Muqabalah Blog

POLITICS & BULLETS: SYRIAN TRAGEDIES & AK PARTY IMPACT

2012-01-11T19:05:00.000-08:00

Bashar Assad, who took over the Presidency of Syria following the death of his father Hafez Assad, excited both the Syrian people and the foreign public opinion. The Cold War years passed. The USSR, which was the biggest partner of Syria, was gone and Bashar Assad was facing new world order. As the history in the Middle East changes with the Arab Spring; it seems that Assad, who failed to satisfy the Syrian people in the past 12 years and who was late in making political reforms, will strive to survive by creating polarization over himself and by protecting regional balances, just like during the Cold War period in the Middle East. Assad, who keeps the whole military, security and intelligence power of the country under his own monopoly, aims at easing the tension inside by settling the opposition by February. Regarding the relations with Turkey; Assad, who aims at stopping the AK Party government not from outside but from inside, wants to be at least supported by the Turkish public opinion by inviting Turkish opposition parties to Damascus. And Assad's relations with Turkey are shaped by the advisors with Nationalist identities in the Turkish public opinion.

Target of Damascus Administration: Turkish Public Opinion

The Damascus administration wants to take the support of the Turkish public opinion in order to continue its legitimacy. This is the reason lying behind the fact that they wanted to invite the Felicity Party (SP) in Damascus. Workers' Party (İP) and Republican People's Party (CHP) had already been hosted. Making its move upon the visit of CHP, Damascus administration invited Felicity Party, which is on the conservative side, to the country. It appeared that Damascus administration pursued two goals in the visit of Felicity Party. One of these goals is to give message to conservative circles supporting the Felicity in Turkey, and to receive support in Turkey and Middle East by taking advantage of the deceased Necmettin Erbakan factor. Knowing what Erbakan means to Felicity, the Assad administration also took into account that Erdoğan did politics besides Erbakan. And secondly, as Ikhwanists were among insurgents, the regime is striving to show the support from parties such as Felicity. Following the visit of SP, MHP and BDP invitations come next. The Damascus administration will firstly invite MHP, and if this visit takes place, then BDP will be invited. The objective is to raise the voice of Turkish opposition against Erdoğan government. And to stop Erdoğan, who strongly opposes to Syria, not from outside but from inside. As for the visit of MHP, they want to receive the support of both nationalist circles and another opposition party besides CHP within the Assembly.

Nationalist Turkish Advisor of Assad

People, who are known for their nationalist identities in the Turkish public opinion, lead the relations between Turkey and Bashar Assad that is rapidly dragged into both problematic and rough period of relations with Turkey. In other words, Assad looks Turkey from the point of view of Nationalist authorities and the authorities from Workers' Party. As a matter of fact, the strategy of desiring to stop AK Party government not from outside but from inside also stems from this fact. Within this framework, the Assad Regime invites all the political party leaders to Damascus, in order to stop the AK Party government, which follows a strong policy against Syria, not from outside but from inside.

When a group of irresponsible spoilers, who were mad at the sanction decision of the Arab League in Syria, attacked our consulate buildings, burned Turkish flag and Atatürk posters; Assad's Nationalist Turkish Advisor warns. According to this advisor, the circles that are sensitive on the issues such as Turkish flag and Mustafa Kemal in Turkey, and the circles that are the “most sensitive” and “acting most responsibly” towards the events taking place in Syria are the same people. These people state that this kind of actions are not right, by indicating they are in solidarity with Syria and they are against imperialist policies. Accordingly, the policy they imposed on Assad seems like convincing the opposition against Prime Minister Erdoğan.

Assad Paves The Way For Kurdish Autonomous Region

Bashar Assad launched reforms on the Kurdish, who have been living in Syria and who has not even had identities for many years. As of the beginning of last month, Assad gave the Kurdish green light to have their identities. However, Assad's solution policy on the Kurdish problem proceeds on a disturbing basis for the neighbors and the U.S.

Upon the fact that Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government President Massoud Barzani, who was invited to Damascus by Assad, did not accept this invitation; and the fact that Barzani held meetings with the Lebanese Hariri family, he started to make reforms on the Kurdish within his own country. Assad considers the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government as a region under the auspices of the U.S. and Turkey. Therefore, in return for the Barzani card, Assad talked to Democratic Union Party (PYD), which is the political extension of PKK in Syria. He has made gestures to PYD, not expected from him, for the last three months.

Going back to several months of Assad-PYD relations, the moment the leader of PYD Saleh Muslim, who was sentenced to life in prison, while in exile, by PYD and forgiven by Assad, was released; he showed up in the meeting that was organized by the Ba'ath Party and told the people to support the Assad Regime by explaining it. In accordance with the Assad-PKK agreement, Muslim was suddenly released when he had been sentenced to life in prison. According to the Syrian laws, life sentence is practices in two ways; one is for lifetime, and the other is in case of showing goodwill (goodwill is possible only after completing 21 years of sentence). Thus, Saleh Muslim had to be in the jail at least for 21 years.

Depending on the Syrian policy of Turkey and the U.S., it is suggested that Assad's card on Barzani and the Kurdish would be the establishment of a Kurdish autonomous region under the control of PYD.

Felicity Party's (SP) Visit

The Felicity Party's visit means a lot for the Syrian regime. As the regime knows the conservative nature of the Felicity Party, they strove a lot to explain especially to the delegation that what took place in Syria was not a sectarian conflict, and that Sunnis were not massacred. And the Damascus regime shows the U.S. and Israel as the address to bloody events taking place in the country. The objective is to convince a party with a certain political stance such as Felicity Party on this subject. The moment the Damascus regime convinces on this issue, the regime designs to contribute to the legitimacy of its future acts across the country. The Felicity Party's holding top-level meetings partially depends on it. The regime is considering every possible method in order not to lose the legitimate ground. And the regime wants to take advantage of the influence of Necmettin Erbakan factor on Turkey and the region; despite the fact that the party received limited amount of votes in the last elections.

Bahçeli Expected To Damascus

The following target of the Damascus regime, which wants to evaluate Erbakan factor, is nationalist circles in Turkey. The Assad administration wants to turn the fact that Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the MHP, brought forward the question of “Is there any Turkish officers in custody in Syria?”, into an opportunity. Saying that “We have the answer of Bahçeli's question and we would like to welcome him here; if he comes, then he finds the answer of his questions,” the Assad regime wants to kill two birds with one stone. After they partially draw the attention of conservative circles in Turkey away from the Felicity Party, now they will strive to explain themselves to nationalist circles through MHP. They want to win MHP, which is an effective opposition party in Assembly, over like they won over CHP. Thus, the Damascus regime wants to narrow the circle around Prime Minister Erdoğan they set goal themselves, and the regime also wants to maintain their own legitimacy they established on shedding blood. Bahçeli's going to Damascus is one of the most important agenda topics in the country, right now.

Attitude of Assad Regime

Assad regime considerably tries not to take the Turkish public opinion against, in relations with Turkey. As if everyone agreed, the regime tries to reflect the problem between Turkey and Syria like, “We do not have problem with the Turkish people, Prime Minister Erdoğan does not want to understand us,” as the problem of the Turkish government. As a matter of fact, Assad regime tries to show the attitude that Turkey adopted against the Assad regime, by facing the opposition of AK Party government. The whole propaganda of the Damascus regime is placed on the axis of “We have no problem with the Turkish people, Erdoğan does not understand us”.

Syrian Media And Religious Authorities

The Syrian media reflects the position of Damascus Regime the best. The Syrian regime makes the regime propaganda through the media and religious authorities. On visual and written media, frequently the emphasis is stressed on “Turkey is our brother, but its management methods are wrong”. The man in the street is partially convinced to this as well. Considering the sympathy of the Syrian towards Erdoğan and Turkey by stating that “Erdoğan did the right thing in two cases, but now he has a wrong political stance”, referring to the Prime Minister Erdoğan's attitude in Davos and about Mavi Marmara, the propaganda of the Assad regime is pumped through media. As for the Syrian religious authorities: Even during the friday sermon in the Umayyad Mosque, which is one of the most important mosques of Damascus and the Middle East, the Assad regime is defended. Imam, who is informed in advance by the regime, mentions a similar broadcast with the one on the media by knowing Turks are in the mosque during the sermon; “The Turkish are our brothers and sisters. The U.S. and Israel want to create trouble in Syria in order to split Muslims. We should act together in order not be like Iraq and Libya.” However, the conversation meetings, which are carried out after the prayer in Umayyad Mosque, are not the same as before. While the popular religious authorities of the region used to form conversation circles, it is not quite possible to see those circled today.

Current Situation in Damascus

After the events broke out, Damascus has been longing for its old days. In Damascus, which is one of the headquarters of the Middle East, life stops especially as of the evening hours. Even during the shopping tours of the delegation under the supervision of the Syrian administration, the pressure on the people is felt. Although the Assad administration give speech in Damascus, the life in Damascus tells the opposite. As of 6 pm, the life in the capital comes to a standstill. The restaurants have no customers. Even in the restaurants, where the administration brings the delegation to, almost no one else is found other than the delegation. Besides, the number of people with uniforms has increased 4-5 times in Damascus, compared to usual times. It is possible to see soldier or police officer on every corner.

