Opinion
Horowitz spins ‘facts’ aimlessly
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Also by Kyle Szarzynski:
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After listening to David Horowitz’s comical speech Monday at the Memorial Union Theatre, I did not feel, as might have been expected, anger or disgust. Instead, his appearance — part of the nationwide “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week” — elicited a sense of absurdity.
Throughout the evening, the ex-Trotskyist Mr. Horowitz did his pathetic best to convey, well, whatever it was he was trying to convey. He contradicted himself, called the audience “crazy” and “stupid,” and seemed perpetually flustered by an inability to articulate his thoughts. It was almost immediately evident that his ill-conceived message would be lost on any thinking person.
The factual inaccuracies were noticeable and surprising. He claimed that the Ottoman Empire was founded in 1522. Try a few centuries earlier. He said that mass graves of 300,000 people were found in Iraq. According to a July 2004 Observer report, only 5,000 total bodies were uncovered after the invasion. And in a preposterous attempt to demonstrate the supreme benevolence of U.S. foreign policy, he decided that 2.5 million people were “killed by the Communists” after the U.S. departed from Vietnam in 1975. He may have been referring to the Khmer Rouge regime’s quasi-genocide in Cambodia, but how this would have been prevented had the United States not left Vietnam was never made clear. Then again, most of his arguments lacked a logical structure. And it went on.
It would be easy to dismiss Mr. Horowitz as an absurd man with an absurd cause. Unfortunately, his views have a dangerous resonance with many Americans. The College Republicans, a mainstream organization, were responsible for bringing him to campus.
From what I could gather, Mr. Horowitz was trying to say that “radical Islam” is an independent — i.e., not related to U.S. policy — and dangerous force. Contrary to Mr. Horowitz’s inanities, this is agreed on by both sides of the political spectrum. He admitted that the fundamentalists were a minority of Muslims and that moderates were targeted in the same manner as Christians, Jews and Hindus. The fanatics must be stopped, as the argument went, by violently confronting them wherever they seek refuge. It was the usual right-wing cliche.
Since Mr. Horowitz’s points about fundamentalist Islam were so banal, why did he even bother to tour the country speaking about such a topic? It couldn’t have been, as he said, “to point out that there is this problem” with fanaticism in the Middle East, since this has been engraved in the forefront of every American’s consciousness by post-Sept. 11 media. As his speech went on, his motivations became clear enough. His concern with “Islamo-Fascism” was really a transparent bid to demonize all Muslims and Arabs, and thereby justify the most heinous of Western abuses in the Middle East.
Mr. Horowitz’s “not all Muslims are bad” line soon morphed into a general attack on all things — save the Jews of Israel — of the region. For about 10 minutes, he tried to connect various Arab politicians, movements and political parties with Hitler’s Germany. Some of his assertions — the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem collaborated with the Nazis — were true. Others — the Baath Parties of Syria and Iraq modeled themselves after the Nazi Party — were not.
Mr. Horowitz refused to credit any American Muslim or Arab organization with sufficiently denouncing extremism. In fact, all these organizations are really just terrorist front groups! His claim that UW’s chapter of the Muslim Students Association is surreptitiously funded by the Saudi government was about as weird as former UW lecturer Kevin Barrett’s deranged Sept. 11 conspiracy outburst in the middle of the speech.
Another favorite of Mr. Horowitz’s was that all Arabs carry a gene of anti-Semitism. He has made claims like this before. On his website, Frontpagemag.com, he wrote, “The sick Palestinian culture of hate is a veritable assembly line for the production of future Jew-killers.” On Monday, he informed the audience that Israel is surrounded by “300 million Arabs who hate Jews” and that the “Palestinians want to get rid of the Jews.” Didn’t you say it was only a minority of Muslims who are the problem, Mr. Horowitz?
Having established — at least to the College Republicans sitting in the first few rows — that the Middle East is a vile place comprised of vile people, Mr. Horowitz went on to justify his pro-imperialist agenda. He spoke supportively of the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, expressed a desire to aggressively confront Iran and praised the racist Israeli settlers on the West Bank.
