Thursday, June 30, 2011

Homosexuality on the Rise in Saudi Arabia


Result of an Oppressive Regime or Are Saudis Coming Out of the Closet?

According to an article The Kingdom in the Closet in the May issue of the Atlantic Monthly, many in the Saudi population, both male and female, frequently engage in homosexual acts despite the fact that it is punishable by death under Islamic Sharia law. Homosexuality seems risky in a kingdom sometimes called "The Land of The Two Holy Mosques", a reference to Makka and Medina, Islam's two holiest places.  
According to Western Resistance, one of the reasons that a large segment of the Saudi population engages in homosexual acts is that it's frankly easier to mingle with members of the same sex in the highly restrictive and oppressive regime--
According to Islamic law homosexuality is punishable by death. This punishment, however, is a poor deterrent. According to the article, most Saudi men become gay because it's easier to pick up a man than to find a woman. The situation is the same for young women. The article claims that Saudi Arabia's inhumane laws and dread morality police, which forbid dating between young men and women, in fact are a major factor pushing them towards homosexuality in their youth.
In his article, Queer Shiek, Being openly gay in Saudi Arabia used to be a death sentence-but times are changing, John R. Bradley describes the scene at a western-type mall in the city of Jeddah-
Gay Saudi men now cruise certain malls and supermarkets, openly making passes at each other, and one street in Jeddah is said to have the most traffic accidents in the city because it is the most popular place for Saudi drivers to pick up gay Filipinos, who strut their stuff on the sidewalk in tight jeans and cut-off t-shirts. (Filipinos are one of the larger groups of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia.) Meanwhile, gay and lesbian discos, gay-friendly coffee shops, and even gay oriented Internet chat rooms are now flourishing in some Saudi cities; in the chat rooms, gay and lesbian Saudis discuss the best places to meet people for one-night stands. "We talk about places that aren't gay cruising areas, because they're now in the minority," says one young gay Saudi, only half-jokingly.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Malawi - The warm heart of Africa

I quite agree with the saying, "Mankind plans, but the best of planners is He, The Almighty."It was literally a month ago that mom departed from the Kingdom back to her home in South Africa and I was expecting to see her again no sooner than November. However, three weeks ago whilst my folks were vacationing at our holiday home Dad decides to give me a tinkle and inform me that he would be traveling with mom and a few significant others to Malawi. The purpose of the trip he said was a fact finding mission in establishing how various schools in the underprivileged areas of Malawi were being run. I knew that the family, especially dad was involved with funding a school in Malawi, but i didnt know the details or the depth of the project. The second purpose of the trip was to be present for the opening of a Masjid built by my family in a rural area to bring reward for all those individuals that have passed away within the family.
I have always traveled extensively with my folks and there was never a trip I missed. So naturally I wanted to be there to. Thanks to the kindness of my seniors I managed to secure an exit/re-entry visa on short notice and made my way to South africa via Dubai. I spent one night in South Africa and the next day we all took a flight from South africa to Blantyre, via Harare to pick up passengers and then Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi to clear customs and immigrations. With the exception of dad no one knew that I was arriving into the country so the shock and happiness on their faces when they seen me was certainly a moment that I would never forget in my life.

The airport experience in Malawi was quite hilarious, comical in fact. All passengers disembarked in Lilongwe to clear customs whilst the plane waited for us to take us to Blantyre, approximately a 25 minute flight from Lilongwe. As we got of the plane we seen our luggage being driven away in a trailor like vehicle.We got our passports stamped, picked up our luggage and went through customs and police clearance which was literally 10 steps away from each other. The airport has no sophisticated scanning device systems and so you are likely to be asked to open up your luggage (Not that they do a thorough inspection in any case).

We landed in Blantyre around five thirty in the evening at Chilekha airport. The airport was so small that it resembled a double storey home.We were received by dads very close friend (more like a brother) Sheikh Ayoob Patel whose ties with my family goes back at least 20 years ago when my late grandfather was still alive.We then made our way to his home in Zomba which is one and a half hours from Blantyre. The roads in Malawi are a nightmare. Cars will never survive and so four by four and heavy duty vehicles are the best for the rough terrain. By the time you reach your destination your body feels sore with all the bumps on the road.

Sheikh Ayoob's family gave us a warm welcome into their home and we had a sumptuous dinner prepared by Zohra aunty and her daughter Najma. After dinner we chatted and made our way to the Namanolo Educational Trust premises where we were welcomed by the security guards Jaffer and Umar who took our luggage in to the guest cottage. It was a quaint, cozy building with a lounge, kitchen,and two ensuite bedrooms.

The next morning after having a full breakfast we set out to the rural village where the masjid is situated. Once again we made our way through winding, bumpy gravel roads.The scenery though was picturesque with the village surrounded by the Zomba Mountains. Arriving at the village we were greeted by hundreds of people who were excited to meet us. We handed out blankets, food parcels and money to the community members. The level of poverty in Malawi is alarming. The are no words to explain the depth of poverty within the country.Usually tourists visiting the country dont really realise the extent of the poverty as they would stay in a five star hotel like Sunbird Hotel or Makakola retreat for example. However, as we resided with my dad's friend who is a teacher and looks after the various schools within poverty stricken communities, we were able to experience true life in Malawi first hand. Tears flowed down our cheeks when we seen how the local village people live. There is no running water or electricity. Water is pumped through a well and sometimes small kids walk for miles to fetch water and bring it back to their homes.
Most of the people of the village were not given any form of education. As we drove from village to village we stopped handing out sweets to the kids along the way. The smile on their faces, the gratitude of receiving one stock sweet was a picture that I will never forget.The next day we visited The Alfalah Islamic Institute for girls.Once again this institute is situated around mountains and greenery which creates an environment conducive for learning and seeking knowledge.This school is run personally by Sheikh Ayoob Patel. The school has around 50 students and they are taught secular as well as Islamic education. The girls live in a boarding complex and all their necessities are taken care off by the institute which is funded by people from all over the world especially the South African Indian community.
It was an eye opener to see these girls read as well as speak arabic fluently.These same female students hailed from the poor impoverished villages we had seen the day before. But once they were admitted into the school the quality of their lives have changed.There are some students who are HIV positive, some of them are orphaned and many of them are without a mother or a father.A doctor visits the institute on a monthly basis to monitor the health and nutrition of all the students.
HIV in Malawi is a huge problem like all other countries in Africa. The governments do not have the resources to teach and educate the nation about safe sex practices and of course contraception which is not an acceptable solution in many African cultures.The birth rate in Malawi is huge with around 30 deliveries each day in many of the hospitals. Hospitals do not have enough midwives to cope with deliveries. Their is a huge staff shortage in almost all of the hospitals as the government does not have money to pay for any extra staff.Many women die during child birth leaving the newborn child behind. In many instances these kids are also born with HIV.

Being a teacher is certainly not an easy task.But being a teacher to orphaned and underprivileged kids is definitely an even bigger task especially if the kids come from homes where their parents are illiterate themselves. I honestly and truly salute Sheikh Ayoob Patel for his hard work and sheer dedication towards the kids in his institute as well as the other institutes he oversees and manages, namely NAMANOLO ISLAMIC EDUCATIONAL TRUST.His soft and understanding nature with the students at Alfalah encourages them to further acquire knowledge so that when they complete their education they can go back into their villages and impart knowledge within their local communities.It is good to give the poor money, but making them self sufficient and self sustaining is even better and more rewarding.Sheikh Ayoob gave us an insight into the sewing classes that is run for females. The classes are conducted by sister Ameena formally from Sudan whose husband is a well respected and educated man within the community having been a member of various international humanitarian organisations prior to his retirement. All the garments produced from the sewing classes are packed and distributed back into the poor village communities. Businesses selling materials donate their off cuts to the school. The women who attend theses sewing classes live on the premises of the school and all their basic needs are facilitated by the institute as well during the full duration of the course.When these women complete the program they are empowered to be employed in garment factories or sew privately from home thereby becoming self sufficient and are hence capable of supporting their families.

