Living By The Qur'an Brings About Real Justice
Living By The Qur'an Brings About Real Justice
Justice is one of the essentials
maintaining social
order. Every country employs its individual judicial system.
However,
owing to the persistent difficulties experienced in the
contemporary
judicial systems, the quest for an ideal model has never
ended.
There is one essence of the ideal judicial system aspired to
across
the world: the establishment of a judicial mechanism in
which each
and every person is fully repaid for his acts without being
subject
to any form of prejudicial discrimination. Despite new
methods, different
approaches, and projects and solutions devised to attain
this ideal
model, however, exercising justice remains a steep road yet
to be
taken.
The moral deterioration of society accounts for these
unfavourable
situations. Deterioration, a simple consequence of
non-adherence to
the values commanded by Allah, brings harm to societies in
all domains
of life.
Again, this deterioration accounts for swindling, bribery,
cheating,
injustice and many social evils. Daily life abounds with
examples
of this sort. A frequently encountered situation in business
life,
for instance, is businessmen who cheat on their partners and
deceive
them by embezzling their money, houses or cars. Meanwhile, a
longstanding
friendship and the material and spiritual losses the other
party suffers
do not mean anything to the swindler. Primarily concerned
about his
self-interests, values such as friendship, family ties,
spirituality,
social cohesion and good morals have no meaning whatsoever
to the
swindler.
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All relations this person establishes with anyone else will
be under
the influence of such a rationale since he fails to reflect
that Allah
is aware of all that he does, and that he will account for
every act
he commits. Never remembering that swindling is an unfair
gain and
unjust behaviour contributes to this crooked rationale.
The following example will contribute to a better
understanding: a
person who believes that swindling is a horrible crime, will
strictly
avoid it throughout his life. Once, however, someone thinks
he can
derive personal benefit, the same person may bear false
witness against
another or slander him for something of which he is
completely innocent.
Meanwhile, he may find refuge in some excuse: that
conditions compelled
him or his responsibilities to his family laid the ground
for such
a crime… No matter what these excuses are, the fact remains
that
slander is wicked under all circumstances.
This aforementioned pattern appears particularly at times
when people
feel their interests are at stake. This rationale also holds
true
for thieves, swindlers and oppressors. In a society riddled
with people
with vested interests, the existence of injustice, interest
conflicts
and chaos is unavoidable.
Nevertheless, no matter what compelling forces there are, a person living by the Qur'an would never stoop to these wicked deeds and never display attitudes inconsistent with its values. Someone having strong fear of Allah never forgets the fact that one day he will meet each and every deed in which he engages and each and every word he utters. Injustice, which is an outcome of moral deterioration such as only pursuing one's own interests, hoarding possessions, ignoring the needy and those in trouble, has a unique solution: the dissemination of the values of the Qur'an among people. That is because in the Qur'an, Allah commands His slaves who believe and live by these superior values to be just:
You who have iman! Be upholders of justice, bearing witness for Allah alone, even against yourselves or your parents and relatives whether they are rich or poor, Allah is well able to look after them. Do not follow your own desires and deviate from the truth. If you twist or turn away, Allah is aware of what you do. (Surat an-Nisa': 135)
Allah commands justice and doing good and giving to relatives. And He forbids indecency and doing wrong and tyranny. He warns you so that hopefully you will pay heed. (Surat an-Nahl: 90)
In a society where people have an understanding of justice as described in the aforementioned verse, injustice does not prevail. That is because in an environment where the values of the Quran and the Sunnah are observed, the strict exercise of justice is essential. In the practice of this justice, one's kinship, wealth, status or other factors allow for no exceptions. Nevertheless, current implementations of systems of justice around the globe are rather varied. In some cases, in consideration of someone's wealth, status and social environment, his crimes are simply ignored or his punishment is alleviated. This is unlikely to happen in a society where real justice prevails. Factors such as kinship, wealth or status never become reasons to deviate from justice.
Peace: The Natural
Consequence
of Securing Real Justice
Once all these facts are considered, we arrive at the
conclusion that
only living by the Qur'an will ensure a completely fair
social structure.
That is because only the morality of the Qur'an brings moral
conduct
and wisdom. Selfish, egotistical, heedless people will
change into
merciful, just people who think for the good of others and
thus provide
solutions. This simply means the end of many problems.
In societies enjoying real justice, people do not stoop to
moral weaknesses
such as pursuing vested interests, fraud or violating
other's rights.
The basic Qur'anic teachings command matters such as
co-operation
and mercy, which are the essence of a just society. In such a
society,
everyone safeguards each other's interests and thus the
rights and
interests of all are secured. This is what brings overall
peace and
security to society. In this sense, the responsibility of
all believers
is to communicate the values praised by Allah and the just
religion
to the whole world. This is one of the most important
attributes of
the believers:
Let there be a community among you who call to the good, and enjoin the right, and forbid the wrong. They are the ones who have success. (Surah Ali 'Imran: 104)
Those who make tawba(repent), those who worship, those who praise, those who fast, those who bow, those who prostrate, those who command the right, those who forbid the wrong, those who preserve the limits of Allah: give good news to the believers. (Surat at-Tawba: 112)
Allah mentions the existence of people who live by these values and accordingly summon people to them. Only those making people avoid wicked deeds will attain salvation:
Then when they forgot what they had been reminded of, We rescued those who had forbidden the evil and seized those who did wrong with a harsh punishment because they were deviators. (Surat al-A'raf: 165)
Solution: The Morals Of The Qur'an
Solution: The Morals Of The Qur'an
People
who are persecuted and tortured to death, innocent babies,
people who
cannot even afford a loaf of bread, who sleep, in cold weather,
in tents
and even on the streets, who cannot afford medical treatment, or
who,
despite being old and weak, have to wait for hours, or even
days, for
hospital care, people who are killed just for belonging to a
certain race,
women, children and old people who are thrown out of their homes
because
of their religion, enormous extravagance alongside poor people
suffering
from starvation and neglect, who are just left to die, children
too young
and defenseless to be able to look after themselves, children
who leave
school to work or beg for money to help their families survive,
people
who live with the constant fear of being slaughtered by their
enemies…
Everybody is aware of the existence of such people as these.
Almost
every day we come across pictures of these helpless,
miserable, homeless
and needy people in the papers or on TV. Many people see
their plight
and pity them. However, they then either turn off the
channel they
have been watching, or turn over the pages of the newspaper
they have
been reading and forget they exist once more. Most people
never think
that they have to make an effort to save these people from
the terrible
conditions they live in. They ask "is it up to me to save
these
people when there are so many rich and powerful people in
the world",
and leave the responsibility to others.
However, prosperity and power alone are not enough to save
these people,
and to make this world a place where justice, peace,
security, and
well being prevail. For instance, despite the existence of
many rich
and developed countries in the world, people in Ethiopia are
still
dying from hunger. That people are still going hungry
despite the
present advanced state of technology and the many resources
in the
world is a clear indication that wealth and power by
themselves are
not enough.
In
order for wealth and power to be used for the well being of
these poor
and needy people, first of all, people have to be conscientious.
The sole
way of being conscientious is belief. Only people who believe
consistently
act conscientiously.
Finally, there is only one solution to injustice, chaos,
terror, massacres,
hunger, poverty, and oppression: the Morals of the Qur'an.
When we look at the problems in the world in general, we see
that
they are all caused by feelings such as hatred, malice,
antagonism,
self-interest, selfishness, indifference, and cruelty. The
way to
finding a solution to these and eliminating them entirely
lies in
love, compassion, mercy, pity, the zeal to serve without
expecting
anything in return, sensitivity, sacrifice, brotherhood,
tolerance,
reason and wisdom. These traits are only found in those who
fully
live by the morals in the Qur'an. In one of His verses,
Allah refers
to the Qur'an's aspect of leading people out of darkness to
light:
… A light has come to you from Allah and a Clear Book. By it, Allah guides those who follow what pleases Him to the ways of peace. He will bring them from the darkness to the light by His permission, and guide them to a straight path. (Surat al-Ma'ida: 15-16)
In another verse, Allah states that everything which conflicts with the Qur'an will end in corruption and confusion:
If the truth were to follow their whims and desires, the heavens and the earth and everyone in them would have been brought to ruin. No indeed! We have given them their Reminder, but they have turned away from it. (Surat al-Muminun: 71)
At
the very moment you are reading this, millions of poor people
are either
suffering, or trying to avoid dying from hunger or cold. Or else
they
are being torn away from their homes, families and children, and
forced
to leave their homelands. For this reason, conscientious people
must think
about all this and act as if these troubles, adversities, and
hardships
had befallen themselves or their loved ones. Or they must look
for ways
to help those who ask for spiritual or material help. In one
verse, Allah
orders conscientious and faithful people with common sense to
assume this
responsibility:
What reason could you have for not fighting in the way of Allah-for those men, women and children who are oppressed and say, "Our Lord, take us out of this city whose inhabitants are wrongdoers! Give us a protector from You! Give us a helper from You!"? (Surat an-Nisa': 75)
When one considers the verse in the
Qur'an, it becomes
obvious how to do this. The most important thing for Muslims
to do
is to struggle in the intellectual domain so that the morals
of the
Qur'an prevail against lack of religion. The only salvation
for the
weak, helpless, homeless, and destitute is the widespread
practice
of the morals of the Qur'an by all the people of the world.
