Sunday, January 11, 2009

Gaza under Fire

I recently attended an event titled Gaza under Fire which was organized by the Al-Aqsa Friends’ Society. This is the first time I attended one of their events, and I have to say, it was a big success. The main auditorium was packed with local students and international students from many different countries. This is also the first event I’ve attended which had an equal amount of Malaysians and foreigners, and also the equal amount of males and females (usually the females outnumber the males). It was very inspiring to see so many Muslims coming to show their support for Gaza.

There were two talks, several multimedia presentations and a drama show depicting the war scenario in Gaza. Even though a picture says a thousand words, I think video footages are better in this case. The audience was quiet as we watched women on the screen crying for their lost/dead/injured children with the remains of ruined buildings and smoke and dust in the background.




As one of the speakers said that night, this cannot be called an attack anymore. This is WAR. Just imagine, Gaza is only a small piece of land. Yet the Israelis are attacking Gaza by sea, land and air using army tanks and the latest nuclear bombs, which is why the death toll and the number of injuries are really high in just one day.



The people of Gaza have to be creative in order to survive. They make their own bombs and plan strategies such a releasing rockets across the borders and into Israel.


The Israelis are bombing schools, universities and homes.



They do not care whether they bomb children or adults, and for no absolute reason (although they claim that they “have their own reasons” for doing it).



They are so cowardly to attack Palestine in full force using all kinds of military inventions while knowing that the Palestinians have practically nothing. However, they are killing only the bodies of Gaza. They cannot kill the soul, determination and the mind of Gaza. The people of Gaza cry for their lost ones, but they do not regret what they have done. They have been doing this (fighting for their freedom and survival) in the past, and they will continue to do this to the end.


Some of them even thank Allah for the loss of their beloved ones (eg, I lost my mother, Alhamulillah).



There are deaths and injuries every single day.



There's neither fuel nor electricity. There is also insufficient medicine to treat the injured.


My dear fellow Muslims, this not a Palestinian issue. This is a Muslim issue. The issue of the whole Muslim ummah, for it concerns all of us as Muslims. Spread the word, increase the awareness.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

You said in your previous post, "Most Muslims aren’t even aware about all this. They are blinded by the worldly affairs and entertainment which, unsurprisingly, are created by the Jews and the Western people themselves in order to distract us from what is happening to our fellow Muslims."

So do you actually know any Jews? Or are you just repeating the propaganda that has been instilled in your mind? If you could only realize how racist and uneducated you sound. Somehow I get the feeling that you only interact with other Muslims as clueless as yourself, thus you reinforce your own ignorance about the world.

The reason Israel is launching these defensive operations in Gaza is because your fellow "peaceful" Muslims have been launching thousands of missiles into Israel, even after Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005. I didn't see any protests from Muslims about this aggression from Gaza onto Israel. But now that Israel is defending yourself, now you suddenly care. The reason schools and mosques are hit is because that is where Hamas is storing weapons and firing missles from. It seems that you should be directing your energy at Hamas to stop provoking these attacks and using innocent civilians as human shields.

Unknown said...

To Anonymous,

Q1:Why anonymous?Don't have enough guts to reveal yourself?

Q2:How many HAMAS so called soldiers and weapons been foun in the debris of Gaza's schools, mosque and hospital?

Q3:Why don't the settlement earlier been recognized and followed?
Still recalled the days where Palestinian had to throw stones inspite of coming bullets and rockets?

Unknown said...

To Anonymous (and those in same belief as him), I dedicated an entry for you guys...

pulasan007 said...

Dear beloved anonymous...

I was reading through this blog when I found your interesting yet unfair comment. I am sadly have to admit that there are Muslims who are blinded by 'the world' that make them not aware about Gaza issue today. Humans aren't perfect. However, from the gathering and demonstrations that were done either by Muslims and non-Muslims, people are more aware of this terrible incident. More and more people want to contribute to help the Palestinians. Even UN had given out declaration for Israel to stop their action immediately, but as always, they won't stop it. You see, even UN support the Palestinians. Why? Because they, the Palestinians, are on the right side.

You claimed that Hamas started the war by launching out missiles into Israel. Well, let us look into the histoy of Palestin, Gaza particularly. In 1948, with the support of British, Israel was established in the Balfour Declaration. In order to set up a place for the Israelis, a piece of land had to be cleared up, and that piece of land is called Askalan, which is now called Israel. So, the British chased out the original people of Askalan and they were put on a land which now we know as Gaza. Not only they were chased out from their home, they were not even given support to build a new life, as you can see now. They are the one who are being bullied and cruelly killed.

