As Jon Stewart reminded us last night, Fox News seems to have as many ties to radical Islam as the imam at the "Ground Zero Mosque." After all, Roger Ailes' biggest investors are Saudi Arabians, and Saudi Arabia is the main source of funding for radical Wahabists and radical madrassas that train child soldiers and suicide bombers. Osama Bin Laden and most of the 9-11 hijackers were Saudi Arabians.
But why would NewsCorps' Saudi investors want the Fox News jihad against the "Ground Zero Mosque?" Because the imam of the mosque is a Sufi? Sufism was effectively outlawed by the Saudi royal family and their fundamentalist Wahabist allies because of Sufis reputation for tolerance. Saudi Arabia stopped the active persecution of Sufis after 9-11 to provide a kinder gentler alternative to radical Islam.
Does Fox News' attacks on the Cordoba Center represent their Saudi masters desire to contain what they see as a heretical branch of Islam?
How come the imam is such a threat to America when he worked for the Bush administration?
But all of this is just trying to be too rational. Strangely enough, Ailes' Saudi investors are quite happy with the American dingbats fundies like Palin and Newt and their support for Israel based on convoluted interpretations of the Bible, probably because Israel serves as the Saudis boogeyman to keep the Saudis violent illiterate base distracted, the same way Palin and Newt need Muslims to distract their base. The circle of liiiife
So let's just segue into reviewing what Sufism is, and why is is so intolerable to Islamic fundamentalists for being heretical and intolerable to NewsCorp for not being scary enough.
The Sufis are a mystical branch of Islam that has found a home in many cultures. Their emphasis is on contemplation, service, and tolerance. It is also rich in humor and the writings of Sufi poets like Rumi. I have a volume of Sufism, and more than anything it reminds me of Zen Buddhism.
Many of its lessons have a distinctly Zen quality that lead the student to a sudden perception of the divine.
Sofyan cried out in Rabia's presence, "Oh God! that You might be content with me!" Rabia reproached him, saying "Aren't you ashamed to ask God to be content with you when you are not content with god?" To this Sofyan exclaimed "May God forgive me."
-Abu Makki
Salih always taught his disciples, "Who knocks at the door constantly, one day the door must be opened to him." Rabia one day heard this and said "Salih, how long will you go on preaching thus, saying in the future tense 'the door will be opened'? Was the door ever closed?" Salih bowed in submission to her.
-Attar
al-Ghazzali wrote
Faith in God will be established if three things are cast aside:
- Feeeling pleasure in possessing anything
- lamenting over the loss of anything
- enjoying self praise
A few more
The highest asceticism was displayed by Christ when he threw away a brick he used as a pillow after the devil asked him why he kept it if he had renounced the world.
-al-Ghazzali
...When we have anything, we give it away, and when we have nothing, we occupy ourselves with thanks and pray for forgiveness
-Sheikh Muzaffer
Scary, scary stuff.