Human misery comes from human mistakes
Bitterlemons.org & Daily Star, 8 /26/03 The following is an interview with Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the spiritual leader of the Palestinian group Hamas where he discusses the impact of religion on the situation in the Middle East in solving the region’s problems. Q: “How important is religion in providing justice and solving the political problems of the Arab world?” Sheikh Yassin: “The basic difficulty here is a misunderstanding of the true meaning of the word ‘religion.’ In the Islamic belief, religion refers to every system on earth that human beings abide by to run their lives. In general, religion might come from God or be manmade by humans to run their own lives. Life can’t continue without religion to protect and maintain the human existence. “In Islam in particular, religion is made by God to protect and maintain itself as religion and maintain property, thought, humanity, and progeny. Islam is an ideal and practical system that was implemented and applied for hundreds of years through Prophet Mohammed, his caliphs (Prophet Mohammed’s successors), the Umayyad Islamic state, and then the Abbasid Islamic state. History has proven Islam as a successful system at building and maintaining good societies. The system that succeeds once can succeed many more times.” Q: “How does Islam explain Palestinian misery and unhappiness? Is this the work of God or man?” Sheikh Yassin: “First of all, (in the Western world) there is some ignorance toward the true Islamic doctrine. When God sent his messengers and holy books, it was to solve the problems of human beings, but not to end them, because these problems are basic. Periodically, God sent his messengers and holy books to resolve and find solutions for these problems. The misery that occurs in the lives of humans is a result of their behavior and their mistakes. But the welfare that human beings are offered comes from God. “Allah said in his Holy Koran, ‘And whatever affliction befalls you, it is on account of what your hands have wrought.’ Therefore, the misery that inflicts human beings is due to their noncommitment to the system that God sketched for them, and the result is a life of misery and unhappiness.” Q: “Hamas has set its goal as an Islamic state in Palestine. How would that state include ideas often associated with modern statehood: democracy, equal rights and religious freedom?” Sheikh Yassin: “Islam gave every human being the right to worship, and rights in matrimony (personal affairs like marriage, divorce, and so on) and this will not be an obstacle in shaping international relationships. Islam also opened all the gates between the various nations and peoples and led them to the way of goodness and human happiness. In other words, in Islam it is forbidden for Muslims to drink alcohol, but non-Muslims (Christians and Jews) were allowed (to drink) so that Islam was not an obstacle in their lives. Also, Islam allowed non-Muslims to make their own internal arrangements according to their own personal status laws so that Islam didn’t interfere in their personal lives. “If we have our Islamic state, we will have our own laws to control and standardize our society. I want to ask these modern countries, if the individual breaks the law of the state, would they not punish him or would punishing him be considered a violation of his rights? Accordingly, in our Islamic state there will be Islamic law that will punish anyone who breaks or violates the law as in any country. “We, as Muslims, have absolute freedom for all people to be creative and to learn. We also have political, economic, social, and personal freedom, but deriving from Islamic law if the individual is Muslim and from the laws of Christianity or Judaism for Christian and Jewish individuals.” Q: “What has more effect on the Middle East today, divisions among Sunnis, Shiites, Christians and secular Arabs or political divisions over power and money?” Sheikh Yassin: “The real suffering in the Middle East and the problems that the Middle East faces are colonialism and occupation — American, Zionist, Jewish and Christian problems. Shiites and Sunnis are both Muslims, but the occupiers and colonizers are those who evoke sectarianism: either between Shiite and Sunni or between Muslim and Christian. “The colonizers have adopted a policy to divide and conquer, and accordingly, they are doing their best to separate between the various Arab and Muslim groups to make them easier to control and colonize their countries.” Q: “What does Islam teach about reconciliation and making peace and what does that mean in the Middle East today?” Sheikh Yassin: “Islam’s basic principles are to make peace and reconciliation, not only among human beings but also in the world of animals and plants. But Islam does not teach Muslims to make reconciliation with aggressors or occupiers that kill innocent people and ravage the land. Allah said in his holy Koran, ‘And there is life for you in (the law of) retaliation, O men of understanding, that you may guard yourselves.’ Or there is the verse ‘And if you take your turn, then retaliate with the like of that with which you were afflicted; but if you are patient, it will certainly be best for those who are patient.’ “So, you must defend yourself, your land, your dignity, your property, and your country. One cannot simply tolerate that an aggressor stole one’s land and murdered one’s people. To do so is not reconciliation or tolerance but surrender, defeat and a trouncing. “These days, the Israeli and American enemies are trying to confuse the terminology of ‘reconciliation’ and ‘self-defense.’ Islam is a world system calling for tolerance and reconciliation with all religions. It deals with them in the spirit of brotherhood, but it also does not accept aggression. “God said in the holy Koran, ‘Allah does not forbid you respecting those who have not made war against you on account of (your) religion, and have not driven you forth from your homes, that you show them kindness and deal with them justly; surely Allah loves the doers of justice.’ The aggressors want us, in the name of reconciliation and Islam, to give up and surrender our occupied lands. “If we were to apply the true Islamic system in the Middle East and the world, Islam would create a global civilization and produce enlightened thought and build bridges of friendship and cooperation between the various nations in all aspects of life, science, society, and economy. Islam breaks all barriers between countries concerning commerce and trade. But in the current situation, the colonizers and occupiers want to open all the gates of the Middle East on behalf of Israel. These gates haven’t opened yet, and therefore they are doing their best to damage relationships between the Arab countries. This will maintain and support Israeli existence at the expense of the Palestinian, Arab and Muslim nations.” [Inserted by TheWE.biz] Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was the spiritual leader of the Palestinian group Hamas. He was 65 years old at the time of this interview. He lived in Gaza City and spent 8 years in Israeli prisons before being released in 1997 in a prisoner exchange. Born in 1938 in what was then Palestine under the British mandate, Sheikh Yassin's saw a time of humiliation and defeat for the Palestinian as their lands were taken from them and renamed the present state of Israel. Sheikh Yassin became actively involved with a Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood but he did not come to widespread prominence until the first Palestinian intifada of 1987. It was then that the Palestinian Islamist movement adopted the name Hamas, meaning "zeal" and also an Arabic acronym for "Islamic Resistance Movement", and he became its spiritual leader. In addition to being nearly blind, he was a paraplegic and had to use a wheelchair after a playground accident in his youth. A frail quadriplegic who could barely see, he was assassinated March 22, 2004 by an Israeli helicopter gunship. While he was being wheeled out of an early morning prayer session, an Israeli helicopter gunship fired US supplied Hellfire missiles at Sheikh Yassin and both of his bodyguards. They were killed instantly, along with eight other bystanders. More than a dozen people were injured in the attack by the US paid Israel force, including two of Sheikh Yassin's sons. This interview was first published in Bitterlemons.org |
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Monday, 22 March, 2004 Sheikh Yassin: Spiritual figurehead
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Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder and spiritual leader of Hamas, was a frail quadriplegic who could barely see. His voice was thin and quavering.
Yet he wielded growing power among Palestinians, long frustrated with a peace process that has failed to improve their lives.
Thousands of cheering supporters turned out to watch him vow revenge for the first Israeli attempt on his life in September 2003.
He was a hate figure for Israelis, described by ministers as the Palestinian Osama Bin Laden, "his hands tainted with the blood of hundreds of Israelis, children, women and babies".
As the spiritual leader of one of the largest and most militant of all the Palestinian groups fighting the Israeli occupation, Sheikh Yassin was a prime target for Israelis.
Hamas has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings and advocates resistance rather than negotiations to get rid of the Israeli occupation.
Born in 1938 in what was then Palestine under the British mandate, Sheikh Yassin's political views were forged at a time of humiliation and defeat for Palestinians.
After a childhood accident left him a quadriplegic, he devoted his early life to Islamic scholarship and studied at al-Azhar university in Cairo, the birthplace of the Muslim Brotherhood.
It was there that he formed the belief that Palestine was an Islamic land "consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgement Day", and that no Arab leader had the right to give up any part of this territory.
New movement
Sheikh Yassin became actively involved with a Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood but he did not come to widespread prominence until the first Palestinian intifada of 1987.
It was then that the Palestinian Islamist movement adopted the name Hamas, meaning "zeal" and also an Arabic acronym for "Islamic Resistance Movement", and he became its spiritual leader.
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In 1989, Sheikh Yassin was arrested by the Israelis and sentenced to life imprisonment for ordering the killing of Palestinians who had allegedly collaborated with the Israeli army.
He was eventually released in 1997, in a trade-off with Jordan for two Israeli agents involved in an assassination attempt on a Hamas leader in Jordan.
During his time in prison, his importance as a symbol of Palestinian resistance had grown - but his popularity still fell far short of that enjoyed by Yasser Arafat.
Jihad
Believing that a divided leadership would undermine Palestinian interests, Sheikh Yassin sought to maintain good relations with the Palestinian Authority and with other regimes in the Arab world.
But he remained uncompromising on the issue of peace. "The so-called peace path is not peace and it is not a substitute for jihad and resistance," Sheikh Yassin repeatedly said.
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He attacked the outcome of the 2003 Aqaba summit in Jordan, attended by the Israeli and US leaders as well as the then Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, who pledged an end to violence.
