Neocon Pundits Malign American Muslims: All Faiths Must Face their Demons
By Louay Safi, September 9, 2005
Three militant neocon pundits spoke vehemently against the Bush administration’s gesture to include American Muslim leaders in discussions on how to deal with the rising tide of anti-Americanism and to restore the level of trust and support the United States enjoyed prior to the missteps the administration took under the neocons’ urging.Frank Gaffney issued a warning to Karen Hughes, the newly appointed Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy, demanding that she does not attend the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) Convention. Ignoring the false alarm he set in a recent op-ed piece in the Washington Times, Ms. Hughes met with Muslim leaders and discussed her ideas for bridging the deepening divide between the United States and Muslim countries.Gaffney told Hughes point bank: “Don’t go there.” Joel Mowbary, another neocon who is apparently more aware of the tactics of misinformation, gave her the benefit of the doubt, allowing her to make one mistake for one time: “Given that it is highly unlikely Hughes knew exactly what she was walking into, she deserves the benefit of the doubt—this time”Gaffney belongs to a small but vocal group of militant pundits, driven by deep seated hate of Islam and Muslims, and bent on maligning Muslim leaders and organizations in a bid to marginalize and isolate mainstream American Muslims. Gaffney joined two other well known Muslim Bashers, Daniel Pipes and Joel Mowbary, in demonizing ISNA and the leaders of the national Muslim organizations that met Ms. Hughes.Utilizing several conservative publications, including the Washington Times, the trio leveled serious allegations against mainstream Muslim organizations, accusing them of supporting terrorism and promoting radicalism. Using quotes taken out of context, guilt by association, errors of fact, and innuendo, the group has been active in feeding lies to the public and inciting government officials and law enforcement agencies to conduct investigations, and then use these investigations as a basis for further maligning law-abiding and patriot American Muslims.Pipes accused , last year, the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy(CSID) of being “part of the militant Islamist lobby," and contended that it was “well-disguised, and has brought in all the Islamist trends, giving them a patent of respectability."After conducting a thorough investigation of Pipes’s accusations, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) issued a statement that brought out the irresponsible nature of Pipes’s attacks. “The Institute was aware of and took seriously the accusations made against CSID and some of the speakers at the event,” Kay King, the director of Congressional and Public Affairs at USIP wrote. “These allegations were investigated carefully with credible private individuals and U.S. government agencies,” she went on, “and found to be without merit. The public criticism of CSID and the speakers was found to be based on quotes taken out of context, guilt by association, errors of fact, and innuendo.”Gaffney, likewise, used misinformation and error of fact to justify his demands that the Bush administration isolate the most inclusive and mainstream Muslim convention. He contended, in a recent article, that the Senate Finance Committee “listed ISNA as one of 25 American Muslim organizations that ‘finance terrorism and perpetuate violence.’" He, however, failed to disclose that the Finance Committee never found ISNA guilty of such allegations and that his reference relates to a letter sent by the committee chairman and the ranking member on December 22, 2003, asking the IRS to investigate Muslim charities for possible links to terrorist financing. 18 months have lapsed since February 20, 2004, the deadline set for the investigation, with no action, or even a congressional hearing conducted by the Finance Committee on the matter.Mowbary, employing the same tactic of half-truths, quotes taken out of context, and innuendo, cited a Freedom House study that found Saudi publications in twelve mosques—out of 3500 throughout the country—that made bigoted references to followers of other religions. What Mowbary omits is the fact that the Freedom House, responding to complaints by American Muslim leaders of the misleading nature of the report title, stressed that their study was intended to uncover the bigotry of the Saudi publications, and was never intended to implicate US mosques. The Freedom House went a step further and invited two of ISNA leaders to a meeting for consultation on its report and to explore the question of religious extremism.These shameless attempts by Gaffney, Mowbary, and Pipes to malign mainstream Muslim organizations and leaders are not driven by rational and objective considerations, but by paranoia, prejudice, and irrational fear of Islam and Muslims. Such irrational and emotional anti-Muslim postures can only confuse the pubic and confound the fight on terrorism with the fight on Islam, and hence plays to the hands of the anti-American pundits who thrive on the missteps, and counterproductive actions and postures, urged by Gaffney and his ilk.Mainstream American Muslims have already taken a principled and firm position against the senseless killings of unarmed and defenseless civilians. But their ability to succeed in drying the swamp of extremism that feeds into terrorist attacks can only succeed if the Jewish and Christian communities confront their bigots and extremists, and dry the ponds of bigotry in their midst.It is heartening to realize that most Americans are able to see through the militant pundits’ paranoia and bigotry, as Karen Hughes has amply demonstrated when she ignored the false alarm they set off on the eve of her meeting with Muslim leaders during ISNA convention.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Friday, September 09, 2005
Muslim Thai Army Chief Vows Soft Approach
BANGKOK, September 9, 2005 – Thailand's first Muslim army chief vowed Friday, September 9, to employ a softer approach, not soldiers, in dealing with unrest in the predominantly Muslim South.
