Liberty Alone

Catching up from my holiday I’ve read several very good posts recently.
I’m sharing them in Google Reader and they can be found on my sidebar.

In particular I’ve come across some fascinating articles detailing the history which has led to some current situations.
First up is a potted history of Persian/Arab animosity at The Art Of The Possible and a commemoration and condemnation of the shooting down of an Iranian civilian aeroplane during the US’s covert war againt Iran during the Iran-Iraq war at LewRockwell.com
Both of these give an important insight into the situation today in the Middle East and the US administration’s duplicity when it comes to these issues.

Closer to home we have Nosemonkey’s short history of Belgium which gives a good glimpse into the tensions which may split the country in two (hopefully in a peaceful manner).

Islam has a long tradition of liberal thought, including Ibn Khaldun.
Today, we only really hear of the extremists and militants, the state sponsored violence in the Middle East and the extremist terrorists who use Islam as an excuse get all the press.

I was heartened to read an article by Michael Totten on TCS about a liberal Shia cleric in Lebanon - Sayyed Mohammad Ali El Husseini.

Here is a cleric who talks of peace and tolerance, who opposes dictatorship on the most liberal of grounds - it is simply a form of violence.
He has been threatened by Hezbollah and Iran, local journalists will not interview him because of the threat to their safety, but he keeps on preaching peace and tolerance.