Sheikh Ayoob designed an excellent itinerary for us and so in between we had a few days of leisure to relax. He had taken the liberty to book us for two nights in to the Sunbird Hotel located right on top of the Zomba mountains.Weather in Malawi for winter was surprisingly very warm and there were many days when we didnt require the need of a jacket or coat. However, on top of the mountains it was quite chilly and warm clothes was required. The hotel is renowned for being the best in Malawi with African themed rooms graced with an open fire place.As the sun goes down and the night sets in, the ambience of the room changes to an atmosphere of warmth and coziness due to the fire place. During the day, after breakfast we spent our time at leisure in the beautiful terrace gardens surrounded by natural mountains and forests. The hotel atmosphere felt as though we were in Europe or Switzerland and yet the stark reality was quite the contrary with thousands of people dying of poverty and malnutrition just a few kilometers away. We also enjoyed a picturesque afternoon at the famous Williams waterfalls where we all gathered for a picnic. Certainly an afternoon worth remembering.
After two days of leisure it was back into the village where we had to inaugurate the opening of the masjid that was built by my family for the local community.Hundreds of people gathered from all over to perform the first Friday prayers in the masjid. Tribal heads and chiefs gathered to welcome us and discuss the future of the villages in terms of future progress. Our family project started off with a masjid but we aim to build a school and boarding facility for the kids of the village as well. We also need to implement a water well so that the men going to the masjid to pray will have water to do their ablution ritual before prayers. God willing these will be completed in the near future. After the opening of the masjid we had lunch and then made our way to the Mangochi district, approximately a two hour rough bumpy ride from Zomba. It is in this region that the world famous lake Malawi is situated.Viewing the lake for the first time creates the impression that you at the sea or vast ocean as the lake is graced with unspoilt white sand. It is impossible to comprehend the enormity of the lake. It is around 365km long stretching up to Tanzania and approximately 60 km wide. At night whilst sleeping, you can hear the waves from the lake. The home we booked at the lake was a five bedroom cottage that came with a cook. Our cooks name was Richard, a Malawian man, tall in stature with a friendly demeanour. He was an excellent cook serving us fresh fish and rice, barbequed T-Bone steak (The best T-Bone steak I've ever eaten) and a variety of other dishes.


The majority of people in Malawi lead very difficult lives. Most people travel either by foot or they utilise bicycles.Usually they leave their homes very early in the morning and return late in the night. Many of the markets operate until eight at night. Goods are being traded under candle light as there is no electricity in many regions. The areas that have electricity usually face frequent power outages..During our visit the country was undergoing a fuel shortage. Most of the garages did not have petrol or diesel. Every alternate day fuel was delivered to various garages and cars queuing for petrol extended many kilometers down the road. Despite the fuel crisis most of the local community were unperturbed. They were still very calm. I noticed that from all the people in the world that I have met the Malawians are the most patient. Nothing in the world bothers them. They have this attitude of being content and perhaps it is due to this contentment that they are able to continue their lives in such desolate impoverished environments.
It was quite hilarious seeing policemen unarmed at roadblocks without batons or radio communication systems.Most policemen do not have cars and utilise bicycles as a mode of transport. Many of them would thumb a lift from passing cars or busses in order to get to their assigned designated posts everyday.Despite this there is minimal crime within the local community with the exception of petty theft now and then.
The depth of poverty and malnutrition in Malawi is indescribable. The UN has many buildings in Malawi but they are not doing anything for the local community. The UN is one of the most corrupt, bogus organisations in the world. They are not helping the poor but rather plunging the country into further debt. The UN is a masonic organisation and I will discuss the origins of this organisation in another article in due course. First world countries like America do not feed their own populations with genetically modified food and yet they would like this type of food to be introduced into poor African countries like Malawi causing people to become sick, develop health problems and cause mass genocide. Indeed one of the clauses of the masonic agenda as re-iterated by Mr. Bill Gates himself on national television is to reduce the worlds population by half.
All religions teach goodness and so it is the duty of each and every individual to help the poor and the needy. All of the schools managed by Sheikh Ayoob is through the donations and generous contributions of people from all over the world especially South Africa. The government does not have the means to subsidise these schools. I would encourage everyone especially the muslim community to make a contribution towards these schools simply because charity is one of the five pillars of the islamic religion. Your generous contributions will allow the good work to continue. The kids of today are the leaders of tomorrow and so by giving these kids an education we are all assisting in empowering another human being and improving the lifestyle of an entire nation. Should you wish to make a contribution to the Al Falah Charitable Trust and I sincerely urge you to do so then please contact Sheikh Ayoob Patel at:


P.O.Box 544
Zomba
Malawi
cell: (+265) 0 999 913 759
Office : (+265) 01 524 684
Email address: alfalah.malawi@gmail.com

Banking details

Acc. Name: Al-Falah Islamic Institute
Acc No. 1151107
Bank Name:National Bank of Malawi
Zomba Branch

Or

Acc. Name: Al -Falah Islamic Institute
Acc. No.0280330009
Bank Name:First Merchant Bank
Zomba Branch

Kindly take note that all donations are distributed within both Muslim and non Muslim communities. Islam is the major religion in Malawi followed by Christianity. Usually in many families you will fnd that the maternal side is Christian and the paternal side is muslim or vice versa.
The day we left making our way to the airport down the narrow winding road with the foggy mountains in front of us, a few thoughts ran through my mind. I have never before encountered a nation with so much of patience, I have never before encountered a nation that is so content despite all the poverty, I have never before encountered a nation who yearns for knowledge yet can not afford it..Alas Malawi!! You are the true heart of Africa!!!!







