The Arab Awakening

•  

What is happening in the Middle East? Tariq Ramadan, one of the foremost Muslim intellectuals, calls the events “uprisings”, more permanent than “revolts” but still short of thoroughgoing “revolutions”. So far, Tunisia is the only clear democratising success, and there it remains unclear if the new dispensation will be fundamentally more just than the last.

Half of this slim volume is spent examining whether the uprisings were staged or spontaneous. Ramadan counsels against both the naive view that outside powers are passive observers of events, and the contrary belief that Arab revolutionaries have been mere pawns in the hands of cunning foreign players. Certainly the US and its allies helped to guide events by collaborating with the military hierarchies which removed presidents in Tunisia and Egypt, and by full-scale intervention in Libya – for a variety of obvious reasons. An agreement signed by Libya’s NTC last year, for instance, guaranteed France 3 per cent of future oil exports.

There’s been Gulf and Western hypocrisy over Bahrain, home to Formula One and the US Fifth Fleet, and al-Jazeera’s coverage has been tailored to reflect its Qatari host’s strategic concerns. Then, less convincingly, the social media conspiracy: trainees from 37 countries learned non-violent cyberactivism in Serbia. Google provided satellite access codes to Egyptian activists, but not their Syrian counterparts.

Ramadan pays too much attention to the foreign conspiracy red herring, in part because the “conspiratorial paranoia of those who have lost their faith in the ability of human beings” to make their history necessitates it, but also because, like the media he criticises, he focuses too much on cyberactivists and not on organised labour. Strike actions in Tunisia and Egypt were finally more effective than mass demonstrations.

Ramadan comes into his own as a historian and provoker of ideas. He notes how, in their Western representation, Muslim Arabs have shifted from the benighted, terrorist “other” to the “alter ego of the Western Universal”. He is worried by the Arab internalisation of this false universalism, and of the Orientalist opposition of Islamism and secularism.

Both schools of thought are in crisis. Secularists lack mass support; indeed, “secularism” has become a dirty word in Arabic. Islamism has support but no coherent programme. Its proponents are divided by contentious issues from the rights of women to attitudes to sharia and statehood. Political Islam may be as diverse as political Judaism or Christianity, but is unified by its failure even to claim answers to pressing economic and social crises.

Ramadan blames the ideological void on “the deadening weight of dictatorship” which impoverished “the life of ideas in society”. “Critical, creative economic thinking appears to have deserted the Arab political debate”. Rejecting the superficiality of “Islamic finance”, he calls for a fuller critique of capitalism’s unethical content. More than that: he wants the Arab Muslims to draw upon “cultural … capital” to produce “something new, something original”. He calls for social justice based on the Quranic verse “We have conferred dignity on human beings,” and for an all-encompassing cultural and “intellectual jihad”. He calls for revolution, in other words.

Robin Yassin-Kassab is co-editor of the journal ‘Critical Muslim’

(www.independent.co.uk / 05.05.2012)

‘Israel threatened to take down world in nuclear Armageddon’

Israel is the only regime that has threatened to obliterate all world countries in a “nuclear Armageddon,” if its existence is put in jeopardy, a political analyst tells Press TV.

In a Friday interview, Mark Glenn, from The Crescent and Cross Solidarity movement, lashed out at Israel for its nuclear stockpile, sayingTel Aviv is the only regime that “has threatened to take the entire world down in a nuclear Armageddon in the instance that her precious experiments in Jewish self-rule in the Middle East ceases to materialize.”

“There is no other country in existence today that has basically told the entire world that if we are going to go down we are going to take the rest of the world down with us,” he added.

Even Israel’s most prominent military professor, Martin Van Creveld, has once alluded to such nuclear ambitions by Israel and confirmed that Tel Aviv has several hundred atomic warheads and rockets targeted at all directions — mostly at European capitals — and that Tel Aviv is ready to take the entire world down before the regime itself ceases to exist, Glenn pointed out.

The analyst expressed regret that the nuclear threat from Israel looms over the world, while Tel Aviv continues to use its mainstream media outlets to level allegations against other countries, accusing them of possessing non-civilian nuclear programs.

Israel is widely believed to be the sole possessor of nuclear weapons in the Middle East. Tel Aviv began building its first plutonium and uranium processing facility, Dimona, in the Negev desert in 1958.

Former US President Jimmy Carter has stated that Israel has a nuclear arsenal that includes between 200 and 300 warheads. Decades of recurrent reporting and aerial footage have also established the possession of atomic arms by Israel.

