[Xmca-l] Re: Sledgehammers in Mosul

[larry smolucha]

Message from Francine:

Shirin,

The polemic that such violence in the name of Islam is a response
to European colonialism, capitalism, and the war in Iraq totally lacks credibility.
There is no doubt that the war in Iraq created the opportunity for the
rise of ISIS. But everyone knows that the animosity between Sunni and Shiite 
predates European and U.S. presence in the Middle East.

The pillaging of Constantinople and the Basilica of Hagia Sophia was carried out by
Turks in the name of Islam (in 1453). While many Muslims demand that the
Temple Mount in Jerusalem and the land of Israel be returned to them, using the 
same logic how about returning Constantinople to the Europeans?

This is now a post-Said world, thanks to ISIS.

> From: shirinvossoughi@gmail.com
> Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2015 12:16:22 -0600
> To: xmca-l@mailman.ucsd.edu
> Subject: [Xmca-l] Re: Sledgehammers in Mosul
> 
> Helena,
> What is the message here? Does the link speak for itself and what does it
> say? I am thinking about the "cultural vandalism" of the west in Iraq and
> other parts of the region, and of the complex history (in which the US has
> played a central role) that has led to what is being depicted in this
> story. I do not mean to re-inscribe simplified west vs. middle east
> narratives, but I do want to question how we are being asked to interpret
> such acts. In this clip, as in so much media coverage of the region, such
> practices are rooted in the uniquely anti-democratic or anti-free speech
> tendencies of Islam. As Said famously argued, "we" are thereby exalted as
> all the more democratic and free.
> I wish the Western experts lamenting the destruction of artifacts in this
> clip had as loudly and boldly lamented the destruction of life in the
> brutal wars that led to this mess.
> Shirin
> 
> On Sat, Feb 28, 2015 at 10:38 AM, Helena Worthen <helenaworthen@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> 
> > http://bcove.me/1yo9t5x9
> >
> >
> > Helena Worthen
> > helenaworthen@gmail.com
> >
> >
> >