Religion Of Violence And Death
By: Aram Tofi
Dec 7, 2004
Islam started with war and killing. Muhammad as gods prophet, spread over Islam with a bloodied sword in his hand. At that time, the Islamized primitive Arab clans were settled in current Saudi Arabia, which was well meant and well suited for them. More than a thousand years later, however, nothing special has happened but Islam is still considered to be a religion of violence and destruction. This is not assumption or baseless accusation, this is a fact. It took Islam six hundred years to destroy the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt.
Moreover Islam spread slowly to other peace loving nations such as India and Kurdistan. Consequently they destroyed sophisticated and well developed cultures in the regions such as Iran (which is still in progress, being conducted by the Mullahs in Tehran).
The second destruction by Islam is Kurdistan and the Kurdish identity.
The Islamizing of Kurdistan started with war in the heart of Kurdistan and the mutilation of children and women. The evidence of this is thousands of tombs of (Ashaaba) Muhammads followers who were buried everywhere in Kurdistan.
Those people were killers and rapists just like Saddams mercenaries. The irony is these murderers are now considered to be holy men. However, the spirit of the Kurd has survived the bloody history of Islam. To justify this opinion, we need to examine the countries that are ruled by Islam. I can tell you directly its really hard to find one single country that has democracy and respect for human life. The best one is Saudi Arabia. Its now year 2004 and still women CANNOT vote, nor be allowed to drive cars, or have a simple conversation with men.
This is a fundamental of Islam and the rules are not exaggerated. Because this is the nature of Islam (which is narrow minded, judgmental, and based on the Quran). In turn, it reflects a desert values and chauvinistic ideas.
Now my point is, those values and the degradation of human beings dont match the Kurdish values. The Kurd, with a history of more than 6000 years with a profoundly developed culture and respect for women, also has admiration for all living things.
Kurds have writers and poets such as Goran, Wafai and Qanik; they have poems of love, passion, beauty of women and body, and about nature and affections. In contrast the Quran never mentions one single word of love; its always about hate and killing. Its about how God will burn them if they dont do this and that.
Before islamization and arabization of Kurdistan the people had a greater role in the area. Then, the Islam invaded Kurdistan, consequently the violence of the Quran was implemented over Kurdistan. The Sura Al anfal was latterly redeployed by Saddam with great pleasure.
Surat Al-Anfal
Remember, when your Lord revealed to the angels, Verily I am with you, so keep firm those who have believed. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who have disbelieved, so strike them over the necks and smite over all their fingers and toes. This is because they defied and disobeyed Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad). And whoever defies and disobeys Allah and His Messenger, them verily, Allah is Severe in punishment. This is the torment, so taste it and surely, for the disbelievers is the torment of the Fire.
(Surat Al-Anfal Spoils of War- 8:12-14)
Now, it is high time to abandon the religion of killing and hate. The religion was never actually chosen, it was compelled, and that is why it should be removed. My appeal to the Kurdish authorities and politicians is to act now and dont miss this golden opportunity! Here is what they can do to repair the damage and build a society without bloodshed and hate.
Do not allow Islamic aid organizations in Kurdistan to build mosques. How about building Kurdish schools instead. (NOT religious)
Have a policy that every village must have at least one school.
Yazidi should be recognized as the main Kurdish religion and be included in the school books.
Expel the Turkish based language centers. They could open a Kurdish languages course in Turkey (if they want to help).
Political parties should build upon the ideology of constructive ideas. NOT religions!
Debunk the violence of Islam in the history books and their genocide of Kurdish people.
Develop a Kurdish related alphabet and get rid of the Arabic. In addition, merge Sorani and Kirmanji and purge the language of any Arabic influence.
Computerize and industrialize Kurdistan and make its agriculture independent
Develop a good relationship with Israel (Kurds and Jews have more in common than Arabs and Kurds)
Dont ever put your destiny in your neighbors hands (such as Turks and Arabs)
The Shiites and Sunni Arabs are NOT your friends (as soon as they build an army they are going to send it to Kurdistan for jihad)
There are thousands of highly educated Kurds abroad. Invite them back home and employ them as political science advisers, pedagogical instructors. Etc.
Have one army of Kurdistan with Special Forces (politically independent)
What ever happens in Iraq, dont follow the rules of the Islam.
If you stay in the federation of Iraq, demand the change to have your own flag and change the name of IRAQ
Make a deal with the USA and continue to struggle towards a Kurdish state, (its your legitimate right!) You dont need to declare yourself to the Turks, saying that you dont seek self independence.
Develop and construct highways, bridges, and AIRPORTS (NOT with Turkey BUT with Greece or Israel) to interconnect the entire Kurdistan into one unit and connect to the rest of the world. Why do you have to justify and apologize if you have relations with Israel?
