Machiavelli

Patung Machiavelli di Florence - Sekali pandang, nmpk cam pervert lak mamat nih :)

Aku baru sahaja selesai menunaikan solat Isyak. Kira-kira 50 meter dari habitatku, rakan-rakan sekelasku (pelajar perubatan) sedang menunaikan khidmat masyarakat mereka - mereka sedang menari bogel untuk mengumpul dana bagi tabung kanser kanak-kanak.

Aku kenal sebahagian dari mereka, andainya halal (i.e. isteri) memang sangat-sangat 'berbaloi'. Malah 2 rakan se'rumah'ku di placement yang lepas turut serta mengetuai persembahan. Jika aku mahu meletakkan skala nakalku pada mereka, barangkali 7.5/10 dan 9.5/10 - bukan exaggeration, serius. Entah mengapa aku sangat 'bernasib baik' kali ini :)

Itu rutin tahunan mereka. Saban tahun projek yang terbukti berjaya itu mengutip ribuan pound untuk kanak-kanak yang menghidap kanser. Ramai juga yang sanggup menayangkan tubuh kepada khalayak mencecah 1000 orang, yang padaku agak jengkel. Namun itu masalah takwilan atau ta'diyah cuma - 'kitab' kami berbeza.

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The Oxford Dictionary defines Machiavellian principle as "the employment of cunning and duplicity in statecraft or in general conduct" or in simple terms - do whatever you need to achieve your goal. Various other people has described similar principles in the past, but roughly 100 years after Machiavelli put forward the idea, the infamous Oxford Dictionary credited the 'finding' to Machiavelli. Ironically Il Principe (The Prince) was not originally meant to be an academical 'masterpiece' at all.

Since then the world has adopted his teachings, consciously or not, as the method to gain item of interest - be it economy, power or even charity. When Cikgu Nor Hayati taught this to us in Form 4 or 5, I never really put any attention to the impact such principle could have on the running of the world. 'Matlamat tidak menghalalkan cara' is another principle taught to us in secondary school (more informally), but I suppose I wasn't quick enough to draw the paradox between the 2 principles then. Only after secondary school I realized that, but only after it being pointed out by my nuqaba' (i.e. again and again).

Given the corrupted system that we live in today, it is quite evident which one is being preferred by the powerful (I use 'the powerful' rather than 'most'). When the most powerful imposed himself on the less powerful, the less powerful (by rule of logic/survival) had to impose himself on even lesser individuals, et al - a vicious one way stream, almost like an upside down pyramid, putting most pressure on the bottom tiers.

To get a better visualization of this principle in action, take India as a niche. It is not very often I quote a film as a proof, but take a look at Slumdog Millionaire. How people of various tiers lived together rather in disharmony - in the sense that gross imbalance exists - how the mighty prevails, often too much, causing minions to live in gutters and sh!tholes (almost literally - remember that kid jumping into the 'poo-pool' just to greet that Batchan guy).

And don't get me wrong, it happens (happens with an 's' - i.e. present tense, rather than happened with an 'ed') elsewhere as well, be it the USA, the UK or even Malaysia. Globally, and locally (glocally hehe).

All the more reasons for the underlying theological teaching behind the 'matlamat tidak menghalalkan cara' principle that I was taught in secondary school to impose itself to the world. A theological principle that has been proven beyond theoretical assessment.

Huh, I think I am becoming a Brit - taking forever to explain a relatively unindurated 'thingy'. I miss home...

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Jika aku betul-betul diam dan menumpukan perhatian, terdengar sorak sorai manusia-manusia riang - kebanyakannya rakan sekelasku juga. Hmm...

Intentions

In an echo to my last connotation in this self e-reflection site, I remembered something else that happened at Uhud.

The following is an excerpt from The Sealed Nectar

"Qazman, who was found among the wounded, fought heroically,and killed seven or eight idolaters. He was weakened by the wounds he sustained, they carried him to the locality of Bani Zufr. The Muslims gave him glad tidings of the Paradise. But he said: "By Allah I have fought out of passion my people. Had it not been for that I would have never fought." When his wounds worsened he committed suicide.

