"The New Dr. Dahesh"

[Daheshville]

The individual allegedly called "Nadim Di'Magician" has set up a FaceBook page in which he refers to himself as "Docteur Dahesh" and where he announces: "This is the moment that ur waiting for... The New Dr.Dahesh has Appeared..."

Given his political affiliation, that's not surprising.

Incidentally, the name "Nadim" means "[drinking] companion."

It's only one letter removed from the word "Nadam," which means "remorse."

[Daheshville]

Lack of education or sheer bravery?!



Why would anyone who is a fan (according to his facebook page) of one particular Lebanese political figure who along with his father were among Doctor Dahesh's principle enemies, assume the name "Docteur Dahesh?"

Hopefully, he won't be mistaken for the real Dr. Dahesh by members of one particular christian militia group ... Yikes...

So, if the "The New Dr. Dahesh" wants to take that risk: we applaud him! It's time someone, in Lebanon, stepped up to the plate and assumed the name of a man who stood for the unity of religions!

[zionic]

I'll try not to utter the word 'idiot.'

[Loup Solitaire]

Actually, I like the flames. I just hope he doesn't set himself on fire. I wonder what other tricks he can perform.

If he is trying to get the attention of young ladies, with this picture, I think he likely to scare off more than he attracts. Speaking of scary, with those deep set eyes and a little makeup, he would make a great zombie at Halloween.

In more than a few movies, I have seen characters, portrayed by stuntmen, with their hair on fire. That always amused me. But in most cases it does give an idiotic appearance. Did I say idiot?

So Mario, you really think this guy is an offspring of the persecutors of Dr Dahesh? Did he spring from the seed of a villain? So you think he is mocking Dr Dahesh? I guess I need to check out Facebook. I think I'll "friend" him and see what his point is.

[Mario]

Actually, I like the flames. I just hope he doesn't set himself on fire. I wonder what other tricks he can perform.

If he is trying to get the attention of young ladies, with this picture, I think he likely to scare off more than he attracts. Speaking of scary, with those deep set eyes and a little makeup, he would make a great zombie at Halloween.

In more than a few movies, I have seen characters, portrayed by stuntmen, with their hair on fire. That always amused me. But in most cases it does give an idiotic appearance. Did I say idiot?

So Mario, you really think this guy is an offspring of the persecutors of Dr Dahesh? Did he spring from the seed of a villain? So you think he is mocking Dr Dahesh? I guess I need to check out Facebook. I think I'll "friend" him and see what his point is.

Regarding the flames and strictly from a professional point of view, I do have a small critique I could give him: in his right hand, I can see "something" through his fingers. Ideally, all his fingers should be tightly clasped.

That aside: I think he's just one the thousands of young christian men who think that one particular militia organization is God's gift to Lebanon.

He probably saw the Zaven show and thought it would be a great marketing coup to use Dr. Dahesh as his stage name.

So, I absolutely do not think that his goal is to mock or ridicule the Doctor. On the contrary, his goal is to capitalize on his fame.

The irony is that he seems to belong to a militia group that — at its core — despises everything Doctor Dahesh is or stands for.

But, like so many of his ilk that I've known :

He's probably totally oblivious to the history involving Doctor Dahesh and that militia organization he so admires. And let me quote what Doctor Dahesh wrote about this military organization, following an attempt on his life on 4/30/1979, when 50 kilograms of high explosives (according to the Syrian soldiers who rushed from the Murr Tower to inspect the damage) were detonated near his bedroom (I am reading about it as I type this in "Strange Tales and Wondrous Legends, Part 3):

In this autobiographical account, he accuses the Christian Clergy for orchestrating the attempt and an unnamed militia organization for having carried it out. He does give a couple of hints regarding who that organization is and anyone familiar with what happened in 1944 will automatically figure out its identity.

And then he writes:

"The hand of this murderous organization is tainted with the blood of the innocents... For how many, how many did they kill!... And how many, how many did they slaughter... And how many, how many did they orphan ... "

[Loup Solitaire]

Docteur Dahesh

Docteur Dahesh as he calls himself, just seems like an uninformed young person possibly supplementing his income with some part time magician gigs in restaurants. It's a shame someone couldn't enlighten him. It seemed peculiar that he isn't interested in revealing his true name. Definitely not a practicing Muslim.

[Ziyad]

these guys are ridiculous. Usually on Facebook, they are "fans" of every single Lebanese saint (Charbel, Rafqa...) and at the same time, not seeing any contradiction, they are also fans of the most ruthless militiamen and war criminals in Lebanese history...

