tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31100523842364465672024-03-05T07:53:20.331-08:00A Moderate View in a Radical WorldMy views on current affairs, Islam and Muslims.Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.comBlogger142125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-86844735899601239902014-12-17T05:34:00.003-08:002014-12-17T05:34:56.820-08:00The Islamic State of Terror and the Rise of neo-Khawarij<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Kalinga","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As a former member of the
Islamic Liberation Party (Hizb-ut-Tahrir, HT), I can really sympathise with my
former colleagues and other groups in their struggle to build a genuine Islamic
State that would be a source of security, justice and prosperity for all. In
the past, the Islamic State was exactly that, a system built on the actual
teachings of Islam, where people fled to seeking sanctuary. During the Medieval
Inquisition in Europe, the Jews fled to the Islamic State seeking protection. They
were offered that and they prospered for centuries. The Muslim Spain is another
example of where the society flourished at all levels with Jews, Muslims and
Christians living side by side. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Kalinga","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I can hardly believe my
eyes, as the events have unfolded this year in various parts of the Muslims
world. It seems the notion of the Islamic State (The Khilafah or the Caliphate)
has been completely hijacked by wild extremists acting in the name of Islam,
and their actions are far removed from the action of Prophet Mohammed (SAW),
and the actions of the early companions and the generation of Muslims rulers
that followed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Kalinga","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In Africa, the Boko Haram
group is running riots that have temporarily overshadowed, for the moment, the
Somali Al-Shabab group, which was responsible for the attack on the Kenyan
Shopping mall. Like bandits, Boko Haram is kidnapping school girls under the
banner of ‘Jihad’. The group is opposed to Western education, but has no qualms
when it comes to reaping its benefits, as they use the internet and the mass
media to deliver their message. If they could get their hands on Western
weapons or technology they would not complain either. This gives us a glimpse
of their primitive mindset and what is to come in their version of an ‘Islamic’
State. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Kalinga","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Over in Syria and Iraq, we
see the rise of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). Their leader has
declared the Caliphate and so far all we see is chaos and destruction and beheadings
of people without trial or without evidence, and there is no mercy. The
Christians and Yazidis are being persecuted under ISIS, after living peacefully
with the Muslims side by side, for centuries. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Kalinga","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When I saw the early
images of Alan Henning held captive, the man who left all his possessions and
family to help the needy people of Syria, I thought maybe it was media
misinformation, because, the Muslims are known for their hospitality toward
travellers and in this case, because he was a charity worker, they would have shown
him even more courtesy. I would expect that even from ISIS if they had any form
of Islamic heritage. His execution left me speechless as did the earlier
execution of the journalists. Anyone who has read the biography of the Prophet
Mohammed would know that Alan Henning would have been given red carpet
treatment rather than held as hostage, and killing him would have simply been
unthinkable. The Prophet forgave belligerent individuals many a time. When he
was personally attacked and insulted, he did not cause riots in the street
calling for the execution of his attackers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Kalinga","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now
we have the Taliban in Pakistan, who have the same aspiration of building an Islamic
State and have responded to the air strikes over Waziristan by bombing a
school, killing over 100 school children. They will argue “An eye for an eye”,
a collective response of war. By that argument, the Pakistani forces could
respond too and level Waziristan. However, I am sure many in Waziristan are
also horrified by this incident. Many of those children may have grown up and
become sympathetic to the Taliban cause. The best response is to treat the
Taliban as a group and to confine the military operation to that only. They
have clearly lost the propaganda war now. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Kalinga","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It would have been
understandable to some extent had they attacked a military barrack containing
soldiers, rather than school children under the maxim of “An eye for eye” because we know from our
religion and history that women and children are to be spared. This was the first instruction given by the
Prophet when going to war and his companions followed this tradition. This is clearly documented. Even when there
were grounds to take such measures this was avoided, because it runs contrary
to the spirit of Islam. Take the classic example of Salahuddin Ayubi when he
recaptured Jerusalem from the Crusaders. He didn’t execute the women and
children or the prisoners of war in response to the earlier action of King
Richard, even though he had justification for doing so. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Kalinga","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In any case, the if
Taliban wanted to establish the Islamic State in Pakistan so that it could govern its people with the light of
Islam, then it would be contradictory to bring death, destruction and chaos over the same people. I
remember the arguments from HT that using armed struggle to bring about an
Islamic State would bring about chaos and bloodshed of the very people you are
trying to impose Islam upon. This is what happened inside Algeria during the
time of FIS (Islamic Salvation Front), and it is happening now on a greater
scale. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Kalinga","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">All of these groups seem
to think that invoking penal code at the first opportunity, carrying out executions
without trial and waving their guns in their air symbolises the establishment
of an Islamic State. This is very crude and their actions fit the description
of the early Khawarij movement of the 7<sup>th</sup> century. They operated on
the simple principle that if you differed with them then you were an apostate
(Takfir), and the spilling of your blood was permissible. There were no courts,
and no trial, and accordingly they created havoc in society and assassinated
the fourth Caliph of Islam, Imam Ali. To
job of declaring apostasy or applying the penal code is the duty of a qualified
judge or a ruler who has legitimate authority, but even before the imposition
and application of the penal code, the society must be prepared with education
and security. It is well known that certain penal codes were suspended during
the reign of the second Caliph of Islam (Umar ibn Khattab) due to famine. What
about exercising mercy and forgiveness, which is what the Prophet ( SAW) showed
many times. Why the enthusiasm to spill
blood at the first opportunity? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Kalinga","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As one prominent scholar
recently asked about the new ISIS, is it
a sanctuary for the ordinary Muslims or is it a sword hanging over their neck,
forcing citizens to obey their viewpoint? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Kalinga","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yamin Zaka<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>ria<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Kalinga","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">London, UK<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-7429456730725340482014-10-21T18:09:00.001-07:002014-10-21T18:09:52.556-07:00Afghanistan’s Radical Ruling on Women’s Rights<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj461JP5xFQ4d5zXAkCowMKsovgt1civYM_CvXg5EPfLLEnmToGYkZa_Og54BRqtVJCSVXTbc2sD7s0p9vTKMtPE1NAKg_WApPAT4rdV_QUsUfrg-SBfoUO5jGq6ezs5Z2vpih6a9OpBKfS/s1600/Rapists.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj461JP5xFQ4d5zXAkCowMKsovgt1civYM_CvXg5EPfLLEnmToGYkZa_Og54BRqtVJCSVXTbc2sD7s0p9vTKMtPE1NAKg_WApPAT4rdV_QUsUfrg-SBfoUO5jGq6ezs5Z2vpih6a9OpBKfS/s1600/Rapists.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Afghanistan continues to be examined through the
ubiquitous eye of the international media concerning the subject of women’s
rights and historically, the American-led war on Al-Qaeda was conveniently switched,
to a war to liberate the oppressed Muslim women of Afghanistan, when Al-Qaeda
was dismantled. As part of the subject of women’s rights, which is more or less
equated with - saving the oppressed Muslim women, various debates on issues
like the wearing of the <i>Burqa or Hijab (</i>modest clothing),
education for girls and arranged marriages continue to take place. With the
recent awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Malala Yousafzai, the girl who was
shot by the Pakistani branch of the Taliban, because she was demanding education
for girls, the plight of Muslim women has once again become the centre of media
attention.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <a href="http://www.aopnews.com/opinion/zakaria_afg_radical_ruling_women.shtml" target="_blank">Read More.....</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-73167351754676456462014-07-20T15:05:00.002-07:002014-07-20T15:05:09.352-07:00Why Israel can violate International Law with impunity?<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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When Iraq invaded Kuwait,
immediate economic sanctions were applied followed by military action; when
Russia invaded Ukraine, economic sanctions followed; Israel invades Gaza, breaks
humanitarian laws, ignores human rights and the Geneva convention, and
continues to defy international law by building settlements in the West Bank,
of which 60% is under military occupation, and no action is taken against
sacred Israel. In fact, it’s still poor Israel, the victim, ‘defending’ the
borders by attacking: hospitals, schools, water plants, sewage works and even
small children playing on the beaches are not spared. </div>
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<b>Which border is Israel
protecting, given the continuing annexation of the remaining territories of
Palestine? Even if we accept Israel is under attack, the right to defend is not
unconstrained, and yet, the Israeli response has been. And rightly many have
raised the issue of Israel’s disproportionate response to the ineffectual Hamas
rockets. What is Israel really defending here? How many casualties and how much
damage has Israel suffered compared to the Palestinians? Can anyone show one
image of an Israeli house being reduced to rubble? On the contrary, the CNN reporter captures a
group of Israelis cheering the attack on a hill top; they feel safe enough to
stand on the border, and watch Gaza being bombarded with drones and missiles as
if they are at a drive-in movie. So, where is this fear of Hamas and its
rockets? </b></div>
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Israel’s violation of
international law during the conflict is on many levels: attacking water
plants, the sewage systems, hospitals, schools, and children playing on the
beach are some of the clear examples. And still there is no accountability, no
outrage, no calls for international action, other than how Israel can be
persuaded and bribed to stop this murderous adventure. </div>
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Therefore, is there a reason why
Israel continues to get such special treatment? The real anti-Semites of the
far right would answer the question sarcastically, using the Biblical reference
of the chosen people; the Jews are privileged in the eyes of God, thus it gives
them the right to ignore international laws, applicable only to the lower
gentiles. Some of the militant Rabbis would seriously endorse this too. Just to
clarify the theology, the ‘chosen’ people here are those selected to bear the
responsibility of the divine message and guide humanity; it is a burden rather
than a privilege. </div>
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Nobody can seriously argue that a
religious text gives Israel a special privilege to violate international laws. A
more plausible primary answer for Israel’s privilege is that - any country will
have immunity if it is backed by one of the five members of the UN Security
Council with veto power. Israel is backed by the US, UK and France. This support
is achieved through the Zionist lobbies and businesses having disproportionate
influence in government, finance, and the media. </div>
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Indeed, Israel enjoys immunity
through the help and support of the Western powers; it is like a colonial
outpost in the Middle East. Any American politician criticising Israel would
find his career over. Despite the protests and the images here in the UK, very
few MPs have spoken out against the atrocities in Gaza, rather some have chosen
to recycle the one-sided Israeli propaganda – self-defence. This duplicity
reflects the simple point that Palestinian lives are not worth as much as Israeli
lives. </div>
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Apart from the political
establishment, the Zionists and their supporters have an immense grip on the
media. Through the deliberate manipulation of the mass media, an innocent image
of Israel is created; it is the perpetual victim, always acting in self-defence
against the angry Arab terrorists. </div>
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<b>Even when Israel strikes it is benevolent,
because they issue couple of minutes warning to evacuate a premise, before it
gets bombed. What’s the logic here? If you warn, the Hamas operatives are going
to be first to vacate the premises, before the women, children and the old. Even if they managed to run, where will they
go? All the borders including ‘Islamic’ Egypt is closed, not even the sea is
open for escape. The end result is massive levels of civilian casualties; the
warning is just a political gimmick. </b></div>
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The secondary reason for Israel’s
special treatment comes through the influence of the fringe but influential Zionist-Christians,
whose political wing is the neo-conservatives group, which formed the backbone
of the Bush regime. They see Israel is an extension of the Judeo-Christian
civilisation - which has been prophesied as a necessity, for the second coming
of Christ, thus it must be defended at all cost. Now you can see why the Palestinians do not
appear in their radar. Consequentially, the US veto has been applied many times
to save Israel, along with the funding and supplying it with arms. </div>
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Yamin Zakaria (<a href="mailto:yamin@radicalviews.org">yamin@radicalviews.org</a>)</div>
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Published on 20/07/2014</div>
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London, UK </div>
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<a href="http://www.radicalviews.org/">www.radicalviews.org</a></div>
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<a href="http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com/">http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com</a></div>
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Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-68473291124444411622014-07-13T16:41:00.001-07:002014-07-13T16:41:13.388-07:00Gassing Gaza: Is Israel ‘defending’ itself once again?<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<i>“When Israelis in the occupied territories now claim that they have to
defend themselves, they are defending themselves in the sense that any military
occupier has to defend itself against the population they are crushing. You
can't defend yourself when you're militarily occupying someone else's land.
That's not defence. Call it what you like, it's not defence.”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Professor Noam Chomsky </div>
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President Obama wants to broker a
ceasefire, but what is the credential of the US to play the role of an
impartial broker? This is the country that has armed Israel to the teeth, it continues
to finance their existence and turn a blind eye to the creeping colonisation of
the remaining territories of Palestine; with unrestrained access to the US media,
the Zionist narrative is fed to the American masses, who above all, stand by
Israel, no matter how many Palestinian civilians are killed and maimed, whilst
the Israeli casualty figures barely reach double figures. </div>
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<b>Let us put aside the point of US
neutrality to act as a peace maker. The issue is - brokering a ceasefire could
only take place, if both sides had something to negotiate. This conflict is not
a fight between two armies; it’s a one-sided massacre of civilians and the
destruction of their livelihood and properties, accomplished efficiently with
US made weapons. Therefore, the brokering process is essentially about getting
the Israelis to halt their war machine, even if Hamas were to continue to fire
the rockets, the Israeli casualties will remain close to zero. </b></div>
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As usual, the Zionist apologists
will point out the home-made Hamas ‘rockets’ as the cause. If you want to identify
the cause, then examine the sequence of events, and the long-term Israeli
strategy to suffocate the Palestinians, in the concentration camp of Gaza. Not
to mention the Zionisation of the West Bank, where the illegal settlements
(theft of land) continues to grow, in flagrant breach of International Law.
This process is to facilitate the right of return for the Jews, whose ancestors
may have lived there, and concurrently the dispossessed Palestinians within the
last 100 years are still seeking their right of return. Many still have the
keys to their houses, now occupied by thieves, known as ‘settlers’. In
addition, the impact of these so-called rockets have been magnified beyond all
proportions, and then recycled continuously through the Zionist dominated media,
to justify the carnage. </div>
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As we entered the 5<sup>th</sup>
day of the conflict in the month of Ramadan, the UN managed to issue the most
ridiculous statement with no provisions for any action; the statements suggests
the conflict is a two-way battle, both parties should share the responsibility
equally, but the facts on the grounds show otherwise. </div>
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<i>“The Security Council members expressed serious concern regarding the
crisis related to Gaza and the protection and welfare of civilians on both
sides.” <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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Well so far only the Palestinians
have suffered 140 casualties and no deaths of Israelis reported, therefore, the
statement should have reflected that, placing much greater burden on Israel to
ensure protection and welfare of civilians in Gaza. It then goes on to say the
following. <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i>“The Security Council members further called for respect for
international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians.” <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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This can only apply to Israel,
whose army and the civilians are beyond the reach of the Palestinians in Gaza; the
IDF has been busy destroying houses, killing civilians, cutting off power
supplies to essential services like hospitals. During the previous incursion
into Gaza in 2006, Israel prevented medical aid getting through and firing at ambulances,
by the end of the operation, 1500 Palestinians had been killed, whilst Israel
suffered only 17 casualties. </div>
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<br /></div>
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The Zionist dominated media
narrative, along with the voices of western leaders, tells us the following
about the Israeli incursion:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>It’s not a war crime despite the
deliberate killing of defenceless civilians, and the wanton destruction of
their properties; it is not terrorism despite the killing of non-combatants; it
is not a collective punishment of a population, even though it is acting in
retaliation for the actions of a few, and it is not a one-sided massacre, even
though over 99% of the victims are the Palestinian - Israel the victim, is
simply defending itself. </b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Acting in self-defence means, it
is a preventative measure and not a full scale offensive like that taken in a war
situation. Given the failure of these Hamas rockets to inflict any casualties
or real damage, and many of the missiles are intercepted by the Israeli Iron
Dome system, the ‘defensive’ measures taken by Israel by bombing Gaza, are well
beyond what is required, because Israel’s
intention is to wage a war, and subdue the Palestinian will for
existence. As the Palestinians are
suffocating in the Gaza concentration camp under siege, they will naturally
retaliate with crude weapons, and this in turn has become a basis for the
Israeli slaughter, in the name of self-defence. Since when did the Israeli
Defence Force ever carry out a defensive operation after the end of the 1973
war? Lebanon to Gaza has been a one-sided carnage of cities and the civilian
population. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
So why has Israel attacked Gaza?