For this
reason telling people about the morals in the Qur'an and
communicating
the message is a very important and pressing way of
worshipping for
all Muslims. As is also stated in the Qur'an, "Our
duty is only to proclaim the clear Message." (Surah
Ya
Sin: 17)
Those who do not use their consciences, who behave
indifferently and
uninterestedly towards orphans, the poor, and the unhappy,
who spend
the possessions given to them on vain things in the life of
this world,
who coldly watch women, children and old people under
oppression,
who feel happy at the spread of all kinds of immorality and
ugliness
in the world, and who encourage this point of view, will
certainly
account for all that in the hereafter:
Have you seen him who denies the religion? He is the one who harshly rebuffs the orphan and does not urge the feeding of the poor. So woe to those who establish prayer, and are forgetful of their prayer, those who show off and deny help to others. (Surat al-Ma'un: 1-7)
The Eminence Islam Attaches To Women
The Eminence Islam Attaches To Women
The mentality that
despises women,
excludes them from society and regards them as second class
citizens
is a wicked pagan attitude which has no place in Islam. The
Qur'an summarizes
the civilized social relationship between the two genders.
The position of women in Islam has recently been an issue of
debate.
Some misconceptions arise, either from traditional practices
which are
thought to be "Islamic," but are not, or else from prejudices.
However, the real issue is how women are regarded in the
Islamic faith,
and when we look at this, we see that Islam gives women great
social
value, freedom and comfort.
Women In
The Qur'an
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| God has commanded in the Qur'an that women should be cherished, respected, and protected. In the eyes of God, superiority does not lie in race, sex or rank, but in closeness to Him and strength of belief. |
God's commandments about the
status of
women and the relations between men and women, which have
been revealed
to us through the Qur'an, consist of full justice. In this
regard,
Islam suggests equality of rights, responsibilities and
duties between
the two genders. Islam is based on sympathy, tolerance and
respect
for human beings, and does not discriminate against women in
this
matter.
The examples of good morals communicated to us in the Qur'an
are universally
compatible with human nature, and are valid for all stages
of history.
Respect for women and women's rights fall within this. In
the Qur'an
God insists that the tasks and responsibilities of women are
the same
as those of men. Furthermore, while performing these tasks
and responsibilities
men and women must help and support each other:
The men and women of the believers are friends of one another. They command what is right and forbid what is wrong, and establish prayer and pay alms, and obey God and His Messenger. They are the people on whom God will have mercy. God is Almighty, All Wise. (Qur'an, 9:71)
God emphasizes that believers will be rewarded in the same manner according to their deeds, regardless of their gender.
Their Lord responds to them: "I will not let the deeds of any doer among you go to waste, male or female-you are both the same in that respect..." (Qur'an, 3:195)
Anyone who acts rightly, male or female, being a believer, We will give them a good life and We will recompense them according to the best of what they did. (Qur'an, 16:97)
In another verse, Muslim men and women are considered together, and it is stressed that both have the same responsibility and status in God's sight:
Men and women who are Muslims, men and women who are believers, men and women who are obedient, men and women who are truthful, men and women who are steadfast, men and women who are humble, men and women who give alms, men and women who fast, men and women who guard their private parts, men and women who remember God much: God has prepared forgiveness for them and an immense reward. (Qur'an, 33:35)
In the Qur'an there are many
more verses
stating that men and women are exactly equal in terms of
their tasks
and responsibilities and their rewards or punishments in
return. There
are a few differences in social issues, but these are for
the comfort
and protection of women. The commands of the Qur'an regard
the congenital
differences between the two genders resulting from their
creation,
and suggest a system maintaining equal justice for men and
women in
this light.
Islam does not see women as objects. Therefore, it is not
seen appropriate
that a woman of good morals should marry a man of bad
morals. In the
same way, it is not permitted for a woman of bad morals to
marry a
man of good morals:
Corrupt women are for corrupt men and corrupt men are for corrupt women; good women are for good men and good men are for good women. The latter are innocent of what they say. They will have forgiveness and generous provision. (Qur'an, 24:26)
Also as regards marriage, the duties and responsibilities of couples towards each other require equality. God demands that both spouses be protective of and supervise each other. This duty is expressed in the Qur'an in the following words:
They are covers for you and you for them... (Qur'an, 2:187)
Many rules and commandments exist in the Qur'an regarding the protection of women's rights on marriage. Marriage is based on the free will of both parties; the husband has to provide economic support for his wife (4:4); the husband has to look after his ex-wife after divorce (65:6).
The Islamic Emancipation of Women
As the verses make clear, Islam
brings
justice to male-female relations and puts an end to harmful
practices
resulting from customs and traditions of pre-Islamic
societies. One
example is the situation of women in pre-Islamic Arab
society. The
pagan Arabs regarded women as inferior, and having a
daughter was
something to be ashamed of. Fathers of daughters sometimes
preferred
to bury them alive rather than announce their birth. By
means of the
Qur'an, God prohibited this evil tradition and warned that
on the
Judgment Day such people will definitely have to account for
their
actions.
In fact, Islam brought with it a great emancipation for
women, who
were severely persecuted in the pagan era. Prof. Bernard
Lewis, known
as one of the greatest Western experts on the history of
Islam and
the Middle East, makes the following comment:
In general, the advent of Islam brought an enormous improvement in the position of women in ancient Arabia, endowing them with property and some other rights, and giving them a measure of protection against ill treatment by their husbands or owners. The killing of female infants, sanctioned by custom in Pagan Arabia, was outlawed by Islam. But the position of women remained poor, and worsened when, in this as in so many other respects, the original message of Islam lost its impetus and was modified under the influence of pre-existing attitudes and customs.1
Karen Armstrong, another Western expert on Islam, makes the following comment:
We must remember what life had been like for women in the pre-Islamic period when female infanticide was the norm and when women had no rights at all. Like slaves, women were treated as an inferior species, who had no legal existence. In such a primitive world, what Muhammad achieved for women was extraordinary. The very idea that a woman could be witness or could inherit anything at all in her own right was astonishing.2
In fact, during the many centuries that followed Prophet Muhammad, women of the Islamic societies had a much higher social position than the women of Christendom. Karen Armstrong emphasizes that, during the Middle Ages;
... the Muslims were horrified to see the way Western Christians treated their women in the Crusader states, and Christian scholars denounced Islam for giving too much power to menials like slaves and women.3
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| In a society where true Islamic morals are practiced, immense respect and sympathy will be shown to women, and it will be ensured that they can live in freedom and comfort. |
Anna King, a modern Muslim woman and a convert- or, better to say, a revert-to Islam, explains the Islamic emancipation of women as follows:
Islam first gave women their rights in a time when women were nothing but the property of men. Islam gave women the right to buy and sell on their own, own businesses and express her views politically. These were all basic rights which the American woman was not granted until relatively recently!
It also encouraged women to study and learn Islamic knowledge, breaking a ban which several religions had stipulated, which forbid women to acquire any religious knowledge or touch religious texts...
It also abolished the practice of marrying a woman without her consent.
Thus, one would have to be very stubborn indeed to refuse such obvious facts and proofs that Islam was women's first liberator.
The tendencies to see women as "an inferior species" who has no right for education and that must be totally secluded from the society arose much later in the Islamic world, as a result of deviations from the right Qur'anic path.
Conclusion
Thus we can say that the
mentality that
despises women, excludes them from society and regards them
as second
class citizens is a wicked pagan attitude which has no place
in Islam.
In fact, devout women are depicted as good examples for
mankind in
the Qur'an. One is Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. Another
is the
wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh who, despite her husband's
wickedness,
is also described as an ideal Muslim. (see, 66:11-12) The
Qur'an also
describes very gentle conversations between the Prophet
Solomon and
the Queen of Sheba (27:42-44), and between Moses and two
young ladies
(28:23-26), which symbolize the civilized social
relationship between
the two genders.
Therefore, it is impossible for a Muslim to have a bigoted
approach
to women. In a society where true Islamic morals are
practiced, immense
respect and sympathy will be shown to women, and it will be
ensured
that they can live in freedom and comfort.
The fundamental rule in Qur'anic exegesis is ensuring that
the derived
meaning is in conformity with the integrity of the Qur'an.
When this
is considered, it is seen that all the rules mentioned to us
by God
regarding women form a social structure allowing them to
live in the
most comfortable and happiest way. In a society where all
the moral
values mentioned by Islam are practiced comprehensively, the
social
position of women becomes even more exalted than in
societies that
we today regard as modern.
1 Bernard Lewis, The
Middle East, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1995, p.
210
2 Karen Armstrong, Muhammad A Biography of The Prophet,
Harper
Collins Publisher, USA, 1992, p.191
3 Ibid,. p.199
Solution To Economic Crisis From The Qur'an
Solution To Economic Crisis From The Qur'an
Following two terrible world wars, the "post-war rapid growth model" finally failed at the end of the 1960s. In other words, programs aimed at increasing productivity still further within the framework of that model collapsed.
After The Oil Crisis
The
troubles that began in those years and erupted in the 1974 oil
crisis
did so when the growth rate in developed economies began to
slow down
and profit margins to fall. The situation was so bad that in
OECD countries
alone, which consist of developed nations such as Western
Europe, the
United States, Canada and Japan, unemployment reached tens of
millions.
In such an atmosphere, capital that was unable to find
investment opportunities
in the real sector began seeking profits all over the world
and turned
instead to developing countries. In this way, it was the
finance sector,
together with the possibilities and advantages bestowed by
technology,
that developed the most rapidly over the last 20 years.
Capital that turned its attention to developing nations during
that
process obtained great profits from those regions. The
international
companies that set their eyes on those countries invested only
a very
small part of the profits they made in real production.
