Educate Thyself - Part II

Why should the "state" should be educated in the "church"....perhaps to know thy 'enemy'.

As an American I am embarrassed by this obscene lack of education by someone whose job it is to know.

It should be essential that the religions of these sects be known and understood as they directly affect the governing bodies in conflict. Life is not a cake to separate here. And if one's ideals can be understood, no matter how foreign, it may help create channels for better communication and diplomacy. If a Sunni is aware that a U.S. soldier is taking a course to understand their beliefs, I think that would create an element of respect by the Sunni because hey, "they're trying to understand me". It would also lay the basis for Americans knowing what cultural faux pas they can avoid, i.e. mistaking a Sunni for a Shiite or the like, as well as asking questions or drawing comparative problems in their own religions in the states.

I rest my case. Education in religion is ESSENTIAL.

Democrat flunks his first intelligence test

By Toby Harnden in Washington
Last updated: 1:55 AM GMT 14/12/2006
Telegraph.co.uk

Representative Silvestre Reyes was flummoxed when a journalist rounded off a 40-minute interview by asking him two basic questions about the Islamic groups that are the principal targets of America's intelligence agencies. "Al-Qa'eda is what – Sunni or Shia?" Jeff Stein, the Congressional Quarterly magazine's national security editor, asked Mr Reyes. "Al-Qa'eda, they have both," came the reply. "You're talking about predominately?" the congressman then asked, before venturing: "Predominantly – probably Shi'ite." As Mr Stein noted in his subsequent column: "He couldn't have been more wrong. Al-Qa'eda is profoundly Sunni. If a Shi'ite showed up at an al-Qa'eda club house, they'd slice off his head and use it for a soccer ball." He then asked the congressman about the terrorist group Hizbollah. "Hizbollah. Uh, Hizbollah..." he said, laughing. "Why do you ask me these questions at five o'clock? Can I answer in Spanish? Do you speak Spanish?" The holes in his knowledge are a fresh embarrassment to Nancy Pelosi, the incoming Speaker of the House of Representatives, whose leadership was undermined when her chosen deputy was rejected by Democrats. She selected Mr Reyes to chair the House intelligence committee over the head of Jane Harman, who is widely respected as having a firm grasp of the nuances of the Middle East. Miss Pelosi is said to harbour a long-time personal grudge against Miss Harman. Mr Stein has been quizzing senior intelligence officials and politicians with similar questions for the past 18 months. In a similar gaffe-laden session, Willie Hulon, chief of the FBI's national security branch, did not know the difference between Sunnis and Shia either. "The basics goes back to their beliefs and who they were following," he said. "And the conflicts between the Sunnis and the Shia and the difference between who they were following." So which were Iran and Hizbollah? With a 50 per cent chance of getting it right, Mr Hulon flunked by plumping for Sunni. Congressman Terry Everett, a Republican and vice-chairman of the House intelligence sub-committee on technical and tactical intelligence, chuckled when he was asked the same question. "One's in one location, another's in another location," he said. "No, to be honest with you, I don't know. I thought it was differences in their religion, different families or something." When Mr Stein outlined the difference, which dates back to the death of the Prophet Mohammed in AD632, Mr Everett said: "Now that you've explained it to me, what occurs to me is that it makes what we're doing over there extremely difficult, not only in Iraq but that whole area." Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis, a Republican who oversees the CIA's recruiting of Islamic spies, was also stumped when asked if she knew the difference between Sunnis and Shia. "Do I? You know, I should. It's a difference in their fundamental religious beliefs. The Sunni are more radical than the Shia. Or vice versa. But I think it's the Sunnis who're more radical than the Shia." Mr Stein said: "This is basic stuff. We are not talking branches of Sunni. Congress's role is to oversee the intelligence agencies and make sure taxpayers' dollars are well spent but they don't know how to ask the right questions." Islam split into Shia and Sunni sects after the death of the Prophet in AD632. What became the Sunni sect supported Mohammed's most trusted lieutenants as his successors, while the Shia believed that only his direct descendents should rule the Islamic world. Over the centuries the sects have divided further in areas such as prayer and Koranic interpretation, and who is the true leader of Muslims.