Professor Noam Chomsky answered this question during the previous incursion
into Gaza, and I think the answer is still applicable now. </div>
<div class="story" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="story" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“The incursion and
bombardment of Gaza is not about destroying Hamas. It is not about stopping
rocket fire into Israel, it is not about achieving peace. The Israeli decision
to rain death and destruction on Gaza, to use lethal weapons of the modern
battlefield on a largely defenceless civilian population, is the final phase in
a decades-long campaign to ethnically-cleanse Palestinians.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Finally, the Arab clowns sitting
as heads of state, collectively the impotent Arab league, which has never
managed to erect anything. The Arab ‘leaders’ are paralysed and speechless;
they could not even muster a protest. It’s uncomfortable to confront the
Israelis through the US and over the last 30 years, the Arabs have become
accustomed to fighting each other, so much so, it kind of evokes the
pre-Islamic stories of tribes fighting for 40-years, just over a camel. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
So what does the future hold? The
Arab Spring has come and gone, the new Caliphate (ISIS) has mysteriously
emerged from nowhere, and I suspect that too will vanish or prove to be just as
hollow with the passage of time. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yamin Zakaria (<a href="mailto:yamin@radicalviews.org">yamin@radicalviews.org</a>)</div>
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Published 13/07/2014</div>
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London, UK </div>
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<a href="http://www.radicalviews.org/">www.radicalviews.org</a></div>
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<a href="http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com/">http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com</a></div>
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Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-85242973714189310742014-07-07T11:43:00.002-07:002014-07-07T11:44:52.879-07:00An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQvpeE3_Oy-7GbvIybqF0LQBsEhI_f6Mzm2XkWrZlZraC4EEIaOQvBN5gZuSDbWroHLkId2PI8dyPyQ-ceYcwOuJBOUahg1Xojx1G31sdz-peID4viMTGkTibLsTKgGLZIbYqkpunxokD/s1600/3IsraeliTeen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQvpeE3_Oy-7GbvIybqF0LQBsEhI_f6Mzm2XkWrZlZraC4EEIaOQvBN5gZuSDbWroHLkId2PI8dyPyQ-ceYcwOuJBOUahg1Xojx1G31sdz-peID4viMTGkTibLsTKgGLZIbYqkpunxokD/s1600/3IsraeliTeen.jpg" height="111" width="200" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYG6ZTa0QIh2xDGPdlvW2RvfrZsF-gFtm_OEcxv0yPKj9OFldBs6WICcMmEe4bjqm-f6lamopxQ-2wpf8rEImYcY9SN8qXJ3DqEna2vjKuHWufZ4sAABXaCw3PezY0WmQ7uEAztmK-NSts/s1600/khaled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYG6ZTa0QIh2xDGPdlvW2RvfrZsF-gFtm_OEcxv0yPKj9OFldBs6WICcMmEe4bjqm-f6lamopxQ-2wpf8rEImYcY9SN8qXJ3DqEna2vjKuHWufZ4sAABXaCw3PezY0WmQ7uEAztmK-NSts/s1600/khaled.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhab9LsJnwkMzTq8xvD8ninqLrEyWSmURfot1O9gMolGHioanDIiBwqj0xcCm5OUCY0XyEXQwcT6MqU7XMZA3aoWwERpCTwjWKYjeh0u0TWHogCPylnoU0MJ-C_iJCHIdY3vS7hM3TvQrlK/s1600/Israel-Scoreborad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhab9LsJnwkMzTq8xvD8ninqLrEyWSmURfot1O9gMolGHioanDIiBwqj0xcCm5OUCY0XyEXQwcT6MqU7XMZA3aoWwERpCTwjWKYjeh0u0TWHogCPylnoU0MJ-C_iJCHIdY3vS7hM3TvQrlK/s1600/Israel-Scoreborad.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please remind us again - is Israel
the only democracy in the Middle East, where the rule of law prevails! It is
nauseating to put up with jibes that are not only false, but carry an obvious racist
undertone, implying that the Arabs are not civilised enough to be democratic.
Israel could have proven its democratic credentials by capturing the culprits
that killed the three Israeli teenagers, and then trying them through the
courts. Instead, it embarked on the usual route of issuing collective
punishment on the entire Palestinian people by bombing Gaza, carrying out arbitrary
arrests of ‘suspects’, and invading Palestinian houses at will, as if they have
no basic human right of privacy; such behaviour is reminiscent of the Nazis in
Germany hounding the Jews, and not a modern democracy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>It is not enough that Israel continues
to use the victimhood of Nazi Germany, known as the holocaust industry, to make
political mileage, but they go further and use that perversely to justify the
persecution of the Palestinians in a way that is replicating the Nazi
behaviour. To some extent this makes sense, as the defenceless Palestinians are
far easier to blame and target, than confronting the mighty Germans. </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With respect to the murder of the
three teenagers, of course, the Palestinians are the prime suspect, and given
that no ransom was demanded the motive remains uncertain. It could have been
the work of some lone serial killer, or some angry Palestinians seeking
vengeance or some other party. It is not enough for a state that claims to be a
beacon of democracy among the Arab ‘savages’ to act on the basis of suspicion,
let alone issue collective punishment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then the situation gets worse, after
three weeks the bodies of the three dead teenagers are found, and in response the
old Biblical dictum of an “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” is applied
indiscriminately on an innocent Palestinian boy, by some Israeli ‘settlers’; <span style="background: white; font-size: 8.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Mohammed Abu Khdair, a 17-year-old Palestinian is</span>
captured by them, and then burnt alive by these primitive savages and there is
no other way to describe the act! Such behaviours emanating from the Israeli
‘settlers’ or those engaged in theft of Palestinian land in violation of the UN
resolution, cannot be decoupled from the racist edicts issued by the fanatical
Rabbis that encourages this sort of barbaric conduct. However, the media is not
interested in this sort of extremism - who would want to be labelled as
anti-Semitic and risk losing financial support and find other obstacles
appearing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After three weeks of intense media
coverage, the western media loses its fork-tongue; the gruesome murder of the
Arab boy is given a low intensity media coverage, coupled with the carefully
selected or omitted vocabulary of militant, fanatical, extremists, which all proves
the disproportionate influence of Zionists controlling the media, and the central
media message is - Israeli blood is more sacred than Palestinian blood, and
only the Palestinians are militant, fanatical and extremists. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>When this event has subsided, you
will once again hear that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East; such
crude propaganda usually emanates from the likes of Fox News and the right wing
cabal. This sort of racist jibes suggest the primitive Arabs have not climbed
up the civilisation ladder far enough. However, it would help if the West did
not placate the Arab drive towards popular rule, by aiding nasty dictators;
take your pick, General Sisi of Egypt who ousted the democratically elected
Muslim Brotherhood, the House of Saud, and many of the despots elsewhere in the
Muslim world. </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Amongst all this, we see some
hope; the families of the victims, the Arabs and the Jews console each other,
both sides have exchanged condolences. Every child is precious to the
respective parent, and no one can understand this better than the one who has
lost a child. To prevent further escalation, Israel and the Palestinian
authorities should work together to capture all the culprits and apply the due
process of law instead of collective punishment. And let us remember that it was Mahatma Gandhi,
who put a twist on the Biblical principle and said: an eye for and a tooth for
a tooth makes the whole world go blind; indeed hate and anger blinds people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yamin Zakaria (yamin@radicalviews.org)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Published 07/07/2014<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">London, UK <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.radicalviews.org/">www.radicalviews.org</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com/">http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-90945630466125258082014-07-03T15:55:00.000-07:002014-07-03T15:55:12.707-07:004th of July, American Independence Day: A Cause for Celebration or Mourning?<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>"How is it that we hear the loudest
yelps for liberty among the drivers of negroes?"</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-
Dr. Samuel Johnson<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfrzaT3jQdQ0QNcOfyYtjfDcQk24isW__QbKvJ0xDqlJu5pxodWkyfDyUHG3zSQyiQ_1Y6x8bzVGETptQoGmbrHaob85KqUN-dXYNl0evYc-WEtXr6j-ZoMtK-AUS-azS-yUNDfuOJnvhR/s1600/american-independence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfrzaT3jQdQ0QNcOfyYtjfDcQk24isW__QbKvJ0xDqlJu5pxodWkyfDyUHG3zSQyiQ_1Y6x8bzVGETptQoGmbrHaob85KqUN-dXYNl0evYc-WEtXr6j-ZoMtK-AUS-azS-yUNDfuOJnvhR/s1600/american-independence.jpg" height="222" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Declaration
of Independence in 1776, the formation of the US constitution in 1789, and the
first 10 amendments to it, collectively known as the “Bill of Rights” passed in
1791, are the three most significant sets of documents that have contributed
towards shaping the political history of the US. The core principles embedded
in those documents form the basis of US democracy, and the functioning of the Congress
(legislative), the Supreme Court (judiciary) and the President (executive). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since
the US is lecturing other nations on democracy, portraying itself as a
blue-print for the rest of the world to follow; therefore, it is only right
that the US is held to account against the principles laid out in the above
mentioned documents. No matter how well intended and clearly worded the principles
laid down are, what really matters is how those principles have been
interpreted and applied. Just as the best judge of a
man are the actions, along with the words spoken. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Declaration of Independence was composed by
a committee consisting of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Adams" title="John Adams"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">John Adams</span></a>, Benjamin
Franklin, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson" title="Thomas Jefferson"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Thomas Jefferson</span></a>,
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_R._Livingston" title="Robert R. Livingston"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Robert R. Livingston</span></a>
and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Sherman" title="Roger Sherman"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Roger Sherman</span></a>. Thomas Jefferson did most
of the writing, with input from the committee. It was Jefferson who added the
famous words: <b><i>"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights...”</i></b>
The reality was all men were equal if they were settlers or colonisers from
Europe; the African-Americans remained subjugated in an apartheid state until
the 1960s. The Native Americans were virtually made extinct; they were
liquidated when they got in the way of economic expansion. They were herded like animals onto barren reservations, and denied
those “inalienable rights”. This was done by the executive arm of the US
legislature, that “forked tongue” player.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is
perhaps convenient or a coincidence that Jefferson’s original draft included a
denunciation of the slave trade, but it was edited out. In any case, <st1:place w:st="on">Jefferson</st1:place> along with George Washington, James Madison,
George Mason and many others who signed the declaration, continued to hold
blacks in bondage. Recent scientific evidences confirmed the rumours of <st1:place w:st="on">Jefferson</st1:place> having illegitimate children through the black
slaves held in captivity. Benjamin Franklin is reputed to be the staunchest
opponent of slavery; however, this position was adopted later. In his earlier
life, he profited from the domestic and international slave trade, complained
about the ease with which slaves and servants ran off to the British army
during the colonial wars of the 1740s and 1750s, and staunchly defended slave
owning rebels during the Revolution. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Patrick
Henry, who was the heroic fighter for independence, did even better; not only
did he continue to hold black slaves, but he removed any Native Americans that dared get in the way of his making a killing in
westward real estate. The African-Americans continued to suffer, subjected to
mob violence, lynching, hanging, and used as cheap labour in the plantations
and factories that made America very wealthy. This is how the founding fathers
applied the declaration and upheld those noble
“inalienable rights”!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From
history to the present day, the same double standards are seen. Take the first
amendment, which is the right to exercise free speech. Not so long ago, the Arizona
State Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Tucson newspaper on the basis of the
First Amendment for publishing a letter that urged people to kill 5 Muslims, in
retaliation for the death of a single American soldier in Iraq. Perhaps many of
the African-Americans would easily identify with the above court ruling, as it
is the first step towards legitimising mob violence against
another minority. Note, this ruling is not seen as incitement to
violence, but the right to exercise free speech! In a
perverse way, the First Amendment is used to encourage those American
citizens calling for the indiscriminate execution of fellow American citizens,
simply because they have a different ethnicity and religion. A test of this law would be the same American court
invoking the First Amendment, if someone wrote a letter calling for the
execution of 5 pro-war Americans for every Iraqi killed - fat chance! Similarly,
when Shabir Ahmed, an Imam, spoke out against the conduct of the United
States government, there was no First Amendment to protect him; he was fired
from his local Mosque in Lodi, California. He merely voiced his opposition to current US
foreign policy, and did not call for the indiscriminate execution of American
civilians. Perhaps, now we can see the wise words of Noam Chomsky describing
free speech as: <b><i>“If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for those who we despise,
we don’t believe in it at all.” </i> </b>The
implicit caveat to this is the direct incitement to violence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_4" title="July 4"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">July 4</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1776" title="1776"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">1776</span></a>,
the Declaration was finally adopted by the Continental Congress at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Hall" title="Independence Hall"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Pennsylvania State House</span></a>. For sure, many
Americans will celebrate the annual ritual of their independence day on the 4<sup>th</sup>
of July; but how many will reflect on the inconsistent behaviour of the nation,
both past and present, compared to the towering words of Thomas Jefferson
pronounced in the Declaration of Independence. How many Americans will remember
the lessons learnt from the events that culminated in forming the Declaration
of Independence? Listed below are three of those significant events: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a) The
unpopular Stamp Act of 1765 issued by the British government on the colonies
caused immense resentment. The act levied a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamp_duty" title="Stamp duty"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">stamp duty</span></a> on various legal documents and
publications in the British colonies in <st1:place w:st="on">North America</st1:place>.
