Muslim Scholars Condemn Terrorism

Many in right-wing circles like to ask where are the Muslims who condemn terrorist atrocities committed by extremists in the name of Islam or the outrages of groups like the so-called Islamic State. Well, here they are. A group of 120 eminent Islamic scholars has conducted an extensive study of the Qur'an and the Hadith, and assails the actions of these extremists in the strongest terms. The group includes the Grand Mufti of Egypt and the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and All Palestine. The item was first published in English by Lauren Markoe of the Religion News Service and appeared today in the Huffington Post. The scholars make clear that such practices as torture, forced conversions and the killing of innocents are incompatible with the true teachings of Islam. I've reproduced the list below.

1. It is forbidden in Islam to issue fatwas without all the necessary learning requirements. Even then fatwas must follow Islamic legal theory as defined in the Classical texts. It is also forbidden to cite a portion of a verse from the Qur’an—or part of a verse—to derive a ruling without looking at everything that the Qur’an and Hadith teach related to that matter. In other words, there are strict subjective and objective prerequisites for fatwas, and one cannot ‘cherry-pick’ Qur’anic verses for legal arguments without considering the entire Qur’an and Hadith.
2. It is forbidden in Islam to issue legal rulings about anything without mastery of the Arabic language.
3. It is forbidden in Islam to oversimplify Shari’ah matters and ignore established Islamic sciences.
4. It is permissible in Islam [for scholars] to differ on any matter, except those fundamentals of religion that all Muslims must know.
5. It is forbidden in Islam to ignore the reality of contemporary times when deriving legal rulings.
6. It is forbidden in Islam to kill the innocent.
7. It is forbidden in Islam to kill emissaries, ambassadors, and diplomats; hence it is forbidden to kill journalists and aid workers.
8. Jihad in Islam is defensive war. It is not permissible without the right cause, the right purpose and without the right rules of conduct.
9. It is forbidden in Islam to declare people non-Muslim unless he (or she) openly declares disbelief.
10. It is forbidden in Islam to harm or mistreat—in any way—Christians or any ‘People of the Scripture’.
11. It is obligatory to consider Yazidis as People of the Scripture.
12. The re-introduction of slavery is forbidden in Islam. It was abolished by universal consensus.
13. It is forbidden in Islam to force people to convert.
14. It is forbidden in Islam to deny women their rights.
15. It is forbidden in Islam to deny children their rights.
16. It is forbidden in Islam to enact legal punishments (hudud) without following the correct
procedures that ensure justice and mercy.
17. It is forbidden in Islam to torture people.
18. It is forbidden in Islam to disfigure the dead.
19. It is forbidden in Islam to attribute evil acts to God.
20. It is forbidden in Islam to destroy the graves and shrines of Prophets and Companions.
21. Armed insurrection is forbidden in Islam for any reason other than clear disbelief by the ruler and not allowing people to pray.
22. It is forbidden in Islam to declare a caliphate without consensus from all Muslims.
23. Loyalty to one’s nation is permissible in Islam.
24. After the death of the Prophet, Islam does not require anyone to emigrate anywhere.

Nations Now Uniting Against ISIS

ISIS is certainly not afraid to make enemies. Their latest round of terrorist strikes may have succeeded in uniting international action to finally begin bringing an end to their barbaric outrages. The horrific terrorist attacks in Paris last Friday, November 13 that have claimed 129 lives thus far came close on the heels of the October 31 murder of 224 in the downing of a Russian airliner over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, apparently by an explosive stowed in baggage, and the killing of 43 by twin suicide bombers on November 12 in Beirut, Lebanon. 

French President Francois Hollande and Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed retribution and have sent warplanes to deliver heavy attacks against ISIS targets in Syria. American planes are already conducting their own campaign in Syria and Iraq at the head of a coalition that includes 16 nations. Their strikes paved the way for Kurdish Peshmerga forces to seize the important crossroads town of Sinjar from ISIS militants.

France has invoked article 42.7 of the European Union Lisbon Charter, which calls for aid to any member state under attack. All 27 nations of the EU President have responded positively. Hollande is about to go to Washington to confer with President Obama and then will cross the Atlantic again to meet with President Putin in Moscow. Putin was shown on Russian TV today ordering his military forces to treat France, which is sending an aircraft carrier to the Easter Mediterranean, "as an ally."  