Allah's Messenger S.A.W had already said whenever he was mentioned to him: "He is an inhabitant of Fire." This is the end of those who fight for a national cause or in a way other than that of raising up the Word of Allah, though they fought under the banner of Islam or even in the army of Allah's Messenger S.A.W or of his Companions."

Having finished directly copying that piece from my beloved book, I remembered the people marching yesterday. Careful mateys... always check your niyyahs - be it whilst parading, whilst studying, whilst working or whilst blogging :)

P/S - not accusing anyone of anything; as most times, just a gentle self-reminder :)

Tapisan 2

Reflection, fragility, beauty

Nabi Muhammad S.A.W sedang menghadapi saat paling getir dalam hidup baginda. Terperangkap di medan Uhud, kesilapan para pemanah nyata telah mengubah nasib tentera Islam. Di ambang kemenangan selesa, tentera Islam kini sedang tertekan.

Ujian yang menimpa mereka tidak mudah. Di saat huru-hara yang maha dahsyat, terdengar seruan tentang 'nasib' baginda S.A.W., "Muhammad telah terbunuh!"

Tiada perkara dalam dunia ini yang berlaku tanpa hikmah. Saat-saat getir ini menyerlahkan 3 kategori manusia dalam tentera Uhud.

Golongan pertama tergesa-gesa meninggalkan medan perang; sama ada bersembunyi di sebalik gunung, atau terus melarikan diri ke Madinah. Melihat para pemuda yang tunduk tewas dan lari, Ummu Aiman yang berada di Madinah menegur dengan sinis, "Ini pengitar benang, ambillah! Kalian tidak layak menyandang pedang!" Malah ada yang goyah imannya, terfikir sama ada patut mereka mengangkat sumpah janji setia kepada Abdullah ibnu Ubai atau Abu Sufyan.

Golongan kedua menyusup ke medan, menyamar menjadi musuh untuk mengelak dibunuh. Akibatnya ada berlaku pembunuhan pejuang Islam di tangan tentera Islam sendiri. Seperti kisah yang digarap tentang Al-Yaman, bapa kepada Huzaifah ibnu Yaman.

Golongan ketiga berjuang bukan kerana baginda S.A.W semata-mata. Mereka berjuang kerana Allah, kerana deen yang dibawa oleh baginda Nabi. Golongan ini yang menjadi tunjang kekuatan para pejuang Islam, baik di medan Uhud, di medan Yarmuk atau di medan-medan dasawarsa ini.

Thabit bin Ad-Dahdah, melihat tentera Islam yang bertempiaran, melaung dengan berkata, "Wahai pemuda-pemuda Ansar, biarpun (andai) Muhammad (S.A.W) telah terbunuh, Allah itu maha kekal dan Dia takkan lenyap! Ayuh demi mempertahankan imanmu! Allah akan membantu kamu, dan kamu pasti akan berjaya."


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A test, regardless of whether it is in the form of hardship or ease, is a tool that reveals character - in the broadest of sense. I've found myself rather busy in the past week and as a sequelae, have found myself rather slacking in other important things. Futur is a little bit more dangerous when it creeps in rather indolently...

Salji Semalam

Snow in College Green, Bristol
Pic credit : Momad

Salji semalam,
Terurai senandung ilham,
Andai insan sanggup berbekam,
Menyuci hati hitam nan kelam,
Membersih dosa-dosa semalam.

Salji semalam,
Laksana Iman Ku Umpama,
Bila lebat - kan timbul putihnya,
Jika renyai - kan cair tanda alpa,
Melicin denai menagih waspada.

Salji semalam,
Laksana Iman Ku Umpama,
Datangnya dihambat ribut melintang,
Jarang diusung bayu menatang.
Salji semalam,
Laksana Iman Ku Umpama,
Indahnya tak terhibur setiap insan,
Anak-anak suci - ketawa riang,
Dewasa benci - kecewa berang.

Salji semalam,
Laksana mukmin ku umpama,
Tersurat meninggalkan bumi Tuhan,
Menghidup tanah yang kering punah,
Memekar kuntum semerbak harum.

Bath Royal United Hospital, 03/02/2009

Tapisan

Ain-Jalut di awal kurun ke-20

Masa untuk mengibarkan panji-panji Allah telah tiba - Talut mengumpulkan bala tenteranya. Angka yang tepat tidak mungkin dapat diketahui hari ini, namun para pengkaji berpendapat angkanya mencecah 80,000.