Money raised through these taxes was predominantly used to pay for the standing
army protecting the fur trade in Canada, acquired from the French after the
Seven Year’s War. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">b)
<!--[endif]-->Following the Stamp Act, the Townshend Acts
passed in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1767" title="1767"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">1767</span></a> by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Parliament" title="British Parliament"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">British Parliament</span></a>,
which placed a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax" title="Tax"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">tax</span></a> on common products, such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead" title="Lead"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">lead</span></a>,
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper" title="Paper"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">paper</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paint" title="Paint"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">paint</span></a>,
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass" title="Glass"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">glass</span></a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea" title="Tea"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">tea</span></a>
added more fuel to the fire; the Americans grew increasingly hostile to British
attempts to levy more taxes on the colonies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">c)
<!--[endif]-->Then the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Tea_Party" title="Boston Tea Party"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Boston Tea Party</span></a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1773" title="1773"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">1773</span></a>,
this incident is perhaps the straw that broke the Camel’s back. The act allowed
the British East India Company to sell the tea imported from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place> directly to the colonialist
market without paying the colonial tax, which allowed it to undercut the local
merchants. So, in response a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston" title="Boston"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Boston</span></a> mob threw over 340
crates of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea" title="Tea"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">tea</span></a> into <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Boston</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Harbour</st1:placetype></st1:place>
as a political protest. By 1775, fighting broke out; the 13 colonies sought
independence from British rule and its despotic British King George III. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The average Americans ought to remember
that like the Palestinians, Iraqis, Afghanis and others, their forefathers fought
against foreign occupation, colonisation and economic exploitation. The
Americans did not like the British bases on their soil, so why do they expect
any different from the Arab/Muslim nations of today. Many of those who fought
the British army, formed local militias, and just like the current Iraqi
resistance, fought without wearing uniforms and used similar tactics of
guerrilla warfare; the American independence movement were the terrorists of
that time. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This
momentum for independence did not arise because of an ideological difference
with its former colonial master, the British. The US merely replaced the
British Empire and continued the same policy of empire building and
colonisation. After all, like Britain, it was also a Capitalist state. The
fundamental aim of an empire is not occupation or subjugation; those are merely
the means to an end, it is primarily about economics, accessing new markets, seizing
new materials, and generating mega profits. After the US takeover, it was
achieving all those, more effectively, without direct occupation and direct
colonisation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>In fact, direct colonisation was made a
taboo, to oust or weaken the former colonial powers like Britain, France and
Spain. Hence, we entered the age of decolonisation, replaced by the more subtle
form of American neo-colonisation!</b> And
this process kicked off at the turn of the 20<sup>th</sup> century, with the
Spanish American war, followed by the Monroe doctrine, and entering the First
and Second World War. The US continued to wage wars, killing millions more than any empire before it using the most sophisticated
weapons. Likewise, the “Bill of Rights” did not prevent the continuation
of slavery, mob violence, hanging, lynching and other forms of brutality and
exploitation. If there is anything to celebrate, it is the world seeing through the hype of these “forked tongues”
writing noble constitutions, bills and declaring one thing, and then applying barbarity
and subjugation to the contrary. Having
said that the US has also made substantial progress, especially after the rise
of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, thanks to the dedication and
sacrifice of towering figures like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, and we see
the first black President of the US. Yet,
a cursory look at the world events, tells us of an uncertain future ahead. <span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
<br />
Yamin Zakaria (yamin@radicalviews.org)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Published originally in 2005<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">London, UK<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.radicalviews.org/">www.radicalviews.org</a> <a href="http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com/">http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-6636285487945040432014-06-25T14:55:00.001-07:002014-06-25T14:56:12.808-07:00Sunni ISIS Caliphate V Shia Imamate<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnroOerBqhWQgEttXMV0B8u-Z6EJ6zdn4DbpLtNzMp80jdq7ka9N98KHTGD27LhVeJDRjYeRv3w2_NKU8yedefG-aXBS6OPgijgqT1KN-_i-ojfMBe7CSu27MwcFaW4KuY-5IuzVEDXWyJ/s1600/ISIS_map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnroOerBqhWQgEttXMV0B8u-Z6EJ6zdn4DbpLtNzMp80jdq7ka9N98KHTGD27LhVeJDRjYeRv3w2_NKU8yedefG-aXBS6OPgijgqT1KN-_i-ojfMBe7CSu27MwcFaW4KuY-5IuzVEDXWyJ/s1600/ISIS_map.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
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As the events continue to unfold
in Iraq, a full scale sectarian conflict between the Sunnis and the Shiites
looks imminent. No surprise that Obama will not commit ground troops, and why
should he. The US interest will be
served by funding both sides behind the scenes, whilst politically it will appear
to oppose ISIS and play out the role of a peacemaker, and nominal air strikes
driven by political expediency will not change the underlying policy. </div>
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<br /></div>
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The flags, the banners, and the
message of ISIS clearly convey they want to impose Sharia laws, and bring about
the Caliphate, like it or not. It has sent out alarm bells, the Caliphate will
pose a challenge to western hegemony in the region, and the existing regimes
will feel the heat and it may destabilise the entire region. This is an
overreaction and largely contributed by the self-created Islamophobic climate
in the west.<br />
<a name='more'></a> </div>
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<br /></div>
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For centuries, western Christendom
fought the Caliphate, and later secular west removed the Caliphate with ease;
the Muslims themselves had lost their attachment to the system for various
reasons. And regardless of the initial success of ISIS in military terms, there
are no signs that the masses in the Arab world want the Caliphate back. Even
the moderate Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt could not sustain its power, because despite
the military intervention, if it had sufficient support base, there would have
been a significant reaction. </div>
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The potential conflict evokes memories
of the Iraq and Iran war; a religious Shia state fighting the Godless Arab
socialist regime of Saddam Hussein was the view projected by Iran, and the
Arabs saw the conflict in terms of expansion of the Persian Empire threatening
the existence of the Arab culture. This time
the conflict will be along sectarian lines, Shia versus the Sunnis. Will Iran
invade to protect the Shiites shrine and bolster the Shiite army? Will the
Sunni world react in a similar way and will fighters rush towards a new Jihad
financed by the oil-rich Gulf States, led by a new Bin Laden? </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
From the western perspective, the
old philosophy of - nations have no permanent friends but only their interests -
is at work. Hence, during the Khomeini era, the Shias were the minority
fanatics beating themselves crazy, venting their anger with chants of “death to
America, death to Israel”, whilst the Sunnis were the peaceful majority, and in
Afghanistan they were the righteous Mujahedeen fighting the Soviets, not the
terrorists. After the first Gulf war and
9/11 the tables have turned and the climate is now Shia friendly, especially after
the departure of Ahmadinejad, whilst the Sunnis are now the problem, especially
the Salafee Jihadists. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
What lies behind the sectarian
conflict goes back to the inception of the Shiite movement, as it seceded from
the majority Sunni. A tiny group of people believed the Caliphate should have
gone to Ali rather than Abu Bakr and their allegiance is with the divine Imams
that succeeded from the family of the Prophet (ahlul-bayt), who can make no
error in interpreting the divine text. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
There may be some room for
democracy within the Sunni Caliphate, where the masses chose the leader, but in
the Shia school, this is impossible. But then why did Ali participate in the
election after the demise of second Caliph (Umar bin Khattab)? The Shiite
doctrine is a true theocracy that reflects the Catholic model of the infallible
Pope; instead they have the infallible Imam, who passes on the leadership, no
hysteria of mass election. So where is the infallible Imam now? The answer will follow shortly. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I am not sectarian, in that I do
not view all Shiites as unbelievers, and I certainly do not subscribe to the
Salafee Jihadist view that only the dead Shiites are the worthy ones, nor do I
see all Sunnis as saints. However, I do struggle with the Shiite doctrine of
political leadership of a divine Imam having the sole right to interpret and
pass rulings. Once a Shia student of theology boasted to me how the Sunnis adhere
to the democratic notion of election, where a donkey could come to power and
make all sorts of mistakes. And there is some truth to that, plenty of examples
in the Muslim and non-Muslim world, past and present, producing such leaders. In
response, I asked him if you do believe that only the divine Imam has the right
and ability to interpret the divine text and pass rulings, why are there so
many Ayatollahs doing the same job? Where is this divine Imam? With a touch of
sarcasm, I asked him, why you don’t bring your divine Imam online, as many of
us looking for a quality error-free fatwa. Of course, he became defensive, a little
embarrassed, the divine Imam is the Mehdi, he allegedly vanished in the 8<sup>th</sup>
century and living in outer space somewhere, and when the time is right he will
be beamed down to earth. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Apart from the political doctrine
of leadership there are many other sensitive issues between the two factions,
and bloodshed will not help either side, these matters needs to be resolved by
Scholars over time, and they need to work towards creating consensus and unity
at a political level; imposing a version of Islam through the barrel of a gun
and killing those who disagree will not work, especially in this globalised era,
where consensus and participation of the masses is a reality, and we take some
level of personal freedom for granted which Islam has permitted in the first
place. </div>
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<br />
Yamin Zakaria (<a href="mailto:yamin@radicalviews.org">yamin@radicalviews.org</a>)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Published on 26/06/2014</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
London, UK (<a href="http://www.radicalviews.org/">www.radicalviews.org</a>,
http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com)</div>
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Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-17130073646130048412014-05-31T14:04:00.002-07:002014-05-31T14:05:53.196-07:00There is no Honour in Honour Killing<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm1evlswB_L8DY_Nksh9jugxoRxzat4VoJDjw68kV5pESzSEn996-Ij-NZvNTcmow4UZFl9pQCX2VMd-Pyi8Yt-pSWRrjgho2clJspZcZ7atx6K43f1cV8lMLAPQ4pxBpzp7WwJfERCj08/s1600/honour-killing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm1evlswB_L8DY_Nksh9jugxoRxzat4VoJDjw68kV5pESzSEn996-Ij-NZvNTcmow4UZFl9pQCX2VMd-Pyi8Yt-pSWRrjgho2clJspZcZ7atx6K43f1cV8lMLAPQ4pxBpzp7WwJfERCj08/s1600/honour-killing.jpg" height="219" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From the northern UK cities of Bradford,
Rochdale, and Manchester to the rural areas of Pakistan, the grisly issue of
honour killing persists. This has recently surfaced in the media, with the savage
killing of Farzana Parveen, a 25-year-old pregnant woman, literally bludgeoned
to death with bricks and stones by family members, for having married the man
she loved. It beggars belief, how anyone can do this to their own flesh and
blood. What kind of values do these people carry? Whatever it is, I can see no
reference in Islamic law, and the life of the Prophet (saw), to remotely
endorse such barbarism and cruelty.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of the first Quranic
injunctions forbade the killing of daughters; the pre-Islamic Arabs used to bury
them alive, because it brought shame. For that same reason of ‘shame’, family
members of Farzana Parveen collectively plotted and murdered her. It gets
worse, in another case, a couple in Pakistan, killed their daughter for
allegedly looking at a boy, and another family killed two teenage girls for ‘dancing’
in the rain, yes like most 15-year olds, they were engaged in some form of frolic
enjoying themselves; they were not stripping or performing some lewd dance in
front of a group of rowdy men. </span></div>
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</div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These men and women who carry out
these gruesome acts I wonder what sort of standard they set for themselves; don't
tell me these self-righteous ‘holy’ people do not look at the opposite gender
and take an interest. I recall few years back, a BBC documentary interviewing a
young Pakistani Asian boy with a similar attitude, and he says, if anyone
approached my sister I will deal with it. I wonder if he has set the same benchmark
for himself, thus, maintain distance from sisters of other men! From his trendy
appearance, I am pretty sure he is seeing a few ‘sisters’ himself. Of course,
if one of those sisters happened to be a local white girl that doesn’t even count,
they are ‘<i>halal</i>’ freebies. For the
UKIP/EDL folks, the halal used here is sarcasm, so chill with your pints in the
pub. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the case of Farzana Parveen, what
was the crime according to Islamic law, since marriage is a virtuous act? The ‘crime’
according to their backward cultural mindset appears that Farzana married a man,
who was not chosen by the family, but does this really warrant killing? According
to Islamic law, blood can only be shed in some cases, and only if the alleged
crime has been brought to the court, tried and convicted, under the rigorous
criteria set by the Sharia laws. Going further, let us assume the issue was one
of adultery. However, this does not give the parents, the family members or
anyone else the right to start applying the Islamic penal code through some
cultural filter; the allegation has to be brought in front of judge first. The
only criminals here are the family members for murdering an innocent woman and
her unborn child. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Apart from the so-called honour,
another issue that underlines this is forced marriages; the parents assume, it
is their sole right and responsibility to ensure their daughter marries the man
they have chosen for her. In most cases, the marriage goes ahead with potential
long term consequences. For example, can you imagine years later, when one of
the spouses find out, the other was in love with someone else. Oh yes, even men
are coerced or bullied at times to wed someone chosen for them. On this note,
almost everyone has a story to tell. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is no coercion in forming any
contract, and this is also applicable to marital contact, thus the term “forced
marriage” is an oxy-moron. According to the
Hanafi legal School that is dominant in Pakistan, a woman has every right to
choose her spouse. Few years back, I was discussing this issue with a reputable
Hanafi Scholar from India, he pointed out that the Quran clearly endorses that a
woman can enter into a contractual agreement over business matters; therefore,
by greater reasoning, she can secure her marriage contract. There are some differences,
if she is a young virgin, but for a divorcees or widowers there is consensus
among almost all the legal schools that she is entitled to marry the man of her
choice, without the need to secure permission from a male guardian (<i>wali</i>). However, for peace and harmony to
prevail, one should do their utmost to gain approval of the family members;
political considerations are just as important as complying with the minimum
legal requirements. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am disappointed that Muslim
groups and scholars have not been vocal enough to condemn this gruesome honour
killing, and their inaction contributes towards an ongoing perception, largely fuelled
by the Islamophobic media that this sort of act is sanctioned by Islam. Concurrently,
it also gives the Islamophobes a freehand to tarnish the entire Muslim
community, based on the actions of a tiny group of people. The parents of the 17
year-old Shafilea Ahmed from Bradford, gave the same reason of ‘shame’ being
brought on the family, after they murdered their daughter. The local Pakistani community
remained silent, almost endorsing that viewpoint. If only they came out to the
streets and protested, vocalising that the only shame is the murderous acts of
the parents - and that would have sent a very positive message to the rest of
the community. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These Muslim parents should
remember, we do not own our children, they are individual human beings, a gift
from the creator, and we are the trustees, all we can do is provide them with
the best possible guidance in life, and they will bear the consequences of
their actions; the Quran reminds us of this, the son of Nuh (AS) did not follow
his father, there is no guarantee that our children will always follow our
paths and wishes. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
Yamin Zakaria (<a href="mailto:yamin@radicalviews.org">yamin@radicalviews.org</a>)
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Published on 31/05/2014</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">London, UK</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.radicalviews.org/">www.radicalviews.org</a>,
<a href="http://blogspot.yaminzakaria.org/">http://blogspot.yaminzakaria.org</a></span></div>
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Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-16262561253916636822014-04-27T03:05:00.004-07:002014-04-27T03:05:58.285-07:00Tony Blair - A War Criminal and an Intolerant Extremist<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEd-jrbzWd22XfhJdkUuOpSiwlNghYKdxuxtEfbyWkUsl-jlFDyrl8gChiATja7EhRGwDH-htsdHV8DqxG9EoMLHzghRkZRvckzcU-CdOT7XSl64Lp1jw6Ghw3mbTvR3OUHGFs0TKM5_JE/s1600/blair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEd-jrbzWd22XfhJdkUuOpSiwlNghYKdxuxtEfbyWkUsl-jlFDyrl8gChiATja7EhRGwDH-htsdHV8DqxG9EoMLHzghRkZRvckzcU-CdOT7XSl64Lp1jw6Ghw3mbTvR3OUHGFs0TKM5_JE/s1600/blair.jpg" /></a></div>
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Tony Blair’s recent outburst on Political
Islam sounds like an indirect confession. He has contributed towards its rise,
and now wants the rest of the world to contain it. His message sounds like an intolerant
person who cannot co-exist with an opposing view. <b>If political Islam is the
people’s choice then what exactly is the problem Mr Blair? Or Is Blair an intolerant
extremist who wants to impose his ways on others? </b></div>
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He is also a war criminal;
accordingly, he should stand for trial at The Hague. However, that is extremely
unlikely, regardless of his crimes and the evidence presented, because leaders
of a western block countries set the rules to subject others, whilst they have
total immunity. The empirical evidence corroborates this; the International Criminal
Court (ICC) has been largely applied on former leaders of African and Arab countries.
In the spirit of equality and progress, we must break from our ‘prejudice’ and pluck
out a leader for a trial from the Western block, be it Blair or Bush or even a
second rate Dick Cheney will do. It is possible, the US produced a black
leader, even though he may not be black enough for some, but at least it’s something.
Likewise, we may get to a point, where
the international tribunals are applied to all war criminals, not just the
non-white ones. </div>
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What about the extremism of Tony
Blair? And the question follows, what is an extremist. <b>Let us take the
commonsense approach and define it as deviation from the norm. Thus, note the
following points: Is it normal for the leader of a country to invade another sovereign
country on a false pretext? Yes, so much blood spilt over those mythical WMDs in
Iraq, and they are still missing, but who cares as long as only Israel has them!
