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Islamic
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P.O. Box 356, Kingsville, MD 21087.
Phone: 410-435-5000.
Disclaimer: Views expressed are not necessarily
shared by editorial committee.
Responses (positive or negative) up to 250 words are welcome.
Names will be withheld on request.
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RACISM IN
BUSH's
"WAR"
[by Karen English, our representative in
California]
You know what I hate about this obscene "war"---
I mean besides the
arrogance ("The outcome of this war is not in
question." Donald Rumsfeld), or
the fact that it was planned years ago and
Israel,
one of the main
beneficiaries, had a hand in the planning, or the
cheerleading and war
briefings of network and cable news, or even the
bragging about all their
super technology and weaponry? I hate the racism
embedded in every aspect of
this invasion of a sovereign nation. Here are a
few examples of Bush and his
ilk assuming black and brown people are
"stupider" than most:
1. Bush coming out before the onset of the
invasion to read some ridiculous
statement about his Middle East road map. Does he
think Arabs and Muslims
aren't aware that Israel and the United States
are two sides of the same
coin?
2. The battle for hearts and minds I guess the
Iraqi
people aren't supposed
to notice that they've lost family members, the
infrastructure of their
cities and villages has been destroyed, hunger
and thirst and disease and
dismemberment have been forced on them in the
name of regional domination and
making things better for Israel. Would they foist
such circumstances on, say,
the people of England and then expect to win
their hearts and minds?
3. The coalition whining about the Iraqi's not
fighting according to certain
rules and regulations. Why should the Iraqis
fight according to America's
game plan rather than their own? A people have
the right to do anything and
everything they need to do to fight for their
homeland. Only the descendants
of colonizers and enslavers would expect to
dictate the rules of engagement.
4. The underestimation of Iraqi
resistance---expecting the Iraqis to just
fall down on their knees in shock and awe before
the great, white, western
giant. A variation on this theme---assuming
every Iraqi soldier who sheds
his uniform and stows his weapon is doing so
while running scared. Why not
give them credit for following a successful
guerilla tactic that the Viet
Cong used: melting back into the populace?
5. Propaganda leaflets and radio broadcasts
Imagine how receptive Americans
would be to the leaflets and radio broadcasts of
an invading army. The
leaflets contain conciliatory messages and ask
the Iraqis to tune into
Nahrain FM, a radio station run by the British.
The station plays pop hits
by Jennifer Lopez, Abba, and the Bee Gees. The
presumption is that Iraqis
are thirsting after everything American with its
superior culture.
6. The bickering and squabbling already taking
place concerning
reconstructing Iraq (who's going to get those
contracts), leader selection,
interim governments, and on and on There are no
words that do justice to the
audacity of the United States and Great Britain,
and whoever else who's
trying to get in on it, in assuming such
incredible authority.
7. Civilizing the savages Evangelists are
already waiting at the border
with their bibles. Western businessmen are
probably salivating at the
prospect of bringing in the brothels and bars and
other expressions of
western civilization.
8. The deliberate mispronunciation of Arabic
names and words. Western media
were able to pronounce Milosevic, but they can't
pronounce Saddam, or Muslim.
Note how they make Saddam sound like Sodom (as
in Sodom and Gomorrah). And
what about that long u and z sound in Muslim?
The unspoken message here is
that their pronunciation is ultimately a
correction. They are English
speakers. That implies an
authority
and
correctness by virtue of that fact.
And, perhaps the most racist of all
The glut of human interest stories peddled on
CNN
profiling the Tyrone
Washingtons and Jose Riveras of this "war." They
were probably duped into
enlisting by the promise of opportunity. Now
they are risking their lives
for Bush and serving as a kind of lure for more
black and brown people to
become cannon fodder for the chicken hawks of
Washington.