The Foreign Ministers meeting on Syria, held in Vienna on October 30 has now led to a semi-permanent group, styling itself  the International Syria Support Group. Participants include the Arab League, China, Egypt, the EU, France, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE, the UK, the United Nations, and the U.S. The group has declared that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Da'esh, in its Arabic initials) as well as the Jabhat al-Nusra Front, and ″other terrorist groups, as designated by the UN Security Council, and further, as agreed by the participants and endorsed by the UN Security Council, must be defeated.″

The tricky part is that the U.S. and its Western allies want Bashar Assad out as Syrian leader while Russia and Iran are trying to prop him up. This has so far prevented joint action among the international community on the Syrian problem. Meanwhile the war has dragged on, creating the refugee crisis and giving ISIS the chaos it has used to establish its territorial sway over much of Eastern Syria and Northern Iraq. It may well have angered enough powers now that they will put aside their differences, at least long enough to focus all their firepower on crushing ISIS first. Talks are underway to arrange a cease-fire of the various factions in Syria by January 1 that would permit effective coordination against ISIS. Don't be surprised if these talks bear fruit. ISIS's latest terror ventures have been way too successful for their own good.   

The Real Dr. Ben Carson

Now that retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson has surged to the upper echelon of Republican presidential primary contenders, many of his positions and statements are beginning to receive a much more serious level of scrutiny. The picture that is emerging is that of a man with extreme and often bizarre views and a marked tendency to exaggerate or invent fantastical stories about himself. These traits, along with Carson's strategy for dealing with these revelations, prefigure, at some point in the not-to-distant future, the likely collapse of his candidacy.

To listen to Dr. Carson for more than a few minutes is to be treated to a set of views that can only be described as bizarre. He has proposed ending Medicare. He wants to phase out Social Security. He has said the Holocaust would not have happened had the Jews been armed. (The Warsaw Jews did arm themselves and rose up against their Nazi tormentors in 1943. Their ghetto was razed in a campaign of savagery that annihilated them all to the last man, woman and child.) He says "Obamacare is the worst thing to happen to America since slavery." He's opined that the ancient pyramids of Egypt were used primarily for grain storage. These strange and loopy views are part and parcel of a fellow who regularly offers opinions completely out of the mainstream politically or completely out of the reality-based factual universe. To be blunt about it, they are the babblings of a crackpot.

 
Painting in Carson's Home: Carson at the right hand of Jesus

Dr. Carson's writings and statements about his own formative past have proven similarly elusive. He's said he hit his mother over the head with a hammer and tried to stab a friend who was only saved by his belt buckle. Friends have told CNN they have no memory or knowledge of these incidents. Carson, a doctor, has described his childhood "rage" as a "pathological disease," of which no record of diagnosis or treatment exists. He's claimed to have been invited to dinner as a young man with Gen. William Westmoreland, U.S. commander in Vietnam. Reporters have determined that Carson and Westmoreland were never in the same place at the same time. He also claimed on the Charlie Rose program he was offered a full scholarship to West Point, a school that is free, where there are no scholarships, because there is no tuition if you are admitted. He had prostate cancer surgery in August, 2002 and in November of that year said he had been cured. Two years later, in 2004, he said his prostate cancer had been cured by dietary supplements provided by Mannatech, a company that was paying him $42,000 a speech to represent them and which has been fined $4 million by the state of Texas for making medically spurious claims. When asked about his involvement with this company during the CNN Republican debate on October 28, 2015, he denied having any relationship with Mannatech. Dr. Ben Carson appears to be a serial prevaricator.

When confronted with evidence of his obvious dishonesty Carson has played the victim. Instead of saying 'Ask my classmates, teachers, relatives, or witnesses,' as you or I would do if we were telling the truth, he has fallen back on the Republican politician's dodge of blaming the "liberal media." He maintains "There's no question I'm getting special consideration. The liberal media is out to tear me down. They're after things that happened fifty years ago, that happened when I was 13." No, they are checking into preposterous-sounding things he claims have happened at various times throughout his life, that he has maintained as an adult and as recently as yesterday. Dr. Carson is running for President of the United States and leader of the free world, a position for which he seems to feel he need not have to undergo any scrutiny about the truthfulness of his statements or the content of his character. He is about to be sorely disabused of that notion.

