Principles Of Islamic Banking

Principles Of Islamic Banking[This article was published in the 10th issue of Nida'ul Islammagazine, November-December 1995] ________________________________For millions of Muslims, banks are institutions to be avoided. Islamis a religion which keeps Believers from the teller's window. TheirIslamic beliefs prevent them from dealings that involve usury orinterest (Riba). Yet Muslims need banking services as much as anyoneand for many purposes: to finance new business ventures, to buy ahouse, to buy a car, to facilitate capital investment, to undertaketrading activities, and to offer a safe place for savings. For Muslimsare not averse to legitimate profit as Islam encourages people to usemoney in Islamically legitimate ventures, not just to keep their fundsidle.However, in this fast moving world, more than 1400 years after theProphet (s.a.w.), can Muslims find room for the principles of theirreligion? The answer comes with the fact that a global network ofIslamic banks, investment houses and other financial institutions hasstarted to take shape based on the principles of Islamic finance laiddown in the Qur'an and the Prophet's traditions 14 centuries ago.Islamic banking, based on the Qur'anic prohibition of charginginterest, has moved from a theoretical concept to embrace more than100 banks operating in 40 countries with multi-billion dollar depositsworld-wide. Islamic banking is widely regarded as the fastest growingsector in the Middle Eastern financial services market. Exploding ontothe financial scene barely thirty years ago, an estimated $US 70billion worth of funds are now managed according to Shari'ah. Depositassets held by Islamic banks were approximately $US5 billion in 1985but grew over $60 billion in 1994.The best known feature of Islamic banking is the prohibition oninterest. The Qur'an forbids the charging of Riba on money lent. It isimportant to understand certain principles of Islam that underpinIslamic finance. The Shari'ah consists of the Qur'anic commands aslaid down in the Holy Qur'an and the words and deeds of the ProphetMuhammad ( s.a.w.). The Shari'ah disallows Riba and there is now ageneral consensus among Muslim economists that Riba is not restrictedto usury but encompasses interest as well. The Qur'an is clear aboutthe prohibition of Riba, which is sometimes defined as excessiveinterest. "O You who believe! Fear Allah and give up that remains ofyour demand for usury, if you are indeed believers." Muslim scholarshave accepted the word Riba to mean any fixed or guaranteed interestpayment on cash advances or on deposits. Several Qur'anic passagesexpressly admonish the faithful to shun interest.The rules regarding Islamic finance are quite simple and can be summedup as follows:a) Any predetermined payment over and above the actual amount ofprincipal is prohibited. Islam allows only one kind of loan and that is qard-el-hassan(literally good loan) whereby the lender does not charge any interestor additional amount over the money lent. Traditional Muslim juristshave construed this principle so strictly that, according to onecommentator "this prohibition applies to any advantage or benefitsthat the lender might secure out of the qard (loan) such as riding theborrower's mule, eating at his table, or even taking advantage of theshade of his wall." The principle derived from the quotationemphasises that associated or indirect benefits are prohibited.b) The lender must share in the profits or losses arising out of theenterprise for which the money was lent. Islam encourages Muslims to invest their money and to become partnersin order to share profits and risks in the business instead ofbecoming creditors. As defined in the Shari'ah, or Islamic law,Islamic finance is based on the belief that the provider of capitaland the user of capital should equally share the risk of businessventures, whether those are industries, farms, service companies orsimple trade deals. Translated into banking terms, the depositor, thebank and the borrower should all share the risks and the rewards offinancing business ventures. This is unlike the interest-basedcommercial banking system, where all the pressure is on the borrower:he must pay back his loan, with the agreed interest, regardless of thesuccess or failure of his venture.The principle which thereby emerges is that Islam encouragesinvestments in order that the community may benefit. However, it isnot willing to allow a loophole to exist for those who do not wish toinvest and take risks but rather content with hoarding money ordepositing money in a bank in return for receiving an increase onthese funds for no risk (other than the bank becoming insolvent).Accordingly, under Islam, either people invest with risk or sufferloss through devaluation by inflation by keeping their money idle.Islam encourages the notion of higher risks and higher returns andpromotes it by leaving no other avenue available to investors. Theobjective is that high risk investments provide a stimulus to theeconomy and encourage entrepreneurs to maximise their efforts.c) Making money from money is not Islamically acceptable. Money is only a medium of exchange, a way of defining the value of athing; it has no value in itself, and therefore should not be allowedto give rise to more money, via fixed interest payments, simply bybeing put in a bank or lent to someone else. The human effort,initiative, and risk involved in a productive venture are moreimportant than the money used to finance it. Muslim jurists considermoney as potential capital rather than capital, meaning that moneybecomes capital only when it is invested in business. Accordingly,money advanced to a business as a loan is regarded as a debt of thebusiness and not capital and, as such, it is not entitled to anyreturn ( i.e. interest). Muslims are encouraged to purchase and arediscouraged from keeping money idle so that, for instance, hoardingmoney is regarded as being unacceptable. In Islam, money representspurchasing power which is considered to be the only proper use ofmoney. This purchasing power (money) cannot be used to make morepurchasing power (money) without undergoing the intermediate step ofit being used for the purchase of goods and services.d) Gharar (Uncertainty, Risk or Speculation) is also prohibited.Under this prohibition any transaction entered into should be freefrom uncertainty, risk and speculation. Contracting parties shouldhave perfect knowledge of the counter values intended to be exchangedas a result of their transactions. Also, parties cannot predetermine aguaranteed profit. This is based on the principle of 'uncertain gains'which, on a strict interpretation, does not even allow an undertakingfrom the customer to repay the borrowed principal plus an amount totake into account inflation. The rationale behind the prohibition isthe wish to protect the weak from exploitation. Therefore, options andfutures are considered as un-Islamic and so are forward foreignexchange transactions because rates are determined by interestdifferentials.A number of Islamic scholars disapprove the indexation of indebtednessto inflation and explain this prohibition within the framework ofqard-el-hassan. According to those scholars, the creditor advances theloan to win the blessings of Allah and expects to obtain the rewardfrom Allah alone. A number of transactions are treated as exceptionsto the principle of gharar : sales with advanced payment (bai'bithaman ajil); contract to manufacture (Istisna); and hire contract(Ijara). However, there are legal requirements for the conclusion ofthese contracts to be organised in a way which minimises risk.e) Investments should only support practices or products that are notforbidden -or even discouraged- by Islam. Trade in alcohol, forexample would not be financed by an Islamic bank; a real-estate loancould not be made for the construction of a casino; and the bank couldnot lend money to other banks at interest.