Current Situation in Homs

The current situation in Homs, which is one of the centers that the insurrection fire was started against the Assad regime, is the fact that the regime keeps many things under control. Although it is far away from Damascus, all the official spokesmen of Homs speak in line with the Damascus regime, in all their statements. The Homs Governor Ghassan Abdel Al, who welcomed the journalists, mentions that the events taking place in Syria is caused by foreign powers, with exactly the same statement as in Damascus.

Administrative Body of The Felicity Party in Damascus

The administrative body of the Felicity Party, who went to Damascus upon the invitation of the Assad regime in Syria, has been carrying on their talks for three days. Journalists take place among the group of 20 people. The party delegation, under the leadership of the Chairman of the Felicity Party Mustafa Kamalak, was welcomes quite warmly by the Damascus administration. For three days, people from the Felicity Party were given the message that the people in the country was not massacred by the regime. During the talks, the idea that Syria was on the verge of a civil war and that Turkey should not be a part of it gained importance among the Felicity Party delegation. The events taking place in Syria were considered as not to be a “sectarian conflict”, but to be the U.S. and Israeli trick. The delegation could not find opportunity to talk to the Ikhwan group, which revolted against the Syrian regime. It was indicated that the delegation would turn back to Turkey after talking to Bashar Assad, and then, that they would prepare a “Syrian Report” related to the talks.

Talked To Whom

Kamalak's visit to Syria started with a busy traffic of talks. The visit that Leader of the Felicity Party Mustafa Kamalak and his delegation paid to Syria in a critical process started with a busy traffic of talks. In the morning, Kamalak firstly talked to Musafa Ahmet al-Dabi, the Head of the Arab League Observer Mission. Afterwards, he met with Prof. Najah al-Attar, Vice President of Syria. And then, he talked to the Syrian Minister of Information Adnan Mahmoud, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem, and Syria's Mufti Ahmed Hassan.

Assad: We Live In The Same House, Fire Affects All The Rooms, We Should Extinguish It Together

The Syrian Head of State Bashar Assad, who talked to the Leader of the Felicity Party Mustafa Kamalak, said that “We are brothers and sisters, and we live in the same house. When fire breaks out in different rooms of the house, the other rooms are also negatively affected.” Drawing attention to the fact that Turkey's being influenced by Qatar's policies would result in problems in terms of the balances in the Middle East, Assad said that, “Turkey is a fellow country, she should not tag along with Qatar”.

The leader of the Felicity Party Mustafa Kamalak, who has been carrying his talks in Damascus for three days, talked to the Syrian Head of State Bashar Assad yesterday. The meeting, which was carried out in the Presidential Palace, lasted for approximately 40 minutes, and Kamalak presented Assad with a table with a verse from the Quran on it. During the meeting, which was carried out in a warm atmosphere, Assad sent messages to Turkey.

We Changed History

Assad, who pointed out to believe that there is no problem between the peoples during the meeting, stated that “Others have entered between Turkey and us for 90 years, and this is the first time we have had direct talks and established good relations since 2000. Mr. Sezer participated in the funeral of my father. Since then, there has been a rapid development. We changed history with Turkey in 10 years, we should not let this turn back. I paid several visits to Turkey. I saw the sympathy of the Turkish people. Reforms carry on, and they will. Everybody wants the reforms to happen faster, but it is not easy to move from a house to another one.”

We live in the same house

Stating that first of all they expected Turkey to help them but disappointed when they did not receive it, Assad said that, “We are brothers and sisters, and we live in the same house. If there is a fire in a room, the brothers and sisters in other rooms would also be damaged. We need to extinguish the fire together”.

New Constitution In February

Emphasizing that a new constitution would have been issued by February, Assad said that “We are trying our best, and a new constitution will have been issued by February. We carried out very important reforms before waiting for the new constitution. Everyone waits for the process to end as soon as possible. Even moving from a house to another one takes a great deal of time. We amended the Political Parties Law and Local Administrations Law, and while doing so, we took advantage of the laws in Turkey. However, the intention of the opposition is not the reforms, it is something else.”

We Had Great Expectations

Pointing out the fact that they had great expectations from Turkey, Assad said that, “We could not understand Turkey. Turkey is a big state, and the Turkish are loyal people. However, we have difficulty in understanding the attitude of the government in this process. I am very hopeful, this crisis will be overcome. I encourage and support the formation of opposition. We do not want a good picture of Syria from you. We would like you to tell whatever you see in Turkey, whether it is positive or negative. We desire and wish these two countries to overcome this process without ant damage. Although it seems like they have problems, the institutions and peoples of the two countries have quite good relations with each others.”

Pockets of Imperialists Filled

During the meeting, Leader of the Felicity Party Mustafa Kamalak emphasized that there should be an opposition in Syria, and “It is necessary both in Assembly and on press. We feel sorry for the foreign interferences. Pillage takes place wherever the West goes to. However, brothers should not shed each others' bloods. In Islamic countries, unfortunately the brothers kill each others. The blood shed is Muslim blood, but on the other hand, the weapons used by the two parties belong to imperialists. The Muslims are damaged, while the pockets of imperialists are filled,” he said. During his assessment to journalists after the meeting, Kamalak mentioned that there are huge differences between the Syrian picture that is seen from Turkey and the one they see when they come, and that they want to inform the government on this subject.

Turkey Should Have Sent Observer to Syria As Well

“The Arab League sent a delegation to Syria in order to monitor and observe the events in the country. Regarding the observer delegation to come to our country, we especially used the expression of Arab league and fellow countries. The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) should assume an active role within the process,” Assad stated.

»» Çetiner Çetin / Damascus, Journalist – ORSAM Advisory Board Member

CATITAN SUT

Syria adalah bumi yang menghairankan dan mencabar pertimbangan aqal kita. Ianya bumi purba, mungkin di antara penempatan tamaddun manusia yang tertua, begitupun masih lagi di duduki dan raikan dengan belbagai kegiatan manusia.

Dari bumi ini lahirnya ulama terbilang zaman berzaman, semenjak dari zaman para sahabat lagi. Warisan ilmu Islam amat terasa subur melata di bumi ini. Kalau mencari ulama qiraat al-Quran, maka mereka ada di sini; kalau dicari ulama hadith yang terbilang, maka mereka ada di sini. kalau di cari ulama tasauf dan tariqah, maka mereka ada di sini. Kalau di cari ulama feqah, mereka juga ada di sini.

Di sini ada kubur para sahabat, di sini ada kubur Imam Ibn Ruslan, ada kubur Imam an-Nawawi, ada kubur Ibn Arabi, ada kubur Syaikh Abdul Ghani an-Nablusi, ada kubur Salahuddin al-Ayubbi, ada kubur Saiyyidah Zainab dan lain-lainnya.

Dalam kegemilangan sejarah ulama lampau dan kegiatan ulama semasa yang begitu meriah di bumi ini, ianya ditaqdirkan telah ditadbir oleh golongan minoriti Nusairi berwajahkan Parti Baath. Golongan minoriti yang berkuasa ini bukanlah golongan yang mesra dengan golongan agama; maklumlah dari segi agama mereka adalah golongan Nusayri, dari segi politik mereka baathi, kedua-duanya entiti ini tidak mesra agama Islam aliran Ahlu as-Sunnah. Sedangkan Ahlu as-Sunnah adalah majoriti, hampir 80% daripada penduduk bumi itu. Golongan majoriti telah terpinggir di bumi ini dari lingkaran kuasa, yang hampir sepenuhnya dikuasai oleh golongan minoriti, yang bukan sahaja menyalahi golongan majoriti bahkan mereka ketinggalan dari segi pendidikan dan peradaban berbanding golonagn majoriti .

Golongan minoriti yang berkuasa ini mempunyai hubungan baik dengan Iran, sebuah negara Syiah, walaupun bukan dari fahaman syiah yang sama. Syria berkedudukan strategi, mencelahi Iran, Turkey dan Israel: tiga negara yang mempunyai arah yang cukup ketara perbezaaannya. Nampaknya mutaakhir ini Perdana Menteri Iraq, Nuri al-Maliki, seorang syiah, juga telah menyelar Turki, dikatakan Turki campur tangan dalam urusan dalaman Iraq.

Oleh itu pimpinan Turki hari ini dilihat oleh negara-negara jirannya , Syria , Iraq mungkinnya Iran sebagai kuasa pengacau di rantau itu. Pimpinan Turki sekarang perlu dilemahkan, lagipun pemimpin Turki sejak kejatuhan Uthmaniyyah tidak sangat memberi direct impact kepada negara-negara serantau sebagaimana pimpinan hari ini; pemimpin Turki yang telah dijadikan wira ummah bagi sebahagian ummah perlu dilemahkan sebelum pengaruh gaya dan pendekatannya sempat melemahkan kuasa-kuasa pemeretah di negara-negara serantau.

