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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| American Billions Keep Arab Regimes Sweet |
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| Maliha |
| 03/04/03 at 11:11:31 |
| [slm] American Billions Keep Arab Regimes Sweet by Robert Fisk It was pathetic. The President of the United Arab Emirates – too old and too sick to visit Sharm el-Sheikh – sent a message begging Saddam Hussein to go into exile, just as the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, had told the Arabs to do last Thursday, when he urged them to get President Saddam "out of the way and let some responsible leadership take over in Baghdad". Even the Saudis didn't oppose the Emirates' plea, while the Egyptians – host to the Arab League summit – could only claim that they were "not in the business of changing one regime for another". How much does it cost to produce this kind of subservience? In Egypt's case, $3bn (£1.9bn) in US aid and other credits, plus another $1bn in gifts. Another $1bn for Jordan, which has just accepted US troops on its territory – only to man Patriot missile batteries, of course. Money seems to make the Arab world go round. The Egyptian government daily Al-Ahram and the Saudi newspaper Al-Hayat are singing the Emirates' tune and demanding a "regime change" in Baghdad. Turkey – not an Arab country – is waiting for its $26bn in promises to let the US army tramp across its border into Iraq. Syria alone – since it may well be number two on Washington's list for "regime change" – said that it was a mistake to identify the Iraqi leadership as the source of the current crisis. President Bashar Assad said that America wanted Iraq's oil and wished to "redraw the region's map". The latter is undoubtedly true, since Mr Powell unwisely admitted just that last week. "We are all targeted ... we are all in danger," President Assad said. The Iraqis, needless to say, responded with considerable anger to President Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan's demand from the Emirates. Other Arab leaders were meanwhile scurrying to form a consensus over whether they should send one of their beloved delegations just to Baghdad, or to Baghdad, the US, the UN and the EU as well. What it came down to was whether the Arabs should allow the Americans the use of their territory to attack Iraq or whether – this from President Assad of Syria – they should ban the US from their territory if they wished to use it as a springboard for war. The Kuwaitis, liberated from Iraqi occupation by the US and its coalition partners 12 years ago, said that this view was "not realistic". The real problem is that the US is already, in effect, in occupation of a fairly large number of Arab nations. US forces control half of Kuwait; they are in Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman and in Jordan. Every one of these countries will be called an "ally" if – when – the Americans storm over the border into Iraq. So will Turkey. So, probably, will Egypt. And so, of course, will Israel. |
| Re: American Billions Keep Arab Regimes Sweet |
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| BroHanif |
| 03/04/03 at 14:39:04 |
| Salaams, So do you think that Washington is the new dajjal? Until the people do not have courage and the Muslims all over the world do not show concern, creativity and leadership that Islaam teaches us we will always be the underdogs of the world. Salaams Hanif |
| NS |
| Re: American Billions Keep Arab Regimes Sweet |
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| Maliha |
| 03/04/03 at 15:09:31 |
| [slm] [quote author=Uncle Hanif link=board=ummah;num=1046794292;start=0#1 date=03/04/03 at 14:39:04]Salaams, So do you think that Washington is the new dajjal? [/quote] Their actions speak a lot louder than any words can ever say... I think we are living through some scary historical moments...dajjal or not. [quote] Until the people do not have courage and the Muslims all over the world do not show concern, creativity and leadership that Islaam teaches us we will always be the underdogs of the world. Salaams Hanif [/quote] What I don't understand is why the Middle East is not using their oil as a bargaining tool. They have the power to freeze the entire West, yet they are cowering behind the mighty US buck! I don't care whether they signed a piece of paper promising not to use oil for diplomatic reasons, the US and Israel have flounted every resolution there is out there, what is stopping the Arabs? If they don't stand up now, we are really doomed! Subhana Allah, I don't want to think of the repercussions of the US presence in Iraq...soon the entire gulf region will be one big occupied zone, and if they are worried about Bin Ladin now....Man, they have to be ready for a whole generation of tired, angry, nothing-to-lose youth, who will shake them down. Sis, Maliha [wlm] |
| NS |
| Re: American Billions Keep Arab Regimes Sweet |
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| BroHanif |
| 03/04/03 at 18:53:13 |
| salaams sis, I think the oil issue is perhaps out of the question, what we need is strong action. We need the vision to see things through, waht we have reduced ourselves to is lets make dua and thats the best I or we can do.. I think that is really a defeatish attitude on the Muslim Ummah, nowadays we always seem to settle for the option thats easiest for our lazy bodies. What concernes me is we could HAVE been at war if it was not for the many people around the world who took part in the demonstration against the war, no doubt it sent jitters to Tony and George yet what have the Muslims acheived on par? What have we organised or done for the movement against the war, the Arab summit nothing but a bunch of hot air. Our mosques are empty on this talk and when you question them they cite intelligence services will be listening, ridiculous I say. [quote]we are really doomed[/quote] I do not think so for one minute, we have our iman and they can not take that away. Yet I am worried nowadays I take each day as it comes, if things really do get out of hand then I see that many us could be killed in the Anti-Muslim strike back, do you and others also see it that way ?. |
