In an article titled "The Lexicon of Resistance" posted on the reformist website Elaph.com, Libyan reformist writer Dr. Muhammad 'Abd Al-Muttalib Al-Huni criticizes the abuse of the term "resistance" by Islamic fundamentalists and other extremist groups. [1]
The following are excerpts from the article:
Resistance "Has Brought Nothing but Destruction Upon the Region"
"The word 'resistance' has come to be constantly used in the killing fields known as the Middle East. The old ways resist modernity; barbarity resists civilization; the ideology of suicide resists the desire to live; hatred resists tolerance; totalitarianism and dictatorship resist democracy; poverty and disease resist continuous development. All these [types of] resistance prevail in this paralyzed part of the world.
"However, the most noisy [type of] resistance is the suicidal resistance which wraps itself in the cloak of jihad, [but in fact] distorts the justness of the causes [it purports to promote], and corrupts their noble demands by adopting this barbaric style of struggle. This behavior has brought nothing but destruction upon the region. It has caused the whole world to unite against those who act in this manner, and consequently, to oppose the causes that [these people] aim to promote."
The Types of Resistance "Rampant in the Killing Fields [of the Middle East]"
"Let us now closely examine the [types of] resistance so rampant in the killing fields [of the Middle East].
"1. When Shi'ites kill Sunnis and Sunnis kill Shi'ites in Iraq merely for their [sectarian] identity, it is called 'resistance.'
"2. When Janjaweed gangs murder unarmed civilians in Darfour, it is called 'resistance.'
"3. When year after year, Hamas and Islamic Jihad extinguish any spark of peace which can end the suffering of the Palestinian people, it is called 'resistance.'
"4. When Hizbullah takes an entire people hostage and refuses to obey the elected [authorities], dragging Lebanon into destruction, it is called 'resistance.'
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"5. The war which is being waged by the new global terrorism under the command of bin Laden, Al-Zawahiri and Al-Zarqawi is called 'resistance.'
"6. The alliance between the defeated remnants of the pan-Arab nationalist chauvinists and [the defeated remnants] of the Islamists - who are both [willing to] ally themselves with any murderer - is called 'resistance.'
"7. Establishing television channels like Al-Jazeera, which misleads the Arab public and causes [the Arabs] to wager repeatedly on the victory of the losing side - is called 'resistance.'
"8. When distinguished Arab lawyers rally by the thousands to the defense of Saddam Hussein while neglecting his victims and disregarding their cases, it is called 'resistance.'
"9. When people eulogize and mourn terrorists who have murdered thousands of Iraqis in the streets of [Iraqi] cities and villages, presenting them as heroes of the Arab nation, it is called 'resistance.'
"10. When Muslim religious scholars issue fatwas permitting murder, suicide, and slaughtering of brothers and compatriots, and when [these scholars] condemn every rationalist idea as 'stupid'... and show contempt for modernity, it is called 'resistance.'
"11. The murder of more than 130,000 innocent Algerian citizens, and the annihilation of a whole generation of journalists, writers and thinkers in Algeria, is called 'resistance.'
"12. Murdering tourists and bombing hotels in Egypt is called 'resistance.'
"13. Bombing hotels in Amman and killing the bride and groom, and anyone [else] who tries to celebrate in these sad killing fields, is called 'resistance.'"
"These Resistance [Groups]... Have No Future"
"What is common to [those who carry out] these types of resistance is that they all present themselves as 'Islamic,' and as the only force that still fights against imperialism in the Arab theater which has been destroyed by political autocracy. They all call for political programs that can be summed up in the slogan 'Islam is the Solution to All Problems.'
"The project of these resistance [groups] has had its day in the Arab world. It made the most noise and [caused] the most bloodshed, and therefore its dreadful collapse is highly imminent. [This program] betted on a wild horse, and has left not a single seed that can sprout, nor a single bud that can open. They are the murderers of the future, and therefore they have no future."
[1] For more on Dr. Al-Huni, see:
MEMRI Libyan Reformist Author in Essays Critical of Hizbullah, "Libyan Reformist Author in Essays Critical of Hizbullah," August 3, 2006, Libyan Reformist Author in Essays Critical of Hizbullah ;
MEMRI Libyan Intellectual Dr. Muhammad Al-Houni: The Arabs Must Choose Between Western Civilization and the Legacy of the Middle Ages, "Libyan Intellectual Dr. Muhammad Al-Huni: The Arabs Must Choose Between Western Civilization and the Legacy of the Middle Ages," September 12, 2005, Libyan Intellectual Dr. Muhammad Al-Houni: The Arabs Must Choose Between Western Civilization and the Legacy of the Middle Ages ;
MEMRI Arab Intellectuals: Under Threat by Islamists, "Arab Intellectuals: Under Threat by Islamists," November 23, 2005, Arab Intellectuals: Under Threat by Islamists .