However, money
can only increase its value when used for production, and that
would
have made it possible for those countries to repay debts and
develop
their economies. However, a large part of the loans extended
were used
unproductively, and yet more re-entered the international
finance system
because of corruption. The way that developing countries'
capital was
kept away from those areas that most use could be made of it
brought
them face to face with great difficulties when it came to debt
repayment.
The Dilemma of
Accumulated Debt
and Loans
Economies unable to repay accumulated debts have sought a
solution in
increased borrowing, and have been trapped in a vicious circle
from
which there is no escape. That was then followed by further
unproductive
borrowing and higher interest rates. Trying to borrow to repay
loans
led to a process of further borrowing caused by interest
repayments.
As the productivity of real investments fell during this
process, some
investors were forced into bankruptcy, and others to seriously
reduce
the scope of their activities.
Money
that retreated from the market caused producers to have
problems selling
their products and to be unable to repay their bank loans.
Banks and
financial organizations that are unable to get their money
back from
industrialists try to pay their own debts to other
international lenders
(international capital) by using deposits belonging to the
public. In
such a situation the slightest rumour (if we bear in mind that
rumours
have a serious effect on economies that are not performing
well) leads
to customers who want to withdraw their money being unable to
do so.
The bank will then announce that it has gone bankrupt and turn
over
the whole of its debt to the state.
Argentina and The
Unbearable
Weight of Interest
States suffering under such a burden again seek a solution in
further
borrowing, this time falling under a greater interest burden.
Yet that
is still no solution. The important point is that it is only
possible
to pay back loans by means of the use of capital in real
production.
The fundamental cause of the crises in the 1980s and 1990s was
the fact
that such capital was not used in real production in
sufficient quantities.
The latest example of a country caught in the interest trap is
Argentina,
whose economy collapsed under foreign debt of 130 billion
dollars. Business
closures, the hungry unemployed and desperate people unable to
make
their voices heard all give rise to social unrest. In fact,
the social
problems that have already started and are likely to continue
are being
followed with great unease.
First of all, loans must not be eaten away unproductively or
unjustly,
but must all be benefited from in the field of production.
Industrialists
must keep prices low and raise quality thanks to these
investments.
In that way imports from other countries must be reduced, and
the country's
exports raised.
The Solution To
Economic Chaos
Lies In Qur'anic Morality
In the same way that a country which sees increased cash
inflow into
its economy can easily repay its debts, it can also easily
become
a trustworthy investment destination due to the confidence
that it
inspires. It will then attract capital, by investing in
profitable
enterprises and making gains. In this way, that country's
companies
will gain value, its currency will become stable,
unemployment levels
will fall, and most important of all, the public will feel
confident
again and look to the future with hope.
The deep chaos caused by the interest economy has revealed
itself
in many countries so far, and has caused the heavy price to
be paid
by the public in those nations. These problems, caused by
individual
interests and lack of ethics, refuse to disappear from many
countries,
and clearly demonstrate that the solution lies in the
morality of
the Qur'an. In the same way that Allah has condemned as a
sin the
unjust consumption of others' property and the waste of
existing resources,
so He has also forbidden people to ignore others and plunge
them into
difficulties for the sake of their own gain. The solution to
the problems
plaguing the economy lies in all of mankind abiding by the
morality
of the Qur'an, which recommends a human model
that is productive, just and enterprising.
In the same way that an atmosphere of peace, security and
justice
can only come about when people live by the morality of the
Qur'an,
it is possible to resolve the problems in the economy and
increase
every individual's standard of living by implementing that
morality
in every sphere of life.
The Importance Of Education For Muslims
The Importance Of Education For Muslims
As
we know, madrasahs are one of Islamic societies' oldest
education-teaching
institutions. Before madrasahs, education and teaching
activities in
the Islamic world were carried out in places of such varying
names and
characters as masjids, mosques, scholars' homes, palaces and
bookshops.
Since mosques and masjids in particular were used for
instruction in
the essentials of religion, they were also employed for
education and
teaching purposes.
According to Islamic history, following the first revelation
to our
Prophet (saas), the first Muslims who converted to Islam
secretly
assembled in the house of al-Arqam, one of the companions of
the Prophet,
where they were instructed and taught by our Prophet (saas).
It is
said that this is how the school and madrasah were born in
Islam.
The Dar-al-Arqam (House of Arqam), known as the first
madrasah in
Islam, is still preserved in memory of those days. With the
founding
of the Islamic State in Medina by our Prophet (saas)
following the
Hegira, the Masjid Nabawi constructed there became a centre
of Islamic
education and teaching. Muslims would gather there, study
the Qur'an
and Islam and improve themselves. The gradual increase in
need caused
our Prophet (saas) to found other education centres in
different parts
of the city. Madrasah education continued in the same way
during the
period of the four caliphs.
Not only religious knowledge was taught in the madrasahs;
sciences
of the time, such as astronomy, mathematics, geometry and
medicine
were also given an important place. Later still, courses in
Western
languages, Persian, history, geography, astronomy,
mechanics, trigonometry,
chemistry, painting, physical training, hygiene, social
sciences,
philosophy, economics and finance were added to the
curriculum. These
institutions continued to be known as "medreses" during
the time of the Turks.
The Nizamiyah madrasahs opened by Sultan
Alparslan's
vizier Nizam al-Mulk during the Great Seljuk Empire and
named after
him are very well known. Following this new line adopted by
the Seljuk
Empire, there was a rush to open madrasahs just about
everywhere in
the Islamic world.
In the 13th and 14th centuries, centres such as Cairo,
Damascus, Basra
and Bukhara, and particularly the Transoxania region, became
the most
important powers in the development of Ottoman institutions
of learning
under the influence of the madrasahs they possessed. Their
instruction
was very definitely one of the major factors in the success
of the
Ottoman Empire, one of the greatest empires in the world and
which
survived for six centuries.
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A Muslim needs to know the Qur'an in order to correctly
understand
and interpret the world, human beings, natural events and
everything
in the universe. Knowing for what purpose Allah created the
universe,
human beings and all other living things is of the greatest
importance
from the point of view of appreciating Him properly.
Engaging in activities
based solely on artificial knowledge, without a knowledge of
the Qur'an
and without considering the hidden aspects of events, cannot
lead
to productive results. In the Qur'an, Allah summons humanity
to investigate
and reflect upon the heavens, the earth, mountains, stars,
plants,
seeds, animals, the alternation of the night and the day,
the creation
of man, the rain and many other created things. Examining
these, man
comes to recognize the artistry of Allah's creation in the
world around
him, and ultimately, to know our Creator, Who created the
entire universe
and everything in it from nothing.
"Science" offers a method by which the universe, and all
the beings therein, may be examined to discover the artistry
in Allah's
creation, thereby communicating it to mankind. Religion,
therefore,
encourages science, adopting it as a tool by which to study
the subtleties
of Allah's creation.
Religion not only encourages scientific study, but also
permits that,
supported by the truths revealed through religion,
scientific research
be conclusive and expeditious. The reason being, that
religion is
the only source to provide accurate and definitive answers
as to how
life and the universe came into being. As such, if initiated
upon
a proper foundation, research will reveal the truths
regarding the
origin of the universe and the organization of life, in the
shortest
time, and with minimum effort and energy. Science can only
achieve
true results if it adopts the aim of studying the infinite
might of
Allah and the proofs of creation in the universe, and if it
pursues
its activities solely in that light. Only if science is
properly directed,
if it is kept on a correct course in other words, can it
become a
vehicle whereby mankind achieves useful information and
progress.
As stated by Albert Einstein, considered one of the greatest
scientists
of the 20th century, "science without religion is lame",
which is to say, that science, unguided by religion, cannot
proceed
correctly, but rather, wastes much time in achieving certain
results,
and worse, is often inconclusive.
 |
| Religious instruction imparted from an early age will enable that individual to have a strong character and to have pleasing moral values and a healthy way of looking at the world. |
In the event that the purpose behind the
creation
of man, the transitory nature of this world, the fact that
what matters
is the life of the hereafter, death, the certain existence
of destiny
and the hereafter, the fact that every individual will have
to account
for his deeds, and the existence of heaven and hell are all
fully
known, then this will shape the individual's way of looking
at events,
his way of living and his reactions to the events he
encounters. If
these truths are not known, then even if a person receives
the very
best education in the very best schools and/or participates
in academic
studies at the very highest level, that education will still
not be
enough. That is because the important thing is for the
individual
to have a lifestyle and moral values which are pleasing to
Allah.
This world is very transitory and is created as a place of
testing.
The individual is tested here, and will receive a recompense
in the
hereafter based on the moral values and behaviour he
displayed in
the life of this world. This is an unavoidable fact for all
people.
For that reason, as well as receiving a modern scientific
education
the individual should also be immersed in religious matters.
That
is because someone who has adopted the moral values of the
Qur'an
and comprehended the religion will use this knowledge and
technology
he has learnt in the manner most pleasing to Allah, and thus
for the
benefit of mankind.
No matter what an individual's profession, status or
education may
be, he will still need religious instruction. Indeed,
religious instruction
imparted from an early age will enable that individual to
have a strong
character and to have pleasing moral values and a healthy
way of looking
at the world. Muslims must therefore attach the greatest
importance
to education in all respects. Allah reveals the importance
of knowledge
in a holy verse:
Only those of His servants with knowledge have fear of Allah. Allah is Almighty, Ever-Forgiving. (Qur'an, 35:28)
The Call For An "Islamic Union"
The Call For An "Islamic Union"
The
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were a turning point for the world,
one that
completely altered its political and strategic balances. Some
political
commentators even say that Sept. 11, 2001 marked the real
beginning
of the twenty-first century. Looking back at the century just
passed,
the most important elements of opinion and belief shaping it
were ideologies
and the relations between these ideologies. Similarly,
civilizations,
beliefs and the relationship between these two will work to
shape the
twenty-first century.
