From Khalid Amayreh in the West Bank
[Khalid Amayreh is one of our StudentConcerns list advisors with degrees in journalism from the U.S. who lives in Palestine with his young family. He contributes to various publications, including Al Jazeera:
http://english.aljazeera.net/HomePage
from which you can get up-to-date news reports including that of the tragic deaths of 600 in the stampede in Baghdad yesterday:
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D9E6B75E-4CA8-4421-8AC6-4525994C3A06.htm
Ed Kent]
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Subject: I wrote this recently
Date: Wed, 31 Aug08 2005 :19: 33+0200
From: Khalid Amayreh
To: FreeMuslims.org
CC: Ali Abunimah, , Ed Kent
Not In My Name
by Khalid Amayreh
August,2005
The latest terrorist attacks in London and Sharm el-Sheikh have rightly raised alarm among Muslims worldwide. Indeed, the callous killing and maiming of innocent people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, is a cause for concern for each and every Muslim.
Watching our great religion being abused by a group of lunatic fanatics and terrorists who claim to be acting in Islam's name and defending Muslim interests is a dead-serious matter that affects the life and future of Muslims around the globe.
In short, the image and reputation of Islam is at stake.
It is true that there is widespread frustration and indignation and anger among Muslims, mainly as a result of the Anglo-American invasion and occupation of Iraq and America's embrace of Israeli oppression and savagery against the Palestinian people.
These are very legitimate grievances, and their persistence will always continue to breed and generate violence, instability and insecurity.
However, the just causes in Iraq and Palestine must never cause us to lose our humanity and moral compass.
There is nothing justifying the bombings in London and Sharm el-Sheikh, neither from the religious nor from the political perspectives.
Religiously, the Islamic Shariah is decidedly against the killing of innocent people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
There are those who would readily argue that Britain was responsible for the killing of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians as well as decades of oppression against Muslims, including the implanting of Zionist Israel in the heart of the Arab world, in Palestine.
This is true. The British have committed monstrous crimes against Muslims, especially Arabs, for over 150 years.
The British shredded the Arab world into sheikhdoms, fiefdoms, kingdoms and sultanates, ruled by despotic tyrants and dynastic rulers who have denied their masses political, civil and even human rights.
Nonetheless, it is wrong and immoral to avenge these British crimes in Iraq and Palestine by detonating bombs aboard buses and in the Metro of London.
The targets of these bombs are innocent of their government policies. In fact, millions of Britons had been taking to the streets in support of Palestine and in protest against their government's complicity in the criminal American invasion of Iraq.
Indeed, Muslims have numerous friends in London, whose standing vis-à-vis the rest of the British people will be made untenable after these bombings.
Besides, the bombings will undoubtedly cause immense harm to Muslims in the West and generate more Islamophobia.
This is not a small matter as years of constructive actions by Muslims in Western societies are being undone by these terrorist acts that are being perpetrated in the name of our religion.
Islam teaches us that no soul shall be made responsible for the burden of another soul. Hence, the killing of innocent Londoners, including probably some Muslims, has nothing to do with true Jihad.
In fact, it's sheer blind terror that is motivated by fanaticism, extremism and ignorance.
The same logic applies to the other nefarious bombings at Sharm el Sheikh on 23 July.
We don't know how the terrorists, if they are Muslim, will face God on the Day of Judgment with so much innocent blood on their hands.
How would they defend their criminal actions before the Almighty? Yes, the Egyptian regime is despotic and repressive and denying its own people their political and human rights.
However, one is prompted to ask if the goal of deposing the Mubarak regime and introducing liberty and democracy to the Egyptian people is served and made more attainable by slaughtering Egyptian bread-winners and Western tourists.
In truth, the opposite is true. The Egyptian regime will use the terrorism issue to further suffocate its people and suppress legitimate dissent.
Having said that, the West should also understand that Muslims alone can't and don't bear full responsibility for these acts.
The West, especially the United States and its poodle, Britain, are responsible for making these acts of terror inevitable and unavoidable.
The West is murdering Muslims in the tens of thousands, occupying and controlling several Muslim countries and sustaining in power morally and politically bankrupt regimes that treat their masses as livestock animals.
The West has also been embracing and sustaining the Nazi-like Israeli occupation of Palestine.
And whenever the tormented and oppressed Palestinians sought redress at the United Nations Security Council, the West, particularly the United States, automatically and routinely used it veto power to make sure that the act of rape in Palestine continue unabated.
Needless to say, this ongoing crime against Muslims will continue to generate desperate reactions from some Muslim quarters.
In conclusion, Muslims have a responsibility to make utmost efforts to stem the tide of extremism within their societies. But the West also has at least an equal responsibility to stop creating the root causes for violence and terror.