Tiada hairanlah Syria membedil rakyat di dalam negaranya, dan berusaha untuk melemahkan kepimpinan semasa di Turki dari dalam Turki itu sendiri

Sayangilah Tanahair Kita : Hindarilah Kezaliman Demi Kelangsungan Negara

2011-12-15T19:49:00.000-08:00

وَإِذَآ أَرَدْنَآ أَن نُّهْلِكَ قَرْيَةً أَمَرْنَا مُتْرَفِيهَا فَفَسَقُواْ فِيهَا فَحَقَّ عَلَيْهَا ٱلْقَوْلُ فَدَمَّرْنَاهَا تَدْمِيراً * وَكَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِنَ ٱلْقُرُونِ مِن بَعْدِ نُوحٍ وَكَفَىٰ بِرَبِّكَ بِذُنُوبِ عِبَادِهِ خَبِيرَاً بَصِيراً * مَّن كَانَ يُرِيدُ ٱلْعَاجِلَةَ عَجَّلْنَا لَهُ فِيهَا مَا نَشَآءُ لِمَن نُّرِيدُ ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَا لَهُ جَهَنَّمَ يَصْلاهَا مَذْمُوماً مَّدْحُوراً

"Dan apabila Kami (Allah) mahu memusnahkan sesuatu negeri, (terlebih dahulu) Kami perentahkan golongan atasannya (untuk melakukan ketaaatan), lalu mereka mendurhakainya, maka berlakulah ke atasnya (negeri tersebut) ketetapan (yakni kemusnahan itu) , lalu Kami binasakannya sebinasa-binasanya. (16) Dan berapa banyak Kami binasakan generasi selepas Nuh, serta memadailah pengetahuan dan penglihatan Tuhan engkau tentang dosa-dosa hamba-Nya (17) Sesiapa yang mengkehendaki keuntungan yang segera (di dunia ini), maka Kami segerakan baginya apa yang Kami kehendaki, kepada sesiapa yang Kami mahu, Kemudian Kami jadikan baginya (balasan) jahannam, dia memasukki neraka secara terhina dan terhalau" (al-Isra;16-18)

Ayat ini memperingatkan kita tentang punca-punca kemusnahan sesuatu masyarakat, sesuatu tamaddun, sesuatu negara juga sesuatu kerajaan.

Allah menghantar peringatan kepada golongan atasan (yang hidup secara mewah dan melampau), semada golongan itu adalah golongan yang berkuasa atau golongan yang berharta atau golongan berpengaruh agar kembali mentaati Allah dan kembali berlaku adil, tetapi mereka engkar. Keengkaran itulah yang membuka lubang kemusnahan kepada masyarakat tersebut.

Ayat ini mengaitkan bahawa manusia melakukan sebagai-mana yang mereka lakukan, merencana sebagai yang mereka rencanakan adalah kerana mereka mahukan dan bermatlamatkan 'keuntungan yang segera' di dunia ini. Serta Allah membenarkan sebahagian matlamat-matlamat duniawi yang mereka rencanakan itu dapat dicapai mereka, dalam perkara yang berbetulan dengan apa yang Allah tentukan dan sesuai dengan siapa yang Allah tentukan. Yang menentukan natijah kepada rencana-rencana mereka yang mereka aturkan itu pada hakikatnya adalah Allah semata-mata, tetapi mereka terlindung daripada memahami hakikat ini. Dan mereka berkeyakinan rencana dan usaha merekalah yang akan menentukan natijah yang mereka akan tempuh. Untuk itu, mereka melupai nasib mereka di Akhirat kelak, mereka yakini hasil yang segera sepenuhnya berada di tangan-tangan perencanaan mereka, lalu disebabkan rencana mereka yang jahat dan buruk itulah Allah akan membalas mereka di Akhirat kelak dengan kehinaan dan terusir di dalam azab Neraka.

Mereka yang diperingatkan Allah ini adalah golongan yang berpengaruh, golongan yang mampu membuat rencana besar untuk melakukan kefasadan dalam masyarakat. Rencana mereka itulah yang menjadi penyebab sehingga menukarkan keamanan kepada huru-hara, kemakmuran kepada kesengsaraan, kasih-sayang kepada saling membenci. Rencana mereka yang menukarkan nilai-nilai serta amalan baik dalam masyarakat berubah menjadi nilai dan amalan buruk. Allah menyebut pada ar-Ra'du:11

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لاَ يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُواْ مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ وَإِذَا أَرَادَ ٱللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُوۤءًا فَلاَ مَرَدَّ لَهُ وَمَا لَهُمْ مِّن دُونِهِ مِن وَالٍ

Sesungguhnya Allah tidak merubah apa yang ada pada sesuatu kaum (daripada rahmat dan nikmat) sehingga mereka sendiri yang merubahnya (dengan kesyirikan, kemaksiatan serta kezaliman) , dan apabila Allah mengkehendaki keburukan (bala-bencana serta azab) pada sesuatu kaum, maka tiada yang dapat menahannya, dan tiada bagi mereka (kaum tersebut) selain daripada Allah yang menjadi penolong"

Allah menyebut dalam banyak tempat di dalam al-Quran, yang Allah memusnahkan sesuatu masyarakat kerana perbuatan zalim mereka sendiri. Kezaliman merupakan seakan-akan kata kunci kepada kemusnahan sesuatu masyarakat. Atau dalam lain perkataan kezaliman yang terdapat dalam sesuatu masyarakat itulah yang mengundang kemusnahan masyarakat tersebut. Antaranya ayat al-Qasas:59-60

وَمَا كَانَ رَبُّكَ مُهْلِكَ ٱلْقُرَىٰ حَتَّىٰ يَبْعَثَ فِيۤ أُمِّهَا رَسُولاً يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِنَا وَمَا كُنَّا مُهْلِكِي ٱلْقُرَىٰ إِلاَّ وَأَهْلُهَا ظَالِمُونَ *وَمَآ أُوتِيتُم مِّن شَيْءٍ فَمَتَاعُ ٱلْحَيَاةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتُهَا وَمَا عِندَ ٱللَّهِ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَىٰ أَفَلاَ تَعْقِلُونَ

Dan tiadalah Tuhan engkau memusnahkan sesuatu negeri sehingga Dia mengutuskan kepada ibu-negeri itu seoarang utusan, yang membacakan ayat-ayat Kami , dan tiadalah Kami memusnahkan sesuatu negeri kecuali penduduk-penduduknya merupakan orang-orang yang zalim. Dan apa-apa yang dianugerahkan kepada kamu dari sesuatu, maka itu hanyalah sekadar kesukaan kehidupan duniawi dan perhiasaannya. Sedangkan apa yang terdapat di sisi Allah (balasan dan pahala kebajikan) adalah lebih baik serta lebih kekal, Kenapakah engkau tiada memikirkannya?

Sudah tentu kezaliman itu mancakupi kezaliman syirik, kezaliman maksiat serta kefasikan dan juga kezaliman dalam perundangan. Kezaliman dalam perundangan disebut oleh Imam al-Ghazali di dalam kitabnya ' Nasihatu al-Muluk', antara lainnya kerajaan Parsi Purba adalah Dinasti yang beragama Majusi , tetapi mereka berlaku adil dalam pemerentahan mereka, maka dengan keadilan itulah Allah membenarkan dinasti tersebut kekal untuk demikian lama. Mereka berbangga antara lain dengan Maharaja mereka yang terkenal sebagai tersangat adil , umpama Anusyirwan, Keadilan pihak berkuasa dalam melaksanakan perundangan tersangat penting bagi kelestarian kuasa mereka sendiri.

Kita kembali kepada ayat yang terawal kita sebut (al-Isra:16-18). Terdapat sebahagian ulama memahami ayat ini dengan maksud 'dijadikan pemimpin-pemimpin mereka itu daripada golongan yang jahat", bermewah dengan harta , serta kuasa dengan secara yang tidak sewajarnya. Atau sebahagian ulama memahami dijadikan kebanyakan daripada penduduknya golongan yang rosak secara yang tidak sewajarnya (atau paling kurang orang ramai menerima amalan buruk tersebut sebagai norms dalam bermasyarakat). Allah menyebut dalam surat al-An'am :123

{ وَكَذٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَا فِي كُلِّ قَرْيَةٍ أَكَٰبِرَ مُجْرِمِيهَا لِيَمْكُرُواْ فِيهَا وَمَا يَمْكُرُونَ إِلاَّ بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ }

Dan demikian Kami jadikan pada setiap negeri pemimpin-pemimpin utama bagi penjahat-penjahatnya , untuk mereka melakukan tipu-daya pada negeri itu, tiadalah mereka memperdayakan kecuali diri mereka sendiri.

Imam Baghawi menyebut dalam menafsirkan ayat ini sebagai biasanya orang-orang jahat itu terdiri daripada orang-orang besar, sementara pengikut para rasul pula terdiri daripada golongan du 'afa' ,seumpama di Makkah pembesar-pembesar kafir Quraish akan duduk di setiap jalan masuk ke Makkah dalam kumpulan seramai 4 orang, mereka akan melakukan propaganda kepada setiap orang yang mendatangi Makkah agar "berwaspada dengan orang ini (Saiyyidina Muhammad), dia adalah seorang tukang tilik, tukang sihir dan seorang pendusta". Tetapi Allah menyebut tipu-daya pemimpin-pemimpin penjahat ini hanya akan mengena diri mereka sendiri.