There are claims from some quarters that relations between
civilizations
and beliefs will be fundamentally characterized by
"clashes."
However, quite to the contrary, it is our hope that these
relations
will be based upon peace and friendship. The Qur'an will
serve as
the guide for us, Muslims, in this realm. In the Qur'an, God
tells
us that the differences between people should be a reason
for them
to seek to know one another better:
Mankind! We created you from a male and female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you might come to know each other. The noblest among you in God's sight is the one who best performs his duty. God is All-Knowing, All-Aware. (Qur'an, 49: 13)
In another verse, God specifically calls upon Muslims to treat the People of the Book, i.e., Jews and Christians, well:
Only argue with the People of the Book in the kindest way-except in the case of those of them who do wrong-saying, "We believe in what has been sent down to us and what was sent down to you. Our God and your God are one and we submit to Him." (Qur'an, 29: 46)
Thus, Muslims should
collectively
work to establish a system that brings societies different
from one
another into relationships of mutual tolerance and peace.
Certainly
it is one of the main duties of a Muslim to invite people of
other faiths
to join Islam, but at the same time they must treat such
people well
and justly whether they answer their call or not. Muslims'
constant
goal should be the welfare of all humanity, for as God said, "You
are the best nation ever to be produced before mankind." (Qur'an,
3: 110).
In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, however, a dire
problem emerged.
Certain circles that claim to speak on behalf of Islam, but
clearly
lack the understanding of the essence of it, work to wreak
suffering
on humanity rather than striving for its benefit. In attacking
and killing
innocent people, they committed the vilest sin forbidden by
Islam-in
other words, they brought chaos to the world. Their violent
methods
and aggressive messages seething with anger are wholly at odds
with
Islam. And at the same time, these circles are putting the
world's one-billion-plus
Muslims into a very difficult spot.
The Qur'an speaks about such people who misinterpret religion
and commit
terrorism in the name of faith (3: 7; 27: 48-49). God warned
Muslims
to steer clear of the forces that are obdurate in "disbelief
and
hypocrisy," and against people who fail to perceive the noble
morality
lying at the core of religion and so employ violence due to
their hardened
natures (9: 47; 49: 14). In the history of Islam, such groups
as the
Hashashins and Kharijites used terrorism in the name of
religion and
sowed disorder in the world due to their own ignorance.
Clearly, this is a truly pressing matter crying out for a
solution.
Islam should be cleansed of such wicked tendencies, and
extremism and
superstitions should be wiped away. Muslims must instead be
educated
about true Islamic morality based on the Qur'an, and in the
words of
the theologian Imam al-Ghazali, the Islamic world should be
"revitalized."
Problems
In The
US Policy
 |
| The evils in the world will come to an end when Muslims, Christians and Jews all worship God in unity, tolerating their differences of faith. |
Westerners, and especially the
United States,
the target of the Sept. 11 attacks, have come to recognize
this issue,
at least in part. Therefore the US administration has begun an
attempt
to "reorganize the Islamic world" over the next 10-15 years.
However, its strategy has two serious shortcomings:
1. The United States should not employ military methods.
The US operation in Afghanistan ushered in an era of military
interventions
which so far shows little sign of letting up. To take one
example, consider
the war against Iraq. Some observers predict that after it
deals with
Iraq, the US will proceed to still more military operations
against
other countries in the Middle East. Such a path, however, will
not help
the US to reach its goals, and will moreover claim the lives
of many
innocents. Military methods will inevitably be interpreted as a
"war
against Islam," which will in turn only add further fuel to
the
fires of tension and conflict.
If the United States truly wants to wage a "war against
terrorism"
it should do so in the realm of ideas and opinion. Terrorism
is not
a tangible enemy, rather it is a method used by people guided
by mistaken
ideas. One cannot fight against a method, one can only fight
against
a force that uses this method. If this force is an opinion,
then it
should be defeated on the field of opinion. The ideology and
psychology
that lead to terrorism must be done away with. In their place,
people
should instead be taught the real religion based upon the
Qur'an, instead
of mistaken religious interpretations that result in
terrorism.
2. The United States should not try to impose a solution from
"the
outside."
The reasoning laid out above shows that it is not right for
the United
States to try to solve the problem from "the outside." The
problem lies in misinterpretations and distortions of Islam at
the hands
of certain people, therefore the solution should come from the
world
of Islam. Muslims could work to promote a proper understanding
of Islam
and at the same time fight misinterpretations of it. The
United States
should support a solution originating from within the Islamic
world.
Were the United States to support such an approach, this would
be better
for the US, better for the world's Islamic community and
indeed better
for the entire world. Those who claim the opposite should
reconsider
their stances, realizing in the process that such views are
leading
the world into a bloodbath. The US administration must be
careful not
to give credit to the erroneous suggestions of some forces
with various
ulterior motives. These forces are some ideologues and
strategists who
want fervently to see a bloody war erupt between the West and
the Islamic
world, and moreover are trying to portray US anti-terrorist
policies
as part of a "war against Islam." The US government, and in
particular President George W. Bush, has made sensible
statements rejecting
such "the-West-versus-Islam" interpretations, and these
efforts
have yielded some good results. However, it is also necessary
that the
policies of the US government fully reflect a more enlightened
viewpoint
in the eyes of international public opinion.
How
Should An
Islamic Union Be?
So then, the war against terrorism should be carried out in
the realm
of opinions and ideas, and its solution should originate
from within
the world of Islam. But how will this come about?
Before answering this question, we must point out one fact:
the current
divided nature of the Islamic world. Today many different
religious
interpretations, views and models exist in the world of
Islam. However,
the Islamic world currently lacks a central authority to
separate
out doctrines which contradict the faith, a service which
would guide
all Muslims. The world's Roman Catholics can look to the
Vatican,
and Orthodox Christians have the patriarchs, but there is
currently
no central authority in the Islamic world.
However, there is no division and uncontrolled structure in
the essence
of Islam itself; on the contrary, there is unity. After the
death
of the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him), the Islamic
world was
guided by the Caliphate, and this authority became the guide
for all
Muslims in religious matters.
Today, it is still possible to set up an authority to act as
a guide
to all Muslims. In the Qur'an, God orders all Muslims to
obey "those
in command among them." (Qur'an, 4: 59). Now, the methods
used
to select "those in command" can be altered according to
the requirements of the age (such asappointment or popular
vote).
Thus is possible to establish an Islamic Union and a central
Islamic
authority, based on democratic principles and the supremacy
of law,
which should do a number of things:
1. It should address the entire Islamic world, and have a
firm foundation
in basic Islamic values and principles. It should not be the
representative
of a particular sect or school of Islam.
2. It should support human rights, democracy and free
enterprise.
The economic, cultural and scientific development of the
Islamic world
should be its aim.
3. It should establish peaceful, harmonious relations with
other nations
and civilizations. This Union should work together with the
United
Nations and the international community to control weapons
of mass
destruction, fight terrorism and international crime, and
protect
the environment.
4. The rights of minorities living in Muslim countries-such
as Jews
and Christians-should be protected, and they should be made
to feel
both safe and respected. Inter-faith dialogue and
cooperation should
be given priority.
5. Just and peaceful solutions should be proposed to solve
conflicts
between Muslim and non-Muslim communities, such as the ones
in Palestine,
Kashmir and the Philippines. These solutions should involve
both benefits
and concessions for both sides. Such solutions should
protect the
rights of Muslims and furthermore prevent the escalation of
conflicts
to the point of intractability at the hands of radical
Islamist groups.
 |
| Compassion, peace and tolerance constitute the very basis of the values of the Qur'an, and Islam aims to wipe mischief out of the earth. The commands of the Qur'an and the ways Muslims practised them throughout history are so clear as to leave no room for dispute. |
Bringing such fair, rational
leadership
to the Islamic world would be good for both its 1.2 billion
Muslims
who face so many problems today and for the world at large.
The world
needs such a Union. Muslims, since the time of the Prophet
Mohammed
(pbuh), have led the way forward for humanity in science,
philosophy,
art, culture and civilization, and the masterpieces they
created benefitted
humanity. While Europe was still living in the Middle Age,
Muslims
were teaching science, medicine, art, rational thinking,
hygiene and
many other virtues to the world. Today, just as in the past,
a guiding
principle based on Qur'anic morality is needed to restart
this Islamic
revival stemming from the light and wisdom of the Qur'an.
How can we make this project a reality? Among its fellow
Muslim countries,
Turkey in particular bears a great responsibility in this
area. This
is because Turkey carries the proud heritage of the Ottoman
Empire,
which in fact set up such an Islamic Union and ruled it for
over five
centuries. It boasts this social background and state
tradition. Additionally,
Turkey enjoys the best relations with the West, which will
help it
to intermediate between the West and the Islamic world in
the solution
of any problem that may emerge. Throughout its history
Turkey has
had a moderate, tolerant tradition, and it represents not
some narrow
faction but rather Sunni Islam, which is followed by a
majority of
the world's Muslims, a factor which should not be
underestimated.
