Saturday, March 28, 2009
Other Side of Guantanamo
The horrendous treatment of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay prison often overshadows any other occurrences that may go on there. This link provides one of such other occurrences.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Watch What you Publish about Israel for it may cost you your Job.
The following article was sent to Debbie Ducro, an American-Jewish journalist who worked with the Kansas City Chronicle. Who would have known that publishing it would get her fired?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quest for justice
By Judith Stone
I am a Jew. I was a participant in the Rally for the Right of Return to
Palestine. It was the right thing to do.
I've heard about the European holocaust against the Jews since I was a
small child. I've visited the memorials in Washington, DC and Jerusalem
dedicated to Jewish lives lost and I've cried at the recognition to what
level of atrocity mankind is capable of sinking.
Where are the Jews of conscience? No righteous malice can be held
against the survivors of Hitler's holocaust. These fragments of humanity
were in no position to make choices beyond that of personal survival. We
must not forget that being a survivor or a co-religionist of the victims
of the European Holocaust does not grant dispensation from abiding by
the rules of humanity.
"Never again" as a motto, rings hollow when it means "never again to us
alone." My generation was raised being led to believe that the biblical
land was a vast desert inhabited by a handful of impoverished
Palestinians living with their camels and eking out a living in the
sand. The arrival of the Jews was touted as a tremendous benefit to
these desert dwellers. Golda Meir even assured us that there "is no
Palestinian problem".
We know now this picture wasn't as it was painted. Palestine was a land
filled with people who called it home. There were thriving towns and
villages, schools and hospitals. There were Jews, Christians and
Muslims.
In fact, prior to the occupation, Jews represented a mere seven per cent
of the population and owned three per cent of the land.
Taking the blinders off for a moment, I see a second atrocity
perpetuated by the very people who should be exquisitely sensitive to
the suffering of others. These people knew what it felt like to be
ordered out of your home at gun point and forced to march into the night
to unknown destinations or face execution on the spot. The people who
displaced the Palestinians knew first hand what it means to watch your
home in flames, to surrender everything dear to your heart at a moment's
notice. Bulldozers levelled hundreds of villages, along with the remains
of the village inhabitants, the old and the young. This was nothing new
to the world.
Poland is a vast graveyard of the Jews of Europe. Israel is the final
resting place of the massacred Palestinian people. A short distance from
the memorial to the Jewish children lost to the holocaust in Europe
there is a levelled parking lot. Under this parking lot is what's left
of a once flourishing village and the bodies of men, women and children
whose only crime was taking up needed space and not leaving graciously.
This particular burial marker reads: "Public Parking".
I've talked with Palestinians. I have yet to meet a Palestinian who
hasn't lost a member of their family to the Israeli Shoah, nor a
Palestinian who cannot name a relative or friend languishing under
inhumane conditions in an Israeli prison. Time and time again, Israel is
cited for human rights violations to no avail. On a recent trip to
Israel, I visited the refugee camps inhabited by a people who have
waited 52 years in these 'temporary' camps to go home. Every Palestinian
grandparent can tell you the name of their village, their street, and
where the olive trees were planted. Their grandchildren may never have
been home, but they can tell you where their great-grandfather lies
buried and where the village well stood. The press has fostered the
portrait of the Palestinian terrorist. But the victims who rose up
against human indignity in the Warsaw Ghetto are called heroes. Those
who lost their lives are called martyrs. The Palestinian who tosses a
rock in desperation is a terrorist.
Two years ago I drove through Palestine and watched intricate sprinkler
systems watering lush green lawns of Zionist settlers in their new
condominium complexes, surrounded by armed guards and barbed wire in the
midst of a Palestinian community where there was not adequate water to
drink and the surrounding fields were sandy and dry. University
professor Moshe Zimmerman reported in the Jerusalem Post (30 April,
1995), "The [Jewish] children of Hebron are just like Hitler's youth."