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CHICAGO CALLING
[At the ground level]
BY: ATHER MASOOD [Our Chicago representative]
YOU DIDN'T SEE THE TAKEOVER OF CHICAGO STREETS ON
TV:
Bush's 'Statue' Falls
Saturday April 5, 2003 High School and College
students joined forces to
close down Lasalle and Jackson streets in
downtown Chicago. In a show of
force, 5 to 6000 students blocked cars, buses and
general traffic along one
of the main streets in Chicago. Moving from
Jackson, students moved into
Michigan avenue and then back towards the Federal
plaza. Protestors were met
with hundred of police officers on horses, foot,
and in cars. In an attempt
to intimidate anti-war activists, some police
officers poured horse manure to
prevent marchers to move in wide areas.
It is clear these anti-war activities are costing
the city. With that in mind
more and more protestors continue to prevent
free-flowing traffic in the
downtown area. Despite this show of force no
arrests were made. It was quite
clear that young people are able to organize
and articulate against this
war without the need of others. Energy,
enthusiasm, and power were all found
among the black, white, brown, and yellow youth
protesting.
Chicago area
media
in an attempt to further
discredit the marchers, ran
tidbits of what was happening on Saturday. But
anyone who was around town
knew the marchers had control of the downtown
area without provoking any
violent conflicts. Media, instead tired to focus
on the "war gains" in
Baghdad, despite a huge pouring of Anti-War
sentiment in one day.
The famous Father Flagor from Saint Sabina
Church, ripped war efforts by
calling it an unnecessary act of violence.
Pro-War protestors were in small
groups and, once again, attempted to provoke a
conflict by heckling and even
pushing Anti-War protestors. The police in many
ways, kept their distance
from pro-war representatives. A number of high
rise building corporate
officers displayed signs to condemn the marchers.
However, many of them were
so high that they were overlooked by marchers.
TOWN HALL MEETING SUNDAY APRIL 6, 200
ONSITE REPORT
In a show of impressive force Muslims,
Christians, Jews, and Buddhists lashed
out at Mr. Rahm Emmanuel from the 5th
Congressional District in Illinois. At
least 400 people from various community
organizations condemned Mr. Emmanuel
for supporting this war and called for him to
step down.
Representatives from Chicago's most wealthy
neighborhood castigated
Congress, the aims of war, and created new forms
of protest against the war
on Iraq. Latino activists, Jewish activists
against Israeli activities,
Muslim representatives and other jammed the
Episcopal Church on 4555 North
Hermitage street to make all know about America's
dirty war.
A former U.S. government employee who lost a
family member in
9-11,
made a
most moving speech on the need to end
"unnecessary conflicts," with Muslim
people. A Jewish peace representative told the
story of how she was thrown
out from home of friends, when she rejected the
idea by co-workers to kill
all Muslims in America. A 12-year naval veteran
also Jewish, literally cried
and said the American public is being fooled and
do not know what real war
is. Such speeches were significant because MR.
EMMANUEL IS ALSO OF THE
JEWISH FAITH AND WAS CRITICIZED BY FELLOW JEWS IN
THE PEACE MOVEMENT. Perhaps
the most moving speech was by a homeless Vietnam
Veteran who said " I had the
right to go kill others but I don't have the
right to have a home?" Despite
being publicized on tv and radio NO pro-war
activists presented themselves.
(which shows you what they are really about)
Pro-war advocates had a chance
to present their views in a respectful manner but
did not show up. The
Congressman did not even send a representative.
Mohammed Masood, representing the Islamic Center
of Chicago made the point
how some Americans cannot even tell the
difference between Asian-Indians and
Arbas, much less bring Democracy into another
nation.
IS THIS REAL DEMOCRACY? IS THIS DEMOCRACY THAT
MR. BUSH WILL CREATE IN IRAQ."
How can he spread democracy when a member of
congress cannot speak to his own
constituency? IN HIS OWN NEIGHBORHOOD?
MUSLIMS MUST SUPPORT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Last week the supreme court began to hear
arguments for Michigan University
"preferential treatment rules." The prospective
law students argued that she
was being discriminated against for not being
selected on the basis of race.
So now she has filled suit. In this time of great
trial for Muslims. It is
important for us to not let past changes (no
matter how small or big they may
seem) be destroyed by this present
fascist
administration. It was clear the
Mr. Ashcroft and the Republican party will use
the war to attack Affirmative
Action legislation for African-American,
Latino/Latina, and Native American
students. ALREADY there is a limited presence of
minority students on college
campuses in the nation. WHAT WILL THIS NEW ATTACK
BRING?