 

Hillary Turns Benghazi Tables on GOP

Hillary Clinton's testimony before the House Benghazi Committee last Friday was a remarkable display in many respects. She has rarely been more impressive, and a political show trial has not been more obviously exposed as a partisan witch hunt since the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s. You can watch C-Span footage of it here.

Secretary Clinton, in short, mopped the floor with her Republican interrogators. She kept her cool through a grueling 11-hour marathon of grilling, accusation and unfounded innuendo, answering each question forthrightly. Some tried to make the case she didn't care about the men who died. Several tried to raise questions about her email server, or the fact that she is friends with Sidney Blumenthal and got a lot of emails from him. A couple insinuated she ordered a CIA security team to stand down, or prevented military forces from flying in from Italy. (The CIA team got to the Benghazi compound in 24 minutes. Forces from Italy would have taken hours to get there.) Most questioners adopted an unprofessional tone of badgering rudeness rather than that of an objective panel trying to find new facts about what happened and good ideas about preventing the next such incident.

This was the eighth investigation into the Benghazi attack, but this is the only one that hasn't bothered to interview the military or intelligence officials involved. They have only wanted to talk to Hillary Clinton and her aide Huma Abedin. Their "investigation" has lasted longer than the Pearl Harbor and 9/11 commissions. It's even surpassed the Watergate hearings. Yet they have released no report and no recommendations. To give you an idea of how a responsible, bipartisan committee operates, here is a link to the Senate Intelligence Committee's report and recommendations on the same topic. 

Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy was the first to officially admit what everyone suspected all along, letting the cat out of the bag by admitting the committee was an exercise designed to damage Clinton's poll numbers. Watch him here. Republican Representative Richard Hanna of New York admitted the same thing. As a result, and combined with Mrs. Clinton's well-prepared and unflappable testimony, their plans have backfired. Following the committee hearing, her poll numbers have actually soared, as you can see here.

As usual, transparently mean-spirited Republicans have overplayed their hand. Instead of hurting the Clinton campaign, they have succeeded in providing her a forum in which she looked to the whole nation as just what they didn't want--presidential.

New California Laws for 2016

Near the end of each year I like to do a feature on new California laws that will take effect the following January. Here are some noteworthy ones that have passed the legislature, been signed by Governor Brown and will come into force in 2016.

1. Right to Die. Patients who have less than six months to live as determined by two physicians will be able to ask for life-ending drugs. Open and private meetings are required, the patient must be capable of making an informed medical decision and of self-administering the drugs.

2. Vaccinations. All school-age children must have vaccinations in order to attend public school. Additionally, day care centers and homes must maintain records to show their staff members have been vaccinated for flu, pertussis and measles. Tuberculosis screening had already been required.

3. Antibiotics in Livestock. SB 27 will curb the use of low doses of antibiotics in livestock to promote faster growth. The practice is a major contributor to the evolution of drug resistant germs
4. Voter Registration. AB 1461 will direct the Department of Motor Vehicles to automatically register everyone who is an eligible citizen to vote when they come into contact with them. The person will be able to opt out if they wish.
5. Wage Theft: The State Labor Commissioner will have expanded authority to collect unpaid wages on behalf of workers who have been cheated by their employer, thanks to the passage of SB 588.
6. Ride-Sharing: State employees will be able to use ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft and rental services like Airbnb on state business.
7. Smokeless Tobacco: AB 768 bans possession or use of smokeless tobacco on professional baseball fields. AB 216 forbids the sale of vapor products to anyone under 18, even if they contain no nicotine.
8. Franchisee  Rights: AB 525 will give franchise owners greater scope to resist mandates from their corporate franchisers   
9. Concealed Weapons: SB 707 prohibits concealed weapons permit holders from bringing their weapons onto school property. Retired law enforcement is exempt, and police chiefs and school districts could set their own policies on this.
10. Disclosure: Under SB 21 nonprofit organizations have to disclose the names of donors who pay for travel gifts for elected officials. 