If you bought a piece of land and build a house on it, and then suddenly you were told to evacuate the house and were only placed to a piece of land without anything, how would you feel? Happy? Exciting? You answer it yourself. I'm not talking on a baseless foundation, I'm talking based on a research that was done by Robert Fisk, a well-known and respected non-Muslim journalist. To prove that I'm not talking bullshit, you can read the article here :

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-why-bombing-ashkelon-is-the-most-tragic-irony-1216228.html

You said that Hamas started the war by launching missiles into Israel. On what foundation do you say that? From the news on your television I supposed. Now you are the one who is repeating the propaganda that has been instilled in your mind. I used facts that was given by a respected non-Muslim. There are many others non-Muslims elite who gave the same oppinions. You are being unjust to other people.

Yes, I have to aggree that I and the person behind this blog have never met any jew before, but we have a lot of other friends from USA, UK and even from the African country. We are not living in the world of our own.

Now, the whole world is condemning the Gaza attack, not only by Muslims I have to mention.

I am proud to say that I am a Muslim. What about you? Please don't misunderstand the tone of my writing. I'm not condemning or criticising you or others, I just want to tell out the truth so that people wont be mislead by the stories made up by certain people to make a bad impression on Palestinians. I would be so happy if you would like to discuss more on this or other topic.

hafizhMZ said...

To Anonymous:

I know many Zionist Jews. Theodor Herzl and his book 'the jewish state' for starters. I'm also well acquainted with many Israelis. Ehud Olmert who ordered the indiscriminate massacre of palestinians on the guise of self defence. Israeli soldiers harrasing a palestinian mother and her child.
Oh I also know Israeli 'civilians'. Israeli children sending their love to palestinian children on Israeli bombs.
I also know their ancestors for that matter. You know, the ones that raped a pregnant palestinian mother and then ripped her foetus from the womb for sport.
I know Israeli and Zionist jews pretty well.

Oh...I read Israeli and zionist websites as well as non-jewish sources to be fair. Like the 'protocols of the elders of zion'.

And If you're wondering if I know a jew in person(rather than just through books), then yes. I had a a jewish math teacher once. he wasn't an Israeli colonist, he wasn't a zionist murderer. He was a very kind person, and a brilliant teacher. I still respect him to this day.

We muslims are not rascist(we do not think that we are Gods exclusive chosen to the exclusion of others) nor do we practice apartheid(we dont build separation walls). those are things that prophet Muhammad came to eradicate.

we consider those jews not at war with us as people we would like to guide(to the path of islam which we believe is the true religion).

but we know that there are those who intend evil upon us. and we know that they will deny this, shouting out RASCISM while they know best that this has never been the case but that it is the destruction that they have themselves wrought that is the true reason.

and those jews that have robbed us off our homes through force(the Nakba of 1948) and continue to occupy our lands, these are our enemies. to take back what is rightfully ours, this is our right. no sane human with even the slightest trace of humanity in him would argue ortherwise.

Israel is an illegal state, a terrorist nation, a colonial force and an apartheid government. It was built on the blood of muslims. it continues to stand on the blood of muslims. it should not be allowed to exist.

hafizhMZ said...

Regarding En. Azhar Abdullahs Q1:

"Of a truth ye arouse greater fear in their hearts, than Allah. This is because they are men devoid of understanding.

They will not fight you (even) together, except in fortified townships, or from behind walls. Strong is their fighting (spirit) amongst themselves: thou wouldst think they were united, but their hearts are divided: that is because they are people devoid of wisdom.

Like those who lately preceded them, they have tasted the evil result of their conduct; and (in the hereafter there is) for them a grievous chastisement".

[Surah al-Hasyr 59 : 13-15]

Anonymous said...

Some interesting responses.

First, I got a kick out of Pulasan007's comment that "You see, even UN support the Palestinians. Why? Because they, the Palestinians, are on the right side."

These countries that comprise the UN care little about the Palestinians. They only pretend to support the Palestinians for their own self-interests which include pacifying local citizens in the Muslim world to maintain power, and maintaining good ties with oil rich Arab states for economic reasons (and also avoiding being a target of Islamic terror and having their trains firebombed). This whole notion of countries supporting Palestinians because they are "on the right side" is just silliness and naivete. Beloved Pulasan, you need to be able to read between the lines. A number of Arab states have come out with lots of criticism of Hamas . . . that says a lot more than useless UN resolutions about which side is right.