Friday, June 24, 2011

Emirates check in counter South Africa plagued with racism


Arriving at O. R Tambo International airport on June 23,2011, at least two hours ahead thinking that I would check in my luggage at the Emirates counter and then have a sumptuous lunch with my folks before leaving was simply a plan that was too good to be true. On arriving at the check in counter I was amazed so see that all the check in staff were white male Afrikaans speaking South Africans. There was not one person of colour. I found this very surprising since South Africa considers itself a rainbow nation. Dad and I waited in the queue.I was dressed in full arabic attire. Arriving at the check in counter we were greeted quite half heartedly by the white gentleman who then said we needed to pay for being 1kg in excess... Yes!!!! No kidding 1kg...I was shocked. I couldnt believe this. I usually travel on emirates airlines at least 5 times a year and didn't expect such a ridiculous situation. Also bare in mind that I had absolutely no hand luggage with the exception of a small hand bag for my travel documents. To avoid the hassle of unpacking the bags dad decides to go to the emirates ticketing counter and pay R250 for the excess 1kg luggage. In the mean time I waited at the counter with the bags. Another middle eastern family approaches the counter and once again they are asked to pay for an excess of 1kg as well. So off they go to the counter to pay the excess. Then I noticed a line of white afrikaans speaking south africans and naturally the attitude towards them was different, more kind, friendly and jovial.Suddenly whilst waiting I see one of the check in staff stand up and go to his supervisor who was sitting directly in front of me. He tells him "It is 32kg. Can we let it go. Two kg over". The supervisor smiles and says "Let it go". So when I heard this I went up to the supervisor and asked him "Why are you doing this injustice? Why do I have to pay for 1kg in excess and you letting 2kg in excess go through." The man was such an idiot. He was under the impression that I am a middle eastern, arabic speaking woman who does not know English. Instead of handling the situation in a calm, polite and appropriate manner, he started shouting and screaming at me at the top of his voice saying how dare I interrupt his conversation and that the passengers were in a group so their total weight balances so its no problem if they are 2kg in excess. Now it doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out that the man was talking absolute rubbish. If the passenger was in a group and the weight balanced off, why then did the man at the check in counter need to stand up and seek permission from his supervisor to allow the 2kg excess to go through. On top of it he stated that the passenger was going a different route so 2kg in excess is quite ok, but I seen the passenger checking into the same flight as myself and the other middle eastern family that was asked to pay.
The supervisor was unprofessional. He hid his name underneath his jacket. He was a white Afrikaans speaking man with a beard and spectacles.He was soo rude he even shouted at a group of Chinese passengers that lost their way as they didnt understand a word of English. Instead of helping them he was mocking at them in Afrikaans with his other colleagues.
I didnt expect Emirates to be hiring such uncultured, rude, racist individuals especially since they market themselves as a world class airlines.
Any way, on arriving in Dubai I went to the airport complaints office and when I showed them the receipt for 1kg in excess luggage, the officials were actually laughing and couldn't believe it. I have travelled on many airlines across the world and all of them will give passengers a leeway of 1-2kg in excess to go through. Infact Saudi allows even 5kg to go through. It is part of their customer satisfaction policy.
I have written a letter to the highest authorities in Dubai demanding a reimbursement for the money paid as well as a written letter of apology. I wonder if they will take this matter up as in my opinion it is serious.I thought that racism is abolished in South Africa but I am afraid that racism still exists especially amongst White Afrikaans speaking South Africans. To add insult to injury, as soon as I turned my back after confronting the supervisor, he then talks about me in Afrikaans to his colleagues saying."Gee vir my haar vol details..(Give me her full details whilst whispering to each other. I think he felt that I could cause him problems and mind you that is exactly what I am planning to do.
A colleague of mine who flew Emirates airlines a month ago was diagnosed with food poisoning after eating the plane food. Up until today he is yet to receive compensation and is now taking legal action against the airlines. Another colleague of mine did not receive compensation till today for luggage that went missing on an emirates flight returning from the UK.Again, she is threatening legal action until her case is taken up and resolved.
Will I be flying emirates again? Well the answer is definitely NO!! If I can avoid using them I will definitely not use them at all. They market themselves as though they are the best in the world but I can assure you that I have travelled on other airlines that have offered better service and respect to their passengers. The Emirates check in counter in South Africa is racist and the world needs to know about this and to set the record straight I didn't mind paying a fee for an excess of 1kg, but why should I be paying when other passengers didn't. Was I treated in this manner simply because I wore an arabic styled abaya with a headscarf or was it because of the colour of my skin? It is quite sad that these same ignorant white Afrikaans speaking men fail to realise that they work for an Arab based company. Their families are being fed by Arab money.If you have faced similar airport or travel issues please share them on this blog. It is about time that consumer related issues as well as issues related to discrimination come to the fore.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

The Myth of the Hymen continues


Women around the world are expected to bleed on their wedding nights as proof  that they are pure. But modern medicine tells us not all pure women will bleed. What's more, it is illegal in Islam to accuse a pure woman of immoral behaviour. Read about this controversial issue here.

Twenty five year old Deema is a Saudi woman who has lived abroad for most of her life. Whilst residing in the Uk, she developed a serious relationship with a British man by the name of Richard (secretly). After years of dating one thing led to another and before she knew it, Deema was involved with Richard in a sexual relationship. After completing her studies, Deema's family decided to return to Saudi Arabia. Her dad had arranged Deemas marriage to her first cousin as is a custom amongst most traditional Saudi families to marry within the family rather than outside. When Deema was told that she will be marrying soon, she was in a state of panic. She didnt know what to do as she knew she was no longer a virgin. She collapsed on two occasions and was rushed to the emergency department. Finally after gaining some courage she told her mom the truth about her relationship with Richard in the UK. Her mom was furious but to prevent the embarrassment from the family she simply flew Deema to Jordan under the pretext of a pre -wedding vacation where Deema underwent  hymenoplasty surgery (restoring the Hymen) which is a very common procedure carried out here in the Middle East. On returning to Saudi, all was well. Her mom told me that the wedding went off perfectly and yes Deema bled on her wedding night as the doctor inserted a blood capsule under the hymen. She said her husband will never know about Deema's past. In my opinion, being in a sexual relationship in the first place was wrong according to Islamic law, but entering into a marriage situation based on dishonesty is an even bigger wrong. Deema should have repented for her wrongdoings as God Almighty is most forgiving. She should have been honest to her husband to be and if he was a good human being he would accept Deema the way she is.She was ashamed of her past actions and repented profusely.But unfortunately the society in which Deema lives in is not a very forgiving one. Islam is a very practical religion that society and mankind has distorted to the point where people have to resort to drastic measures like surgery. Deema was fortunate that she hails from a wealthy family but what would happen if she was from a poor family.Read the article below written by anonymous.
  