Isn't the LTTE committing Genocide?

Isn't the LTTE committing Genocide? by Dushy Ranetunge in LondonThe deliberate targeting of civilians has been used as a weapon of war throughout the history of mankind with various degrees of success.Hitler deliberately bombed London targeting civilians, but Churchill had stubbornly and famously declared "we shall fight on the seas and oceans, ?we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,? we shall fight on the beaches, ?we shall fight on the landing grounds, ?we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, ?we shall fight in the hills; ?we shall never surrender." 12 weeks before the surrender of the Nazi's, the British carpet bombed the German city of Dresden, resulting in an estimated 25,000 to 40,000 German civilian casualties.Hitlers targeting of British civilians and the British targeting of German civilians did not result in any significant military advantage to either party.However, it could be argued that the American targeting of Japanese civilians at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, brought that conflict to an end resulting in the surrender of the Japanese.After the war, the United Nations Charter, the Geneva Conventions and The Hague conventions, established and strengthened the laws of war and the targeting of civilians.This did not stop the targeting of civilians. In Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and more recently in Iraq and Afghanistan civilians have been targeted, sometimes deliberately but on most occasions as what is termed as collateral damage. The press has also been targeted. In 2001 the US airforce bombed the Al Jazeera office in Kabul. In 2004 U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld described Al Jazeera's coverage as "vicious, inaccurate and inexcusable." Al Jazeera was broadcasting live pictures of civilian casualties.In all the above instances, deliberate or otherwise, the targeting and civilian casualties did not belong to a particular ethnic group. In Iraq and Afghanistan Western military action did not seek out a particular tribe or ethnic grouping for specific targeting.However, the LTTE's recent target selection in Sri Lanka is increasingly indicating that the LTTE is deliberately targeting a particular ethnic community in Sri Lanka with the deliberate intention of causing harm to this ethnic community.The legal definition of genocide is found in the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Article 2, of this convention defines genocide as "any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life, calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; [and] forcibly transferring children of the group to another group."In the Sri Lankan conflict civilians have been killed on both sides of the ethnic divide. But there is a distinction in conduct between the two sides.In the early phases of the conflict there was, one believes, deliberate targeting of civilians by both sides. In some instances, Government forces are suspected to have deliberately targeted Tamil civilians in the misguided belief that by putting pressure on Tamil civilians, they would pressure the LTTE to cease armed action. The writer is aware of one incident, before the IPKF intervention, when a senior officer of the air force ordered a pilot to release bombs over Nallur. The Pilot refused stating that he had friends living there and turned the aircraft back. During this period there are indications of a deliberate policy of targeting civilians, periodically.Since these early years the level of professionalism and training in the Sri Lankan armed forces have increased several fold.Even now, Air force action over the Vanni has resulted in civilian casualties. But there is no evidence to indicate that civilian casualties have arisen as a result of deliberate targeting of civilians. Unlike previously, today, the air force has far superior intelligence and disciplined intelligence led targeting. Tamilchelvan was a victim of this efficiency. One of the contributory factors of civilian casualties in the Vanni is the LTTE's deliberate policy of locating their bunkers close to schools and hospitals. There is for example a bunker under the government medical facility in Vakarai, built by the LTTE during their occupation of the area. A foreign national photographed this bunker and provided the evidence to this writer several years ago. The LTTE is also known to use ambulances and civilian transport to facilitate the movement of their leaders to evade military targeting. Some of these vehicles have been targeted over the years, but there is no evidence to indicate that these were deliberate targeting of civilians as policy by the state.If targeting Tamil civilians was the motive, there is no need for the army to risk the security of some of their best soldiers to carry out attacks deep in the Vanni against Tamil civilians, when it could be done far more easily in some other easily accessible places.The LRRP is deployed to seek out and destroy specific targets and targeting Tamil civilians not only compromises their entire operation, it also renders the entire operation quite useless. At a time when the strategy is to encourage alternative Tamil political formations in the East and now the North, the targeting of Tamil civilians is completely counter-productive and simply does not take place as a policy of the state.But there are indications that the LTTE is deliberately targeting the Sinhalese community. There is a general pattern that is emerging from the LTTE's targeting priorities.The LTTE retains the