Azhar posted some pictures which 1)did not provide any context on the event and 2) only showed pictures of Palestinian suffering. Interestingly, no pictures of attrocities against Israelis were posted (I believe this is called using "selective evidence" to support your position).

And that leads to a larger theme in these posts. No one here has actually visited Israel, talked to Israelis, or read books or articles or even engaged with others to learn of a different perspective of events. Rather, only one point of view has been spoon fed to you. And I take it that in Malaysia, there are not many Pro-Israel associations or student clubs to provide a different point of view. Just a guess.

Finally, I have no intention to replying to the rants and ravings of hafizhMZ. This person has no valuable contribution to give to the world.

Unknown said...

In that case you should read what I quoted from the Rabbi (I think he is Jewish enough to convinced you)...

But still you will say you're on the right side..hehe...typical hiding-behind-anonymous type of person...

pulasan007 said...

Dear beloved anonymous...

What does Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon has to do with oil industry and what is his relation with the arabs? I would say that the answer for the questions is none. If you are able to read between the lines and can see what behind the lines, you would see that how Ban Ki Moon, who is the Secretary-General of the UN, had struggle very hard to make sure that Israel stops the killing-spree on the Palestinians. He commented that the number of killings in Gaza is outrageous and unacceptable. This is a statement from someone that has no importance for the oil industry, if you think that UN are in for the oil.

You said that the UN is pretending to be concern towards Gaza. I don't actually aggree with you. You said that based on what you belief, not based on actual fact. It is like you are a fortune-teller, who can read human minds, in this case, the UN. Are you?

I noticed that you only touched on the UN from what I had respond toward your comment. It seems like you had missed out my biggest point in that respond. The UN part was not my biggest concern. You did not comment anything on the article by Robert Fisk. I assumed that you agree with him and me. Indirectly, by not saying anything on that, you are telling all that you disagree on the invasion of Palestin since 1948 and if you have the chance, you would like to change the terrible history. Wouldn't you?

You repeatedly saying that we never met Jew, never went to Israel and that sort of little thing. Do you have a Muslim friend? Have you ever talked to a Muslim with the intention of understanding Islam? If you want to say a thing about something, you better know the thing well. It seems like you know nothing about Islam. I am ready to explain to you anything that you want to enquire about Islam, or other religion if you want.

I don't want to quote any authoritative fact this time because it seems like you are not open for a discussion. Human right has no boundaries towards region or religion.

hafizhMZ said...

on anonymous' 'selective evidence' - the whole world(minus the illegal terrorist state of israel and their supporters - who by the way have yet to procur evidence of palestinian babies' contribution to terrorism, even if only selective evidence) seem to find En.Azhars 'selective evidence' credible.

well...i suppose there are times when the whole world is wrong.

hafizhMZ said...

on anonymous' 2nd comment, 2nd last paragraph: that no one on this post has bothered to get a different perspective(besides him/her/it self i assume):

I guess anonymous didn't bother to read my 1st post. I suppose it is a bit wordy. I will try to right short and concise comments in the future.

hafizhMZ said...

on anonymous' factual argument that I have no valuable contribution to give to the world(ouch).

I should be pretty put off I guess.

well...hey...at least the few hundred patients I've seen in the past three weeks think that I am valuable and contributing.

oh...my patients are multi-racial and multi-religious(I do suppose anonymous has heard of malaysia?)

maybe I need a larger population sample?

OK in that case add the medical, surgical and obstetrics patients I've seen in the past 6 month. should be in the thousands.

Anonymous said...

Pulasan007:

That's great that you hold the UN is such high esteem. Because the rest of the Islamic world seems to have a problem with the UN's 1947 Partition resolution, and numerous Arab countries had launched attacks to destroy the fledgling State of Israel upon its declaration of independence. However, one of the risks of going to war is that you might lose, and that means lost land and refugees . . .

Secondly, I have numerous Muslim friends that I have gotten to know from work and school. I have been to a Mosque where I heard lectures on Islam from religious clerks, and even attended an Islamic feast to break the fast for a religious holiday. When I have brought up Israel with them, most of them seem to think that anger at Israel is mostly used to distract from economic, social and political problems in the Muslim world.