Is it normal for a leader to lecture on religious fundamentalism and then
proclaim that he has a hotline to a Christian God, who is directing the slaughter,
like some modern day crusader?</b> Is it normal for a leader to lecture on
democracy, and then side with the military coup d’état in Egypt, against the
choice of the people? Is it consistent to call for democracy in the Middle
East, and then remain silent, as the neo-Pharaoh of Egypt calls for elections,
whilst all the legitimate opposition are all locked up in jail, tortured or
waiting to be executed? </div>
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All extremist acts and reacts
disproportionately; the neo-conservative-led America responded to 9/11
consuming many more innocent lives in distant lands, than the approximate 3000 that
perished on that day. Extremist Blair was one of the cheerleaders, and despite
the level of carnage and moral outrage and deceit, he remains unrepentant, and
refuses to acknowledge the flimsy and manufactured evidence supplied to support
the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, because arrogance is a companion of
extremists. Did these actions not contribute to destabilising the region, and
propel more young Muslims to take up the ideology of <i>Jihad</i> as a means to repel the invasion? </div>
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Usually, torture and
incarceration is attributed to non-democratic extremists like Saddam Hussein,
or some other despot, but as the war unfolded, it confirmed that all extremists
depict the same traits. A by-product of the war produced Guantanamo Bay, Abu
Ghraib and from the leaked documents we now know with certainty that systematic
torture, or as conveniently called by the liberal extremists “enhanced
interrogation”, was a policy set in motion by Dick Cheney, who was then Vice
President, not to mention many incarcerated until today. </div>
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The consciousness of extremists
does not acknowledge the double standards, so they remain oblivious to the systematic
torture and incarceration which contradict the values they preach; the fundamental
values of human rights and presumption of innocence. Moreover, this policy of
torture was applied on the very people they are trying to lecture about the virtues
of human rights and good governance. </div>
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To add insult to injury, extremist
Blair was appointed as an ambassador for peace in the Middle East where he was
partly responsible for the carnage and destabilising of the region. I guess his overt pro-Zionist credentials
make him very suitable for the post! Accordingly, he remained supportive of the
disproportionate response by the Israeli forces, and the carnage that resulted in
Gaza. </div>
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Blair tells us that he is only
opposed to the extremist elements among the Muslims, who make a twisted
interpretation of the text. Let us put that on freeze, and agree with him. So
we would expect some kind of support and sympathy when non-extremists Muslims
suffer. He could have demonstrated that over the situation in Burma and CAR
(Central African Republic) were the defenceless Muslims were attacked in the
most horrific manner. </div>
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As for those making a twisted
interpretation of the Islamic texts, they are no different to those who make
twisted interpretations of democracy. The extremist liberal clerics believe
that democracy can be and should be imposed with bombs and bullets. Similarly,
they argue to force a Muslim woman (nuns excluded) to remove her veil to set
her free! </div>
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<b>Only extremists would impose
democracy or Islam by force. The non-extremists believe to the contrary. For
different reasons both systems require the consent of the masses - this is more
so for Islam, obeying the divine laws and values is worship, thus it has to
come from within. And godless democracy in a secular paradigm also has a similar
attribute, it is expressing the will of the people, hence also has to come from
within. </b></div>
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Yamin Zakaria (<a href="mailto:yamin@radicaliviews.org">yamin@radicaliviews.org</a>,
#yaminzakaria)</div>
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Published 27/04/2014</div>
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London, UK </div>
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<a href="http://www.radicalviews.org/">www.radicalviews.org</a></div>
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<a href="http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com/">http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com</a></div>
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Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-50232908521537344212014-01-10T08:50:00.000-08:002014-01-10T08:50:09.972-08:00Afghanistan in 2014: Peace or Civil War?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg2vLzpq09juesNfWZYfzRjqcjHJeswRdCy-RcgXrfu6h-upW0sDnvSo5AOesTVU6Ll11NP94rW7NoFvvsqD1E1rOJJWT64hSrQbHd2D8RsXXeRR7UPmnfdJP1PRuJYbHj_RuFaY5WZJOe/s1600/us-afghanistan-010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg2vLzpq09juesNfWZYfzRjqcjHJeswRdCy-RcgXrfu6h-upW0sDnvSo5AOesTVU6Ll11NP94rW7NoFvvsqD1E1rOJJWT64hSrQbHd2D8RsXXeRR7UPmnfdJP1PRuJYbHj_RuFaY5WZJOe/s1600/us-afghanistan-010.jpg" height="192" width="320" /></a></div>
The British Prime Minister, David
Cameron, received a lot of flak in the press for declaring “mission
accomplished” when he visited the troops in Afghanistan recently; it evoked
memories of George Bush’s premature declaration of victory in May 2003, as Iraq
was disintegrating into a quagmire.<br />
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What was the mission in
Afghanistan? Initially, it was about removing Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, which
was accomplished relatively quickly with Western firepower and money, as the
loyalties of the Afghan tribes were easily purchased. In this sense, the mission
was accomplished a while ago, but the Taliban and Al-Qaeda alliance could
easily return if the US-led troops left, therefore, a long-term solution was
required. Accordingly, the mission morphed into installing democracy,
curtailing poppy production, and promoting women’s rights. The underlying
reason is that a stable government would ensure that Afghanistan does not
become a haven for Al-Qaeda again. </div>
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<a href="http://www.aopnews.com/opinion/zakaria_peace_or_civil_war.shtml">Read More ....</a> </div>
Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-49086824806110670012013-12-30T06:32:00.004-08:002013-12-30T06:32:51.996-08:00Child Marriage: Is it an Afghan Problem Only?<div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">
The Islamophobic media of the far right, and the more subtle elements within the mainstream media, have continued to construct the view that child marriage is exclusively an Afghan problem, and the Islamophobic narrative given as explanation is - it stems from their Islamic heritage, and using crass language, they go on to cite the lone example of Prophet Mohammed’s marriage to Ayesha, and conveniently ignore all the other marriages to much older women.</div>
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Throughout large part of the history, this was not an issue; the Christian nemesis did not make much of an issue, as the mother of Jesus, Mary, at the age of 12-14 married Joseph, who was considerably older around the age of 90. Indeed, in the old days, marriage between an older man and a younger woman in her teens was the norm in most societies. In contrast, Western liberal societies view such marriages with scorn, instead the young ones gain the experience by having unlimited pre-marital sex with various partners, a bit like polygamy, but we dare not call it that! According to one government report [<a href="http://www.aopnews.com/opinion/zakaria_child_marriage.shtml#1" style="color: navy;">1</a>], almost all Americans are engaged in per-marital sex and there are similar trends in Europe.</div>
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<a href="http://www.aopnews.com/opinion/zakaria_child_marriage.shtml">Read More ...</a></div>
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Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-51903136939742965692013-09-19T02:31:00.000-07:002013-09-19T02:31:41.704-07:00The Niqab Ban Furore, Miley Cyrus and the Silence of Feminism<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJrtv64OJQ0aD4ZLY91IHoP_nAggkjRXhRozvUQFyk0baJZ3VQ10Gp77K_PWaD5JcZHTDjY7E9Rbubb-4qcKe6vBJKrkXBAmJgkt19n4KY22jLbRcbZLmTu1ZwqZ-BeRPzWj3TI3ywXvex/s1600/miley-niqab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJrtv64OJQ0aD4ZLY91IHoP_nAggkjRXhRozvUQFyk0baJZ3VQ10Gp77K_PWaD5JcZHTDjY7E9Rbubb-4qcKe6vBJKrkXBAmJgkt19n4KY22jLbRcbZLmTu1ZwqZ-BeRPzWj3TI3ywXvex/s1600/miley-niqab.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 9.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“One
of the major arguments being lobbed around this week as to why Muslim women
shouldn’t be wearing veils in public is because they are a symbol of male
dominance in society. As if knicker skimming dresses aren’t? ... On the streets
of our cities every night of the year there are girls in outfits created purely
for the pleasure of men.</span>” </i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Alison Phillips Journalist <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b>A woman’s right to choose is at the heart of feminism; also endorsed
by the liberal ideology of ‘freedom’. So, they argue that Hijab or the Niqab
should not be enforced in society, and it should be left to the prerogative of
the individuals. But surely, the notion of choice also implies that women should
not be forced to remove it either</b>. Accordingly,
I was expecting to hear feminist voices coming to the defence of the right to
wear the Niqab, along with the bare-breasted women from ‘Femen’ running through
the streets of London, waving their fists, demanding the same. A disclaimer, I
used the term bare-breasted as an adjective, and this should not be taken as my
personal desire to see these semi-nude women behaving like cavewomen; it’s not dignified
for any woman or man to behave in this way, in my book. </div>
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Would the feminist and the liberal camp have remained
silent, if the situation was reverse, say a group of women in Iran or Saudi
wanted to parade in their miniskirts or bikinis? I know it’s not as raunchy as
Miley Cyrus, nevertheless, raunchy enough for a conservative Muslim society. You
can bet on them coming out of their holes, waging a campaign to ‘save’ the
Muslim women again, and the current fad of Zionist inspired Islamophobia would
guarantee favourable and ample media coverage. </div>
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Clearly, they are very selective when it comes to saving
women. Moreover, the feminist stance, expressed explicitly or implicitly
through their silence, seems to encourage women who want to shed their clothes,
parade themselves as sexual objects, and exploit their bodies for fame and financial
gain. Note, not a word of criticism was aired over the Miley Cyrus incident or
similar ones in the past. Encouraging women to bear all, serves the very group
that are seen as adversaries to the feminist movement, the predatory male. </div>
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Forget the feminists, forget the male orientated porn
industry and the sexually related crimes it inspires, forget the teenage
pregnancy, forget the domestic violence, and forget the flourishing flesh
trade, when it comes to ‘saving’ Muslim women from their ‘oppressive’ clothes,
even the sexually predatory male in the West leaps into action. We know exactly
how and why. So they scorn the Muslim women’s modest dress as unfashionable, a
bin-liner or a tent. Just change the
Niqab for the miniskirts, liberation is achieved! It is laughable that even <i>The Sun</i> newspaper ran a campaign against
the Niqab; obviously what they advocate is on page 3! </div>
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A tiny minority of Muslim women who wear the Niqab has
caught the attention of the media with politicians calling for enforcing a ban.
How has the Niqab manage to surpass all the more serious problems in
society? Is it politicians sensing the
current mood of Islamophobia and seizing the opportunity to make political
points? It’s not British says one politician, yet we are supposed to be living
in Multicultural Britain that tolerates and promotes diversity. In reality, all
these cultures are there to conform to the mother culture. And all this talk of
integration is a fig leaf for forced assimilation of Muslims. You can’t blame
them for thinking this in the current climate of rampant Islamophobia. I
believe after the Niqab, the battle would be moved to the Hijab, at some point
in the future.</div>
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<b>Who are these women in Niqab? You may contest their identity
for covering their faces, and whoever they are, one thing is clear, they are
not the loud party revellers seen in the weekends, roaming the streets and
clubs, semi-nude; some wake up in their own vomit and some join the statistic
of single mothers. I can’t help and think - they are the disciples of Miley
Cyrus and her ilk. </b></div>
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Recently, Miley caused ripples in the tabloid section of the
media, for her sexually explicit acts on stage, adding to the catalogue of lewd
videos and raunchy images, following in the footsteps of Madonna, Lady Gaga, Rhianna
and others. She was watched and followed by millions of school girls as the
innocent Hannah Montana. How will the children interpret her actions now? As a
parent, I would be far more concerned about the impact of these stars promoting
sexual promiscuity, rather than a humble group of Muslim women standing quietly
in the corner in Niqab, minding their own business, their image shows one of
sexual restraint and control, I cannot see what danger they would pose to
society and to my children.</div>
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<b>If anyone should be censored, it’s these women who are
promoting the idea that you can sell your body for fame and fortune, which is encouraging
a form of prostitution and creating a mindset that the female body should be
exploited and devoured. Their behaviour
is projected as an example for others to follow; and unfortunately this
authority is conferred by the adulation given by the masses; popular TV shows
like the X-Factor reinforce this. </b></div>
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<b>It is not just about the right of individual, what about the
impact on the society? Should that not be factored in some way? Should the virile young men seeing the lewd
images of female pop stars or worse the images conveyed through readily
available internet porn, somehow suspend their natural biological drive, and behave
more like fundamentalist Muslim men, and lower their gaze, and show respect?</b> Of
course, nobody says one always causes the other like the laws of physics, but one
cannot deny there is some correlation between these images and shaping the
mindset and behaviour of these men. Indeed, it’s about time that society should
state how the virile young men are supposed to interpret these images and
examples set by these so-called female pop stars, given that biology or the
nature of men is that they are easily excited. </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Yamin Zakaria (<a href="mailto:yamin@radicalviews.org">yamin@radicalviews.org</a>,
#yaminzakaria)</div>
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Published on 19/09/2013</div>
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London, UK</div>
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<a href="http://www.radicalviews.org/">www.radicalviews.org</a></div>
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<a href="http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com/">http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com</a></div>
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Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-17230677065169108622013-08-29T18:13:00.005-07:002013-08-30T06:56:26.540-07:00 Chemical Weapons Attack in Syria: Who Done It?<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Like a real
life game of ‘Cluedo’, we know the weapon, the victims, the place and the time.
Only the identity of the perpetrator remains a mystery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The primary suspects are the Syrian regime
or the rebels; both sides have the capability to deliver these nasty weapons, as
for motive, there is a degree of uncertainty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Syrian regime is winning the war on the ground, and the use of such
weapons would only unify the rest of the world against them, thus, such an
action looks irrational and counter-productive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Especially in light of the fact that Obama already stated the use of
chemical weapons was a line that could not be crossed. Moreover, the immediate
and equivocal Syrian response, requesting an UN inspection team to verify the matter
seems to point to their innocence. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Could the
rebels have done this? One cannot imagine they would use chemical weapons on
their own people, to perpetuate an uncertain military response, with an
uncertain outcome, unless it was done by a lunatic fringe extremist group among
the rebels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Let’s ask:
cui bono (to whose benefit?).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An attack
on Syria would benefit its rival, Israel. For sure, they have the experience
(e.g. Lavon affair) and the capability to engage in a covert operation, if
needed in collusion with the CIA, to deliver these weapons and manufacture a
crisis. Of course, there is a difference between logic and truth, it does not
always follow that the party who stands to gain the most benefit is
automatically guilty. </span></b></div>
<a name='more'></a><br /><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">What about
the US? Before anyone dismisses it as a conspiracy theory, just have a look at
their track record. We can still smell the stench of blood from the Iraq
invasion using the WMD pretext, which eventually became an issue of an illegal
regime change and saving the Kurds. Earlier, in the Gulf War of 1991, false
reports of Iraqi War crimes in Kuwait; the "babies thrown from
incubators" stories propagated by the western based mass media were
subsequently proven to be totally false. Prior to launching the Vietnam War,
the US manufactured the “Gulf of Tonkin" incident, claiming Vietnam had
attacked a U.S. ship. The Spanish-American War was justified with an alleged
attack on the U.S.S. Maine, the newspaper hyped up the incident to increase its
sales revenue, and helped the US to declare war, and the world was introduced
to yellow journalism. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We can
safely eliminate economic factors like oil as a motive behind the US-led calls
for intervention; Syria is a relatively poor country, no rich resources there,
very much like the Rwanda of the Arab world. The Syrian socialist regime has
kept the country even poorer with a stagnant socialist based economy; it looks
like an Eastern European nation that is trapped under communist rule in the
1950s and 60s. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">One can also
dismiss the US claims of intervention on humanitarian grounds. Because, the
number of casualties prior to the chemical weapons attack has already reached
100,000, and their humanity did not move. In contrast, the number of victims
from the chemical weapons attack is uncertain; it seems to be in three digits.
Therefore, the vocal opposition to Chemical weapon is a convenient political
pretext, but what kind of political pretext is the next question. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Can it be a
sudden desire to introduce democracy? That looks unlikely as ever; we know from
the Egyptian coup d’état, unless the outcome complies with US interests, it
isn’t really interested. However, US credibility has been hit hard through its
inaction. The <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Godfather of democracy
watched the largest Arab country oust a democratically elected leader, then
engage in a reign of terror with arbitrary arrests, intimidation, killing of
2000 innocent protestors and imprisonment of its leaders, like some Nazi regime
resurrected from the past. Forget sanctions and military action, even token
condemnation was absent from the US. It still remains a spectator as the
Egyptian crisis looks to be heading towards civil war; hence, the Syrian
episode is a good distraction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Could this
be preparation for an attack on Iran? After attacking and occupying Syria, Hezbollah
in Lebanon would be isolated and weakened, as Syria is the main supply route.
Then Israel would further weaken Hezbollah by attacking it, making the way
clear to launch strikes on Iran.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
is a view that Zionists do control and shape US foreign policy, and certainly
there is abundant evidence of that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Maybe the US
is really worried about an implosion in Syria leading to regional instability.