Thailand Thursday, September 8, named Sonthi as its new army chief, the first-ever such move in the overwhelmingly Buddhist country to have a Muslim assume the post.
Sonthi, a Vietnam War veteran, said military operations in the turbulent Muslim south had to change from combat to a focus on psychological and intelligence work.
"Mass psychology comes first for the work of special forces, therefore my philosophy is a victory without a combat."The Muslim commander, who will assume office in October 1, will have two years in office before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 60.
The Muslim commander said he would approach Muslim civilians in the South to have their trust in an effort to help quell unrest in the area.
"In the future, our troops must be able to give them warmth and friendliness to give people confidence that they can trust us, then the situation will improve," he said.
Sonthi, however, ruled out the possibility of daily violence in the South would vanish in the near future.
The Thai government has declared emergency rule across the south, once an independent Muslim sultanate, under a decree rubber-stamped by a hastily convened cabinet meeting on July 15.
The controversial measure grants Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra the power to impose curfews, censor news, ban public meetings, tap phones and hold suspects without charge for up to 30 days.
Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist nation but Muslims make up about five percent of the population and mostly live in the five southern provinces bordering Malaysia.
Sonthi maintained that the Thai army needs to change military tactics in the south to deal with a kind of unrest the Thai army had not dealt with before."Our troop deployments in the south have been designed to fight in World War Two or communist guerrillas during the Cold War, but now we need many state agencies to help put all these jigsaw pieces together to solve the problem," Sonthi said.
Thai national rights watchdog has accused the army of "violent breaches of human rights" against Muslims in the south.The International Crisis Group (ICG) stressed on Thursday, May 19, that the Thai government's failure to address injustices and open a genuine dialogue with Muslim leaders in the south is the real reason behind unrest in the country.
BANGKOK, September 9, 2005 – Thailand's first Muslim army chief vowed Friday, September 9, to employ a softer approach, not soldiers, in dealing with unrest in the predominantly Muslim South.
Thailand Thursday, September 8, named Sonthi as its new army chief, the first-ever such move in the overwhelmingly Buddhist country to have a Muslim assume the post.
Sonthi, a Vietnam War veteran, said military operations in the turbulent Muslim south had to change from combat to a focus on psychological and intelligence work.
"Mass psychology comes first for the work of special forces, therefore my philosophy is a victory without a combat."The Muslim commander, who will assume office in October 1, will have two years in office before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 60.
The Muslim commander said he would approach Muslim civilians in the South to have their trust in an effort to help quell unrest in the area.
"In the future, our troops must be able to give them warmth and friendliness to give people confidence that they can trust us, then the situation will improve," he said.
Sonthi, however, ruled out the possibility of daily violence in the South would vanish in the near future.
The Thai government has declared emergency rule across the south, once an independent Muslim sultanate, under a decree rubber-stamped by a hastily convened cabinet meeting on July 15.
The controversial measure grants Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra the power to impose curfews, censor news, ban public meetings, tap phones and hold suspects without charge for up to 30 days.
Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist nation but Muslims make up about five percent of the population and mostly live in the five southern provinces bordering Malaysia.
Sonthi maintained that the Thai army needs to change military tactics in the south to deal with a kind of unrest the Thai army had not dealt with before."Our troop deployments in the south have been designed to fight in World War Two or communist guerrillas during the Cold War, but now we need many state agencies to help put all these jigsaw pieces together to solve the problem," Sonthi said.