Under its official policy of nuclear ambiguity, Tel Aviv neither confirms nor denies the possession of nukes and refuses to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or allow inspections of its nuclear facilities.

(www.presstv.ir / 05.05.2012)

Reform is Best: Freedom, Democracy, and Security in the Changing Middle East

By Sheikh Salman Al-Oadah at IslamToday.net

Society’s best option is to undergo change and adapt to its ever-changing needs on an ongoing basis. In a good number of countries, people have come up with mechanisms to measure the pulse of society and come up with the appropriate responses. It is as if what the people are saying to each other casually on the street and in private provides a true indication of what is supposed to be taking place.

This task is carried out in the developed world by think tanks and research centers, which give recommendations and advice to decision makers. The studies provided by these institutions go into impressive detail, providing in-depth statistical analysis and graphic representations of the opinions, needs and aspirations of people in society, to ensure that policy reflects the people’s concerns and can respond to changing social needs. The pulse of the street is of paramount concern. This is where the mood of the people is evident. Are they content? Do they feel stifled by their circumstances? Is there widespread dissatisfaction and a sense of alienation – conditions that can erupt in unexpected ways if decision-makers are unmindful or of society’s pulse or unresponsive to its needs.

Karl Marx had expected revolution to occur in the leading capitalist countries, since those were the wealthy countries possessing a large underclass. However, this is not what happened. Instead, the communist revolutions took place in poor agrarian countries like China and Tzarist Russia. The reason why it happened this way is that the leaders of Europe were quick to realize the danger communism posed and gave to the working classes many rights and entitlements, like paid vacation time. They also opened the doors to free expression, which allowed the people to articulate their grievances clearly and openly. In this way, those countries were able to bypass the revolutionary current that had been fomenting among the people.

Despotic regimes, to their own detriment, have a hard time determining the needs of the people and responding to the inevitable changes that take place in society. These regimes fear any kind of change, dreading the possibility of their own obsolescence. Ideally, the time at hand should be invested in, not through token gestures like price controls, loans and salary increases to temporarily pacify the people, or through arresting some minor officials involved in small-scale corruption. Rather, substantial changes are needed that will do away with the underlying causes of social unrest, beginning with loosening the grip on political power as well as the political and economic disenfranchisement of broad swathes of the population, and ending with guaranteeing the people’s political and civil rights, especially that of free speech.

Many people in the world are disillusioned with the regimes under which they live and have zero confidence in their governments’ ability to enact real reform, after so many years of disappointment. Nevertheless, to escape from the present political crisis, it is unavoidable for such counties, among them the Arab states, to move in the direction of greater openness and start making concessions regarding the people’s rights and the rule of law. There needs to be a rethinking of the relationship between the government and the governed, and not the old recipe of repressive crackdowns accompanied by repetitive slogans. The new basis of this relationship needs to be the will of the people, and this requires the assurance of their rights and human dignity.

In the early history of the Muslim Caliphate, the governor of Khorasan, al-Jarrāh ibn Abdullah, wrote to the caliph Umar ibn Abd al-Azīz, saying, “Peace be upon you. The people of Khorasan have become rebellious. They are fit for nothing but the lash and the sword. If the Commander of the Faithful sees fit to allow me to enact such a policy, I will do so.” Umar ibn Abd al-Azīz responded as follows:

فقد بلغني كتابك تذكر فيه أن أهل خراسان قد ساءت رعيتهم، وأنه لا يصلحهم إلا السيف والسوط، فقد كذبت بل يصلحهم العدل والحق فابسط ذلك فيهم، والسلام

I have read your letter wherein you mention that the people of Khorasan have become rebellious and are fit for nothing but the lash and the sword, and wherein you seek my permission to enact such a policy. You have lied. What they are fit for is to receive justice and their rights. Enact that among them; and peace be with you.

What is needed, furthermore, is an acceptance of plurality and tolerance of dissention. These must be taken as a given, as constituting an essential part of a balanced social contract. People have differing needs and aspirations, which need to be brought into harmony in a way that guarantees equal rights to all as well as an equal opportunity for political participation. This social contract is entered into with the willing consent of the parties concerned. As Allah says:

عَن تَرَاضٍ مِّنكُمْ

…with their mutual consent.

[Sūrah al-Nisā 4:29]

It also requires that the conditions and obligations which exist between the government and the governed are respected and honored. Allah commands:

 ا أَوْفُوا بِالْعُقُودِ

Fulfill your contractual agreements.