Most young women in America have never given thought to the status of their hymen, a thin membrane covering the opening of the vagina with which most infant girls are born. While an intact hymen that bleeds when broken on a bride's wedding night has traditionally been regarded as proof of her virginity, this is a myth which has been disproven many times over in the twentieth century as the medical establishment has made it clear that:
1. Some girls are born without a hymen;
2. The hymen may tear naturally when a girl plays sports or engages in any physical activity;
3. The hymen is not always smooth but tends to be perforated and that the perforations may get bigger and cause the hymen to break once a girl menstruates;
4. The hymen can be broken by the use of tampons;extremely common
5. The hymen may be very small or very elastic so that no breakage occurs at all (some women even become pregnant while their hymens are still intact);
6. A hymen may not bleed when broken.
Given these facts, it is extremely sad that women all over the world are still expected to bleed on their wedding nights as proof that they are virgins and that they often pay severe consequences if they happen not to bleed, possibly being shamed and humiliated, instantly divorced or even killed. To avoid such disasters, women have resorted to various tricks to ensure that they bleed, including the use of animal blood in their private parts or even cutting themselves, while wealthier women often get gynecological exams before marriage and do hymen-repair surgery in the event that no hymen is found. There is so much confidence in the idea that an intact hymen proves virginity that the trend in many countries now is to have one's daughter "officially certified" as a virgin by a clinic. This is so embarrassing for the girls that a number of them (most notably in Turkey) have committed suicide rather than be touched by strangers in this bizarre, invasive manner.
As a Muslim woman, it pains me greatly to hear of lives being destroyed by such blatant ignorance. In Islam, there is no such need to prove one's virginity by bleeding on the wedding night. This is not to say, however, that it is not important that both the husband and wife should be virgins provided that they are entering into their first marriages. Sexual relationships outside the marital union are strictly prohibited in Islam and there are very serious punishments for men and women who violate this rule. It is actually very difficult to prove someone's adultery in Islam as there must be four witnesses to the act and this is seldom (if ever) achievable. One may also choose to confess to his/her own adultery while a woman's adultery is considered automatically proven should she become pregnant out of wedlock. Married men who witness their wives committing adultery do not need three additional witnesses in court but may swear four times that they have seen the act. Islam is so fair in this case that the wife is allowed to confirm or refute her husband's accusation; if she claims innocence, she need only swear four times that she did not commit the act, and she will not be punished.
The Islamic process for verifying adultery is very cautious simply because it is such a serious crime of which to accuse someone. In fact, it is a very big sin in Islam to falsely accuse someone of adultery, and the accuser is held accountable for slander under Islamic Law. Islam has discussed all aspects of adultery and fornication from defining the terms to explaining how it is proven and how one is punished for them. In all the texts and historical references we have available to us, it is never mentioned that a woman must bleed in order to prove her virginity or that there are any physical signs of virginity (such as an intact hymen) of which we should be aware. We only know that it is prohibited to accuse another human being of illegal sexual intercourse without having sufficient proof of that as described above. If a Muslim woman (or man, by the way) is truly not a virgin and she chooses to lie about that, then she surely knows that she will face Allah with her lie on the Day of Judgment. This alone is enough to make the vast majority of Muslims abstain from illegal sexual relationships.
Unfortunately, Islamic Law is not applied to its fullest in many of our Islamic nations, and the people who have religious knowledge are not always well coordinated with the people who have scientific or medical knowledge. Even worse, it only takes one or two people in positions of power to give wrong information, and lives are changed forever. This is what is happening in parts of the Muslim world.
I was prompted to write this article after reading a disturbing essay on virginity authored by a well-known Muslim professor in the field of obstetrics and gynecology at a university in Kuwait. (I am not sure whether or not he is also a medical doctor as this is not mentioned on the website where I found his essay. It is, by the way, a very nice website with a lot of useful information about medical ethics in Islam.) In any event, the professor takes it upon himself to say that it is completely false that a hymen may tear when a girl engages in activities such as horseback riding, bicycle riding or gymnastics. He does not give any evidence for that at all, and it does not take much reading between the lines to understand his real message: that some unchaste women who want to conceal their pasts use sports as an excuse for why they do not bleed and that women in general have become less fearful of being identified as non-virgins since science now backs them up and allows them to escape suspicion of immoral behavior.
But it is still not obvious to many. The professor also writes that gynecologists are generally wary of examining single women for fear of breaking the hymen and often do pelvic examinations per rectum. Women who suffer from cryptomenorrhoea (a closed hymen which does not allow for the flow of menstrual blood and results in the blood getting backed up) only get a small incision made in the hymen so the blood can pass rather than having the hymen fully opened. In other words, the health of women is compromised and put at risk just to ensure she will bleed after marriage and prove something Islam never asked her to prove in the first place.
I realized how scary this whole situation can be for women when I read a young woman's question on an Islamic discussion board a few months ago. She wrote:
Assalamua'alaikum dear people
I am a 22 year old muslim sister who is currently looking for a husband. My cultural background is such that people can only tell that you are a virgin if you have a hymen. Scientific fact is that some women don't have a hymen and others break theirs easily.
Although i am a virgin, i am terrified of what my wedding night holds because if there's no hymen (please Allah i hope there is), my family and even my husband (whoever he might be), would doubt my virtue.
Any suggestions or advice for my fears?
A heated debate followed this question with the majority of respondents (mostly Muslims living in the West) suggesting she should not even bother with the accusations of others as they are baseless in Islam. Of course this information is correct but it does not take into account the reality of the consequences a woman may face if she is thought not to be a virgin. When a woman's life is literally at risk in such situations, then she should definitely think about this issue and decide how she will handle it. In fact, all women should think about it because it might not be you in this situation but your daughter, sister or friend one day in the future. Are we (the women) going to allow the misinformation to continue by teaching our daughters how to use animal blood and other false techniques to ensure their husbands see blood, or are we going to take the steps necessary in order to educate men and women both about this very important issue? Apparently, it is not even enough that the husband be educated in the field of obstetrics and gynecology (as evidenced by the professor): a major, widespread effort is needed to combat this deep-rooted ignorance.
Western (non-Muslim) feminists often fail in their efforts to educate other societies about such issues because they approach the situation from the wrong direction, one which Muslims find offensive. They do not take into account the values of the Islamic religion which state that men and women both should be pure at the time of first marriage; rather they often suggest that women should be liberated from this idea and allowed to date and have boyfriends with whom they may choose to be intimate. This idea is unacceptable in Islam, and it should not have a place in the movement to educate Muslims about the nature of the hymen. Instead, the focus should be on scientific facts and on understanding the true Islamic position on this matter.
Another mistake non-Muslims often make is to blame and criticize Islam for the ignorance which can serve to oppress women. We have already seen this in the Western movement to abolish female genital mutilation: in the beginning of this movement the world was informed that this abhorrent practice is an Islamic ritual that Muslim women must undergo as a matter of religious obligation when the fact is that this practice is un-Islamic and has its roots in pre-Islamic African traditions. While some Muslim women are circumcised, it is not because Islam asked them to do that but because they live in a society in which religious knowledge has taken second place to cultural practices. With regards to the hymen issue, it is also wrong to blame Islam (as I have demonstrated in this article), and what's more: this problem is by no means limited to the Islamic world - women in Asia, South America, and even Europe and North America still believe in the myth of the hymen: just ask your mothers and grandmothers.
All Muslims have a responsibility to fight ignorance and oppression. If you are a Muslim, the least you can do to educate others about this issue is to start with your own family...make sure that your sons and daughters both have correct information before they get married. Open the subject with your husbands, mothers, aunts and friends as much as you can within the limits of good taste as it is not always acceptable to discuss such topics openly (depending on the culture.)
If you work in the healthcare industry, find opportunities to educate your patients even if they come to your office for another type of healthcare concern. One way to do this might be to prepare a general package of healthcare pamphlets for each patient, and the hymen can be one of the subjects covered. This way you are not embarrassing or offending anyone, but you are still getting the word out. If you work in a multi-cultural society, do not forget to have the information printed in more than one language.
I thank you all for taking the time to read this lengthy article and I ask that Allah guide us all to the Truth and Beauty of Islam as it is truly a religion and way of life which fights injustice in all its forms.

Source:
www.islamicgarden.com

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

DUBAI- CITY OF THE DEVIL..

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DUBAI- CITY OF THE DEVIL..Have you ever wondered why was Dubai built over night.. In a short span of time a desert land turned into a city.This ofcourse being one of the signs of the end of times as prophesized by the prophet SAW. This city was built by the illuminati. The illuminati utilise symbolism, numerology and architecture as their means of communication.Most of the buildings in Dubai rest on ley lines and energy vortexes and almost all of these buildings are an offering to the the sun god Horus which the illuminati revere and regard as GOD--and there are numerous other buildings that are built in honour of other pharaonic Egyptian as as well babylonian gods. Interesting to note that the dubai dirham is also filled with masonic symbolism, the eye of horus as well as baphomet(THE GOAT THAT REPRESENTS SATAN).
Another interesting point to make as I was reading, is that the illuminati have tried to build these buildings to their Gods as close as possible to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia..WHY? In 2012, their will be a polar shift of the sun with relations to the earth. This could lead to natural disasters any where across the earth thereby destroying cities and important buildings of the illuminati. However, with Mecca being the centre of the earth (zero- magnetism zone) and with the effects of gravity also being very low in this part of the world it is highly unlikely that saudi arabia and countries surrounding it will be affected by any natural disasters. Hence the illuminati chose dubai as the land to put up their buildings as a tribute to their GODS.This bit of information with regards to Saudi Arabia and  Mecca was on NASA's website for a short space of 20 days and was then wiped off..
If you rememeber in Babylonian and Pharaonic times, the people of that time challenged the prophets regarding GOD. As mentioned in the Quraan, the Pharaoh asked Moosa AS let us see your God..They were so ignorant to try and create a long steps ladder going into the air to find GOD. Well in modern day these same ignorant Babylonian ideologies are being adopted by the illuminati. Almost all the skyscrapers in Dubai are a tribute to a "GOD" and because they tower high above the ground, it symbolises as though this fake god is looking over civilisation. Just as in previous times the ignorant illuminati that ofcourse worship satan are challenging GOD in every possible way from building rockets called "THE CHALLENGER' to building malls in Dubai called " ALWAFI MALL" Wafi meaning faithful.. Looking at the architecture of the wall its is obvious that this mall was designed to be faithful to PHARAONIC GODS...The rocket named "THE CHALLENGER" was built to challenge GOD hence the name. However, a few seconds after take off it blew up  in mid air after billions of dollars was utilised on its development. GOD IS, AND WILL ALWAYS BE THE MOST POWERFUL AND VERILY HE HAS THE POWER OVER ALL THINGS...
So next time you in Dubai.. take some time out to notice and view the creepy masonic architecture of most of the buildings.. The symbolism is everywhere... everywhere you turn, you are bound to find a symbol or two....







