Monday, February 06, 2006

Wannabe Jihadi

This weekend (2/4/06), I came across an interesting post (among many) at the Jawa Report. In it, one of the Jawa contributors provided the contents of an email he received from a person in Turkey. I'll call him Wannabe Jihadi. Wannabi Jihadi was mad about the whole Muhammed cartoon thing and wrote the following threatening email to the Jawa contributor:

I'd like to let you know a Turkish saying reads as "a dog which was destined to be dead soon, urinates on a wall of a mosque! You blasphemous Westerners all are very like that dog in the saying!

The Jawa Report contributor provided the email address so that Jawa readers could send loving responses to Wannabe. The threat made me angry. I wrote the following response to Wannabe.

I read your threatening message about a dog “urinating on the side of a mosque” at Hyscience.

I’m sure you find that these images of Mohammed are offensive. No one likes to see their religion denigrated. I certainly do not like seeing Christ being pissed on in “art” (as has happened here in the U.S.). I can certainly understand protesting it (though it may be unwise as it draws attention to the blasphemy that might otherwise go unnoticed) or boycotting the persons who produced it. But, to threaten to kill the persons who produce it and to threaten to kill all of their countrymen and all Europeans and all of the West – is plainly evil.

It is also pathetic. People who overreact to every perceived offence are not people who are confident of their position. They are people who are afraid the images will resonate because there is some truth to them.

In the West we do not bluster. We do not because a person who blusters and does not follow though is a person who will be ignored thereafter. In the Mideast (and apparently Turkey – despite its desires to join the West) this logical rule of society does not seem to apply. Al Qaida threatens imminent attack on the U.S. for years and does not produce – and yet you still put faith (an hope) in their pronouncements. Baghdad Bob says the Americans have not entered Baghdad and despite the American tanks in the background Arabs keep believing him until they see Saddam’s statue fall.

Your threats are bluster. You and your people are no more capable of killing all of the persons posting the images of Mohammed than I am of causing and eclipse of the sun at my command. On the other hand - the West (heck, the U.S. alone if you provoke us enough) is capable of almost effortlessly doing anything we want to you middle easterners any time we want and there is nothing you can do to stop it (except perhaps beg). So understand your enemy well enough to at least create some credibility by stopping the hollow threats.

I received a response that made little sense, but claimed that Islam is the only "total" religion (by which I think he intended to to boast that it was totalitarian - there you go Jihadi - way to lead with your strong point) and that the West was not civilized (and killing people for the slightest offense is Wannabi?).

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Perfect response, Cruiser. As an aside, I've never been able to use this post server; it always kicks me out unless I post as Anonymous. Anyway, this is Rhod from DC's living room. And hey, aren't the Wannabes the guys who run the Madrassas?

Brian said...

Rhod, thanks for commenting. I have disabled the word verification function - hopefully that will make it possible for you to comment as "Rhod". Other than that, I'm not sure I have any control over how comments can be entered.

Let me know if it works.

As to your response on the merits: Thanks. He he – wahabi/wannabe. I like it. You may also be correct in another way - we all know those who can't do (jihad) -- teach (at jihadi school).

I'm hoping you're not a teacher ;)

This guy and a lot of the other big-talking wannabe jihadis who make ominous threats at websites irritate me. I know that most of them are losers who could not scrape enough money together in a couple of years to come to the U.S. to start any trouble. But, there is a part of me that wishes they would try to find me - because I've got a shotgun, an itchy trigger finger and a real desire to make a meaningful contribution to the war effort by taking one more jihadi down.

Now I sound tough! - but, I think you know what I mean and probably feel exactly the same way.

Anonymous said...

Hey Cruiser:

No, I've been unable to get into this server on other blogs, too. And no, I'm not a teacher, but taught briefly after coming back from VN. Thoreau's remark (I think) used to be simply true, where now the profession is worse, preoccupied with all the post-modern BS or agitprop.

BTW, I get the same feeling from these posturing dickweeds in the ME and elsewhere. Even at my age, I'd like to run up against one or more. I talked to one of my sons in Iraq last week (Sadr City), and I asked about the opposition. He laughed. He said the IED is the soldier-by-proxy for these cowards.

Hamas and Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad and all the rest of these social clubs will eventually find out how tough they are, too.

Brian said...

Rhod, I did not realize you have a son serving in Iraq. Tell him thanks for me (and my family). I will include him in my prayers.

"Hamas and Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad and all the rest of these social clubs will eventually find out how tough they are, too"

Should we ever have to confront them militarily I think they will learn very abruptly that they are not very tough.

Brian said...

Also Rhod, thank you for your service to the country in Vietnam. I was a little slow on the uptake with your reference to VN.

Anonymous said...

Cruiser, Rhod again.

I didn't mention VN for any particular reason, other than to place it in the long-long-ago.

I have one son in Iraq with the 101st, another on his way in a couple weeks to Afghanistan with the 82nd (although he will be attached to the 10th Mountain)... and a third, with the 101st, who has already done a tour over there, is going back in August.

Don't ask me how this happened, because the conviction came from inside them, without persuasion from me and Mom. All three were college-bound, but decided on their own to pay some dues and make their mark. It was overwhelming to see it happen. You never know.

All we have now is pride and worry, but this war must be fought, whatever the cost to us as a nation and as a family. We're as prepared as we'll ever be.

Thank you for your words.

Brian said...

Rhod, your family is truly remarkable. You have done something very impressive, in raising children who love and serve their country.