Shock and awe

Shock and awe, was seen in Pakistan during the early hours of Saturday 8th October. But, out of all bad comes the good and may be now the two waring countries will sit and talk other then stand and fight. This event has also shown that the sole super power of the mortal world and the only other country created on the basis of religion other than Pakistan, Israel are not so bad. My whole-heartly wish is that this will lead to improvement in the world peace and opening of minds by both sides not just the Israelis and Americans but also by the muslim ummah (population). We as people of the world need to see beyond the iron curtain, be optimistic and hope for the best while we are still alive.

The Enemy Within

So, it happened again. Is this going to be the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end of bombings? That is the question the majority of population of Britain is asking. I myself saw the first bombing as a one off and was hopeful that everything will calm down and the Muslims will not face what the Irish had to face during the time when IRA bombings were prevalent. But after the second bombing (attempted/failed) that hope, that light at the end of the lonesome long dark tunnel is fading away.

The Muslim 'leaders' meet Blair (Ian & Tony) now and then but never ask them the questions that are really going through the minds of the Muslim population. These questions include:
- What cause such crimes?
- What political steps are you (government) going to take to eliminate the causes of such crimes?
- Why is the Muslim community the only one being blamed, why doesn't the government accept any blame for harboring such extreme groups and their members just because they have fled from their own countries and will be tortured there if they return? Well we losing our brothers, sisters, fathers & mothers. Why should be think about such persons' safety when they do not give a damn about ours?

The Muslim 'leaders' (in apostrophes because they were mostly never elected or selected) have never critically commented or questions the events. They have accepted the blame and that's it.

On the other hand there are Muslims who have are in complete denial and are not prepared to accept any amount of blame. That section of the population lives off conspiracy theories and these events have led to brewing and production of many of them.

The largest section of the Muslim population is at the moment totally lost as they do not know who to believe. All sides have made the possibility of living peacefully in UK unbearable for them. They are trying to get on with their everyday work but they do expect to be on the receiving end of any form of backlash. During the past week there have been murmming of possibility of leaving the country that many of us have called home for decades. They see the Muslim 'leaders', the government, the radical groups (who change names more often then we pray in a day) and the media as the part of the problem. The government must ban all such groups and put their members under house arrest. These people do not deserve to be given any air time on the media because they do not speak for the Muslim community in the UK. The Muslim 'leaders' must change their behavior and they must also step down and let the Muslim youth tackle this problem because you ('leaders') are too slow and too confused and too pathetic to think properly...

New York, Madrid and now London

So now it has taken place. The long dreaded event which many did not want to fear. The only thing that can be said is that the Met Police has taken a very calculated step and have not gone the full circle and blamed Al-Qaeda for this event even though it bores their marks. It is best if the population is kept up-to-date but not at the expense of those members of the population which could be targeted for revenge. I truly foresee a very tense time ahead for the muslim population in general if it does become apparent that Al-Qaeda was behind these. It is also a good step because it will give everybody time to cool down and also those who might be involved in these events either directly or indirectly could be left in the dark for some time so that they can be rounded up as easily as possible without giving out much information.

I will just like to end by saying that I hope that the families and friends of those involved are in the best hands and may God bless you all and give you the strength to cope with this tragic event.

I need some sleep

Sorry, guys & gals I been busy during the past month or 2 and have not be able to write. Many things have happened since I left for my work and I have not been able to write even though I had great ideas on some topics of interest in the religious, political and scientific fields but I missed the oppurtunities.

Anyway, I would like to congratulate the son of mr Rafiq Al-Hariri, Saad Al-Hariri in his election win. I hope this will contribute positively to the latest reforms that have been taking place in the lebanese politics. It is my utmost wish to see a democratic mid-east but the norms of democratic ideals must come from inside not from outside [definitely not under the pretext of anti-terror war].

Also, it seems in Iraq the tensions have been increasing between the AMS (Association of Muslim Scholars, a sunni organisation) and the Badr Brigades (a shite militia group mostly responsible for the protection of shite leaders). Muqtada Al-Sadr has taken a wise step and have held a meeting attended by both parties. The sectarian war is not what is needed in that region at this time. Too many civillians have died in the past few months. Too many scholars and religious leaders have died. The Iraqis and the Non-Iraqis need to stop the killing of their own. If resistance is the path that you [the Iraqis] want to go through then at least not kill those that have nothing to do with the occupation and the occupiers must arrest people wisely and at least follow the rules set in the Geneva Convention.

That is enough of political talk for the first post since I have come back. More will follow soon.

To Those Who Fight For Us

This post is dedicated to those who fight for us. The people who risk their lives to protect us (the civilians) either during peace or war. These people who protect us are the same people we have come to despise in Iraq. These same men and women are the backbone of the countries that we live in. I believe that we should not dishonour what they are doing and have done for us but instead its out duty to pressure the authorities that control these men and women into sending them on missions that are humane and rightful. Yes, there may be bad apples among these men and women and they should be dealt with the full force of law. It is imperative that the rulers of the land obey the international law and not send the soldiers to other lands when the majority of the international community doesn’t approve of it. This law breaking (declaring illegal war) leads to more law breaking (POW abuse).

