"Shows they know nothing about Islam..." umm, what about the fact that Mohammed himself participated in multiple beheadings as per the Koran. And he is the "perfect example" for all Muslims to follow. Sounds pretty Islamic to me.

How do you feel about England and Henry VIII, who beheaded two wives? Or Elizabeth I, who had her own cousin's head chopped off?

Does that sound pretty Islamic too?

Wait -- turns out beheading is also Protestant and British.

usually a better trial and you get a defense lawyer

Loosing Our Heads

The recent beheadings from the Middle East over the past several weeks only serve to illuminate the vast differences in our “civilized” world for expressing dissenting opinions versus theirs. It reminds me of a point Jacob Bronowski made in his televised series from the 1970’s ‘The Ascent Of Man’, that we humans were not just lower than angels but also just one step above animal behavior. However, we are, he notes, the one animal that use our brain, we reason, use our emotional being, to not accept things as they are, but to change. Unlike animals, we humans have evolved not just biologically, but have shaped our cultural evolution and thus his title to the series, The Ascent Of Man.

When President Kennedy spoke at Houston, Texas in 1962 to explain why we are going to the Moon, he addressed the human quest for progress that was coupled to our thirst for knowledge. As an example he boiled down human existence to a fifty year period to explain how progress and knowledge were linked and that most of that change had occurred quite recently giving the appearance of rapid change.

I believe the conflict we have with the extreme Islamic fundamentalists is basic to that rapid change of pace brought on by technological advancement forcing change in societies not adapted to cultural change. I do not think religion has that much to do with it. I think the extremists have identified Western cultures with pushing the technological advancement and in reaction to that oppose anything “Western”. And to the extent they can use religion as a tool for resistance they do. But I think it is more of an Arab and Middle East problem that just Islam. After all there are plenty of Islamic people in Asia that fit right in with the “modernized” world as well as those from the Middle East region that have settled in the United States and live side-by-side with others from different cultural backgrounds. And the democratic process for resolving conflict in society does not seem to be a natural fit for an Arab culture that remains too bound to tribal ties. And this in spite of the wealth that has been produced in many of the Middle East states and advanced education received by the elite and some of the middle class in those societies.

While the beheading of Westerners receives a great deal of attention in the Western press, there are public beheadings by our friends the Saudis on a weekly basis. Of course when sanctioned by the State, such an affair receives all the formality one would expect for such a ceremonial spectacle. And, unlike the recent execution of Westerners, you can view these exhibitions on the Web – they are not removed from viewing for their grotesqueness. Also on the Web are video of Islamic terrorists beheading “infidels” in less formal arrangements and with less proficient technique. But there is still a crowd gathered just like an old time hanging in America in the 19th or 20th Century. There is even one video of a child being given the “honor” to do in the “infidel” and with results not anywhere as efficient as a Saudi executioner.

One of the points that Jacob Bronowski makes is that technological advance, inquiry, is part of the human spirit and that intolerance is a betrayal of that basic human spirit. The arrogance that comes with dogma promotes ignorance. In the program, Bronowski stood at Auschwitz, where he lost members of his family, and said we have to temper ourselves by reaching out to others – “We have to touch people.”

We have had relations with the Saudis for many, many decades – militarily and commercially. And I am aware it is a complicated relationship – as was testified to by several of our diplomats during the 9-11 Commission hearings. I like to think of myself as a pragmatic ‘Realist’ rather than an ‘Idealist’ or ‘NeoCon’ when discussing foreign policy; but, I have to think that something has failed in the long relationship we have had with the Saudis. And I think they have been the prime instigator in promoting extremists in Islam because of their brand of Wahhabism, the relationship of the religious leaders with the political leadership, and the distribution of wealth and economic opportunity within the country. I have no idea what it would take to bring the country into the “modern” world; but, just looking at our part, I would think we could put more pressure on the ruling family by economic means – and that’s keeping in mind that they initiated the Oil Embargo of 1973 which not only affected our economy but also our military readiness at that time and they have been somewhat cooperative in our intelligence networks and behind the scenes dealing with Israel.

It took Southern Italy a long time to come into the “modern” world – aspects of feudalism existed right into the 20th Century, even today. If the paganism of Southern Italy could get enwrapped into Christianity and the Church-State relationship get realigned maybe there is a lesson for Saudi Arabia. Let’s hope it doesn’t take as long.

