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<DIV><FONT size=2>Dr. Gier stated, "<FONT face=Arial> Suffice it say, among the
Fez (Shriner) hats, the Berber caps, the prayer caps, the Tuareg turbans, and
the beautiful head scarves on the women, I did not see a single
terrorist.</FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman">"<BR></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Nick, I'm curious, did you expect a terrorist to wear a sign
declaring he/she was such? Or are your powers of observation such that you could
spot one anytime, anywhere? </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>If you can, I think you are wasting your talents and the
country would be grateful if you would put those talents to use fighting
terrorism.</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=jampot@adelphia.net href="mailto:jampot@adelphia.net">g. crabtree</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=nickgier@adelphia.net
href="mailto:nickgier@adelphia.net">nickgier@adelphia.net</A> ; <A
title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, April 30, 2007 2:35
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Vision2020] The Imam of Ait
Kassem Serves Lunch</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Professor Gier contends:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>"the Blue Men or Tuaregs are proud Berbers who
successfully defended their bleak homeland against the French Foreign
Legion."</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2>While I have no doubt that your hosts may
have told you any number of tales of daring do with regard to their exploits
against the <SPAN lang=fr xml:lang="fr">Légion étrangère the sad fact of the
matter is that while they fought bravely they got their collective asses
handed to them as evidenced by the treaty in Mali of 1905 and Niger in 1917.
I'm afraid that swords and camels were no match for legion infantry and
Berthier and Lebel bolt action rifles and St. Etienne machine guns. Their
"homeland" of the middle and western Sahara and the north central Sahel did
not come under local control (such as it is) until the mid 60's. Camerone
day, or all days is an inappropriate occasion to falsely portray the exploits
of those who wear and have worn the kepi blanc.</SPAN></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><SPAN lang=fr
xml:lang="fr"></SPAN></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><SPAN lang=fr
xml:lang="fr">g</SPAN></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>----- Original Message ----- </FONT>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>From: <</FONT><A
href="mailto:nickgier@adelphia.net"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>nickgier@adelphia.net</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial
size=2>></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>To: <</FONT><A
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>vision2020@moscow.com</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial
size=2>></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 10:33
AM</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Subject: [Vision2020] The Imam of Ait Kassem
Serves Lunch</FONT></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><BR><FONT size=2></FONT></FONT></DIV><FONT face=Arial
size=2>> Hail to the Vision!<BR>> <BR>> I post tomorrow's radio
commentary on NSA last week, and since I'm now taking off for a conference in
Alberta, I'm now posting next week's column.<BR>> <BR>> This the first
of three columns I'm writing about my incredible 3-wk. trip to Morocco.
Especially for one of our visionaries, I made a special effort to make a list
of all the different headgear I observed on these wonder Muslim
people.<BR>> <BR>> After three days of sandstorms in the Sahara Desert
(a column forthcoming), I was quickly convinced that wrapping my head in a
beautiful blue rag was the best protection. My Blue Man guide cut me
down to size when he said that my turban was not "long enough." (I lost
about 1,000 macho points on the spot.) He was right: one needs at least three
meters so that you can sufficiently protect your neck. <BR>> <BR>>
By the way, the Blue Men or Tuaregs are proud Berbers who successfully
defended their bleak homeland against the French Foreign Legion. They
painted their faces with indigo so they could sneak up on the hapless French
at night. The Blue Men ran circles around the poor suckers.<BR>>
<BR>> Suffice it say, among the Fez (Shriner) hats, the Berber caps, the
prayer caps, the Tuareg turbans, and the beautiful head scarves on the women,
I did not see a single terrorist.<BR>> <BR>> Nick Gier, Proud
Intellectual Mutant<BR>> <BR>> THE IMAM OF AIT KASSEM SERVES
LUNCH<BR>> <BR>> By Nick Gier, Professor Emeritus, University of
Idaho<BR>> <BR>> Early one April morning in 2007, we drove down from the
Todra Gorge in Southeast Morocco and entered the Valley of Roses, where rose