Finally, we must emphasize that this solution should be
realized urgently,
because the possibility of "a conflict of civilizations"
between the Islamic world and the West is growing with each
passing
day. If the current situation doesn't change, other wars
will surely
follow the war in Iraq. Such conflicts will claim the lives
of many
innocent people. Prejudices and misunderstandings against
Muslims
and Islam are a persistent problem, and this is also causing
difficulties
for Muslims living in Western countries. Westerners
themselves are
living in a state of anxiety due to their fears of
terrorism, not
feeling safe even in their own homelands. We need a solution
that
would make these problems a thing of the past.
Truly, the founding of an Islamic Union is such a solution,
one that
would bring to all these problems a remedy both permanent
and peaceful.
Distinguishing Between Zionism And Judaism
Distinguishing Between Zionism And Judaism
In the summer of 1982 there began a great
savagery
that caused the whole world to cry out in protest. The
Israeli Army
entered Lebanon in a sudden attack, and moved forward
destroying every
target that appeared before it. The Israelis surrounded the
refugee
camps, where Palestinians lived who had fled the Israeli
occupation
years before, and for two days used Lebanese Christian
militias to
slaughter innocent civilians. Within a few days, thousands
of innocent
people had been massacred.
This terrible Israeli terrorism outraged the whole world.
The interesting
thing, however, is that some of the protests came from Jews,
even
Israeli Jews. Professor Benjamin Cohen of Tel Aviv
University penned
a statement on June 6, 1982, saying:
I am writing to you while listening to a transistor that has just announced that "we" are in the process of "realizing our objectives" in Lebanon: to insure "peace" for the residents of Galilee. These lies worthy of Goebbels make me mad. It is clear that this savage war, more barbaric than any of those preceding it, has nothing to do with the attempt in London or the security of Galilee ... Jews, sons of Abraham ... Jews, victims themselves of so much cruelty, how can they become so cruel? ... The greatest success of Zionism is the "dejudaisation" of the Jews.1
Benjamin Cohen was not the
only
Israeli to oppose the Israeli occupation of Lebanon. Many
Jewish intellectuals
living in Israel condemned the savagery carried out by their
own state.
This
attitude was not restricted to the occupation of Lebanon.
Israel's oppression
of the Palestinians, its insistence on its policy of
occupation, and
its links with the semi-fascist administrations in the former
racist
regime in South Africa had been criticized for many years by
many prominent
intellectuals in Israel. This Jewish criticism was aimed not
just at
the policies of Israel, but also at Zionism, its official
ideology.
This situation is the expression of a very important truth:
Israel's
policy of occupation and state terrorism from 1967 up to the
present
stems from the ideology of Zionism, and many Jews in the world
are opposed
to it.
For Muslims, therefore, the concept that should be criticized
is not
Judaism or the Jewish race, but Zionism. In the same way that
an anti-Nazi
can have no hatred for the German people, so he can have none
for the
Jewish race because he opposes Zionism.
The
Racist Roots
of Zionism
After the Jews were expelled from Jerusalem in 70 AD, they
began to
spread to different parts of the world. During this period
of the
"diaspora," which lasted up to the 19th century, the vast
majority of Jews saw themselves as a religious group. Over
time, most
Jews adopted the religion of the countries they lived in.
Hebrew was
left as a sacred language used in prayers and religious
texts. Jews
in Germany began to speak German, and those in Britain,
English. When
certain social restrictions on Jews in European countries
were lifted
in the 19th century, Jews began to assimilate with the
societies they
were living in. Most Jews saw themselves as a "religious
community,"
not as a "race" or "nation." They described themselves
as "Jewish Germans," "Jewish Britons," or "Jewish
Americans."
As
we know, however, there was a huge rise in racism in the 19th
century.
Racist ideas, influenced in particular by Darwin's theory of
evolution,
grew enormously and found many supporters in Western
societies. Zionism
was the effect this racist storm had among the Jews.
The Jews who propagated the idea of Zionism were people with
very
weak religious beliefs. They saw Judaism as the name of a
race, not
as a community of belief. They suggested that the Jews were a
separate
race from European nations, that it was impossible for them
to live
together and that it was essential they establish their own
homeland.
They did not rely on religious thinking when deciding where
that homeland
should be. Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism, once
thought of
Uganda, and this became known as the "Uganda Plan." The
Zionists later decided on Palestine. The reason for this was
Palestine
was regarded as "the Jews' historic homeland" rather than
for any religious significance it had for them.
The Zionists made great efforts to get other Jews to accept
these
non-religious ideas. The World Zionist Organization that was
set up
undertook vast propaganda work in almost all countries with
Jewish
populations, and began to suggest that Jews could not live
peacefully
with other nations and that they were a separate "race,"
for which reason they had to go and settle in Palestine.
Most Jewish
communities ignored these calls.
In this way, Zionism entered world politics as a racist
ideology which
maintained that Jews should not live with other nations.
First of
all, this mistaken idea created grave problems for and
pressure on
Jews living in the diaspora. Then for Muslims in the Middle
East,
it brought the Israeli policy of occupation and annexation,
together
with bloodshed, death, poverty and terror.
Many Jews today criticize the ideology of
Zionism.
Rabbi Hirsch, one of the foremost Jewish men of religion,
said, "Zionism
wants to define the Jewish people as a national entity ...
which is
a heresy."2
The famous French Muslim thinker Roger Garaudy wrote this on
the subject:
The worst enemy of the prophetic Jewish faith is the nationalist, racist and colonialist logic of tribal Zionism, born of the nationalism, racism and colonialism of 19th century Europe. This logic, which inspired all the colonialisms of the West and all its wars of one nationalism against another, is a suicidal logic. There is no future or security for Israel and no peace in the Middle East unless Israel becomes "dezionized" and returns to the faith of Abraham, which is the spiritual, fraternal and common heritage of the three revealed religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.3
For this reason, therefore, we
must
distinguish between Judaism and Zionism. Not every Jew in
the world
is a Zionist. True Zionists are a minority in the Jewish
world. Moreover,
there are a great many Jews who oppose Zionism's crimes
against humanity,
who want Israel to withdraw at once from all the territory
it has
occupied, and say that instead of being a racist "Jewish
state"
Israel should be a free state where all races and
communities can
live together in equality.
While Muslims rightfully oppose Israel and Zionism, they
must also
bear these truths in mind, and remember that it is not the
Jews who
are the problem, but Zionism.
1 "Professor
Leibowitz
calls Israeli politics in Lebanon Judeo-Nazi", Yediot
Aharonoth,
July 2, 1982
2 Washington Post, October 3, 1978
3 Roger Garaudy, "Right to Reply: Reply to the Media
Lynching
of Abbe Pierre and Roger Garaudy", Samizdat, June 1996
Ariel Sharon Is Responsible For The Sabra And Shatilla Massacres
Ariel Sharon Is Responsible For The Sabra And Shatilla Massacres
The
great massacre at the Sabra and Shatilla camps came back onto
the agenda
with the BBC program "The Accused" broadcast on June 17, 2001.
In that documentary, which looked into Ariel Sharon's role in
the massacre
in which 3,000 people lost their lives, living witnesses who
escaped
the slaughter spoke at first hand of the savagery, which
lasted nearly
3 days. The program concluded by saying that Ariel Sharon, who
was then
defense minister, was responsible for the massacre and must
face trial
for it.
"The
Accused"
Was Broadcast Despite Pressure From The State of Israel
People who escaped the massacre, the Phalange leaders who
carried it
out, representatives of the Israeli Army, lawyers, and
academics participated
in the documentary, which was prepared by journalist Fergal
Keane. However,
before it had even been broadcast it met with a strong
reaction from
Israel and radical Jewish communities. Right up until the last
moment,
everyone expected that it might be cancelled. However,
according to
statements by Keane, the program was screened "under thousands
of e-mails, threatening messages, and warnings of boycotts."
Furthermore,
because of the wide interest it received, it was repeated
several times
on the BBC and shown on television channels in a number of
foreign countries.
What
Panorama
Revealed
The Sabra and Shatilla massacre was carried out by the
Lebanese Christian
Phalange groups with whom Lebanese Muslim Arabs had been at
war for
a long time. Yet it was Israel that supported, organized and
armed
these groups from the beginning. In his program, Keane
described the
relationship between the Phalangists and Israel in this
manner:
The Phalange were led by the charismatic and ruthless Bashir Gemayel. He was Israel's main ally in Lebanon. Israel's Mossad knew from meetings with him that he wanted to "eliminate" the Palestinian problem, and now he was about to become President of Lebanon. Bashir's election worried the people of the camps, but they'd been promised security.
The
Israeli Army, which guaranteed the Palestinians in the camps
that nothing
would happen to them, was firmly behind the Phalange, the
force that
carried out the massacre. Before the massacre, the Israeli
Army took
the camp under its control by bombing it for days. It later
closed all
the gates to the camp, forbidding anyone without permission to
enter
or leave. It gave the Phalange the time and the means to carry
out the
slaughter by firing flares all night long that lit their way,
and by
not intervening for 40 hours. It made it easier for the
massacre to
continue by issuing death threats, and by turning back those
Palestinians
who tried to leave and who got as far as the exits and sought
help.
In Keane's words, "in the rubble were children who'd been
scalped,
young men who'd been castrated." One of the living witnesses
of
the Sabra and Shatilla massacre who spoke on the program,
Nabil Ahmed,
described what he went through in this way:
I was hoping to find my family alive. Then, when I started seeing the bodies in the streets, I accepted the fact then that I'll be grateful to find their bodies. You see what happened. They put them in a house, they killed them and they bulldozed the houses on them, so we were digging the rubble to identify. So we pulled the hair of my relative and that's when we realised that this is the spot where they are there.