Tidak semua propaganda memburukkan seseorang itu akan mencapai matlamat akhirnya sebagaimana yang direncanakan oleh yang merencanakannya bahkan hasil terakhirnya menguntungkan orang yang kena tuduh, Allah menyebut secara khusus tentang tuduhan terhadap seseorang melakukan zina tanpa bukti secara syari'ie sebagaimana dalam Surah an-Nur :11-13

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ جَآءُوا بِٱلإِفْكِ عُصْبَةٌ مِّنْكُمْ لاَ تَحْسَبُوهُ شَرّاً لَّكُمْ بَلْ هُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ لِكُلِّ ٱمْرِىءٍ مِّنْهُمْ مَّا ٱكْتَسَبَ مِنَ ٱلإِثْمِ وَٱلَّذِي تَوَلَّىٰ كِبْرَهُ مِنْهُمْ لَهُ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ * لَّوْلاۤ إِذْ سَمِعْتُمُوهُ ظَنَّ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ خَيْراً وَقَالُواْ هَـٰذَآ إِفْكٌ مُّبِينٌ * لَّوْلاَ جَآءُوا عَلَيْهِ بِأَرْبَعَةِ شُهَدَآءَ فَإِذْ لَمْ يَأْتُواْ بِالشُّهَدَآءِ فَأُوْلَـٰئِكَ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ هُمُ ٱلْكَاذِبُونَ

Sesungguhnya orang-orang yang mengadakan tuduhan (terhadap seseorang) melakukan zina secara palsu (ifik) adalah sekumpulan daripada kamu (ummat Islam sendiri), janganlah kamu mengira ianya buruk bagi kamu, bahkan ianya akan membawa kebaikan untuk kamu, bagi setiap orang daripada mereka ada mendapat bahagian daripada dosa yang mereka kerjakan, dan untuk yang mempunyai peranan utama dari kalangan mereka , baginya azab yang besar. Kenapa tidak ketika mendengarnya (tuduhan bohong itu), orang-orang mukmin dan mukminat bersangka baik terhadap diri (sebahagian daripada) mereka (yakni terhadap yang kena tuduh) dan (sepatutnya) mereka berkata :"ini adalah tuduhan jahat yang nyata". Kenapakah mereka tidak mendatang 4 orang saksi-saksi dalam tuduhan ini , maka sekiranya mereka tidak mendatang saksi-saksi tersebut, maka mereka di sisi Allah adalah pembohong

Pemimpin yang jahat akan menggunakan mekanisma propagandanya secara se-efficient mungkin menyebabkan ramai daripada orang biasa akan terpedaya sehingga tersekat daripada melihat kebenaran, membenar kezaliman mereka bahkan menyertai mereka dalam kemaksiatan. Hanyalah di Akhirat kelak , orang biasa yang telah menjadi pak turut ini ketika terhumban di dalam neraka akan mengadu kepada Allah :

يَوْمَ تُقَلَّبُ وُجُوهُهُمْ فِي ٱلنَّارِ يَقُولُونَ يٰلَيْتَنَآ أَطَعْنَا ٱللَّهَ وَأَطَعْنَا ٱلرَّسُولاَ * وَقَالُواْ رَبَّنَآ إِنَّآ أَطَعْنَا سَادَتَنَا وَكُبَرَآءَنَا فَأَضَلُّونَا ٱلسَّبِيلاْ * رَبَّنَآ آتِهِمْ ضِعْفَيْنِ مِنَ ٱلْعَذَابِ وَٱلْعَنْهُمْ لَعْناً كَبِيراً

Pada hari muka mereka dibalik-balikkan di dalam neraka, mereka berkata:"aduhai kiranya, kami telah mentaati Allah dan kami mentatati Rasul". (Lalu )mereka mengadu :"Wahai Tuhan kami, kami telah mematuhi ketua-ketua kami dan pembesar-pembesar kami, maka mereka telah menyesatkan kami, Wahai Tuhan kami berilah kepada mereka azab yang berganda serta laknatlah mereka dengan laknat yang besar" (al-Ahzab:66-68)

هٱحْشُرُواْ ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ وَأَزْوَاجَهُمْ وَمَا كَانُواْ يَعْبُدُونَ * مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ فَٱهْدُوهُمْ إِلَىٰ صِرَاطِ ٱلْجَحِيمِ * وَقِفُوهُمْ إِنَّهُمْ مَّسْئُولُونَ * مَا لَكُمْ لاَ تَنَاصَرُونَ * بَلْ هُمُ ٱلْيَوْمَ مُسْتَسْلِمُونَ * وَأَقْبَلَ بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ يَتَسَآءَلُونَ * قَالُوۤاْ إِنَّكُمْ كُنتُمْ تَأْتُونَنَا عَنِ ٱلْيَمِينِ * قَالُواْ بَلْ لَّمْ تَكُونُواْ مُؤْمِنِينَ * وَمَا كَانَ لَنَا عَلَيْكُمْ مِّن سُلْطَانٍ بَلْ كُنتُمْ قَوْماً طَاغِينَ * فَحَقَّ عَلَيْنَا قَوْلُ رَبِّنَآ إِنَّا لَذَآئِقُونَ * فَأَغْوَيْنَاكُمْ إِنَّا كُنَّا غَاوِينَ * فَإِنَّهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ فِي ٱلْعَذَابِ مُشْتَرِكُونَ * إِنَّا كَذَلِكَ نَفْعَلُ بِٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ

(Allah memerentah malaikat):"himpunkanlah mereka yang zalim beserta rakan kongsi mereka dan sembahan-sembahan yang mereka sembahi, selain daripada Allah, maka tunjuki mereka jalan ke neraka. Dan tahanlah mereka, untuk mereka disoal. "kenapa kamu (sekarang) tidak bantu membantu?". "Bahkan kamu pada hari ini hanya menyerah diri?" Dan mereka hadap menghadap saling menyoal. (Golongan pengikut) mereka berkata: "sesungguhnya kamu adalah dulunya mendatangi kami dari sebelah kanan (menggunakan kekuasaan yang kamu ada)". (Golongan pemimpin) menjawab:"bahkan kamu (juga) bukannya daripada golongan yang beriman" (yakni jangan salahkan kami). "Dan kami tiada mempunyai ke atas kamu penguasaan sekali-kali, bahkan kamu sendiri adalah golongan yang melampaui batasan". "maka terjadilah ke atas kita semua ketentuan Tuhan kita, sesungguhnya kita (terpaksa) merasai azab tersebut". "Maka kami telah menyesatkan kamu, (kerana) sesungguhnya kami sendiri telah tersesat." Maka mereka (pemimpin dan pengikut) pada Hari ini berkongsi azab. Sesungguhnya demikianlah Kami (Allah) berbuat terhadap golongan yang jahat. As-Soffat:22-24

هَـٰذَا فَوْجٌ مُّقْتَحِمٌ مَّعَكُمْ لاَ مَرْحَباً بِهِمْ إِنَّهُمْ صَالُواْ ٱلنَّارِ * قَالُواْ بَلْ أَنتُمْ لاَ مَرْحَباً بِكُمْ أَنتُمْ قَدَّمْتُمُوهُ لَنَا فَبِئْسَ ٱلْقَرَارُ * قَالُواْ رَبَّنَا مَن قَدَّمَ لَنَا هَـٰذَا فَزِدْهُ عَذَاباً ضِعْفاً فِي ٱلنَّارِ * وَقَالُواْ مَا لَنَا لاَ نَرَىٰ رِجَالاً كُنَّا نَعُدُّهُمْ مِّنَ ٱلأَشْرَارِ * أَتَّخَذْنَاهُمْ سِخْرِيّاً أَمْ زَاغَتْ عَنْهُمُ ٱلأَبْصَار * إِنَّ ذَلِكَ لَحَقٌّ تَخَاصُمُ أَهْلِ ٱلنَّارِ

(Di katakan kepada para pemimpin jahat itu): "ini lah gerombolan pengikut kamu yang berdesak-desak bersama kamu (untuk dihumban dalam neraka)". Pemimpin-pemimpin tersebut mengatakan :"Tiada ucapan selamat datang bagi mereka kerana sesungguhnya mereka akan dihumban ke neraka". (Para pengikut) mereka menjawab: : "bahkan bagi kamulah tiada ucapan selamat datang , kamulah yang mencampakkan kami ke dalamnya (neraka)",maka neraka itu adalah seburuk-buruk kediaman. (Para Pengikut mengadu kepada Tuhan) berkata: "wahai Tuhan kami, sesiapa yang menjerumuskan kami ke dalam (azab) ini, maka Engkau gandakan azab baginya di dalam neraka". Mereka berkata: "kenapa kami tidak melihat lelaki-lelaki yang kami anggap (di dunia dahulunya) sebagai orang-orang yang hina (yakni orang-orang yang beriman dan melakukan kebajikan berada bersama di dalam neraka ini)?"Bukankah mereka dahulunya kami olok-olokan,, atau mereka sahaja tidak kelihatan pada pandangan kami (bersama mereka dalam neraka)". Sesungguhnya (demikian) itu adalah yang pasti terjadi, (iaitu) pertengkaran di kalangan penghuni neraka' Sad: 59-64

Kita mengharapkan rahmat Tuhan agar kita belum lagi berada dalam suasana yang telah disebut oleh Rasulullah Sollallahu 'alaihi wasallam :
"Dengarlah oleh kamu sekelian, akan ada selepas aku ini penguasa-penguasa: yang barang siapa masuk menjumpai mereka dan mengiyakan mereka dalam pembohongan mereka, dan menolong mereka ke atas kezaliman mereka, maka dia bukan daripada aku, dan aku bukan daripadanya, dan tiadalah aku memberi minum kepadanya di kolam Haudh. barang siapa yang tidak masuk menemuinya, tidak menolong mereka atas kezaliman mereka, tidak mengiyakan pembohongan mereka, maka dia daripada aku dan aku daripadanya, dan akau akan memberi minum kepadanya di kolam Haudh" (Riwayat Imam an-Nisai dan Imam at-Tarmizi dan beliau berkata hadith ini hasan lagi sahih). Imam al-Hafiz Syarafuddin ad-Damyati (w:705H) telah mendatangkan 4 hadith yang lafaznya hampir semakna denganm hadith yang telah tersebut dalam kitabnya :al-Matju ar-Rabihu fi Thawabi al-'amali as-Solehi.