[Sūrah al-Mā’idah 5:1]

This not only ensures the freedom and rights of the people, but it ensures national security as well, in its most universal sense, which does not favor the security of one small sector of society (generally the rulers) at the expense of everyone else. Sometimes “national security” is used as an excuse to undermine the security of whole ethnic groups, or to strip them of their liberty and rights, or deny them their sanctity as individuals.

At the opposite extreme, revolutionary zeal makes people disregard the importance of national security and stability, postponing these essential matters indefinitely, even at the expense of building a just society. We see this mindset today among the Arab people when they say things like, “Anyone who comes along is better than what we are living under now. We’ve seen enough despotism, humiliation, corruption, and poverty.”

Change, however it comes about, is perceived as a bold new opportunity with the potential to bring the people out of their present quagmire. In truth, the most important element it contains is the role that the people play in determining their own future.

Many people cast doubts upon the history of revolutions, especially those who benefit from the status quo or identify themselves with it. The same can be said for those who see the present situation as a perilous slope, but dread that what comes after it is an abyss. These people are victims of their own despair.

Others entertain doubts of a different kind, by weighing the pros and cons and coming to the conclusion that the short-term venting of frustrations is not worth the very dear price in lives, property, and social cohesion.

However, those who are unwilling to pay the price for change will have to pay the price for refusing to change. There is still a very good opportunity for serious reform, by dealing with people respectfully and with transparency. This is the best option whenever it is possible. There are plenty of good examples around the world to draw lessons from. Canada, for instance, is one of many countries that arrived at democracy without any revolution or war ever taking place.

The strategy of looking at long-term objectives and consequences will have us considering the realization of universal principles like human rights, freedom, justice, and the curbing of corruption in the spirit of reform. When these ideals can be achieved with the least pain and loss, then this is what accords with the teachings and spirit of Islam.

There are those who feel they are immune to change, arguing that their country has endured for decades just as it is. This logic is like that of an old man citing his advanced age as proof that he is immune to death.

(www.faithinallah.org / 05.05.2012)

Fatah: Elections are the only way to achieve partnership

Fayez Abu Atiya.

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Fatah’s spokesman in Gaza on Saturday called on Hamas to allow the Central Elections Commission to work freely in the coastal enclave.

Fayez Abu Atiya said elections were the only way to achieve political partnership, stating that achieving national unity is a key strategic position for the Fatah movement.

The electoral body reopened its Gaza headquarters in January after a two-year closure. Hamas shut down the office in November 2009 saying fair elections could not be held while political activists were threatened by the infighting.

On May 4, 2011, President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah and Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal pledged in Cairo to form a government to prepare for elections within one year, but the parties continue to lead separate governments in the West Bank and Gaza.

(www.maannews.net / 05.05.2012)

Oorlog tegen drugs onthuld als compleet bedrog: Amerikaanse leger bevestigt bewaking en assistentie lucratieve opiumhandel in Afganistan

(Natural News) Afghanistan is op dit moment verreweg de grootste teler en exporteur van opium in de wereld. Dit omvat een marktaandeel van 92 procent van de wereldwijde opiumhandel. Maar wat voor velen een schok kan zijn is, dat het Amerikaanse leger speciaal belast is met het bewaken van de Afghaanse papavervelden, waaruit de opium voort komt, ter bescherming van deze multi miljarden dollarindustrie, die Wall Street, de CIA, MI6 verrijkt en verschillende andere groeperingen die gigantisch van deze illegale drugshandel mee profiteren.

Voor de tragische gebeurtenissen op 11 september 2001 was Afghanistan nauwelijks een wereldspeler in de teelt van papavers, die zowel voor de illegale heroïnehandel als voor de farmaceutisch zuivere morfine geteeld wordt. De Taliban was in feite bezig om de plant actief te vernietigen als onderdeel van een poging om volledig van deze schadelijk plant af te komen, zoals werd gemeld in de Pittsburgh Post-Gazette van 16 februari 2001 in een artikel onder de kop: Naties’ opiumproductie zo goed als uitgeroeid.

CIA verantwoordelijk voor het herstel van de opiumindustrie in Afghanistan, na 11 september
Maar na 11 september 2001 startte het Amerikaanse militair-industrieel complex snel een invasie in Afghanistan en begon met het vergemakkelijken van de herinvoering van de papaverindustrie van dat land. Volgens het United Nations Drug Control Program (UNDCP) – het drugscontroleprogramma van de Verenigde Naties,steeg de opiumteelt in 2002 met 657 procent nadat het Amerikaanse leger onder leiding van de toenmalige president George W. Bush het land binnenviel.

