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US Darfur Genocide Claim to Lure Christian Right: Envoy
CAIRO, July 2, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – The Bush administration characterized the Darfur conflict as "genocide" only to please the powerful Christian right and mobilize their votes ahead of the presidential elections, according to a veteran US diplomat. "I just thought that this was something that was said for internal consumption within the US," John Danforth, America's former ambassador to the UN, told BBC's Panorama program, to be aired on Sunday, July 3, reported the Independent Saturday, June 2. Washington repeatedly called the situation in Darfur "genocide" and accused the Sudanese government of backing Arab militias in attacking African Darfuris. In July of last year, the US House Of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution describing the situation in Darfur a "genocide." A UN report refuted on Tuesday, February 1, the American claim, concluding that " no genocidal policy has been pursued and implemented in Darfur by the government authorities, directly or through the militias under their control." The Darfur conflict erupted in April 2003 when the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) took up arms against the Khartoum government. An estimated 670,000 people have fled their homes since the beginning of the conflict while 110,000 others reportedly sought refuge in neighboring Chad. Christian Right Asked whether "internal consumption" referred to the kind of language that would have appealed to the Christian right, Danforth replied: "Right." In August, 2004, thirty five Evangelical leaders of organizations that claim 50 million members signed a letter asking President George W. Bush to consider a military action against Sudan. "We view this as an opportunity to reach out to Muslims in the name of Jesus," said Rev. Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, a signatory of the letter. The letter came a few days after a Sudanese expert warned Christian missionaries could flood Darfur under the guise of humanitarian relief in case of any foreign military intervention in the predominantly-Muslim region. Several US experts and analysts have attributed Bush's re-election to massive support by conservative Christian groups and a notable showing among regular churchgoing Catholics and mainline Protestants. Bush, a born-again Methodist, frequently uses religious imagery in his speeches and repeatedly drew his anti-terror campaign as a battle of good against evil. On the US markets, video tapes and DVDs tell the story of how born-again Bush abandoned alcohol at the age of 40 and rediscovered his Christian faith. Bush himself has credited Billy Graham, America's best-known preacher and the father of American evangelism, with inspiring him to return to Christianity and get his life back on track after years of drifting and excessive drinking. *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest".
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