This too remains uncertain, as the media has been busy trying to promote and
convert a political war into a sectarian war and accelerate the conflict;
accordingly, the media coverage given so far has been along the lines of a Shia
based Iran-Syria-Hezbollah axis, against the Sunni rebels supported by the Arab
and the Gulf states. In reality, the rebels are not unified by Sunni orthodoxy,
they are composed of secular, devout, Shia and Sunni fighters, and the
socialist Syrian regime are not strict adherents of the Shia theology. Iran has
traditionally allied to Syria due to the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>geopolitics of the region. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In the mean
time, the UN inspection team is trying to establish the facts; concurrently the
US and its allies have already adopted a war like stance, the drums of war are
beating louder. Why not give the UN inspectors time, and why not get the Arab
League to play a more constructive role in establishing the source of the
chemical weapons attack. It seems none of the major parties are interested in
the truth; in times of conflict everyone seeks to exploit the situation for
their benefit, and the innocent civilians are always the first of casualties,
the awful videos and images testify to that. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Yamin Zakaria (</span><a href="mailto:yamin@radicalviews.org"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">yamin@radicalviews.org</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Published on 30/08/2013</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">London, UK<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.radicalviews.org/"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">www.radicalviews.org</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></div>
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<a href="http://yaminzakria.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">http://yaminzakria.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></div>
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Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-45741640858166548062013-08-26T04:16:00.004-07:002013-08-26T18:02:26.427-07:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Modern Day Feminism is
a Fig Leaf for an Anti-Islamic Crusade<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square;mso-wrap-distance-left:9pt;
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o:title="burning-quran-face"/>
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picture is worth a thousand words is the age-old proverb; an image can
certainly convey many ideas instantly. However, a deceptive image tells a
bigger story, it spawns lies and disseminates hate on a larger magnitude. It is
the hate-filled Islamophobic fascists that have been busy tarnishing the
Muslims as a whole, by cherry picking certain actions, hiding behind certain political
terms, and operating behind the ubiquitous mass media. </div>
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Like most Muslims, I have become
accustomed to seeing numerous anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim images appearing on
social media networks, and the internet, such images would get censored if it
were aimed at any other community. One would be hard pushed to find similar material
appearing from Muslims; at most you see posters from victims and angry mobs on
the streets demonstrating in response to an American-Israeli led atrocity or
another video insulting Islam published in the name of free speech. </div>
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<br /></div>
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The above image depicting a woman
with an acid-burnt face along with an adjacent image of burnt pages of the
Quran, implying the two are somehow connected, and the caption boldly suggests the
two are alternatives. It alleges those who are busy protesting against burning
of the Quran are the same people who implicitly endorse burning a woman’s face
with acid, because they do not display the same reaction. What about those who
are not protesting against the burning of the Quran, are they all exonerated? </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSRLSpRiT5x1JDOXhz2c7v8RtluM-JyHNWRgg6Q4xb6tzAJ5U3znHZfWahHvfOV9pv5n3LR_CHtPQIuNyMWnNHYxeh3rERAMLy6Kq-oYYrJXX6BhsoUuD_T2whckMGTgPFuAsbcllFSs1V/s1600/serial-killer1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSRLSpRiT5x1JDOXhz2c7v8RtluM-JyHNWRgg6Q4xb6tzAJ5U3znHZfWahHvfOV9pv5n3LR_CHtPQIuNyMWnNHYxeh3rERAMLy6Kq-oYYrJXX6BhsoUuD_T2whckMGTgPFuAsbcllFSs1V/s1600/serial-killer1.jpg" /></a></div>
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z-index:2;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square;mso-wrap-distance-left:9pt;
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crimes takes place in all societies, thus, similar arguments can be construed
against the very people who produced the above image. For example, there was no
mass protests inside the US, the semi-naked Ukrainian based feminist group
(Femen) were nowhere to be seen, when the 53-year-old man, Ariel Castro, was
arrested and convicted for imprisoning three women in his home for a decade, and
subjecting them to rapes, beatings that resulted in inducing 5 miscarriages in
one woman; one of the neighbours saw one woman being paraded nude like a dog on
a leash on her four limbs in the garden. Are we to conclude the majority of
Americans approve of this, and that it is a norm within their society because
of the absence of protests? </div>
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<br /></div>
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For sure, if Ariel Castro carried
even a tenuous link to Islam, say he had
a Muslim sounding name, Fox News, Robert Spencer, Pam Geller, Douglas Murray,
Melanie Phillips and the rest of the far right bigots would have been out with
their knives, painting it as a Muslim problem. </div>
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<br /></div>
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In fact, this sort of crime is
not an isolated example, rape is rife within the US, and it is one of the
leading countries in the world [2] along with India, South Africa, Sweden and
other western countries. The US Justice department estimates 300,000 women a
year are raped, actual reported cases are around 100,000 per year [2]. How
ironic for the US to claim to be the saviour of ‘women’s rights’ abroad, whilst
they cannot protect their security at home. They brag about their troops being
sent to save Muslim women in Afghanistan and Iraq, yet, rape inside the US
forces is epidemic [1]. As <i>The Guardian </i><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/dec/09/rape-us-military" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">reported
in 2011</span></a> [1], women soldiers in Iraq faced a higher likelihood of
being sexually assaulted by a colleague than they did of dying by enemy fire.
Where are feminist voices now? They have been mute in comparison to the noise
they make about Muslim women and their veils, when they have never had
authorization to save Muslim women! Of course, rape occurs in all societies
like many crimes, but to claim it is somehow a Muslim problem, and moreover for
the US and other far right groups to point fingers is going beyond the limits
of hypocrisy and denial of the facts. </div>
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<br /></div>
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For the same reason, driven by
political point scoring much has been made of honour killings that take place
within many societies, and unfortunately includes Muslims, this is largely
fuelled by illiteracy and indigenous tribal culture, and Islamic teachings do
not remotely condone these actions. However, domestic violence against women is
just as pervasive in the enlightened west, if not more, than Muslim nations
suffering from illiteracy and poverty. The violence may be induced by culture
or by pimps and drug pushers; the end result is the same. Likewise young girls
can be groomed and raped by street groomers or in children’s homes and
convents, so why be so selective. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirsi7K_zelYnevA7taiAx_SLBZy1TirJnpFZIMnIcVzBZEQljY_PyYKYTHJu_yLgUiuNBUYz5kKA9xsNGgn7C8lS8fUfPqgqpLd90Cy_TgbGo0r6xW_wLJkK5ruFZpDOILzPKh8lE5gK1p/s1600/serial-killer2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirsi7K_zelYnevA7taiAx_SLBZy1TirJnpFZIMnIcVzBZEQljY_PyYKYTHJu_yLgUiuNBUYz5kKA9xsNGgn7C8lS8fUfPqgqpLd90Cy_TgbGo0r6xW_wLJkK5ruFZpDOILzPKh8lE5gK1p/s1600/serial-killer2.jpg" /></a></div>
Whatever
the arguments about rape and domestic violence, nobody can deny the US and some
western societies have a severe problem with serial killers [3] that is unique,
the number of women that have been abducted, tortured and killed by serial
killers runs well into double digits, such phenomena has never been found in
the Islamic world with the exception of one lone perpetrator in Pakistan, who
killed boys. Using the dubious logic of the far right Islamophobic camp, there
is stronger grounds for claiming that serial killers are a western cultural
phenomenon that is rooted in liberal democracy and Judaeo-Christian values,
then go on to blame the entire community.
But no such analysis here from Muslims or any explanation from the usual
suspects, instead we get the silence of the bigoted Islamophobes! I guess they
are waiting for a Muslim serial killer to appear then we will hear from them. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Like terrorism, women’s rights
and feminism are used as propaganda tools. Feminist groups make an issue of a
piece of cloth worn to cover the head, whilst turn a blind eye to the heinous crimes
on their door steps. The most bizarre is the semi-nude women from Ukraine
taking up the cause of the Muslim women, as if they have mandate from them! If
women’s rights were really a serious issue for them, as opposed to some cheap
publicity and funds gained from Zionist and far right sources, they would have
started at home by tackling the issue of trafficking of girls from Eastern
Europe. Modern day feminism is primarily
focused on targeting Islamic values and teachings, hence the disproportionate and
skewed focus. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yamin Zakaria (<a href="mailto:yamin@radicalviews.org">yamin@radicalviews.org</a>)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Published on 26<sup>th</sup> August 2013</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
London, UK</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.radicalviews.org/">www.radicalviews.org</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com/">http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com</a></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->1)<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]--><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/dec/09/rape-us-military">http://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/dec/09/rape-us-military</a>,
<br />
<a href="http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/the-us-military-s-rape-culture-by-naomi-wolf">http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/the-us-military-s-rape-culture-by-naomi-wolf</a></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2)<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]--><a href="http://www.statisticbrain.com/rape-statistics/">http://www.statisticbrain.com/rape-statistics/</a><br />
<a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/quick-click/which-country-has-the-highest-reported-incidents-rape-data">http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/quick-click/which-country-has-the-highest-reported-incidents-rape-data</a><br />
<a href="http://www.indiatribune.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10195:rape-statistics-around-the-world-&catid=107:coverpage&Itemid=471">http://www.indiatribune.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10195:rape-statistics-around-the-world-&catid=107:coverpage&Itemid=471</a></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->3)<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]--><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_serial_killers_in_the_United_States">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_serial_killers_in_the_United_States</a></div>
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Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-63448216065468224842013-08-17T09:07:00.002-07:002013-08-17T09:07:47.892-07:00The Trouble with Richard Dawkins<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_sT9VuSc5wrZLU31vTusSN4lPigbTnmErbzJjUjYEi18hEekaqxpPnKNq-PgdsV53tgHbmFL60TXHiQEth-vgJasN-L6Byl6fFKTHjxX5A-XdHd5pzdSucsLG0W7edZO8BSOVghESGoB/s1600/dawkins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_sT9VuSc5wrZLU31vTusSN4lPigbTnmErbzJjUjYEi18hEekaqxpPnKNq-PgdsV53tgHbmFL60TXHiQEth-vgJasN-L6Byl6fFKTHjxX5A-XdHd5pzdSucsLG0W7edZO8BSOVghESGoB/s320/dawkins.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Richard Dawkins speaks like a colonial relic
resurrected from the past, and naturally he is out of touch with the current
society; he speaks pejoratively about Muslims that seems to be coloured by his
obsession with Darwin’s race-centric evolution theory. His recent jibe on tweeter about the less
evolved Muslims having less Nobel Prize than Trinity College went viral, and it
is part of his catalogue of smears against the voiceless Muslim community. For
years, believers from all sections of society have tolerated his unrestrained arrogance
in propagating atheist dogmas, as if he had witnessed the creation of the
universe. </div>
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Why is the man so impatient? Nobody in this world is
contesting the certainty of death. And soon Dawkins will have his answer regarding
afterlife, which in turn will answer the questions about the creation and
purpose of life on earth. I pray that it is sooner for his sake - he seems
unsettled, and from the believers’ perspective, this is expected, because
atheists do not really have full conviction that life is a coincidence, a product
of evolution, and it simply ends here. <b>Our
intelligence has propelled us to ask why we exist, and our observation of life
and the universe clearly tells us nothing happens by chance, for example
leaving building materials in a field will not result in the creation of a
building by chance.</b> Hence, there is always a lingering doubt in the back of
the atheist’s mind; otherwise, they would exhibit more serenity than believers,
who are agitated by the notions of accountability in the hereafter. It is this deep uncertainty that drives the
likes of Dawkins to knock on our door and push to debate the issues, because it
is fundamentally about his insecurity.</div>
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The more we learn about the universe, the more we
should acknowledge the magnitude of our ignorance; instead an arrogant position
is taken, as if these atheists can recreate the universe. Their uncertainty
could be laid to rest, if some atheists came back from the dead to verify the
answers to the meaning of life and if death is the final destination. In contrast, our Imams and learned scholars
are not behaving in the same way, because their conviction actually satisfies
their mind and the heart. At most they will gently invite non-believers to
embrace Islam, not get fanatical about this process, and constantly seek
confrontation. The same applies to devout Jews and Christians; let us ignore
the exceptions, there will always be exceptions like the crazy preachers and
missionaries on TV. </div>
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<br />Richard Dawkins as one of the leaders of the
Atheist trend is trying to emulate a Prophet, and guide humanity to his way of thinking,
and so far he has only manage to conjure up a handful of followers. <b>Fanatical atheists like Dawkins need to
realise, despite all their envious jibes, it is the followers of Muhammad that
have passed the test of time and continue to grow, whilst minions like Dawkins
will vanish like dusts with his handful of followers. </b> </div>
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<br /></div>
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As an academic one would expect him to rise above
bigotry, yet he seems to have jumped into bed with the low level racist
hooligans of the far right, joining the anti-Muslim tirades. His pejorative
description of the Muslim women’s dress code as a bin liner, puts him in bar
with the likes of Tommy Robinson, Pam Gellar and Melanie Phillips. He
ironically describes Islam using the religious term evil. What is evil in the
book of atheists? <span class="usercontent"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Like the superficial racist
far-right, Dawkins implicitly makes parallels between Mein Kampf and the Quran
(a book he has not read and studied), what an irony, because it is the far
right takes inspiration from Hitler. Dawkins also endorses the works of another
far right anti-Muslim bigot, Geert Wilders - I see the parallels between
Dawkins and the likes of racist colonialists like Cecil Rhodes. His mindset seems to reflect the ideas and
values of that time. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="usercontent"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="usercontent"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It
was during the </span></span>colonial times of Cecil Rhodes that European
nations grew wealthy through a combination of piracy, slavery and theft
(imperialism), coupled with intellectual and scientific advancements
(Industrial revolution), all used to subjugate the conquered nations; this
position intoxicated the ruling class so much, they produced academic
‘theories’ that put the white men at the apex of the human chain, they called
it ‘evolution’. One cannot deny the terrible consequence from such theories which
gave rise to corollary ideas of racial purity and eugenics to justify
systematic genocide. The fate was terrible for much of the indigenous peoples,
the Aboriginals in Australia, the blacks in Africa, Indians in Asia were
considered inferior human race, lower in the evolution chain, terms like savage
races, and advanced animals were used to describe them. Even today they cite the book of Darwin “The Origins
of Species” but not its full title “The Origin of Species or the Preservation of
Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life”. </div>
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Britain has moved from a colonial nation to a
multicultural society; it accommodates people of various religious and racial
background; Mo Farah, Amir Khan, Syeeda Warsi, Andy Murray, Sadiq Khan, David
Cameron are all part of the same British Rainbow. It seems Richard Dawkins and his far right
companions and allies are struggling to fit in.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yamin Zakaria (<a href="mailto:yamin@radicalviews.org">yamin@radicalviews.org</a>)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Published 17/08/2013</div>
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London, UK</div>
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<a href="http://www.radicalviews.org/">www.radicalviews.org</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com/">http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com</a></div>
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Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-43395386937440724202013-08-10T03:56:00.002-07:002013-08-10T03:56:59.632-07:00 Trials of Love and Loyalty<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVIarIUaAaD6ZGV3J6jeIhxAM8KgMZm902HnVxPzSaRHQdj4JqnrHqIPCk7cisM5bIYfGN8pGvdJXLQ9Xaw9XfT8_ZRQSNjLzrcdR1bvqWBLRJtHgcbUKJaOwY-c6pOTIvfFlIGeEAe5oz/s1600/stevejob.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVIarIUaAaD6ZGV3J6jeIhxAM8KgMZm902HnVxPzSaRHQdj4JqnrHqIPCk7cisM5bIYfGN8pGvdJXLQ9Xaw9XfT8_ZRQSNjLzrcdR1bvqWBLRJtHgcbUKJaOwY-c6pOTIvfFlIGeEAe5oz/s320/stevejob.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The 49-year-old widow of the Apple
founder Steve Jobs has moved on, she has found her new partner; already the
critics and sceptics are at it. It’s too soon, only two-years have passed by, how
could she fall in love with another man so quickly? Does it mean she didn’t
really love him? The cycle of speculation and gossip continues. One can
understand grounds for criticism in cases where an aging octogenarian tycoon
has left a younger beautiful widow, who runs off the next day with his fortune
and a young male model, but that, is not applicable here. </div>
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In some religious cultures widows
do not remarry at all, enduring loneliness until the end of time, whilst a widower
is free to continue. For example, In Hinduism the marriage of widow is taboo, it
is enforced rigorously by society among some castes; the logic is, if the widow
remarried, she can possibly conceive her reincarnated dead husband in her womb,
and a husband cannot be a son too, thus prohibition of marriage for widows. I
assume they were not willing to take risks with contraception either!</div>
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Going beyond the religious and
cultural paradigms, some people, especially women, remain single after being
widowed; they do it willingly out of their deep love and attachment to their
late husband. This tends to be the exception rather than the norm; because the
human body and the emotions it generates will continue to make demands. Just
ask those celibate priests that are regularly caught out in various sexual
scandals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<b>There is no prescription for how
long one must mourn for and wait before remarrying. How can social laws or
customs be formulated for such matters, when there are so many variables, and
each case will always be unique? Moreover, we live in a free society where individual