Obama, Tired of Games, Demands Budget

President Obama held a remarkable press conference yesterday. He served notice that he's not finished addressing gun violence, but of potentially even greater importance, the President gave congress what amounts to an ultimatum to work with him on getting a permanent budget in place with a deadline of December 11.

First, on the latest gun massacre he made a couple of good points in a new way. He compared the ongoing carnage to reducing auto accident deaths. He admitted that yes, the types of common-sense laws that have been proposed won't end all gun deaths, just as things like seat belts, air bags and better car and road engineering haven't ended all auto crash deaths. But they have reduced the rate by 75%. To say that because we can't save every life means that we should not try to save any lives or as many as we can is fatalistic and not in the normal American character. His other point on this topic was that to make headway the majority who favor these common sense improvements will need to make them a voting priority in order to get congress to change. That's because the minority of intransigent pro-gun voters are single-minded in that way and their intensity must be matched by the other side if they want to win. The President vowed to keep speaking out on the issue.

In what may have been his most important statement, President Obama laid down a marker regarding the budget. Referring to the stopgap continuing resolution to keep the government funded for 10 weeks through December 11, the President said he would not sign another such bill. He is going to insist that congress produce an actual budget. The national budget is frozen at sequester levels "temporarily" agreed to four years ago. They are pegged to the 2006 budget. Since then our population has grown 8% and the national economy has grown 12%. Many things need more money to provide the same service, some things need increases to meet new needs, and some things should be scaled down or cancelled, since they either don't work or have achieved their objectives. The resulting straight jacket produces a spending pattern that is increasingly out of sync with national needs. He was right to call it irresponsible. He is ready to negotiate on taxes and spending priorities and calls upon the Republican leadership in congress to do likewise.

Also relating to the budget, Obama put some things off limits. First, the debt ceiling needs to be raised even before December 11. There will be no negotiation on this; congress just needs to do it. Second, he will not give in to blackmail over Planned Parenthood. Some in the GOP are threatening a new shutdown over it. Obama said he understands their intensity of feeling on the matter, but it is inadmissible to jeopardize the entire economy and the full faith and credit of the USA over it. He said he feels the same way about the importance of gun legislation, but would never use that as a lever to threaten to wreck the American economy and hurt millions over an unrelated issue. Imagine, he said, if I threatened to crash the American economy if I didn't get my way over gun laws. It would be crazy. For them to threaten to do so over the debt limit for money they've already spent, or on the budget itself, is nothing less.

In our constitutional system, the President concluded, neither he nor congress can work their will without the other. They need to confer and negotiate. Because they have differing views, there will need to be compromises. He is tired of the posturing, resolute about rejecting blackmail, and ready to talk and get something done. He's right. Enough extremism is enough, it's time to govern.

GOP Outs Itself on Benghazi

Good, we can stop with the pretenses now. The never ending investigations of Hillary Clinton over Benghazi have been an exercise in craven political theater, meant to damage the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. We have this on the word of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), the number two House Republican. The likely new Speaker of the House to succeed retiring John Boehner was attempting to curry favor with conservative Republican voters on the Sean Hannity Fox "News" program when he said this:

What you’re going to see is a conservative speaker, that takes a conservative Congress, that puts a strategy to fight and win. And let me give you one example. Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right? But we put together a Benghazi special committee. A select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping. Why? Because she’s untrustable. But no one would have known that any of that had happened had we not fought to make that happen.

If you want to see McCarthy say it in his own words, go here.


So the soon-to-be most powerful figure in the GOP congress admits these interminable hearings are a "strategy to fight and win." Commentator Michael Kinsley once observed that a gaffe is "when a politician tells the truth — some obvious truth he isn't supposed to say." McCarthy's "gaffe" has exposed this charade for what it is. There have been 8 investigations of Benghazi up to now, 7 congressional and one independent. All have exonerated Secretary Clinton of any malfeasance or negligence. None has found dereliction of duty or State Department conspiracy in play in the tragic killing of four American personnel there. Yet Secretary Clinton is about to be hauled before yet another one of these hearings Wednesday, October 22. At least now the public will know for sure what this is all about.