We Jews are suing for restitution, lost wages, compensation for homes,
land, slave labour and back wages in Europe. Am I a traitor of a Jew for
supporting the right of return of the Palestinian refugees to their
birthplace and compensation for what was taken that cannot be returned?
The Jewish dead cannot be brought back to life and neither can the
Palestinian massacred be resurrected. David Ben Gurion said, "Let us not
ignore the truth among ourselves...politically, we are the aggressors
and they defend themselves...The country is theirs, because they inhabit
it, whereas we want to come here and settle down, and in their view we
want to take away from them their country...".
Palestine is a land that has been occupied and emptied of its people.
Its cultural and physical landmarks have been obliterated and replaced
by tidy Hebrew signs. The history of a people was the first thing
eradicated by the occupiers. The history of the indigenous people has
been all but eradicated as though they never existed. And all this has
been hailed by the world as a miraculous act of God. We must recognise
that Israel's existence is not even a question of legality so much as it
is an illegal fait accompli realised through the use of force while
supported by the Western powers. The UN missions directed at Israel in
attempting to correct its violations of have thus far been futile.
In Hertzl's 'The Jewish State' the father of Zionism said: "We must
investigate and take possession of the new Jewish country by means of
every modern expedient." I guess I agree with Ehud Barak ( 3 June 1998)
when he said, "If I were a Palestinian, I'd also join a terror group."
I'd go a step further perhaps. Rather than throwing little stones in
desperation, I'd hurtle a boulder.
Hopefully, somewhere deep inside, every Jew of conscience knows that
this was no war; that this was not G-d's restitution of the holy land to
it's rightful owners. We know that a human atrocity was and continues to
be perpetuated against an innocent people who couldn't come up with the
arms and money to defend themselves against the western powers bent upon
their demise as a people.
We cannot continue to say, "But what were we to do?" Zionism is not
synonymous with Judaism. I wholly support the rally of the right of
return of the Palestinian people.
By Judith Stone
I am a Jew. I was a participant in the Rally for the Right of Return to
Palestine. It was the right thing to do.
I've heard about the European holocaust against the Jews since I was a
small child. I've visited the memorials in Washington, DC and Jerusalem
dedicated to Jewish lives lost and I've cried at the recognition to what
level of atrocity mankind is capable of sinking.
Where are the Jews of conscience? No righteous malice can be held
against the survivors of Hitler's holocaust. These fragments of humanity
were in no position to make choices beyond that of personal survival. We
must not forget that being a survivor or a co-religionist of the victims
of the European Holocaust does not grant dispensation from abiding by
the rules of humanity.
"Never again" as a motto, rings hollow when it means "never again to us
alone." My generation was raised being led to believe that the biblical
land was a vast desert inhabited by a handful of impoverished
Palestinians living with their camels and eking out a living in the
sand. The arrival of the Jews was touted as a tremendous benefit to
these desert dwellers. Golda Meir even assured us that there "is no
Palestinian problem".
We know now this picture wasn't as it was painted. Palestine was a land
filled with people who called it home. There were thriving towns and
villages, schools and hospitals. There were Jews, Christians and
Muslims.
In fact, prior to the occupation, Jews represented a mere seven per cent
of the population and owned three per cent of the land.
Taking the blinders off for a moment, I see a second atrocity
perpetuated by the very people who should be exquisitely sensitive to
the suffering of others. These people knew what it felt like to be
ordered out of your home at gun point and forced to march into the night
to unknown destinations or face execution on the spot. The people who
displaced the Palestinians knew first hand what it means to watch your
home in flames, to surrender everything dear to your heart at a moment's
notice. Bulldozers levelled hundreds of villages, along with the remains
of the village inhabitants, the old and the young. This was nothing new
to the world.
Poland is a vast graveyard of the Jews of Europe. Israel is the final
resting place of the massacred Palestinian people. A short distance from
the memorial to the Jewish children lost to the holocaust in Europe
there is a levelled parking lot. Under this parking lot is what's left
of a once flourishing village and the bodies of men, women and children
whose only crime was taking up needed space and not leaving graciously.
