Lal Masjid--"Red Mosque": Running Headers

Epigram

Talmud 7:16 as Quoted by Rishon Rishon in 2004
Qohelet Raba, 7:16
אכזרי סוף שנעשה אכזרי במקום רחמן
Kol mi shena`asa rahaman bimqom akhzari Sof shena`asa akhzari bimqom rahaman
All who are made to be compassionate in the place of the cruel In the end are made to be cruel in the place of the compassionate.
More colloquially translated: "Those who are kind to the cruel, in the end will be cruel to the kind."
Online Source: http://www.rishon-rishon.com/archives/044412.php
Abraham Isaac Kook
"The purely righteous do not complain about evil, rather they add justice.They do not complain about heresy, rather they add faith.They do not complain about ignorance, rather they add wisdom." From the pages of Arpilei Tohar.
Heinrich Heine
"Where books are burned, in the end people will be burned." -- From Almansor: A Tragedy (1823).
Simon Wiesenthal
Remark Made in the Ballroom of the Imperial Hotel, Vienna, Austria on the occasion of His 90th Birthday: "The Nazis are no more, but we are still here, singing and dancing."
Maimonides
"Truth does not become more true if the whole world were to accept it; nor does it become less true if the whole world were to reject it."
Douglas Adams
"Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?" Epigram appearing in the dedication of Richard Dawkins' The GOD Delusion.
Thucydides
"The Nation that makes a great distinction between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting done by fools."
Milan Kundera
"The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting."

Notes

Care to Read What I Read?
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http://www.delicious.com/commart
Author's Wish Each Friday Night
Shabbat Shalom. May our arguments be resolved through perceptive words and good deeds only; may we live another week helpful to one another in relative peace.
Photography: Prints & Services
A gentle reminder: I'm in business as a producer of fine art prints and as a provider of shoot-for-fee services, including portraiture and weddings plus assigned photojournalism. My general location: intersection of I-70 and I-81; core camera system: Nikon; transportation: Mustang.
Main web: www.communicating-arts.com
E-Mail: [email protected]
Also: as of 2011, I am building a photography print-on-demand presence at Fine Art AmericaM. This is the address:

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/james-oppenheim.html

Effort in print-on-demand will not offset the production nor value of signed, limited edition prints made under my own hand. However, for very good convenience, price, and quality, print-on-demand may work out well for many fans and patrons.
Research Services
If you're engaged in funded research in conflict analysis or other areas that may be addressed here and wish to engage my mind in your project, feel welcome to drop me a note at [email protected].

J. S. Oppenheim's Other Blogs and Webs

July 09, 2007

Post Start: 070709-0830 Updated: 070709-0404 EDT (1:30 p.m. Islamabad)

The "Red Mosque" story is one I might follow all day and should, when it resolves in that location, for several days afterward. Instead of commenting constantly, I'm going to use this tile to list reading or other media as I encounter it, listing most recently found material first.

I'll also run the Islamabad clock, courtesy of worldtimeserver.com, until the crisis has been resolved at Lal Masjid.

---

I've removed the analog clock that was ticking on this page for two days. Whatever Lal Masjid, the "Red Mosque", was as a noun representing an event, it's over.

Haider, Kamran. Pakistanis storm mosque; up to 50 dead. Reuters, July 10, 2007, 3:11 a.m. EDT.

---

It's about 10:30 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time, and, as you can see, about 7:30 a.m. in Islamabad. Pakistan's experienced Rangers have been fighting since 4 a.m. Despite a check of a raft of news sources here, the news comes out slowly, one becomes so accustomed to "live" and "instant" reporting from even the most harrowing scenes.

I've been refreshing my Dawn news page, and it's still reading from yesterday--it should have been reporting from the 10th for the past seven hours, not the 9th.

The majors--CNN, BBC, Reuters, The Washington Post--are up and on it, but if you ask the question, is it over after three-and-one-half hours . . . who knows?

Witte, Griffe. "Commandos Storm Mosque in Pakistan Afters Talks Founder." Washington Post Foreign Service, The Washington Post, July 10, 2007.

"Pakistani army moves on mosque." Video. CNN, July 9, 2007, about 10 p.m. EDT.

"Fighting rages at besieged mosque." CNN, July 9, 2007, 9:45 p.m. EDT.

In the latest from The Washington Post, this excerpt:

"Commandos attacked the compound from three directions and quickly cleared the ground floor of the mosque, army spokesman Gen. Waheed Arshad said. Some 20 children who rushed toward the advancing troops were brought to safety, he said."

Khan, Zarar. "Troops Storm Pakistan Mosque Compound." The Washington Post, July 9, 2007, 9:23 p.m. EDT, 6:23 a.m. Islamabad.

"Pakistani troops storm mosque." BBC News, July 10, 2007 01:18 GMT.

"Pakistani troops move on mosque." BBC News, July 10, 2007 00:40 GMT.

Here it comes. It's dawn in Islamabad.

Haider, Kamaran. "Pakistanis launch attack after Mosque talks fail." Reuters, July 9, 8:32 p.m. EDT; 5:32 a.m., Islamabad.

""They were closing down gambling dens and shops selling compact discs with obscene content, so what was wrong in that?" The woman asking the question lost her daughter at Lal Masjid: "Pakistani mothers sees daughter's death at mosque as a blessing." Keralanext.com, July 9, 2007.

"Chinese workers shot in Pakistan." BBC News, July 9, 2007, 6:05 GMT. Old by a day or new this evening, it looks related, so it's here--no more dilutons, though.

"Lal Masjid standoff reaches negotiating table." IBNLive.com via Yahoo News, July 9, 2007, 11:48 p.m. "New Delhi: The Pakistani government has decided to place Lal Masjid cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi under house arrest," says this clip. My intent here is to search for and post what strikes me as responsible rhetoric and journalism with integrity (no rants).

"Fatwa issues against Ghazi brothers." The WeCite Blog, July 9, 2007 2:33 a.m. The piece has been pulled from "Pakistan Link", and first posted in the Daily Times on July 8.

Sigamony, Terence J. "Lal Masjid operation: Relatives in the dark as to students’ whereabouts." Daily Times, July 9, 2007.

"Eight top terrorists inside Lal Masjid." Daily Times, July 9, 2007.

Azia, Faisal. "No breakthrough in talks over Pakistan siege Mosque." Reuters, July 9, 2007, 3:04 p.m. EDT. In this article, Faisal quotes Pakistani Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani as saying, "Six parents who went in to bring out their children had been taken hostage."

Cameron-Moore, Simon. "Mosque siege puts Musharraf policy under scrutiny." Reuters, July 9, 2007, 12:26 EDT.

Khan, Ilyas. "Tough choices for Musharraf." BBC News, July 9, 2007.

This one dates back to July 5, 2007, but for background, I thought it pretty good to share with you: "Khan, Aamer Ahmed. "Mosque raid boosts Musharraf's image." BBC News, July 5, 2007.

"Negotiation team reaches Lal Masjid." Dawn, July 9, 2007, 1930 PST.

Long, Helen. Video: "Mosque militants ignore last warning." Reuters, July 9, 2007.

"Pakistan to negotiate over mosque." BBC News, July 9, 1213 GMT.

Aziz, Faisal. "Gunfire but no assault seen yet at Pakistan mosque." Reuters, July 9, 2007, 5:56 a.m. EDT.

Correspondence and Permissions: James S. Oppenheim