Have an independent media (Not politically related)
Expel all foreigners from North Africa: e.g. Algeria, Egypt, Sudan, Morocco, Syrian, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. (this includes the Turks)
To the Kurdish leaders: Stop idealizing Syria, Turkey and Iran. Iran and Syria is the base of terrorists. Turkey is a land of prejudices.
Leave Baghdad and concentrate every effort on rebuilding Kurdistan. (while Shiites torture themselves to commemorate Hassan and Hussein)
The collaborators with Mukhbarat should be suspended and debarred from their party and government offices. Reveal there names and bring them to justice. Finally, make the files of perpetrators official.
Combat corruptions. Now it is easy for everyone to get a piece of mark for free, this is supposed to be allocated for the victims of Saddam's crime. Even I got an offer to receive one, only if I know someone in PUKs hieratical. This shows how corrupt these administrations are.
Finally it seems that Mam Jalal has got the Arafat syndrome, namely, he will die and take the power and the money into the grave. The Kurdish leaders must act now, and stop humiliating themselves and the Kurds in front of Turkey. To Mam Jalal, please dont talk too much when you meet the media in Arab countries, it only leads to more stupid comments. The last comment of Mam Jalal in Egypt was that he condemned the coalition force for using obsessive force. Why doesnt he ask about the fate of young Kurdish girls that were abducted and sold to Egypt? In a visit to Turkey Mam Jalal made this comment Turkey is a great democracy That is ironic as the rest of the world considers Turkey to be a corrupt and fascistic regime.
The Kurdish leaders need to open the doors and allow other more intelligent people to have a chance to make a contribution.
KurdistanObserver.com
http://home.cogeco.ca/~kurdistan5/7-12-04-opiniopn-aram-religion-of-violence.html
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis, Reuters
Thursday, December 09, 2004
BAGHDADAlmost a quarter of a century after his death, an Iraqi Shiite theologian is inspiring a generation of democrats in the Middle East.
Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer al-Sadr, executed by Saddam Hussein in 1980, advocated constitutionalism, democracy and the rule of lawthe same values the United States says it wants to spread in the region to help stamp out terrorism.
A group of leading Arab lawyers, thinkers and democracy activists, is hoping to engage Washington to develop the US initiative, called the Partnership for Peace in the Middle East and North Africa.
Chibli Mallat, the Arab groups strategist, is the prize-winning author of a biography of Sadr, written in English but widely translated into Arabic.
Sadr was the uncle of Moqtada al-Sadr, the young cleric who led two Shiite revolts this year against US-led forces in Iraq. He lacks the wide respect his uncle commanded.
Mallat says Mohammad Baqer al-Sadr was the main intellectual power behind the Constitution of Iran, which includes Ayatollah Ruhallah al-Khomeinis own theory of the velayat-e faqih, or rule of the juristthe doctrine that an eminent Shiite cleric can be the absolute legal authority.
Sadr was a subtler, more innovative and dynamic thinker than Khomeini, said 43-year old Mallat, the founder of the School of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law at Londons prestigious School of Oriental and African Studies.
In his work you find a streak of democratic majoritanism and readiness to espouse democracy without the direct rule of the clergy. Politically, Khomeini was more effective.
In discussions about a new Iraqi constitution, no senior Shiite figure has called for velayat-e faqih but rather for reconciling Islam with popular sovereignty.
The most influential cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has stressed the importance of elections, which are due in January.
The main Shiite parties planning to take part in the electionsDawa and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraqare Sadrs political heirs.
Dawas draft election manifesto reads in many parts like that of a Western social democrat party and invokes Islam to stress human rights.
Sadr was the embodiment of Iraq. His work and ideas are fundamental to a democratic Iraq, said Iraqs Vice President Ibrahim al-Jaafari, who heads Dawa.
Outside influence
Sadrs body was exhumed last year from an unmarked spot and moved to a new grave in Wadi al-Salam (the valley of peace), the sprawling cemetery of Najaf. The body of his sister, killed at the same time, was never found.
Zuhair al-Amidi, the man who buried Sadrs body after he was executed, kept the place secret until Saddam was toppled last year.
If people had known where the grave was it would have become a shrine and the authorities would have razed it immediately, he said.
Even Khomeini, whose relationship with Sadr was uneasy, mourned him when he was killed and described him as the mentor of all Shiites. Khomeini spent many years in exile with Sadr in Najaf, a center of Shiite scholarship.
US influence could help realize what Sadr envisioned, although he resented Washingtons support for authoritarian forces in the region.
The United States lobbied hard at the G-8 summit in June to pass the Partnership for Peace in the Middle East and North Africa. The administration started to push Arab states after the September 11, 2001, attacks on US cities to accept the initiative, which includes economic reform, education and political participation.