water is prepared for export. Our tour group had been invited to lunch
with Ahmed Maghiouzi, the Imam of Ait Kassem, the Muslim minister of the local
mosque.<BR>> <BR>> The assembly hall was beautifully constructed and was
decorated with Berber symbols. Although our guide and the imam were
Berbers, the indigenous peoples of North Africa, they conversed in Arabic, the
national tongue as well as the language of Islam.<BR>> <BR>> We were
impressed by the fact that the imam himself was the servant, an expression of
the racial and social equality that is a basic Islamic principle. The Imam
served tajine, a delicious stew of meat, couscous, potatoes, carrots, and
parsnips steamed in a conical ceramic cooking pot.<BR>> <BR>> After
lunch the imam's small son Lahcen came in and confidently shook hands with the
entire group, and he then sat down next to his father. We were then encouraged
to ask the imam any question that we wanted.<BR>> <BR>> The first
question was about the imam's theological training. He answered that he
had spent 14 years at a seminary where he memorized the Qu'ran, studied the
Sunnah (the deeds and sayings of Mohammed), Islamic law, and
astronomy.<BR>> <BR>> The group was curious about why the imam had to
study astronomy. Medieval Muslims were expert astronomers and many of
the stars have Arabic names. The imam explained that some Muslim prayers
require stellar orientation, and that the determination of Muslim holy days
requires exact knowledge of the appearance of the new moon.<BR>> <BR>> I
asked the imam about the Wahabi theology that inspired Osama bin Laden, and
which is still being spread and funded by Saudi Arabia. Our guide had
earlier pointed out some women in black purdah and had explained that their
husbands had been influenced by this very conservative Islamic sect.
<BR>> <BR>> When the imam informed us that that Ministry of Islamic
Affairs had proscribed Wahabi teachings, I followed up with an observation
that this appeared to be a violation of religious freedom. Our guide defended
this saying that the threat of Al Qaeda was so great that this decision was a
matter of national security.<BR>> <BR>> In May of 2003, three Saudis
were given ten-year sentences for starting an Al Qaeda cell in Morocco and
planning to blow up ships in the Straits of Gibraltar. Later that same month,
ten suicide bombers killed 41 people and injured another 100 in Casablanca,
the second largest city in Africa. <BR>> <BR>> In March of this year,
police cornered an Al Qaeda operative in an internet café in Casablanca where
he blew himself up. While we were in the country, police had located
more four more terrorists, three of whom blew themselves up and the fourth was
shot by police. Because of police effectiveness, we felt fairly secure,
and I at least was convinced that terrorism should be handled by good police
work rather than a foolish military adventures in the Middle
East.<BR>> <BR>> America had air bases in Morocco until 1963 and
was a strong ally during the Cold War. Along with other moderate Muslim
countries, including Saddam's Iraq, Osama bin Laden has called Morocco an
"apostate" nation and has been a target for jihadis.<BR>> <BR>> Earlier
in the trip we visited a madrassa in the medieval city of Fes. There
were 26 students living in a beautifully ornate 14th Century building. We
interviewed three students who were studying theology with 300 other
seminarians at Fes University, which has an unbroken history of 1100 years.
For centuries the students in Fes would gather around the professor's "chair"
and form an "intellectual circle."<BR>> <BR>> The students condemned
terrorists who claim to be Muslims. They said that Islam teaches that it is
absolutely prohibited to take a life without reason, and that those who commit
suicide go straight to Hell. <BR>> <BR>> The students also confirmed
that Wahabi theology was not part of their curriculum, and they also mentioned
that classes in Judaism and Christianity would soon be added to their
syllabus. When asked about when and whom they would marry, they surprised us
by saying that there would be no obstacle to them marrying Jewish or Christian
women.<BR>> <BR>> Returning to the assembly hall, the imam's wife came
in, shook hands with everyone, and then assisted in a demonstration of a
Berber wedding. The couple who had been married the longest was chosen
from our group to dress up and play the parts of bride and groom. Bill and
Doris from New Jersey, married fifty years, were beaming in their elaborate
costumes as the imam wrote out a wedding contract in the elaborate Arabic
script.<BR>> <BR>> I have read many books and articles on the world's
religions, but there is nothing like person to person contact to correct and
deepen our understanding and increase our tolerance for other beliefs.<BR>>
<BR>> <BR>>
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