Sebelum bergerak, bingkas Talut memberikan kata-kata semangat dan pesanan kepada kaumnya,

إِنَّ اللَّهَ مُبْتَلِيكُم فَمَن شَرِبَ مِنْهُ فَلَيْسَ مِنِّي وَمَن لَّمْ يَطْعَمْهُ فَإِنَّهُ مِنِّى إِلاَّ مَنِ اغْتَرَفَ غُرْفَةً بِيَدِهِ

"...Sesungguhnya Allah akan menguji kamu dengan sebatang sungai, oleh itu sesiapa di antara kamu yang meminum airnya maka bukanlah ia dari pengikutku, dan sesiapa yang tidak merasai airnya maka sesungguhnya ia dari pengikutku, kecuali orang yang menceduk satu cedukan dengan tangannya..."

Al-Baqarah, 249.

Maka dengan semangat juang membara mereka pun melangkah ke medan perang. Nyata tidak semua mampu bertahan perjalanan yang jauh lagi sukar itu - namun setidak-tidaknya mereka tiba juga di sungai yang dikatakan oleh Talut.

Sepenceduk sahaja? Dahaga ini terlalu azab untuk ditanggung. Begitu ramai yang memilih kesenangan sementara berbanding keabadian janji Allah. Bukankah Allah telah menunjukkan pada mereka bukti kebenaran kata-kata Talut dengan membawakan Tabut dari langit?

Maka dengan keingkaran itu, tinggallah segolongan kecil tentera Islam yang masih utuh kepercayaan mereka dengan janji-janji Allah. Segolongan kecil yang kukuh imannya di sebalik ujian yang menimpa. Segolongan kecil yang mengikut pendapat ulama hadis tinggal kira-kira 300 orang. Segolongan kecil yang akan berdepan tentera Jalut yang bukan sahaja unggul dari segi jumlah, malah gah dengan kelengkapan yang tidak tertanding.

Gentar juga jiwa sebahagian mereka yang tinggal tatkala melihat betapa gagahnya tentera Jalut. Di sebalik keadaan huru-hara itu, berkatalah sebahagian kecil lagi daripada mereka,

كَم مِّن فِئَةٍ قَلِيلَةٍ غَلَبَتْ فِئَةٍ كَثِيرَةً بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ مَعَ الصَّـبِرِينَ

"...Berapa banyak (yang pernah terjadi), golongan yang sedikit berjaya menewaskan golongan yang banyak dengan izin Allah; dan Allah (sentiasa) bersama-sama orang-orang yang sabar..."

Al-Baqarah, 249

Mendengar itu, mereka membulatkan tekad lantas berdoa,

رَبَّنَآ أَفْرِغْ عَلَيْنَا صَبْرًا وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَنَا وَانصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَـفِرِينَ

"Wahai Tuhan kami! Limpahkanlah sabar kepada kami, dan teguhkanlah tapak pendirian kami serta menangkanlah kami terhadap kaum yang kafir"

Al-Baqarah, 250

lalu terus menggempur Jalut dan tenteranya yang gagah...


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Begitulah kisah satu tapisan yang diabadikan dalam Al-Quran. Pengajaran dari masa lampau untuk mereka yang beriman di masa depan.

Lepaskah kita jika umat ini ditapis sekali lagi?

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Baru-baru berlaku mini-tapisan ini di Malaysia :) wallahua'lam...

Very, very disappointed

There is always a few bad eggs in a bunch (e.g. 3+1 = 4 eggs; 4 is an example of a number, randomly chosen from an infinite plethora of choices). People don't tend to purposely buy bad eggs, or do they? :(

Up yours mate... up yours...

Extraordinary stuffs

Extraordinary stuffs happened this week.

For the first time ever, I felt that I would probably know what to do, with a fair bit of efficiency, if a patient goes into arrest - including the shocking bit, like in TV :) The ILS course definitely felt like some sort of turning point in my budding medical career, one worth remembering. Insha Allah.

*****

On a more important note, Recep Tayyip Erdogan stormed off one of the forums in World Economic Forums in Davos, Switzerland. I remember the forums to be rather tame proceedings in the past, I definitely didn't see this one coming.



