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February 02, 2005

Jihad Unspun

"So Much For The Christian Creed 'Thou Shall Not Lie'" is the title of an article published on Jihad Unspun by Muhammad Abu Nasr about the recent elections in Iraq. The writer who appears to work for the Free Arab Voice begins by quoting Christian Iraqi priests who celebrate the vote that just took place. According to the story, one of them said that people were so happy to vote that the mood was “almost as though it was Carnival.”

That leads the author to write:

Naturally the sentiments of such church authorities must not be mistaken for the views of the overwhelming majority of Iraqis, including those of the Christian faith, who denounce foreign aggression and occupation, and who certainly are not interested in serving as its lackeys. The pro-American priests’ statements show, however, that US imperialism is making every possible effort to bend Christian religious institutions to the will of the invader forces and that some of those institutions – with no regard for their co-religionists’ right to national liberation and self-determination – allow themselves to serve as mouthpieces for imperialist invaders.

The article attacks "pro-Americans" and appears therefore as a good example of "anti-Americanism." Nevertheless, defining "anti-Americanism" might prove more complex than it seems.

In this case, for instance, we have a mix of different sentiments.

The last sentence in particular deserves attention because it associates pro-Americanism with imperialism (an old leftist critique), and Christian institutions (this is a Jihad site), and opposes them to national liberation and self-determination (values about which most would agree).

So I tried to find more information.

Jihad Unspun presents itself as:

"[…] an open information source dedicated to understanding the issues behind the US war on "terrorism". We publish mainstream and uncensored news, articles, and opinions without influence of any government, corporation, or association.
Our mandate is to provide a platform where facts and viewpoints that address the issues at the heart of this "jihad" can be considered, devoid of the constraints of mainstream media."

The site is categorized by Internet Haganah from Israel as "salafyist/jihadist," and by the Information Clearing House as being run by the CIA. It appears to be based in West Vancouver, British Columbia.

Posted February 2, 2005 08:26 AM

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