Mr. Horowitz’s ideas may seem as ridiculous as his character, but they have a poisonous effect on American society. By maligning the diverse peoples of the Middle East, he gives legitimacy to the American imperialist project in the region. In this context, his views must be confronted and exposed for what they are: hatred with a mainstream face.
Kyle Szarzynski (kszarzynski@badgerherald.com) is a senior majoring in history and Spanish.
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Thanks kyle. Why do people need to cloak hate speech in psuedo-academia?
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“Mr. Horowitz's "not all Muslims are bad" line soon morphed into a general attack on all things — save the Jews of Israel — of the region.”
And why do you expect that Jews in Israel should be included on such a list, Mr. Szarzynski? Is there something you’d like to get off your chest?
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“Mr. Horowitz refused to credit any American Muslim or Arab organization with sufficiently denouncing extremism.”
Are there any worth crediting? I have yet to hear any of them condemn Islamic extremists.
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Kyle, having attended Mr. Horowitz’s lecture, I could agree that he may have gotten a few facts tangled, but the rude and disruptive behavior of the liberals in the audience was what stood out as the most absurd. And I don’t mind saying that your opinion piece here sounds pretty biased against Jews.
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“a general attack on all things — save the Jews of Israel”?!
Mr. Szarzynski, you have just proven beyond any doubt that you harbor an anti-Jewish bias.
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Here, here.
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To be fair, 300 million Muslims still constitutes a minorty of the 1.1 billion around the world.
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“I could agree that he may have gotten a few facts tangled, but the rude and disruptive behavior of the liberals in the audience was what stood out as the most absurd.”
Were you even there! The audience asked questions and Horowitz called them ignorant, racist, and accused one of not being able to read. If he’s going to be so disrespectful, why does he deserve respect in return?
9:58, Muslims all over the world condemned the attacks of 9/11. If you had attended the MSA forum last night and actually tried to learn something about Islam then perhaps you would know something like that.
Finally, this is the first time I’ve ever agreed with you Kyle. It feels weird.
IP hash: 6a10a8ed
“Mr. Horowitz refused to credit any American Muslim or Arab organization with sufficiently denouncing extremism.”
Naturally, that’s a bald-faced LIE.
If Kyle’s goal of that LIE is to discredit secular Muslim speakers, then he’s succeeded in looking quite foolish in public (again).
Why on Earth would IFA week support secular Muslim reformers, if it’s goal was to discredit their faith?
Horowitz challenges so-called “moderate” Muslims to demonstrate their commitment to practicing their “peaceful” faith by joining co-religionists who’ve courageously signed The St. Petersburg Declaration. http://www.secularislam.org/blog/post/SI_Blog/21/The-St-Petersburg-Declaration
Horowitz also challenges non-Muslim Leftists to try listening to what these genuine moderate Muslim reformers (and their supporters at the Horowitz Freedom Center) have to say about their faith… instead of issuing ignorant, blanket generalizations and condemnations.
btw: Readers still await Kyle’s apology for his shameless serial slander (9/25/07 column) of American soldiers and advocating their murder. http://badgerherald.com/oped/2007/09/25/iraqiinsurgentshav.php
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This seems to be a part of a national campaign. Penn State also had Rick Santorum speak on Islamo-fascism last night.
http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2007/10/24/audiencechallengessantorum_a.aspx
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“Were you even there! The audience asked questions and Horowitz called them ignorant, racist, and accused one of not being able to read.”
Either you weren’t there yourself or you’d like us all to think YOU were. In either case, you are a liar. It was the audience that misbehaved. Mr. Horowitz had every right to criticize them anyway.
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“To be fair, 300 million Muslims still constitutes a minorty of the 1.1 billion around the world.”
Well, if there are 1.1 billion Muslims, that’s 1 out of every 6 people. They’re not exactly a minority that is incapable of doing harm to the other six.
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Kyle, your articles make me want to vote republican. The republicans arent nearly as anti semitic as you hard core left wingers are.