Thai national rights watchdog has accused the army of "violent breaches of human rights" against Muslims in the south.The International Crisis Group (ICG) stressed on Thursday, May 19, that the Thai government's failure to address injustices and open a genuine dialogue with Muslim leaders in the south is the real reason behind unrest in the country.
Sunday, September 04, 2005
POPULATION GROWTH IN NORTHEAST INDIA
By Muhammad Hasibor Rahman
As per 2001 census while the proportion of the Hindu population of the northeastern states of India has shrunk, the share of the Christian and the Muslim population has increased. Relying on this census revelation, the saffron intellectuals of Assam are campaigning through a section of media that the Muslim population of the seven northeast states has increased due to continuous infiltration from Bangladesh, while maintaining silence over the increase of the Christian population. The seven northeastern states are Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.
In Assam percentage of the Hindu population of the state’s total population has fallen from 67.1 in 1991 to 64.9 in 2001. The percentage of the Christians and the Muslims has gone up from 3.3 and 28.4 in 1991 to 3.7 and 30.9 respectively in 2001.
In Arunachal Pradesh while the share of the Hindu population has decreased to 34.6 percent in 2001 from 37.0 percent in 1991, the proportion of the Muslims and the Buddhists has increased to 1.9 percent and 13.0 percent respectively in 2001 from 1.38 percent and 12.9 percent in 1991. The Christians have become 18.7 percent of the state’s total population in 2001.
In Manipur percentage of the Hindus and the Christians has come down from 57.7 and 34.1 in 1991 to 46.0 and 34.0 respectively in 2001, while the percentage of the Muslims has increased from 7.3 in 1991 to 8.8 in 2001.
In Meghalaya the share of the Hindu population has decreased from 14.7 percent in 1991 to 13.3 percent in 2001. In the same period the percentage of the Muslims and the Christians has increased from 3.46 and 64.6 to 4.3 and 70.3 respectively.
In Mizoram while the percentage of the Hindu population has declined from 5.0 in 1991 to 3.6 in 2001, share of the Muslims and Christians has increased from .66 percent and 85.7 percent in 1991 to 1.1 percent and 87.0 percent respectively in 2001.
In Nagaland the percentage of the Hindu population has fallen from 10.1 in 1991 to 7.7 in 2001, while the percentage of the Muslims and the Christians has risen from 1.7 and 87.5 in1991 to 1.8 and 90.0 respectively in 2001.
In Tripura the proportion of the Hindu population has decreased from 86.5 percent in 1991 to 85.6 percent in 2001. The Percentage of the Muslims and the Christians has gone up from 7.1 and 1.68 in 1991 to 8.0 and 3.2 respectively in 2001.
In all northeastern states, except Assam and Manipur, the growth of the Christian population is higher than that of the Muslims during the decade, 1991 - 2001. The Hindu population has decreased in all the seven states of the region. If the increase in the Muslim population is due to infiltration from Bangladesh then increase in the population of the Christians must also be due to infiltration of people from Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries. Similarly, decrease in the Hindu population is to be construed to be due to migration of Hindus to Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. But the increase of the Muslim and Christian population and corresponding decrease of the Hindu population do not suggest movement of population across the international borders but conversion of people from one community to another.
If the reason of high population growth is considered to be due to socio-economic backwardness of people alone, then the rise of the Christian population had not been more than that of the Muslims because the socio-economic condition of the Christians is much better than that of the Muslims in northeast India.
The primary reason of growth of the Christian population in the northeastern region of India is due to conversion of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe to Christianity not infiltration. It is to be noted that Christianity has been the fastest growing religion in northeast India.
The increase in the Muslim population is due to their poor socio-economic status and conversion of non-Muslims to Islam not due to infiltration of Bangladeshis into the region as it is made out to be. Had there been illegal infiltration of Muslims from Bangladesh the rise in the Muslim population of northeast India had been more than the rise in the Christian population. But this is not happened.
The cause of decrease of Hindu Population in northeast India is due to the practice of large-scale female feticide among them because of their dislike to female children and migration of Hindi and Bengali speaking Hindu people to outside the region because of violence perpetrated against them from time to time. The anti Marwari violence of 1968, the anti-Bengali violence of 70th and 80th as well as anti-Bihari riots of 2003 in Assam caused migration of a large number of people from Assam to other Indian states. Another reason of fall of Hindu population is due to assertion of the Buddhists, the Jains and so on as the minority community distinct from Hindus. The conversion of members of lower caste Hindus to Christianity also contributes to the reduction in the Hindu population.