Since your presumptions about me were so off base, perhaps your notions about Israel are just as wrong? Instead of swallowing whole what guys like Fisk serve, maybe you should do your own investigation of the facts and learn to think critically on your own.

Who knows, you may yet turn out to be one of Israel's strongest supporters.

rossees said...

salaam, i like to share with you the message from Idris Tawfiq (thru my facebook)

Asalaamu alaykum, dear friends. Idris Tawfiq wrote this answer to a question on www.readingislam.com,
Question: "I am a non-Muslim and I want to help the people of Gaza. How?"
Answer:

I greet you with the Muslim greeting of peace.

I am indeed ashamed that whilst many important voices in the Arab and Muslim world have been deafeningly silent or unable even to schedule a meeting together to speak about what is going on in Gaza, you as a non-Muslim are asking how you can help the people of Gaza.

Thank you for your question and thank you for the concern you show. May God Almighty reward you.

One of the most important ways to begin to help the suffering people of Gaza at this time is to understand well what is happening to them there and to be able to use this knowledge to let others know the truth.

Unfortunately, at this time the powerful media machine all over the world is not always presenting an accurate image of what is happening, perhaps because much of the world's media is controlled by those who support the aggression itself. The first way you can help is to let others know the truth.

By way of introduction, then, I want to say some words about the background to the conflict. Maybe you already know these facts well, but maybe there are others who will read this who will benefit from a fresh understanding.

Under the Ottoman Empire, Christians, Muslims and Jews lived together in Palestine in peaceful co-existence for centuries. It could not have been otherwise, since Islam teaches that there should be "no compulsion in religion" and it encourages Muslims to respect the other People of the Book (Christians and Jews), since they share belief in a Creator who made the heavens and the earth and everything in between.

After the First World War, with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Arabs were actively encouraged by Britain and France to seek nations of their own. Britain and France drew lines in the sand and created nation states where they had not existed before.

At the same time, again actively supported by Britain and France, secular Zionists in Europe began to move to Palestine in great numbers and to buy up land there. Their hope was to create a nation called Israel.

This hope became reality for them after the Second World War when Britain, France and America, under the guise of their newly created United Nations Organization, set up the so-called State of Israel in Palestine, on land taken from the people who lived there.

The Palestinians were pushed from their homes and driven into special areas, either across the Jordan River on the West Bank or into Gaza in the south.

So it is that one and a half million Palestinians now live in the tiny area of land known as the Gaza Strip. Their families were forced there by the Israeli State as refugees in their own land, whilst many, many more were forced to go abroad and leave Palestine altogether.

In 1948, the Arab countries fought a war with this new State of Israel to drive it out of the region and to gain back their territory. In 1956, Britain, France and Israel, in the so-called "Tri-Partite Aggression", fought Egypt for control of the Suez Canal.

In 1967 the Israeli State fought another war with the Arabs, seizing vast areas of land beyond their recognized borders, including the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights and the whole of the city of Jerusalem. Much of this territory was won back by another war in 1973.

Even those countries which recognize the so-called State of Israel in Palestine have to recognize it as an occupying power because it occupies land outside the borders of its State which were created in 1948. Under international law, this State of Israel is required to protect the citizens of the land it occupies.

All of this, then, is the background to the carnage and the slaughter we are witnessing every day on our television screens. Instead of protecting the men, women, and children of Gaza, they are being slaughtered.

Let us be perfectly clear: what is happening in Gaza is not a war. What is happening in Gaza is no less than genocide against the Palestinian people. It is a Holocaust which cries out to heaven.

The first thing you can do, then, is to understand this. This itself is a way of helping, because by your understanding you can tell others and you can refuse to accept the lies and the misinformation which is spread abroad.

The next thing you can do is to let those in positions of authority know that you reject this current aggression against the Palestinian people. You can find the addresses of embassies, foreign ministries, prime ministers by doing a "Contact Us" search for them on the internet.

To be sure, the supporters of the Israeli State are not slow to make their voices heard, so those who want to help the Palestinian people should make their own voices heard as well.

When politicians receive an email or two on the same subject, they take note. If they receive hundreds of emails every day they will start to think about their own re-election chances and will sit up and listen.

At the present time there are demonstrations, petitions, candlelit vigils, and all manner of letting others know about the situation in Gaza. Maybe you can get involved in some of these.

There are also innumerable charitable organizations which provide food and medical supplies, blankets, and water to those who are desperately in need of them.

