without the war in iraq.
so lets not get into this Islamphobia/hatred line of thought
So stating the fact that radical Islamists (this is the second time I had to make this distinction while Christians get no such luxury) have done the things mentioned in the piece is somehow demonstrating HATRED towards them…
I think I’ll let a statement from Malcolm X address that notion:
The press is so powerful in its image-making role, it can make a criminal look like he’s the victim and make the victim look like he’s the criminal.
— Malcolm X (1964)
And too many people are following the press.
i think the notion of hatred came from your tone (which can be deceiving in print for anyone)–so maybe that’s not what you wanted to convey, but i think that’s what owukori was picking up on. anyway, you questioned why people like farakhan don’t “take a firm stance of protest against the atrocities being committed by his religious “brothers†against African men, women, and children.” couldn’t your comment on press apply here? earlier you stated that you speak out against the actions of radical christians but that “you won’t find that in the news.” perhaps the media, in an attempt to link all muslims to the same cause and create contempt for the religion/people as a whole, don’t put such efforts in the news…
i think the notion of hatred came from your tone
Tell me specifically what I said that would convey the notion that all Muslims are bad people.
As far as Farrakhan goes, I am not looking at the press–I have been watching HIS OWN press releases and speeches. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I have not been able to find anything on the contrary.
i didn’t say that you said anything specific to imply that…it just didn’t seem as if you were talking about SOME muslims.
and you said people LIKE farakhan, so i took that to mean that you think muslims in general haven’t taken a stand. perhaps i misunderstood.
The 7/7 London Bombing is really one of the same story, different day/country. People of a “Blame America First” ilk will say ” This is in retaliation to Bush’s/Blair’s” lies, blah, blah, etc. Then they make the generic “America’s arrogance” claim as the source of antagonism for radical Islamists, with the Iraq War as the perfect example of said arrogance. Why not the Afghan war against the Taliban? Because to many leftists/liberals, it was a tit-for tat effort of 9/11 and was condoned by them. Unfortunately terrorists are not tit-for tat.
Listening to Liberals/Leftists (They are different you know), is like trying out different brands of bull laxitives. The packages maybe different, but the results will be more bull-feces regardless. The Iraq war started in 2003. Let’s do a roll-call of the efforts of terrorists prior to that point:
1993 World Trade Bombing Part I
Foiled 1993 July 4th NYC landmark bombing plot
Somalia
Folied Operation Bojinka in the Philippines in 1995
Military compound bombing in Riyadh Saudi Arabia in 1995
Khobar Tower dormitory facilites bombing in Daharan Saudi Arabia in 1995
Foiled bombing of LAX airport by Ahmed Ressam in 2000
USS Cole bombing in 2000
Tanzania and Kenya embassy bombings 1998
Excluding the Philipines plot, these are just a fraction of the “Responses by terrorists against US arrogance”. Please note these are pre-Bush. Also note that during this time, one person visited the White House more than any other foriegn “dignitary” in the history of any president’s administration. That “dignitary” was Yassar Arafat, who was a guest of President Clinton 24 times during his presidency. So much for antagonizing Muslims. You would think the bombing of Isreali civilians by Hezbollah, Hamas, et. al would have been inversely proportional to Arafat’s visits. Isreal should be so lucky
Also multiply the above list by 20, to come close to the activity of Islamic terrorists on a global scale during this same period of time of 1993-2000. Then let’s talk about American journalist Daniel Perle having his throat cut (almost to the point of decapitation) in March 2001 by Islamist radicals “who may not know they are not in the mainstream”. I know Bush is a diabolical idiot, but I don’t think his cabinet was even in place by this point. This example debunks the lie “Abu Gharib incited terrorists to cut off heads”. Spain’s 3/11, Bali nightclub bombing, civilians getting kidnapped and ganked. The hits just keep on coming.
Then there are people who have to use the crazy white supremacist clinic bomber to represent Christianity even though 99.98% of Christians reject this lunacy. These same people act obtuse when Muslims from Bagdhad to Berkely (Univ of Cal) lift up radical Islam. To be honest, I have only heard a handful of Muslims condemn the actions of terrorists. The rest are silent or evolve into a “yes but” diabtribe about US policy, Isreal, etc. There is no debate for terrorism/terrorists. It has not end other to have a a sense of power on creating fear, and terrorizing. Most terrorist leaders come from wealthy families whose preaching’s send the misguided masses out to kill or be killed. There is no geo-political policy that would appease them. So laying the blame of the 7/7 bombings on that bumbling duo of Bush/Blair is intellectually lazy.
These criminal acts (IRA?) have nothing to do with black folks unless of course we get trashed by home land secuirty here in the states as overkill. It is obviousthe UK actions caused these criminals to react in this fashion as I have stated numerous times these slugs never called me a nigger…
On the subject of African American’s response to terrorism. I hate to be simplistic, but Democrats oppose Bush and any initiative he sponsers. Therefore Blacks oppose Bush and any initiative he sponsers. Many of Democratic the Senators wringing their hands now, were on record encouraging/challenging Bush to do something about Iraq in 2001/2002. I guess they were trying to position themselves as “strong on defense” for the 2004 elections. Go figure.
