Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Fareed Zakaria, "Moderate" Muslim, Nixed Mohammed Cartoons

In other words, Zakaria advised Yale University Press not to publish the Danish cartoons.

From this post at Islam in Action, citing this source:
...Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, a world affairs columnist and CNN host who serves on Yale's governing board, said he told Yale that he believed publishing the images would have provoked violence.

"As a journalist and public commentator, I believe deeply in the First Amendment and academic freedom," Zakaria said. "But in this instance Yale Press was confronted with a clear threat of violence and loss of life."
It appears that BHO had Zakaria's book The Post-American World on his reading list:



Just sayin'...

Additional reading: more from Creeping Sharia about Zakaria's views in Newsweek and at his web site.

38 comments:

Damien said...

Always On Watch,

Fareed Zakaria advised them not to publish the cartoons for fear of violence. I don't agree with that position, but it doesn't prove that he's out to destroy the free world and bring about an Islamic Caliphate. Nor does the fact that Barrack is apparently reading his book proves much of anything. For one thing does he agree with it?

andre79 said...

"Pakistan's Swat valley is quiet once again."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/187093

Um-hm.

andre79 said...

Genius.

Always On Watch said...

Damien,
I'm not disagreeing with you about BHO's reading of the book. Just sayin'

As for Zakaria, he stated that bit about violence. But the fact remains that cowardice in publishing controversial material is contrary to the very principle of the First Amendment.

What is particularly dhimmitudinal is that the Yale University Press book was about controversial cartoons.

I'll tell you flat out that I don't trust Zakaria.

Always On Watch said...

BTW, I think that BHO's reading of the book was in May 2008. Not sure about that, however.

Always On Watch said...

The link that Andre79 left is to the article "Learning to Live With Radical Islam" -- by Zakaria, of course.

Damien said...

Well thanks Andre79, I'll read it later.

Damien said...

Always On Watch,

By the way, I tried to make it clear that I did not support their decision, not to print the cartoons.

Damien said...

If you miss understood, sorry.

Always On Watch said...

Damien,
Nothing to apologize for! Really.

Pastorius said...

Do we actually have any evidence that Zakaria self-identifies as a Muslim?

I know he was born into a Muslim family, and that makes him, according to Islamic law, a Muslim.

But, in America, we decide what we are. And, I don't see any evidence that Zakaria thinks of himself as a Muslim.

But, I might have missed it.

andre79 said...

However there's plenty of evidence he's an idiot.

http://www.fareedzakaria.com/ARTICLES/newsweek/101501_why.html

Please understand the terrorists and the failures of modern societies to address their grievances.

He's an idiot at best and a shill at worst.

Total said...

He considers himself Muslim but feels awkward to associate himself to the Muslim world because he was raised in such a different upbringing. He is not a devout practicing Muslim, has never really revealed any sympathies for typical Islamic causes (i.e. hatred of Israel) and he is big fan of wines. I definitely don't agree with his opinions but he has not done anything to suggest that he is a 5th columnist or a sympathizer to common Islamic causes.

Always On Watch said...

I think that I heard him state on CNN that he's a Muslim. That was a while back, though.

I'll see if I can find any online info on him.

Always On Watch said...

This site says that he's a Muslim, but I don't know how credible the site is.

Still looking.

Always On Watch said...

At Village Voice:

In the last few years, Zakaria has become a kind of bridge to the Arab world—an Asian-born Muslim with a Yale and Harvard education who seems willing to act as a cultural interpreter. In some ways he was born for this role: His mother was the editor of an Indian newspaper, his father an important politician and scholar who wrote several books about religion, including one titled The Struggle Within Islam. Growing up in a country like India, riven by sectarian violence, Zakaria says, "you're absolutely aware of the power religion has, in a positive and negative sense—in its ability to inspire people and its ability to inspire people to kill." On the other hand, his own upbringing was open-minded and secular...

[...]

"I do know a lot about the world of Islam in an instinctive way that you can't get through book learning," he says thoughtfully, but admits he finds the role of token Muslim explainer in the American media slightly uncomfortable. "I occasionally find myself reluctant to be pulled into a world that's not mine, in the sense that I'm not a religious guy."...


The article is quite long.

Always On Watch said...

