James Leander Cathcart Quotes

The Koran is even more discriminatory regarding Jewish & Christian clerics: {584380}.

Jerusalem has been holy to the Jews, Christians and Muslims. It was the Capital of the ancient Jewish kingdom from ~1000BC. In ~960BC Solomon built the first Jewish Temple. Babylonians conquered and destroyed the temple which was rebuilt and completed in 68 BC under the Jewish King Herod and then destroyed by the Romans 2 years later. In 135 the city was sacked and the Byzantine Christians controlled the city. In 638 the Muslims conquered the city and built The Dome of the Rock Mosque on the ruins of the sanctuary of King David. In 1099 Crusaders conquered Jerusalem slaughtering the Muslim & Jewish inhabitants. In 1187 the Muslims retook the city and held it till the fall of the Ottomans in 1917. England ruled it until the 1948 partition; then Israel & Jordan ruled but Jews were not allowed to worship at the temple site. In the 1967 War Israel retook Jerusalem. Although Muslims can still worship at their Mosque, the President resents anyone but Muslims controlling the Holy City.

Hazrat Omar ibn al-Khatab

The reason for these creative phrases was that President George W, Bush had publicly stated that it was United States policy to follow American and International Law and the U. S. does “not torture”. The CIA then decided that it should destroy the videos of the episodes where these euphemisms were used when they were accused of torture and there were calls for prosecution for violation of U. S. law.

In the 18th Century, the Islamic Barbary States combined their religious beliefs for Jihad against non believers with a classic criminal enterprise. They would authorize cosairs to outfit ships and attack Christian merchant ships on the high seas. They would capture the ship and the cargo, which would be split with the ruler of the country. The crew and passengers would by “rented out” as slaves until they would be ransomed, the proceeds of which would also be shared. To motivate a larger ransom, the captives were regularly tortured as well as worked almost to death. The Barbary Pirates encouraged the “slaves” to write to their relatives, friends and governments to try and raise the ransom. O’Brien’s ship was captured in 1785. He had been a slave for 4 years when he wrote this. See {623704} for a quote from a letter he sent Congress. Finally, after 10 years, O’Brien and those of his crew that were still alive were finally freed. O’Brien’s unusual experience and knowledge of the Barbary States qualified him as an expert and he was then appointed Consul-General to Algiers. Individual Christian countries were offered a “treaty” whereby for an annual payment of tribute to the Barbary country, the corsairs of that country would not attack ships flying their flag. The Christian country had to make 4 different tribute payments to each of the Barbary nations. Most of the European powers were paying the tribute even though some could easily defeat the Corsair navies in a war. The cost of outfitting a fleet for war was much more costly than paying the tribute. The new nation of the United States was good pickings for the Barbary pilots and there was a period of several decades where the Americans had to create a policy to pay tribute or go to war. At different times America did both.

In the 18th Century, the Islamic Barbary States combined their religious beliefs for Jihad against non-believers with a classic criminal enterprise--piracy. They would authorize corsairs to outfit ships and attack Christian merchant ships on the high seas. They would capture the ship and the cargo, which would be split with the ruler of the country. The crew and passengers would by “rented out” as slaves until they would be ransomed, the proceeds of which would also be shared. To motivate a larger ransom, the captives were regularly tortured as well as worked almost to death. The Barbary Pirates encouraged the “slaves” to write to their relatives, friends and governments to try and raise the ransom. Individual Christian countries were offered a “treaty” whereby for an annual payment of tribute to the Barbary country, the corsairs of that country would not attack ships flying the flag of the country that paid the tribute. The Christian country had to make 4 different tribute payments to each of the 4 Barbary nations. Most of the European powers were paying the tribute even though some could easily defeat the Corsair navies in a war. The cost of outfitting a fleet for war was much more greater than paying the tribute. The new nation of the United States was good pickings for the Barbary pirates and there was a period of several decades where the Americans had to create a policy to pay tribute or go to war. At different times America did both. Jefferson argued for War rather than pay the blackmail tribute.

The Taliban opposed all education except orthodox Muslim religious education.

Muslims had engaged in violent demonstrations to insist on more Sharia law and the curtailment of behavior that the Muslim Mullahs determined to be contrary to Sharia and Islam. In Nigeria Muslim violence and intimidation had at the time already caused one of the Nigerian states to adopt Sharia instead of civil law. Many Muslims continued the violence in order to spread the adoption of Islamic law. In most counties, there were threats of law enforcement crackdowns to curtail the Muslim violence and attacks on Christians and other religions. In Nigeria however, the Christians under Akinola’s leadership made this not so subtle veiled threat to retaliate. It seems to have worked in the short run although the religious tensions remained very high and no one knew whether or not religious violence or even war would break out.