Another very powerful thing to do is to boycott the goods and services of those who carry out or support this aggression. It is perfectly legal and perfectly democratic for you to choose which brand of fizzy drink you want or which trainers you will wear or which coffee shops you will visit.

In this world, money talks. By refusing to buy the goods of those who support this aggression, you will hit them where it hurts the most — in their pockets and their bank balances. Once again, a quick internet search will show you which products to boycott.

And finally, there is the power of prayer. Muslims pray five times a day. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) told us that during the last third of the Night Almighty God descends to the lowest of the seven heavens, actively looking for those who want something of Him.

We are called upon, then, to pray with all our might; to stand in the middle of the night until our ankles swell with pain, begging the Almighty to alleviate the suffering of His people.

Muslims read in the Quran what means:

*{To those who leave their homes in the cause of Allah, after suffering oppression, We will assuredly give a goodly home in this world; but truly the reward of the hereafter will be greater. If only they realized.}* (An-Nahl 16:41)

The thoughts and the prayers of Muslims, and all people of good will all over the world, are with the suffering men, women, and children of Gaza at this time. They rejoice in the sure knowledge that Allah Almighty is in control and that He will bring peace and justice to His people.

If the leaders of the so-called Israel think that by their blockades and sieges and invasions the people of Palestine will just pack up their bags and leave, they are mistaken. The people of Palestine will never, ever leave and they will never accept the occupation of their land.

It is for this reason that Muslims and Arabs and people all over the world are raising their voices against this slaughter. May Allah Almighty bless you for your concern.

I hope this answers your question. Please keep in touch.

Salam

Anonymous said...

Hey Mo,

The world looks forward to your reporting on the atrocities committed by Palestinian terrorist jihadis against Israelis.

You know, the suicide bombings of restaurants, rocket attacks on Israel's civilian population, and the indoctrination of Palestinian children.

Allah Rockbar!

Sop said...

Peace to all.

I have to applaud Anonymous' bravery for consistently coming here to defend his/her statements.

It would be even better if a specific nick was given e.g. 'asd123' because it'll be easier to refer to you and to at least identify you as the same person who keeps coming back.

Perhaps if you were to give out innocuous details about yourself, then commenters here won't be taking wild guesses at your credentials or lifestyle. You already know about us - Malaysian Muslims. But it is up to you to decide whether to reveal anything at all.

Despite this, I'm positive you're the same person and I'm really impressed with the level of commitment you're giving to your stand.

Sop said...

Brave Anonymous,

1) While you say that we're biased, you are biased as well. Your answers parrot the American media and Israeli propaganda (and some are dead wrong; the one about UN countries supporting Palestinians for oil was especially hilarious). We know this because our media show us American and Israeli press statements too.

You too, swallow whole, what's spoon-fed to you. I'm assuming you're American here. You should be aware that Us media are controlled by the Israelies (Gasp, how could we believe such a childish accusation, right?). Here's the proof:

http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/58374

The guy who wrote this is Uri Avnery, an Israeli journalist and a former member of the Knesset to boot. It's only written a fortnight ago.

Read it, and try denying him.

2) While the commenters have shown pictures of Palestinian suffering, quotes famous intellectual non-Muslims and provided links to prove their stand, you have given NONE except for your rethorics.

I appreciate your arguments and exercise in freedom of speech but the main point is show us proof of what you're saying. Give links to photos of Israeli suffering due to the Qassam rockets, articles of Muslim think-tanks who support the Israeli War on Gaza or those who say that "anger at Israel is mostly used to distract from economic, social and political problems in the Muslim world", etc.

Fight photos with photos, not shallow one-liners like "Azhar posted some pictures which 1)did not provide any context on the event..". People won't believe you this way.

3) Dismissing people like Robert Fisk with nary an argument of his words (plus you, yourself, quoted no one) just shows how childish you are in your stand. Instead of just watching the tv news and repeating them verbatim, you should heed your own advice and "do your own investigation of the facts and learn to think critically on your own".

4) You accuse us of being biased, of being not open-minded to the Zionist movement, then please enlighten us.

Saying to someone that he's stupid won't make him smarter, right? Teaching him would make a difference. Teach us. If you do that, who knows, we may yet turn out to be one of Israel's strongest supporters.

5) Here's a link to a series of pictures showing the comparison between the effects of US-funded Israeli missiles and Qassam rockets:

http://palestinian.ning.com/forum/topics/the-other-side-of-the-story

Is this still selective evidence to you? If yes, then show us what you mean - it's not that hard to copy-paste a link, right?