Monday, June 6, 2011

Discrimination against Saudi Arabians


Saudi Arabians face discrimination even inside their own land. Look no further than the expat Western compounds. These compounds run as a colonial state . Many of the Western compounds will not rent homes to Saudis as these compounds are meant for expatriates. Many compounds prohibit Saudi nationals from entrée.

The western compounds which do allow Saudi as  "guests" only, will allow entrée if the Saudi has been placed in advance on a visitor list –and- arrives in western look.The man may be prohibited from wearing a shemagh and abayas are not allowed there.

If you insist on wearing the scarf or your shemagh in the western compound they might ask you to take your stuff and just go...if you refused they can throw you out. I recall visiting a friend at Cordoba compound a few months ago and being a muhajiba (a woman who wears scarf) it was very uncomfortable frequenting the compound. I was asked to remove my hijaab and my abaya at the entrance of the compound prior to entering the premises.I was amazed that on Muslim land, land that the Prophet (saw) walked on, a land where Islam was born, that I was asked to remove my headscarf simply because the "western" people in the compound were not happy with the abaya and headscarf. It is quite ironical as well that the world thinks that there is a ban on alcohol in Saudi Arabia. This is simply a facade. The reality of the situation is quite different. Alcohol is freely available in all western compounds and what happens within the compound itself in terms of parties is quite shocking. If Saudi Arabia was truly a Muslim country the advocation of alcohol within the compunds would not be allowed according to proper Shariah law.In my opinion, if western people are not happy with the laws of a country then they should stay out of it,simple. France has banned the headscarf, and now Belgium is next in line to implement that policy which of course would be strictly adhered to according to those countries constitutions respectively. It is about time that all Muslim countries implement proper shariah law based on the Quran that all residents of the country should adhere to whether the resident is Muslim or non -Muslim. Muslims travelling to France for example would respect the newly implemented hijaab law and likewise foreigners residing in Saudi should learn  to respect the laws of this country or leave. The Saudi government is at the moment short of an estimated one million homes for its citizens and yet it continues to build state of the art compounds for western foreigners. The system simply doesn't make sense at all.

The majority of Saudis treat their domestic workers fairly well and many consider them as one of the family. Now there has been instances where some employers have abused their maids or drivers. But the media have taken these individual cases and made them huge international news across the globe portraying all Saudi citizens as barbaric, uncivilized monsters. Now let us look at the flip side of things.

Some of the foreign employees commit many crimes against this country like theft, fraud and counterfeiting of all kinds, killing and raping  children of their employers!!!.Those criminals usually run away and when caught they only receive a symbolic punishment then considered as illegal immigrants and sent back to their countries from where they return after less than a month with totally different identity!!!!.

There are two cases regarding babies  that have reached the local media this year. One baby was killed by rat poison and the other was killed by strangulation at the hand of their foreign nannies. When Saudi Arabia tried to implement laws towards them, some of world leaders spoke to the king to prevent that.
My colleague, brother Latif had his car stolen a few weeks ago. A few days ago his car was recovered and thirty foreigners were arrested for running a car syndicate whereby luxury cars were being stolen and sent out of the country to be sold abroad in other countries.The punishment for stealing is cutting of the hands which is according to Shariah law and which the "west" finds barbaric. Hence in America lawlessness such as theft, homicide, kidnap and rape has reached alarming proportions. Yet the illusion created by the American government is a so called big American dream...a perfect society. Saudi Arabia is in general a safe place, far safer than South Africa or any other country that I have visited due to the Shariah law. It is these harsh laws that creates a fear in society and prevents people from committing atrocities against other people, citizens of the country.Now with regards to the thirty foreigners once again, the respective embassies have asked the saudi government to be lenient against the culprits and simply ask them to pay a fine or a penalty for their actions. Why should the government tolerate such requests? This is the law of the country and the law should be respected. If a Saudi national for example committed a crime in America or Europe for that matter the harshest punishment would be imposed on the perpetrator. The world has seen the atrocities carried out against Arab nationals at Guantanamo Bay and yet the atrocities continue despite human right activists and other countries  raising such concerns.Many of the jailed inmates have not been given a fair trial to defend themselves. The law is the law and I sincerely hope that the 30 expats that have been caught for stealing vehicles across the Kingdom be dealt with according to the laws laid out by Sharia.

The discrimination against Saudi Arabians has been there since a longtime. But after the  attack on the twin towers (which has now been proven to be an inside job by the American government themselves to pave the way for the New world order)the  discrimination against Saudi Arabians has risen to a significant  level  in the U.S and Europe the point where all Saudis are viewed as terrorists.
A colleague of mine returning from the USA after attending a four day conference was severely harassed at the airport. He is a doctor with many degrees behind his name. A well mannered, well educated man from a very high class, intellectual family. He was taken out of the line simply because he is a Saudi and a muslim.According to him, no one else in  the queue was taken out of the line for individual questioning. And yet these same western individuals come to the Middle East and  demand to be treated extra special, way above the people of the county.Absolute Rubbish in my opinion.

Actually last year whilst returning to South africa during the World cup I also faced discrimination at the OR Tambo International airport.I never expected facing this in my own home country, the place of my birth. At the immigrations counter I was told in a very cold mannerism to remove my headscarf. I didnt see the point of doing that as my face was open. Only my hair was covered. I refused to remove my scarf. The man at the counter could clearly see that the  picture in my passport was me in person.I didnt have on a full face cover with just my eyes showing. That would have been a different story all together. When I refused to remove my scarf, I was told "dont you think you Muslim Arabs will have your way in our country". The man at the counter was definitely dumb, as he was holding a South African passport in his hand. I asked to see the manager and senior people at the airport.I demanded an apology and threatened legal action.

Finally,I know that everyone faces racism in the world in one way or another so here I welcome  your  comments on the subject. If you are a Saudi or a South African, have you ever been discriminated against and how? To the rest of the readers did you ever face discrimination in your own country or somewhere else? I would love to read your comments and stories...