Then he was given a hero welcome in Turkey, at 200am.




P3r3S (do I have to soil my blog with his name?) shouted first and it was Erdogan who loses his temper? No complains CNN, just small print stuff :)

What's his true intentions are, wallahua'lam. As a matter of personal satisfaction, I don't care - almost.
Although we are living in a morally corrupt political era stripped of world leaders who are not driven by monetary-gains or any other self-satisfying ambitions, I would like to cautiously trust him - just be a little husnuzon to politicians for once :) It is probably needed, otherwise there would be no signs of any sort of worthy saviour around hence depriving myself of much needed optimism.

At least man enough to storm off, unlike the pussy bunch of leaders whom are the Arab politicians... and Malaysia included. It's true and you know it.


"It is not possible to be a secular and a Muslim at the same time. They are continuously saying, "Secularism is in danger." It will be, if this nation demands it. You can not prevent it. The Islamic nation is waiting for the rise of the Muslim Turkish nation. We will. This rebellion will start."

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Opening ceremony of the RP İstanbul Ümraniye District Organization,
before he stepped up to become PM of Turkey.

"Mosques are our barracks,
domes our helmets,
minarets our bayonets,
believers our soldiers.
This holy army guards my religion.

Almighty our journey is our destiny,
the end is martyrdom.
.....
....."

An Erdogan's modified intro to Ziya Gökalp's poem - Prayer of the Soldier -
one which landed Erdogan a 10 months imprisonment sentence on charges of "religious hatred" in 1998.

Staunchly secular indeed.

Erdogan once identified Turkey as having "two fundamentally different camps" - those who follow the Attaturk Reforms and the Muslims who unite Islam with Sharia. As a matter of fact, what he said apply to the rest of the Muslim world - one just have to identify oneself which side of the fence one belongs to.

Sitting on the fence? Not an option I'm afraid :)

Is he all great and sincere? wallahua'lam.

*****

Chinese New Year; internet-called Kluang, wished Gong Xi Fa Cai then got asked (again), "Dah ada amoi?"

Adoi, lemah :)

Can't keep avoiding the same question for much longer...

Wiseman

Alhamdulillah, I was fortunate enough to be in attendance when Dr. Maza stopped by in Bristol for a few hours on his way to Lampeter from Prague/Berlin.

I didn't know that he was coming until after Friday prayer, which for some reason I attended in Bristol after a last minute knee-jerk decision to skip Friday classes in Bath the night before (Thursday night) - alhamdulillah, the hidden wisdom of skipping classes :)

A bit awed to make most out of the opportunity. But obviously some wise words were conveyed without begging - as expected from a man of such stature.

At the end of the day, he is just a dude. From my impression (insya Allah unbiased); a simple, wise one.

The Story of the Sorcerer, the Monk, the Boy and Those Who were forced to enter the Ditch

The story of ashabul-uhdud.

"Verily, those who put into trial the believing men and believing women, and then do not turn in repentence, then they will have the torment of Hell, and they will have the punishment of the burning Fire."

Surah Al-Buruj, ayah 10.

Imam Ahmad recorded from Suhayb that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسل said,

"Among the people who came before you, there was a king who had a sorcerer, and when the sorcerer became old, he said to the king, 'I have become old and my time is nearly over, so please send me a boy whom I can teach magic.'

So he (the king) sent him a boy and the sorcerer taught him magic. Whenever the boy went to the sorcerer, he sat with a monk who was on the way and listened to his speech and admired them.

So when he went to the sorcerer, he passed by the monk and sat there with him; and on visiting the sorcerer the latter (the sorcerer) would thrash him. So the boy complained about this to the monk.

The monk said to him, ' Whenever you are afraid of the sorcerer, say to him: 'My people kept me busy.' And whenever you are afraid of your people, say to them: 'The sorcerer kept me busy.' So the boy carried on like that (for some time).

Then a huge terrible creature appeared on the road and the poeple were unable to pass by. The boy said, 'Today I shall know whether the sorcerer is better or the monk is better.'

So he took a stone and said, 'O Allah! If the deeds and actions of the monk are liked by You better than those of the sorcerer, then kill this creature so that the people can cross (the road).' Then he struck it with a stone killing it and the people passed by on the road.