For Muslims affirmative is something we need to
support in mass. no
exceptions period! The cap of the matter is that
Minority enrolled students
are still no longer accepted, promoted and,
under-appreciated. There is
"preferential treatment," for minority enrolled
students in the armed forces.
So how come there cannot be "preferential
treatment" for the poor and
vulnerable?
The ruling on this case will not take place until
June. But for Muslims
affirmative action in America is not very
different than similar actions for
Muslims in
India
or in other parts of the world.
Support for the vulnerable,
poor, and oppressed everywhere is an Islamic duty
which IS an Islamic
teaching. How can Muslims support oppressed
people in other nations and not
in America itself? How sad it is that people
bleed, fought, and died for
affirmative action and now the American
administration has the audacity to
question it's need? Of course there is a need.
Just go look at any major
institution in the nation. Will you find a person
of color there? Hardly,
unless they live in a Caucasian reality and are
comfortable with it.
Does any American have the right to curtail the
over all importance of
affirmative action laws?
If Affirmative action is destroyed then Muslims
should step forward and
create their own form of affirmative action so
disenfranchised students can
still get the education every human being
deserves.
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KILLING AN IRAQI CHILD
FIGHTER
[Sent by Sis. Hamdiyeh, South Carolina]
Killing a child: 'I did what I had to do'
04:08: 2003
Reuters
When a young Iraqi boy stooped to pick up a
rocket propelled grenade off the
body of a dead paramilitary, US Army Private Nick
Boggs made his decision.
He unloaded machinegun fire and the boy, whom he
puts at about 10 years old,
fell dead on a garbage-strewn stretch of waste
land at Karbala.
Boggs, a softly spoken 21-year-old former hunting
guide from Alaska, says he
knew when he joined the army 18 months ago he
might someday have to make a
decision like that.
He hoped it would never come and, although he has
no regrets about opening
fire, it is clear he'd rather it wasn't a child
he killed.
"I did what I had to do. I don't have a big
problem with it but anyone who
shoots a little kid has to feel something," he
said after fierce weekend
fighting in this Shi'ite Muslim holy city that
left dozens of Iraqis and one
American soldier dead.
As US troops take the Iraq war out of the desert
and into the main cities,
they are increasingly seeing children in their
line of fire.
Many are innocent civilians in the wrong place at
the wrong time and
military officers concede that some may have been
killed in artillery or
mortar fire, or shot down by soldiers whose
judgment is impaired in the "fog
of war".
But others are apparently being used as fighters
or more often as scouts and
weapons collectors. US officers and soldiers say
that turns them into
legitimate targets.
"I think they're cowards," Boggs said of the
parents or Fedayeen
paramilitaries who send out children to the
battlefield.
"I think they thought we wouldn't shoot kids. But
we showed them we don't
care. We are going to do what we have to do to
stay alive and keep ourselves
safe."
The boy he killed was with another child of
around the same age when they
reached for the RPG and came under fire. Boggs
thinks the second boy was
also hit but other soldiers think he escaped and
that he dragged his
friend's dead body away.
Boggs' platoon leader, Lieutenant Jason Davis,
said the young soldier
struggles with what happened even if he had no
choice but to shoot.
"Does it haunt him? Absolutely. It haunts me and
I didn't even pull the
trigger," he said. "It blows my mind that they
can put their children into
that kind of situation."
Although Boggs plays down suggestions he was
upset by the incident, he also
says his view of combat has changed since
Saturday, when his platoon came
under intense RPG and rifle fire from the moment
they entered Karbala until
way after nightfall.
Before - like many young soldiers - he says he
was anxious to get his first
"kill" in a war. Now, he seems more mature.
"It's not about killing people. It's about
accomplishing a mission ... When
we talk, we don't say how scared we were. But we
found out how you feel when
an RPG hits the wall just up from you and you
think 'Damn, I could have been
right there'," he said.
Reuters
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2003-04-10 Thu 19:11ct