Ulrike Meinhof Quotes
Protest is when I say this does not please me. Resistance is when I ensure what does not please me occurs no more.
Ulrike Meinhof, 1934–1976, German Journalist & Terrorist, Co-Founder of The Baader-Meinhof Gang, “From Protest to Resistance”, Konkret, no. 5, May 1968
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
This quotation is used by the moderate Egyptians and other moderate Arab leaders as well as Israelis and other experts in combating Islamic Fundamentalism to illustrate the thinking process of the Muslim fundamentalist terrorist leader. They are more than willing to sacrifice those they lead (though rarely themselves) if they think that something is to be gained. But if there is nothing to be gained, their “moral” responsibility requires not “wasting” their followers’ lives. Therefore, the way these experts believe they should deal with the radicals is to face them with overwhelming force (a variant of the Powell Doctrine) and never concede anything or let them gain anything from violence. A single concession makes the terrorism, sacrifice and violence worthwhile, but if there is no gain, the leader has wasted the lives of his followers and is less likely to initiate another attack.
Half a century later some in the Muslim world were justifying terrorism, violence and intimidation on the grounds of desperation of the unique circumstances Islam as in and the attack Islam was under. However, many scholars use this quotation to illustrate that extra legal means and violence has been a Muslim tactic. It actually goes back to the beginning of Islam. It was ironic that Ali Kahn, after supporting extra-legal and violent means of achieving political objectives was himself the victim when he was assassinated in 1951.
The veiled threat of violence and disruption was a tactic that did not work.
He was jailed for the speech.
This quotation was documented by an FBI illegal wiretap of King and his associates. The illegal wiretap had been insisted upon by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover who was a racist and somewhat of a paranoid about communists. However, Attorney General, Robert F. Kennedy personally approved the illegal wiretap.
Thai society had been polarized and very large peaceful demonstrations (by the Yellow Shirts) were calling for the resignation of the government which although very corrupt and controlled by a single very rich family which had extensive support of the rural and poor (the Red Shirts). This quotation illustrates how a peaceful protest could lead to violence and terrorism. This Red Shirt leader, rather than lose, would lead violence in the streets like the Brown Shirts of the pre WWII Germany. If the violence fails, he was willing to go underground and become a terrorist movement.
Ulrike Marie Meinhof was a German left-wing journalist and founding member of the Red Army Faction (RAF) in West Germany, commonly referred to in the press as the "Baader-Meinhof gang". She is the reputed author of The Urban Guerilla Concept (1971). The manifesto acknowledges the RAF's "roots in the history of the student movement"; condemns "reformism" as "a brake on the anti-capitalist struggle"; and invokes Mao Zedong to define "armed struggle" as "the highest form of Marxism-Leninism".