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Why Taking a Maid on Vacation is Absurd


Article written by Rasheed Abou-Alsamh 

http://anuncomplicatedmind.blogspot.com/2012/11/canadas-dream-daycare-program.html - picture

I was talking to a female Saudi friend the other day and when I mentioned that I thought it was ridiculous that so many Saudi families took their maids with them on vacation to help take care of their children, she snapped and said: “What’s wrong with that? If they can afford it, why not?”
I  replied that it was n’t a matter of whether or not Saudis can afford to have house help, but that the phenomenon of seeing Saudi families abroad with their maids was symptomatic of a much deeper problem that permeates all of Saudi society, that of helplessness which stems from laziness.
Another Saudi colleague reinforced the lazy characterization of many Saudis by telling me that when she went to the Durrat al-Arous beach resort near Jeddah for five days recently, most of the Saudis there slept the whole day, rising only at 4:30 p.m. to have their  first meal of the day at 5 p.m.
“They spent the whole day sleeping and stayed up the whole night swimming,” she told me.What’s wrong with that, many will ask, especially in the searing heat of summer where it makes sense to limit daytime activities and do things at night when it is cooler?
The truth is that the Saudi generation born after the first oil boom ended in around 1983, is an especially spoiled one. They have grown up with maids and drivers at their beck and call; have been spoiled by parents who gave them everything from expensive clothes to cars to make them happy. This is a generation that hasn’t known the deprivations of the pre-oil boom days when Saudi Arabia was a much poorer nation that did not have many luxuries.
And that is where my critics get me wrong. I’m not begrudging any of the luxuries that Saudis can afford now. Far from it. What I don’t like is to see a nation of spoilt brat men and women who feel that they cannot live without having a foreign maid around to boss around and do their dirty work for them.
“I’ve grown up with maids and I’m used to them making my bed everyday and taking care of me,” the angry friend told me. “When I’m abroad without a maid, I don’t make my bed,” she confessed.
But does Saudi Arabia  really want to be a nation of people who cannot make their own beds, know how to wash their own bathrooms and clothes, or cook their own food just because they can afford to hire poor foreigners to do all of these things for them?
Many Saudis say they treat their house help like a member of their own families, and that their maids love traveling abroad with them as this is the only opportunity they’ll ever have to see the world.
To me that sounds like the colonial master-slave relationship, where some slave owners would treat their slaves kindly, even fathering children with them, but still not setting them free. Being a maid in today’s world is a modern form of slavery in my opinion, especially in this country where the women who come here as maids suffer from culture shock, are often locked up in the houses they live in, and don’t have family and relatives nearby to give them solace and support.
Everything is not bleak on the Saudi front though. We now have Saudi cashiers in supermarkets, working at Starbucks as baristas, and when a colleague of mine  recently renewed his driver’s licence in Jeddah, he was pleasantly surprised at the efficiency of the traffic police, which enabled him to get his new licence within hours.
But the fact remains that Saudi Arabia is still a nation dangerously addicted to foreign labor. When Saudi children are brought up to clean up their own rooms, help their mother in the kitchen, take out the trash and go shopping for food at the supermarket, then we will have a new generation of Saudis that are not spoilt beyond belief, and who most importantly are self-sufficient and not helpless.

Having a maid and driver should be a privilege that we earn with hard work and effort, not considered a right just because we have the wealth that affords us the capability of doing nothing for ourselves and being utterly dependent on someone else to do things for us. Once we manage to change this warped mentality, Saudi Arabia will be on the road to a much brighter and better future. Until then, expect the spoiled brats to reign with their cluelessness which is so disappointing and sad. 


Rasheed Abou-Alsamh is a Saudi-American journalist, writer and blogger. He is an opinion columnist for the Brazilian newspaper O Globo, and a correspondent for Al-Ahram Weekly.
He worked for 20 years as a reporter and senior editor at Arab News in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He was also the deputy opinion editor at The National newspaper in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from 2007-2008. He majored in Political Science at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and currently lives in Brasilia, Brazil.
From 1993 to 2007 he wrote a weekly column called Manila Moods for Arab News and the website of the Philippine Daily InquirerInquirer.net. He worked as a correspondent in Saudi Arabia for Al-Ahram Weekly, the Washington Times, the Christian Science Monitor and the New York Times from 2003 until 2007.

Source:
http://www.rasheedsworld.com/wp/2007/08/why-taking-a-maid-on-vacation-is-

absurd/http://arabnews.com/opinion/editorial/article372534.ece?comments=all

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Islam and the West: Who is the Terrorist?


Article written by the late Kuram Murad
It was not Jerusalem, Baghdad, Sarajevo, Grozny or Charar-e-Sharif. It was Oklahoma city, situated at the heart of the USA. A powerful car-bomb of thousands of pounds exploded on 19 April in the centre of the city. It shook buildings as far away as 30 miles and reduced 91- story huge complex housing government offices to rubble. The pile up of charred bodies (137 could be retrieved, and more than 60 burnt to ashes), the scattered limbs of children, their bleeding bodies and heart rending cries presented a ravishing scene and it seemed as if a scene from formerly mentioned cities had been repeated there.
 
"I had seen all this happening in Sarajevo but could not even imagine of witnessing all this here in America", said one eye witness. The fact, however, is that calamities of even hundreds of Oklahomas put together can not equal the atrocities being committed since long in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Grozny all of which is witnessed silently (and perhaps with satisfaction) by America and Europe. According to the weekly Newsweek, "the misunderstanding that we are safe at least at our home, has been buried forever under the debris of this sabotaged building in the heart of America". Even without the tragedy of Oklahoma, there was little room for such a wishful thinking in America whose citizens exchange heavy fire in their infightings that result in the killing of 22 thousand innocent civilians annually, where a zealot starts indiscriminate shooting all of a sudden and kills dozens of people without any reason, where government is unable to check this wide-spread use of fire arms. Yet, at the same time it plays policeman of the world whose energies and activities are aimed at efforts to deprive Muslim countries from not only of nuclear weapons but also of all conventional arms. 