The census and other official statistics available do not indicate presence of Bangladeshi Muslims in Assam and other northeastern states but that of the non-Muslim illegal migrants. The issue of Muslim illegal migrants exists only in the media reports and in the propaganda of the communal forces. 0n 25th December 2004 while disclosing that Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil has asked all states to identify and enlist the names of illegal migrants in its news broadcast at night, Doordarshan has shown a video footage showing some poor women engaged in repairing a PWD road and some poor men in work in a building construction site intending to create an impression in the mind of the viewers that these poor men and women are illegal migrants. The men and women labourers belonging to all religious and lingual communities are seen working in road and building construction sites in every nock and corner of India. It is not clear whether the DD news producer, editor etc. wanted to level all the poor labourers working in different construction sites in India as illegal migrants or the Muslim labourers alone to deprive them to earn their living by showing them as foreigners. But it is obvious that a section of print and electronic media of secular India are playing a vital role in recent years to keep the foreigners issue alive to divide the Indians on communal line to serve the vested interests of the chauvinistic and fascists forces.
It is now established fact that with the improvement of socio-economic status and standard of living the reproductive power of the people diminishes. Instead of removing illiteracy and poverty of the Indian Muslims, dropping their names from the voter list and deporting them from the country to Bangladesh branding them illegal migrants to reduce their number in India particularly in Assam to satisfy chauvinistic elements of our population would create a very unfortunate situation. The theory of the presence of a large number Bangladeshi Muslims in the northeastern region of India, particularly in Assam is nothing but figment of the saffron minds that breed and spread hatred, anger and ill-will against the Muslims and their religion through the media sympathetic to their cause.
As per 2001 census while the proportion of the Hindu population of the northeastern states of India has shrunk, the share of the Christian and the Muslim population has increased. Relying on this census revelation, the saffron intellectuals of Assam are campaigning through a section of media that the Muslim population of the seven northeast states has increased due to continuous infiltration from Bangladesh, while maintaining silence over the increase of the Christian population. The seven northeastern states are Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.
In Assam percentage of the Hindu population of the state’s total population has fallen from 67.1 in 1991 to 64.9 in 2001. The percentage of the Christians and the Muslims has gone up from 3.3 and 28.4 in 1991 to 3.7 and 30.9 respectively in 2001.
In Arunachal Pradesh while the share of the Hindu population has decreased to 34.6 percent in 2001 from 37.0 percent in 1991, the proportion of the Muslims and the Buddhists has increased to 1.9 percent and 13.0 percent respectively in 2001 from 1.38 percent and 12.9 percent in 1991. The Christians have become 18.7 percent of the state’s total population in 2001.
In Manipur percentage of the Hindus and the Christians has come down from 57.7 and 34.1 in 1991 to 46.0 and 34.0 respectively in 2001, while the percentage of the Muslims has increased from 7.3 in 1991 to 8.8 in 2001.
In Meghalaya the share of the Hindu population has decreased from 14.7 percent in 1991 to 13.3 percent in 2001. In the same period the percentage of the Muslims and the Christians has increased from 3.46 and 64.6 to 4.3 and 70.3 respectively.
In Mizoram while the percentage of the Hindu population has declined from 5.0 in 1991 to 3.6 in 2001, share of the Muslims and Christians has increased from .66 percent and 85.7 percent in 1991 to 1.1 percent and 87.0 percent respectively in 2001.
In Nagaland the percentage of the Hindu population has fallen from 10.1 in 1991 to 7.7 in 2001, while the percentage of the Muslims and the Christians has risen from 1.7 and 87.5 in1991 to 1.8 and 90.0 respectively in 2001.
In Tripura the proportion of the Hindu population has decreased from 86.5 percent in 1991 to 85.6 percent in 2001. The Percentage of the Muslims and the Christians has gone up from 7.1 and 1.68 in 1991 to 8.0 and 3.2 respectively in 2001.
