Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Brigitte Gabriel Calls Rashid Khalidi on Translation of Sura From Quran On Beheading

Nadene Goldfoot                                                            

                                                          Professor  Rashid Khalidi

In 1982 I was in Safed, Israel during the Lebanon War.  In fact, I was in the Army Hospital in Haifa to find out about when pins would be removed from my elbow when I noticed that the hospital was almost empty.  They were getting ready for battle-injuries.  I wound up baking cakes to feed our IDF who would be reporting to their posts by walking or hitch-hiking.  My husband and I had made aliyah in 1980 and were in Israel as  immigrants  from Oregon.  My Jewish paternal grandfather was born in Telsiai, Lithuania and my grandmother from Suwalki, Poland/Lithuania.  I come from a Jewish family.

At the very same time, Rashid Khalidi, Muslim was in Lebanon. He has just agreed with his friend,  Obama,  in that IS is not Islam by reading a translation of the Quran over PBS.     Khalidi became politically active in Beirut, where he resided through the 1982 Lebanon War.  He was teaching at a Lebanese University, possibly AUB (American University of Beirut) .  New York City born in  1948, he is the son of a Saudi citizen who says he has Palestinian origins and was born in Jerusalem and was a worker for the UN.

Rashid's father was  Ismail Ragib Khalidi, who was born on 13 November 1916 –died  2 September 1968)  was a senior political affairs officer for the United Nations Department of Political Affairs.    He was the brother of Husayin al-Khalidi .  Husayn Fakhri al-Khalidi  1895–26 December 1966) was born in Jerusalem like his brother. He worked as medical doctor for the Department of Public Health in Aleppo, Syria.   Husayin al-Khalidi was mayor of Jerusalem from 1934 to 1937.   The  Khalidi father and uncle were born in Jerusalem, then still part of the Ottoman Empire.

 Though a Saudi citizen, the question arises as to why Ismail and Husayin  were born in Jerusalem.  Many Arabs had come into Palestine looking for work from the Jews.  His father could have been one of them.  It's rare that any Palestinian is accepted as a citizen of another Arab country, so I doubt if this happened and Ismail moved to Saudi Arabia and became a citizen.  More likely their parents came from Saudi Arabia to Palestine  looking for work and education.  

Ismail  Khalidi attended St. George's School, Jerusalem and the Arab College (Jerusalem) (1927-1936). In 1939, he received his B.A.in political science from the American University of Beirut. "   Israel became a state on May 14, 1948.  Khalidi also served as the Assistant Editor, Middle East Desk, United States Office of War Information from 1942–44 and the Secretary of the Institute of the Arab American Affairs, from 1945-48. He was a member of the UN for 19 years, joining originally as a radio announcer He died on 2 September 1968 at the age of 51 in Beirut, Lebanon

 Rashid's  mother was born in the USA of  Lebanese parents..  Khalidi attended the UN International school.   He serves as the  Edward Said   Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University.   Khalidi  is a strong Palestinian activist and blames America and Israel for all the Middle East problems which isn't surprising.   He's also a big time supporter and associate of  America's president, Barack Obama.  To be criticizing the USA and a friend of its president is certainly contrary.  I cannot say he is a Palestinian, though.  Being his father was in Jerusalem while working for the UN does not make his father a Palestinian. His father, Ismail Khalidi and his brother, Husayin al-Khalidi were Saudis.

Obama was heard on TV to say in a speech that IS is not Islamic.  Khalidi has been backing him up on this.  On a PBS segment Khalidi gave an explanation of Sura 47, verse 4 of the Quran where Khalidi says does not justify beheadings.  Khalidi and Obama are saying that IS is not following the Islamic law.
                                                                     
He has been called on this by Brigitte Gabriel, founder and president of Act for America.  She's one of the leading national security experts in the world on the rise of Islamic terrorism. 

"Brigitte Gabriel, Christian,  is an American journalist, author, social commentator and activist.  Gabriel says that Islam keeps countries backward, and that it teaches terrorism.  She should know, because she was born in Lebanon to Maronite Christian parents as Nour Saman on October 21, 1964.  .  .
                                                               
She was in Lebanon  at the same time that I was in Israel and Rashid was in Lebanon.  She was there before, during the Lebanese Civil War where Islamic militants launched an attack on the Lebanese military base near her family's house and destroyed it when Gabriel was 10 years old in 1974.  She suffered from being hit by shrapnel during this attack.  The family was forced to live underground in all that remained which turned out to be like an 8 by 10 foot  bomb shelter for 7 years.  All they had was a small kerosene heater, no sanitary supplies, no electricity or running water and little food.  She had to crawl in a ditch along the road to get spring water as she had to evade Muslim snipers.  So, in 1978, 2 years before I moved to Israel, her family was warned of an impending attack by the Islamic militias on all Christians.  