The boy came to the monk and informed him about it. The monk said to him, 'O my son! Today you are better than I, and you have achieved what I see! You will be put to trial. And in case you are put to trial, do not inform (them) about me.'

The boy used to treat the people suffering from congenital blindness, leprosy, and other diseases. There was a courtier of the king who had become blind and he heard about the boy. He came and brought a number of gifts for the boy and said, 'All these gifts are for you on the condition that you cure me.'

The boy said, 'I do not cure anybody; it is only Allah who cures people. So, if you believe in Allah and supplicate to Him, He will cure you.' So he believed and supplicated to Allah, and Allah cured him.

Later, the courtier came to the king and sat at the place where he used to sit before. The king said, 'Who gave you back your sight?'

The courtier replied, 'My Lord.'

The king then said, 'I did?'

The courtier said, 'My Lord and your Lord - Allah'

The king said, 'Do you have another Lord besied me?'

The courtier said, 'Yes, your Lord and my Lord is Allah.'

The king tortured him and did not stop until he told him about the boy. So the boy was brought to the king and he said to him, 'O boy! Has your magic reached to the extent that you cure congenital blindness, leprosy and other diseases?'

He said, 'I do not cure anyone. Only Allah can cure.'

The king said, 'Me?'

The boy replied, 'No.'

The king asked, 'Do you have another Lord besides me?'

The boy answered, 'My Lord and your Lord is Allah.'

So he tortured him also until he told about the monk. Then the monk was brought to him and the king said to him, 'Abandon your religion.'

The monk refused and so the king ordered a saw to be brought which was placed in the middle of his head and he fell, sawn in two.

Then it was said to the man who used to be blind, 'Abandon your religion.' He refused to do so, and so a saw was brought and placed in the middle of his head and he fell, sawn in two.

Then the boy was brought nd it was said to him, ' Abandon your religion.'
He refused and so the king sent him to the top of such and such mountain with some people. He told the people, 'Ascend to the mountain with him till you reach its peak, then see if he abandons his religion; otherwise throw him from the top.'

They took him and when they ascended to the top, he said, 'O Allah! Save me from them by any means that You wish.' So the mountain shook and they all fell down and the boy came back walking to the king.

The king said, 'What did your companions (the people I sent with you) do?'

The boy said, 'Allah saved me from them.'

So the king ordered some people to take the boy on a boat to the middle of the sea, saying, 'If he renounces his religion (well and good), but if he refuses, drown him.' So they took him to sea and he said, 'O Allah! Save me from them by any means that you wish.' So they were all drowned in the sea.

Then the boy returned to the king and the king said, 'What did your companions (the people I sent with you) do?'

The boy said, 'Allah saved me from them.'

Then he said to the king, 'You will not be able to kill me until you do as I order you. And if you do as I order you, you will be able to kill me.'

The king asked, 'And what is that?'

The boy said, 'Gather the people in one elevated place and tie me to the trunk of a tree; then take an arrow from my quiver and say, 'In the Name of Allah, the Lord of the boy.' If you do this, you will be able to kill me.'

So he did this and placing an arrow in the bow, he shot it, saying, 'In the Name of Allah, the Lord of the boy.' The arrow hit the boy in the temple, and the boy placed his hand over the arrow wound and died.

The people proclaimed, 'We believe in the Lord of the boy!'

Then it was said to the king, 'Do you see what has happened? That which you feared has taken place. By Allah, all the people have believed (in the Lord of the boy).'


So he ordered that ditches be dug at the entrances to the roads, and it was done, and fires were kindled in them. Then the king said, 'Whoever abandons his religion, let him go, and whoever does not, throw him into the fire.'

They were struggling and scuffling in the fire, until a woman and her baby whom she was breastfeeding came and it was as if she was being somewhat hesitant of falling into the fire, so her baby said to her, 'Be patient mother! For verily, you are following the truth!'"

This hadith was also recorded by Imam Muslim at the end of the Sahih.




Had an interesting meeting today. Amongst others, we reminded ourselves of a story which was unfortunately quite distant in my memory at the time of the meet.