This particular burial marker reads: "Public Parking".
I've talked with Palestinians. I have yet to meet a Palestinian who
hasn't lost a member of their family to the Israeli Shoah, nor a
Palestinian who cannot name a relative or friend languishing under
inhumane conditions in an Israeli prison. Time and time again, Israel is
cited for human rights violations to no avail. On a recent trip to
Israel, I visited the refugee camps inhabited by a people who have
waited 52 years in these 'temporary' camps to go home. Every Palestinian
grandparent can tell you the name of their village, their street, and
where the olive trees were planted. Their grandchildren may never have
been home, but they can tell you where their great-grandfather lies
buried and where the village well stood. The press has fostered the
portrait of the Palestinian terrorist. But the victims who rose up
against human indignity in the Warsaw Ghetto are called heroes. Those
who lost their lives are called martyrs. The Palestinian who tosses a
rock in desperation is a terrorist.
Two years ago I drove through Palestine and watched intricate sprinkler
systems watering lush green lawns of Zionist settlers in their new
condominium complexes, surrounded by armed guards and barbed wire in the
midst of a Palestinian community where there was not adequate water to
drink and the surrounding fields were sandy and dry. University
professor Moshe Zimmerman reported in the Jerusalem Post (30 April,
1995), "The [Jewish] children of Hebron are just like Hitler's youth."
We Jews are suing for restitution, lost wages, compensation for homes,
land, slave labour and back wages in Europe. Am I a traitor of a Jew for
supporting the right of return of the Palestinian refugees to their
birthplace and compensation for what was taken that cannot be returned?
The Jewish dead cannot be brought back to life and neither can the
Palestinian massacred be resurrected. David Ben Gurion said, "Let us not
ignore the truth among ourselves...politically, we are the aggressors
and they defend themselves...The country is theirs, because they inhabit
it, whereas we want to come here and settle down, and in their view we
want to take away from them their country...".
Palestine is a land that has been occupied and emptied of its people.
Its cultural and physical landmarks have been obliterated and replaced
by tidy Hebrew signs. The history of a people was the first thing
eradicated by the occupiers. The history of the indigenous people has
been all but eradicated as though they never existed. And all this has
been hailed by the world as a miraculous act of God. We must recognise
that Israel's existence is not even a question of legality so much as it
is an illegal fait accompli realised through the use of force while
supported by the Western powers. The UN missions directed at Israel in
attempting to correct its violations of have thus far been futile.
In Hertzl's 'The Jewish State' the father of Zionism said: "We must
investigate and take possession of the new Jewish country by means of
every modern expedient." I guess I agree with Ehud Barak ( 3 June 1998)
when he said, "If I were a Palestinian, I'd also join a terror group."
I'd go a step further perhaps. Rather than throwing little stones in
desperation, I'd hurtle a boulder.
Hopefully, somewhere deep inside, every Jew of conscience knows that
this was no war; that this was not G-d's restitution of the holy land to
it's rightful owners. We know that a human atrocity was and continues to
be perpetuated against an innocent people who couldn't come up with the
arms and money to defend themselves against the western powers bent upon
their demise as a people.
We cannot continue to say, "But what were we to do?" Zionism is not
synonymous with Judaism. I wholly support the rally of the right of
return of the Palestinian people.
Monday, August 18, 2008
When is it Convenient to go against 'Prophecy'?
Asslaamu alaikum, wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuhu,
It is known that some Jews and Evangelical Christians provide Biblical justification of the illegal occupation of Jerusalem by Jews. Other parts of the area are being annexed gradually and systematically at will. Many Jews from all over the world are given citizenship on the basis of their Jewish faith, to fill up these occupied lands at the detriment of their Arab neighbors(Christians and Muslims).
Biblical support for these acts is often in reference to Zechariah 8: 7-8 which says; "Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness." Another reference is to Isaiah 43: 5-6 which says; "Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth..." Most of the Jewish immigrants over the years have been Jews with Caucasian background, who are somewhat educated, and can easily adjust to the life in Israel. That sounds very great for prophecies coming to pass.