capacity to carry out bomb attacks in any part of Sri Lanka as the recent incident near the Sambodhi Viharaya in Fort demonstrates. The incident was in a high security zone. The Sri Lankan authorities had prior intelligence of a possible attack in the Fort area earlier that week and took the precaution of alerting traders in the Fort area to be on the lookout. The Fort area was saturated with intelligence personnel. Despite the prior intelligence and the precautions the LTTE succeeded in carrying out the attack utilising a motorcycle suicide bomber.There are indications that some pro-LTTE Tamils holding British and other foreign passports living in Colombo are increasingly being used to transport material and give instructions to LTTE operatives in the city. The pattern that is emerging is that the LTTE carries out specific targeting of Sinhalese civilians taking precautions to avoid other ethnic communities. The LTTE is deliberately targeting the Sinhalese Buddhist community that forms the support base of Mahinda Rajapaksa. The CMC today has a Tamil/Muslim majority. The targeting methods used in this area is more precise, targeting military personnel such as the army Commander Sarath Fonseca and the Defense Secretary Gothabaya Rajapakse or in the instance of the Sambodhi Viharaya, the attempt was on perhaps Pillaiyan or a Government minister. The Fort railway station is targeted as it is used predominantly by Sinhalese commuters.Outside the CMC area, the targeting is more general and the targeting is Sinhalese civilians in Sinhalese neighbourhoods: January 16th passenger bus in Buttala, February 2nd passenger bus in Dambulla, February 3rd Fort Railway Station, February 23rd passenger bus bomb in Mt. Lavinia, April 25th bus bomb in Piliyandala, May 26th Dehiwala passenger Bus Bomb, June 4th Wellawatta bus bomb, June 6th Moratuwa and Kandy bus bombs. Several other such passenger bus parcel bombs in Sinhalese neighbourhoods were detected and defused.All these incidences highlight the deliberate targeting of civilians of one particular ethnic community. This is not collateral damage as is found in Air Force action or LRRP targeting of LTTE leadership. This is planned deliberate action to target Sinhalese civilians and almost in all cases, the poorest and the most vulnerable sections of the Sinhalese community.In attacking what the LTTE perceives as being the Mahinda Rajapaksa's support base, the LTTE perhaps expects the government to stop its military operations.The LTTE is as usual shooting itself in the foot. With elections on the horizon the UNP is struggling to make cost of living the priority issue in the electorate. Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe participated in a tooting vehicle horns protest in Colombo trying to kick off a campaign of making the cost of living a priority to undermine the Rajapakse administration.The mode of this UNP campaign was a failure, as the photos published of UNP bigwigs tooting horns in their luxury vehicles are bound to make the Sri Lankan rural electorate hostile towards the UNP, rather than join hands with them. It would have caused more harm than good for the UNP. The photos of Mr Hakeem in a super luxury vehicle tooting the horn with Mr Wickremesinghe in the background will particularly send a negative message to the rural constituency. The behaviour of a senior Police officer during the protest highlighted that the Rajapaksa administration was concerned about the protest, but they should not have been, as the LTTE has come to the rescue of the government.By targeting Sinhalese civilians, the LTTE has negated the UNP's efforts to make cost of living a priority and given a fresh impetus to Rajapakse's anti-terrorism agenda.The bus bombs have enraged the Sinhalese constituency and more determined than ever to rally around the government's defence effort.http://www.island.lk/2008/06/09/features.html

Christian Fundamentalism, the Global Crusade and Muslims

Christian Fundamentalism, the Global Crusade and Muslims

Yoginder சிகாந்து

If Christian fundamentalists are to be believed, America's invasion ofIraq and the consequent brutal slaughter of thousands of innocentcivilians in that country are all part of a grand divine plan thatwill finally culminate in the 'second coming' of Jesus Christ.Establishing an empire that will extend all over the globe, Christwill rule like a powerful monarch, saving those who believe in him anddispatching non-believers, all non-Christians and non-conformistChristians, to everlasting perdition in hell. This is no childishnonsense for millions of Christian fundamentalists, who sincerelybelieve this to be predicted in the Bible. Not surprisingly, AmericanChristian fundamentalists are today among the most fanatic supportersof Bush's global imperialist wars, in Iraq and elsewhere, which theysee as in keeping with the divine mandate. They are no eccentric orlunatic fringe elements, for today Christian fundamentalists exercisea powerful influence in American politics. Among them is George Bushhimself, who insists that the American invasion of Iraq has beensanctioned by God, with whom he claims to be in personalcommunication.While the Western press is awash with stories, real and exaggerated,about 'Islamic fundamentalists', rarely is mention made aboutChristian fundamentalists, who, with their vast resources and closelinks with the current American administration, are a potentially moremenacing threat than their Muslim counterparts. According to newspaperreports more than a third of Americans are associated with one or theother Christian fundamentalist