In all northeastern states, except Assam and Manipur, the growth of the Christian population is higher than that of the Muslims during the decade, 1991 - 2001. The Hindu population has decreased in all the seven states of the region. If the increase in the Muslim population is due to infiltration from Bangladesh then increase in the population of the Christians must also be due to infiltration of people from Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries. Similarly, decrease in the Hindu population is to be construed to be due to migration of Hindus to Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. But the increase of the Muslim and Christian population and corresponding decrease of the Hindu population do not suggest movement of population across the international borders but conversion of people from one community to another.
If the reason of high population growth is considered to be due to socio-economic backwardness of people alone, then the rise of the Christian population had not been more than that of the Muslims because the socio-economic condition of the Christians is much better than that of the Muslims in northeast India.
The primary reason of growth of the Christian population in the northeastern region of India is due to conversion of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe to Christianity not infiltration. It is to be noted that Christianity has been the fastest growing religion in northeast India.
The increase in the Muslim population is due to their poor socio-economic status and conversion of non-Muslims to Islam not due to infiltration of Bangladeshis into the region as it is made out to be. Had there been illegal infiltration of Muslims from Bangladesh the rise in the Muslim population of northeast India had been more than the rise in the Christian population. But this is not happened.
The cause of decrease of Hindu Population in northeast India is due to the practice of large-scale female feticide among them because of their dislike to female children and migration of Hindi and Bengali speaking Hindu people to outside the region because of violence perpetrated against them from time to time. The anti Marwari violence of 1968, the anti-Bengali violence of 70th and 80th as well as anti-Bihari riots of 2003 in Assam caused migration of a large number of people from Assam to other Indian states. Another reason of fall of Hindu population is due to assertion of the Buddhists, the Jains and so on as the minority community distinct from Hindus. The conversion of members of lower caste Hindus to Christianity also contributes to the reduction in the Hindu population.
The census and other official statistics available do not indicate presence of Bangladeshi Muslims in Assam and other northeastern states but that of the non-Muslim illegal migrants. The issue of Muslim illegal migrants exists only in the media reports and in the propaganda of the communal forces. 0n 25th December 2004 while disclosing that Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil has asked all states to identify and enlist the names of illegal migrants in its news broadcast at night, Doordarshan has shown a video footage showing some poor women engaged in repairing a PWD road and some poor men in work in a building construction site intending to create an impression in the mind of the viewers that these poor men and women are illegal migrants. The men and women labourers belonging to all religious and lingual communities are seen working in road and building construction sites in every nock and corner of India. It is not clear whether the DD news producer, editor etc. wanted to level all the poor labourers working in different construction sites in India as illegal migrants or the Muslim labourers alone to deprive them to earn their living by showing them as foreigners. But it is obvious that a section of print and electronic media of secular India are playing a vital role in recent years to keep the foreigners issue alive to divide the Indians on communal line to serve the vested interests of the chauvinistic and fascists forces.
It is now established fact that with the improvement of socio-economic status and standard of living the reproductive power of the people diminishes. Instead of removing illiteracy and poverty of the Indian Muslims, dropping their names from the voter list and deporting them from the country to Bangladesh branding them illegal migrants to reduce their number in India particularly in Assam to satisfy chauvinistic elements of our population would create a very unfortunate situation. The theory of the presence of a large number Bangladeshi Muslims in the northeastern region of India, particularly in Assam is nothing but figment of the saffron minds that breed and spread hatred, anger and ill-will against the Muslims and their religion through the media sympathetic to their cause.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Stampede…Showdown of Sunni-Shiite Solidarity
BAGHDAD, September 1, 2005 – The tragic stampede that took the lives of almost a 1,000 Shiites Wednesday, has proved to be a crisis that was translated into a chance to highlight communal harmony in the occupied country.
While the huge loss of life made the dark side of the crisis, Sunnis rushed to help and leaders of both sects were quick to accept the fateful accident while blaming US-led occupation for the rise of sectarian divisions, making the bright side of the human tragedy.
Tens of Al-Aazamiya residents, Sunnis and Shiites, did not hesitate in jumping into the Tigris river to save hundreds of women and children, who fell off Al-Aaimmah (Imams) Bridge into the river following the stampede.
Residents of the predominantly-Sunni Aazamiya, which oversees the Tigris river, also used their boats to pick up hundreds of Shiite pilgrims from the river as they were fighting death roaming overhead.