Militant groups like Hamas did initially declare a temporary truce, but that unravelled in July 2003 after Israeli forces killed two Hamas members in retaliation for the suicide bombing of a Jerusalem bus that left 21 people dead.
Fierce resistance
Hamas has been able to build support by offering material help to Palestinians suffering economic hardship during the latest intifada.
It has established charitable funds to establish schools, clinics and hospitals that provide free services to families in distress and has been able to attract millions of dollars from the Gulf and elsewhere.
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Sheikh Yassin himself proved a powerful inspiration for young Palestinians disillusioned with the collapse of peace hopes.
He inspired them to offer up their lives, promising that suicide bombers who were willing to die for the sake of the dignity of Palestinians and in the service of a longer-term victory would achieve martyrdom.
Attempts to restrict Sheikh Yassin's activities met with fierce resistance from his supporters.
In December 2001, one man died in clashes with Palestinian police after Sheikh Yassin was placed under house arrest.
Shooting erupted again in June 2002 when Palestinian police surrounded his house, following a spate of bloody suicide bombings against Israel.
And, in September 2003, the Israeli army attempted to kill Sheikh Yassin, while he was at the house of a Hamas colleague in Gaza.
His killing in a missile strike on 22 March 2004 was seen by analysts as an attempt to stop his group taking advantage of a proposed Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
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How Israel sought to make this documentary illegal |
| It was made in 1997, except for Gaza settlers still in Gaza, could be written today. You’ll really like the scenes where Israelis speak of 'how to take care of the problem'. One American holds up a sign saying 'transfer all the Arabs to Oklahoma where there’s oil' Listen to settlers speak. Watch how uncomfortable they are with the camera facing them. 56 minutes long — so sit back or come back. See something that really does open your eyes to Palestine and the takeover now known as Israel. If you've never been there, observe this intensity and human cruelty. |
| 'People and the Land' (PDF file) by Tom Hayes — click here A 24 page article about how hard this film was to make. How Israel sought to make it illegal, doing all they could to prevent the film. |
| US Veto 41 for Israel | November 11, 2006 — US vetoes adoption of a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israel military operations in the Gaza Strip; vote: The United Kingdom, Denmark, Japan and Slovakia abstaining. 10-1 with four absentions, Britain, Denmark, Japan and Slovakia |
| US Veto 40 for Israel | July 13, 2006 — US vetoes UN Qatari-sponsored resolution in the UN Security Council condemning Israel military disproportionate force in the Gaza Strip; vote: 10-1 with four absentions, Britain, Peru, Denmark and Slovakia |
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| US Veto 39 for Israel | October 5, 2004 — US vetoes UN condemning Israel military incursion in Gaza, causing many civilian deaths and extensive damage to property; vote: 11 to 1, with 3 abstentions, Britain, Germany, Romania |
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| US Veto 38 for Israel | March 25, 2004 — US vetoes UN condemning Israel for killing Palestinian spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in a missile attack in Gaza; vote: 11 to 1, with 3 abstentions, Britain, Germany, Romania |
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| US Veto 37 for Israel | October 14, 2003 — US vetoes UN raising concerns about Israel building of a securiy fence through the occupied West Bank; vote 10 to 1, with 4 abstentions, Britain, Germany, Bulgaria and Cameroon |
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| US Veto 36 for Israel | September 16, 2003 — US vetoes UN reaffirming the illegality of deportation of any Palestinian and expressed concern about the possible deportation of Yasser Arafat; vote: 11 to 1, with 3 abstentions, Britain, Germany and Bulgaria |
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| US Veto 35 for Israel | December 19, 2002 — US vetoes UN expressing deep concern over Israel killing of U.N. employees and Israel’s destruction of the U.N. World Food Program warehouse in Beit Lahiya and demanding that Israel refrain from the excessive and disproportionate use of force in the occupied territories; vote: 12 to 1, with 2 abstentions, Bulgaria and Cameroon |
UN President calls for sanctions against Israel
by Saed Bannoura — IMEMC News Thursday November 27, 2008
Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann said that the international community should engage in a 'boycott, divestment and sanctions' campaign against Israel, similar to those enacted against South Africa two decades ago."
Israel has engaged in a military occupation of the Palestinian territories since 1967, with an increase in military presence since the year 2000.
The people of Palestine continue to live under martial law, with no control of their land, sea or water.
In his remarks, d'Escoto said that Israeli policies in the Occupied Palestinian Territories appear similar to the apartheid of an earlier era, a continent away.
He said that the United Nations should not be afraid to use the term apartheid to describe what is happening in occupied Palestine.
Former US President Jimmy Carter came under fire for using the term 'apartheid' in reference to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
He was even prevented from speaking at the Democratic National Convention this year because of his position on the issue.