In 2009 meldde The New York Times dat de broer van de huidige President van Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, toen al minstens acht jaar op de ‘loonlijst’ van de CIA stond. Ahmed Wali Karzai speelde een cruciale rol bij de herintroductie van de drugshandel in opium van dat land, die bekend staat als de Gouden Sikkel en de CIA financierde deze onderneming van achter de schermen.

“De drugshandel in de ‘Gouden Sikkel’, die begin jaren ’80 door de CIA gestart werd, blijft beschermd worden door de Amerikaanse Inlichtingendiensten, in samenwerking met de NAVO bezettingsmacht en het Britse leger,” schreef professor Michel Chossudovsky in een rapport uit 2007, voordat onthuld werd dat Ahmed Wali Karzai op de ‘loonlijst’ van de CIA stond. “De opbrengsten van deze lucratieve vele miljarden dollars aan smokkelwaar omvattende handel worden bij westerse banken ondergebracht. Vrijwel de gehele opbrengst komt ten goede aan zakelijke belangen en criminele bendes buiten Afghanistan.

Maar de mainstream media probeert een ander verhaaltje aan het Amerikaanse publiek te verkopen. FOX News bijvoorbeeld, zond in 2010 een propagandabericht uit waarin beweerd werd dat het militaire personeel de Afghaanse papavervelden moet beschermen in plaats van vernietigen, om de lokale bevolking te vriend te houden en een mogelijk ‘veiligheidsrisico’ te vermijden. Verslaggever Geraldo Rivera van FOX News staat in een rapportage schaamteloos te liegen over hoe de papaverboeren financieel gesteund worden door de Taliban, in plaats van de CIA en andere buitenlandse belangen. Je kunt dit nieuwsitem hier zien:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj-b3pB6M7s&feature=player_embedded

Dus, terwijl tienduizenden Amerikanen ieder jaar beschadigde raken door, of overlijden aan een overdosis drugs, afkomstig uit de illegale opiumhandel, en het telen van onschuldige zaken als marihuana en hennep in de Verenigde Staten verboden blijven, bewaken Amerikaanse militairen actief juist die papavervelden in Afghanistan, die de wereldwijde drugshandel bevoorraden.

Er is in dit plaatje iets HEEL ERG MIS!

(www.earth-matters.nl / 05.05.2012)

Anti-Ahmadinejad candidates win big in Iran election

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suffered setbacks in the country’s parliamentary runoff elections.

Tehran, Iran (CNN) – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, alienated from the country’s supreme leader, suffered setbacks in the country’s parliamentary runoff elections Saturday in what could be a sign of things to come in the Islamic republic.

Initial results showed candidates allied with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and critical of Ahmadinejad ahead in the polling.

Sadegh Zibakalam, a professor of political science at Tehran University, said the election was “a face-off between pro- and anti-Ahmadinejad conservative factions within the ruling regime.”

However, Zibakalam said Ahmadinejad still did well in critical areas like Tehran, though two winning candidates — Ali Motahari and Ahmad Tavakoli — are vocal critics of the president.

The runoff election was held Friday in 33 constituencies with 130 candidates competing for 65 seats in the 290-member parliament.

The first round voting was March 2 in which anti-Ahmadinejad candidates won over 180 seats, giving them a majority in the new parliament, state-run Press TV reported.

Over 48 million Iranians were eligible to vote and 64% of them cast ballots in the first round.

Ahmadinejad drew the ire of Khamenei loyalists last year when he challenged the supreme leader’s authority in appointing top government officials, analysts said. But Zibakalam said he did not think the parliamentary results would make much difference in the remainder of Ahmadinejad’s second and last term in office.

“His power began to weaken awhile ago after his showdown with the supreme leader,” he said. “What he wanted to do was groom one of his supporters to be his replacement but I don’t think he stands a serious chance of influencing the presidential elections next year.

“He tried to consolidate his power when he challenged the supreme leader and his supporters but that was the beginning of his demise,” Zibakalam said.

The election for a new parliament, known as the Majlis, will also have no effect on Iran’s foreign policy or its position on nuclear program. Those decisions have been and will continue to be made by Khamenei.

