Paris attacks, Islamophobia and ISIS

Many people are exploiting the situation to show their inner bigot. At least try and understand the problem before deciding to go for a third world war or some other solution your genocidal mentality tells you to go for.

ISIS is an offshoot of Al-Qaida in Iraq and Syria.

Not many even bother to question how Al-Qaida was formed. It was created by anti-communism alliance led by NATO to fight against Soviets. We were part of it as non-NATO members but we were not the leading players.

They got stronger when they were joined by disgruntled elements in Iraq who were angry at 2003 USA invasion of Iraq. Again we didn’t ordered or invited the invasion but the blame will some how find its way towards us. I hope the attacks will not make life difficult for minorities living in Europe and other parts of the world. Recent statements on the issue by Tony Blair (PM of United Kingdom during the time of invasion) can give some indication about the start of this ISIS menace.

Imagine if Soviets had started to fund KKK or IRA then they would have turned into uncontrollable monsters too. The solution is to stop creating these monsters in the first place and stop invading countries which results in the destruction of societies. These broken societies with soared up poverty, due to war, end up as breeding grounds for terrorism.

I sympathize with the people of Paris like I sympathize with the people in and with people in all other places who are facing poverty and death as a result of political and military policies not created by them.

People like Donald Trump, Netanyahu and other people who feed on hatred and fear do not want peace as peace does not serve their interests. We need to stand up as human beings to beat both war mongers and terrorists.

For those who want to give it  a religious color, I can only say that if you want to blame a religion then at least develop some understanding of it. Even if you treat all Muslims as your enemies, it’s not a bad idea to do some opposition research.

a)Quranic verse for dealing with enemies:

“O ye who believe! Be steadfast witnesses for Allah in equity, and let not hatred of any people seduce you that ye deal not justly. Deal justly, that is nearer to your duty. Observe your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is Informed of what ye do.” [Al-maeda ,8]

b) Quranic verse prohibiting the murder of innocent human beings:

“For this reason, We decreed for the children of Isra’il that whoever kills a person not in retaliation for a person killed, nor (as a punishment) for spreading disorder on the earth, is as if he has killed the whole of humankind, and whoever saves the life of a person is as if he has saved the life of the whole of humankind. Certainly, Our messengers have come to them with clear signs. Then, after all that, many of them are there to commit excesses on the earth.” [Al-maeda,32]

c)Even in the case where some transgression has been committed against someone, the preferable way is forgiveness:

“The recompense of evil is evil like it. Then the one who forgives and opts for compromise has his reward undertaken by Allah. Surely, He does not like the unjust.” [As-Shura,40]

Another pseudo liberal method: Using sectarian violence in Pakistan issue to downplay Syrian and Burma situation.

Another pseudo liberal method: Using sectarian violence in Pakistan issue to downplay Syrian and Burma situation.
My view : Sectarian violence is a result of unjust policies and war crimes committed by sectarian and social class fascists sitting in so called Pak army and government. People who oppose this war, which has been given sectarian and social-class clash direction, are opposing this war do it for many reasons and one of the main reasons is that this war is promoting sectarian violence.

The people who use sectarian violence issue to undermine Syrian and Burma situation are mostly those who support this fake war on terror. In other words those who oppose this war on terror, Bashar al Assad in Syria and Burma Muslim massacre are those who oppose killings of innocent people whether in drones, military operations or resulting violence/suicide attacks. This policy of only opposing resulting violence and not drones/military operations/Burma killings/Bashar al Assad violence shows that these sectarian and social-class fascists don’t consider others as human beings and only support the human rights of those who they think are humans based on their sectarian and social-class prejudices.

 

Burmese Muslims under threat of extinction–> A thought proviking article by Tariq A. Al-Maeena of Saudi Gazette

We have been hearing some news about the massacre of Muslim minority community going on Burma but due to restrictions on media, not much is coming out. There have been some fake images circulating in the social media but that doesn’t make the real issue fake. Tariq A. Al-Maeena has tried to put some light in his article written for Saudi Gazette.

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Burmese Muslims under threat of extinction

Source : www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20120718130312

Tariq A. Al-Maeena

While most of the media’s attention is focused on Syria, the state of the euro or the US presidential elections, very little is being said about state sponsored ethnic cleansing in Myanmar or Burma.  Perhaps it is because the unfortunate victims happen to be Muslims and there are no strategic gains to be garnered by allying with them.

Ten Burmese Muslims on their way to a spiritual place of worship last month were attacked by a large number of Rakhine Buddhists who butchered and killed them with knives.  Five others escaped.  One man from the village where the attack took place said a mob of ethnic Rakhines set upon the bus carrying the pilgrims and carried out the massacre.

“More than a hundred people beat and killed those people. The residents even torched the bus,” he said, adding that the police arrived but were unable to control the baying crowd. “There are not many people at the scene now, only dead bodies on the road. The senior town residents are trying to comfort the people,” the man added.  The Rakhine Buddhists are also threatening Muslims from the other towns of Rakhine state with the same fate.

There was a lot of fanfare and noise by the West on the repressions by the military regime against its people.  The pressure by Western governments intensified in the form of sanctions against the regime which resulted in the generals allowing a small amount of democracy to creep in.

This also brought notable Burmese activists working for democracy such as Aung San Suu Kyi to the front pages and television screens and calls for the continued democratization of the country.  Amidst this fanfare of publicity, the plight of the minority Muslims somehow failed to attract any headlines or generate any sanctions.

A government statement following the massacre of the Muslims last month which was published in the New Light of Myanmar added more fuel to the burning embers when it warned against “anarchic and lawless” acts, but referred to the victims as “kalar” (blackie), a racial slur used for persons of Indian appearance.

Dozens of people marched in Yangon to protest growing anti-Muslim violence and accused the government of stoking the flames of sectarian tensions. Political leaders and civil society groups appealed for calm and called on the government to issue an apology.

“The newspapers should not stoke this conflict. Are they trying to suggest that one race is more violent than another?” said an MP from the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party.  The state media has since issued a retraction for the use of racially offensive language in its official appeal for calm and urged readers to refer to the victims as “Islamic residents”.

In the past, the Nobel Prize winner and democratic icon Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy have gone to great lengths to avoid discussing the country’s Muslim minority, especially the Rohingyas, for fear of alienating many of their supporters. But following the brutal slayings, which was one more chapter of targeted violence against the Muslim minority, she was compelled to speak out.

Finally breaking her silence, she joined the fray in the debate by calling for the perpetrators to be held to account in accordance with the rule of law. She added that “the majority of the people in a society should have sympathy for the minority.”

“Maybe some people would not like me saying this but I have to say what I must say regardless of whether they like it or not. When you are the majority in a society, then you are the strong party. If you are strong then you must be generous and sympathetic. I would like to see all people in Burma get along with each other regardless of their religion and ethnicity.”

This pattern of violence against the Muslim minority should be brought to light.  The safety and security of all minorities in any society must be guaranteed.

World governments and international human rights organizations that were so focused on the democratization of the Burmese in the past must now focus their attention on saving one of the country’s minorities in the present.

— The author can be reached at talmaeena@aol.com