The massacre perpetrated by the Phalange was indescribable. Statements of an Israeli officer in the program clearly that the Phalange were enemies of the Muslims. Israeli paratroop brigade commander Yoram Yair recounted the shocking request he received from a Phalangist:
He say "Do me a favour, make sure to bring me that much." I say: "What is it?" He say: "Listen, I know that you will sooner or later go inside West Beirut. Promise me that you will bring me that much Palestinian blood. I want to drink it."
Israel's then-Defense Minister Ariel Sharon knew about every stage of this massacre which was carried out under an Israeli Army security umbrella. Keane explained Sharon's role in these words:
Ariel Sharon arrived in Beirut on Wednesday morning insisting there were PLO forces in the camps. And so after conferring with his senior officers, including Amos Yuron, the Commander for Beirut and the refugee camps, Ariel Sharon agreed a fateful order. "Only one element, and that is the Israeli Defence Force, shall command the forces in the area. For the operation in the camps the Phalangist should be sent in."
Ariel Sharon went to see the Phalange at their headquarters to discuss the Beirut operation… Now, a day after their leader's murder, the Israelis were asking the Phalange to fight in Palestinian camps. Could Ariel Sharon have been in any doubt about what would have happened if you sent the Phalangists into a Palestinian refugee camp, an undefended camp?
Keane put that question to many officials, to Morris Draper, the U.S. Middle East representative at the time; Richard Goldstone, former chief prosecutor at the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal; Professor Richard Falk of Princeton University; and others…They all agreed that Ariel Sharon was responsible in the first degree for the massacre and that he was a war criminal. For instance, Goldstone revealed his thoughts in these terms:"If the person who gave the command knows, or should know on the facts available to him or her, that is a situation where innocent civilians are going to be injured or killed, then that person is as responsible, in fact in my book more responsible even than the people who carry out the order." Space was given in the program to a telephone conversation that supported these opinions. Israeli journalist Ron Ben Yishai reported a conversation between himself and Sharon on the second day in this way:
I found him at home sleeping. He woke up and I told him: "Listen, there are stories about killings and massacres in the camps. A lot of our officers know about it and tell me about it, and if they know it, the whole world will know about it. You can still stop it." I didn't know that the massacre actually started 24 hours earlier. I thought it started only then and I said to him: "Look, we still have time to stop it. Do something about it." He didn't react.
In short, although he has denied
it for
years, Ariel Sharon knew about the massacre, decided on it
together
with the Phalangists, and made no effort to stop the killings
in the
camps, which were under his responsibility.
This reality that Panorama revealed was one that had been
expressed
for years by those who have studied the event closely and
those who
lived through it. However, the reason why the program
attracted so much
attention was that it was the first time that such a
respectable channel
as BBC had broadcast statements directly accusing Israel, and
because
it also accused Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Death
Threats
To Those Who Declare Ariel Sharon To Be A War Criminal
 |
| Ariel Sharon knew about every stage of this massacre which was carried out under an Israeli Army security umbrella. |
There was a most interesting reaction after this broadcast. Professor Richard Falk of Princeton University, who said that Ariel Sharon should be indicted as a war criminal, further noted:
I think there is no question in my mind that he is indictable for the kind of knowledge that he either had or should have had.
Falk began to receive death
threats after
that statement. Shortly afterwards, his home and family were
given police
protection. Israel was once again attempting to silence people
and prevent
the truth from being told by means of violence, pressure, and
threats.
However, Falk stated in The Independent that his conscience
was easy
and that he had told the truth.
After the program, debates began over whether or not Ariel
Sharon could
be tried. Several international jurists joined in. However,
these debates
were an example of insincerity. The genocide of the
Palestinians, which
most states had ignored for more than half a century, was now
being
talked about 20 years after it happened. Those who had ignored
it at
the time, and those who made no effort to stop Israel, were
behaving
as if these massacres were being revealed for the very first
time.
In fact, this charge is not limited to Sharon but extends to
Zionism
itself, Israel's official ideology. It is enough to look at
Israel's
basic principles to see this, and to understand the philosophy
behind
the bloodshed at Sabra and Shatilla.
Will Ariel Sharon Be Tried As A "War Criminal"?
 |
| The charge of the Sabra and Shatilla massacre is not limited to Sharon but extends to Zionism itself, Israel's official ideology. It is enough to look at Israel's basic principles to see this, and to understand the philosophy behind this bloodshed. |
When the BBC program "The
Accused"
was aired, 28 Palestinians who survived the Sabra and
Shatilla massacre
sued Ariel Sharon in Belgium so that he could be tried as a
war criminal
in Belgian courts. Belgium is one of the few countries whose
law permits
the trial of anyone who commits human rights violations in
any country.
The indictment sheds a great deal of light on Sharon's and
Israel's
bloody history. The indictment, which presents commission
reports
and research by important historians and writers as
evidence, contains
important information that Sharon knew about the massacre,
that he
supported those who carried it out, and even that he was
working with
them:
Historians and journalists agree that it was probably during a meeting between Ariel Sharon and Bashir Gemayel in Bikfaya on 12 September [1982] that an agreement was concluded to authorise the "Lebanese forces" to "mop up" these Palestinian camps.1
The intention to send the Phalangist forces into West Beirut had already been announced by Mr Sharon on 9 July 1982 2, and in his biography [called "Warrior"], he confirms having negotiated the operation during his meeting with Bikfaya.3
According to Ariel Sharon's 22 September 1982 declarations in the Knesset (Israeli parliament), the entry of the Phalangists into the refugee camps of Beirut was decided on Wednesday 15 September 1982 at 15.30.4
Also according to General Sharon, the Israeli commandant had received the following instruction: "The Tsahal forces are forbidden to enter the refugee camps. The 'mopping-up' of the camps will be carried out by the Phalanges or the Lebanese army."5
At that point, General Drori telephoned Ariel Sharon and announced, "Our friends [the Phalangists] are advancing into the camps. We have coordinated their entry." Sharon replied, "Congratulations! Our friends' operation is approved."6
(For the whole text of the indictment and detailed statements by the victims, see http://www.mallat.com/complaint.htm)
The above details are only a part of the evidence revealing the relationship between Sharon and Gemayel. Sharon's autobiography, Warrior, provides many more details of the massacre carried out by the Phalangists. In any case, the fact that Israeli soldiers did not enter a camp under their control for 3 days, that they did not know what was going on inside, while all the time preparing logistical support and bulldozers to open graves and demolish houses, means that the claim that they were "well-intentioned" is false.
What
Will Ariel
Sharon's Being Tried As A War Criminal Change?
The trial of Ariel Sharon for the Sabra and Shatilla
massacre would
be an important initiative. However, the current campaign by
some
survivors is not receiving sufficient world support. Apart
from a
few human rights organizations, nobody is supporting them.
The most
important thing is that massacres in Palestine are still
ongoing.
In Palestine, hundreds of innocent Palestinians are being
forced out
of their houses and exiled from their land. Bulldozers run
over their
homes. Again a defenceless father is killed, together with
the child
in his arms. Israeli troops carry out new killings and
attacks every
day. And the man giving the orders is Ariel Sharon. Even if
someone
else replaces him, the massacres will continue, for Israeli
violence
is based upon such a deep-rooted ideology that just bringing
Sharon
to trial will not expunge it. And until Israel abandons its
Zionist
ideology, it will continue to bring death and blood to the
Middle
East.
Of course getting past massacres onto the agenda is an
important initiative.
But for this to be a statement of sincerity, the commitment
displayed
must continue until the cruelty ends. Therefore, all sincere
people
need to pursue wide-scale international legal sanctions (for
instance
an embargo) and a policy of isolation to force an end to the
killings
committed by the Zionists in the name of their ideology.
1 Benny Morris, The
Righteous Victims, New York, A. Knopf, 1999, p. 540
2 Schiff & Ya'ari, Israel's Lebanon War, New York,
Simon and
Schuster, 1984, p. 251
3 A. Sharon, Warrior: An Autobiography, Simon and
Schuster, New
York, 1989, p. 498
4 Sharon à la Knesset, Annexe au rapport de la
Commission
Kahan, The Beirut Massacre, The Complete Kahan
Commission Report,
Princeton, Karz Cohl, 1983, p. 124. (Ci-après, Kahan
Commission
Report)
5 Kahan Report, p. 125: "mopping-up"
6 Amnon Kapeliouk, Sabra et Chatila: Enquête sur un
massacre,
Paris, Seuil 1982, p.37
A Real Solution In Cyprus
A Real Solution In Cyprus
A
real solution in Cyprus would be for the Turkish Republic of
North Cyprus
to maintain its existence as an independent state, to further
strengthen
its ties with Turkey and to implement firm policies to enhance
the Cypriot
people's national and spiritual awareness.
In the last few months, the question of Cyprus has been put
before Turkey
as a condition for its long-awaited membership in the EU. In
spite of
the fact that membership in the EU and the Cyprus question are
two different
issues, some countries such as Greece and Britain have claimed
that
they are related and have made the serious mistake of moving
to put
them on the agenda in a single package.
The
Essential Political
Attitude Regarding Cyprus
In the approximately 150-page document recently prepared by UN
General
Secretary Kofi Annan and delivered to representatives of both
countries,
there are very serious risks for North Cyprus. The report as
it has
been presented is unacceptable because Cypriot Turks have no
area of
sovereignty and if it is accepted, they will be a minority
living on
the island within 3 to 5 years and are treated as such.