outfit, most of which are fiercelyanti-communist, anti-Muslim and are passionate advocates offree-market capitalism, global American hegemony and the myth of thecivilizing mission of white America. In recent years, thesefundamentalist groups have been engaged in aggressive missionary workin other countries as well, including in the so-called 'Third World'.Fired by a passionate hatred for other religions, which they dismissas 'false' and even 'Satanic', they are today among the mostwell-funded missionary groups in large parts of Asia and Africa.Crusading for Christ, these fundamentalist groups are not simply outfishing for souls. Rather, for them Christianity is only part of theagenda, which also includes aggressively promoting American andZionist interests. Today, these groups preach not only Christ but alsoPax Americana and even American-led imperialist wars, which they blessas holy causes to usher in the final arrival of Jesus.Texas-based author and preacher Michael Evans is one of the mostnotorious American Christian fundamentalist preachers today, apassionate advocate of war in the name of Christ. In a recentlypublished book, titled Beyond Iraq: The Next Move-Ancient Prophecy andModern-Day Conspiracy Collide (Whitestone Books, Florida, 2003), hespells out a grand design for American global hegemony, blessed in theguise of a holy global war. Key players in this 'divine' plot includethe CIA, the American government and army, and Israel, besides variousChristian fundamentalist outfits. The book is dedicated, among others,to what Evans describes as 'two old friends', Ehud Olmert, formerIsraeli Vice President, and the former Israeli Prime Minister,Benjamin Netanyahu. Equally revealingly, the book begins with aquotation which graces the lobby of the original headquarters of theCIA.Evans is no petty crank who claims to be God-possessed, although hiswritings might seem to suggest that. The jacket of the book describeshim as a 'TIME magazine best-selling author', who has appeared on theBBC and on American television channels and who has written for suchpapers as the Wall Street Journal and the Jerusalem Post. He hobnobswith the highest of American and Israeli politicians and religiousleaders, and is evidently taken very seriously in Christianfundamentalist circles. That Evans is also a passionate Bush-backer isamply evident in his clam that, 'I know, from a first hand, personalinterview with him that Bush is a man of faith who believes in theBible'.Evans is the founder of the 'Jerusalem Prayer Team', which, he says,he established after having been visited by God in a vision. Amongthose who participated in the inauguration of his outfit were suchnames as Franklin Graham, Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, allnotorious American Christian fundamentalist leaders, Governor DickPerry and Representative Dick Armey, and Benjamin Netanyahu, formerIsraeli Prime Minister. Thousands of others in America and elsewhere,so he claims, have joined his movement in the aftermath of 11September, 2001. His ultimate aim, he writes, is to have one million'intercessors praying daily for the peace of Jesus and God'sprotection for Israel' so that 'demonic powers will be defeated byholy angels in a battle that cannot be seen with the natural eye'.A fierce Christian Zionist, Evans has close links with the Israeliestablishment. The book's jacket states that he received the'Ambassador Award' from the government of Israel and relates that hehas been 'a confidante to most of Israel's prime ministers and to bothof Jerusalem's mayors'. The jacket quotes Benjamin Netanyahu aspraising Evans for having 'consistently demonstrated the moral claritythat is necessary to defend Israel from the lies and distortions ofits enemies'. This is no empty boast: the book contains pictures ofEvans with Menachem Begin endorsing his first book, 'Israel: America'sKey To Survival', praying with Shimon Peres, comforting Jewish victimsof a bomb blast in Israel, launching the 'Jerusalem Prayer Team' alongwith Jerusalem's mayor, pledging support to Israel before YitzhakShamir along with half a million signatures of fellow Christians,championing Israel's cause at the royal palace in Madrid and keepingcompany with American soldiers in Lebanon and Somalia. *Christianity, War and the 'Defence' of IsraelFor Evans, and numerous other rabid Christian fundamentalist preachersof hate like him, one of the most crucial purposes of America'sinvasion of Iraq is the 'defence' of Israel, which he regards as asolemn Christian duty. If till recently Jews were routinely reviled bythe Church as 'Christ-killers', and, accordingly, hounded by Christianauthorities, many of today's Christian fundamentalists, like Evans,are passionate advocates of the state of Israel. This does not,however, represent any shift in their fervent belief, intrinsic tomainstream Christianity, that non-Christians, Jews included, aredestined for Hell. Rather, it is part of a wider conversion agenda.Jesus, they believe, will return to the world to rule only once theJews have 'returned' to Palestine and have rebuilt the temple of Davidthat was destroyed almost two thousand years ago. After this momentousevent, many Jews will convert to Christianity and those who refuse towill be sent to hell. Till then, Christian fundamentalists argue, theJews and their state must be passionately defended from their'enemies', who are invariably identified as Arabs and Muslims.The 'defence' of Israel, a central point in the Christianfundamentalist agenda, is typically argued in racist terms. Israel,Christian fundamentalists believe, are God's 'chosen people', and theyquote the Bible as making this claim, suggesting, therefore, thatnon-Jewish peoples are somehow lesser beings. Evans, too, makes thispoint and argues that according to the Bible 'God will bless those whobless Israel' and will 'curse those who curse it'. 