More than 1,000 Iraqi Shiites were killed Wednesday in a stampede off a bridge over the Tigris river in Baghdad.
Thousands of people have attended funerals for some of the hundreds of Shia pilgrims killed in a stampede on a Baghdad bridge during a religious procession.
The mourning process took place on Thursday as criticism mounts against the Shia-led government for failing to prevent the tragedy.
The tragedy highlighted the risks of assembling such large crowds of people in one of the world's most dangerous and unstable countries.
"This is a result of the inadequate performance of the interior and defence ministers which has caused such a loss of life," said Baha al-Aaraji, a Shia lawmaker affiliated to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
"They should be made to stand in front of the National Assembly and be questioned. If it is proven that they have failed to fulfill their responsibilities, they should be dismissed and stand trial," he said.
However, Shia political parties encourage huge turnouts at religious festivals to display the majority sect's power in the new Iraq.
But the huge crowds overtax the ability of police and security services to protect them.
Many of the dead drowned after falling off the Al-Aaimmah bridge into the Tigris river in a surge of panic triggered by rumors that suicide bombers were in the crowd.
The stampede occurred when the crowd were marching to Al-Kadhimiya mosque in Baghdad's Al-Kadhimiya district to commemorate the death of the seventh imam, Musa Al-Kadhim, a revered religious figure among the Shiites.
Funeral tents were erected Thursday in the impoverished Baghdad Shiite suburb of Sadr City for funerals of the victims of the killer stamped.
Urging each others to help the affected Shiites, Al-Aazamiya residents also sped with their private cars to take the injured to Al-Noaman hospital for treatment.
Ambulances could not reach out to pick up the injured Shiites from the Aaimmah bridge where concrete barriers were put by Iraqi security forces as part of tightened security measures in the area.
Many Sunni and Shiite observers and officials put the blame largely with the occupation forces and Iraqi government for not doing enough to organize and secure such huge gatherings of people.
Abbas Al-Rabbi of the Martyr Sadr Office said the US occupation forces were unable to maintain order in the Shiite religious occasions due to their ignorance of the traditions of the Iraqi people.
Sheikh Harith Al-Dari, chairman of the Association of Muslim Scholars, the highest Sunni body in Iraq, said the positive side of the tragedy is that it showed the strong bonds among Iraqis of all religious sects and dealt a heavy blow to inciters and hate-mongers.
Hospitals were filled Wednesday with the sounds of screaming and wailing as disconsolate men and women searched for loved ones.
Television showed heart-rending images of women weeping over the bodies of their dead children in hospitals. Dozens of bodies were strewn across the floor.
To alleviate the burden on hospitals, people of Al-Aazamiya opened doors of their homes for the wounded, especially women and children, to offer immediate help.
Sunni mosques, such as the mosques of Abu Hanifa Al-Noaman and Beshr Al-Hafi, also opened doors to offer help to the injured and move them to hospitals.
"People of Al-Aazamiya helped tens of thousands of Shiite pilgrims who were passing by on their way to commemorate the death of imam Musa Al-Kadhim," said Mohamed Mahrous, a leading public figure in Aazamiya.
He denied the Shiite pilgrims had faced any harassment while passing in the area.
"On the contrary, the people of Al-Aazamiya used to show warming welcome to the Shiite pilgrims and offer them with food and water. That was the case Wednesday."
Political analysts and observers saw the great show of Shiite-Sunni solidarity Wednesday as a strong message the electoral battle to endorse a draft constitution, that highlights federalism, would be a heated one, arguing Sunnis and strong currents of the Shiite sect would be joining hands to give the chart the thumbs down.
BAGHDAD, September 1, 2005 – The tragic stampede that took the lives of almost a 1,000 Shiites Wednesday, has proved to be a crisis that was translated into a chance to highlight communal harmony in the occupied country.
While the huge loss of life made the dark side of the crisis, Sunnis rushed to help and leaders of both sects were quick to accept the fateful accident while blaming US-led occupation for the rise of sectarian divisions, making the bright side of the human tragedy.
Tens of Al-Aazamiya residents, Sunnis and Shiites, did not hesitate in jumping into the Tigris river to save hundreds of women and children, who fell off Al-Aaimmah (Imams) Bridge into the river following the stampede.