According to this news article from Newsweek, some Jewish immigrants are not part of the prophecy. The article says of one Ethiopian with Jewish roots, Abe Damamo; "[his] remote village uses donkeys for transportation and has no bathrooms. Damamo has no formal education and speaks no language but his own." It is obvious that it will take some time and resources to integrate this man into a modern Israeli society. The articles also says that "...most Ethiopian immigrants over age 35 go straight onto welfare after reaching Israel..."
Could this be an economically motivated decision to stop Jewish immigrants from migrating to Israel? If the United States, Argentina, and Yemen can produce people of the Jewish faith, why not Ethiopia? If some of these Jews from all over the world can easily adapt to life in Israel, and are granted entry into Israel, why not grant entry to those who find it hard to adapt? The prophecies of the Bible they latch unto when convenient, are now calling on the Israeli government for fulfillment. Is this a racial issue, or is it economical? Either one is an obstruction of 'prophecy.'
Wa Salam.
It is known that some Jews and Evangelical Christians provide Biblical justification of the illegal occupation of Jerusalem by Jews. Other parts of the area are being annexed gradually and systematically at will. Many Jews from all over the world are given citizenship on the basis of their Jewish faith, to fill up these occupied lands at the detriment of their Arab neighbors(Christians and Muslims).
Biblical support for these acts is often in reference to Zechariah 8: 7-8 which says; "Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness." Another reference is to Isaiah 43: 5-6 which says; "Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth..." Most of the Jewish immigrants over the years have been Jews with Caucasian background, who are somewhat educated, and can easily adjust to the life in Israel. That sounds very great for prophecies coming to pass.
According to this news article from Newsweek, some Jewish immigrants are not part of the prophecy. The article says of one Ethiopian with Jewish roots, Abe Damamo; "[his] remote village uses donkeys for transportation and has no bathrooms. Damamo has no formal education and speaks no language but his own." It is obvious that it will take some time and resources to integrate this man into a modern Israeli society. The articles also says that "...most Ethiopian immigrants over age 35 go straight onto welfare after reaching Israel..."
Could this be an economically motivated decision to stop Jewish immigrants from migrating to Israel? If the United States, Argentina, and Yemen can produce people of the Jewish faith, why not Ethiopia? If some of these Jews from all over the world can easily adapt to life in Israel, and are granted entry into Israel, why not grant entry to those who find it hard to adapt? The prophecies of the Bible they latch unto when convenient, are now calling on the Israeli government for fulfillment. Is this a racial issue, or is it economical? Either one is an obstruction of 'prophecy.'
Wa Salam.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Qur'an Contradictions: "How many angels spoke to Mary?"
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuhu.
The perfection of the Qur'an has often been challenged, and skeptics go to far lengths to assert their positions. One of such methods used, is hastily looking for any and everything they are unable to understand in the Qur'an , and calling it a contradiction. Some of these claims mostly go unanswered, largely due to complacence on the part of Muslims, thereby causing antagonists to perpetuate these erroneous claims.
One of such alleged contradictions is the disparity between the translation of Surah Imran(3): 42,45 and Surah Maryam(19): 17. The following are from one of the English translations of The Qur'an:
The perfection of the Qur'an has often been challenged, and skeptics go to far lengths to assert their positions. One of such methods used, is hastily looking for any and everything they are unable to understand in the Qur'an , and calling it a contradiction. Some of these claims mostly go unanswered, largely due to complacence on the part of Muslims, thereby causing antagonists to perpetuate these erroneous claims.
One of such alleged contradictions is the disparity between the translation of Surah Imran(3): 42,45 and Surah Maryam(19): 17. The following are from one of the English translations of The Qur'an:
- 3:42 --AND LO! The angels said: "O Mary! Behold, God has elected thee and made thee pure, and raised thee above all the women of the world.
