Shi'a Pundit

Devoted to the viewpoint of Islam of Muhammad SAW and Amir ul-Mumineen, Ali ibn Abi Talib SA, in the Shi'a Fatimi Ismaili Dawoodi Bohra tradition.

Magneto appeal.

While continuing our conversation, Dan Darling makes an incredibly insightful analogy, that you have to be part geekboy to really appreciate:

I also understand how easy it is for angry or resentful individuals to fall under the sway of a demagogue who promises to provide a means to vent out their frustrations on the people or nations responsible for them. This is one of the main reasons why I think that so much support for bin Laden exists within the Arab world, as I've noted before, he has what I call "Magneto appeal."

In the fictional universe of Marvel Comics, mutants are feared, persecuted, repressed, and in various alternate realities finally exterminated by robotic Sentinels. Magneto takes those mutants have suffered oppression or seen those who have and after explaining that they are involved in a zero-sum situation, offers to help them vent out their anger on those responsible for their plight: humanity. This is one of the reasons why I hold that the war on terror is and always was more about power than it ever was about religion.

Instantly added to my vocabulary.

I find the rest of his argument compelling. He has shifted teh center of mass of my thinking on Sadr, for the moment I just intend to see what happens next.

There was an indepth profile of Sadr, maybe in the CSM, but I am not exactly sure. Someone fwded me the link and I've lost it. It was a journalist interview who actually went to Iraq and observed Sadr holding court, and was superbly detailed as well as maintaining a tone of skepticism throughout. I remember one part where Sadr admonishes someone who had been a looter, saying that the spoils of looting are haram (forbidden) ... If someone out there can help me find it, please let me know.

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Shi'a Pundit was launched in 2002 during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. The blog focuses on issues pertaining to Shi'a Islam in the west and in the Islamic world. The author is a member of the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community. Bohras adhere to the Shi'a Fatimi tradition of Islam, headed by the 52nd Dai al-Mutlaq, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (TUS).

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