'History records',he says, 'that God deals with nations in accordance with how thosenations deal with Israel'. Hence, in the 'defence' of Israel,Christians, Evans argues, have no choice. If they are true to theirfaith, he says, they must join hands with America in its war for'defending' Israel, and must 'support Israel in every possible way'.'We must either choose Mount Zion [Jerusalem] and be among those whoobey the voice of the Spirit of the Lord', he writes, 'or we will beleft to the passions of our flesh, drinking the wine of her [Bablyon'sor Iraq's] fornication'.The invasion of Iraq, and the broader American 'war on terror', is,Evans says, is akin to 'divine light [.] proclaiming like a trumpet aspiritual battle of monumental proportions', pitting Babylon, theBiblical Iraq, the 'spiritual centre of darkness', against Jerusalemor contemporary Israel, the 'spiritual centre of light'. But so thatthis 'divine light' should spread beyond the confines of Babylon,Evans pleads for America to extend its war all over the globe, toevery country that dares to challenge American supremacy and the stateof Israel. This war, he says, should aim at the elimination of all'terrorists', defined as those who refuse to support Israeli andAmerican interests. In this, the invasion and occupation of Iraq is ofvital importance, Evans says, because it will 'become a US base' todestroy 'terrorist' networks elsewhere in the Middle East andeventually to usher in what he calls 'the apocalyptic battle' ofArmageddon, 'the final battles of the ages' as allegedly 'prophesiedin Daniel, Jeremiah and Revelations', chapters of the Bible.America, as Evans sees it, must be ready to sacrifice itself toprotect Israel, because that, he says, is precisely what the ChristianGod wants. Hence, Palestinians resisting the illegal occupation oftheir land and all those who opposed to Israel and its imperialist andexpansionist policies must be crushed with the might of American arms,he insists. The Christian God does not brook any peace with suchpeople, he argues. The Bible, he announces, says that those who fightagainst Israel, God's supposedly chosen people and recipients of His'special blessing', would be destroyed by God Himself. He quotes theBible as declaring: 'And this shall be the plague with which the Lordwill strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their fleshshall dissolve while they stand on their feet. Their eyes shalldissolve in their sockets. And their tongues shall dissolve in theirmouths'.Given this supposed divine backing, Evans exhorts America to invadeand subjugate all countries opposed to Israel, specifically namingLebanon, Syria and Iran. The ultimate agenda, he says, is to destroythese countries and establish what Zionists call Eretz or GreaterIsrael, extending to and including Iraq. This is because, Evans quotesthe Bible as saying, God allegedly gave this vast stretch of land,from the Nile to the Euphrates, to Abraham and his son Isaac and hisdescendants, ancestors of the Jews, as a covenant and as their'everlasting possession'. Echoing hardliner Zionists, Evans insiststhat there can be no peace with the Palestinians at any cost, because,he claims, the Christian God is opposed to this. If Israel and Americaare to faithfully abide by the Christian God's will, he says, theymust not let anything get in the way of the establishment of EretzIsrael. Thus, various peace proposals that involve any territorialconcessions on the part of Israel are ruled out. This is because, asEvans alleges, God has given the entire territory to the Jews tilleternity.Christianity and the New Anti-Muslim CrusadeAs for the Arabs and Muslims more generally, Evans seems to suggestthat the Christian God desires that they be humiliated, subjugated andcrushed. Thus, he quotes the Bible as saying that while God speciallyblessed Isaac and his descendants, the Jews, he had a different planin mind for the Arabs, descendants of Ishmael, Abraham's other son.Referring to Ishmael Evans quotes the Bible as saying, 'He will be awild man; His hand shall be against every man and every man's handagainst him'. This racist stereotype, so deeply rooted in traditionalChristian discourse about Muslims, is held by Evans to be what hecalls 'a fitting description of the Arab terrorist' and, presumably,as justifying the annihilation of the Arab people, as well as otherMuslims. Evans goes so far in vilifying Arabs and Muslims as to callMuhammad a proto-terrorist, alleging that he had banished and killedJews for not believing in him. 'Terrorism', he claims, is a logicalconsequence of Islam, and he argues that 'Muhammad set a sordidexample for his present-day disciples, the Qadafis, Khomeinis, Arafatsand bin Ladens and Husseins of this world'. Claiming knowledge of theunseen, he even announces that Islam is 'a malevolent manifestation ofa religion conceived in the pit of hell'.Evans thus equates Islam with the forces of the 'Anti-Christ', againstwhom he appeals to Christians to marshal all the resources at theircommand. Ironically, while spewing hatred and calling for a globalwar, he presents Christianity as peace-loving, contrasting it withIslam, which he equates with 'terrorism'. 