Hadith-hadith tersebut secara jelas melarang kita daripada mendampingi apa lagi menyokong penguasa-penguasa yang berbohong dan melakuklan kezaliman. Sehingga Rasulullah Sollallahu 'alaihi wasallam tidak mengaku mereka yang berbuat perbuatan yang terlarang itu sebagai ummat

Dalam sebuah hadith riwayat Imam at-Tabrani :
"Akan datang pada akhir zaman : penguasa-penguasa yang zalim, menteri-menteri yang fasiq , hakim-hakim yang curang, ulama yang berbohong, maka sesiapa daripada kamu mendapati zaman itu, maka janganlah bertugas dengan mereka itu sebagai pengutip hasil (jaliyan), jangan sebagai pengawai atasan ('arifan), dan sebagai soldadu (Syartiyan)". (hadith ini disebut oleh Imam at-Tabrani di dalam Mu'jamu al-Kabir; kemudian dipetik oleh Muhammad Waliyullah Abdul Rahman an-Nadwi dalam Nuba atu ar-Rasul)

Kita mungkin sahaja menerima bahawa kezaliman ke atas seseorang secara khusus masih boleh diterima , asalkan kezaliman itu tidak menjadi sebahagian amalan resmi masyarakat kita. Kita terkhayal mungkin terdapat ruang untuk menzalimi orang tertentu, asalkan kita bukan menzalimi semua orang. Bagaimanapun Allah mengajar kita tentang ketetapan-Nya yang telah menafi dan menolak anggapan tersebut. Tidakkah kita takut kepada balasan dari Allah? :

مِنْ أَجْلِ ذٰلِكَ كَتَبْنَا عَلَىٰ بَنِيۤ إِسْرَائِيلَ أَنَّهُ مَن قَتَلَ نَفْساً بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍ فِي ٱلأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعاً وَمَنْ أَحْيَاهَا فَكَأَنَّمَا أَحْيَا النَّاسَ جَمِيعاً وَلَقَدْ جَآءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُنَا بِٱلّبَيِّنَٰتِ ثُمَّ إِنَّ كَثِيراً مِّنْهُمْ بَعْدَ ذٰلِكَ فِي ٱلأَرْضِ لَمُسْرِفُونَ

Oleh yang demikian, Kami (Allah) tetapkan ke atas Bani Israel sesungguhnya barang siapa membunuh suatu jiwa bukan (sebagai balasan terhadap pembunuhan) jiwa (yang lain) atau kerana (hukuman) melakukan kerosakan di bumi, maka sesungguhnya serupalah dia membunuh manusia keseluruhannya, barang siapa yang memberi kehidupan pada satu jiwa serupalah dia menghidupkan manusia seluruhnya, Dan sesungguhnya telah datng kepada mereka para rasul Kami dengan penjelasan, kemudian selepas ( penjelasaan )itu mereka bersikap keterlaluan di bumi (al-Maidah:32)

Kita berkewajiban secara agamanya untuk mencegah kezaliman secara khusus terhadap seseorang sebagaimana kita berkewajiban menentang kezaliman terhadap manusia seluruhnya. Tidak layak sekali bagi orang beriman untuk meredai dan membiarkan kezaliman berakar dan mencengkam urat-saraf masyarakat kita.

Rasulullah Sollallahu 'alaihi wasallam memperingatkan kita tentang akibat kezaliman:
"Bertaqwalah daripada (terlibat dengan) kezaliman, maka sesungguhnya kezaliman adalah kegelapan pada Hari Qiyamat" (riwayat Imam Muslim di petik daripada Riyadu as-Solihin : hadith 210 )

Sehingga baginda bersabda yang bukan sahaja kita perlu takutkan kegelitaan nasib kita di Akhirat , bahkan kita perlu takut kepada doa mereka yang kita zalimi, Rasulullah Sollallahu 'alaihi wasallam bersabda:
"Bertaqwalah daripada doa-doa mangsa kezaliman, maka sesungguhnya tiada hijab antara doa tersebut dengan Allah" (muttafaqun 'alaihi: dipetik daripada Riyadu as-Solihin : hadith 215)

Antara yang mendorong pihak berkuasa untuk bertindak secara zalim terhadap orang lain tanpa mengenal batasan halal-haram, tanpa menghiraukan adab susila adalah kekhuatiran mereka akan kehilangan kuasa, rasa terancam kekuatan mereka, bimbang keburukan mereka akan terbongkar dan lain-lain pertimbangan paras sebab-musabbab di peringkat manusiawi semata-mata . Obsesiti ini perlu dirawat dengan mengingatkan firman Allah:

قُلِ ٱللَّهُمَّ مَالِكَ ٱلْمُلْكِ تُؤْتِي ٱلْمُلْكَ مَن تَشَآءُ وَتَنزِعُ ٱلْمُلْكَ مِمَّنْ تَشَآءُ وَتُعِزُّ مَن تَشَآءُ وَتُذِلُّ مَن تَشَآءُ بِيَدِكَ ٱلْخَيْرُ إِنَّكَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

Katakan Allahumma, (yang menjadi)Penguasa kerajaan ! Engkau (Allah) memberi kerajaan kepada siapa yang Engkau kehendaki, dan Engkau melucutkan kerajaan dari siapa yang Engkau kehendaki, Engkau muliakan sesiapa yang Engkau kehendaki dan Engkau hinakan sesiapa yang Engkau kehendaki, Di Tangan (kekuasaan) Engkaulah kebaikan, sesungguhnya Engkau di atas setiap sesuatu Maha Berkuasa (ali-'Imran:26)

Hendaknya janganlah pihak yang masih berkuasa sanggup melakukan kezaliman atas alasan mahu mempertankan kekuasaan mereka, begitu juga pihak yang mengangan-angankan kekuasaan juga hendaklah menghindari kezaliman. Masing-masing pihak hanya akan mendapat hasil serta natijah dari usaha-usaha mereka, walaupun sehebat dan serapi mana sekalipun perencanaannya , natijah yang akan mereka perolehi akan berdasarkan ketentuan taqdir yang telah Allah putuskan, tiada lebih dan tiada kurang. Bahkan yang lebih tentunya kita semua dari pihak mana sekalipun, semada di pihak yang sedang berkuasa mahupun yang tidak berkuasa akan berdepan dengan Pengadilan Allah yang Maha Adil, Maha Pemurah dan Maha Keras hukuman-Nya untuk diputuskan balasan yang setimpal dengan keburukan kita, dan digandakan ganjarannya untuk kebajikan yang kita lakukan. Bukankah kita pernah bertemu hadith-hadith yang menyebut cerita tentang seorang perempuan jalang menolong memberi minum kepada anjing yang dahaga telah ditilik Allah dengan rahmat dan dimasukkan ke dalam syurga- atau cerita seorang itu mendapat murka kerana kezalimannya yang mengurung seekor kucing di dalam rumah tanpa memberi makan sehingga kucing itu mati kelaparan?. Sekarang ini kita bukan setakat berdepan cerita anjing dan kucing- tetapi kita berdepan dengan cerita tentang manusia: apakah tindakan yang akan diambil akan mengundang rahmat daripada Allah atau sebaliknya kemurkaan daripada Allah.