| NS |
| 03/04/03 at 18:54:27 |
| BroHanif |
| Islamic world meets over Iraq! |
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| Tesseract |
| 03/05/03 at 00:21:22 |
| Assalamu 'alaikum, [url]http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2820817.stm[/url] [center]Islamic world meets over Iraq[/center] By the BBC's Claire Marshall BBC correspondent in Qatar One of Saddam Hussein's vice presidents is attending the meeting Leaders of Islamic nations are gathering in the Gulf State of Qatar for an emergency summit on the crisis in Iraq. A top aide of the Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, is among those present. The aim is to present a unified voice from the Muslim world calling for war to be averted. This is the first attempt by the Islamic world as a whole to find a common voice on the Iraq crisis. Heads of state and representatives from the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference are in Qatar to try to find a way to avoid a conflict. The summit at a five-star hotel in Doha is just a short distance from a vast American military base from where the US would control an invasion of Iraq. On the agenda is an initiative put forward by the United Arab Emirates to call on Saddam Hussein to stand down. Kuwait and Bahrain have backed the idea and it has been described as important by the Gulf states. The Iraqi Vice President, Izzat Ibrahim, will be keen to try to dismiss any talk of his leader's exile. While there will be a battle to reach a consensus, the bigger task will be to make any resolution count. The Islamic conference has no power to enforce its decrees. As one Malaysian delegate put it, "If the US President, George W Bush, is prepared to ignore the United Nations, then certainly we will be irrelevant to him. |
| Re: American Billions Keep Arab Regimes Sweet |
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| Maliha |
| 03/05/03 at 08:10:55 |
| [slm] [quote author=Uncle Hanif link=board=ummah;num=1046794292;start=0#3 date=03/04/03 at 18:53:13]salaams sis, I think the oil issue is perhaps out of the question, what we need is strong action. We need the vision to see things through, waht we have reduced ourselves to is lets make dua and thats the best I or we can do.. I think that is really a defeatish attitude on the Muslim Ummah, nowadays we always seem to settle for the option thats easiest for our lazy bodies. [/quote] I agree with the long term vision..but why is oil not an option for the short term? Why can't they stand up resolutely and just make a stance once and for all....holding the much covetted oil over their heads? I think for a quick fix it will work. And once they stand up, and allow their populations to actively engage in politics we will see much good coming out of the Ummah...Inshaallah. [quote] What have we organised or done for the movement against the war, the Arab summit nothing but a bunch of hot air. Our mosques are empty on this talk and when you question them they cite intelligence services will be listening, ridiculous I say. [/quote] Astaghfirullah. I wonder what are our Masajids scared of? Shouldn't we be more fearful of the repercussions of our Collective Silence before Allah? Shouldn't we be more fearful of the blood of our brothers and sisters dripping from our hands? So what if the Intelligence services are listening? Hamza Yusuf said once, if you know they are listening take an opportunity and make dawah to them... [quote] I do not think so for one minute, we have our iman and they can not take that away. [/quote] Really? We have our Imaan? How is that faith manifested? Behind close doors, in prayer? They certainly could care less about our Imaan if we have nothign to show for it. Our predecessors let their deeds speak for themselves...they were willing to sacrifice their all for the deen, and that is something that is sorely lacking in our communities now. We would rather hide behind our routines and make silent fervent duahs that Allah help us and the rest of the Muslimeen. There is nothing wrong with duah,but my point is, without action, empty rhetoric is not going to get us anywhere. [quote] Yet I am worried nowadays I take each day as it comes, if things really do get out of hand then I see that many us could be killed in the Anti-Muslim strike back, do you and others also see it that way ? [/quote] I just don't know honestly. Listening to the venom that spews out of their mouths, I wonder how long it will be till we'll all get rounded up in some concentration camp...but honestly everything is surreal for me right now. Allah knows best. I take comfort when reading the Quran and listening to the Promise of Allah..they plot but Allah is the best of Plotters. They will be trapped in the same webs they so dilligently weave...Inshaallah. Sis, Maliha [wlm] |
| NS |
| 03/05/03 at 08:12:39 |
| Maliha |
| Re: American Billions Keep Arab Regimes Sweet |
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| BrKhalid |
| 03/05/03 at 08:36:35 |
| Asalaamu Alaikum ;-) [quote]So do you think that Washington is the new dajjal?[/quote] Probably more applicable to Pharaoh. [quote]I agree with the long term vision..but why is oil not an option for the short term? Why can't they stand up resolutely and just make a stance once and for all....holding the much covetted oil over their heads? I think for a quick fix it will work. And once they stand up, and allow their populations to actively engage in politics we will see much good coming out of the Ummah...Inshaallah[/quote] Hmmm…too scared to stand up to America perhaps? Look what happened to King Faisal when he did exactly that in the 70’s. [quote]As vital as the Persian Gulf is now, its strategic importance is likely to grow exponentially in the next 20 years. Nearly one out of every three barrels of oil reserves in the world lie under just two countries: Saudi Arabia (with 259 billion barrels of proven reserves) and Iraq (112 billion). Those figures may understate Iraq's largely unexplored reserves, which according to U.S. government estimates may hold as many as 432 billion barrels[/quote] The above is an extract from a really good article on the iviews website. A touch long but a real insight. [url]http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2003/10/ma_273_01.html[/url] |