The fact that this barbarity still goes on today reminds me of a book by Victor Davis Hanson, ‘A War Like No Other’. Hanson is a classical scholar who wrote about the Peloponnesian War of the 5th Century B.C. between the democratic and “civilized” Athens and the autocratic and regimented Sparta. He describes how after thirty years of constant war, the “civilized” Athens descended into barbaric acts just as crude as Sparta. And Hanson asks what is the nature of man? That “civilized” man was shielded from animalistic instincts by a thin veil that could be pierced with so little provocation.

So, when do we touch one another and put our heads together, like at the end of the movie Rain Man, and advance the human spirit?

I think Bronowski was being overly generous when describing man as being one step above animals. We are, in fact, animals with a larger brain, with instinctive tribal drives that are too often self-defeating. I suppose we can debate the methods used to kill and torture used in those wars, but I sometimes wonder if that might just miss the point.
I've yet to find an animal that plans and orchestrates brutality and destruction as we humans do. The human spirit is a mean spirit, indeed.

Do a search on YouTube for Robert Sapolsky: Are Humans Just Another Primate?

Thanks - I found his perspectives to be very interesting and entertaining. Being lucky enough to have raised many animals over the years (mostly rodents of various species) I have seen the behaviors of empathy and plotted revenge, etc. first hand. The tribal behavior I referred to is certainly present among many other primates, but ours is bolstered by the brain's use of advanced symbolism - the essence of what many interpret as intelligence.
I wonder, should humanity eventually burn itself out, if another less "tribal" species could mutate toward a type of intelligence that embraces life's diversity beyond selfish use?

Nice work on expressing these thoughtfull insights. The Rain Man reference was an impressive flourish to those of us very familiar with this poignent film (probably the most respectable performance of Cruise's career, and one of Hoffman's top 3).

I think that it is important to look at who USA chooses as its friends and allies, because it is rife with contradictions that I for one conclude they cause us more harm than good.

Case in point: our largest supplier of credit and discount labor is Communist China - who is a known large scale human rights violator, among other things. Yet after 60 years the embargo on Cuba persists. Why?

How about our frienship with Israel? We give them billions in military aid and we assume all of their risks and share their liabilities. What do we get from them? They are not faithful to boundary agreements - they keep taking more land.

Your thoughts?

1. We have to deal with a great variety of friends/foes. One would hope over a considerable amount of time that some degree of progress would be shown.
2. I think progress has been shown in China -- I was there as part of a small delegation in 1986, before Tienamen. We can embargo Cuba because Cuba has little impact on its surroundings.
3. There is much to criticize in Israel; but, their very exisistence has been under threat. The Palestinians have to deal with the consequences of their own failures in strategy -- up to the '90s the PLO resorted to violence as a tactic and now we have Hamas. I am old enough to have seen Communism fall in Europe and Apartheid fall in South Africa while Palestinians have continued their stuggle.

Something I've heard is that the beheadings are a response to the superiority of the American military forces. ISIS forces don't have smart bombs, precision guided munitions, or stealth fighters. They can't compete head to head, and they know it.

So it becomes a race to the bottom. They seek to retaliate by effecting horrific executions and rationalize it as a force equalizer. It's a form of asymmetrical warfare by a guerrilla force. Forgive the comparison, but from a purely scientific perspective it isn't totally different from the type of war the colonists waged against the vastly superior British forces.

If you can't match your enemy you evade and agitate him using whatever means you have at hand. And in the 20th Century an understanding and use of mass media is part and parcel of the strategem.

My prediction is that ISIS / ISIL will be vaporized in the proverbial "pink mist." The greater problem is the ideology, and who comes next, and who comes after them. Sadly I think these types of conflicts are destined to become a facet of our daily lives.

"head to head" ---- pun intended?

As an Iranian citizen, I've never heard anyone being beheaded in Iran. Public execution and hanging the criminal (murderers and rapers, …) exist and I've seen their pictures but no beheading. So please be careful not to spread incorrect information when you report that beheading exist in countaries like Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Iran! Thank you.

America used to execute people with electrocution. Look that one up, if you please. Beheading would be humane compared with that.

Another interesting thing about this sham is PBS News Hour, just like its coverage of the Taliban and Al Qaida in the 1990s, completely forgets to mention that ALL of these psychopaths are created, trained, armed an funded by certain Anglo members of the US and UK governments (some of whom are no less affiliated with the people in control of TAX PAYER FUNDED PBS News Hour).
Brace for another September 11 style attack people; It worked so well the first time and it was so profitable and beneficial to anyone of Anglo and Jewish heritage that they are going to do it again. Already members of ISIS are creeping into Europe through Turkey and they will end up in the US. You can bet certain people will turn a blind eye to it again...and certain people get even richer after the next attack, again.