Kita wajib menolak kemungkaran, kita wajib mencegahkan kefasadan. Termasuklah kita wajib menyediakan sistem kehakiman kita yang menghukum kemaksiatan, kemungkaran dan kefasadan agar kebaikan akan terserlah. Bagaimanapun dalam menghukumi kefasadan, kemaksiatan itu , sistem kehakiman kita perlu adil, perlu bertindak secara objektif tanpa senget ke mana-mana. Sebenar-benarnya tidak ada kebaikan kecuali keburukan apabila kezaliman digunakan atas nama menghapuskan kemaksiatan. Ketidak-adilan itu sendiri adalah kezaliman, kemaksiatan dan mengundang murka Allah. Kita perlu tegas dalam meroboh kemungkaran tetapi kita diharamkan daripada melakukan kezaliman. Perlaksanaan hukuman mestilah berdasarkan keadilan dan kesaksamaan bukan berdasarkan kepentingan dan tekanan.Antara lain allah memperingatkan kita:

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِٱلْعَدْلِ وَٱلإحْسَانِ وَإِيتَآءِ ذِي ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ ٱلْفَحْشَاءِ وَٱلْمُنْكَرِ وَٱلْبَغْيِ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُو

Sesungguhnya Allah memerentah agar ditegakkan keadilan, membuat kebajikan, menunaikan tanggung-jawab terhadap kerabat, serta mencegah kejelekan , kemungkaran dan kezaliman. Dia memberi penerangan kepada kamu moga-moga kamu mendapat peringatan (an-Nahl:90)

Ada di kalangan kita yang berfikir: "bagaimana mungkin hukuman yang adil dibuat dalam sistem perundangan yang pincang ". Sebenarnya dalam apa bentuk suasana dan sistempun kita wajib menengakkan keadilan semampu mungkin. Kekuatan cintakan kebenaran dan keadilan itu akan mendorong kita membuat keputusan dan penghakiman yang seadil mungkin. Imam Hassan al-Banna menyebut dalam rencana 'Fikratu al-Iqtisadiyyatu fi Kitabilah" (yang dimuatkan dalam buku Hadithu al-Thulathah':m/s:402):

"Sesungguhnya hakim yang adil, wahai saudara, di depannya perundangan yang curang, bagaimanapun jiwanya yang luhur serta keikhlasannya untuk keadilan dan kecintaannya terhadap keadilan akan mendorong dia (hakim tersebut) untuk manipulasi teks undang-undang yang curang itu bagi memutuskan hukuman yang adil... mungkin juga ada seorang hakim yang berjiwa fasid (jahat) serta mengikut hawa-nafsu berada di dalam perundangan yang adil , bagaimanapun jiwanya yang fasid itu akan mendorong dia untuk manipulasi teks undang-undang yang adil itu bagi memutuskan hukaman yang zalim yang muafakat" dengan hawa-nafsunya"

Semua yang terlibat memegang amanah dan kuasa hendaklah melaksanakan amanah dan keadilan walaupun terhadap sanak-saudara tanpa membenarkan perasaan kasih mempengaruhi tugasan, begitu juga terhadap mereka yang dimusuhi tanpa membenarkan perasaan benci mempengaruhi tugasan. Allah berfirman:

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَأْمُرُكُمْ أَن تُؤدُّواْ ٱلأَمَانَاتِ إِلَىۤ أَهْلِهَا وَإِذَا حَكَمْتُمْ بَيْنَ ٱلنَّاسِ أَن تَحْكُمُواْ بِٱلْعَدْلِ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ نِعِمَّا يَعِظُكُمْ بِهِ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ سَمِيعاً بَصِيراً

Sesungguhnya Allah memerentahkan kamu agar menunaikan amanah kepada ahlinya, dan apabila kamu berhukum, hendaklah kamu berhukum dengan adil. Sesungguhnya Allah memberi peringatan yang sebaik-baik kepada kamu, sesungguhnya Allah Maha Mendengar Maha Melihat (an-Nisa':58)

يَٰأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُونُواْ قَوَّٰمِينَ بِٱلْقِسْطِ شُهَدَآءَ للَّهِ وَلَوْ عَلَىۤ أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَوِ ٱلْوَٰلِدَيْنِ وَٱلأَقْرَبِينَ إِن يَكُنْ غَنِيّاً أَوْ فَقِيراً فَٱللَّهُ أَوْلَىٰ بِهِمَا فَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ ٱلْهَوَىٰ أَن تَعْدِلُواْ وَإِن تَلْوُواْ أَوْ تُعْرِضُواْ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيراً

Wahai orang-orang yang beriman, hendaklah kamu benar-benar tegakkan keadilan sebagai i saksi bagi Allah, meskipun atas diri kamu sendiri atau ibu-bapa kamu atau kaum-kerabat kamu. (sekiranya) jika dia (yang kena dakwa itu) kaya ataupun miskin, maka Allah lebih (tahu kemaslahatan) keduanya. Janganlah kamu mengikut hawa-nafsu (sehingga terhalang) daripada berlaku adil. Dan jika kamu memutar-balikkan atau menolak (dberlaku adil), maka sesungguhnya Allah Maha Mengetahui apa yang kamu kerjakan

يَا أَيُّهَآ ٱلَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُونُواْ قَوَّامِينَ للَّهِ شُهَدَآءَ بِٱلْقِسْطِ وَلاَ يَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ شَنَآنُ قَوْمٍ عَلَىۤ أَلاَّ تَعْدِلُواْ ٱعْدِلُواْ هُوَ أَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوَىٰ وَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ

Wahai orang yang beriman, hendaklah kamu benar-benar menjadi saksi kepada Allah dalam menegakkan keadilan . Janganlah sekali-kali kebencian kamu terhadap sesuatu kaum itu memesongkan kamu daripada berlaku adil, Hendaklah kmau berlaku adil (kepada siapa jua pun), ia (perbuatan adil itu) terlebih hampir kepafa taqwa, maka bertaqwalah kepada Allah. Sesungguhnya Allah Maha Mengetahui segala yang kamu lakukan (al- Maidah:8)

Kita hendaklah dengan insafnya mengaku yang masyarakat dan diri kita sentiasa terdedah kepada kebinasaan, kita tidak mempunyai apa-apa pendinding dari murka Allah kecuali dengan apa yang telah disebut oleh Allah dan Rasul-Nya. Allah telah memperingatkan kita:

وَكَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا قَبْلَهُمْ مِّن قَرْنٍ هُمْ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُم بَطْشاً فَنَقَّبُواْ فِي ٱلْبِلاَدِ هَلْ مِن مَّحِيصٍ *
إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَذِكْرَىٰ لِمَن كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ أَوْ أَلْقَى ٱلسَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ
Dan berapa banyak (masyarakat) dari generasi yang lalu Kami telah binasakan (kerana kedurhakaan mereka) , mereka itu lebih perkasa daripada mereka (yang ada sekarang). Maka (kemudiannya) kaum itu telah mencari perlindungan di merata negeri, adakah terdapat tempat yang mereka dapat menyelamatkan diri?. Sesunguhnya pada yang demikian itu merupakan peringatan bagi sesiapa yang mempunyai hati atau yang dengan bersungguh-sungguh menggunakan pendengarannya sedangkan dia menjadi saksi (kepada kebenaran kenyataan ters ebut) (al-Qaf:36-37)

Moga-moga Allah memberi kita hidayah dengan kebenaran serta ditaufiqkan kita untuk beramal dengan agama-Nya. Kita berdoa agar Allah tidak menyertakan kita dalam golongan yang zalim, serta Allah menilik kita dengan rahmat serta kelembutan sehingga kita dan masyarakat kita tidak terbinasa kerana kezaliman-kezaliman yang kita telah lakukan. Semoga Allah memberi kita kesempatan untuk membetulkan apa-apa yang perlu diperbetulkan, mengampunkan dosa-dosa kita dan memasukkan kita ke dalam keredaan-Nya.

Gender Issues: Unfinished & unparallel businesses

2011-12-09T16:35:00.001-08:00

Gender equality a key tool to accomplishing economic goals

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Turkey, currently lagging behind the world average for women in the workforce, should pursue gender equality policies with determination if it wants to reach the economic targets it set for 2023, says Nur Ger. A recent World Bank report shows pursuing gender equality is smart economics, says Ger from a top business group

‘We are very sensitive to mothers in our company,” says Nur Ger (R) talking to the Daily News in her office at the top of a textile facility. As the owner of her own company, she is also active in several NGO’s. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah GÜREL

Barçın Yinanç barcin.yinanc@hurriyet.com.tr

The government should stop seeing gender equality as an issue of social policy if it wants to reach its aim of becoming the 10th biggest economy in the world, said Nur Ger, a top Turkish businesswoman.
Achieving gender equality is a tool for economic development, and a recent report from the World Bank proves this argument based on economic parameters, said Ger, the head of the gender equality working group of Turkish Industry & Business Association (TÜSİAD).

The World Development Report 2012 released last week looked at the issue of development from perspective of gender equality. According to the report under-investing in girls and women puts a brake on poverty reduction and limits economic and social development.

“We lag behind world average in women in labor force. An additional 5 percent of female participation in the labor force would reduce poverty by 15 percent,” Ger told the Daily News in a recent interview.

Q: What does the report tell you?

A: It tells that women’s problems are the same everywhere in the world and that there is a correlation between these problems and poverty. Women and their children have higher levels of suffering in direct proportion to the level of poverty.

Women constitute 12 percent of the CEOs in Turkey and that is higher than the world average, which is at 5 percent for OECD member countries.

Q: What does it tell us about Turkey?

A: The report focuses on the economics of gender equality. [If] female participation in the labor force [went up] 5 percent, poverty would be reduced 15 percent. In Turkey we transformed the economy in such a successful way that it has become a leading light, while other countries are in crisis. We did this through our determination. You can achieve results if you pursue economic policies with persistency, nd adopting a holistic approach. We have become the [world’] 16th biggest economy, we want to become the 10th biggest economy. The report says to countries, “If you allow your women up to the next level, this will speed up your economic transformation.”

It also tells us not to see gender equality as a social policy issue: gender equality is smart economics. I want to repeat this message for Turkey: gender equality should be a tool for development.