Residents of the predominantly-Sunni Aazamiya, which oversees the Tigris river, also used their boats to pick up hundreds of Shiite pilgrims from the river as they were fighting death roaming overhead.
More than 1,000 Iraqi Shiites were killed Wednesday in a stampede off a bridge over the Tigris river in Baghdad.
Thousands of people have attended funerals for some of the hundreds of Shia pilgrims killed in a stampede on a Baghdad bridge during a religious procession.
The mourning process took place on Thursday as criticism mounts against the Shia-led government for failing to prevent the tragedy.
The tragedy highlighted the risks of assembling such large crowds of people in one of the world's most dangerous and unstable countries.
"This is a result of the inadequate performance of the interior and defence ministers which has caused such a loss of life," said Baha al-Aaraji, a Shia lawmaker affiliated to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
"They should be made to stand in front of the National Assembly and be questioned. If it is proven that they have failed to fulfill their responsibilities, they should be dismissed and stand trial," he said.
However, Shia political parties encourage huge turnouts at religious festivals to display the majority sect's power in the new Iraq.
But the huge crowds overtax the ability of police and security services to protect them.
Many of the dead drowned after falling off the Al-Aaimmah bridge into the Tigris river in a surge of panic triggered by rumors that suicide bombers were in the crowd.
The stampede occurred when the crowd were marching to Al-Kadhimiya mosque in Baghdad's Al-Kadhimiya district to commemorate the death of the seventh imam, Musa Al-Kadhim, a revered religious figure among the Shiites.
Funeral tents were erected Thursday in the impoverished Baghdad Shiite suburb of Sadr City for funerals of the victims of the killer stamped.
Urging each others to help the affected Shiites, Al-Aazamiya residents also sped with their private cars to take the injured to Al-Noaman hospital for treatment.
Ambulances could not reach out to pick up the injured Shiites from the Aaimmah bridge where concrete barriers were put by Iraqi security forces as part of tightened security measures in the area.
Many Sunni and Shiite observers and officials put the blame largely with the occupation forces and Iraqi government for not doing enough to organize and secure such huge gatherings of people.
Abbas Al-Rabbi of the Martyr Sadr Office said the US occupation forces were unable to maintain order in the Shiite religious occasions due to their ignorance of the traditions of the Iraqi people.
Sheikh Harith Al-Dari, chairman of the Association of Muslim Scholars, the highest Sunni body in Iraq, said the positive side of the tragedy is that it showed the strong bonds among Iraqis of all religious sects and dealt a heavy blow to inciters and hate-mongers.
Hospitals were filled Wednesday with the sounds of screaming and wailing as disconsolate men and women searched for loved ones.
Television showed heart-rending images of women weeping over the bodies of their dead children in hospitals. Dozens of bodies were strewn across the floor.
To alleviate the burden on hospitals, people of Al-Aazamiya opened doors of their homes for the wounded, especially women and children, to offer immediate help.
Sunni mosques, such as the mosques of Abu Hanifa Al-Noaman and Beshr Al-Hafi, also opened doors to offer help to the injured and move them to hospitals.
"People of Al-Aazamiya helped tens of thousands of Shiite pilgrims who were passing by on their way to commemorate the death of imam Musa Al-Kadhim," said Mohamed Mahrous, a leading public figure in Aazamiya.
He denied the Shiite pilgrims had faced any harassment while passing in the area.
"On the contrary, the people of Al-Aazamiya used to show warming welcome to the Shiite pilgrims and offer them with food and water. That was the case Wednesday."
Political analysts and observers saw the great show of Shiite-Sunni solidarity Wednesday as a strong message the electoral battle to endorse a draft constitution, that highlights federalism, would be a heated one, arguing Sunnis and strong currents of the Shiite sect would be joining hands to give the chart the thumbs down.
Monday, August 29, 2005
ISRAEL TO EVACUATE GAZA " COLLABORATORS"
Sunday 28 August 2005, 15:59 Makka Time, 12:59 GMT
The villagers fear retaliation by local resistance groups
Israeli soldiers are to evacuate 40 collaborators from the southern Gaza Strip for fear they could face reprisals after the army pulls out from the Palestinian territory.