freedom on personal matters is sacred, yet there is social pressure to conform
on these issues. This is the same type of duplicity you see daily: columnists
scorning celebrities and politicians for extra-marital relationship when the
same traits are clearly present in the masses. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b></div>
<b>
</b><br />
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Among all the noise, the key
person’s viewpoint is missing - of course the dead can’t talk, but one should
ask the question and make reasonable speculation before passing judgement: what
would have Steve Jobs wanted for his wife? Would he have wanted her to go on
mourning for a year, let alone two? I am sure an intelligent person like Steve
Jobs would recognise that if she found a new partner that would help her to heal
her pain. And out of love, he would want her to be happy with a new partner,
and not continue to live in loneliness and sorrow. How many of us would wait
for such a long period before finding a new partner. </div>
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Unfortunately there is a stigma associated
with marriage of widows and divorcees in some quarters of our society,
especially those coming up to the middle-aged bracket. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is an implication that they have ceased
their biological requirement. And the jokes and humour go on, about an older
male or female remarrying a younger spouse. Despite the equality crusade, it
seems that for an older woman to take up a younger man is acceptable, whereas an
older man marrying a younger woman is seen in a negative light. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">It is perplexing as to why society expects individuals to continue to
demonstrate loyalty to their deceased partner for beyond a short period, when
such loyalties are scarce among the living. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever ideological spectrum one comes from,
be it religious, secular or agnostic, everyone concurs that love implies
loyalty to some degree between the two partners. </b>However is the ‘loyalty’ absolute
in that it excludes the formation of any other bonds concurrently. Well there
is an argument that such bonds between two partners should not exclude bonds
with other partners, because they are similar to business contracts, and on a
daily basis we have multiple commercial contracts in our life. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Even if
we examine it from an emotional perspective, we can draw an analogy to children;
multiple bonds are formed and there is never an allegation that loving one
child is a betrayal of the love for the other child. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Therefore, why can’t an individual love two or
more people concurrently?</b> Why is there a demand for 100% possession? Is
this in reality a reflection of our self-centred materialistic society, coupled
with the domination of primitive emotions of jealousy? </div>
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Yes this is venturing into polygamy using the rational
argument, and that is for next time. </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Yamin Zakaria (<a href="mailto:yamin@radicalviews.org">yamin@radicalviews.org</a>)
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Published on 10<sup>th</sup> August 2013</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
London, UK</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.radicalviews.org/">www.radicalviews.org</a>,
<a href="http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com/">http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com</a></div>
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Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-12869367497994881542013-08-01T18:41:00.001-07:002013-08-01T18:41:22.947-07:00The Inexplicable 'Zero Option' for Afghanistan<div style="text-align: justify;">
The formal announcement of an exit date for the US troops has been largely
met with criticisms, because it gives the opponents a schedule to prepare and
plan, and creates the impression, the US has lost and is running. Instead of
exercising further damage limitation exercises, the US senior officials
announced that President Barack Obama was now considering the ‘zero option’ -
total withdrawal of US forces after 2014. This seems detrimental, whilst a
bilateral security agreement between Kabul and Washington is being negotiated to
determine the size of the US forces to remain after the US exit; their role will
be to aid the nascent Afghan National Security Forces ( ANSF) to maintain peace
and stability. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Naturally, the announcement of the ‘Zero Option’ has been criticised widely
by military experts and diplomats. The former commander of U.S. and
international forces in Afghanistan, retired Gen. John Allen stated: “They don't
want us in large numbers, but they want us there in enough numbers to help to
continue to develop the ANSF." On the surface this announcement of the ‘Zero
Option’ seems like the US is announcing total capitulation. However, given the
recent political development with the efforts to get a negotiated settlement
with the Taliban, it could mean two things: </div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.aopnews.com/opinion/zakaria_zero_options.shtml">Read More...</a> </div>
Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-427001689121893072013-07-10T17:29:00.000-07:002013-07-10T17:29:02.472-07:00The Ramadan Message and the Emergence of British Islam<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1brQdStgZ2jH-2xpI055He2Qj3Geo6TZSIPQNl7rI2HeZeQXixT5O5_bVdEYyaZMOmCXDesa3_MD-5ho8Z3apfVgNipJvObKW2Hnro26ioo-KzSIiAfKTdHAmP9Oot48Oa1OFaslnzj6/s1600/muslims_in_uk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1brQdStgZ2jH-2xpI055He2Qj3Geo6TZSIPQNl7rI2HeZeQXixT5O5_bVdEYyaZMOmCXDesa3_MD-5ho8Z3apfVgNipJvObKW2Hnro26ioo-KzSIiAfKTdHAmP9Oot48Oa1OFaslnzj6/s320/muslims_in_uk.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The video message of Prime
Minister David Cameron, and the tweet from President Obama, wishing the Muslims
well, as they begin observing the month of fasting in Ramadan is really a nice
gesture; it makes as small contribution to neutralise the acidic clash of
civilisation, which is manifested in the various conflicts around the world. Many
of us, Muslims and non-Muslims are still bitter about the illegal Iraq war and Western
leaders continue to turn a blind eye to the Israeli python strangling and
suffocating the Palestinians – but we also need to acknowledge the just
intervention in Libya that helped to prevent a bloody massacre by the Libyan
dictator, and the masses in the West are now more sympathetic towards the
Palestinians. Many of us also wanted to see Western troops, preferably helped
by Turkey and other Muslim nations to remove the murderous Syrian regime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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It is not just the Muslims who
are reluctant to acknowledge the positive gestures emanating from Western
leaders; the British comedian, Frankie Boyle, replied to President Obama’s
tweet “I wish Muslims of America & around the world a month blessed with
the joys of family, peace and understanding” with the following <i><b>“the ones you
force-feeding in Guantanamo or the ones you bombing”</b></i> and it went viral. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, had Obama closed down the camp as he
promised, his tweet would have been amplified in the Islamic world. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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These messages from the leaders
also says something about the domestic situation, it reflects their
acknowledgement of a growing Muslim population in the West; in the future they
will have an input in electing the leaders. There are numerous documentaries on
Ramadan being shown on TV. The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Adhan</i>
(the Muslim call to prayer) broadcasted by Channel 4, along with various shows
depicting the month of Ramadan in the community, helps towards community
cohesion, especially post Woolwich incident; what surprised me was the
broadcast and the outstanding quality of the Adhan produced by Channel 4, the
voice was mesmerising, and combined with the background scenes from my city was
the icing on the cake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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However, wittingly or
unwittingly, Muslims are still seen as something foreign, the society has yet
to acknowledge growing numbers of Muslims from within the indigenous population;
and with the growing indigenous Muslims combined with the third generation of Muslims
born and raised in the UK, I see the emergence of a British Islam before my
eyes. </div>
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This is natural and the signs are
visible at every level, from our language, clothes, education, to the food we
consume, Shepherd’s Pies are just as popular as<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Biriyani </i>and curry, fruit chat is matched with fruit salad, fried samosas
are accompanied by fried chicken wings and chips. We all want to see an end to
forced marriages, which is an oxymoron, as marriage in Islam is a contract –
the two parties must enter willingly and not coerced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus, young Muslim girls in the UK do not
want to be shipped home and married off to some distant cousin for family convenience;
equally boys are now marrying within the UK as opposed to the situation in the
80s. The British identity is helping to overcome traditional racial barriers,
as it has less relevance here; these are all endorsed by Islam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<b>A month of fasting is accompanied
by spiritual reward that is higher than other months of the year. Hence, the
Muslim organisations go frenzy, as huge amounts of money are collected for
charitable purposes; most are sent abroad, where it’s needed most, but what
about the rights of the local population, and the rights of our neighbours.
</b>There is very little thought given to this as we still operate with the mindset
that we do not belong here, and more importantly, we live in a wealthy society
with lots of social safety nets, as people can claim various benefits. I am not
a jurist, and will not debate the exact level of merit of the various actions;
however, for sure the local population have considerable rights over us. Therefore,
it is about time, some levels of resources are allocated for the poor and needy
around us. Why not start this Ramadan, invite the homeless on the street to the
Mosques for<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Iftar </i>(food consumed when
the fast ends after sunset) or bring food to them? An active role at a local
level will go a long way to combating racist Islamophobia.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Yamin Zakaria (yamin@radicalviews.org)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Published 10/07/2013</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
London, UK</div>
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<a href="http://www.radicalviews.org/">www.radicalviews.org</a></div>
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<a href="http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com/">http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com</a></div>
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Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-34097486965821503952013-07-03T16:43:00.000-07:002013-07-03T16:43:03.426-07:00Imams’ Sermons and the ‘British’ Street Groomers<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkRN5Aa6sPBP2FLVrHaQ7WEHMGPIAtNKgirpTxFWi_gPGJRSEK6nfZzirFEEqXpS8eOd9Sll5jMMIGGH2UzJLLMPKNxMGziRDrHnyADQ67cPBBR-nu3ilRmICqcdFigtUJN_cEdeLoNmIu/s460/A-mosque-in-Leeds-010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkRN5Aa6sPBP2FLVrHaQ7WEHMGPIAtNKgirpTxFWi_gPGJRSEK6nfZzirFEEqXpS8eOd9Sll5jMMIGGH2UzJLLMPKNxMGziRDrHnyADQ67cPBBR-nu3ilRmICqcdFigtUJN_cEdeLoNmIu/s320/A-mosque-in-Leeds-010.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Last Friday, Imams in various mosques
around the country delivered a political sermon (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">khutba</i>) for a change - it was not about the awful situation in
Syria or Burma, but on the domestic issue of street groomers; the men in
question entice vulnerable young girls with gifts, drugs and alcohol for sexual
exploitation, and if necessary employ violence to keep them in chains. Imams do
not need to deliver sermons or pass a fatwa, it is common knowledge that
adultery, rape, prostitution, drugs, and alcohol are explicitly forbidden in
Islamic law, and the jurists are unanimous on this. <b>The sermon sent out a
political message - it implied some level of collective guilt on the wider
Muslim community, as if they have to bear some responsibility for the actions
of the street groomers. One is naturally compelled to ask the simple question: what’s
the connection between the street groomers and the wider Muslim community? Is
it simply their Muslim names and heritage? Had the street groomers committed
armed robbery or murder, would a similar sermon be delivered? </b></div>
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What about the fact that the
street groomers are predominantly British; many were born and raised here
through the education system, so should the society not feel the collective guilt
too, and deliver a similar sermon? Of course, the media deploys the race card
in a subtle manner, the British tag is conveniently dropped and they are described
as Muslim or Pakistani street groomers. They are not as British as Tommy
Robinson, Nick Griffin, Jimmy Savile, Stuart Hall, Gary Glitter, Mark Bridger, Myra
Hindley and Ian Brady!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The adjective of
‘Muslim’ or ‘Pakistani’ implies the acts are somehow linked to their religious
or cultural roots, no relation to their British identity and the values of the
wider society that ‘ironically’ permits alcohol (drugs) and casual sex, as
opposed to the Islamic heritage of the street groomers. </div>
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<a name='more'></a><b> </b><br />
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<b>This type of skewed media
coverage is politically motivated to tarnish the Muslims and Islam, which has
become a fad post 9/11. Hence, non-street-groomers like Jimmy Savile, Stuart
Hall, and Gary Glitter were given a very different type of media coverage; there
was no attempt to classify them as a group of white Christian men with a
problem that may have emanated from their British way of life, instead they
were just individuals committing crimes. I can imagine Nick Griffin, Melanie
Phillips and Douglas Murray standing up together and applauding the media.</b></div>
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It is highly unlikely that the street
groomers are sitting inside the mosques listening to sermons, given their lifestyle
of drugs, alcohol, adultery, and pimping out young girls. They are far more
likely to be found in pubs, bars and clubs which the intoxicated racist hooligans
of the far right EDL (English Defence League) types frequent. For sure, the
street groomers have far more in common with the EDL thugs than they have with
the average members of the Muslim community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Forget the street groomers for a
moment, if you are going to blame an entire community; thus, indirectly point to
their religious and cultural values, then one should start by citing examples
from religious and political headquarters. It is difficult to find scandals
from Imams and religious leaders among Muslims; thus, in desperation the media
cites actions of illiterate street groomers. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just imagine the Islamophobic media response,
if they found sexual abuse of children committed by Imams on a similar scale to
what has been revealed inside the Catholic Church, in the heart of the Vatican.
I wonder what Robert Spencer has to say about this. Yet there is no hint of
suggestion that this was the result of Catholic values and teachings; no
priests delivered sermons around the country. The media duplicity is palpable. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Similarly, can we generalise about white
European men in suits, and ask them to issue a disclaimer of innocence, based
on the examples of Silvio Berlusconi and Dominique Strauss-Kahn?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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No matter how well intended the
unprecedented and coordinated sermon only endorsed the rightwing propaganda
that grooming was the product of the Muslim view<span class="msoDel"><del cite="mailto:Shamim" datetime="2013-07-03T19:47">,</del></span> of the outside
world. The Muslim guilt gets reinforced by a phantom Imam from Oxford, Taj
Hargey, who is rolled out on our television screens and given ample spaces in
national newspapers to air his superficial and slanderous views. He has made absurd
claims that Imams or preachers teach that scantily dressed white girls are
Halal meat, permitted for our carnal consumption. Is he really suggesting that they
are teaching adultery is permitted (Halal)? Of course, there is no reference to
a particular mosque, a particular Imam and a date of the sermon to back up his
claim. And until he can substantiate his claims, Taj Hargey stands as a serial
liar. This fool should know that any scantily dressed woman would excite any
hot blooded young man; this is about biology not indoctrination. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
What then was the thinking behind
the sermon? The issue is not about education, everyone knows sexual
exploitation of young girls is forbidden according to Islamic law, and
according to the secular laws of the country. It would be naive to think that
the sermons would reach the culprits and have an impact on their behaviour in a
positive way. The most likely reason was to curtail the anger of the majority white
community. But their anger exists because of the skewed portrayal of the issue
by the media. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Instead of focusing on the wider
issue of sexual exploitation, the media attention has been on street grooming,
because the Muslims may be over represented here. Street grooming is merely one
method of carrying out sexual exploitation, a wider view of the issue shows the
problem is not specific to any community, as was reiterated by the expert
appearing on BBC2 Newsnight, during the revelation of the Oxford street
groomers. Moreover, crimes against children, I mean really young children,
toddlers and babies, emanate largely from the majority white community as one
would expect, here the Muslims are underrepresented, but nobody is interested
in such dull information. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Many dissenting Imams refused to
deliver the sermon on this issue, because the act of grooming was not carried
out in the name of Islam, unlike the Woolwich murder, where the perpetrators
made explicit reference to Islamic teachings. It would have been far more
fruitful to deliver a coordinated sermon condemning that action, and isolate
the preachers of hate and disinformation, Anjem Choudary and Taj Hargey. Also
encourage the Mosques and the Muslim community to use the coming month of
Ramadan to reach out to the wider community to build bridges of peace, and burn
the bridges of hate. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yamin Zakaria (<a href="mailto:yamin@radicalviews.org">yamin@radicalviews.org</a>)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Published on 03/07/2013</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
London, UK</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.radicalviews.org/">www.radicalviews.org</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com/">http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com</a></div>
Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-43041215041327867002013-06-23T19:19:00.001-07:002013-06-23T19:19:20.367-07:00Is there a Shia-Sunni conflict brewing in the Middle East?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMVs4uxxpLzE_zigC09T26KqSx1YwHRRGalWwCUgmJbLcKXVbtwMLacMTCl72gOY6PE7AnwuF3g8KtorzfJCxz4T1RM7T_RJXMCXT57qARTgaak-BcwH_kQrvealJLUNGCrGogeYd-ZTY4/s1600/shia-sunni.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMVs4uxxpLzE_zigC09T26KqSx1YwHRRGalWwCUgmJbLcKXVbtwMLacMTCl72gOY6PE7AnwuF3g8KtorzfJCxz4T1RM7T_RJXMCXT57qARTgaak-BcwH_kQrvealJLUNGCrGogeYd-ZTY4/s320/shia-sunni.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
In times of conflict, religious,
ethnic, linguistic traits are accentuated and the sectarian dimension is no
exception. With the direct involvement of Hezbollah, Iran’s proxy, the Syrian conflict
accelerates towards becoming a sectarian one and small skirmishes along the
sectarian line have already occurred across the border in Lebanon. The Shia axis
of Iran, Hezbollah, and the Alawite regime is balanced by the Sunni dominated
rebels, supported by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and the Gulf states. Assad is
no more an Alawite Shia as was Saddam Hussein a devout Sunni, both subscribed
to the doctrine of socialist orientated Arab nationalism, devoid of Islam. A
dubious ideology when you consider that Arab civilisation began with the birth
of Islam.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The US intervention in Iraq and the
subsequent altering of the balance of power has resulted in the Shia-Sunni
tensions; a dominant Shia-led regime emerged replacing the Sunni denominated
Ba’athist regime of Saddam Hussein bringing a long line of Sunni rule to an end.