'Christianity differs fromIslam as day differs from night', he claims, completely unmindful ofthe sordid and blood-soaked history of the faith he claims tochampion. In the same breath as he issues a general summons toChristians to wage war in the name of their faith he refers to theBible as instructing Christians to 'turn the other cheek' whenslapped, in order to argue that, unlike Christianity, Islam is aninherently vile religion, equating it with what he terms 'the law ofthe bullet, militancy, treachery, terrorism and violence'.Christianity, America and OilChristian fundamentalists are ardent advocates of free-marketcapitalism, having played a key role in America's war againstcommunism during the Cold War. Christ, capitalism and Americansupremacy go together, Evans believes, and so, while announcing thatan American-spearheaded global war is precisely what Christ mandates,he approvingly quotes Isser Harel, founder of the Israeli secretservices' organization Mossad, who speaks of the 'terror' threat toAmerica's 'freedom', 'capitalism' and 'power', and exhorts America totake appropriate defence measures. Evans goes so far as to advise theAmerica to capture all the oil wealth in Arab lands in order toprevent 'terrorists' from using oil wealth to target Israel, home toGod's supposedly 'special people'. A more ingenuous excuse to justifyAmerican greed could hardly be devised!Since Muslims, especially the Arabs, are branded virtually as agentsof the Devil, Evans argues that America, as self-appointed agent ofChrist, should have no qualms about invading oil-rich Arab lands. Thiswould, he says, break America's dependence on Muslim countries for oilwhich. If America seizes all Arab oil-fields, it would, he says,sharply reduce oil prices, forcing Muslim countries 'to their knees',giving them only two options: 'cooperate with the war on terror or gobankrupt'. At the same time as he exhorts America to invade and occupyall the countries, no matter what the human cost, Evans warns that itshould not be serious about its rhetoric of exporting 'democracy' tothe Middle East, for, he argues, it would lead to anti-American andanti-Israeli Islamists taking over.Invasion of Iraq and the Ushering in of Global Christendom and Pax-AmericanaEvans sees America's invasion and occupation of Iraq as the unfoldingof a divine plan for the world. It is not nothing less than what hecalls a grand 'spiritual battle', between Christianity and Satanicforces and 'demons', as represented by Muslims and othernon-Christians. Accordingly, he fervently welcomes America's invasionof Iraq and pleads that America should expand the theatre of war byinvading various other, mostly Muslim, countries.The murder and destruction that America has wrought in Iraq is nothingto grieve about, Evans seems to suggest. It is a price, he argues,that God is supposedly exacting from முச்ளிம்ஸ்

for having been 'coerced'by Satan to 'loathe' the Jews, 'God's Chosen People'. It is also adivine punishment, he says, for Iraq having allegedly possessing'deadly chemical, biological or nuclear weapons', echoing the bogusclaim made by Bush, Blair and their henchmen which they used tojustify their invasion of that country. Weak-hearted Christians whomight disagree are advised to all in line, for, Evans says, this isprecisely what the Bible predicts and what God mandates. 'I will raiseagainst Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country,for she has sinned against God', the Jewish prophet Jeremiah is saidto have announced, and Evans takes this as evidence of his claim thatthe American invasion of Iraq is demanded by God and that all Americais doing is to faithfully follow God's will.Iraq, the Biblical Babylon, Evans insists, represents the forces ofSatan, and hence deserves to be crushed by America, God's agent,through invasion and war. 'Babylon is fallen, that great city, becauseshe has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of herfornication', he quotes the Bible as saying. 'I will rise up againstthem [.] I will cut off from Babylon her name and survivors, heroffspring and descendants [.] I will turn her into a place for owlsand into swampland. I will sweep her with the broom of destruction',Evans quotes the Biblical God as having declared. He marshals otherBiblical verses to press the argument about Iraq being allegedlyinherently 'evil' and hence deserving harsh repression at Americanhands. Eve and Adam are said to have committed the 'first sin' there;it was in Iraq that occult and astrology were invented;Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of Babylon, conquered Israel and enslaved theJews; the Babylonians built the Tower of Babel, thereby defying God bytrying to reach heaven without His permission; and the Bible describesBabylon as the 'seat' of the Anti-Christ and the 'Beast', the 'seat ofSatan's evil', in contrast to Jerusalem, the 'seat of God'srighteousness', against whom it is destined to be pitted in the finalbattle that will usher in Jesus' 'second coming'.In all, then, Evan argues, America is simply acting as the ChristianGod's handmaiden in wreaking destruction and death in Iraq. Instead ofbeing blamed or castigated for this, he argues, it should be praised.This destruction is Biblically mandated, he repeats, for the Bible hasannounced that, 'Babylon, the great, has fallen and has become adwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cagefor every unclean and hated bird [.] Therefore, her plague will comein one day-death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterlyburned with fire [.] Thus with violence the great city Babylon shallbe thrown down and shall not be found anymore'.But this terrible destruction in Iraq is only the beginning of abloody