Palestinian Authority Newspaper: Freemasons Behind Sept. 11 Attacks

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

Al-Hayat al-Jadida, the official daily newspaper of the Palestinian Authority, published an Op-ed by Hassan Ouda Abu Zaher. The Op-ed states: “to the lie about Al-Qaeda and the Sept. 11 events, which asserted that Muslim terrorists committed it, and that it was not an internal American action by the Freemasons.” While there are many conspiracy theories about the Sept. 11 attacks, there are usually relegated to fringe websites. Unsurprisingly, no evidence is presented to support such a fanciful claim.

This is Islamic lunacy and should be opposed by all rational human beings. That this lunacy is supported by the Palestinian Authority confirms a World Public Opinion poll that showed that 46% of Palestinians believe that the U.S. government or Israel was behind the attacks.

This degree of credulousness is not unexpected when people are raised from infancy to believe nonsense, such as Muhammad ascending to heaven on a winged horse. Philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer wrote on this subject in the 19th century:

If, in early childhood, certain fundamental views and doctrines are paraded with unusual solemnity, and an air of the greatest earnestness never before visible in anything else; if, at the same time, the possibility of a doubt about them be completely passed over, or touched upon only to indicate that doubt is the first step to eternal perdition, the resulting impression will be so deep that, as a rule, that is, in almost every case, doubt about them will be almost as impossible as doubt about one’s own existence.

A Sophisticated Islamic Theologian™ might assert that no true Muslim would have committed the attacks on Sept. 11, in contradiction to the available evidence, including the admission by al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden that he orchestrated the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. However, this would be an example of the No True Scotsman logical fallacy where “an individual attempts to avoid being associated with an unpleasant act by asserting that no true member of the group they belong to would do such a thing.”

James Madison wrote of the importance of a “perfect separation between ecclesiastical and civil matters” in his letter to Edward Livingston in 1822. While Madison’s “perfect separation” is under constant attack, we need not look far to see the effect of ignoring his wisdom.

H/T: Jerry Coyne.