Word: hussein
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...gets worse. Not only was Obama’s biological father a non-practicing Muslim who left him at age two, but Obama also spent at least two more years of his childhood under the auspices of Muslim teachers. Along with Obama’s Islamic middle name (Hussein), bloggers and anchors have used this trifecta of evidence to suggest that Obama may secretly be a Muslim himself. No further explanation is needed, of course, to make us understand that this is “bad.” The way these allegations have been painted, it seems that Muslims...
...reason I'm into this situation so deeply is that I feel that the American citizens have given so generously with their sons and daughters," he says. "Have we not fulfilled our commitment to the Iraqi people?" Warner's spacious office is filled with props: an arm from Saddam Hussein's chair, World War I medals awarded to Warner's father, a copy of the resolution Warner wrote authorizing the first Gulf War. History is never far from Warner's mind. "The decisions I'm making on this particular issue are among the most important I've made...
...chanting grows more frenzied, and as the seated men raise their voices to join in with shouts of "Ya Hussein!" (Oh Hussein!) and "Islam Zindabad!" (Long Live Islam!), a few move to the middle of the circles, chain flails gripped in both hands. The chest pounding grows stronger, quicker and louder. Following the rhythm, the men in the middle crouch down, spring from the ground and use the full force of acceleration to slam the flails down on their exposed backs. Bruises bloom, dark and malevolent, but their faces register no pain, only grief, or an almost otherworldly conviction...
...pause in front of the shrine. Again the mournful chanting, and the whipping begins, blades flashing in the sun. The air is thick with the metallic edge of fresh blood. It is as much a public spectacle as a demonstration of faith. "Everyone who watches is mourning for Hussein as well," says Ali Hosseini, an 18-year-old who has just pulled a black T-shirt over his lacerated back. Slowly the faded cotton darkens with blood. "Their presence gives us power." Indeed, the presence of an audience appears to egg on the penitents. The strikes are harder...
...watch wings of blood sprout on the backs of men, I'm reminded of the French political philosopher who once said that nations are built on the shared spilling of blood. The Shias of Afghanistan may be mourning the death of Ali Hussein centuries ago, but what they are also doing is cementing an identity that is reinforced year after year. Blood brothers, indeed...