trail of events mandated by a supposedly blood-thirsty andvengeful God. According to Evans' reading of the Bible, the Americaninvasion of Iraq is what he calls 'the dress-rehearsal' for the grandglobal battle of Armageddon between the forces of Christ and Satan.Prior to this battle, he quotes the Bible as saying, 'demons andspirits' bound up in the Euphrates in Iraq will be released, and, withan army of 200 million, will kill off a third of the world's totalinhabitants through nuclear war. This grand battle, Evans writes, isnot far off. Hence, he appeals to Christians to 'put on the armour ofGod' and 'engage in spiritual battle'. Now, is the time, he says, toprepare for the impending return of Christ. Presumably, after Iraq isdestroyed through the agency of the Americans, Christ will suddenlyappear in Jerusalem and establish his global empire, ushering in theend of the world as we know it.Horrendous as Evans' views are, they do find a powerful echo inChristian fundamentalist circles today, more so given their growinginfluence in policy-making circles in the West, particularly inAmerica. If the world is to be saved from the Armageddon that Evansand his ilk are bent on calling down from the heavens it is imperativethat Western imperialism and Christian fundamentalism be interrogated,challenged and opposed, particularly by sincere Christians themselves.

இந்திய குண்டுவெடிப்புகளின் பின்னணியில் அமெரிக்கா மற்றும் இஸ்ரேல் - JUNIOR VIKATAN ARTICLE

இந்திய குண்டுவெடிப்புகளின் பின்னணியில் அமெரிக்கா மற்றும் இஸ்ரேல் - JUNIOR VIKATAN ARTICLE

நாம் அன்றாடம் செய்து கொண்டிருக்கம் பல செயல்கள் பலரால் கண்டுகொள்ளப்படுவதில்லை. ஆனால், நாம் செய்யத் தவறிய அல்லது தவறாகச் செய்யும் ஒரு செயல் பலருடைய கண்டனத்துக்கு உள்ளாகிறது. குhல்பந்து விளையாட்டில் எதிரணியினர் போட மயலும் எத்தனையோ 'கோல்'களை ஒரு கீப்பர் எடுத்திருக்கலாம். ஆனால், அவர் தடுக்கத் தவறியதால் விழுந்த 'கோல்' மட்டுமே நம் நினைவில் வகிநிறது. ஆதைப் போலவே பயங்கரவாதத் தாக்குதல்களை காவல்துறை பலமுறை தடுத்திருக்கலாம். உளவுத்துறை மூலம் கிடைத்த தகவல்களின் அடிப்படையில் பயங்கரவாத செயல்களில் ஈடுபட இருந்த பயங்கர வாதிகளைக் கைது செய்திருக்கக்கூடும். ஆனால், பயங்கரவாதத் தாக்குதல்கள் நடந்தவுடன் அரசு தடுக்க தவறிவிட்டது என்ற எண்ணமே நம் அனைவருடைய மனதிலும் நிறைந்துவிடுகிறது.இந்த எண்ணம் சாதாரணமாக மக்கள் மனதில் எழுவதைப் புரிந்துகொள்ள முடிகிறது. ஆனால், அரசியல் கட்சிகள் இதுபோன்ற துயரமான நிகழ்வுகளைகூட அரசியல் ஆதாயத்துக்காகப் பயன்படுத்துவதைப் பார்க்கும்போது மனதில் வேதனை எழுவதை தவிர்க்க முடிவிதில்லை.கடந்த மே மாதம் 13-ம் நாள் ஜெய்ப்பூரில் நடந்த தொடர் குண்டுவெடிப்புகள் குறிந்து பாரதிய ஜனதா கட்சி எழுப்பிய கண்டனங்களில் மத்திய அரசு மீதான குற்றச்சாட்டும் இருந்தது. ஐக்கிய முற்போக்குக் கூட்டணி அரசு பலவீனமான அரசு என்றும், சிறுபான்மையினரின் ஓட்டு வங்கியைக் கருத்தில்கொண்டு பயங்கரவாதிகளுக்கு சதிராக உறுதியாக நடவடிக்கை எடுப்பதற்கு மத்திய அரசு தயங்குகிறது என்றும் மத்திய அரசு மீது குற்ற்ச்சாட்டுகள் எழுந்தன. முணி;டும் மீண்டும் ஒரே புகாரைச் சொல்லிக் கொண்டிருந்தால் மக்கள் அதை உண்மையென நம்பிவிடுவார்கள் என்று பீ.ஜெ.பி கருதுகிறது போலிருக்கிறது. போடா சட்டம் அமலில் இருந்த போதும் பயங்கரவாதத் தாக்குதல்கள் நடந்தன என்பதை இந்திய மக்கள் மறந்து பொயிருப்பார்கள் என்று அந்தக் கட்சித் தலைமை நினைக்கக்கூடும். இப்பொது கர்நாடக சட்டமன்றத்தில் ஆட்சி அமைக்கும் வாய்ப்பை பீ.ஜெ.பி. பெற்றிருக்கும் நிலையைப் பார்க்கும்போது அந்தக் குற்றச்சாட்டும்கூட கர்நாடக மக்கள் மத்தியல் எதிரொலித்திருக்கும் என்றே எண்ணத் தோன்றுகிறது.இந்தியவில் நடக்கும் பயங்கரவாத செயல்களில் அப்பாவி மக்கள் குறி வைக்கப்படுகிறார்கள் நம்முடைய மக்கள் கோயில்களிலும் மசூதிகளிலும் இறக்கிறார்கள். பேருந்துகளிலும் தொடர்வண்டிகளிலும் பயணம் செய்து கொண்டிலுக்கும்போதே மடிகிறார்கள். கடைவீதிகளிலும் பொழுதுபோக்குப் பூங்காகளிலும் சிதறி சின்னா பின்னமாகிறார்கள். எதற்கா சாகிறோம் என்று அறியக்கூட அவகாசம் இல்லாமல் அப்பாவிகளுடைய உயிர் பறிக்கப்பட்டு விடுகிறது. இவர்களில் பலர் அவர்களுடைய குடும்பத்தில் சம்பாதிக்கும் ஒரே நபராக இருக்கலாம். இவர்களுடைய மறைவுக்குப் பிறகு அந்தக் குடும்பங்கள் பலவிதமான துன்பங்களுக்கும் துயரங்களுக்கும் ஆளாகலாம். ஆனால், இவற்றைப் பற்றியெல்லாம் சிறிதும் கவலைப்படாமல் சிலர் இந்தத் துயரங்களில் அரசியல் ஆதாயம் தேட முனைகிறார்கள்.
ஒவ்வொரு குண்டு வெடிப்புக்கம் ஏதாவது ஓர் அமைப்புகாரணம் என்ற முடிவுக்கு வருகிறோம். அந்த அமைப்பைச் சேர்ந்தவர்கள் என்று யாராவது சிலர் கைது செய்யப்படுகிறார்கள்.மோதலில் சுட்டுக் கொல்லப்படுகிறார்கள். இருந்தும், அடுத்தடுத்து குண்டு வெடிப்புகள் நடந்து கொண்டுதான் இருக்கின்றன. அப்படி என்றால், முதலில் கைது செய்யப்பட்டவர்கள் அல்லது கொல்லல்ட்டவர்கள் தவிர, புதிதுபுதிதாக பயங்கரவாத இயக்கங்களில் உறுப்பினர்கள் சேர்ந்து கொண்டிருக்கிறார்கள் என்று பொருளாகிறது அல்லது கைது செய்யப்பட்டவர்களோ,கொல்லப்பட்டவர்களோ முந்தைய சம்பவத்துடன் தொடர்பில்லாதவர்கள் என்று அர்த்தமாகிறது.
இந்த பயங்கரவாத நிகழ்வுகளால் அரசியல் ஆதாயம் யாருக்குக் கிடைக்கிறது? இந்த சம்பவங்கள் நடைபெறவேண்டிய நாளைத் தீர்மானிப்பது யார்? அதில் ஏதேனும் அரசியல் இருக்கிறதா? ஒவ்வொரு பயங்கராவாத நிகழ்வும் வேறு ஏதாவது சம்பவத்துடன் தொடர்புடையதாக இருக்கிறதா? இவை எதுவும் அர்த்தம் இல்லாத கேள்விகளாக இருக்கலாம். அல்லது இவற்றில் ஒன்றிரண்டு கேள்விகளுக்கான விடைகளில் ஏதேனும் உண்மை ஒட்டிக் கொண்டிருக்கலாம். இந்த வினாக்கள் பலருடைய சிந்தனையில் எழுந்திருக்கக்கூடும். இருந்தும், தொடர்ந்து அவற்றுக்கான விடை தேடும் பணியில் ஒருவர் ஈடுபட முடியாமல் அவருடைய அன்றாடப் பணிகள் அவரை ஆக்கிரமித்திருக்கலாம்.அண்மையில் தற்செயலாக இணையதளத்தில் படிக்க நேர்ந்த ஒரு ஆங்கிலக்கட்டுரையில் இடம் பெற்றிருந்த சில தகவல்கள் இந்தக் கேள்விகளில் அர்த்தம் இல்லாமல் இல்லை என்ற உணர்வை ஏற்படுத்தின.சமீபத்தில் ஜெய்ப்பூரில் நடந்த குண்டு வெடிப்பில் சர்வதேச பின்னணி இருக்கக்கூடும். தேர்தல் மூலம் பாக்கிஸ்தானில் அமைந்த அரசின் வெளியுறவுத்துறை அமைச்சரை இந்திய வெளியுறவுத்துறை அமைச்சர் மே 20-22 தேதிகளில் சந்திக்க இருந்தார். இரு நாடுகளுக்கு இடையில் நல்லுறவு ஏற்பட்டால் யாருக்கு இழப்பு ஏற்படுமோ, அவர்களே இந்தத் தாக்குதலுக்கு காரணமாக இருக்கக்கூடும்.