European countries felt the initiative ignored their own efforts to advance reform in the Middle East, known as the 1995 Barcelona declaration, but backed it after Washington included a stronger commitment to a fair peace between Israeli and the Palestinians.
The Arab democrats group, which includes Bahaaldin Hassan, head of the Cairo Centre for Human Rights, Saudi dissident Abdul Aziz al-Khamis and Kuwaiti writer Mohammad al-Rumeihi, want the initiative to hold Arab rulers accountable for human rights and push for the rotation of power.
All prisoners of conscience must be released, while former presidents turned into retired citizens, and leaders responsible for crimes against humanity put behind bars, said their declaration, drafted by Mallat, and issued before they met senior G-8 officials in New York two months ago.
Just before the US invasion of Iraq, Mallat organized a petition of Arab thinkers that called for the focus on Iraq to be switched from the issue of weapons of mass destruction to human rights and the rule of law, including stationing international human rights monitors in Iraq.
Mallat made his first visit to Najaf earlier this year, a Maronite Christian welcomed in the homes of senior Shiite clerics who knew that his first port of call was the grave of Mohammad Baqer al-Sadr.
Unity bolsters chances for rule
By Liz Sly Tribune foreign correspondent December 8, 2004
BAGHDAD -- Representatives of Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, on Tuesday finalized an electoral coalition that will group all the country's major Shiite political parties, most minor ones and dozens of independents on a single slate.
The coalition's broad reach will put it in a commanding position to gain a sizable percentage of the majority-Shiite vote in Iraq's election scheduled for Jan. 30 and perhaps dominate the National Assembly that will draft a permanent constitution for Iraq.
The coalition will run as the United Iraqi Alliance, though among most Iraqis it already is being referred to simply as "Sistani's list." That alone is likely to give it a boost among Iraqi Shiites, who universally respect their top religious leader, regardless of their political views.
Triumph for al-Sistani
The list represents a triumph for the ayatollah, who has cast aside his traditional detachment from politics to work toward uniting Iraq's Shiites behind the electoral process.
A threat by several smaller Shiite parties and secularists to pull out of the coalition and contest the election independently was averted at a meeting in Baghdad between the parties and al-Sistani's representatives late Tuesday, participants said.
The Shiite Political Council, an umbrella organization of 38 parties, was persuaded to join the coalition after announcing last week that it would withdraw to protest the preponderance of religious hard-liners on the list, said Hussein Musawi, a spokesman for the group.
At the time, Musawi complained that "all the top names on the list are turbaned men who support wilayat al faqih," the theory of governance pioneered by Iran's late leader, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
The Iraqi National Congress of Ahmad Chalabi, the former favorite of the Bush administration, also confirmed its participation Tuesday after expressing similar reservations. A spokesman for Chalabi, Haidar Musawi, said some of the group's concerns were addressed by reshuffling the order of names.
If either or both of these two groups had decided to run independently, al-Sistani's vision of presenting a united Shiite front to the electorate would have been diluted.
But such is the weight of the groups on the list that any one party would find it hard to compete against it, something acknowledged by the Shiite Council in deciding to rejoin.
"I don't think the Shiite Council can make a difference to the equation either way," Hussein Musawi said.
The list includes candidates from the two biggest Shiite political parties, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq and the Islamic Dawa Party, as well as representatives of former rebel leader Moqtada Sadr.
Groups representing the minority Turkman Shiites and Kurdish Shiites are on the list, as well as Christians and a leading Sunni tribesman in an attempt to broaden the coalition's appeal beyond Shiites.
Al-Sistani will not have representatives on the list nor will he endorse it, an aide said. He also was not involved directly in the crafting of the list, which was left to a committee of aides headed by former nuclear scientist Hussein Shahrastani.
The two Kurdish political groups, the Kurdish Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, have announced that they will submit a single slate of candidates, which is expected to sweep the vast majority of Kurdish votes in the north.
With al-Sistani's list grouping all major Shiite factions, and the Kurdish list uniting most Kurds, the election is starting to shape up as a sectarian contest whose result is likely to mirror broadly the country's ethnic makeup.
Sunni boycott threatened
A big question mark remains over the intentions of the minority Sunni community, whose leaders have threatened to boycott the election and whose citizens live in violence-racked areas prone to intimidation by insurgents.
Sunnis would be unlikely to vote for the Kurdish list or the Shiite one, and if their own leaders don't stand for election, they may have little incentive to vote.
But with 204 parties registered to run, along with 15 "entities" and 18 individuals, there is still room for options, U.S. diplomats say.
Most of the parties are new, with little name recognition among Iraq's inexperienced electorate. They are expected to team up to form broader coalitions, and this week has seen intense bargaining among them before the final deadlines for submitting lists of candidates Friday.