So I decided to remind myself :)

Pics credit: Al-Jazeera, BBC News

Ceasefire?

Tonight the leaders of the terrorist illegal occupiers of Zionist Israel declared a unilateral ceasefire after murdering more than 1,200 lifes in Gaza; almost 1/3 children, plus a 'significant' percentage of women. The ever-resilient Hamas managed to kill a respectable 13; and in the words of BBC News - mostly "soldiers".

Undoubtedly the world will celebrate this as some sort of achievement, especially if one only looks at the issue from the selective reporting of the Western media. However I will not be surprised if Hamas kept on firing rockets into Israel's illegally occupied territories.

Why would one be surprised, the rockets were initially fired to apply pressure on the Israelis to lift the inhumane border blockage that has lasted since June 2007.

A blockade that went ahead despite a truce which agreed conditions state otherwise.

A blockade which has literally made Gaza the largest open-air prison in the world (notice the lack of "....." i.e. literally). A blockade which has left Gaza in the state of famine. A blockade that has killed children with relatively curable illness and malnutrition. A humiliating blockade which was designed to directly insult the Gazans right to life. A degrading blockade that chastised the men and women of Muslim ummah as a whole.

Nevertheless, we should see this opening as a golden opportunity. Make use of the current sentiments to apply pressure to the many goverments so that they in hand apply pressure to the Israelis to stop the blockade. The same governments who managed to conveniently overlooked the humanitarian crisis in Gaza prior to the latest occupation. A humanitarian crisis which will likely escalate to immeasureable proportion after the bombings.


And at risk of sounding excessively preachy, but I can't stress enough that we have a responsibility to educate ourselves and the people around us on the root of the issue. How could you possibly claim later on (in front of Allah) that you have at least tried for the cause if you don't even entirely understand what the cause actually is.

What's left? Not even dignity...

As for Hosni Mubarak and Mahmoud Abbas, I sincerely hope you traitors die... slowly... and painfully.

Last but certainly not least, Livni and Olmert and the rest of the Zion terrorists; remember Khaybar... remember Khaybar :) It shall happen again, Insya Allah.



P/S - notice I did not once use the word Jews in this piece, I've got nothing against Jews. In fact, I myself have got quite a few good Jewish friends :)

F

I pray that one day I could personally "wipe that smirk right off their faces..."

Insya Allah

Pic source : BBC News

George Galloway (Brit MP) inspiring speech during London Palestine Rally

Hmm, now I want to write about Mr. Mubarak... uhh, he's a bad egg indeed...

Israel's 'colonial tactics' decried

Azmi Bishara, an Arab-Israeli analyst and former member of the Israeli parliament, has lashed out at the Israeli media campaign being run alongside its war on Gaza that criminalises the victims and victimises the coloniser.

Speaking to Al Jazeera on Tuesday, Bishara said Israel's war on Gaza was disproportionate and punishes the Palestinian people for refusing to bow to Israel's fait-accompli in the strip.

"Usually people are pushed to collective punishment because they want to punish resistance movements or national liberation movements.

"That's usually what colonial powers did, and that's what Israel is doing.

Bishara said the majority of Gazans are refugees, whose ancestors used to live in what is now Israel.

"Everybody knows that 75 per cent of the people of Gaza are refugees. Everybody knows that Israel disengaged from Gaza militarily, but occupies it economically and politically and also it besieges Gaza militarily.

"Israel would say, "what would any normal country do if they were threatened by rocket fire? They would act".

"But Israel is not a normal country, it is an occupying country, a colonial country and the people of Gaza are under siege."

‘Punishing democracy’

Bishara said that Palestinians are being punished for choosing Hamas in the January 2006 democratic elections and accused Israeli officials for dramatising their lies.

"Shimon Peres, the Israeli president, should be asked, "What would you do if your house is besieged and you can't feed your child, can't go to school, and can't take them to the doctors and physicians when they are ill.

"I consider Hamas rockets a protest shout, they haven't hurt many, only the few. They are weapons of the poor, used to express their will.

"What brought the war was the siege. When colonial powers have historically gone to occupy countries, siege has always been a weapon. Siege is a military action at the beginning of war.

"When it did not work to break the will of the Palestinian people... Israel realised that the rockets were a response to the siege, and they went to the next phase which was direct military aggression, which is actually now directed against civilians to punish them for their democratic choice.

