The US Vice-President Dick Cheney and some of those close to him in Washington have been very taken with the “Lebanese model” for Iraq. Presumably, this conjures up the vision of a pluralist... Show moreThe US Vice-President Dick Cheney and some of those close to him in Washington have been very taken with the “Lebanese model” for Iraq. Presumably, this conjures up the vision of a pluralist republic, open to free enterprise and foreign capital, presided over by an elite of zu‘ama (notables and local leaders), with sufficient common interest in the status quo to keep the whole thing going. This comes either from a selective reading of pre-1967 Lebanese political history, or from a heavily edited version of the post-Ta’if era. Show less
In 2002, nearly 70 years after its completion, a long essay by the celebrated Iraqi poet Maaruf Rusafi on the nature of prophecy in Islam was published in Germany. His reading of early Islamic... Show moreIn 2002, nearly 70 years after its completion, a long essay by the celebrated Iraqi poet Maaruf Rusafi on the nature of prophecy in Islam was published in Germany. His reading of early Islamic history, in particular of the accomplishments of the Prophet Muhammad, roughly coincided with another new reading; that by the Egyptian Ali Abd al-Raziq. Rusafi’s admiration for Muhammad is enormous and he credits him with inspiring the Arabs to initiate a new order, taking humanity from the reign of tribal customs to the vision of communities built on shared ethics and beliefs. Show less
In the months leading up to the US invasion of Iraq, I did not believe, and said so in public, that Iraq was in any way directly responsible for 9/11, or that the Iraqi regime had any substantive... Show moreIn the months leading up to the US invasion of Iraq, I did not believe, and said so in public, that Iraq was in any way directly responsible for 9/11, or that the Iraqi regime had any substantive links with al-Qa'ida, or that it was likely that Iraq was actually able to field weapons of mass destruction. I believed that Iraq had probably tried to obtain weaponsgrade plutonium, and I knew that it had actually obtained centrifuges from Germany, as well as the means to manufacture chemical and biological weapons from Germany and the US. I surmised, from a position of total scientific ignorance, that Iraq probably possessed most of the ingredients necessary to manufacture weapons of mass destruction, but that it was some way off from actually doing so. Show less
