The killing of Osama: 2 worlds-apart statements
Saturday, 7 May 2011
Al Qaeda, the organization led by Osama ben Laden has confirmed its leader has been slain. America says the killing of Osama will end Islamic terrorism. Islam has long been associated and linked to terrorism. For so long, the world is engulfed in Islamophobia- the fear of anything Islam.
That morbid fear has spawn what seemed to be justifiable counter aggressions over Muslim nations. Iraq is occupied by America even though Sadam has been executed and no weapons of mass destruction were even found. The alleged accumulation of WMD was first used to justify the invasion on Iraq. America has remained as the occupying power in a Muslim land until now. The presence of the American military juggernaut is justified by the hawkish elements of America's foreign policy makers as necessary to effect regime change. America has continued to be the policeman of the world.
The news of the slaying of Ben Laden was received with an almost universal jubilation across mainly the western world. In the Muslim world, the reception is somewhat mixed.
In Malaysia, we can judge who has given a more rational and well thought out answer. The leader of Malaysia's Islamic party says that Muslims all over the world will unite in offering prayers for Osama if he has sinned. His statement is soothing to the families of the departed.
The other leader of Malaysia toadies up to Uncle Sam in saying the world will be a better place without Osama. Perhaps that is too early to tell. Could it possible, that the slaying of Osama will give rise to a sense of triumphalism on the part of those who are anti-Islam for whatever reasons?
The leader of our government should call upon America to desist in its policies of anti-almost anything of Islam. Muslims are subjected to humiliating body searches and predisposed suspiciousness. Islamic countries continued to be occupied by forces under American hegemony.
So the knee jerk response that we join America in saying the world is a better place without Osama is ill-timed and sure to incite bad feelings among Muslims around the world.
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9 comments:
I hope rational and level people like your goodself, Din Merican Tengku Razaleigh will speak up against this madness about making Christianity the official religion and that Islam is under siege.
A blog posting is taken as gospel truth even by the infantile Home Minister.
Dear Sakmongkol
“So the knee jerk response that we join America in saying the world is a better place without Osama is ill-timed and sure to incite bad feelings among Muslims around the world”.
Some people have claimed that the Third World War is already underway, represented by the undeclared war between Islam and the West, playing out what Huntington had written as the inevitable clash of civilizations.
Is it really true to say that the death of Osama bin Laden would elicit the same response of all Muslims worldwide? Surely the interests of Muslims in different parts of the world are quite different. In the Middle East many Muslims leaders hated and feared Osama because of his unrelenting efforts to radicalize their populations to overthrow them. In his home country, Saudi Arabia, Osama was persona non-grata. The moderate Muslims of Europe and the U.S surely want nothing to do with him.
If we remember, Osama was incensed that U.S forces were based in Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War in 1991. He then started Al Qaeda to fight the Americans. This directly led first to Bill Clinton and later George Bush declaring the war on Bin Laden, a war intensified after 9/11, when the U.S invaded Afghanistan to defeat the Taliban and to rid that country of the Al Qaeda. The terror tactics of Al Qaeda, killing thousands of innocent civilians, did not endear them to anyone. Osama and Al Qaeda caused the undeserved link between Islam and terror. So Osama did nothing for Islam but to bring it into opprobrium in the western mind. One would have thought that his demise would help to narrow the gulf between Muslim and non-Muslims, and to eliminate the underserved and incorrect connection between Islam and terror.
one malaysian.
well put reasoning. unfortunately that is not my central agenda here. i am sure you stand will generate a lot of debate on the causes of international terrorism. also on your point that the middle eastern countries hated Osama. my central argument is about 2 differing statements reflecting political maturity.
Dear Dato,
Would appreciate if you can insert a line break in between paragraphs. Makes for easy reading for a bespectacled old fart like myself.
Keep up the good work and may Allah bless your family and you.
BR,
Senior Malaysian
The curse of human race - Christian West and Muslims.
Dear Dato,
In Malaysia, the likes of Utusan, Perkasa, Pembela and even the Home Minister are the causes of Islamophobia amongst Malaysians with their ongoing rantings of Islam is under siege. How on earth can Islam in Malaysia be under siege when it is the official religion in the Constitution?
Burn Down UTUSAN and their printers for LIES....their acts insult ISLAM. Ayuh...jangan tunggu lagi! Penghina Islam harus dihapuskan!!
Our leader(??) said the world is a better place without Osama. It similar to the meaning of Malaysia is a better place without UMNO@BN!!!
The Christian missionary schools have produced so many national leaders here and elsewhere.
Victoria Instituition Methodist, Anglo-Chinese,St.Michael, St.George, King Edward, Anderson etc for boys all over Malaysia and Convent school for girls. They never insist malays to study there or enforce them to attend chapel sessions .
The catholic missionary schools have contributed a lot for education in Malaysia long before independence.So why out of the blue Utusan and Ibrahim Ali are worried about Christianity ?
Muslim faith is no for sale. Nobody can convert a malay by giving hand-outs. I do not know about malay rulers. They are the guardians of Islam . Is there a real threat?
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