"What I think will happen is a ceasefire that will mean an end to the siege if the rockets stop. It will happen after the deaths of so many people."

Al-Jazeera, 7th January 2009

Science & Islam : The Language of Science

"Most intellectual tradition, including if may say so, our own (West) tend to work very hard to keep everybody else out. Whereas here we have an example of an enterprise which is desperate, curious to turn itself into a net-importer of intellectual product.

That is a very important lesson from history of science."

Professor Simon Schaffer (University of Cambridge) remarked regarding the 'translation movement' during Caliph al-Ma'mun reign of the Abbasid era.

Just finished watching Science and Islam (1st episode) hosted by Prof. Jim Al-Khalili on BBC iPlayer. Above was a quote from the documentary that I found rather interesting.

A War on Multiple Fronts

It struck me quite hard that non-Muslims in this country cared so much about the plight of our brothers and sisters in Palestine, specifically 'Ghazzah' (which some might not know, spelled as غزة). Thanks to the advancement in information technology, news from far off countries can be made known to us in matters of seconds. It is only up to us to care to read the news or not.

It is a well-known fact that the Israeli government is defying its own Supreme Court order to allow a limited number (8) of foreign journalists into Gaza. They allowed 2 instead, but in show of solidarity (rightly or wrongly) the foreign journalists refused to go into Gaza until foreign journalists are allowed full entry, or at least until the Supreme Court order is fulfilled.

Israel's argument for not allowing journalists in - to devoid to Hamas 'militants' (read: democratically elected government from one of the cleanest elections in middle east history) of any source of propaganda.

But at the same time, the Israel's 'government' propaganda machinery is working round the clock to gain a sympathetic 'victimised' persona, as well as to project to the world that no humanitarian issues are happening in Gaza. (which is kind of retarded if you ask me; there was humanitarian issues even before the latest escalation, I can't imagine what the situation is right now).

There was an article on BBC News discussing a youtube video released by IDF to project the selectiveness of the attacks conducted by Israeli aircrafts - with a large caption: "Grad missiles being loaded onto the Hamas vehicle". It showed an apparently Hamas' truck being loaded with missiles and was shortly afterwards destroyed by an airstrike.

It is put up as a 'clear evidence' of how accurate their attacks were and how well justified.It was viewed 260,000 times shortly after it was released.

It turned out however that a 55 year old Gazan by the name of Ahmad Sanur, claimed that the truck was his and he and his family was moving oxygen cylinders from his workshop. An Israel human rights group B'Tselem put up his account on their website, together with burned out oxygen cylinders (pic above).

Paul Reynolds, the BBC world affairs correspondent made a rather enlightening account, "...the incident shows how an apparently definitive piece of video can turn into something much more doubtful. "

Reflecting on this, whether or not the attack struck a truck-load of missiles, it is important to acknowledge the importance of information trickery undertaken everywhere. And I mean absolutely everywhere (without dangerously going into too much details).

Remember surah al-Hujurat, ayah no 6;
"O believers! If any disobedient comes to you with any news make a strict inquiry lest you may hurt any people improperly then remain repenting on what you have done."

It is rather hard these days to get a balanced view of what's happening inside Gaza, but at least al-Jazeera is operating from within. Reports have been quite graphic hence affecting opinion everywhere especially across the Arab world.

Israel on the other hand says,"Quite a few (media) outlets are very favourable to Israel." - Major Avital Leibovich whose name is becoming quite familiar over the last few days.


As for myself, I am still rather puzzled how western medias conveniently disengage from the root of the matter; 1948.

But at least people are starting to know; not just any people, even orang putihs. Which was very well potrayed during the rallies that I attended.


Pic credit: BBC News

Rally pics

Death count to date: 430
Wounded : 2,200

Semangat berkobar-kobar...