(edition.cnn.com / 05.05.2012)

IOF troops open gunfire at Palestinian homes in Juhr Ad-Deek #Gaza

GAZA, (PIC)– Israeli occupation forces (IOF) opened their machinegun fire at Palestinian homes in Juhr Al-Deek area to the south east of Gaza city on Saturday, local sources said.

They told the PIC reporter that the IOF soldiers stationed to the east of Juhr Al-Deek also fired projectiles at Palestinian homes and farmlands.

The intensity of the shooting forced farmers to abandon their farms, they said, adding that no casualties were reported.

(occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com / 05.05.2012)

Jewish settlers poison Palestinian grapevines

AL-KHALIL, (PIC)– A group of Jewish settlers from Karmi Tzur settlement attacked Palestinian grapevines in Beit Ummar village, north of Al-Khalil, on Saturday.

Locals said that the settlers sprayed toxic chemicals on the grape trees that destroyed their leaves and fruit.

The locals noted that the settlers repeat their attack on the same area each year.

Settlers of Karmi Tzur are notorious for regularly attacking and damaging Palestinian farmlands in Beit Ummar village and its environs.

(occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com / 05.05.2012)

West Bank villagers refuse to sell ancient pools

Colonists’ attempts to seize control of three Byzantine-era water bodies thwarted so far

• Israelis living in the Alfae Manachie colony want to take over the pools by force or buy the land or rent it for a century.

Ramallah: Three ancient West Bank pools amid rocks are in danger of being seized by neighbouring Israeli colonists.

The Israelis living in the colony of Alfae Manachie are planning to take over the pools by force or by offering money to buy the land or rent it for a century.

The pools which date back to the Byzantine era are located in villages including Kufr Thelth, Ezbat Al Ashqar, Saniriyah and Al Mudawar of the Salfit Governorate.

Mohammad Al Shaikh who heads the villages’ council told Gulf News that the colonists have repeatedly tried to seize the area under false claims that the pools are located on state-owned lands.

“The residents of the villages have lodged complaints with the Israeli courts where they proved their undisputed ownership of all the lands,” he said.

Currently, the colonists have been giving tempting offers to the villagers to rent the area for a century for whatever money the villagers decide.

“Those offers have also been rejected by the villagers,” he said, adding that later the colonists offered a joint tourist project with the villagers who also turned down the offer.

Al Shaikh said that the issue of the pools which can easily be turned into a key tourist attraction has been addressed with the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) which claimed there has been no budget for the project.

Help sought

“At least we stand in need for the PNA manpower to clean up the pools and install a barrier around them to prevent the public from reaching the pools,” he said.

“Women of the nearby villages come in the morning to the pools to wash clothes and dishes which makes the dirty situation even worse,” he added.

The villages’ council earlier decided to ban the women from using the pools for washing and ordered the men to prevent the women from doing so. “We are still in urgent need of cleaning the pools and [protect] them,” he said.

A senior official from the Palestinian Ministry of Ruins and Antiques told Gulf News that the ministry and the PNA are fully aware of the value of the pools in terms of tourism, but the Authority does not have the budget to convert the area into a tourist attraction.

(gulfnews.com / 05.05.2012)

Israeli students to get $2,000 to spread state propaganda on Facebook

The National Union of Israeli Students (NUIS) has become a full-time partner in the Israeli government’s efforts to spread its propaganda online and on college campuses around the world.

NUIS has launched a program to pay Israeli university students $2,000 to spread pro-Israel propaganda online for 5 hours per week from the “comfort of home.”The union is also partnering with Israel’s Jewish Agency to send Israeli students as missionaries to spread propaganda in other countries, for which they will also receive a stipend.

“This active recruitment of Israeli students is part of Israel’s orchestrated effort to suppress the Palestinian solidarity movement under the guise of combating “delegitimization” of Israel and anti-Semitism.”

The involvement of the official Israeli student union as well as Haifa University, Tel Aviv University, Ben-Gurion University and Sapir College in these state propaganda programs will likely bolster Palestinian calls for the international boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

Paying students to spread Israeli propaganda online

“This is our opportunity, as Israeli students, to provide hasbara [state propaganda] that is correct and balanced, to help in the struggle against the delegitimization of the State of Israel and against hatred of Jews in the world.”

That is one of the exhortations in a Hebrew document issued by NUIS, and translated by The Electronic Intifada, inviting Israeli students to apply for a program to help spread Israel’s message.

(current.com / 05.05.2012)