Glimpses into Islamic Minds, III

It is endlessly fascinating to explore the thinking processes of the Arab-Islamic mind. All of the news is atwitter this morning with details about this tape allegedly released by al-Zarkawi and addressed to bin Laden. All the news media fixate on whether or not the tape is really Zarkawi. Let's focus on something else.

First, here is some background:

My Way News: Al-Zarqawi Message Now Says Wounds Minor, May 30, 8:17 PM (ET), By SALAH NASRAWI

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Iraq's insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi purportedly made an audio address to Osama bin Laden on Monday to assure the al-Qaida leader that he was in good health after being wounded in a fire fight with U.S. troops.

Now to the fun part alleged to have been spoken by al-Zarkawi:

"It was one of the greatest battles of Islam," the speaker said. "We would like to assure you that we are continuing on the path of jihad, we are committed to our pledge. We will either win or die trying."

Then, let's wrap up the news report with a look at the facts:

The U.S. military said it killed 125 militants during its weeklong offensive against al-Zarqawi's fighters. Nine U.S. Marines were killed and 40 injured during the operation, one of the largest American campaigns since militants were driven from Fallujah six months ago. The number of civilian casualties was not immediately known.

Whoever spoke on the tape exhibited very typical Arabic thinking, or Arab-Islamic thinking, if you will. This type of thinking has been beautifully delineated in one of the most important books about that part of the world: Raphael Patai's, The Arab Mind. (We have reviewed this book in depth on our website.)

Their kind of mind lives and dies by the notion of shame, or dishonor, or humiliation. Take your pick. Theirs is such a fragility of self-esteem that it provokes actions quite alien to our minds. Given how Islam destroys the role of reason in their own minds and formally forbids it, these people are left only with emotion to run their lives. Add to that how their existence rides from moment to moment on how others rate them, and you have not only volatility of behavior, but interesting, if not hilarious, statements.

The speaker on the tape says, "It was one of the greatest battles of Islam." Go to paragraph three above to see the facts. The incongruity is inescapable.

There is another thinking mechanism they employ which is involved here as well. An easy way to state it is that they truly believe that the thought equals the deed. Maybe this is why the Leftists in America are so cozy with these people since liberals and other lefties think the same way in this regard.

So, if someone proclaims that this was one of the greatest battles of Islam, then, by golly, it is.

Philosophically, this is called primacy of consciousness, both in metaphysics and epistemology, and it is a devastating thinking flaw. It means that will, wish, desire, etc., create reality and truth. It means that reality conforms to the actions of consciousness. No one anchored in reality can afford such a flaw, but every tyrant since history began to be recorded has thought this way, and many others besides.

Dr. Patai points out how a Muslim military leader in one of the Arab-Israeli wars reported to one of the Arab country leaders that the Arabs were winning gloriously, utterly crushing the Jews, thus bringing great honor to Islamia. As a result, that leader sent no reinforcements, and the Arabs were wiped out in hours.

Reality always wins in the end.