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وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

Those who struggle for Us - We shall guide them on Our paths, and Allah is with those who do what is beautiful. (Quran 29:69)

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Tuesday, February 14, 2006

A conversation with Bendib and Parenti

Khalil Bendib and Michael Parenti in conversation (sometime debate) on the Danish Cartoons.

Khalil Bendib is a Muslim American artist and political cartoonist (see side bar for some of his cartoons).

Khalil's cartoon on the Danish cartoons: hate speech and protected speech - has been featured on several news outlets, including this blog. Also check out his book of cartoons: It Became Necessary To Destroy the Planet In Order To Save It.

Michael Parenti is a political commentator and author.

Click here to listen to the conversation/debate on the ihsan podcast.

Or

Click here to play web stream.

2 comment(s):

that was a very interesting conversation - particularly that it took interaction with the public to find solid common ground between the speakers.

the conversation didn't deal with event of the cartoon as relating to immigration and worker status in europe. that was surprising. i thought labor was an issue the american left keeps close to its heart, but here we were again talking about this as war/not-war.

By Anonymous, at 2/14/2006 11:14:00 AM
Huh? The American Left keeping Labor close to its heart? That is hardly true... first there is barely an "American left" - whatever there is gave up on labor long time ago.

As a result union membership has dropped from a high of 30% of the workforce (during the 30s and 50s when there was a real labor movement that brought substantial gains)... to a mere 9% of the workforce in 2005... and dropping rapidly.

There was a time when it would be totally absurd to be considered a leftist and not be totally involved in working class struggles. These days, professional activists/non-profits etc. have taken over - who barely know the working stiffs, the culture, or issues.

This is part of the reason why present day left-activists can go about making wild statements about insulting Jesus (PBUH) as acceptable, talking crap about religion, and so on... and not worry about it. Because they do not have to answer to any constituency. If they did - they'd know that the American working stiffs are very religious - and if you wanna make any headway - you gonna have to respect and understand those sentiments.

As a social worker, and a union steward - i know this through direct frustrating experience, when i've tried to get the "left" to pay attention to labor issues.

Altaf

By Anonymous, at 2/15/2006 12:17:00 AM

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About وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ Those who struggle for Us - We shall guide them on Our paths, and Allah is with those who do what is beautiful. (Quran 29:69) Home Ihsan front/main page Hajj Journey of Discovery Hajj feature page The Blessed Month of Dhul Hijjah Previous A conversation with Bendib and Parenti Contributors redwood highlands RSS feed	Tuesday, February 14, 2006 A conversation with Bendib and Parenti Khalil Bendib and Michael Parenti in conversation (sometime debate) on the Danish Cartoons. Khalil Bendib is a Muslim American artist and political cartoonist (see side bar for some of his cartoons). Khalil's cartoon on the Danish cartoons: hate speech and protected speech - has been featured on several news outlets, including this blog. Also check out his book of cartoons: It Became Necessary To Destroy the Planet In Order To Save It. Michael Parenti is a political commentator and author. Click here to listen to the conversation/debate on the ihsan podcast. Or Click here to play web stream. posted by redwood at 2/14/2006 12:04:00 AM 2 comment(s): that was a very interesting conversation - particularly that it took interaction with the public to find solid common ground between the speakers. the conversation didn't deal with event of the cartoon as relating to immigration and worker status in europe. that was surprising. i thought labor was an issue the american left keeps close to its heart, but here we were again talking about this as war/not-war. By Anonymous, at 2/14/2006 11:14:00 AM Huh? The American Left keeping Labor close to its heart? That is hardly true... first there is barely an "American left" - whatever there is gave up on labor long time ago. As a result union membership has dropped from a high of 30% of the workforce (during the 30s and 50s when there was a real labor movement that brought substantial gains)... to a mere 9% of the workforce in 2005... and dropping rapidly. There was a time when it would be totally absurd to be considered a leftist and not be totally involved in working class struggles. These days, professional activists/non-profits etc. have taken over - who barely know the working stiffs, the culture, or issues. This is part of the reason why present day left-activists can go about making wild statements about insulting Jesus (PBUH) as acceptable, talking crap about religion, and so on... and not worry about it. Because they do not have to answer to any constituency. If they did - they'd know that the American working stiffs are very religious - and if you wanna make any headway - you gonna have to respect and understand those sentiments. As a social worker, and a union steward - i know this through direct frustrating experience, when i've tried to get the "left" to pay attention to labor issues. Altaf By Anonymous, at 2/15/2006 12:17:00 AM Post a Comment << Home	A reading list Click here for an Ihsan bloggers reading list on Amazon Podcast Click here to Listen/Subscribe to Ihsan Podcast on Itunes Cartoons Click on thumbnail

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