'Iraqi Gandhi' Preaches Slightly Less Violence

BAGHDAD—In schools and coffeehouses, parlors and public squares, Iraqis are discussing and debating the revolutionary teachings of activist Iyad al-Naqib, who is being hailed by some as the "Iraqi Mahatma Gandhi" for his commitment to practicing "a bit less severe" forms of violence against infidels and crusaders.

Known for sayings such as "An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind, so extract a pinky for an eye," al-Naqib, 46, is both praised and vilified throughout the Muslim world for his radical, slightly less violent teachings.

Al-Naqib's followers are instructed to bomb discos on weeknights, when they are less crowded, and to equip suicide bombers with hand grenades rather than multiple sticks of TNT.

Such views earned al-Naqib this year's Mideast Peace Prize, an award administered by the Yemeni government and presented to individuals credited with encouraging what its literature characterizes as "anything remotely close to a rough approximation of peace in the region."

"In a time when East and West seem to be hurtling toward mutual ruin, it is refreshing to hear a somewhat reasonable voice of semi-moderation from within the chaos," said Basra-based scholar Ahmed Sha'lan, who was jailed for publishing pamphlets by al-Naqib. "His followers are fighting a revolution through non-all-out violence."

A former lawyer, al-Naqib developed his less-violence views after spending several years working for the Iraqi Embassy in Istanbul, where, during a fire-bombing, he was able to resolve an ongoing conflict with an American ambassador through a fistfight. The semiviolent means—which left his victim with severe brain hemorrhaging and forced him to return to the U.S. for medical care—awakened al-Naqib to the potential of somewhat-less-extreme violent resistance.

"Violence is not the solution," al-Naqib wrote in his breakthrough 1998 treatise Practicing Semiviolence. "It is only approximately 19/20ths of the solution. We should not work toward the total annihilation of all who oppose us—just some of them. And perhaps it is best we practice occasional mercy for the innocent, such as the young, who can easily recuperate."

In a 2003 interview with British newspaper The Guardian, al-Naqib said that the "decadent immorality of Western civilization must be almost, but not quite, wiped off the face of the earth."

"Al-Naqib truly is a great, influential teacher," Sha'lan said. "His doctrine of 'slightly less violence' and 'passive involvement in the violence of others' has resonated throughout the Muslim world and is well on its way to becoming a full-fledged mass movement."

Sha'lan added: "As babu says, 'I denounce those who kill vast numbers, for the death of a few—the death of even one, if that one is well-chosen—spreads my message far and wide."

As with many political dissidents who dare to speak out, al-Naqib has paid for his beliefs. He was imprisoned for two days for criticizing the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, saying that it would have sufficed to bring down just one of the towers.

"You should be the change that you want to see in the world," al-Naqib said. "I am prepared to die for my life of slightly less violence, but there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill thousands of people when it will suffice to simply blow their legs off."

Rant rant rant

I've discovered rational discourse isn't possible through blogging. If one is upset with a reply, they delete it. And for all the "college educations" of the many people I try to talk to, I get blanket assertions without verifiable facts to support them or even life experience to explain them. Most of you people truly help to further ingrain my loathing for American society. You liberals are far too smug and withdrawn from reality to make any sort of decision. And you conservatives, you are as brainless as the fundamentalists over in Iraq and the Middle East only you use Jesus rather than Muhammad to defend your views.

I wrote a post a long time ago about what I would do if elected president. Looking through these many blogs, I know this nation has a long way to go before it's ready for any type of radical change. This country hasn't hit rock bottom yet. Until we crash none of you is going to be willing to sacrifice to make things better. Boo hoo, life is so hard for you. Suck it the fuck up. Stop trying to make excuses or laying blame. Start trying to solve the problem or stop bitching about it. Jesus Christ. I hate the war in Iraq. It's illegal. According to constitutional law, this nation may go to war if authorized by Congress. Congress approved. That is legal. Rather than recycling the sound bytes from CNN, try a little bit of book work. Was the info trumped up to support our invasion of Iraq? Sure. So was the basis of the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, and the Spanish-American War. Yet we are so proud of those conquests. Trust me, the Iraqi situation isn't new. History repeats if any of you were actually capable of reading beyond your lifespan. Oh, but this is the me-me generation.

Materialism and individualism has rotted out the moral core of this nation. Everything has to be immediate, easy, and cheap. Everyone has an opinion and they all are shouting above one another to be heard. It's nothing but noise to me.

Oh, and to those who think my posts are "too long", sorry if I'm giving you something to read. I'm not as skilled as Goebbel's at writing quick tracts to inspire and inform you on reality. I'm just giving you a bit to chew on.

Ugh, why bother. I'll stick to solving the only things I care about. This war and the state of this nation do not belong in that list. I'm too cynical to give two shits about what happens to most of you. You have it coming.