Inserted by TheWE.biz
More than Fifteen million US dollars is given by US taxpayers each day for the use of Israel, which presently involves the imprisonment of the remaining segregated ' Bantustan — Apartheid ' parcels of land occupied by millions of Palestinian people.
Palestinians were forced from their homes 60 years ago from what is now called Israel into refugee camps in Gaza and the West Bank, Jordan and Lebanon.
While attempts have been made by the Palestinians to create a better life for themselves, these refugee camps have been forced upon them to this day by American Taxpayer funding, and Anglo American, Europe backing and banking for Israel that has propped up the forced 'state' of Israel for more than fifty years.
Illuminati, New World Order elite have been at the forefront in protecting European and American settler people who stole the land and continue to steal the remaining few segments of land from the Palestinians, in essence taking away from the Palestinians piece by piece this land over these many years.
Funding by the US Taxpayer for the enslavement of the Palestinian people continues to increase, estimated now considerably more than the previous 4 billion US dollars per year.
© 2001-2008 IMEMC NEWS.
Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse reprint, and rebroadcast on the net and elsewhere. |
| US Veto 34 for Israel | December 14, 2001 — US vetoes UN condemning all acts of terror, the use of excessive force and destruction of properties and encouraged establishment of a monitoring apparatus; vote: 12-1, with 2 abstentions, Britain and Norway |
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| US Veto 33 for Israel | March 26, 2001 — US vetoes UN calling for the deployment of a U.N. observer force in the West Bank and Gaza; vote: 9 to 1, with 4 abstentions, Britain, France, Ireland and Norway |
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| Please take these images you see Please place them on your website Future generations need to know the monsters presently running our planet! |
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| US Veto 32 for Israel | March 21, 1997—Demanded Israel cease construction of the settlement Har Homa (called Jabal Abu Ghneim by the Palestinians) in East Jerusalem and cease all other settlement activity in the occupied territories; vote: 13 to 1, with one abstention |
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| US Veto 31 for Israel | March 7, 1997 — US vetoes UN calling on Israel to refrain from settlement activity and all other actions in the occupied territories; vote:14 to 1 |
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| US Veto 30 for Israel | May 17, 1995 — US vetoes UN declaring invalid Israel expropriation of land in East Jerusalem and in violation of Security Council resolutions and the Fourth Geneva convention; vote: 14 to 1 |
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| US Veto 29 for Israel | May 31, 1990 — US vetoes UN calling for a fact-finding mission on abuses against Palestinians in Israeli-occupied lands; vote: 14 to 1 |
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Yasser Arafat — Did Israel or the US kill him — Substitute Hamas for Arafat Former Palestine leader Yasser Arafat leaves his compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah, October 29, 2004 |
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Roots of evil in Jerusalem — Click here |
Did we bomb something! |
| The world seem kind of unreal to you, Ban Ki-moon! That's because you still think you understand! |
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| Please take these images you see Please place them on your website Future generations need to know the monsters presently running our planet! |
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Atrocities committed by Israel — graphic pictures What CNN nor the BBC ever shows you |
| US ISRAEL MASS WAR CRIMES Israel Caused Holocaust Palestine Lebanon US Israel massacres — desire to kill one and half million people They keep sucking off the teat of America and the banking systems of Europe |
Using war to take and swallow Palestine land The Israeli army arrived on our street at 2 am yesterday morning |
| ISRAEL MASS WAR CRIMES The horror of January 2009 Israel massacres — children bullets to the head I watched an Israeli soldier shoot dead my two little girls |
| US ISRAEL MASS WAR CRIMES February March 2008 US Israel massacres — desire to kill one and half million people The Story of Palestinians Childhoods |
| ISRAEL MASS WAR CRIMES January 19 - 21 Israel massacres — children bullets to the head Places flag on family home — East Gaza City |
| ISRAEL MASS WAR CRIMES January 14 - 18 2009 Israel massacres — desire to kill one and half million people They came up again with the Hamas-was-in-the-UN-school lie |
| ISRAEL MASS WAR CRIMES CONTINUE January 2nd week 2009 99% of US House joins 100% of US Senate in Supporting Israel with HRes34 The 42 vetoes of the US for Israel |
US Israel attack on Gaza City The Politics of Anti-Semitism 99 US Senators, 350 US House members attend AIPAC meeting |
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ISRAEL MASS WAR CRIMES CONTINUE January 2009 — Click here Israel killing — US paid army fires towards populations to cause death and injury The 42 vetoes of the US for Israel |
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For archives, these articles are being stored on TheWE.biz website.The purpose is to advance understandings of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. |