Q: In other words, it should be an essential aim in order to reach the goal of becoming the 10th biggest economy?

It will be a nearly impossible goal to reach with the current level of gender inequality. Yet gender equality should be a primary consideration when trying to reach our economic development goals. They are saying it takes a long time to achieve results in social policies but in 10 years, we registered a change of 100 years in the economy. No one can convince me that it will still take 20 or 30 years to register change if we pursue gender equality policies with determination.

Is there any sign that the government might see gender equality as an economic development tool?

A: The prevailing view is this: First let’s deal with the economy and then we will deal with social policies. It’s not just this government, but previous governments have had a similar approach.

We need a reverse approach; we need to use the transformative effect of social policies on the economy.

It seems the share of female participation in the workforce does not provide room for optimism.
The minister put the ratio of women at 30 percent, but the data we have states 26 percent. The government’s target is to increase this to 34 percent, while TÜSİAD says we can pull it up to 40 percent. The world average is 50 percent. So Turkey has already accepted gender disparity in its targeting. Indeed, according to these guidelines, by 2023, Turkey will be 10 percent below the world average. Even the targets we set are not ambitious.

Q: If Turkey cannot reach the world average in gender equality, it will probably not be possible to reach the economic targets it has given itself for 2023, no?

A: As much as we say this, we cannot convince the politicians. At one stage the rhetoric was, “Our unemployment statistics would have looked better if women did not demand to work so much.” At other times we were told, “The economy has improved and male income has increased. Women have therefore stopped working since economically it is no longer necessary for them to work.” This is the sort of mentality we have, yet both men and women need to see that women should participate in the labor force, not because the household needs the income but because this is a way of living and being.

The prime minister calls for women to have three children and has said he does not believe in gender equality. Is one of the problems the conservative nature of the government?

This is not only the view of this government, however. It would be unfair to say the prime minister is conservative when society itself is conservative and the prime minister represents this conservative part of society.

DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah GÜREL

Q: What are the priorities for increasing women’s share in the labor force?

A: The first thing is childcare. We need to have daycare centers in every neighborhood, and they need to be affordable based on income levels. Women need to be able to leave their children with full confidence; what woman can work with full efficiency if she has anxieties about the kids she left behind? The ratio of childcare is only 12 percent, and this is 12 percent out of the 26 percent of women who are working.

So women do want to work?

Women want to work but there are also traditions, with family members asking, “Why do you need to work?” – just as my family asked me why I was establishing my own company. But traditions can be overcome.

Q: Is there any governmental action to increase female participation in the workforce?

A: In their program they have promised to give financial assistance to working mothers. I am actually optimistic, especially because of the words of Fatma Şahin, the minister responsible for women and families. Nevertheless, we need to speed up the implementation.

Q: What should the private sector do?

A: Gender equality should become the norm, an important value, just as, let’s say, the environment became an important component of the business world. Recruitment, wage policies as well as promotions should be transparent. Flexible work can provide the possibility of keeping women in the labor force. But this should not be perceived as simply a possibility designed only for women and a disadvantage to them in their careers.

Q: Isn’t there anything positive about the position of women in the labor force?

A: On the contrary. Women constitute 12 percent of the CEOs in Turkey and that is higher than the world average, which is at 5 percent for OECD member countries.

Q: What’s your view on Minister Fatma Şahin?

A: I really appreciate her because she is very well informed. She accepts we have a lot of homework to do. She asks for contributions from civil society. The one thing I criticize is when she calls for patience.

But we need to act fast, not with patience.

Who is Nur Ger?

A graduate of Boğaziçi University, Nur Ger started her business career very early. After having worked at various textile companies, she formed her own company in 1986. She headed the Turkish Clothing Manufacturers’ Association from 1994 to 1996., when critical talks led to Turkey’s full entry into the customs union with the EU.

She is a founding member of the Association for the Support and Training of Women Candidates (Ka-Der) and the Women Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey (KAGİDER).
She is currently the head of the gender equality working group of the Turkish Industry & Business Association (TÜSİAD).

In 2000 she received the award for most successful businesswoman by daily Dünya, a prominent financial newspaper.

Catitan Sut:

Isu feminism, isu gender equality adalah isu lama. umpamanya kalau di Turkey, semenjak zaman Kamal Attartuk lagi Kamal telah membuka seluas-luas pintu kepada persamaan hak antara lelekai dan perempuan. isterinya, Zubaidah dikatakan bukan sahaja aktif dalam masyarakat, bahkan berada di garisan depan ketika perang. Sepatutnya isu ini telah lama selesai di Turkey.

Bahkan di Barat sekalipun, isu ini masih merupakan isu yang masih relevan, Kalau dulunya ada penyokong feminism berhimpun untuk membakar bra, seakan-akan bra itu melambangkan keterikatan golongan wanita. Mereka melaungkan slogan yang mereka tidak memerlukan kepada lelaki, Sehingga-hingga dalam kehidupan sex pun, ada mereka yang cenderung kepada amalan lesbian.

Dalam masyarakat kita pula, Syed Syaikh Abdul Hadi adalah antara tokoh awal yang menceritakan tentang gerakan feminism dalam novel sadurannya Faridah Hanum, Begitu juga Ustaz Abu Bakar Syaarie, pelopor Gerakan Kaum Muda di Perlis yang menulis buku Gerakan Kaum Ibu yang menyaran aktiviti-aktiviti kaum wanita, Ustaz menasihati agar wanita bersenam dengan umpama bermain badminton dan menjaga kulit dengan menggunakan milk of magnolia, hanya seingat saya , ustaz ini tidak menyebut tentang kewajiban menutup aurat.

Kemuncak gerakan feminism yang berwarnakan agama agaknya kemunculan sisters in Islam pada awal tahun 1990'an. Ianya diketuai oleh Dr. Fatimah Wadud, seorang ahli akademik yang agak terasing dari segi fahamnya, dalam lapuran NST pada awal penubuhan SIS, seingatnya Dr.Fatimah mempersoalkan pegangan yang Saiyyidina Adam , seorang lelaki, adalah manusia yang terawal dijadikan Tuhan, Aduhai sehingga kemudiannya kita baca kisah bagaimana Dr.Fatimah menjadi imam sembahyang jumaat bagi makmum yang terdiri daripada lelaki dan perempuan.

Kenapa kita perlu melihat peranan lelaki-perempuan yang dilihat secara berlawanan dan bertentangan?. Kenapa kita tidak melihatnya sebagai complimentary relationship yang lengkap-melengkapi? Kita sedar yang memang terdapat perbezaan antara lelaki dan perempuan dari peringkat DNA-nya lagi, biological-nya memang lelaki berbeza dari perempuan. Perbezaan ini bukan untuk mereka menimbulkan ketegangan antara mereka, tetapi masing-masing ada peranan masing-masing dalam cara khusus masing-masing.

Sebagai makhluk ibadat, peranan lelaki dan perempuan tidak banyak berbeza. Mereka perlu memenuhi kehidupan mereka sesuai dengan tujuan kejadian mereka untuk mengabdikan diri masing-masing kepada Allah. Keikhlasan mereka sangat asas, perbuatan amalan mereka perlu ditentukan dan dibimbing oleh al-Quran, kehidupan sebenar mereka adalah selepas kematian mereka, Mereka meminta reda Allah dan balasan syurga-Nya, mereka minta berlindung dari murka-Nya dan neraka walaupun peranan khusus mereka mungkin sahaja berbeza-beza.

Kita perlu mengetahui kengkangan budaya yang menghimpit wanita yang sebenarnya bukan dari ajaran Islam, kita perlu mengetahui pelanggaran batasan yang dianjurkan kepada wanita yang bukan daripada ajaran Islam. Semoga muslimin dan muslimat, mukminin dan mukminat, zakirin dan zakirat, so-iminin dan so-imat, akan berganding bahu dalam usaha-usaha menyubur yang makruf, mencegah kemungkaran dan membina iman di dalam diri, ummah dan dunia

Kemenangan Pilihanraya Bagi Ikhwan :mimpi ngeri bagi sebahagian

2011-11-30T16:45:00.000-08:00

Business leaders ponder effects of Islamist parliament

Despite the Muslim Brotherhood's support of a free market economy, their expected success in parliamentary polls has the business sector bracing itself for an incoming parliament dominated by Islamists

Marwa Hussein, Bassem Abo Alabass, Wednesday 30 Nov 2011

An Egyptian man looks at a campaign banner in Arabic that reads, "The Freedom and Justice party," on the second day of parliamentary elections in Alexandria (Photo: AP)

Preliminary ‎indications suggest strong electoral showings by ‎‎Islamist candidates, especially those from the Muslim ‎Brotherhood’s ‎Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), in ‎Egypt’s first ‎post-Mubarak parliamentary polls.‎ Businesspeople, meanwhile, ‎are wondering how Egypt’s economy would be affected by an ‎Islamist landslide.‎

‎“Of course, I have some fears,” Bahgat El-Hossamy, legal ‎advisor to Egypt’s Junior Business Association, told Ahram ‎Online. “But if the rotation of power is guaranteed, my concerns ‎will be reduced.”‎