Moreover, it
is recommended that a certain number of Greek Cypriots be
moved into
areas belonging to the North. Under these circumstances, it is
probable
that all the measures taken in the 1960 agreement between
Turks and
Greeks to preserve the status of the two different communities
will
be nullified. More serious is the probability that, without
preparing
a suitable foundation on which the two communities can live
securely,
the attempt to implement the model of a heterogeneous society
may have
a detrimental outcome as it had in the past.
In the event of such an agreement, many Cypriot Turks will be
without
a home and employment, living in anxiety with no peace of
mind. They
have been settled on the island since 1974 and to remove them
from their
homes and destroy the peace and order of their lives would be
of benefit
to no one.
Turkey's policy on this matter, as it was well expressed by
the National
Security Council, must have its basis in the primary goal of
assuring
the security of the Turks in northern Cyprus and in support
for the
Turkish Republic of North Cyprus. Through the Cyprus Peace
Movement
in 1974, the Turkish army protected Turks on the island from
the genocidal
intentions of radical Greek Cypriots; these facts must never
be forgotten.
Solutions that would be disadvantageous to the Turkish side of
the island
and pose a risk to its security cannot be considered.
Moreover,
from the point of view of Turkey, Cyprus is of great strategic
importance.
If Turkey loses its control over Cyprus, it also loses the
possibility
of access to the Mediterranean. In accordance to the decision
made at
the last meeting of the National Security Council, Turkey must
work
towards getting the fact accepted that Denktash insists on:
There are
two separate states on the island. An autonomous government
established
by two separate states will make joint decisions on questions
of foreign
relations but, in domestic matters, one will be independent of
the other.
In addition, it is essential that Turkey continues as
guarantor.
Essential
Cultural
Policies for Cyprus
Policies to be implemented with regard to the Cyprus
question are
not only of a political or diplomatic nature. Also in the
areas of
economics and culture, measures must be encouraged that will
strengthen
the Turkish people of Cyprus and improve their situation. It
is definite
that Southern Cyprus will join the European Union, an
attractive prospect
for some of the Turks on the island even though no official
agreement
has been signed. In order to prevent this from becoming a
debilitating
factor, it is necessary to solidify the connection of
Cypriot Turks
with Turkey and their Muslim identity by improving their
socio-economic
situation and strengthening their national and spiritual
values.
A meeting held recently in Cyprus revealed that a number of
Turkish
people on the island were not happy with some of the
existing policies.
To counteract this, the causes of the discontent have to be
removed
and policies developed that will restore the people's trust
in the
government of the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus. The
government
must adopt a compassionate and understanding attitude
towards the
people, take a close interest in those areas where there are
problems
and provide opportunities for initiatives undertaken towards
the development
of Cyprus.
Furthermore, an intense cultural campaign must be
implemented to infuse
spiritual ideals and values deeply within the people in
Cyprus, especially
the young generation. Cypriot Turks must embrace more
strongly the
Muslim identity that supported them since the island broke
away from
the Ottomans, and Turkey must take the lead in this cultural
renaissance.
To this end, Cypriot Turks must avoid the dilemma that would
arise
from being left with the prospect of an economically
deprived and
passive North Cyprus and a developed and prosperous South
Cyprus.
On the contrary, the model to be adopted is that of a
modern, contemporary,
developed Cypriot Turk who has at the same time a strong
religious
identity. Psychology is of major importance in the
inclinations of
societies, especially in small societies. The strengthening
of Cypriot
Turkish society is bound to a psychological reinforcement,
and this
will come about by the establishment of the above mentioned
economic
and cultural policies.
In this matter, an important role will be played by the
media and
public social institutions. Cypriot Turks must see a
motherland that
avidly supports their existence on the island, that is of
one heart
and mind with them in a feeling of religious brotherhood and
that
defends their rights with its utmost power.
Behind The Scenes Of The Iraq War
Behind The Scenes Of The Iraq War
The plan for the Iraq war,
which
has erupted in the face of opposition from the entire world,
was drawn
up at least decades ago, by Israeli strategists. In its
attempt to realize
its strategy of destablizing or dividing the Middle Eastern
Arab states,
Israel has Egypt, Syria, Iran and Saudi Arabia on its list of
subsequent
targets.
On 19 March, 2003, the United States of America begun striking
at Iraq.
Despite the fact that most countries of the world, and even
the majority
of the USA's allies, opposed it, the US administration was
determined
for the strike to go ahead. When we look behind the scenes of
this insistence,
it is Israel, solely responsible for the bloodshed and
suffering in
the Middle East since the beginning of the twentieth century,
which
emerges. The state of Israel's policy aimed at the
fragmentation of
Iraq has lengthy historical roots…
Israel's Plans To
Divide Iraq
The report titled "A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen
Eighties,"
by the Department of Information's Hebrew-language magazine
Kivunim
(Directions), aimed at making the whole of the Middle East a
living
space for Israel. The report, drawn up by Oded Yinon, an
Israeli journalist
and formerly attached to the Foreign Ministry of Israel, set
out the
scenario of the "division of Iraq" in these terms:
Iraq, rich in oil on the one hand and internally torn on the other, is guaranteed as a candidate for Israel's targets. Its dissolution is even more important for us than that of Syria… Iraq is, once again, no different in essence from its neighbors, although its majority is Shi'ite and the ruling minority Sunni. Sixty-five percent of the population has no say in politics, in which an elite of 20 percent holds the power. In addition there is a large Kurdish minority in the north, and if it weren't for the strength of the ruling regime, the army and the oil revenues, Iraq's future state would be no different than that of Lebanon in the past… In Iraq, a division into provinces along ethnic/religious lines as in Syria during Ottoman times is possible. So, three (or more) states will exist around the three major cities: Basra, Baghdad and Mosul, and Shi'ite areas in the south will separate from the Sunni and Kurdish north.
We believe there is little
need to
recall how this scenario was partially implemented after the
1991 Gulf
War, with Iraq being effectively, if not officially, divided
into three
parts. The fact that the
US plan for the occupation of Iraq could again spark off such a
division,
is a concrete threat.
Israel's Role In The Gulf
War
The implementation of the Israeli strategy goes back to 1990.
Saddam Hussein
invaded Kuwait in a sudden attack on August 1, 1990, giving rise
to an
international crisis. Israel headed the list of those forces
which encouraged
that crisis. Israel was the fiercest supporter of the attitude
adopted
by the United States in the wake of the invasion of Kuwait. The
Israelis
even regarded the United States as moderate, and wanted a
harsher policy.
To such an extent in fact that the President of Israel Chaim
Herzog recommended
that the American use nuclear
weapons. On the other hand, the Israeli lobby in the United
States was
working to bring about a wide-ranging attack on Iraq.
This whole situation encouraged the idea in the
United
States that the attack against Iraq under consideration was
actually planned
in Israel's interests. The well-known commentator Pat Buchanan
summarized
this idea in the words, "There are only two groups that are
beating
the drums for war in the Middle East-the Israeli Defense
Ministry and
its amen corner in the United States."1
Israel had also initiated a serious propaganda
campaign
on the issue. Since this campaign was largely waged in secret,
Mossad
also entered the equation. Former Mossad agent Victor Ostrovsky
provides
important information on this subject. According to Ostrovsky,
Israel
had wanted to wage war with the United States against Saddam
long before
the Gulf crisis. So much so in fact, that Israel began to
implement the
plan immediately after the Iran-Iraq war. Ostrovsky reports that
Mossad's
Psychological Warfare department (LAP-LohAma Psicologit) set
about an
effective campaign using disinformation techniques. This
campaign was
aimed at representing Saddam as a bloody dictator and a threat
to world
peace.2
A Mossad
Agent Describes The Gulf War
Ostrovsky
describes how Mossad used agents or sympathizers in various
parts of the
world in this campaign and how, for example, Amnesty
International or
"volunteer Jewish helpers (sayanim)" in the US Congress were
brought in. Among the tools employed in the campaign were the
missiles
launched against civilian targets in Iran during the Iran-Iraq
war. As
Ostrovsky makes clear, Mossad's later use of these missiles as a
propaganda
tool was quite peculiar, since those missiles had actually been
directed
towards their targets by Mossad, with the help of information
from US
satellites. Having supported Saddam throughout his war with
Iran, Israel
was now trying to portray him as a monster. Ostrovsky writes:
The Mossad leaders know that if they could make Saddam appear bad enough and a threat to the Gulf oil supply, of which he'd been the protector up to that point, then the United States and its allies would not let him get away with anything, but would take measures that would all but eliminate his army and his weapons potential, especially if they were led to believe that this might just be their last chance before he went nuclear.3
The Israelis
were
so determined on this matter, and with regard to the United
States, that
on August 4, 1990, Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy issued a
diplomatically
worded threat to William Brown, the American ambassador to
Israel, stating
that Israel "expects the US will fulfill all of the goals it set
for itself at the beginning of the gulf crisis," in other words
that
it attack Iraq. According to Levy, if the United States failed
to do so,
Israel would act unilaterally.4
It would be of enormous benefit to Israel to have the United
States engage
in the war and for Israel to remain entirely uninvolved: and
that is indeed
what happened.
Israel Forces The USA
To War
However, the Israelis were actively involved in the United
States' war
plans. Some US staff officers involved in planning Operation
Desert
Storm received fine tactical advice from the Israelis that
"the
best way of wounding Saddam was to strike at his family."