Muslims and non-muslims alike,
share a common interest known as humanity


Kira-kira 500 orang menghadiri demonstrasi di Bristol


Rakyat kebanyakan tak kira bangsa,
sama-sama menyatakan kebencian atas kebejatan


This is a picture of legendary proportion...
note the placard and the background, this one is pure poetry


Anak bertuah ini meratapi rakan seumur yang kurang bertuah


Senja menjelang; untuk hari ini, dan insya Allah untuk rejim Zionist sama

Pics credit - Momad@Bristol 08/09, from the "Free Palestine" Collection. Pics are taken from the Cardiff and Bristol Palestine Solidarity Rally 08/09
Sorry gambar kecik sgt, rapid editing pakai Powerpoint je. Click on the pics for bigger,higher Q pics. More pics coming soon insya Allah. Bertuah ada photographer pergi rally sama, takyah susah2 amik gambar, bole fokus betul2 :p

---------------

Editing at 2101 GMT : In the latest development of the conflict, BBC News just confirmed that Israeli troops are mobilising into Gaza. After more than 800 airstrike to date, IDF is finally putting some "real man power" into the action. I greet this as a "better" news for our brothers and sisters in Gaza, insya Allah. The playing ground is not actually square, but at least now they have something proper to fire at.

On the humanitarian side of things, the condition is rapidly deteriorating. With a total bed capacity of 1,500 (estimate) in all 13 of its publically run hospital, and its fleet of 60 ambulances reduced to half; it is of little wonder that the Hamas government and health authority are finding it hard to deal with the increasing number of casualties. The Hamas government has been accused of refusing to send wounded people to Egypt, but truth be told from a hopefully unbiased medical point of view, it takes time and a whole lot of effort to stabilise patients under the best of medical care, let alone with impoverish facilities.

Wallahua'lam...

Another Cry For Freedom

'Fireworks' are meant to be fired upwards...

On its Sabbath last Saturday, Israel kicked off its New Year celebrations early by bombing the poor people of Gaza, killing more than 300 in 24 hours.

And what did it bomb? Every town and city in Gaza, a university, police stations, government offices and the tunnels dug into Egypt by the Palestinians to smuggle in supplies of food, medicine and fuel in an attempt to break Israel's economic blockade of Gaza. Israel describes these as "military" targets.

The beleaguered Palestinians have suffered 60 years of human rights violations. Israel's actions have been condemned by 69 UN resolutions and described by former US President Jimmy Carter as "one the greatest human rights crimes on earth".

Even the great Nelson Mandela refers to Israel's treatment of the Palestinians as nothing short of "apartheid".

Where is the outcry? Where are the words of condemnation? When Mumbai was attacked a few weeks ago, our government and the US, rightly, lead the world in the chorus of condemnation. Yet today it is our government and the US that are strangely silent. It is a silence, save for the few barely audible whimpers calling for "restraint on all sides", reminiscent of a few years ago, when Israel bombed its neighbour, Lebanon, killing over 1,000 people.

Israel, the world's fourth most powerful army, is bombing an impoverished people who can't defend themselves against F16s, Apache helicopters and missiles, and we want restraint on all sides?

Katusha rockets, fired by the Palestinians in response, are little more than a symbolic act of defiance – the military equivalent of a size 10 shoe being thrown at a press conference, and no match for the devastating Israeli firepower.

Not downwards... 'happy' 1430/2009 everyone

Israel is the one holding the smoking gun as the Palestinians lie bleeding to death at its feet.

Israel constantly refers to threats of it being "wiped off the map", but who could do this? It is grotesquely superior in military strength to its enemies, with 400 nuclear weapons when its enemies don't have one.

The fact is, the only nation to have been effectively wiped off the map is Palestine – by Israel. Israeli politicians refuse even to use the word "Palestine", instead referring to the "Occupied Territories", "West Bank" or "Gaza".

Israel screams aloud that its people face the threat of "being driven into the sea". In fact, the only people literally on the verge of being driven into the sea are the Palestinians in Gaza.

In 1947, as the new Israeli state was carved out of the Middle East, refugees fled to the Gaza province of what was once Palestine, hoping it would only be a short while before they could return to their homes.

They have been living there ever since, in absolute poverty, as Israel has made conditions for them ever worse. So much so, that Gaza is now nothing more than an open-air prison and one of the world's most overcrowded territories.

As Israel sends its message to the Palestinians with bombs and bullets, let us also send a message to Israel – free Palestine.

Farouque Siddique- This is Bristol, 30th Dec 2008.

Pics credit - BBC News