So many so-called experts have been front and center in social media displaying their knowledge about the Middle East, Soleimani, and Trump’s actions … and so many of them have ended up looking like fools when proven wrong by people who actually know what the Hell is going on.
Like this thread from Maajid Nawaz, where he takes those experts apart and BOY-howdy, he does not hold back:
10 signs to watch for by people tweeting who know nothing about the Middle East but will now talk as if they do:
1) before yesterday they’d never heard of #Soleimani & still struggle to remember what his first name was— أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) January 3, 2020
We’re thinking a lot of people pretending Soleimani was a good guy were clueless about him until a few days ago.
2) they’ll proactively and without invitation, condemn “America in the region” without saying anything at all about “Iran in the region”, thinking this wins them brownie points from brown people from the region.
It doesn’t.
— أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) January 3, 2020
Love this.
It doesn’t.
So stop pandering.
3) at some stage, they’ll either accidentally tweet out or otherwise approve of official Iranian state propaganda & voices sent by the theocratic regime, without realising, it because they have absolutely *no idea* how to recognise Iranian proxy propaganda voices
— أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) January 3, 2020
Propaganda?
He must be talking about the garbage coming from the New York Times.
4) their narcissistic obsession with hating Trump (even at the expense of hundreds of thousands of dead Arab civilians, and the medieval theocratic oppression of millions of Iranians) will be what really guides their “analysis” not what’s objectively happening on the ground
— أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) January 3, 2020
Narcissistic obsession with hating Trump … sums them all up perfectly.
5) just as they’ll struggle to recall #Soleimani’s first name, they think watching @azizansari on Netflix (no offence my bro ??) qualifies as “knowing a Muslim voice” in order to then pronounce their emotionally charged “hot takes” on Middle East politics in “defence of Muslims”
— أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) January 3, 2020
HA HA HA HA
6) they will be unable to recognise or even name Iran’s terrorist militias everywhere in the world (responsible for war crimes that were often on par with or worse, than ISIS in Syria & elsewhere) and all the wars Iran has interfered in
— أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) January 3, 2020
7) they will be unable to tell you which is Soleimanis largest & most effective terror group, who leads it and which country it practically runs entire regions in.
— أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) January 3, 2020
True story.
8) they’ve never heard the word “Hashd” and cannot tell you what it means
— أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) January 3, 2020
That. ^
9) nor could they name the entire Arab countries & populations who absolutely despised & hated Soleimani as a genocidal maniac & who will be dancing in the streets with joy right now
— أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) January 3, 2020
Somehow those rejoicing are being ignored by the media.
Wonder why?
10) they will read the above thread and turn very binary on me, by accusing me of being pro-Trump or pro-Saudi rather than understanding the mixed picture I’m painting, without ever having had a relationship with anything in the Middle East, beyond twitter.
— أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) January 3, 2020
Nailed it.
And then he shared tweets from ACTUAL experts:
Actual Iran expert https://t.co/6CTeyzPFRO https://t.co/fJfv1wP2RF
— أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) January 4, 2020
Actual Iraq expert https://t.co/O42BGEPzjB https://t.co/HC5Erg0GRl
— أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) January 4, 2020
Actual Egypt expert https://t.co/dCOjvFpWCw https://t.co/jI6dSGY5pE
— أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) January 4, 2020
Actual Syria expert https://t.co/P2RI3OBtat https://t.co/e5VDxf67Qx
— أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) January 4, 2020
Actual Syria expert https://t.co/c56EUwogUn https://t.co/YtyMETsUcf
— أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) January 4, 2020
As opposed to these other experts:
Actual expert in… acting https://t.co/qilKXR3fUb https://t.co/JeKzI8c8JW
— أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) January 4, 2020
Actual expert in… playing American Football https://t.co/yCTIUwNLTm https://t.co/SVSFSFaFrR
— أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) January 5, 2020
Just when we thought those ‘experts’ couldn’t look any worse.
Related:
Join the conversation as a VIP Member