On the heels of revelations that the hardcore jihadist who headed up Pakistan's nuclear program was happy to share his knowledge and resources, we learn that "Pakistan scientists have sold plans to make a nuclear bomb to Libya for 'millions of pounds', Saif al-Islam [Sword of Islam], son of Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gadaffi has confirmed." This from Sify News, .
"In an interview to the 'Sunday Times', Saif stated that Libya had bought nuclear components from a variety of black market dealers. 'We dealt with an underground network of middle men and secret workshops'. Some Arab sources, quoted in the Times, said some of the components for the Libyan nuclear programme were bought in Dubai and shipped to Libya.
"Western experts who went to inspect Libyan weapons site, following the agreement between Colonel Gaddafi and Britain and the US, were taken aback when they found that nuclear scientists working for the Libyan leader had a 'full bomb dossier' from Pakistan.
"Reacting to Saif's disclosure, Mahnaz Isphani, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, said an American aid package for Pakistan that was due to be discussed by the Congress could now come into question." Glad to hear it.
While I applaud the good work being done by this website to raise awareness of the threat of militant Islamism, there are some things which you are placing out of context.
In this news item, it is ridiculous that you chose to translate the Arabic name of Gadaffi's son in to English, thereby suggesting it has some relevance to the story. Names like Saif al-Islam are extremely common Muslims names and are not very good indicators of whether one is an adherent of religious militancy. Almost all Muslims names (be they of 'moderates' or fundamentalists) have religious significance, and providing a literal translation of one takes it out of context.
Moreover, Gadaffi (and presumably his son) could never be categorized as an Islamist. His ideology is extremely secular. Like Saddam, he is a brutal dictator, but secular nonetheless. I don't think that this news item belongs on website called JihadWatch, for Gadaffi is the last person to be called an Islamist. More generally, it is surprising how ignorant the American media and political circles are in thinking that people like Saddam and Gaddafi are Islamists who could have links to al-Qaida. The irony is that by toppling Saddam's government (which brutally crushed all Islamists) in Iraq, the US created a vacuum which has now been filled by militant Islamists. A self-fulfilling prophecy?
A quick addition. I had a look at the link to the Sify News article that this item has quoted from. In the original Sify News text the name 'Saif al-Islam' has not been translated into English, as has been done by whoever posted the quotation on this website. May I ask whoever submitted the article exactly why you chose to make this addition? I'm genuinely interested.
I did. I know it is a common name but I don't think it is incidental or unworthy of interest. I am well aware that Gaddafi is no radical Muslim, but I think he like Saddam will sound jihadist chords if he thought they would help him. Seyf-al-Islam's name is an indication of his intention to maintain Islamic bona fides despite all his eccentricity. RS
I honestly thought that you had a much better understanding of the Muslim world. However it is now apparent to me that your understanding of Muslims, and the way think, is not very deep.
By naming his son "Sword of Islam" Gaddafi is not fooling anyone in to thinking that he has fundamentalist beliefs. The name Sayf al Islam is very common among all Muslims, regardless of whether their parents were liberal seculars or hardcore jihadists. Gadaffi is well aware of how little significance it would be to anyone (except maybe yourself) to give his son such a name.
I don't mean to attack you personally, but I just find that you don't fully understand how Muslims perceive and interpret certain social actions. Your tendency to read things out of context is with sincere intent, but will eventually result in misleading conclusions.
I'm curious. If you don't mind me asking, what is your background? Have you spent any significant amount of time living in the Muslim world?
Best,
jc
Sir:
Apparently you missed where I just said it was a common name. I think we are talking past each other. I say "It's a common name" and you say, "You're ignorant! It's a common name!"
Cordially
RS
Yes, I know you acknowledged that the name was common, but I wanted to reiterate it (my apologies if you feel it is redundant). But the real point of my last post is that, in the Muslim world, giving a name such as Sayf al-Islam is not interpreted as having any real significance. As eccentric as Gaddafi may be, he is not so stupid to think that he might be fooling anyone.
This does not mean to suggest that Gaddafi has not employed religious symbols and icons to mobilize the support of the hardliners. However the naming of his son is not one of those symbols. No one in the Muslim world would take any real notice of it.
Your interpretation reminds me of the many Muslims who have little understanding of the West, but insist that every little action by a Westerner is part of the West's Grand Conspiracy against Islam. When George Bush used the word "crusade" to describe the "War on Terror", anyone with any understanding of Western culture realized that he was not making a literal reference to the Medieval Crusades. Most Muslims however insisted that this proved his intention to conquer the entire Muslim world; they were not aware of the cultural baggage carried around by the word "crusade" in modern English. I urge you to keep the standards of this website above that of those very people that we are against.
Again, could I ask you to tell us if you have spent any significant time living in the Muslim world? I'm just to know what type of exposure you have had to Muslims.
Best,
jc
Sir, let me remind you that all this talk of a larger significance of the name, or lack thereof, comes from you, not me. All I did was translate it in the original article; I think it is an interesting example of the extent to which martial terminology pervades Muslim culture, even among nominal Muslims. I also think it is part of Gaddafi's Muslim self-identification, helping to compensate for other areas in which his Islamic identification is less firm. If you can find me an Arabic-speaking non-Muslim who bears the name "Seyf-al-Islam," I will concede that the use of the name absolutely does not do this. But it is a false charge that I invested this name with some sort of huge significance. Now, enough. Best, RS
This will be my last post on this topic. Two things:
1) One of my closest friends while I was living in Jordan belongs to the Greek Orthodox church. His first name is Saifullah ("Sword of God"). I'm sure there are others.
2) You still haven't described to us the nature and extent of your interaction with Muslims. I respectfully ask you if could please do so.
Many thanks, jc