They don't need to. They have already altered our way of life, just go through any airport "security check". Cops view every citizen as a perp. Citizens view every other citizen as a perp. We all fell for it, stinking cowards......

Need some tin foil for your hat?

You know with all the anglos and jews dancing around here and trying to "enlighten us", not to mention PBS news hour which doesn't seem to have any employees other than those members of the above mentioned ethnicities, it's refreshing to see a comment from someone else making comments, even if they are stupid and ignorant....oh wait..Schwarz...

Why bother to interpret old writings made by people who were obsessed with tribalism and who wallowed in their self-serving ignorance? Why would anyone today really need those anachronistic perspectives for guidance?

Looking up that last passage definition of "smite"

verb
1.
literary
strike with a firm blow.
"he smites the water with his sword"

noun
archaic
1.
a heavy blow or stroke with a weapon or the hand.

So how does the last expert feel he interpreted the passages correctly? If you want it to mean something different some other word needs to be used.

Mr. Khalidi seems to be an intelligent man... Perhaps he can tell us what "smite at their necks" means. Seems pretty clear to me, but then again I'm not Islamic and he clearly is.

For Bruce Lee it would mean a karate chop to the neck.

Hi I have a couple of questions regarding your propaganda regarding the ISIS/Al Qaida program you broadcasted today on your PBS News hour sham.

1) Regarding the recent ISIS beheadngs, could you provide your source alleging that Iran sanctions and practices beheading (and stonings), a factoid which you weaseled into your propaganda program? Also I found it a little odd that there is no mention that ISIS was created, trained and funded by a certain number of your affiliates in the United States federal government.

2) As PBS News Hour is obviously an Anglo and Jewish controlled propaganda outlet, I would like to know how much of our tax dollars go into funding this propaganda? After all, this is PBS we are talking about - which is clearly not representing unbiased research, in the interest of public enrichment and education, so your continued attacks and manipulation of news and information is becoming increasingly of concern to many other than myself.

Your prompt response is appreciated.

The Koran in Sura 47 says: "When you encounter the unbelievers on the battlefield, strike off their heads until you have crushed them completely."

There are other Koranic references to the same effect. For example, Sura 8:12 reads: "I will cast dread into the hearts of the unbelievers. Strike off their heads, then, and strike off all of their fingertips."

The practice of beheading captives extends back to the Prophet himself. Muhamed's earliest biographer, Ibn Ishaq (d. 768 C.E.), noted that the Prophet ordered the 700 men of the Banu Qurayza tribe decapitated, and their women dolf, for allegedly plotting against him. This model has been cited and followed countless times since.

Now it is your turn: document your claim that "ISIS was created, trained and funded by a certain number of your affiliates in the United States federal government."

Furthermore, the govt funds supporting PBS are on the public record. Look up the sum and figure out how much your taxes are paying towards that. Figure it out, provide your address and I will restore your contribution twice over.

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quite correct, ape, copied right out of the tora. I can see PBS is run by monkeys but as a tax payer i must protest

So are you saying that Mohamed lived long enough to behead two wives of Henry VIII? Wow, I'd pay lot of taxes to see that episode of NOVA!!!

What does it mean, that you resort to a flippant inanity? You lack a serious answer.

That Mohammed's crowd resorted to beheadings is no big deal. Lethal injections, electric chairs, firing squads were not fashionable back then. It was the 7th century. Cutting the head off with a sharp knife was, if anything, more humane than strangling, hanging, or stoning.

The scandal is that, because "the Messenger" required the Koran to be understood literally, death by beheading is now a religious sacrament which recommends the killer to God and assures him of berth in Paradise. That sounds funny yet, pious Muslims take it seriously. To them, heheading a Christian or Jew, because he is a Christian or Jew, etc., is not barbaric, but obedience to the word of God. Those who dispute this are the liars. They are misrepresenting the Faith to make it palatable in the West.

You're into denial, huh? Your pretentious posturing is made blatant by your online presence where a "Google" search would yield you more returns than PBS could try to provide. Your unhappiness with reality is a personal problem,which is made worse by looking for aggravation. Do you understand the concept of "futility"?

