It is not our business that Arafat's counterpart is also as stubborn that he cannot even think about admitting his own mistakes. We do not follow him anyway. However, we speak, grit our teeth, pity and pray for Arafat.
Convictions become dogmatic if they are not built on knowledge and proof can no longer erase them. Here, Arafat himself tells us that he had made a mistake.
Yet, it has become dogmatic that Israel is the only guilty side in the Palestinian [issue]. The dogma captivation accepts that Arafat has become senile or had to say all these because he was under pressure, instead of the fact that he admitted that the Second Intifada strategy was a mistake.
Defending the contrary amounts to betraying to the Palestinian cause. Yes, it is true that Israel is the occupier and is supposed to withdraw from the West Bank and Gaza Strip right away. The wall is barbaric and torture continues with all its economic, psychological and biological dimensions. From their confessions, there are also radical Jewish groups planning to destroy Masjid Al Aqsa. Intent comes before obligation in the bombardments carried out on Palestinian lands, that result in the deaths of women and children, as well as the other sins being committed...
But, no, it is not true that Arafat, Hamas and the Al-Aqsa Martyr Brigade are clean. Turning of the Second Intifada into an armed conflict was a tactical mistake. The approval of suicide attacks was also a tactical mistake. All the three government crises in Palestine in the last five years are related to materialistic corruption. The prayer of a Muslim counts for naught, if an outsider, by looking a his movements, says, "That guy is not praying." Look at Palestine! Look at Arafat! Is this man putting up any liberation struggle?
Some of our readers claim that talking seems easier. Of course it is. Others say, you would have also become a suicide bomber and slit people's throat, had you been there and witnessed your mother and sister being raped and your brother crushed under tank wheels. Since I would have done so, then the balance is supposed to be protected by outsiders. When feelings break the balance inside, when the mind becomes silent and the heart speaks, when foresight is diminished, when blood and hatred are replaced by plan and strategy, outsiders are required to protect the balance. I personally never support Islamic scholars when they are partial regarding conflicts and issue fatwas. I have listened to Sheik Yusuf Kardawi in London: He talks about Islam as a religion of mercy for the people and sends messages of tolerance. I also watched him also on Dubai Television. He praised "sahed operations." Fatwa, viewpoint, judgment, conviction and style of expression are not independent of the political and cultural environment in which they exist. It is not enough for speakers to be unbiased but the environment in which the speech is made should also be unbiased. When Palestinian issues were mentioned in Oslo, there were solutions and they came to a conclusion when the issues were mentioned in Istanbul. However, the feelings in Palestine are so tense and the fronts are so very obvious. What we should do is understand that we are not included and thus use our ability as outsiders to preserve the balances and seek solutions on issues concerning Palestine (as well as Iraq, Indonesia, Kashmir Chechnya and Abkhazia).
But, of course, it is not possible to afford opinions and convictions without mistakes, which are frequently being done, and that is not based on knowledge.
August 23, 2004