Delusion of the West
The Americans as well as the Europeans, since long, have made themselves to believe that they are so civilized and protectors of human rights that it is simply impossible to commit any terrorist activities. Only ‘outsiders’ do it. It is clear which ‘outsiders’ they mean. This kind of thinking has taken such a complete control of them that when the news of the Oklahoma went around, the common American immediately suspected Muslims to be behind this act of terrorism. Why? Obviously because their leaders and media have made them into believing that no one else than those ‘born in the Middle East’, Arabs and Islamic fundamentalists, could commit such acts. Those who hold responsible positions started issuing ‘decrees’ over TV, Radio and in the press. Though without any evidence, they talked about "beards" and "black hair" of the accused. An innocent Muslim, an Arab-American, was subsequently arrested at London airport and extradited to USA.
As a result there was an outrage against Muslims and hatred against them assumed new proportions. Muslim faced threats at mosques and at places of residence. Their friends turned away. There were slanderous outbursts along roadsides branding them as ‘child killers’. All this did not fall under the category of terrorism as is described by America. The outcome was, however, the one which only terrorism could produce. All Muslims, Americans as well as immigrants, remained in a state of harassment till the arrest of the ‘real’ culprit. Who was it? A purely white and a native American, formerly a soldier who had taken part in operations in Iraq and had killed hundreds of Iraqis even though they had surrendered.
This act of terrorism turned out to be a result neither of a fiery speech of any ‘Sheikh Abdur Rahman’, nor of the planning of any ‘Yusuf Ramzi’. Nor was it an act of some individual, a brown man from Middle East, a fundamentalist. It was not even a protest or reaction of an oppressed against continued imposition of cruel and dictatorial regimes in the Muslim world, establishment of a Jewish state, Israel, at the heart of the Muslim land, displacement of Palestinians, burning and burying alive of thousands of troops in Iraq, shooting down of the Iranian plane, sabotaging the democratic revolution in Algeria or preventing Muslim societies from adopting Islamic way of life. It was not due to poverty or economic retardation, either. It was not instigated by Iran which calls USA "the biggest Satan" and whom USA has declared the most terrorist state of the world. It was also not done on the behest of any of the other four Muslim countries _ Sudan, Libya, Iraq, Syria _ about whom USA annually completes the formality of declaring terrorist states.
It was also clear that the culprit was neither alone nor he suffered from mental disorders. They were not a few but hundreds of thousands of people, associated in a network in 30 states, organized and armed to the tooth and nail. They were educated and were not illiterate; civilized and white, not black or brown. They were using computers and internet and publishing booklets since long to propagate their ideas and techniques of bomb-making and terrorism. These people called their government ‘big Satan’ and regarded it as the foremost enemy of their rights and freedom. They declared it ‘beast like’ because of its tyranny and oppression. And a government which is bent upon rounding up ‘Yusuf Ramzis’ around the world and their extradition to America is either oblivious of these people or ignoring them.
This is the story of what the US claims to be the biggest terrorist act on its soil. However, it can be termed as the biggest act of terrorism only when we do not open the chapters of history since the arrival of Columbus till the tragedy in Oklahoma which relate stories of oppression, subjugation: racial exploitation of the Red-Indians, their ethnic ‘cleansing’, and their expulsion to ‘protected areas’; burning alive of the blacks by racist organizations like Kuklux Klan. The Oklahoma tragedy, however, made one thing quite clear that though it is in the forefront of the campaign to declare Muslims and their countries as terrorists, the US itself is harboring a large number of terrorists on its own soil.
Once the identity of culprits was established, the misconception that only Muslims carry out such acts of terrorism should have been buried in Oklahoma. Propaganda against Muslims and Islam should have been stopped and those responsible for such vicious campaign should have begged apology from Muslims all over the world in general and the Muslims in America in particular. But this did not happen, nor is it going to happen. Continuous pumping into the balloon of ‘Islamic terrorism’ is a political necessity. The government and the media will, therefore, continue to follow the beaten path.
What would have been the situation if the culprits were Muslims? How the West would react if Muslims are found responsible for an Oklahoma-like incident in future? Even the imagination of this is dreadful. Such be the case, the hell would be let loose on Muslims as had been let loose to Sikhs in India after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, or is being meted out to Muslims in India and in Bosnia, or had been done with the Jews in Europe, or is being done in Rwanda.
These dreadful possibilities are not imaginary. If the mood of the American society suddenly turned against Muslims after the Oklahoma tragedy, there is nothing strange in it. There was nothing strange either when mood of the West was bitter for Muslims during the Gulf war (as has been analysed by weekly Time) _ though nearly all Muslim rulers sided with the US for crushing a Muslim country. This all is because the picture of the Muslims, for political reasons, has been so painted in the West that a feeling of hatred and fear has become a part of their collective psyche.
That is why, Washington Post’s Columnist Stephen Rosefield had the audacity to say "yes, Muslims were hastily held responsible. This is despicable and dangerous. Yes, I admit that the first thought that came to my mind was also that it was an act of Muslims. But our such a reaction is not the outcome of any ignoble prejudices. This is not an issue of the picture of Islam. It is based on facts [i.e. fault lies with the Muslims]. Muslims indulge in acts of terrorism, consider it as legitimate and Muslim governments back terrorist activities. We cannot close our eyes in the name of friendship and fairplay. Though it is now known that the Americans too can be terrorists, [what is different with us is that]our government is against them." [In subdued words, he admits] "yes, our government should desist from acts of unlawful killings abroad which are termed as acts of terrorism and which damage our moral reputation." (daily The News, April 30, 1995)
The Western Dualism
The big question is: What is the reality? While adamantly raising this question about Jesus Christ, Roman ruler Pontess Pilot had ordered his crucification. Perhaps today’s successors of the Roman rulers have decided to crucify Muslims and Islam after holding them responsible for terrorism.
It is difficult to define terrorism and what constitutes it. This ambiguity is being exploited by the powerful countries. A lot of hue and cry was raised about ambiguity in the blasphemy law and the German Chancellor chose to himself raise the issue during his meetings with the Pakistani rulers. It is worth noting that though nobody has so far been punished under this law, a full-blown campaign against the law is on. Terrorism is really a strange crime for which not only the individuals but the whole nations and followers of a religion are being targeted and victimised; deceitful and fraudulent methods are employed to hijack and arrest the accused (which itself is terrorism), and on the other hand there is no definition for it under any law. Neither is it a crime under any international law nor any punishment is prescribed for it (Shukre, 1991). According to the author of the most authentic book on this subject, the definition of terrorism is not only ambiguous but is non-existent, rather impossible (Lacguer, 1977, p 5). If there is any definition, it is highly controversial because this is not a legal but a political issue. The politically motivated definition is aimed at condemning the accused more than defining the crime itself so that despicable actions against the opponents could be justified and the demands of the biased view and political interests are fulfilled (Rubenstein, 1977).
This self-centred approach teaches that terrorism which serves own interest should be regarded as legitimate while the one which does not serve this purpose is illegitimate and heinous crime. Today’s liberation fighter is tomorrow’s terrorist and today’s terrorist is tomorrow’s Prime Minister [e.g. Afghan Mujahideen, Israeli Prime Minister Ben Gurian, Kenyan President Jomo Kenyata]. If the terrorists are from amongst own ranks, their acts and motives would be viewed with sympathy and efforts are undertaken for the way out and solution. The crime would be considered as of an individual and the community would not be held responsible for it. This would be the attitude when the terrorists are, for instance, Americans. However, when terrorism goes against own interests or the terrorists are political or civilizational adversaries, they would be declared formidable terrorists, liable to severe punishment. Their culture, their religion and whole of their country all would become culprits. This view is adopted when terrorists are found to be from amongst the Muslims.
To achieve their objectives, the powerful countries openly carry out military, economic or political actions against whomever they want and whenever, wherever they like. They target whole of the countries, as America did to Iraq, Panama and Haiti. They drop as many bombs they like, as Israel does in Lebanon and shelled at PLO headquarters in Tunis and Iraqi nuclear installations. American heavy bombardment on a small Cambodian territory outclassed the bombardment during the Second World War, US also bombed at the residential areas of Tripoli and Ben Ghazi and the residence of Col. Qaddafi. Using their agents in foreign lands, these countries topple governments, as CIA did to Dr. Musadiq’s government in Iran. They can organize homicidal attacks on the heads of states and leaders and get them killed, as they did to Chile’s elected Prime Minister, Alliande, Cuban President Castro, Libyan President Qaddafi, Iranian Speaker Behishti and Prime Minister Ba-Hunar, Lebanon’s Sheikh Fazlullah, Saudi King Faisal and General Zia-ul-Haq of Pakistan. They can force whole of the country, including its women and children, to suffer from protracted hunger and disease, as they are doing in Iraq.
Since the authority of defining terrorism also lies with these powerful countries, they not only manage to keep their actions out of the definition of terrorism despite their being acts of overt state terrorism, they consider them to have been taken in the name of justice and fair-play and for the welfare of the humanity. On the other hand, acts of hijacking, occasional bomb blasts and killings done by the oppressed, who have no other means to register their protest and draw world’s attention to atrocities perpetrated upon them, are zealously projected as the worst forms of terrorism and all efforts are made to rally world support in favour of such a biased propaganda. Therefore, large scale massacre and arson by hundred of thousands of Indian forces in Kashmir, by Russian army in Chechnya, by Israeli forces in Beirut are considered normal and legitimate. Terrorists are Kashmiris, Palestinians, Chechens, and Pakistan if it wants to support the oppressed Kashmiris in their right cause of attaining the right promised to them by the world community.