Many of us are cynical of facts, and embrace conspiracy theories under the auspecies of debate, i.e Enron, Halliburton, Bush lied, etc. Bush’s response to terrorism was to create a new model in the middle east that Muslims live by. Emperical evidence shows people who are abe to express themselves in a democracy, are less likely to rationalize the response to pseudo-oppression in their mind with terrorism. Agree or disagree, at least it isn’t the status quo of prior administrations.
Many in our community have failed to see that the world is going in a direction that marches, rhetoric, and politics cannot fix. And considering terrorists view all Americans the same, we would do well not to try to play Devil’s advocate on their behalf, and condemn their acts as cowardice.
[...] What London Bloggings Mean to Africa She links to: Why Black Folks [...]
i know i am a bit late in this conversation as this is not one of my general stopping points on the web…i have been increasingly looking at and educating myself about terrorism and our american “government”, and i see a pattern developing here…Act of terror, more security, act of terror, even more security…when does it stop…i see you saying that you want to feel safe, do you want our government to make you feel safe at the expense of your freedom..if you want more security then, well, i dunno what to tell you…but me for one will gladly take the looking over my shoulder approach as opposed to the “hey, you WILL do this” approach…in any case good words from both of you, and decent points in both arguments
It’s fairly amazing that as I read through these responses, I find that virtually nobody is addressing what this individual is saying. You have all retreated form the issue, much like the UN. Christian Blacks are being systematically slaughtered by Arabs in the Sudan, and nobody seems to care. Especially this lot represented here (liberals) who ever feign deep cultural and racial respect and admiration. You have all assailed the issue this gentleman raises, only to immediately counter with your own telling agenda. Here’s an example. “Oh I see. Just out of curiosity. Do you feel the same way about people who kill clinicians, and patients at abortion providers, in the name of Christ?” Let me ask this individual. What does this have to do with the gentlemans story ? Secondly, how many abortion providers have been killed in the US ? Thirdly, how many Blacks have been slaughtered in the Sudan ? This is a rather comical opportunity to say what I have always known. You who ever have used the Black cause in America to forward your own agendas, and who again ever feign admiration for Blacks, calling them a national treasure, care nothing for Blacks and Black Americans in truth. You shout this from the roof tops, when you fail to be outraged by staggering death tolls among our own American Black youth. Now, you are taking opportunity and liscense to shout it again in regards to your reactions here. How you will protest with disdain, and yet whither under the The long, knarled, boney finger of racism casting its horrid shadow on your brows which are so much more acustomed to weilding the morbid mit. You are the true racists, and your words make this evident !!! Now, to address the individual who raised this issue. You are entirely correct. Black Americans should indeed be angry. Unfortunately, because of our own national polarization, it has been impossible to carry this argument forward, just as it has been impossible to tell the truth about any of the issues surrounding race in America today, but this requires a great deal of discussion which we do not have the time to engage in at this moment. I will finish with a thought. I am guessing that those here who have jumped all over you, are in fact weary of Black protestation and accusation, despite what they may say. It is clear that they are displaying that there is a bad risidual taste in their mouths about something. It is very logical to conclude that this is what we are seeing, and the blame for this can cover a wide margin. It is human nature for people to tire of accusation, and I assure you they do. However, we all tire of accusation from the type of individual represented here, far more quickly. Must I re state the quote I repeated earlier ? Good God, no, please ! You get the idea. To finish, it is important to note one thing. Very often I have conversations with young Black men and women who have returned from service abroad. When I ask them how they feel about their service, they will often respond with statements which show a tremendous amount of resignation and distrust regarding American efforts abroad. If one were to conclude that this signifies an inherent unpatriotic vein, one would be wrong. How do we know this ? Because they join in service over and over again, despite their great reservations. The truth is opposite of what one may assume. The patriotic ferver is more intense, and more meaningful if one accounts for the reservations. Now, don’t let those racists here fool you. They would say that Blacks join because of our racist society which has provided them with no other outlet or means, or that they are sadly confused and exploited for the purposes of big oil, and resources abroad. This is another attempt to feign an impression that they value you. They do not, and if you have been anyones tool, your plight has been their tool. They join because they know when it comes to a home, this is it. America is the final destination in the journey, and they are all the more patriotic for stepping up with all their reservations. Don’t let the racists fool you, or convolude the question. God Bless, and thanks for bringing this important issue to the forefront, or at least for trying to.
We as a nation need to rise up and fight the true terrorists…ie our government. The government of the United States is the true terrorists and we need to rise up against them, overpower them and take back what used to be a democracy. We just can’t sit back and be puds about it and say it’s patriotic to support your government….no that is so wrong….what they are doing is no different than what these radical fundamentalists are doing. Come on people RISE UP and FIGHT our oppressors. As far as the black folks being pissed off, get over it, I have never seen a race cry and whine as much as they have over the years. If it not been for those white people enslaving you, you would be in Africa, unable to feed your children and youd keep multipling even though you children die from starvation. Yea really smart. Anyways that’s my 2 cents.
what they are doing is no different than what these radical fundamentalists are doing
Indeed. I saw three beheading at the local IRS office just last week because people were late in filing.