The Iranian government had negotiated with America and agreed to a law granting diplomatic immunity to ALL Americans working in Iran for any purpose.

The Alawites, always a Muslim minority in Syria, have been hated, distrusted, discriminated against, and physically persecuted by the majority Sunni Muslims as long as they have existed. When in Syria, the Alawites, although a minority, gained political control of the country and for the first time were secure in their own country. In the early 2000s, the Sunni majority tried to oust the Alawite leadership, but the Assad government put down the protests brutally. Most Western observers did not know of the anti-Alawite history of persecution in Syria. Returning to that position of victimization was so feared by the Alawites that they fought tooth and nail, murdering many civilians, to be sure that the historical position of the Alawites would not occur again. This makes talks and negotiations over the Syrian Civil War so difficult. The Alawites believe that if they do not control the nation, they will be massacred by the majority. The Christians and the Jews also believe that if the Sunni’s get control, their communities will be in great danger. Complicating the situation even further, is that fact that of the insurgent Sunni groups, the tolerant secular ones who started the revolution are no longer in control of the insurgents. De facto dominance has passed to the Jihadist, Islamic extremists who hold the view expressed by this quotation.

The French were governing Syria under a League of Nations mandate which was about to expire in 1936. The Alawites and other minorities feared for their future once the Sunni Muslims took over the government. The petition asked the French to continue to exercise their authority. The Alawite solution was to ruthlessly seize control of the Syrian government with the support of the Christians, Jews and other minorities. Al-Assad’s son and then his grandson took over as the President (de facto dictator) of Syria. In the 2012 Syrian revolution against the Alawites, al-Assad (the grandson) fought the insurgency so brutally that many nations ended up supporting and aiding the rebels. However, the fear of what would happen if the Alawites were again relegated to minority status, drove the Alawite brutality.

Martin Luther King and his SCLC were demonstrating in St. Augustine, Florida against the segregation in that community. The local law enforcement officers had conspired with the local KKK groups to allow the group to beat the demonstrators and then arrest the demonstrators for disturbing the peace and demonstrating in the face of a local injunction against the demonstrations. Then the local authorities placed huge bail on the arrestees that they could not easily meet. While they were in custody, they were tortured in various ways. Judge Simpson, vacated the injunction and ordered that the demonstrators not be arrested, and if they were for any other crime reasonable bail be required. He also recommended prosecution of the wrong-doers. Remarkably, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover ordered his agents not to protect the civil rights demonstrators on the grounds that the FBI should not provide protective services. Hoover had a personal hatred of King who he claimed was a Communist, a sex pervert, and a law breaker. The President then threatened the Florida Governor to send Federal Marshalls into St. Augustine if the state could not maintain law and order. The Governor and the Georgia Senators pleaded to stop the demonstrations which were being intensified because King and the Civil Rights Demonstrators were gaining huge sympathy with the general public as a result of the journalists’ reports and Judge Simpson’s findings. The Civil Rights Bill of 1964 was being filibustered by the Southern senators at that time and this was a tactical victory, but some of the civil rights demonstrators were paying a fearful physical price. Judge Simpson died 4 year later, hated by the KKK and other segregationists in Florida. However in time, even the local Floridians came to appreciate the Judge’s role. The graphic shows the Federal Courthouse named in Judge Simpson’s honor.

“Dey” and “bey” were Arabic terms for the local ruler of an area.

The Barbary Pirates had an incredible extortion racket going in the Mediterranean. If nations would pay them an annual sum each year, they would not attack and seize merchant ships of that country and sell the ships and goods while holding the sailors for ransom.

The plan was to have an American agent with a few marines make an alliance with a rival to the throne of Algiers and depose the existing ruler with American “special forces”.

The Barbary Pirates had an incredible extortion racket going in the Mediterranean. If nations would pay them an annual sum each year, they would not attack and seize merchant ships of that country and sell the ships and goods while holding the sailors for ransom. President Jefferson had first dispatched American warships and authorized a major land operation which were very effective. Finally, a treaty was negotiated but Decatur reminded the Navy of what brought the Algerians to the negotiating table.

While to Madison the principle that “war is better than tribute” was “settled policy”, there were many who disagreed. See {640867} as an example.

Other vibrant democracies also have such restrictions on freedom of speech such as Germany and Israel.