The Mossad-inspired propaganda campaign reported by Ostrovsky
set up
the necessary public backing for the Gulf War. It was again
Mossad's
local assistants who lit the touchpaper for the war. The Hill
and Knowlton
lobbying firm, run by Tom Lantos of the Israeli lobby,
prepared a dramatic
scenario to convince members of the Congress on the subject of
war against
Saddam. Turan Yavuz, a noted Turkish journalist, describes the
incident:
October 9, 1990. The Hill and Knowlton lobbying firm organizes a sitting in Congress on the subject of "Iraq's Barbarities." A number of "eye witnesses" brought to the session by the lobbying firm maintain that Iraqi troops killed new-born babies in the hospital wards. One "eye witness" describes the savagery in enormous detail, saying that Iraqi soldiers killed 300 new-born babies in one hospital alone. This information deeply disturbs the members of Congress. This works to President Bush's advantage. However, it later emerges that the eye witness brought by Hill and Knowlton to Congress is in fact the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador to Washington. Nevertheless, the daughter's account is sufficient for members of Congress to give Saddam the nickname "Hitler".5
This leads to just one conclusion: that Israel played an important role in the United States' decision to wage its first war on Iraq. The second one is not much different.
The Pretext of "War
Against
Terrorism"
Contrary to popular belief, the plan to attack Iraq and
overthrow Saddam
Hussein's regime by force was prepared and placed on
Washington's agenda
long before the environment of the "fight against terror,"
which emerged in the wake of September 11. The first
indication of this
plan emerged in 1997. A group of pro-Israeli strategists in
Washington
began to put forward the scenario of the invasion of Iraq by
manipulating
the "neo-con" think-tank, called PNAC (Project for The New
American Century). The most notable names in the PNAC were
those of
Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, who as defense secretary and
vice-president
would be the most influential figures in the George W. Bush
administration.
An article titled "Invading Iraq Not a New Idea for Bush
Clique:
4 Years Before 9/11 Plan Was Set" written by William Brunch
and
published in the Philadelphia Daily News, sets out the
following facts:
But in reality, Rumsfeld, Vice President Dick Cheney, and a small band of conservative ideologues had begun making the case for an American invasion of Iraq as early as 1997-nearly four years before the Sept. 11 attacks and three years before President Bush took office.
An obscure, ominous-sounding right-wing policy group called Project for the New American Century, or PNAC-affiliated with Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rumsfeld's top deputy Paul Wolfowitz and Bush's brother Jeb-even urged then-President Clinton to invade Iraq back in January 1998.6
Is Oil The Real Objective?
Why were the PNAC members so determined to overthrow Saddam? The same article continues:
While oil is a backdrop to PNAC's policy pronouncements on Iraq, it doesn't seem to be the driving force. [Ian] Lustick, [a University of Pennsylvania political science professor and Middle East expert,] while a critic of the Bush policy, says oil is viewed by the war's proponents primarily as a way to pay for the costly military operation.
"I'm from Texas, and every oil man that I know is against military action in Iraq," said PNAC's Schmitt. "The oil market doesn't need disruption."
Lustick believes that a more powerful hidden motivator may be Israel. He said Bush administration hawks believe that a show of force in Iraq would somehow convince Palestinians to accept a peace plan on terms favorable to Israel…7
This, therefore, is the
principal
motivation behind the plan to attack Iraq: to serve Israel's
Middle
East strategy.
This fact has also been identified by other Middle East
experts. Cengiz
Candar, a Turkish Middle East expert, for instance, describes
the real
power behind the plan to attack Iraq thus:
... Who is directing the attack on Iraq? Vice-President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice. These are the "senior level" backers of the attack. Yet the rest of the iceberg is even richer and more interesting. There are a number of "lobbies."
Heading these lobbies are the Jewish Institute for Security Affairs team, pro-Likud and Israeli-right and known for their close relations with US arms manufacturers. These have close relations with the "arms lobby," Lockheed, Northrop, General Dynamics and Israeli military industries... JINSA's fundamental principle is this: America's and Israel's security are inseparable. In other words, they are the same thing.
JINSA's objective is not solely the overthrow of the Saddam regime in Iraq: It also supports the overthrow of the Saudi Arabian, Syrian, Egyptian and Iranian regimes with a logic of "total war," and the subsequent importation of "democracy." ... In other words, a number of American Jews on the same wavelength as the most extreme factions in Israel at the moment comprise the hawks in Washington.8
Israel's Project of
"Secret
World Domination"
In short, there are those in Washington who are encouraging a
war aimed
first at Iraq and then at Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran and Egypt.
The most
distinguishing feature of these is that they are lined up
alongside, and
even equivalent to, the "Israeli lobby."
No matter how much they speak of "American interests," these
people are actually supporting Israeli interests. A strategy of
waging
war against the whole of the Middle East and turning all the
peoples of
the region against it cannot be to the United States' advantage.
The adoption
of such a strategy can only be possible if the United States is
bound
to Israel, by means of the Israeli lobby, which is unbelievably
influential
in the country's foreign policy.
It is for these reasons that behind the strategy
which
began to be set in motion after September 11 and is aimed at
re-arranging
the entire Islamic world, lies Israel's secret plan for "world
domination."
Ever since its foundation, Israel has aimed at restructuring the
Middle
East, making it manageable and no threat to itself. It has been
using
its influence in the United States for that purpose in recent
years, and
to a large extent directs Washington's Middle East policy. The
post-September
11 climate gave Israel the opportunity it had been seeking.
Pro-Israeli
ideologues who for years had been propounding the falsehood that
Islam
itself-not some militant radicals who use Islam as a
shelter-posed a threat
to the West and the United States, and who encouraged the
mistaken concept
of a "clash of civilizations," have been trying to incite the
United States against the Islamic world in the wake of September
11. As
early as 1995, Israel Shahak of the Jerusalem Hebrew University
wrote
former Israeli Prime Minister Rabin's obsession with "the idea
of
an Israeli-led anti-Islamic crusade." Nahum Barnea, a
commentator
from the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot, stated that same year
that
Israel was making progress "[to] become the Western vanguard in
the
war against the Islamic enemy."9
All that has happened in the years which have followed is that
Israel
has made its intentions even clearer. The political climate in
the wake
of September 11 prepared the ground for this intention to be
made a reality.
The world is now witnessing the step by step implementation of
Israel's
policy of the fragmentation of Iraq, planned decades ago.
The Only Way To World Peace: An Islamic Union
The
situation may be summarized as follows: Israel's aim is to
restructure
the Middle East in line with its own strategic interests. In
order to
do this, in order to rule the Middle East, one of the most
sensitive regions
in the world, it needs a "world power." That power is the United
States; and Israel, thanks to its influence there, is trying to
place
a mortgage on that country's Middle East policy. Although Israel
is a
small state with a population of only 4.5 million, the plans
drawn up
by Israel and its backers in the West are directing the whole
world.
What needs to be done in the face of this?
1) "Counter lobby activities" need to be adopted in the face
of the Israeli lobby's influence in the United States in order
to develop
dialogue between the United States and the Islamic world and
to invite
it to seek peaceful solutions to Iraq and similar problems. A
wide section
of the United States wish to see their country adopt a fairer
Middle
East policy. Many statesmen, strategists, journalists and
intellectuals
have expressed this, and a "peace between civilizations"
movement
must be carried forward in cooperation with them.
2) The approach inviting the US administration to peaceful
solutions
must be carried forward at governmental and civil society
organisation
level.
Alongside all this, a deeper rooted solution lies in a project
which
can resolve all the problems between the Islamic world and the
West
and deal with the fragmentation, suffering and poverty in the
Islamic
world and totally alter it: an Islamic Union.
Recent developments have shown that the whole world, not just
Islamic
regions, stands in need of an "Islamic Union." This Union
should heal the radical elements in the Islamic World, and
establish
good relations between Muslim countries and the West,
especially the
United States. It should also help to find a solution to the
mother
of all problems: the Arab-Israeli conflict. With Israel
retreating to
its pre-'67 borders and Arabs recognizing its right to exist,
there
can be real peace in the Middle East. And Jews and
Muslims-both Children
of Abraham and believers in one true God-may peacefully
co-exist in
the Holy Land, as they have done during the past centuries.
Then, Israel
would need no strategy to destabilize or divide the Arab
States. And
it will not have to face the results of occupation in forms of
terrorism
and constant fear of annihilation. Then, both the Israeli and
Iraqi
(and Palestinian) children may grow up in peace and security.
That is
a Middle East that any sane person should work to see.
1 http://www.infoplease.com/spot/patbuchanan1.html
2 Victor Ostrovsky, The Other Side of Deception, pp.
252-254
3 Victor Ostrovsky, The Other Side of Deception, p.
254
4 Andrew and Leslie Cockburn, Dangerous Liaison, p.
356
5 Turan Yavuz, ABD'nin Kürt Kartý (The US' Kurdish
Card), p. 307
6 William Bunch, Philadelphia Daily News, Jan. 27,
2003
7 William Bunch, "Invading Iraq not a new idea for
Bush
clique", Philadelphia Daily News, Jan. 27, 2003
8 Cengiz Candar, "Irak ve 'Türkiye Dostu'Amerikan
Sahinleri" (Iraq and the 'Friends of Turkey' American
Hawks),
Yeni Safak, September 3, 2002
9 Israel Shahak, "Downturn in Rabin's Popularity Has
Several
Causes", Washington Report on Middle East Affairs,
March
1995