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Muslims all over the world also danced in the streets and gave out candy celebrating the attacks of 9/11
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Kyle, try taking all the adjectives out of your column, and maybe it would be readable. Overuse of adjectives means you can’t rely on the facts to form an argument, but want to twist them into something they may or may not be.
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And why do you expect that Jews in Israel should be included on such a list, Mr. Szarzynski? Is there something you’d like to get off your chest?<<
Mr. Szarzynski, you have just proven beyond any doubt that you harbor an anti-Jewish bias. <<
How is noting that Horowitz blames all the troubles in the Middle East on everyone but Israel indicative of anti-Semitism?
You don’t have to be anti-Semitic to believe not all the blame can be laid at the feet of Muslims in the region.
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I’ve been to the middle-east, I lived under sharia law, I’ve become friends with religiously conservative Muslims. I’ve been told the stories that are brief because the deep versions are dangerously relevant.
And I have learned that those who claim to understand the region and its people are the ones who know the least.
The sands there have soaked up the blood of an endless list of peoples; Persians, Greeks, Celts, Romans, Mongols, Turks, Slavs, Brits, Arabs, Jews. Yet the ground is not saturated. It will absorb as much American blood as we offer it.
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If Kyle isn’t tying his blatant anti-Semitism into his articles, then he’s calling our soldiers terrorists. Seriously where did they brainwash you? I mean if all liberals were as crazy as you the republicans could never lose an election. Can’t wait to see your next installment of anti-american drivel.
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“By maligning the diverse peoples of the Middle East,”
Why oh why can’t he just parrot the party line of only maligning the Jews?
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Geez. My head is going to explode after reading the comments.
“…Jews…”
“Yargh!! Anti-Semite!!”
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9:58
Are you completely oblivious to reality?
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Kyle’s back in form! I was worried about him as he hadn’t attacked Israel or Jews recently.
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The Mufti of Jerusalem colloborated with the Nazis? Sounds like Zionist propaganda to me. Have you been brainwashed by the Israel Lobby?
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Thank you Kyle for your journalistic integrity that american journalists lacks at this time. American media is controlled by special interest groups who have similar agenda like Mr. Horowitz. Mr. Horowitz would like to see the US in endless war with arabs while his beloved israel - the only aparthied democracy in the world - laughs all the way to the bank expenses paid by US tax payer.
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Great Article Kyle, its refreshing to hear an honest oppinion!
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After attending Horowitz’s performance, I think I should feel far more disturbed if there were NOT people in the audience who realized the absurdity of this man.
Regardless of your political preference, I fail to understand how anyone would choose to defend a man who expressed that many contradictions in one evening.
It was a performance, a great performance by a man who sadly seemed to know not what he was trying to say
Perhaps those “leftists” in the audience were rude. But surely you can agree that his preposterous claims that leftists should be executed as war criminals and that leftists blame all the evil in the world on America are bizarre. If you found your beliefs misrepresented in such a way, how could you help but laugh?
If the conservatives can allow such a speaker on campus, than they should be ready to deal with the consequences of dissent from those of different belief - which were, by the way, very mild. Come to a real protest sometime.
Great opinion piece, Kyle.
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for being a history major, this author doesn’t know very much about anything that happened before he graduated high school…
Mr. Horowitz had every right to call those people the things he did. They asked questions that he answered in the lecture for crying out loud! what the hell is he supposed to say? and quoting stuff and trying to say you knew the meaning of a book he wrote when you haven’t even read it? They haven’t been listening to a word their professors have been saying, much less his lecture. it made perfect sense if you listened to it.
I can’t believe liberals are criticizing him for ideals they believe in. Fascism=bad. oppressing women=bad …what the hell is wrong with you people? quit just antagonizing him because you’re told to and give his words a chance to process. talk about robots…
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“Anonymous (October 24, 2007 @ 12:03pm): Kyle, your articles make me want to vote republican. “
HAHA exactly! you put so much work in trying to disprove it when proof it’s true is right in your face. such as: “He said that mass graves of 300,000 people were found in Iraq. According to a July 2004 Observer report, only 5,000 total bodies were uncovered after the invasion.”
after the invasion? you’ve got to be kidding me! did he say it was after the invasion? NO. of course it would have to be before the invasion because we ousted him during the invasion and that was one of the reasons. how old are you kyle? it seems you’re only able to recall the last 4 years of history. start trying to think about why he says things instead of not even thinking about what he says before going on this giant mission of disproving something you don’t even understand. you should work on your argumentative reasoning skills.