According to this, back in 2003:

...He’s an Indian-born, Yale- and Harvard-educated Muslim who moves easily between Condoleezza Rice and Pervez Musharraf, Tony Blair and Prince Turki Al-Faisal. He’s a conservative who is willing to question one of the most cherished principles of the West—democracy—but also a naturalized citizen who believes in America’s world-historical mission....

Over at Wiki, I read his children's names: Omar, Lila, and Sofia. Those names don't necessarily mean that Zakaria is a dedicated Muslim, of course.

Always On Watch said...

Trivia really, but the date is interesting (July 2001):

America Doesn't Need Crusades
What I Celebrate Most As A New Citizen Is That Our Politics Have Become Beautifully Banal


Last week I celebrated my first Fourth of July as an American. I was sworn in a few weeks earlier at a ceremony that would have sent chills down Pat Buchanan's spine. Seated in a noisy Brooklyn auditorium, more than 2,000 new citizens--almost all black and brown faces with the odd British banker looking around nervously--listened to introductory speeches in English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic and Hindi. A young woman of Indian origin gave us an earnest lecture imploring us to do our civic duty and always vote. After a short, sweet speech on patriotism and the Oath of Allegiance, it was over and we emptied onto the streets where a small welcoming fair had been set up. You could eat pizza, sign up to join the New York Police Department and get your picture taken with a cardboard cutout of George W. Bush. In some cities the Daughters of the American Revolution host tea parties for new immigrants. Not in Flatbush, Brooklyn.

[...]

For most of the people in that Brooklyn auditorium, the United States represents the future. But Americans these days seem increasingly interested in their past....

Anonymous said...

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Damien said...

Always On Watch,

You know, maybe it would be better if we just tried to prove some of the things Fareed Zakaria to be false. So far non of this proves that he is a Jihadists, or just a dedicated Muslim in his own eyes, or even very religious at all. Does he even go to Mosque?

If you think that he may really be part of the stealth Jihad, what you really should be looking for, is something that suggests he supports Jihad or Sharia. Was he ever caught showing contempt for the US constitution and any of our fundamental values?

Also is he utterly unwilling to condemn well known Islamic terrorist organizations that are widely regarded as such?

Damien said...

That "America Doesn't Need Crusades," you linked to makes it sound like he likes America, not like he wants to destroy it. Keep in mind that we use the word crusade, very loosely today. Also keep in mind that Zakaria never even mentions the Christian Crusades anywhere in it.

Damien said...

The Christian Crusades are something that many Jihadists are obsessed with.

Damien said...

Always On Watch,

I know you said it was trivial, but it sends a message to me that he doesn't hate America at all, not that he wants to destroy it. It sends the opposite message.

Plus, part of me would love to go back to the good old days before 9/11. Everything seemed more benign to me back than as well. Pre 9/11 for me was a time of innocents and bless.

Pastorius said...

Lila is a Jewish name. It means night.

I had read before that he named his daughter Lila and Sophia, and that simply is not something a "Muslim" would do.

It sounds to me like he's only nominally a Muslim, like a Christian who only goes to church on Christmas and Easter.

revereridesagain said...

I trust former Muslims Ibn Warraq, Wafa Sultan, Ayan Hirsi-Ali, and others who have the honesty to recognize that Islam is evil at its core and have done with it. I do not trust Fareed Zakaria any more than I trust anyone else who proudly stands with one foot in each camp. Perhaps he would excuse his stance by saying that he is trying to defend good people who are Muslims. Or he has tried to throw out the label so we never really know what's in the can. Or he wants the career, the American citizenship, all the trappings of the Western life without having to risk his neck by declaring himself apostate. Or, perhaps he thinks he can help bring about some hybrid of Westernized Muslims and Muslimized Westerners if his "fellow Americans" will just come to understand that Islam has the "answer" to some of our "problems".

I do know I don't need someone like him to help me "understand" the "grievances" of Islamists and I don't trust the bastard either.

Damien, I know what you mean but pre-9/11 was never a time of innocence and bliss. It was a time of not paying attention to the wolf pack that was stalking us as we tripped merrily through the woods to Grandma's.

Re Anonymous, is it me or are the trolls getting downright surrealistic lately?

Pastorius said...