The end result is seen through the tit for tat bombings between Shia and Sunni
killing many innocent civilians. Across the border Iran has been building up
its military capability to its credit, increasingly asserting itself as a
regional power. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The US stance has shifted from a
pro-Sunni position during the heyday of Ayatollah Khomeini, when Shias were the
extremists, to a more pro-Shia stance in Iraq, against the militant Sunni
inspired Al-Qaeda type movements of the post 9/11 era. It is reminiscent of a
former British Prime Minister’s remark - no nation has permanent friends or
enemies but only its interests.</div>
<a name='more'></a> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The Sunnis in Saudi Arabia have
also suppressed the large Shia majority located in the lucrative region of the
eastern part where the oil fields are. During the oil embargo in the 1970s, the
US even entertained the idea of dividing Saudi Arabia along sectarian lines,
which also reflects division of resources in line with US oil interests. It
also gives credence to the recent conspiracy theory of an emerging of a Shia
crescent that encompasses Iran, eastern Iraq, Bahrain, Eastern Saudi Arabia and
Lebanon. This is unlikely to be the work
of Israeli dominated US foreign policy, since a strong Sunni or Shia state does
not serve Israeli hegemony. In that light, one has to ask, is there an impending
conflict brewing that threatens to engulf the entire region? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Divide and rule - it worked well
for the British empire; thus, igniting and prolonging the war along sectarian
lines would serve the Israeli-US policy best – the only caveat being, the oil
fields and its protectorates (the wealthy Sheikhs) are not to be touched. We all witnessed the US resolve to protect the
Kuwaiti elites back in 1991. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Despite the motive, one cannot
just blame foreign powers manufacturing a wider sectarian conflict; the roots
of this schism go back to the early period of the Islamic Caliphate. The Shias
argued the line of succession should go through the Prophet’s family, whereas
the Sunnis argued that leadership should be based on consultation and merit. I may
be accused of being biased as a Sunni, but any neutral observer will see that
hereditary rule has no place in any monotheistic religion, because nepotism is
one of the sources of corruption. Even
Imam Ali, revered by the Shia as the legitimate divine successor to the Prophet,
obeyed the first two Caliphs and participated in the election, but he lost to
the third Caliph and continued to obey him as a ruler according to both Shia
and Sunni sources. In subsequent years, the political differences combined with
theological differences have led to the gap between the Shia and the Sunni
becoming wider. </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Historically, Shia-Sunni conflict
zones have been confined to Lebanon, Bahrain, Iraq, Syria, Iran and Saudi, and
in recent times, this has been seen in Afghanistan (Hazara Shias v Taliban) and
in Pakistan which has a significant Shia community who are suffering from the
indiscriminate Sunni bombings. Over the centuries the balance of power has
altered in various ways. The Shia rule over Egypt and North Africa during the
Fatimid era was brought to an end by the Sunnis during the crusade era. In
contrast, Iran, Iraq and Bahrain became Shia dominated state post 1500. Iran
became the first Shia dominated state of our time, despite the glaring
contradiction with Shia theology, which states only the divinely inspired Imam
can rule. The more Orthodox Ayatollahs argued against Ayatollah Khomeini for
taking up political leadership as they believed they should wait for Imam Mehdi
to arrive. </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
From a position of minority, the Shias
had been working to gain Sunni converts, Iran has always suppressed its Sunni
minority despite all the rhetoric of unity, and its media channels are always
propagating the Shia point of view, and attack the Salafee orientated movements
supported by Saudi-Gulf petro dollars, concealing a subtle wider attack on the
Sunni world. In recent times, Shia missionaries have been targeting the large Sunni
Muslim population in Africa; Nigeria has a nascent Shia community now. If
gaining political unity is the real issue then why spend so much time and
effort on theological and historical differences. The rhetoric of Saudi being an
American puppet is no more than Ayatollah Sistani in Iraq siding with the US,
through his infamous fatwa of not resisting the US forces, during the US-led
invasion of 2003. Iran also cooperated with the US over the invasion of
Afghanistan.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
With the passing of time, the
notion of unity at any level in the Muslim world vanishes. A sectarian conflict
– regardless of its origin would be another nail in the coffin. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yamin Zakaria</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
London, UK </div>
Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-33998477263100405932013-06-16T18:02:00.001-07:002013-06-16T18:02:11.293-07:00Internet Porn – Women, Children & Pets<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Nature has
placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and
pleasure.”</span></i><span style="color: black;"> (Jeremy Bentham, the
utilitarian philosopher)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk6zZkoXOD3RZB22gyaq4NFmjbkN_HFpXf8rgn-kRYvvv-zewXkZ_-zkABLsAdEVBSQ6bUoT-urRg_KZZNqPdfaRy-9sOnck7ASJboaMuGyxoLZIwad5rPp8AlH-XdY6dYPnUO2rUKqEza/s1600/Website-porn-008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk6zZkoXOD3RZB22gyaq4NFmjbkN_HFpXf8rgn-kRYvvv-zewXkZ_-zkABLsAdEVBSQ6bUoT-urRg_KZZNqPdfaRy-9sOnck7ASJboaMuGyxoLZIwad5rPp8AlH-XdY6dYPnUO2rUKqEza/s320/Website-porn-008.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
About 15 to 30 % of the World
Wide Web’s traffic is porn and that is quite substantial when you think in
terms of sales revenue from a global product, for example Coca Cola. In this
case, the profit margin is far greater, because unlike a perishable item, a
porno film is like a piece of software that can be consumed multiple times as
new, and does not need to be reproduced after consumption. This lucrative
income makes Internet moguls like Google reluctant to curtail the easy access
to porn that the Google Search Engine is renowned for. As the old adage says, money
makes the world go round; accordingly it makes the World Wide Web spin faster.
And it becomes a tornado when combined with the catalyst of sex. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The internet filter could be
applied easily, with the option to bypass it by filling in a consent form for
example. However, this would only partially address the problem of very young
children gaining access to porn unwittingly; the source of the problem would
remain as people would easily get acquainted to bypass the filter, and the
older children would pass this knowledge to the younger ones. In any case, increasing
censorship and legislation is not enough, this problem has to be tackled from
the root, and we literally need to go into the heart of the problem. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Why is porn flourishing in the
first place? The simple answer is – there is a demand for it, laws of the free
market mean demand will create supply, and vice versa. Since the 1970s, the
growth of conventional porn from seedy magazines & movies to the internet has
accelerated at a rapid pace. The demand for porn is obvious - men are easily
excited by sight, and being the hunters they will happily pay for it. In terms
of supply, the argument of women in poverty being exploited by men is there,
but given that porn primarily emanates from wealthy western-liberal nations, it
is more about making easy money, and increasingly women have started to take an
active lead in this arena. This means, the value of having shame has
diminished, sexual behaviour in society has ‘progressed’ to become more like
the species in the jungle under the ethos of ‘freedom’ and thus sexual
freedom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This explains the mindset of hostility
towards the veil in favour of the bikini, using the fig leaf of women’s rights,
and no surprise that most vocal to save Muslim women happen to be non-Muslim
men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Apart from money, there is the
notion of value. The much talked about ideology of ‘freedom’ post 9/11, and by
inference sexual freedom; this encourages one to pursue sexual pleasures
without any form of moral self-restraint. Inevitably, certain sections of the
population will get bored and lust will induce them to look for other ways to
experiment with new things, reaching for a higher climax, and that unfortunately
includes the abhorrent ‘porn’ involving children, violence and even domestic
pets. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I know the category of domestic
pets may confuse some readers, especially those brought up in traditional
conservative societies. Sometime back, a doctor friend said women in this
society have intercourse with dogs and other animals, but as dogs are domestic
pets, it is more common.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The grin on my
face concealed the fact that I was astonished, as well as perplexed, I
scratched my head and could not fathom how this would be possible, and why
would anyone want to do this, given that there is no shortage of men. Of
course, it has nothing to do with the supply of able men with testosterone, it
relates to finding new ways to get a bigger climax, maximise carnal (material)
satisfaction, something that is rooted in secular European philosophy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
In addition to moral revulsion, the
legal objection comes from the notion of consent, children and pets cannot give
consent and subjecting women to violence or at least projecting that with
pornography and the consequence that follows is problematic legally and morally.
In fact child porn should be termed child abuse, the issue came to surface in
recent times after the conviction of Mark Bridges, the killer of little April
Jones. The police found pictures of child abuse on his laptop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Surely there is a connection there.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>How does production and
consumption of porn tally with women’s rights? Given that the West is the torch
bearers of women’s rights, and a major supplier of porn, one could argue the
two are compatible, and I wonder how many parents would feel that way seeing
their children involved in such activities. How do the Femen fit in all this as
they go about promoting welfare of women ‘dressed’ (undressed) as primitive cavewomen?
Do they endorse pornography too as long as women are not compelled into it? What
about its impact on the wider society and gender relationships?</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b></div>
<b>
</b><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Others would see porn and women’s
rights as a paradox, two opposing notions. If you want women’s rights upheld by
law and that is easy, just make more legislation, but the notion of women’s
rights also demands respect and that can only emanate from the heart. You
cannot expect young men to respect women from the heart, when they are also
subjected to materials that portray women as meat for gratification, and they
are encouraged to seek sexual gratification without legal responsibility under
the value of sexual freedom; hence they view women as isolated objects for
consumption rather than someone who is part of his family, like his mother or
sister. This is depicted in the Hollywood film industry. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b></div>
<b>
</b><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />The production of porn is another
piece of evidence that confirms that women’s right is merely a convenient
political tool used to bash ideological opponents. It’s cheap propaganda; these
porn consumers talk about their crusade to liberate women in Afghanistan from
forced marriages, yet rape is rife in their backyard, not only in the armed
forces but widespread in society. The US marines want to liberate the Afghan
women from the veil to the bikini, so they can enjoy the regular striptease at
home. Then, they have the audacity to talk of paedophilia, when really young prepubescent
children including babies are raped and filmed, and the content is disseminated
through the net, and I wonder what the ethnicity of these people are! Now the
media and politicians like Jack Straw have lost their venomous snake like
tongues! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Indeed, the media has conveniently
kept silent about the ethnicity of the porn producers, only if they were
Pakistanis or Arabs we would have seen this in the headlines! And thankfully, the
Muslims are lagging behind, because they are unable to find available Muslim
women due to cultural, religious and family constraints. Whist the supply side
is low in Muslim societies; the demand continues to rise as the secular notion
of freedom creeps in, and it is easy to view porn online. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its only matter of time, we will see Muslims
graduating from consuming conventional porn to abhorrent porn, see how the
media changes its colours in reporting the same crime. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yamin Zakaria (<a href="mailto:yamin@radicalviews.org">yamin@radicalviews.org</a>)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Published on 17/06/2013</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
London, UK</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.radicalviews.org/">www.radicalviews.org</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com/">http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br /><br />Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-74186135201988190182013-06-13T15:30:00.003-07:002013-06-13T15:31:26.804-07:00The True Cost of the Afghan War and the Colonial Mindset<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>“I prefer land to niggers”</i></b></span> Cecil Rhodes </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQjqGqGLKTTDEFkVVkcBeHdfO2HVtMx-gjnU1ERfSgMqQ8i1zAjPaX1FmwcDGTE6XBpX_n-LzehSsmUFcwZp2-Pw0voDHIDiB6knN4am9l7Lg-snuQHIK7Rh2Z1yCuwuStiK-LBwIdo5u/s1600/blair-afghan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQjqGqGLKTTDEFkVVkcBeHdfO2HVtMx-gjnU1ERfSgMqQ8i1zAjPaX1FmwcDGTE6XBpX_n-LzehSsmUFcwZp2-Pw0voDHIDiB6knN4am9l7Lg-snuQHIK7Rh2Z1yCuwuStiK-LBwIdo5u/s320/blair-afghan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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There is constant talk of
evolution as the answer to the age-old question: what is the purpose of life on
Planet Earth. The answer points to the conclusion of a purposeless life - we
are another breed of species that follows the same cyclical pattern of birth,
consumption, growth, procreation and death. Do the animals also ponder on the
meaning of life and subjects like the beauty of art? I leave that to the
evolutionists. The fact is, unlike the animal kingdom, human society is in a
state of flux; our thoughts, ideas, values, and the food we harvest, deliver
and consume using various modes of transport and the means of production are
constantly changing. </div>
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However, does this change or
evolution constitute progress? For example, our ability to kill thousands using
high powered technology, and the last century has been the bloodiest in human
history; even a feeble soldier can zap an entire town with his forefinger. We
hail the internet to communicate and engage in global trade with ease, yet, it
is also used to disseminate porn, making up 15 to 30% of the web traffic that
includes child porn (abuse) and violent rape and other unspeakable things. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<b>Many of us wish the dated colonial
mindset of the Western establishment would evolve in line with the remarkable
technological progress made over the last 100 years. A recent article in The
Independent newspaper stated the cost of the Afghan war in financial terms of £40bn;
that is the cost to the British tax payer, and listed the number of British
soldiers killed and maimed, with no mention of the cost to the Afghans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do they even matter? To date, I do not know
the names of any of the Afghan families killed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even after the recent conviction of the American perpetrator of the gruesome
attack that cause the death of a defenceless Afghan family, and the shooting of
women and children at point blank range, none of us know what they even looked
like. There was no attempt to paint the soldier as a terrorist, who was
certainly ‘radicalised’ enough to commit such a barbaric act. </b></div>
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Apart from the direct cost in
terms of money and human casualties, what about the indirect cost to surviving
grieving families that will linger on for decades. And the cost in terms of lost
opportunities, had they been alive and the infrastructure of the country not
destroyed, maybe they would have <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>made
substantial contribution and produce exceptional individuals to steer the country
in a different direction. Nobody asks - why the ordinary innocent Afghans are
still paying the price when no attack was launched from there against any
British subjects and long after Al-Qaeda has vanished.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The simple answer is – security that translates
to tribal Afghans not yet having evolved enough to become like the stable and
prosperous Western democracies; and only the Taliban are preventing this
inevitable path to salvation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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The issue of Afghanistan came to the
surface with the killing of Lee Rigby on the streets of London, when the killer
and his supporters made references to it subsequently. We all condemned the
murder without reservation; with the exception of the fringe radicals who claim
state benefits and reside in the kebab shops and the council flats paid for by
British taxpayers. One would also include the far right groups, the EDL
(English Defence League), BNP (British National Party) and UKIP; they see
vindication of their opposition to British foreign policy, and an example of
the foreign ‘violent’ Jihadists attacking ‘non-violent’ soldiers. I wonder why these
far right groups did not show such anger and resolve towards Irish terrorism
that killed and maimed far more on the UK mainland. </div>
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It perplexes me that the media
and politicians looking for scientific data to demonstrate the link between the
violent British foreign policy and violent reaction to that. Is it not
commonsense that one should expect some form of violent response, when you
invade, bomb, kill, and humiliate a nation selectively? According to colonial
Blair, who seems like a reincarnated Cecil Rhodes or Winston Churchill (who was
involved in the Siege of Malakand in 1897), speak of civilising the
natives as the solution to all the perceived problems, de-radicalise them, so
that they see the world like we do. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Yamin Zakaria (<a href="mailto:yamin@radicalviews.org">yamin@radicalviews.org</a>)