Yes, nothing justifies the killing of innocent people. But Western crimes against Muslims, including the scandal of Palestine and the occupation of Iraq, do make these killings inevitable. (end)
--
"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy)
--
Ed Kent 718 -951- 5324(voice mail only) [blind copies]
--
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CollegeConversation
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PeaceEfforts
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EndingPoverty
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/440neighborhood
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StudentConcerns
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AcademicFreedom
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PrivacyRights
http://BlogByEdKent.blogspot.com/
http://www.bloggernews.net/blognews.asp
http://english.aljazeera.net/HomePage
from which you can get up-to-date news reports including that of the tragic deaths of 600 in the stampede in Baghdad yesterday:
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D9E6B75E-4CA8-4421-8AC6-4525994C3A06.htm
Ed Kent]
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Subject: I wrote this recently
Date: Wed, 31 Aug08 2005 :19: 33+0200
From: Khalid Amayreh
To: FreeMuslims.org
CC: Ali Abunimah
Not In My Name
by Khalid Amayreh
August,2005
The latest terrorist attacks in London and Sharm el-Sheikh have rightly raised alarm among Muslims worldwide. Indeed, the callous killing and maiming of innocent people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, is a cause for concern for each and every Muslim.
Watching our great religion being abused by a group of lunatic fanatics and terrorists who claim to be acting in Islam's name and defending Muslim interests is a dead-serious matter that affects the life and future of Muslims around the globe.
In short, the image and reputation of Islam is at stake.
It is true that there is widespread frustration and indignation and anger among Muslims, mainly as a result of the Anglo-American invasion and occupation of Iraq and America's embrace of Israeli oppression and savagery against the Palestinian people.
These are very legitimate grievances, and their persistence will always continue to breed and generate violence, instability and insecurity.
However, the just causes in Iraq and Palestine must never cause us to lose our humanity and moral compass.
There is nothing justifying the bombings in London and Sharm el-Sheikh, neither from the religious nor from the political perspectives.
Religiously, the Islamic Shariah is decidedly against the killing of innocent people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
There are those who would readily argue that Britain was responsible for the killing of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians as well as decades of oppression against Muslims, including the implanting of Zionist Israel in the heart of the Arab world, in Palestine.
This is true. The British have committed monstrous crimes against Muslims, especially Arabs, for over 150 years.
The British shredded the Arab world into sheikhdoms, fiefdoms, kingdoms and sultanates, ruled by despotic tyrants and dynastic rulers who have denied their masses political, civil and even human rights.
Nonetheless, it is wrong and immoral to avenge these British crimes in Iraq and Palestine by detonating bombs aboard buses and in the Metro of London.
The targets of these bombs are innocent of their government policies. In fact, millions of Britons had been taking to the streets in support of Palestine and in protest against their government's complicity in the criminal American invasion of Iraq.
Indeed, Muslims have numerous friends in London, whose standing vis-à-vis the rest of the British people will be made untenable after these bombings.
Besides, the bombings will undoubtedly cause immense harm to Muslims in the West and generate more Islamophobia.
This is not a small matter as years of constructive actions by Muslims in Western societies are being undone by these terrorist acts that are being perpetrated in the name of our religion.
Islam teaches us that no soul shall be made responsible for the burden of another soul. Hence, the killing of innocent Londoners, including probably some Muslims, has nothing to do with true Jihad.
In fact, it's sheer blind terror that is motivated by fanaticism, extremism and ignorance.
The same logic applies to the other nefarious bombings at Sharm el Sheikh on 23 July.
We don't know how the terrorists, if they are Muslim, will face God on the Day of Judgment with so much innocent blood on their hands.
How would they defend their criminal actions before the Almighty? Yes, the Egyptian regime is despotic and repressive and denying its own people their political and human rights.
However, one is prompted to ask if the goal of deposing the Mubarak regime and introducing liberty and democracy to the Egyptian people is served and made more attainable by slaughtering Egyptian bread-winners and Western tourists.
In truth, the opposite is true. The Egyptian regime will use the terrorism issue to further suffocate its people and suppress legitimate dissent.
Having said that, the West should also understand that Muslims alone can't and don't bear full responsibility for these acts.
The West, especially the United States and its poodle, Britain, are responsible for making these acts of terror inevitable and unavoidable.
The West is murdering Muslims in the tens of thousands, occupying and controlling several Muslim countries and sustaining in power morally and politically bankrupt regimes that treat their masses as livestock animals.
The West has also been embracing and sustaining the Nazi-like Israeli occupation of Palestine.
And whenever the tormented and oppressed Palestinians sought redress at the United Nations Security Council, the West, particularly the United States, automatically and routinely used it veto power to make sure that the act of rape in Palestine continue unabated.
Needless to say, this ongoing crime against Muslims will continue to generate desperate reactions from some Muslim quarters.
In conclusion, Muslims have a responsibility to make utmost efforts to stem the tide of extremism within their societies. But the West also has at least an equal responsibility to stop creating the root causes for violence and terror.
Yes, nothing justifies the killing of innocent people. But Western crimes against Muslims, including the scandal of Palestine and the occupation of Iraq, do make these killings inevitable. (end)
--
"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy)
--
Ed Kent 718 -951- 5324(voice mail only) [blind copies]
--
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CollegeConversation
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PeaceEfforts
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EndingPoverty
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/440neighborhood
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StudentConcerns
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AcademicFreedom
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PrivacyRights
http://BlogByEdKent.blogspot.com/
http://www.bloggernews.net/blognews.asp
posted by Ed Kent at 8:03 AM
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