Her life was saved when the Israeli army invaded Lebanon in Operation Litani in 1982.  Her mother was seriously injured later and taken to an Israeli hospital.  She was amazed that Israelis showed such care and humanity for them which was the opposite of the propaganda she had heard about Jews when she was a little girl.  Israel's border with Lebanon had been protected by Major Hadad and his men, of the Christian Maronites.  Israel had a deal with him to take in his family if, G-d forbid, anything happened to him.  

Brigitte speaks Arabic, French, English and Hebrew.  She  reads Arabic being it was the language used in Lebanon and has studied the Quran.  She finds that this paragraph of Sura 47 verse 4 was not read entirely for the PBS audience and is not what most Qurans says.  She gives us the translation from the Quran published in Saudi Arabia:
                                                                          

"So, when you meet (in fight-Jihad in Allah's cause) those who disbelieve, smite (their) necks till when you have KILLED (emphasis added) and wounded many of them, then bind a bond firmly (on them, i.e.take them captives.).  Thereafter (is the time) either for generosity (i.e. free them without ransom), or ransom (according to what benefits Islam), until the war lays down its burden.  Thus (you are ordered by Allah to continue in carrying out Jihad against the disbelievers till they embrace Islam and are saved from the punishment in the Hell-fire or at least come under your protection.),  but if it had been Allah's will, He Himself could certainly have punished them (without you).  But (He lets you fight) in order to test some of you with others.  But those who are killed in the Way of Allah,  He will never let their deeds be lost."  

She notes that the word, KILLED is pretty important and is in this Quran in 47/4.  Khalidi evidently did not use this word in the reading which caught Brigitte's attention.  He's trying to downplay the proper translation as a defense for Islam's terroristic directions.   I note that the paragraph does not say you have to behead ALL of them or kill all of them in battle, but taking prisoners is allowed.  I don't believe IS has been doing this from the TV pictures of long lineups of Iraqi soldiers  killed.  But it certainly does allow for beheading and why not?  When the Quran was written, beheadings were the usual thing done by Islam.  

Khalidi has stated that there is a legal right under international law for Palestinians to resist Israeli "Occupation" of which is an untruth in itself.  Israel is not "occupying Gaza."  Israelis, according to international law, have a right to live in Judea and Samaria, and that is not "occupying."  

Khalidi gave a speech to the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and said that killing civilians is a war crime.  It's a violation of international law.  (This is exactly what Palestinian Hamas has been doing to Israel which is what caused Israel to finally go into Gaza a month ago).  However, Khalidi was not talking about Israel's woes.  He was using this reference to defend Palestinians.  The New York Sun editorial caught this and criticized him for it as he did not distinguish between Palestinian combatants and noncombatants and was implying that all Palestinians have this right to resist This turns out to be incorrect under international law.

.  Khalidi was an opposer of the Iraq War March 19, 2003 to May 1, 2003 was the beginning.   The U.S. completed its withdrawal of military personnel in December 2011, during the ninth year of the war.] However, the insurgency is ongoing and continues to cause thousands of fatalities. Khalidi  has been telling Obama that we owe reparations to the Iraqi people.  Here we are fighting IS now from the sky over Iraq and Syria.  

What Brigitte may not have known is the tie Rashid Khalidi has to Jerusalem, causing him as an Arab to be highly motivated to defend the Palestinians and their behaviors since Netanyahu has said there's little difference between Hamas terrorists and IS.  I wonder if Obama knows of his family's  connections.  

 "In Brigitte's view, Palestinian nationalism has largely been replaced by "holy obligation" motivating adherents to commit "terrorist murder.   She states that the legitimization of Palestinian suicide attacks within Israel has now evolved to where, "Islamists believe that they may commit mass murder anywhere in the world to advance their holy cause." As a result, she believes the world now suffers "from a plague of Islamic terrorism... authored and perfected by the Palestinians."
With regard to the two-state solution, Gabriel states: "Forcing Israel to accept a two-state solution is not going to work unless the Palestinians first are forced to clean up their act and eliminate hatred from their schoolbooks, teach tolerance to their people, and preach acceptance of Israel and the Jews as a neighbor."  This has been my thoughts, exactly.  Thank you Brigitte.  

Resource:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashid_Khalidi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigitte_Gabriel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_invasion_of_Iraq
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ismail_Khalidi

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