New Trend Magazine (www.newtrendmag.org)

(We do not necessarily agree with this viewpoint because we cannot verify the situation on the ground, but this proposal merits serious scrutiny.)

Punish the murderers of Pearl and the church attackers
Punish the murders of 4 journalists by northern alliance and one by Israel
Punish the U.S. pilot who bombed mosque during Taraveeh prayers
Punish the cruise missile shooters who hit mosque in Clinton's Regime
Punish Israelis who have demolished 136 mosques, killed 1147 youths
Punish those who demolished buddhas and those who did Babri Masjid

[A reader has sent the following proposal. We are publishing it for what it is worth. Although one may not agree with it, it does point to the fact that we cannot limit our humanity to some crimes without referring to others. IF SOME TERRORISM IS CONDEMNED AND THE REST IS NOT, those involved in condemning lose their credibility.]

Our reader writes:
"THE MURDER OF DANIEL PEARL DOES NOT MAKE SENSE. The Pakistani government must find and punish the killers. If he had been alive today, some important issues could have been investigated:
i. Pearl was an Israeli with a U.S. passport. A mourning ceremony was held for him in Jerusalem about two weeks back.
ii. Jerusalem is an occupied city where the sacred sites of Islam have been desecrated.
iii. Pakistan does not recognize Israel. Pearl as an Israeli had no right to enter Pakistan. He was violating international law.
iv. Question: How many other Israelis may be in Pakistan with U.S. passports? The Musharref government should tell the Pakistani people why it is allowing Pakistani sovereignty to be violated.
iv. The abductors of Pearl demanded the release of Afghan ambassador Abdus Salaam Zaeef. How many know that for Pakistan to hand over an Islamic ambassador to a country in military action against Afghanistan is a violation of Islamic law and international law. It is an act of war against Islam according to the fuqaha of Islam.
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WHY IS THERE NO OUTCRY FOR AGAINST THE MURDER OF OTHER JOURNALISTS?
i. Four journalists were killed in the Mazare Sharif area during the early days of the war by northern alliance fighters. The n.a. promised to investigate and even announced the arrest of a few people but then the story disappeared.
ii. The four were going to investigate the massacre of Islamic prisoners by Dostum's forces in Mazare Sharif. (The massacre was a serious atrocity and the U.S. is liable because it was carried out by its allies. This was before the massacre in Qila Jhangvi.)
iii. Only days back an Italian journalist was killed by the Israelis.
MAY I SUGGEST THAT THESE 5 ALSO HAVE FAMILIES BUT WE HAVE NOT SEEN THEM CRYING ON TV. Is it that Pearl being an Israeli had special status in humanity?
[iv. Years back an Islamic journalist, Salahuddin, editor of TAKBEER weekly, was shot dead in Karachi in broad daylight under the auspices of a pro-American Pakistani regime. Not a word of the murder appeared on U.S. TV and his family was never seen crying or talking on TV.]
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ISLAM STRICTLY FORBIDS ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP hence:
i. The attack on the church in Islamabad must be condemned and the attackers brought to justice. Looks like the attackers were trying to hit Americans.
ii. Our humanity would again be incomplete if we ignore the fact that American bombers have hit places of worship in Afghanistan killing hundreds of worshippers. Mr. Bush adopted a policy of bombing a Muslim country during the holy month of Ramadan which again is the desecration of the entire Islamic life of a nation.
iii. Western sources agree with Osama bin Laden's video of December that the U.S. bombed a mosque in Afghanistan while Taraveeh prayers were going on in Ramadan. NPR investigated this report and gave the death toll as 57 killed. The U.S. then excused itself by saying that an Al-Qaida member was praying in the congregation.
iii. When Mr. Clinton launched cruise missiles in an attempt to hit Bin Laden, a mosque was hit and 37 worshippers were killed. Again this was murder in cold blood without warning.
I suggest that the Americans bring to trial the cruise missile shooters plus the pilot of the Ramadan bomber to trial WITHIN THE UNITED STATES, to match the trial of the alleged killer of Pearl in Pakistan.
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SHARON organized the Sabra Shatilla massacre. When is he going to be brought to trial? According to our incomplete list, the Israelis have destroyed 136 mosques in Palestine and slaughtered 1147 "stone throwers", many of them children. WHEN WILL AN ISRAELI BE BROUGHT TO TRIAL and punished?
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It was terrible and foolish of the Taliban to destroy the statues of the Buddha. The Taliban could not control their anger when they saw the international community ignoring dying children while allocating funds for the maintenance of the buddhas. It was a PR disaster for the Taliban.
Now the international community is collecting funds for the re-structuring of the Buddhas.
Again my humanity feels incomplete. The historic Babri masjid in India was destroyed by KKK type Hindus. Not only was the masjid destroyed (by people who are now ruling India) but THOUSANDS OF MUSLIMS WHO PROTESTED were slaughtered by KKK type Hindu mobs and police-protected killers.
Shouldn't the rebuilders of the Buddha statues go by chronology and first restore the Babri mosque and the Palestinian mosques before they spend money on the statues in a country where there are no Buddhists?"
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Such questions and thoughts are too revolutionary for American audiences but there is no harm in thinking. Thought about realities can lead to change.
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2002-03-18 Mon 18:52ct