1948ம் வருடம் மே 14 அன்று இஸ்ரேல் என்ற நாடு உருவாக்கப்பட்டு 60 ஆண்டுகள் நிறைவடைவதை ஒட்டி உலகமெங்கும் இஸ்லாமியர்களும் பாலஸ்தீன ஆதரவாளர்களும் ஆர்ப்பாட்டம் நடத்துகிறார்கள். அந்த செய்தியபை; பின்னுக்குத் தள்ளி 'இஸ்லாமிய பயங்கரவாதம்' என்ற செய்தி உலக ஊடகங்களில் இடம் பெறும் வகையில் ஜெய்ப்பூரில் குண்டுகள் வெடித்திருக்கின்றன. லெபனான் மீது இஸ்ரேல் போர் தொடுக்க ஜூலை 11, 2006 அன்று மும்பையில் தொடர்வண்டியில் குண்டுகள் வெடித்தன.
மேலும் இந்தியாவில் கர்நாடக மாநிலத்தில் சட்ட மன்றத் தேர்தலுக்கான வாக்கப்பதிவு நடக்க இருந்தது இதேபோல, குஜராத் தேர்தல் வாக்கப் பதிவுக்கு இரு மாதங்களுக்கு முன்தாக அஷhதாம் கோயிலில் பயங்கரவாதிகள் தாக்குதல் தொடுத்தனர். 2005, மே 2ம் நாள் அமெரிக்க அதிபர் இந்தியாவுக்கு வருகை தந்ததையொட்டி மிகப்பெரிய அளவில் எதிர்ப்பு ஆர்பாட்டங்கள் இந்தியாவில் நடந்தன. அதற்கு ஐந்து நாட்களுக்குப் பிறகு வாரணாசியில் பயங்கரவாதத் தாக்குதல் நடந்தது.
இந்திய-அமெரிக்க ஒப்பந்தம் குறித்த எதிர்ப்பு அதிகமாக இருந்த கடந்த ஆண்டில் ஹைதராபாத் பூங்காவில் குண்டுகள் வெடித்தன என்று அந்தக் கட்டுரை பட்டியலிடுகிறது.
அமெரிக்காவும் இஸ்ரேலும் பல நாடுகளில் தங்களுடைய பங்காளிகளுக்கு அரசியல் அதாயம் கிடைக்கும் செயல்களைச் செய்வார்கள் என்று அரசியல் தளத்தில் நிலவும் கருத்துக்கு வலுவூட்டுகிற வகையில் அந்தக் கட்டுரையின் உள்ளடக்கம் இருந்தது.இவையெல்லாம் ஒன்றுக்கொன்று தொடர்புடையவையா அல்லது மொட்டைத் தலைக்கும் முழங்காலுக்குதம் முடிச்சுப் போடுவது போல் இட்டுக்கட்டி சொல்லப்படும் அரசியல் வாதங்களா என்பதை நம்மைப்போல சாதாரண மக்களால் அறிந்துகொள்ள முடியாது. அதிகாரம் நிறைந்த ஆட்சியாளர்களுக்கும் அரசு அதிகாரிகளும்தான் இதற்கான முன் முயற்சியை எடுக்கவேண்டும். அவர்களால்கூட கண்டுபிடித்து நிரூபிக்க முடியாத வகையில் செயல்படும் வல்லமை சர்வதேச பயங்காரவாதிகளுக்கு ஒருவேளை இருக்கக்கூடும். அந்தந்தப் பகுதியில் இருக்கும் ஏதாவது ஒரு இயக்கத்தின் மூலம் தங்கள் திட்டத்தை நிறைவேற்றிக் கொள்ளும் வலிமை அவர்களுக்கு இருக்கலாம்.இந்நிலையில் இந்தியா முழுவதும் நடந்த பல பயங்கரவாத நிகழ்வுகள் குறித்து முழுமையான ஆய்வு நடத்தி விசாரிப்பதற்கு சுதந்திரமான ஓர் ஆணையத்தை இந்திய அரசு அமைக்க வேண்டும் என்ற கோரிக்கை எழுந்துள்ளதாக அறிய முடிகிறது. எப்பொதும் சொல்லப்படும் இந்து-முஸ்லிம், இந்திய – பாக்கிஸ்தான் போன்ற முரண்பாடுகளையும் தாண்டி வேறு யாருடைய கரங்களாவது இந்திய மக்களை பலிவாங்கும் பயங்கரவாதச் செயல்களில் இருக்கிறதா என்பதை மக்களுக்கு அறியத்தர வேண்டும்.நன்றி : ஜீனியர் விகடன்http://www.vikatan.com/jv/2008/jun/01062008/jv0503.asp