RRA,
I don't think it's you. I think the trolls have been ratcheting it up lately. I don't know why.

But, I can tell you this, I seriously worry for the Jews of Europe.

Damien said...

Revere Rides Again,

I'm not saying that you should trust or distrust him. We just shouldn't accuse him of being part of the stealth Jihad, because he has a Muslim background. If we want to do that, we should at least get some some good solid facts to back us up, so we won't look paranoid or like bigoted fools, if we are shown to be wrong. Its always foolish to make an accusation without being a able to back it up with at least some evidence. Unless you were the victim of a crime, and know who the perpetrator was. But even than you should try to back up what you are saying as best you can.

As for Pre 9/11, it was a time of innocents and bliss for me, because I did not realize the danger that was out there. Sure I knew there was evil in the world, but I didn't realize just how much danger we were in. I was more cheering and optimistic, because I didn't know how bad things were. I always supported the Isrealis, but I thought the Palestinians were an aberration, and I assumed that they were going against the teachings of Islam. No one told me otherwise. I rarely heard anything negative about Islam, its prophet or its teachings, so I assumed that it had more in common with Judaism and Christianity, and that those Muslims who wanted to hurt us, were going against its teachings. I naively assumed that at its root it was peaceful.

I know we can't go back to that time, and I wouldn't do so, even if I could wave a magic wand and bring us back to those conditions. It wouldn't be worth it, because it would put us, in even greater danger, and few would even know it.

Damien said...

Pastorius,

I worry for every decent freedom loving person in Europe right now. We cannot let the Jihadists succeed. They have to be defeated.

andre79 said...

I think Epa nailed it, Fareed is the typical progressive anti-imperialist, solve all the conflicts by negotiating with a bunch of lawyers, kind of guy. The atypical is that he's a Muslim.

However none of his analysis have been proven right so far, and this is exactly what you expect from a director of a moribund publication.

Pasto, leil means night in Hebrew.

Pastorius said...

Also, let me be clear, I do not like Zakaria. I'm not defending him.

I'm just saying we ought to be cautious about labeling people Muslims if we do not know they are Muslims.

As I said, Zakaria is technically, according to Islamic Law, a Muslim.

However, it really does not seem like he thinks of himself as anything more than culturally Muslim.

revereridesagain said...

Kind of makes you wonder about "cultural Muslims", though. Epa is probably closer to the truth, since FZ does claim he is not "religious". But I wonder what parts of "cultural" Islam he might think useful in the service of "social justice". And vice versa.

Pastorius said...

Total,
So, the name "Lila" does not mean "night"?

Is that right?

I was told, by a Jewish woman named Lila, that her name meant "night".

Damien said...

Does anyone here have a good Hebrew/English dictionary? If its actually a Jewish name, it might be Hebrew.

Pastorius said...

http://www.baby-names-meanings.net/meaning/lila.html

Damien said...

Pastorius,

According to that website you gave the link too Lila is not a Hebrew name, even through I found it, by looking under Hebrew names, or at least I thought I did. One of its meanings is "night," but it has other meanings as well.

They also include,

1. "Of the People"
2. "Lilac. Can Also Be a Variant of Leila: Dark. Born at Night"
3. "Feminine of Lyle: from the Island. Variant of Delilah"

And last but not least, "Lily"

So the name has multiple meanings, and it depends on the Language, and only one of them is "night"

However, it means night in Arabic, not Hebrew. It doesn't seem to be a Hebrew name at all, since no where is a Hebrew meaning for the name listed.

Source

After clicking on the above link, scroll down a bit to see the name's different meanings.

andre79 said...

Hi Pasto,

Lailah/leil means night in Hebrew.

Lailah tov - good night

Leil shabbat - Shabbat night

Always On Watch said...

Zakaria has written reams of stuff. I wish that I had the time to wade through all of it.

Epa said: He believes all nation states are passe.

Not proof that Zakaria is a Muslim, but fundamental Islam doesn't recognize nation states either -- at least, not in the sense that many Westerners do.

Like RRA, I don't trust Zakaria. I have the feeling he's walking a fine line along two identities.

Pastorius said...

Andre,
From what you are telling me, it sounds like my friend was telling me the basic truth. She just does not spell the word the Hebrew way.

That's a beautiful word for night, isn't it?