Lastly, I won't get abusive on you if you do not engage my points. It's maybe because you know I'm right or maybe because I arrived here a tad late. I'd like to believe it's the latter.

Peace.

zlee said...

i'd prefer not to write or comment about sensitive issues... coz I am not good at handling one. So I really admire LilBookWorm who has the courage to put up the issue and write on what she believes is right.

to the commenters.. well, we have the one supporting her and the one who thinks she is shallow in knowledge. But anonymous comments.. well, they never impress me. Yes.. how can we be convinced when someone hides behind anonimity? Is it because,

1. The person has no blog or any online links?
2. Afraid to give out real identity for some unidentified reasons.

at least some commenters have the guts to stand up for what they believe in without hiding their real identity or at least an online identity.

about the issue... We might have preferences and maybe our own definition. We might be exposed to different agendas or background.. but no matter who starts it or how the history shaped it... War is still war... violence is still violence. When people say terrorism is wrong... it is wrong... so no mattter WHO did it... for example, 911 bombing.. is still wrong! Killing public civillians n innocent ppl is Wrong... and that is wat the issue is all about now. Gaza attack by Israel is in fact Wrong... no matter how u put it! Therefore, u can call me Pro-Palestine... yes, because I belive they fought for their rights... and now... they had to pay for standing for their rights?

It is hard to convince people to change their mindset or beliefs. So my bet.. anonymous will stick to what he/she believes in, just like the rest of us... Even if the debate continues... there's gonna be no end / resolution. That's ironic... it's hard to achieve common understanding here... how can we expect more from the people who are already at war? I have no solutions either... Like most of us... I just pray for world peace.

Anonymous said...

There are a lot of questions being directed toward me. So if I don’t answer all of them, give me the benefit of the doubt that it is because of time rather than the fact that I am somehow conceding that you are right on a point. Secondly, my identity is not relevant. What matters are the ideas I put forward, and the ability to use logic, evidence and facts to make a persuasive argument.

Now, a common theme on this blog is Jewish/Israeli control of the US media. The argument I read here is that 1) Americans are somehow grossly uninformed or misinformed by the Jewish/Israeli propaganda machine about what is really going on or 2) those that support Palestine are too intimated by the all-powerful Jewish/Israeli lobby to write or talk about it.

Therefore, the argument goes that if only America can be liberated from the grasp of the Jewish/Israeli lobby and see what’s *really* going on and have its eyes opened, then no doubt she would strongly support the Palestinians and “get tough” on Israel. So let’s take a sample look the opinion pages of the top Jewish/Israeli/Zionists/Neo-con controlled US national newspapers:

1) The Wall Street Journal (According to former PM Mahathir, _the_ number one tool of the Jews)
Article: "Israel Is Committing War Crimes" (By a US Professor)
Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123154826952369919.html

2) Los Angeles Times
Article: "Hamas Speaks" (By Hamas)
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-marzook6-2009jan06,0,7077954.story

3) Washington Post
Article: "Israel Must Stop Fanning the Flames That Will Consume Us" (Israeli author)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/23/AR2009012302312.html

Has Israel Revived Hamas? (By Daoud Kuttab, Palestinian Journalist)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/12/29/ST2008122902751.html

4) New York Times
Article “One-State Solution” (Perspective of Libya’s MUAMMAR QADDAFI, not exactly pro-Israeli)
http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/opinion/22qaddafi.html

Are these the headlines that your media has shown you? Or do they only show pro-Israel headlines to make you believe . . . that the Jews control the US media, only the pro-Israel perspective is printed, and this is why America supports Israel?

Just to refresh my memory, there are no Jews in Malaysia, your country has no diplomatic relations with Israel, travel to Israel is not allowed, and the country has a former prime minister (Mahathir) that spent twenty years spewing that Jews control the world, the media, and caused the Asian financial crisis in late 1990’s (source http://www.asiantribune.com/oldsite/show_news.php?id=7433 )

I can easily understand why you believe what you believe.

pulasan007 said...

Thank you for the links anonymous.Very good articles.

So,what is your opinion on those articles?

I am just wondering,do you hate Islam or Muslims? On the issue of Gaza, which has finally stop for a while, why do you blame Hamas or in other word Palestinians for the incident?