To be a soldier or a fighter is not a game. It requires patients, dedication and above all bravery. This rule applies to soldiers of all the countries around the world. The most common thing that these men and women have is that they are there to fight for the sovereignty of their respective land.

As for an example of the bravery of these soldiers I would just add that a cousin of mine from my extended family about a week ago was badly burnt after a explosion ripped through the lower deck of the navy ship of Pakistan. He could have jumped off the ship as he was on the top deck and wasn’t directly affected by it but instead he went and helped the other navy personal out. During this he was badly burnt and is now in intensive care in a military hospital. This shows that even when they face danger they are still prepared to risk their life to save others. This is the kind of dedication and bravery a person should have. In addition, I would add that it is important that the government of Pakistan launch an official inquiry into this event. This navy vessel was being prepared to leave to world round trip including United Kingdom, United States of America and Saudi Arabia (where the crew was to perform Umra). The inquiry should look at the possibility of sabotage by foreign forces (including friendly and not-so friendly).

It is the duty of the leaders of the land to protect their soldiers from undue harm and to investigate any occurrence of tragic event so that it can be made sure that such events never occur again. The national security of the country is dependent upon these men and women and if they are not protected during peace time then how does the rulers of the land expect the fighters to fight whole heartedly.

The Phantom of Syria

So, Syria has become a country that we all despise due to its alleged involvement in the assassination of Mr Hariri. It is widely believed that Syria was the one responsible for Mr Hariri’s death because Mr Hariri phoned a political friend of his days before his death and told him “Hariri told me something was going to happen and that it is either for you or for me”. On the other hand, I personally believe that Syria must have known of the support that the Hariri family commands among the population of Lebanon and it would have been suicidal for Syria to commit such an atrocity.

Carrying on, with the widely held perception of Syria’s guilt the media and Israel has begun to tune up the tempo. After the recent suicide bombing in Israeli nightclub the media has begun to blame, the Syrian authorities even-though it is widely known that Islamic Jihad is a separate and independent entity. Islamic Jihad’s Syrian office has begun to issue communiqué after the assassination of Dr. Rantisi of Hamas because it is believed that it is safer for them to issue any statements from Syria or Lebanon then from Palestine, majority of which is under the control of Israeli armed forces. In addition, the next big head of Islamic Jihad lives in Syria so it is not surprising that statements are issued from there. This does not mean that Syria controls or guides Islamic Jihad.
Furthermore, it is surprising that Israel declared Syria as the main culprit in the recent atrocity but it has not announced any military or diplomatic response to the crime committed by Syria. Israel it should be noted never forgives anybody who kills its citizens may they be Jews or Arabs. Israel is a country that holds the safety of its citizens as the utmost priority. Therefore, for Israel to not to have declared any military or diplomatic response to Syria means that Syria is not the one responsible. It just means that there is a worldwide conspiracy to make Syria look like a mad dog that is attacking everyone.

The recent news telecasts have begun to be anti-Syrian establishment. It seems that there is a big push by the ‘invisible hand(s)’ for some kind of sanctions or actions on Syria that will inevitably affect the regime. For Syria to come out of the black hole that it is digging for itself by keeping quite and simply denying the allegations is getting very difficult. It is in the interests of the Syrian rulers (especially King Bashir al-Assad) to democratise the current legislature and allow the banned parties to take part in free & fair elections. This will show to the world’s population that Syria is not run through dictatorship or through suppression of freedom of speech.

Life and Death of Rafik Hariri

A businessperson turned politician. He was a very enthusiastic and optimistic leader of Lebanon. As a prime minister of a country, which was once at the heart of mid-east conflict, Mr Hariri changed its fortune around. A country, which owns the west 40 billion dollars as debt, has made great progress economically and politically. A country where the civil war had created such a traumatic scene that even the world wanted to forget it. A country whose rival religious sects were fighting against each other.

When Mr Hariri was given the job of Prime Ministership, he took this task upon himself as a challenge. He played a constructive role during his years as the leader of Lebanon. His determination and excellent contributions were the ones that helped to pave the way for creation of nationally united government. At present, this achievement has lead to the Lebanese parliament having representatives from many different sections of the population. The representatives range from the pro-west and anti-west individuals, as well as people who once were bitter rivals of each other. It was Hariri's personal ambition to see Lebanon as a source of light in the mid-east and not as a war torn country like Afghanistan.

I was watching his funeral procession on Al-Jazeera and I saw resemblance of this procession to the one that took place during the funeral of Yasser Arafat. I believe that there were only two popularly supported in mid-east who sincerely wanted to help their own people. This is the reason for such a show of support for a political figure. How many so-called leaders have passed away in the mid-east but none have had such an emotional funeral processions. This truly shows the amount of trust they had in these two men. I believe this should be a sign to the rest of the leaders of the mid-eastern countries. These leaders should know that in order to gain the love of your people you must do something. A leader is one who is not only trusted by people of same religion as him but also by those of different religions. This world can only go forward if its leaders have the support, love and affection of the whole population and not just by select few. So far, the light at the end of the tunnel exist but it is dimming. This light will not be waiting there for us if we are to sit and wait for our leaders to change. I believe it is about time that we tell our representatives what we really think of them and not what they want to hear from us.