وَإِذْ قَالَتِ الْمَلاَئِكَةُ يَا مَرْيَمُ إِنَّ اللّهَ اصْطَفَاكِ وَطَهَّرَكِ وَاصْطَفَاكِ عَلَى نِسَاء الْعَالَمِين
- 3:45 --Lo! The angels said: "O Mary! Behold, God sends thee the glad tiding, through a word from Him, [of a son] who shall become known as the Christ Jesus, son of Mary, of great honour in this world and in the life to come, and [shall be] of those who are drawn near unto God.
إِذْ قَالَتِ الْمَلآئِكَةُ يَا مَرْيَمُ إِنَّ اللّهَ يُبَشِّرُكِ بِكَلِمَةٍ مِّنْهُ اسْمُهُ الْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ وَجِيهًا فِالدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةِ وَمِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ
- 19:17-- and kept herself in seclusion from them, whereupon We sent unto her Our angel of revelation, who appeared to her in the shape of a well-made human being.
فَاتَّخَذَتْ مِن دُونِهِمْ حِجَابًا فَأَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْهَا رُوحَنَا فَتَمَثَّلَ لَهَا بَشَرًا سَوِيًّا
Notice, that in Surah 3:42,45, the expression used is "Al Malaaikatu" (الْمَلاَئِكَةُ)
which literally means "the angels" while the expression used in Surah 19: 17 is not angel but "Spirit," "Ruhanaa"(رُوحَنَا)
So, linguistically, there can be no numerical contradiction between two different expressions with two different meanings, especially as these two expressions do not even emphasize number.
Furthermore, the expression "Al Malaaikatu" literally means "the angels." This expression can also take the linguistic pattern that God uses in The Qur'an to refer to Himself. God refers to Himself in the first person plural. This is a general theme in the Qur'an. Anyone who is familiar with the Arabic language instantly realizes the reason for this. "I" is a generic term used by humans in language, but since the status of God is above that of humans, the word "We" is rightly used to denote superior status.
So, when God speaks of particular angels given specific responsibility, like the angel of death, or the angel to whom righteous humans are sent, He refers to them as "Al malaaikatu" denoting a superior status than other angels.
Therefore, "Al Malaaikatu" which in some verses is translated as "the angels," should have been translated as "The Angel." The translation should reflect a proper noun for a superior status, instead of pluralizing the term.
We can see again, that what is often considered as a contradiction is based in part, on careless translations, and more as a result of hasty conclusions on the part of skeptics.
Wa Salam.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Muhammad: "A Fictional Character..."
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuhu,
I recently received the hard copy of this post from a very new acquaintance. This happened after a long and interesting conversation about various topics including religion, philosophy, metaphysics, and occultism.
I recently received the hard copy of this post from a very new acquaintance. This happened after a long and interesting conversation about various topics including religion, philosophy, metaphysics, and occultism.
Without delving into an analysis of the conversation, I would like to address the content of the post. At least, part of the content as the assertions are derived from the same method-- forming a link between expressions in different languages irrespective of exclusivity. The author of the content of the post claims that personalities like Abraham, Moses, Isaac, Ishmael, Jesus, and Muhammad(pbut) are fictional, and gives " the Whites and their offspring" the credit.
According to the post, "Muhammad" is a corruption of "Mu Hap Meht." Even though both expressions may sound alike and an argument of borrowing/corruption may seem plausible to someone who is unaware of both languages(Arabic and Kamit), both expressions have starkly different meanings.
The author of the post says that "Mu Hap Meht" means "waters of the northern Nile." However, "Muhammad" means "one who is praised." These two meanings are clearly different. Muhammad is derived from two expressions; 'Mu' and 'Hamd.' It is evident that even after breaking down both expressions, the root words are not synonymous.
There is proof that Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) did exist and was not just "a fictional character." The Qur'an that was revealed through him is still alive in print and in memory. The people who lived during his time; companions and foes, attest to his existence and noble character.
Wa salam.
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