Letter submitted to the Asian News WebsiteBy Majed Iqbal- The war crimes in Gaza committed by the Israeli state have bought about mass anger internationally. Locally in Rochdale there has been similar resentment at aggression committed against Gazans with their homes and lives destroyed and even sacred institutions like mosques which have been targeted by the Israeli War machinery.
I have been blitzed with text and Emails on a daily basis showing real concern by people on these issues and offering action points to be 'effective' as a voice on these issues
In looking for practical actions many of us in Rochdale have demanded that we write to our MP who in turn can air these views in parliament on behalf of residents of our town. It bemuses me as to how by doing this any change can happen to the situation in Gaza?
Britain has had an entire history of Supporting Israel and was the driving power in its creation. Til this date, Britain has played an active role in consolidating and strengthening Israels position in the Middle East lagging behind American initiatives for the region.
No matter which party is in power in Britain, each has close connections and affections for the Israeli state. There maybe slight exceptions with a few handful individuals but the British state and government of the day as a whole has committed itself internationally to the Israeli cause and accepted its illegal occupation of Palestinian, Jordanian, Lebanese and Egyptian territories.
Hence to demand that a local MP can effectively change a Historically entrenched Foreign Policy is un-realistic.
If we want to be practical , then we must rally our voices and dissent against the Arab regimes who dwarf Israel in size, population, army size and have more weaponry than it. They are the real movers and shakers who can make change and order their armies under a moral obligation to confront a rogue state that is a nuisance to all regional powers and is a threat to the security of the people.
If the US can drum up support against Iraq and take uni-lateral invasion against it for regime change coupled with a dodgy dossier Britain to assist its claims then surely when Israel threatens Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Jordan and Egypt with it s militaristic militancy and possession of nuclear weapons which can fall into the hands of extremists in Israel, isnt there a moral justification for surrounding countries to take action- especially after what you have seen in Gaza over the last Week?
Voices need to be channelled to Muslim and Arab countries to realise their potential in confronting a rogue state like Israel.
We should write to the UK ambassadors of Muslim embassies expressing our concerns on their incompetence. Organise rallies and demonstrations where we call upon Arab Muslim armies to take action. Contact influential figures in the Muslim world to say enough is enough and that it is an apt time for a new leadership and a new system for the Muslim worlds to arise to take on board the concerns of Muslims internationally such that countries think twice before dealing with a huge economic block who possess the largest oil reserves in the World, have vast amount of mineral resources, millions of trained army personnel and nuclear capability.
Write to the MP- lets think again
I understand what you're saying but every little action helps and is rewarded by Allah (swt).The main thing that will help this cause is for public opinion to be for Palestine therefore creating the appetite for change in the situation, just as it happened with SA in the 80's. Public opinion is changed by political attitudes and the media. We have loads of media showing the true plight of Palestinians, no-one just watches one tv news channel anymore and we are getting many, many non-muslims speaking out too. Just giving 'we need an Islamic state' or 'the Arab countries should be more Islamic' as the solution will not mobilise many Muslims in the West, will alienate non-muslims and overall is too simplistic an arguement eventhough to have a fully functioning Islamic governemt is an extremely complex and hugely misunderstood concept by many, particularly those who call for it!
ReplyDeleteTo lobby your local MP and Govt is far more effective than speaking out in Rochdale against Arabian governments because a) The local MP hears you and needs your vote to stay in power so has a vested interest to listen to his constituents and b) Is able to put this across in the Parliament, where more and more MP's are speaking out for change and the change in public opinion is growing...just look at the numbers attending demos last week and over the years... wheras the Arab govt's a) can't hear you and b) if they could would just say, who are you to talk to us, you're British stay out of our affairs (oh the irony!) Or they would just say your Pakistani and in our country that makes you even more of a nothing! What the article above basically puts forward is the motion to do nothing but speak and speak without being effective in any way (unless you know your voices are being heard in the countries you refer to...seeing as how people there can't demonstrate themselves for fear of persecution by their leaders) and then lay the blame at the feet of people who are not 'Islamic' enough for you. That's not more constructive than petitions etc surely?
Back bench MPs have VERY little say in party politics. Their reason for being is to climb up the greasy pole to become a "higher" being. Look at all the Muslim MPs. Not only have they done nothing for Islam, but rather they lead the anti-Islamic propaganda.
ReplyDeleteThe UK govt is not accountable to anyone except the corporate power which can make them win/lose an election. Just look at how the govt backed the BAe scandal, Israel in its attack against Lebanon, the Iraq war in the face of the blinding obvious.
Write to an MP? Might as well write to Santa Claus or if you cant wait for Christmas, theres always the tooth fairy.
Salam
ReplyDeleteI think Br Soban Bashir doesnt realise that the middle eastern regimes are inherently weak. They can be changed, which is why the focus of all arab armies in not to defend the countires but to defend the thrones of the rulers.
Muslims in the Arab world are proud and emboldened when they see Muslims in the West doing what they should be doing. This can make the regimes very nervous. Remeber the last egyptian puppet (Anwar Sadat) was shot by a member of the Egyptian army. If the army realise they are supporting a dead duk president, they can s**t their allegiance.
If the MPs didnt listen to 2million people demonstrating againt the Iraq war you can forget then EVER doing anything in Palestine when they have so many Zionist backers. Even Jewish foreign minister Milliband is a pro Zionist.
Shame how most of the Jewish MPs are pro Zionist yet NONE of the Muslim MPs are pro-Islam!!!
Salam
ReplyDeleteI do agree with Brother Shoban to an extent. To simply say 'Islamic State' is too simplistic. And I do agree strongly with Bro Shoban's undestanding of public opnion and how it should be shaped.
I do believe that more work with the Non-Muslims community and the western media needs to take place. We as a community are very weak in this. Gaza has shown that everyone regardless of faith, creed and backgrounds has been disgusted by Israeli actions.
HOWEVER let us make no mistake about it- the solution to Palestine and the rest of the problems is a unified Islamic State based on the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad saw. Nobody would disagree to this. But sat in Rochdale, we should definately say that an Islamic state is the solution but that does not mean that we do not work closely with our Non Muslim neighbours to raise awareness.