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Let's Try to learn from the Columbia Shuttle Tragedy
"Seest thou not how thy Lord dealt with the
people of ‘Ad , - or the (city
of) Iram, with lofty pillars, the like of which
were not produced in (all)
the land? And with the Thamud (people) who cut
out (huge) rocks in the
valley?- And with Pharoah lord of stakes ....(
The Qur'an 89:6-10)
"And what will explain to thee that which breaks
to pieces? (It is) the Fire
of Allah kindled (to a blaze), ....(104:5-6)
The people of America are in deep
mourning for the Columbia shuttle
tragedy. The fiery end of a major attempt to
penetrate outer space is indeed
a matter for condolence and sympathy which we
must offer to the nation as a
whole. A disaster of this national and
international level does call for
contemplation and deep thought. As the inquiry
into the disaster proceeds,
along with the scientific and technical aspects,
the moral, social, political
and spiritual aspects too need to be explored.
After the mourning should come introspection.
SCIENTIFIC EFFORT for the benefit of
humanity is encouraged in the
Qur'an and the teachings of the Prophet (pbuh).
Significant research which
can help humanity to live better, compassionate,
unselfish lives is certainly
required.
NASA's programs are funded and supported
by the American people. The
amounts spent on the product, training and
support services are incredibly
high, in many cases more than the income of
entire nations. NASA owes it to
the American people to justify its projects in
language which makes sense to
the layperson. Here are a few concerns:
1. Outer space belongs to all humanity. It
should not be explored with
an imperial view of conquest and dominion. If
NASA has connections to the
military establishment which pervades America,
that does take away from its
research and humanitarian aspect.
2. What are America's priorities? Medical
coverage for all free of
charge is a natural requirement of the richest
country in the world. If the
U.S. can send massively expensive payloads into
space, it can also provide
basic medical relief to its people.
3. Drugs are pouring into every city. Crime
and family breakup are
realities for most Americans. How is it that we
can walk in outer space but
our children get killed if they walk in Baltimore
or New Orleans' mean
streets? Why is there no money for the PEOPLE's
CAUSES?
4. If NASA is a scientific and research
project, it should be kept away
from issues of international conflict and war.
5. Each flight should be scrutinized for its
moral and spiritual
content. COLUMBIA took on board NO MUSLIM while it had an
Israeli
and an Indian-origin person. This exclusive profile,
leaving out the Muslims of
America and the one billion Muslims of the world,
made the shuttle a morally
questionable venture.
5a. The ISRAELI OFFICER on board was part of
the Israeli war machine. He
had violated not only the LAWS of the UNITED
STATES, but also the laws of the
United Nations to which the U.S. is a signatory.
This Israeli officer
attacked the Palestinian people and the people of
Lebanon
in military actions which were condemned by the United Nations as
violations of international law.
5b. The Israeli on board took part in the attack on the
Iraqi
nuclear reactor, an attack which was condemned by the
United Nations and also
condemned by the PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES.
By placing him on the
shuttle, NASA seemed to be saying that it does
not care for international law.
5c. If the Israeli attack on the Iraqi
nuclear reactor had not taken
place, today we would not have the specter of war
which Iraq is facing
because it is defenseless. A nuclear Iraq would
have deterred the kind of
jingoism and saber rattling the U.S. (for Israel)
is indulging in right now.
6. The Hindu woman (of Indian origin) on board
was such a sweet person but
again the moral imperative comes first. Surely
the United States is aware
that Hindu India has carried out RAPE as a weapon
of subjugation in occupied
Kashmir. The rapes carried out by the Indian army
on Kashmiri women number in
the THOUSANDS.
6a. In INDIA itself, in Gujarat state, there was
mass rape of Muslim women
carried out only a year or so back.
WE LIVE IN A SMALL WORLD. We can't pretend that
we are quite UNAWARE of
INDIA's brutalities against Muslim women and then
put a woman of Hindu origin
on the shuttle.
COLUMBIA was AMERICA's STATEMENT to the
whole world. It should have
been carried out with much greater moral
awareness.
NASA owes it to the American people to carry
out its projects in a way
which will be inclusive and humane, not meant to
demean the Muslim world and to exalt the forces of
Zionism
and Hinduism. The money for NASA is the money
of the American people. It should not be spent to
fulfil the Zionist program.
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WAS GOD TELLING US SOMETHING? [Columbia scattered over
"Palestine"]
(A letter from Dallas, Texas):
as-Salam `alaykum wa-rahmat Allah wa-barakatuh,
wa-ba`d!
About 8:00 am this morning I heard a loud "boom".
It sounded and felt like somebody's car had bumped
our building. Later I learned that it was the sound
of the Columbia Space Shuttle breaking up over our
heads, carrying six Americans and one Zionist,
"Israel's" first astronaut, to their deaths.
That Zionist was an airforce colonel who had
participated in the 1973 war, the assault on
Iraq's civilian nuclear facility in 1981, and the brutal
invasion of Lebanon in 1982.
In view of all that, how ironic it is that the debris
from that terrible crash would scatter over a wide
area centered around a nearly forgotten little
Texas town by the name of Palestine!!??
God says in Surat al-Rahman (ayah 33):
[Arabic text]
which has been interpreted by Pickthall as:
O company of jinn and men, if ye have power to
penetrate (all) regions of the heavens and the
earth, then penetrate (them)! Ye will never penetrate
them save with (Our) sanction.
wa-s-salam
Eric Mueller
-------------------------------
Ayatollah Montazeri Released: Truth Teller
NEW TREND hails the release of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri who had been
held under house arrest since 1989. He came out strong and his usual
truth-telling self.
New Trend's editor met the Grand Ayatollah in the holy city of Qum
before in-fighting among the Iranians led to his removal from the
political scene. At the time of his detention, New Trend
criticized the move.
In fact Montazeri was the successor of Imam Khomeini but the Imam seems
to have been told stories by various opportunists
who made use of the Imam's extreme illness to cut him off from his natural
heir.
We hope that the children of the original revolution, which was
supposed to be non-sectarian and international,
will come forth to support this learned man of Allah.
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YEMENIS DEMONSTRATE IN SUPPORT OF IRAQ by 10s of thousands
On January 27, 2003 there were huge demonstrations in the major towns
of Yemen against the U.S. plans for war on Iraq.
[The protests were COMPLETELY blanked out in the U.S. media.}
All levels of society, pro-government and opposition, were involved in
the rallies. They condemned America's "colonial moves."
Most significantly, impressive segments of the crowd called on the
government to: "Open the doors of jihad" and
permit the people to fight against the aggressors.
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2003-02-03 Mon 19:07ct