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Muslim students who are concerned about “Islamofascism Awareness Week” need to publicly address the substance of the allegations being made against Islam. I don’t mean events that say “Islam means peace.” I mean serious discussions about the Quranic verses and Hadith that the other side is questioning.
These are the sorts of discussions that we promote through Muslims For A Safe America. For example, in the Religion/Identity area, we’ve put together “debate” handouts (one page, double-sided) on the following issues: DEBATES ABOUT RELIGION AND IDENTITY Why Should American Muslims Talk About American National Security? Should American Muslims Be Loyal To America? When Are Muslims Required to Fight, And Against Whom? Should American Muslims Join the American Armed Forces? Are Western Civilians Legitimate Targets in War? Should American Muslims Work As Government Informants? (All these handouts are available at http://muslimsforasafeamerica.org/?page_id=49 )
Our approach is unique, because we don’t present our opinions on these issues. Instead, we just present arguments on both sides of the issues, so that each Muslim can make an informed decision.
Muslim students can use such material to organize “fair and balanced” discussions about these issues. These events would actually begin to answer the real questions that many Americans have about Islam. These discussions would be a great response to the “Islamofascism Awareness Week” events that Muslim students are concerned about.
Students at the University of Washington appear to be organizing an event where they can address the issues raised by Islamofascism Awareness Week: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003963479_islam20m.html
Kamran Memon, Esq. Muslims For A Safe America 200 S. Michigan Avenue Suite 1240 Chicago, IL 60604 (312) 961-2354 http://muslimsforasafeamerica.org/
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You can’t get out of bed these days without someone accusing someone else of being an “anti-Semite”. It’s become so overused that it’s pretty much meaningless.
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Although I did not attend Horowitz's propaganda campaign, just by reading the above comments I can tell who wasn't rude.
Kyle, I am sure you can easily shrug off the baseless accusations some of the writers have launched against you. It is very refreshing to see that a young journalist is not afraid to say the truth that even our veteran journalists on CNN and other news media are afraid to say. Criticizing Israel, an oppressive regime that violates human rights and practices collective punishment among other horrific deeds, is not anti Semitism. If anything, it is pro-Semitism. It is time that Jews and non Jews alike not let Israel commit atrocities in the name of one of the greatest religions of the World.
Well done Kyle, give yourself a pat on the back and keep up the good work.
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“”Mr. Horowitz refused to credit any American Muslim or Arab organization with sufficiently denouncing extremism.”
Are there any worth crediting? I have yet to hear any of them condemn Islamic extremists.”
I hope this remedies that situation.
http://www.muhajabah.com//otherscondemn.php http://www.unc.edu/%7Ekurzman/terror.htm
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Anonymous (October 24, 2007 @ 5:48pm): “The Mufti of Jerusalem colloborated with the Nazis? Sounds like Zionist propaganda to me. Have you been brainwashed by the Israel Lobby?”
Hmmm…how bout http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amin_al-Husayni
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Adam Sitte (October 24, 2007 @ 5:31pm): 9:58
Are you completely oblivious to reality?
Well Adam, what would the Muslim Students Association condemn Muslim ‘extremists’ for, exactly.
About what are they being ‘extreme’, and in what manner?
What would you say the underlying fundamentals of that ‘extremism’ are?
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“Are there any worth crediting? I have yet to hear any of them condemn Islamic extremists.”
How about these compilation of some of the public condemnation, by Muslims, of extremism and violence:
http://www.cair.com/Portals/0/pdf/September11statements.pdf
and…
http://www.cair.com/Portals/0/pdf/CondemnationofLondon_Bombings.pdf