| Re: American Billions Keep Arab Regimes Sweet |
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| BUSHRA |
| 03/05/03 at 10:04:11 |
| [slm] [quote author=Uncle Hanif link=board=ummah;num=1046794292;start=0#3 date=03/04/03 at 18:53:13] Yet I am worried nowadays I take each day as it comes, if things really do get out of hand then I see that many us could be killed in the Anti-Muslim strike back, do you and others also see it that way ?. [/quote] Only all the time :(. Some times I wonder if it is wise for us to stay here anymore. I mean not that I don't have faith in ALLAH but if god forbid something does happen , it will happen on a world wide scale. And in that case I would much rather be in a muslim land being bombed or under sanctions rather than being rounded up here and put into concentration camps. :( I just pray to ALLAH for the strenthening of this ummah and will Inshallah hope that things will get better, atleast for our future generations. Yet, I can't shake of this feeling, I don't know if anyone else feels it or not , I've felt it since the horror of 9/11, it's like a domino has fallen and slowly but surely I can see rows collapsing one by one , reminds of the hadith on the last days, on how events will follow one another as if a string of broken pearls. Bushra :-) |
| 03/05/03 at 10:05:33 |
| BUSHRA |
| Re: American Billions Keep Arab Regimes Sweet |
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| bhaloo |
| 03/05/03 at 21:37:39 |
| [slm] They showed the movie, The Siege here a few nights ago, Muslims being rounded up and thrown in concentration camp. A sign of things to come. :( |
| Re: American Billions Keep Arab Regimes Sweet |
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| Halima |
| 03/06/03 at 02:18:47 |
| When all is said and done, we Muslims did put ourselves where we are today. Our inactiveness, our fear of repercussions, our love for things worldly, our differences among our selves. Yes, if America and Britain can flaunt all international laws, why can't the Arab governments flaunt whatever agreement they signed on oil. That was then and this is now FOR ALLAH SAKE!!! No conventions or treaties are valid anymore for the American and the Brits. There has not been any demonstration in most Muslim countries against the war in Iraq yet when Afghanistan was going to be attacked there were demonstration even here in Kenya. Now, all I hear is that special prayers are being conducted in all Masjibs across the country. Ya Rabii, what sort of Muslims are we??? An American Human shield is ready to sacrifice his life or even go to prison for the sake of the Iraqi people. During the first gulf war, I was in Somalia and all the Somali able men were lining up to go and fight for Iraq at the Iraqi Embassy in Mogadishu. Now, not a single Muslim is doing this. The bottom line, WE ARE COWARDS. And despite what we all say, none of us is willing to die for another Mulsim or to safeguard Islam. Ya Allah, what is happening to us??? Ya Allah why are we not like the Sahabas who laid down their lives for Islam. Ya Allah DRY all the oil fields and let your Umma remember what life was like before the Arab desert become abundant with oil. Ya Allah the oil is not helping your Umma but it is has become what is going to destroy your Umma. Ya Allah, YOU and ONLY YOU can stop the injustice happening and the catastrophe about to happen. Ya Allah we have Ulumas who know all about your word and what you directed us to do and yet are now incapable of mobilizing the Umma, we have youngsters both male and female who can fight but are too scared to do so or are not willing to do so. Ya Allah, from Arabia to Africa to Europe to Asia and America the Muslim Umma is sitting like a paralized duck. Ya Allah, the Muslim Umma has tied a noose around its neck. Ya Allah, the Muslim Umma has put its necK on the shopping block. Ya Allah, Ya Allah, Ya Allah wake us up. Ya Allah, Ya Allah, Ya Allah, let us take care of one another. Ya Allah, Ya Allah, Ya Allah, unite us AS NEVER BEFORE. Ya Allah, Ya Allah, Ya Allah, give the men both in government and outside government in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, U.A.E., Qatar, Iran, etc., the same GUTS as the one Bashar Al-Asad has. Ya Allah, Ya Allah, Ya Allah, open their eyes and ears. Ya Allah, Ya Allah, Ya Allah let them see the danger they are putting the Arab people in, if not the entire Mulsim world. Ya Allah, Ya Allah, Ya Allah I beseech you. Ameen. Halima |
| Re: American Billions Keep Arab Regimes Sweet |
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| Tesseract |
| 03/06/03 at 12:38:25 |
| Assalamu 'alaikum, [quote]They showed the movie, The Siege here a few nights ago, Muslims being rounded up and thrown in concentration camp. A sign of things to come. [/quote] I saw that movie a week or 2 ago, and I was like :o :o :o. Sept. 11 looks one of its sequences. Did u notice Denzel Washington (being the FBI guy) is so annoyed at how that one Arab managed to enter US although he was on FBI's terrorist watch list. Not only that, when he orders immediate deportation of one of the guys, that also was a reflection of what exactly has happened to a lot here. I say, those of u who haven't watched that movie, watch it now. Its a clear depiction of the current situation of American Government and Muslims in US. Wassalam. |
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