[Loup Solitaire]

these guys are ridiculous. Usually on Facebook, they are "fans" of every single Lebanese saint (Charebel, Rafqa...) and at the same time, not seeing any contradiction, they are also fans of the most ruthless militiamen and war criminals in Lebanese history...

Not being Lebanese, I am not in a position to judge the merits of the individual. There are more than few misguided people in this world. I am not good at guessing a young person's age. At the risk of sounding like a bleeding liberal, I am reluctant to judge harshly people much younger than my self. It is amazing to me that some young people do such an excellent job of analyzing circumstances and they do a great job making good choices. They should be commended.

But I think back to the time when I was in my early to mid twenties. I was slow to consider effectively some of the most relevant issues of that time (the early to late sixties). I did not want to be an active participant in jungle warfare in the Vietnam War primarily because I did not perceive myself to be a good athlete. My eyesight was a little weak and I was certain I would not last long in jungle warfare. I joined a branch of the military where this was less critical and the program was in the reserves.

Because I was in the reserves I received a lot of pressure to support conservative causes, right or wrong. I was discouraged from supporting objective evaluation of political aspects of the Vietnam war. It became not an issue of morality, but supporting those I was grouped with, again whether they were right or wrong.

What I would suggest is, if a person is astute enough, they might attempt to assert themselves by exercising their persuasive skills to enlighten those who obviously have not carefully considered the important issues. If one makes or decides that someone is an enemy, they are unlikely to be able to exercise any effective influence over that person to change their position. Granted some people are so myopic and biased, that there is no chance of enlightening them. But don't worsen the situation by alienating them.

Ziyad, you seem like a capable person, and you see the dangers of being one of the sheep. I think if you were to commit yourself to utilizing a positive approach you may be able to convince a few of those less capable than yourself of the benefits not being one of the sheep, of intelligent abstinence from alcohol, drugs, frivolous sexual pursuits, etc.

Some of my greatest accomplishments of my youth was trying to emulate people I thought pursued a lifestyle that emphasized high standards, morality and excellence. You may be one of the types that I tried to emulate. Few young people really want to emulate older people like myself. But they do at times want to emulate young intelligent people who seem to have solid goals and are willing to offer encouragement to others.

Develop your own goals, set a good example, and don't be afraid to offer support to those who want to share your qualities. You can not save the world, but if you save a few from their own destructive pursuits, you may find yourself to be a far more spiritual person than you now think.

[Ziyad]

Thank you for your message. What you are advocating is definitely the smart way to act in order to change people's minds, but sometimes, they are so brainwashed at an early age that it is extremely difficult to enter into a fruitful discussion with them.

They see the world in black and white, good and evil, us and them, and they've come to despise and dehumanize all those who do not share their political agenda. Deep down, they are racists towards Arabs and Muslims, and intolerant toward Christians who do not share their right wing views.

What disturbs me is that they claim to be devout Christians and yet support all sorts of unChristian and unethical behaviour. But then again, you also have some of those people in the US, who claim to be Christians and yet support wars and condone torture...

So I guess it is a universal problem.

[Loup Solitaire]

They see the world in black and white, good and evil, us and them, and they've come to despise and dehumanize all those who do not share their political agenda. Deep down, they are racists towards Arabs and Muslims, and intolerant toward Christians who do not share their right wing views.

What disturbs me is that they claim to be devout Christians and yet support all sorts of unchristian and unethical behaviour. But then again, you also have some of those people in the US, who claim to be Christians and yet support wars and condone torture...

this is true....

but that is why we all need to be on our guard and seek out the good people and the good values. Maybe that is why Dr Dahesh referred to Earth as a Hell Planet. Evil has claimed so many of the people we must live with.

In one or more stages of my life, I got caught in a trap. I was guilty of some of the very things that disturb you. But I kept trying to exorcise the evil and return to my values. I never committed murder, but there are many sins against God and man that I did commit.

Life on this planet is not easy. And the more material wealth a person has, the more difficult it is. Whether you consider Christ a Prophet, the Son of God, or simply a forward thinking human, he spoke truth through the simplest illustrations he could in the hope that people would understand.

God has a very strict standard to which few adhere. God did not make religion evil, man did. Agnosticism is one of the worst forms of apathy. One would be better to be an atheist than to be an agnostic.

[Ziyad]

In one or more stages of my life, I got caught in a trap. I was guilty of some of the very things that disturb you. But I kept trying to exorcise the evil and return to my values. I never committed murder, but there are many sins against God and man that I did commit.

All men are sinners but very few reflect on their sins and end up coming to their senses.

From what I'm reading, you've certainly redeemed yourself and your redemption and maturity certainly outweighs whatever you might have done wrong when you were in the "trap"

[Loup Solitaire]

Thank you.