"This is not like the situation of Jewish settlers who had to be dragged out of their homes," Israeli army spokesman Shlomo Dror said on Sunday.
"They are going because they want to leave. The situation is dangerous."
Israel finished uprooting the 8000 Gaza settlers from the occupied territory last Monday and says it will withdraw all of its troops by the middle of next month.
Beduin tribe
The residents of the village of Dahaniya, which lies near the Palestinian refugee camp of Rafah where the resistance group Hamas is popular, have voiced fears that the departure of their Israeli protectors could put their lives in danger.
The village of about 350 people sits in the southeastern tip of the Gaza Strip, where the Palestinian, Israeli and Egyptian borders meet.
Most of the families are beduins who originally lived in Egypt's Sinai peninsula and say they never collaborated against the Palestinians.
After Israel captured the Sinai in the 1967 war, their land was used to build the Jewish settlement of Yamit and the beduins were given land in Dahaniya in exchange.
When the peninsula was returned in 1982 as a result of the Israeli-Egyptian peace deal, the Dahaniya families refused to return to their homes after being labelled as traitors in their home country for accepting the landswap in the first place.
Israeli citizens
Of the 40 families to be transferred, 20 already have Israeli nationality or are married to Israelis while another 20 families are Palestinian and will gain Israeli citizenship upon moving to Israel.
"They are going because they want to leave. The situation is dangerous."
Shlomo Dror,Israeli army spokesman However, a small minority have decided to remain in Gaza.
Dror said some of the residents would be rehoused in towns in southern Israel in an operation which is expected to finish on Monday.
"Houses will be destroyed and the Palestinian Authority will be able to use the land for their own needs," Dror said.
Both Palestinian and Israeli residents will receive compensation packages depending on the number of years they have lived in Dahaniya.
"We made a special effort to ask for more money for this beduin tribe because according to the law there is no compensation for those who don't own land or property," Dror said.
Since the start of the second intifada in September 2000, dozens of Palestinians suspected of collaborating with the Israeli security services have been summarily executed.
The villagers fear retaliation by local resistance groups
Israeli soldiers are to evacuate 40 collaborators from the southern Gaza Strip for fear they could face reprisals after the army pulls out from the Palestinian territory.
"This is not like the situation of Jewish settlers who had to be dragged out of their homes," Israeli army spokesman Shlomo Dror said on Sunday.
"They are going because they want to leave. The situation is dangerous."
Israel finished uprooting the 8000 Gaza settlers from the occupied territory last Monday and says it will withdraw all of its troops by the middle of next month.
Beduin tribe
The residents of the village of Dahaniya, which lies near the Palestinian refugee camp of Rafah where the resistance group Hamas is popular, have voiced fears that the departure of their Israeli protectors could put their lives in danger.
The village of about 350 people sits in the southeastern tip of the Gaza Strip, where the Palestinian, Israeli and Egyptian borders meet.
Most of the families are beduins who originally lived in Egypt's Sinai peninsula and say they never collaborated against the Palestinians.
After Israel captured the Sinai in the 1967 war, their land was used to build the Jewish settlement of Yamit and the beduins were given land in Dahaniya in exchange.
When the peninsula was returned in 1982 as a result of the Israeli-Egyptian peace deal, the Dahaniya families refused to return to their homes after being labelled as traitors in their home country for accepting the landswap in the first place.
Israeli citizens
Of the 40 families to be transferred, 20 already have Israeli nationality or are married to Israelis while another 20 families are Palestinian and will gain Israeli citizenship upon moving to Israel.
"They are going because they want to leave. The situation is dangerous."
Shlomo Dror,Israeli army spokesman However, a small minority have decided to remain in Gaza.
Dror said some of the residents would be rehoused in towns in southern Israel in an operation which is expected to finish on Monday.
"Houses will be destroyed and the Palestinian Authority will be able to use the land for their own needs," Dror said.
Both Palestinian and Israeli residents will receive compensation packages depending on the number of years they have lived in Dahaniya.
"We made a special effort to ask for more money for this beduin tribe because according to the law there is no compensation for those who don't own land or property," Dror said.
Since the start of the second intifada in September 2000, dozens of Palestinians suspected of collaborating with the Israeli security services have been summarily executed.
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