Muslims Face Discrimination and Cruelty in the West
If the purpose is to find out reality, instead of being captives to illusion, then it is necessary to ascertain as to which extent the lives and properties, religion and places of worship of Muslims living in these very Western countries are safe.
The use of force against and desecration of places of worship and graveyards should be declared as worst form of terrorism. There have been countless incidents of attacks on the mosques and graveyards and throwing of pork in Britain, Germany and other countries of Europe. But here again, the US tops them all. In Yoba town, 150 miles away from San Francisco in California, a beautiful mosque was built in a period of three years at a cost of one million dollars. It took two whole years in obtaining mere permission for its construction. Soon after its completion, inflammable chemicals were sprayed on it on September 01, 1994, and the whole mosque was burnt and reduced to ashes overnight. America fervently propagates incidents of terrorism in other countries and also exerts pressure for condemning such incidents, its Press, TV and Radio, however, did not even bother to report this gruesome incident of arson. It were the Muslims themselves who raised and activated over the issue and the world knew about this tragedy. Neither Governor Peter Wilson nor any other government functionary uttered a single word about this heinous crime. When an inter-state parliamentary delegation of Muslims met with five officials of Foreign Affairs, they simply refused to take notice of the incident. Instead, they complained about the excesses of ‘Muslim extremists’ in Muslim countries. [Had a church been torched in Pakistan or some other Muslim country, then ...]. Earlier, when a Jew terrorist massacred innocent Muslims at al-Khalil mosque in Jerusalem, the response was equally apathetic.
Islam values human life more than the place of worship. Leave aside the series of attacks on Muslim in their homes and on roadside in Britain, Germany, France and Belgium, has any Muslim ‘terrorist’ ever been involved in acts like drowning and putting houses to torch and burning of people alive therein? On the other hand, Muslims living in the countries which campaign against terrorism continue to be the targets of such brutal and heinous crimes. And the media gets absolved of its duty by reporting such acts as incidents of ‘racism’, not terrorism. The victim is shown as a Turk, a Moroccan, not a Muslim.
On May 29, 1993, terrorists torched a Muslim house in Solingen, Germany. Two women and two girls were burnt alive, one jumped out of the window but succumbed to her injuries. This family was settled in Germany for the last 20 years. This was not the first incident of this kind (nor would it be the last!). In November, 1992, fire bombs were thrown at two Muslim houses in Molln, a city near Hamburg. A woman and two girls were burnt alive in their beds and nine persons, though with serious burns, survived. On May 01, 1995, at a rally of presidential candidate Li Pan in Paris, three ‘skinheads’ killed a Moroccan Muslim, Ibrahim, by throwing him into the River Sen and then themselves melted away in the crowd [Had a Christian house been burnt in Pakistan, then...].
What did German Chancellor Kohl do when three Muslim women and five girls were burnt alive? He refused to attend the funeral of the victims of arson in Solingen, nor did he go to their house. In fact he has never visited a Muslim house which has been a victim of such attacks. He does not even like to condemn such acts of violence.
When two Americans were killed in Karachi, America cried hoarse. FBI landed at Karachi and though without proof weekly Time did not feel shy in putting a caption "Islamic terrorism claims two lives." On the other hand, the European governments have failed to protect the Turkish diplomats and centres from Armenian and Kurd terrorism. During two days in June and November 1993, Kurdistan Workers Party carried out 75 terrorist activities a day against the Turks. Armenians too have been involved in similar activities. But both the media and the government have no grudge against or hatred for them, perhaps on the plea that Armenians and Kurds are oppressed. The question is: are Palestinians, Kashmiris and Algerians not oppressed?
Framework for Co-existence and Co-operation
We are not hesitant in admitting that some Muslims were involved, and are involved, in activities which are contrary to the acknowledged and sacrosanct principles of the security of life and property of innocent people, and some of these activities might have been carried out with the abetting of governments. These Muslims are certainly oppressed, weak and wronged, some have been driven out of their own countries and, therefore, are homeless for about half a century, their youths are being killed, women molest and houses burnt. Some are under the subjugation of such rulers who depend on foreign support for the prolongation of their rule, who are guilty of perpetrating oppression as well as plundering the national wealth for their own luxury and for the pleasure of their Western masters. According to the Western philosophy of crime and punishment, all crimes of such people deserve to be declared as legitimate acts. On the other hand we have no hesitation in saying that in the light of Islamic teachings their activities are anti-Islamic and they should refrain from indulging in them. These activities do not serve Islamic cause.
Human life is so precious according to Islam that "murdering an innocent person is just like the massacre of the whole of humanity" (Surah al-Ma’idah). A Muslim is the one who protects others’ life, property and honor through his deeds and speech (Sahih al-Bukhari). This applies equally to both Muslims and non-Muslims. Even if a polytheist (mushrik) asks for protection during Wartime, he has to be provided protection and led to his own place. (Surah al-Tauba). Killing of someone who is asking for peace and reconciliation, is forbidden. Setting a prisoner free is desirable. There is no room for beating him while tied up. Excesses against women, children, the old, the handicapped and the sick and burning of the crops and the factories is not allowed even during the times of war.
We also do not believe in the argument that "your committing a crime sanctions our committing it". Though the activities of Muslims which the West considers as acts of terrorism are, in fact, nothing as compared with similar activities of the West itself, we, however, do not think such a comparison would be of much use here.
We just want to ask the US and the Western rulers, intellectuals and the media to stop the dangerous game of fanning hatred against Islam and the Muslim. The fire they are igniting may even wrap them. They have slyly branded Islam as fundamentalism (which is, in fact, a Christian term) and fundamentalism as terrorism (in other words, a triangle: Islam-Fundamentalism-Terrorism). This slyness, however, is not going to do any good either to themselves or to the world at large. Incidents of poisonous nerve gas in Japanese trains, bomb blasts in World Trade Centre and Oklahoma should suffice to show the extent to which the oppressed and the dedicated to a cause can go. They may not necessarily be Muslims, however.
It is they who try to convince the world that Islam and Muslims are a real threat. In the policy paper of the state department (October, 1985), Robert Oakley writes: indigenous terrorism too is a serious problem. The FBI and the law enforcing agencies would not let it grow out of control [Oklahoma tragedy has exposed how capable they are!]. Real threat of large scale terrorism is, however, from abroad, especially from ‘Moslem’. Out of 52 documentaries telecast by ABC Nightline in 40 months during 1985_1988, 48 were focused on the Middle East. But whenNewsweek reviews the incidents during seven days before the Oklahoma tragedy, it show Muslims’ involvement in only three of the total 13 cases.
As a result of fanning such hatred, the confrontation between West and Islam is getting worse and the hatred for America is spreading among Muslims. Now, this hatred is no more restricted only to the fundamentalists, it has encircled the most liberal and secular intellectuals, journalists and leaders.
Is this a good omen? Is this what America wants?
Muslims can establish good relations with the West on the basis of mutual respect and tolerance. For this, the foremost priority of Muslims is that they have the right to lead their lives in accordance with Islamic teachings. If it is accepted, then well and good. Otherwise, Muslims will not hesitate even in laying down lives in the struggle for having this right. The Muslims living in the West would certainly be well-wishers of their countries and respect the laws in vogue there. Muslims’ second priority would be to get rid of their despotic rulers who are Western agents and dance to the tune of their masters. They would regain their right to use their wealth and resources according to their own free will. They would follow their own model for development. This does not mean that they would necessarily work against Western interests. In today’s world, economic and scientific progress is possible only through co-operation, but the West would have to end its policy of exploitation.
In this framework, if the West does not insist on keeping the Muslims under their political and economic domination the Islamic movements, the fundamentalists and ordinary Muslims can prove good friends of America and the West. They are not ‘sworn enemies’ of America.
We fear if America and the West insisted on their policy of enmity and hatred for Islam and the Muslims, they will achieve nothing except regrets. Mr. Robert Macknamara, the architect of the Vietnam War during Kennedy-Johnson regimes, has recently published his ‘confession of guilt’. After paying the price of 60,000 American and 3,300,000 Vietnamese lives and billions of dollars, he says: alas! our action was a mistake, a big mistake... the reason was that we were totally ignorant of the history, culture and the politics of those people. Lest some other Macknamara has to say the same after paying even more dearly, when opportunities are lost.
We wish America and the West realize their mistaken policies and restructure and revive their relationship with the Muslim World.
Further Reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khurram_Murad