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Published on 13/06/2013 </div>
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London, UK</div>
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<a href="http://www.radicalviews.org/">www.radicalviews.org</a></div>
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<a href="http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.org/">http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.org</a></div>
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Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-6008279050267630172013-06-03T15:20:00.003-07:002013-06-03T15:21:06.885-07:00Pakistan Election – What does it mean for the Afghanistan-Pakistan Relationship?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_g-SACc8Bc0Yr30n1AS1ekQs1r3-OKrWT7A4qKWFFznic4mN7tf2x8RBN4Nd_vNhKHrEboIPJz9q1JvWEkKl3V8cHzhywuY-S2qlpJ8vx8aPePelBiDn4opqVn8VGN1E4ZU5DFATiW6aV/s1600/pakistan-Democracy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_g-SACc8Bc0Yr30n1AS1ekQs1r3-OKrWT7A4qKWFFznic4mN7tf2x8RBN4Nd_vNhKHrEboIPJz9q1JvWEkKl3V8cHzhywuY-S2qlpJ8vx8aPePelBiDn4opqVn8VGN1E4ZU5DFATiW6aV/s320/pakistan-Democracy.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In the old days of Zulfikhar Ali Bhutto, the slogan was roti, kapra and makan (food, clothing and housing), in this election it was neya Pakistan (new Pakistan); a new Pakistan that is free of corruption. It was the hope and aspiration of many, especially the younger generation, who are exasperated seeing the decade of corruption within the two dominant parties, PPP (Pakistan People’s Party) and PML (Pakistan Muslim League) and their failure to eradicate the wider corruption in society that has manifested itself in nepotism, bribery and the influential feudal system. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.aopnews.com/opinion/zakaria_pak_elections.shtml"> Read More </a></span></div>
Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-54307405656770631882013-05-29T04:24:00.001-07:002013-05-29T04:27:53.362-07:00Radicalisation – Causes and Solutions<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDuLIVD6jQoupqtft5iSF6MBsCjWyI1qLyqRn4BN7d77ulMqgYYMEXBWsN_jpnl2l2HSwYVN3tdf4i3DAqPH2jH056394FTx2nmHjWeFahneOBIxcIN0oRrsM7oyip06XV-LE_5y364R4g/s1600/radicalised.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDuLIVD6jQoupqtft5iSF6MBsCjWyI1qLyqRn4BN7d77ulMqgYYMEXBWsN_jpnl2l2HSwYVN3tdf4i3DAqPH2jH056394FTx2nmHjWeFahneOBIxcIN0oRrsM7oyip06XV-LE_5y364R4g/s320/radicalised.png" /></a>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span>fter the recent beheading of a British soldier in Woolwich, the government announced its plan to combat radicalisation, yet the plan solely consisted of targeting the primary victims of radicalisation; the voiceless Muslim minority. As a peaceful British citizen, I am deeply concerned about the rising tide of radicalisation over the last decade; consequentially, violent actions have followed resulting in the deaths of many innocent people; this is coupled with a systematic demonization of a community by the acidic mass media. In recent times, the media propaganda has been accompanied with racial undertones that have emboldened the xenophobic far right groups, and there is little sign of this process coming to a halt, let alone being reversed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This radicalisation process started with the Blair regime. Indeed, one may ask what caused Tony Blair as a leader of the socialist orientated Labour party, to join hands with the radical right wing Republican party of George Bush, and his neo-conservative cabal that are marginally to the left of the far right. Most Americans are radicalised, they are xenophobic, inherently violent, obsessed with guns, operate with the Wild West philosophy of shoot first then asks question. One can only speculate what sort of program Blair was put through at the Crawford ranch in Texas, but after his return, he started to cite God as justification for his policies, despite being head of a secular nation that says keep religion out of politics. Yet, religion was invoked whilst the killings went on, and he remains unrepentant, waiting for his place in heaven, according to his conviction in a Catholic God, these are clear signs of a radicalised man.
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Just prior to the Iraq invasion, Tony Blair visibly looked disturbed, his facial expression had changed, and sounded more like one of those lunatic American Christian preachers that rants on the stage and speaks in tongue. He started to concoct stories about the threat from Saddam Hussein, from the 45 minute threat to dodgy dossier; even today he seems confused about the source of anger at home and abroad.
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>There needs to be a top down approach to tackle this Radicalisation issue. Starting with a radical shift in the neo-colonial foreign policy that was based on US dictates, the closure of Guantanamo Bay, a halt to the torture and rendition of innocent people, a thorough investigation of the war crimes committed in Iraq, and prepare the grounds for arresting Tony Blair to stand trial at the Hague</b>.
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The acidic mass media dominated by the Zionist elites needs to be thoroughly cleansed, starting with hate preachers like Melanie Phillips, Douglas Murray, and the likes that whip up hatred and cause rifts in the community. In addition, the tabloid press needs to enhance the vocabulary standards with fewer images that will help to stop feeding hate filled messages to the far right, as most of their members would find it difficult to comprehend the content.
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>The government should monitor members of far right UKIP, and the very far right EDL (English Defence League) who are a conveyor belt for producing terrorists that are indiscriminately targeting mosques, and various members of the ethnic community, in trying to reclaim the British heritage, yet many are found ordering Indian takeaway, and covet Black and Asian women. Many of the drunken EDL members unable to distinguish the Muslim turban from the Sikh Turban, thus, attacked member of the peaceful Sikh community. Not forgetting the creators of EDL, the government should monitor Anjem Choudary and his fellow activists, they are often found in the grubby Asian Fried chicken and kebab places as most mosques have barred them; they provide the fuel for EDL type of groups.
</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Instead of recognising the causes of radicalisation, the establishment has conveniently defined radicalisation as indoctrination of a young Muslim by a radical Imam; it is simply the injection of ideas bearing no relation to the real world. This is a an idiotic argument, radicalisation takes place when young Muslims see images of dead women and children as a price for US-led adventures which Britain under the leadership of Blair chose to take part in. These images naturally fuels anger and resentment. Moreover, Imams in most Mosques are apolitical, except those who voice legitimate concerns about the terrorist activities taking place in the Muslim world through our armed forces. At this point, unwittingly I would concur with Anjem Choudary, the real purpose behind the pretext of combating radicalisation is to suppress the voices that are critical of British foreign policy and the war crimes committed abroad.
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Yamin Zakaria (yamin@radocalviews.org)
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Published on 28/05/2013
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">London, UK</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">www.radicalviews.org
http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com
</span></div>
Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3110052384236446567.post-35656951163897971582013-05-26T10:33:00.000-07:002013-05-26T10:35:36.820-07:00A British Baha Mousa Murdered in Woolwich: Declaration of War and the Covenant of Security <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc519bRAc-2N5ZH4g0Y8vCzREWqtQH6bVvfin8Q1OEf41oSKB9UrKVDY8JgvAPe9A3QrhS07p8fGlaeDTzg1atZpkiaey3rdmUWERi5MwVOqBYlgC2EdZb5G1n8pk4VdcuONRnrDMloMQ8/s1600/LeeMusa.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc519bRAc-2N5ZH4g0Y8vCzREWqtQH6bVvfin8Q1OEf41oSKB9UrKVDY8JgvAPe9A3QrhS07p8fGlaeDTzg1atZpkiaey3rdmUWERi5MwVOqBYlgC2EdZb5G1n8pk4VdcuONRnrDMloMQ8/s320/LeeMusa.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Much has been said about the
political dimension to this issue in terms of motive, and I will address that
later, first I want to focus on the justification given behind the act, which
may explain how these home-grown ‘terrorists’ arises in the first place, and
help to bring forward a solution to the problem. Had this been debated ‘honestly’
post 7/7, this killing may well have been avoided. </div>
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Like the 7/7 bombings in 2005, the
killing of the British soldier (Lee Rigby) in Woolwich is a response to British
foreign policy that has resulted in the killing of many innocent Muslims, not a
day passes when we hear the deaths of innocent families killed by drones or
some other military action. According to
the words uttered by one of the two culprits, the motive was revenge, and
clearly stated they took a life as an eye for an eye. There was no mention of
religion, but the religious dimension of this case is palpable as they could
only identify with the victims in Afghanistan on religious grounds<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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For sure, Islam permits an eye
for an eye for certain cases like murder, and the penal code can only be
applied by a legal authority, after proving the allegation in a court of
law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obviously this is not applicable
here, as the culprits made no allegation against Lee Rigby. Thus, according to
Islamic and British law the same maxim of:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>innocent until proven guilty stands. Only other situation where one can
take a life using the principle of an eye for an eye is in a war situation, but
under such circumstance killing is sanctioned for both conflicting parties
regardless. Both parties are British citizens, how could they be at war? For
sure, in Lee Rigby’s mind he was not in the combat zone, he was going about his
daily business at home; in contrast the two Nigerian Muslims considered they
were at war, Lee Rigby was an enemy soldier, thus sufficient grounds to take
his life. This implies, they considered themselves as part of the Afghan camp
based on their religious affiliation, over riding their obligation as British
citizens. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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This raises a more fundamental
point about the conflict that arises out of religious affiliation and bonds of
citizenship, where the Muslims are living in a non-Islamic country as a
minority, which is in a state of conflict with another Muslim country.
According to Islamic law, which takes precedence when there is a conflict in a
matter for the scholars of Islamic law to answer, and please note that there
will be differences depending on the case and the mindset of the scholar. The
most radical interpretation (that is followed by the pro-JIhadi school like the
group led by Anjem Choudary) which seems to have inspired the two culprits to
take action is this: - they consider their identity solely on religious
grounds, they are only Muslims and they are part of the global Muslim Ummah
(community), living in a non-Islamic country temporarily and they keep the
peace in return for the security given by the state. Implying there is a
contract in place with the British government what is called the<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> ‘covenant of security’ (<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">aqd al-aman)</span>. </b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">In Islamic law, the covenant of security for Muslims living in a
non-Muslim society means they are under a contractual obligation to keep the
peace and obey the laws of the state, thus all non-Muslim life, property, and
honour are sacrosanct, unless the government violates this by committing acts
of oppression against the Muslim citizens at home. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this regard the British government has not
violated the rights of the Muslims here in the UK in general and in particular
the rights of the two culprits. In fact, compared to many other western
countries, the UK has been most generous towards the Muslim community, this is
a point that radical Muslims do not acknowledge or appreciate</b>. </div>
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Therefore, on what grounds did
the two culprits consider the violation of the covenant of security? It has to
be on the basis that war was waged in the Muslims countries (Iraq, Afghanistan)
as expressed by their words referring to the events in the Muslim lands. Even
if the two culprits have no notion of this, supporters of such actions tend to
rely on this argument. However, rationale dictates that if one of the parties
considers there is a breach of contract, this has to be communicated to the
other party.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The following points are
implied if they considered that they were in a state of war. </div>
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<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>The
individual must communicate his position to the government; it is an issue of
life and death. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He must state that he is
no longer a citizen of this country. The nation has no security from him, and
he has no security from them, it is war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></li>
<br /><li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>The
person should also state: he is only speaking for himself, as he has no
authority to represent the Muslim community here. And rationally he cannot,
because only he carries the conviction of this violation of the contract. </li>
<br /><li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">From the above it follows, he should not
continue to live here as a citizen enjoying all of the benefits, the security and
then launch an attack from behind; that is like attacking a trusted friend from
the back. For Islam clearly does not permit treachery. There is consensus on
fulfilling the contractual obligation and treachery is looked upon abhorrently.
In one Hadith it clearly states:</b> “for every person who betrays a covenant
will have a flag at his back on the Day of Judgement, which will be raised
according to the level of his treachery.” The associated verse of Quran says
clearly, “Oh you believe! Fulfil your contractual obligations” (5:1).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Prophet (peace be upon him), said: “The
Muslims fulfil their contracts.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></li>
</ul>
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And the failure to do the above
has put the entire Muslim community at risk; it reinforces the view of some
non-Muslims of holding the wider Muslim community responsible, indeed they too
could respond with an eye for an eye. I wonder if the two Muslim Nigerian
attackers considered that their relatives have now been put at risk by their
actions. Thankfully, the British public are much more tolerant and civilised
than the minority EDL ilk; the vast majority have a far better sense of justice
and knowledge of the situation than let’s say the American public, and profoundly
better than the barbaric Buddhist nation of Burma that has recently unleashed
ferocious attacks on their defenceless Muslim community. I wish these hyper internet
Jihadists would take note of this. </div>
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In terms of the political aspect
of this issue, the usual narrative from the politicians and the media
commentators followed. The Muslims have a perceived notion of grievances
against the West, and are radicalised by certain extreme preachers, it has nothing
to do with the images emanating from the Muslim world that is euphemistically
called foreign policy. These images are conveniently dismissed as the works of
other Muslim groups. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words,
it’s all in their head, all we need to do is change the narrative in their head;
this reminds me of the movie Inception.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
does not set the basis for a solution, but prolongs the justification of
perpetual war. </div>
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Of course, it is true that the
actions of one person cannot be used to tarnish an entire community,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>as the media often does with the Muslims. We
did not see any reference to Christianity when Anders Breivik of Norway, who
professed to be a Christian, committed the atrocities. Yet, the media demands,
that Muslims stand up and condemn, assuming collective guilt, and concurrently
also says - don’t ask about the motive. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Because,
by examining the motive it brings about uncomfortable truths as to who is
really culpable. If we see this latest episode as part of a cycle of violence, the
starting point has to be when Britain participated in the US-led adventure
based on the fabrication of WMDs, which has been conveniently forgotten. Did
the Iraqis attack the UK? Hence, Blair has the blood of this soldier on his
hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>Even a token apology would
help, but only sheer arrogance prevents this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It would also help if Guantanamo Bay was closed, if the Drone Strike War
was halted (the use of drones has killed many very innocent people) and bring a
solution to the Palestine issue. These are not perceived grievances but real
issues. </div>
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But why be selective with
condemnation? As many will draw parallels with the case of Baha Mousa, who was
tortured and killed by the British army in a sadistic manner, and more gruesome
than the recent case, most of the soldiers got away with it, only one person was
convicted who served only a year of his sentence. There was no outrage then, no
emotive words in the press, nor was there any outrage recently when the Muslim
pensioner was stabbed to death in Birmingham or any outrage when the Afghan
child stabbed by the drunken soldier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet,
the expectation is that the Muslims must not generate a violent reaction<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a> to the violence that is being inflicted upon them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Yamin Zakaria (<a href="mailto:yamin@radicalviews.org">yamin@radicalviews.org</a>)</div>
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Published on 26/05/2013</div>
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London, UK</div>
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<a href="http://www.radicalviews.org/">www.radicalviews.org</a></div>
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<a href="http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com/">http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.com</a></div>
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Yamin Zakariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17567600250809573131noreply@blogger.com0