Anyone trying to respond with reason and intelligence to this person is simply wasting their time. Obviously "Jeff34," as he calls himself, is just out to provoke with hateful sweeping generalizations. Probably another 14-year-old troll with pimples.

It's tin foil hat time I'm afraid.

what ethnicity is your name again? Either way you are obviously very upset at the fact that I tried to correct the lies being spread by PBS, which is wasting my hard earned money to spread propaganda on behalf of certain people

Run along now, Jeffy. The grownups are talking.

Almost as frightening as the atrocities of decapitation in the middle East is the apparent condoning of an ancient punishment banished in civilized countries centuries ago.

Ironically stoning is a jewish punishment for adultry, which certain people are pinning on iranians as ridiculous as it sounds.

It goes way back in the Middle East to before there were Muslims or Jews.

My point exactly, beheading predates civilized culture...unless you were married to Henry Vlll.

Well, some other Europeans have long questioned how civilized the French might be. Didn't you hear that part about the French guillotine's official use until 1981? Somehow, decapitation versus hanging, or stoning, or firing squad, or lethal injection, or electrocution lacks a substantive basis for difference.

What you are all missing is that these were not people convicted in a court of law and sentenced to death,(however abhorrent the death penalty) under law, (don't go saying this is Islamic law, it is NOT),these were humanitarians. This was murder.

And the electric chair was hardly a humane means of execution. Banned in America not so long ago.

Yes there is that, too.

The French Revolution was not THAT long ago. America was already a free and democratic country when the French were beheading their aristocracy.

Given what I have seen of the videos, and please forgive what I write, but the weapon I see in the hands of the executioner appears to be a long knife, so that these unfortunate people may not be getting beheaded (using a long sword) but are getting their throats cut. Neither is acceptable. (And if you ask a thousand mullahs to translate the Quran, you might get a thousand translations and explications of its philosophy…. it is all male posturing for inadequacies in a society where, when you begin to classify and limit and remove half of a society to encourage the other, you will get problems. Not a bad religion, but all the varieties of it make a unholy mess.)

No, one of the few things the mullah's of Islam are agreed on is that there are not thousands of different translations of what the text says. Differences in understanding the Koran, interpretations, metaphorical meaning, etc, none of that is allowed. The text is "eternal and uncreated." It must be understood literally because it is not the work of men but of the Almighty and he does not need to be edited. He says what he means and means what he says. This is what has made Islam a "fundamentalist" faith.

It's not a religion and it's not acceptable behavior.

Hi I have a couple of questions regarding your propaganda regarding the ISIS/Al Qaida program you broadcasted today on your PBS News hour sham.

1) Regarding the recent ISIS beheadngs, could you provide your source alleging that Iran sanctions and practices beheading (and stonings), a factoid which you weaseled into your propaganda program? Also I found it a little odd that there is no mention that ISIS was created, trained and funded by a certain number of your affiliates in the United States federal government.

2) As PBS News Hour is obviously an Anglo and Jewish controlled propaganda outlet, I would like to know how much of our tax dollars go into funding this propaganda? After all, this is PBS we are talking about - which is clearly not representing unbiased research, in the interest of public enrichment and education, so your continued attacks and manipulation of news and information is becoming increasingly of concern to many other than myself.

Your prompt response is appreciated.

Hmmm. "Propaganda"? "Sham"? "Weaseled"? Am I sensing a theme here?

It's hilarious how the Anglos and Jews controlling the (TAX PAYER FUNDED) PBS News Hour squeezed in Iran into this story. People, these cretin are lying, there are no beheadings in Iran nor have there been in contemporary history.

Ironically, Stoning (for adultry) and Beheadings are both JEWISH practices clearly outlined in their book of hate the Tora, that they are now pinning on Iranians with naked lies (in order to get us to start another war for them to fulfill their neo-colonial ambitions, never-ending thirst for blood and their fantasies to finally conquer Iran).
Unbelievable..

ISIS was created and funded by UK and US to overthrow another sovereign government - this time in Syria. I am not sure if their spillover into other neighboring countries is deliberate or not. I am guessing it is all part of the very well choreographed plan to fulfill their neo-colonial ambitions.

Henry VIII beheaded two wives without consulting the Qu'ran. Elizabeth I beheaded many people, including her own cousin Mary, for sedition.

And during the French Revolution, beheading by guillotine was used to deliver secular social and economic justice to the Church and the aristocracy.

And when you know better you do better, unless you're muslim.