I agree with you. Your identity is not an issue here. We are who we are. Take your time to reply brother. We have all the time in the world. I am also quite busy this few weeks.

pulasan007 said...

Dude, though we have all the time, don't take too much.hehe

Sop said...

zleenz - Most likely all of us will stick to what we believe in. But at least by talking about it, we understand the other side more and that step, no matter how small, is a step towards Peace, no?

anonymous -

1. I visited all the links. The articles are a fair representation of what 'the other side' thinks. But one should not stop reading there. The comments are just as interesting.

I agree with pulasan007, I'm really curious of your take on the articles that you've highlighted.

2. The Internet is a wonderful thing. You're right that Malaysia does not have a physical or diplomatic Israeli presence here. But that does not mean contact with Israel or her supporters is nonexistent. Opinion exchange occur in many ways and one good example is you, coming here to propose your ideas. Sure, there are no Jews in Malaysia but did that stop a Jew from commenting on Dr Mahathir's blog? No.

His blog: http://chedet.co.cc/chedetblog/

The article which had an Israeli by the name of Hanan commenting on it: http://chedet.co.cc/chedetblog/2009/01/boycott.html

And while you're there, maybe you can tell him yourself why his statement that "Jews control the world by proxy" is wrong.

Also, I can't travel to Israel but I can look at pictures of Israel, her tourist spots, her 'Berlin Wall', read comments of people who've visited Israel, even read comments of Jews who've visited Israel. Sure, it's nothing compared to being there myself but the point is, in this day and age, one does not need to be physically in Israel to be there.

3. Take your time.

Anonymous said...

The best example of free opinion exchange you can offer is some lone person posting on Mahathir's blog? And here is a sample of the responses to that person on his blog, let me know if this sounds like a productive debate of ideas to you:

>>>>>>>>>>>>
1) By TunA on January 28, 2009 1:02 AM
Yep...the jews/israeli are people with huge brain and no heart. History have shown that they are greedy, evil and one very ungrateful race. They have created great mischiefs in the past and they are doing it now and i bet they are going to continue to do this. Why? Because this is what they are.

2)By qho' dal ha on January 28, 2009 12:09 PM
Dear Hanan,
My evil wish hope is a new Hitler will emerge in Palatine and wipe out again the Jews and zionist, and this time totally wipe out and the world live happily and harmony without the Jews

3)By sg layang on January 28, 2009 4:11 PM
dear tun,
this bunch of people(jews) will never understand a thing as this has been a cursed from ALLAH until their final day comes
>>>>>>>>>>

The way I see a true exchange of opinion would be to have the Malaysian news media inviting current or former Israeli government officials to give their views on TV or in the newspapers. Or Universities in Malaysia inviting Israeli scholars, writers, intellectuals and former soldiers to give lectures on campus of the Israeli perspectives or participate in debates. This is what a real exchange of ideas and opinions is about.

Sop said...

1. once again, you're belittling people. That lone person was brave enough to comment on the ex-premier's blog knowing well that he or she will get flamed. it's all in the name of free speech. Sure one person is not enough, but it's a start.

look at it this way, millions of pro-palestinian malaysians read hanan's comments. and the best part is, the people responded to them.

too bad you only managed to engage a few malaysians here.

2. like i pointed out previously, some of the comments to the links you provided are just as unproductive as the ones you've shown here.

i don't have to post any of them here because the comment section of those articles are inundated with them.

you have to accept the fact that in this world, on both sides of the fence, there are people who cannot sit down calmly and talk things out rationally.

but you cannot ignore their ideas either no matter how uncivilized or insensitive they are, because like it or not, they still represent a part of the People.

3. i agree with your wonderful idea to have israeli representatives be it from the government, human rights group, universities, etc come here and have an exchange of ideas. i'd love to give him or her piece of my mind. and i'm confident, so do the blog owner and the rest of the commenters here.

Sop said...

and oh, i forgot. what's your opinion on the articles you linked?

sure, they show that some American media are still capable of proper journalistic conduct, an exercise in freedom of speech, bla bla bla..

but, do you:
1) accept the ideas proposed by those articles, or
2) at the very least, take them into consideration when you engage people in israeli-palestinian debates, or
3)dismiss them as terrorist propaganda?

pulasan007 said...

the person behind this blog is most likely having a problem with internet connection for the past 2 months.lets just pray that she will overcome the problem maturely and ASAP. :)

pulasan007 said...

she is worried bout her template rather than putting a new post.huh!

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