The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) has repeatedly stressed its ‎commitment to a free market economy. The group says that it ‎supports development by encouraging the private sector, ‎attracting foreign investment and promoting national exports. ‎

Key items in the MB’s political platform include calls for a free ‎economy that nevertheless ensures social justice, respect for ‎international conventions that are in the country’s best interest, ‎and the encouragement of labour-intensive industries.‎

To satisfy Egypt’s middle class, which constitutes an important ‎part of the MB’s membership base, the group has not altered its ‎main economic policies, some of which had been espoused by ‎the former regime. It calls for the application of a progressive tax ‎and the restructuring of Egypt’s tax-collection system, as wells ‎as the setting of a national minimum wage. It neglects to ‎mention, however, a maximum wage.‎

The MB has also promised subsidies and customs exemptions ‎for labour-intensive industries.‎

“The MB might halt some economic activities that it believes to ‎be incompatible with Islamic Law, but it won’t stand against ‎private property,” said El-Hossamy.‎

El-Hossamy, for his part, will not be surprised to see the MB ‎arrive to power after being the largest and best-organised ‎opposition movement for decades.‎

‎“It was necessary that they come to power to put an end to the ‎legend,” he said. “But if they don’t serve the popular will, they ‎won’t be elected in the next elections.”‎

A self-avowed liberal, El-Hossamy is more concerned about the ‎influence of Egypt’s Salafist trend. ‎

“It appears that the Salafists will capture more seats in ‎parliament than originally expected,” he said. “My concern is that ‎if the Islamists win a parliamentary majority, they could ‎conceivably pass legislation cancelling bank interest rates or ‎prohibiting alcohol, which would deeply impact the tourism ‎sector.”‎

Ultimately, though, says El-Hossamy, the MB does not stand ‎against economic liberalization. In fact, he points out, the ‎group’s economic program isn’t much different from that of ‎ousted president Hosni Mubarak’s National Democratic Party.‎

Leading MB businessman Hasan Malek once told Reuters that ‎promoting manufacturing, bolstering national human resources, ‎and encouraging the private sector represented “the solutions to ‎Egypt's economic slump.”‎

One of the MB’s main financiers and business strategists, Malek ‎said the economic policies associated with the Mubarak era ‎were “on the right track,” but had been overshadowed by the ‎former regime’s blatant corruption and nepotism.‎

Mohamed El-Rachidi, chairman of the Gozour processed food ‎company, a sub-group of the Citadel Capital financial group, isn’t ‎very optimistic about the preliminary polling results.‎

‎“The MB has good economic sense. I work in the food industry, ‎which will survive in any case since people will always need to ‎eat,” he said. “The problem will be with short-term disruptions in ‎the coming period.”‎

‎“It will take months for elections to wrap up and for a new ‎constitution to be written,” he added. “Many businesses may be ‎forced to close before then.”‎

Tourism concerns ‎

Egyptian tourism officials, meanwhile, express fears for the ‎future of Egypt’s once-thriving tourism industry if elections are ‎swept by Islamist parties.‎

According to Egyptian Tourism Federation head Elhamy El-‎Zayat, an Islamist-dominated parliament would put some LE200 ‎billion ($33.3 billion) worth of tourism investments in jeopardy.‎

‎“I’ve had several debates with Islamist figures about tourism and ‎I fear the sector will collapse under their rule,” he told Ahram ‎Online in a telephone interview.‎

El-Zayat went on to point to recent statements by a Salafist ‎representative in which he said that the movement did not want ‎foreign tourists visiting Egypt.‎

‎“They’re only thinking about alcohol and bikinis, not the huge ‎amounts of revenue the sector brings Egypt’s economy,” El-‎Zayat stressed. “They want to rely on ‘cultural tourism,’ which ‎currently accounts for only 11 per cent of total tourism revenue.”‎

Tourism has traditionally represented one of Egypt’s top foreign ‎currency earners.‎

Catitan Sut:

Nampaknya sambutan masyarakat Masir terhadap kelompok politik Islam, semada Ikhwan mahupun Parti an-Nour, dari golongan salafi telah menjadikan mereka dua parti yang paling mendapat sokongan pada pusingan pertama pilihanraya Masir kali ini.

Kemenangan kelompok Islam ini telah menimbulkan kebimbangan di kalangan yang menentang mereka, mereka menimbulkan kemungkinan kesan kemenangan ini ke atas ekonomi Masir, walaupun mereka terpaksa menerima yang indeks di bursa saham Masir telah melonjak mengatasi tahap tinggi melebihi 4'000 mata (pada 30hb Nov 2011), saham-saham utama melonjak naik tanpa diganggu dengan berita kemenangan kelompok politik Islam. Mereka juga bimbang kesan kemenangan ini ke atas industri pelancongan yang meraih $3.3 billion US/ setahun, mereka membangkitkan ugutan kumpulan Parti an-Nour yang ada mengatakan yang mereka akan menghapuslan minuman alkohol dan pemakaian bikini di Masir, serta tidak berminat dengan pelancong dari barat.

Walaupun selama ini Masir sendiri tidak pernah mendakwa ianya adalah sebuah negara yang kaya mahupun mewah. Kenapa golongan ini terlalu takut kepada kesan ekonomi, seakan-akan sekiranya kumpulan Islam berkuasa , maka mereka akan hilang segala kekayaan dan kemewahan mereka yang telah mereka nikmati selama ini?.

Kemenangan Ikhwan di Masir merupakan perkembangan yang logik seiring dengan kemenangan an-Nahda di Tunisia dan PJD di Morokko. Seakan-akan ianya kesan domino politik, yang pernah suatu masa dahulu dikaitkan dengan perkembangan kominisme di rantau Asia Tenggara (walaupun ianya tidak pun terjadi).

Yang menariknya juga parti yang menang di Morokko adalah PJD (Justice and Development Party). di Masir pula FJP ( Freedom and Justice Party), sebelum ini di Turkey yang telah menjadi inspirasi bagi negara lain yang menangnya adalah AK Party (Justice and Development Party), Nampaknya musim politik sekarang menunjukkan parti yang berjenamakan 'keadilan' yang menang, parti yang berjenama 'nasional' , seumpama di Masir Hizbu al-Watani (National party) terperosok dan tertinggal.

Ikhwan pula agaknya di posisi tengah (wasatiyyah) antara 'liberalnya' kumpulan reformis yang berinspirasikan barat dan kekejangan kumpulan salafi yang sepatutnya literalist. Perkembangan ini tentunya mempunyai kesan ke seluruh dunia Islam, termasuk ke negara kita, hanyalah masa yang akan menentukan, dan local flavour yang memberi citarasa yang sedikit berbeza. Antaranya golongan salafi yang bertindak sebagai suatu blok khusus yang esklusif dalam politik di negara kita hanyalah ada pada UMNO dengan kumpulan Ulama Mudanya!

Kematian Bin Laden :Persoalan yang Belum Mati

2011-11-27T15:42:00.000-08:00

A new book raises questions about bin Laden’s death

A new book written by a former US Navy SEALs commander, Chuck Pfarrer, has brought up some new details and questions about the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan on May 1 of this year.

Pfarrer, who refers to several US Navy SEALs who were involved in the military operation on bin Laden’s compound in May, contradicts official statements that say the al-Qaeda leader was executed following a 45-minute firefight. In his 225-page book, “SEAL Target Geronimo: The Inside Story of the Mission to Kill Osama bin Laden,” released on Nov. 8 by the New York-based St Martin’s Press, Pfarrer writes that bin Laden was dead within 90 seconds of the beginning of the raid, not after an extended firefight. Pfarrer also claimed that the SEALs entered the compound from the third floor after descending from a helicopter on the roof, not from the ground, as the initial official reports indicated.

The initial reports also said that one of the helicopters crashed before the raid, but Pfarrer says that a helicopter did crash, but it was right after the mission had been completed.

Another allegation was that bin Laden was unarmed when he was killed. But Pfarrer writes: “He was not carrying it; however, it was lying by the headboard. When he saw the SEALs, he lunged to grab it.” One of the most significant allegations in Pfarrer’s book is that even though Pfarrer doesn’t reveal his sources, he claims that Ayman al-Zawahiri, the second man of al-Qaeda at the time, used Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti to make repeated trips to bin Laden’s compound. Pfarrer claims that al-Zawahiri knew that Ahmed al-Kuwaiti was interrogated by the CIA and based on this information, he concludes that it was al-Zawahiri who led the CIA to bin Laden’s hiding compound in Abbottabad. The book also claims that al-Zawahiri once tried to convince the Russians to kill bin Laden but the Russians rejected the offer. He then thought that Addison’s disease, which is a rare, chronic endocrine disorder, would kill bin Laden. But it did not happen, either. According to the book, al-Zawahiri’s final card was to send a courier to communicate with Osama, “which inevitably caused the CIA to kill him,” Pfarrer wrote.

As mentioned before, the book does not provide adequate information on the sources of these allegations about al-Zawahiri, the man behind bin Laden who actually urged him to wage Jihad against the West. Was there any power struggle between the two? We have no measurable data to make this analysis yet. What we know is that starting from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, there was something that resonated between the two. Was there any conflict between the two, especially regarding the recent developments following the Arab Spring? What the Arab Spring indicated is that the people where these uprisings have emerged are not asking for Shariah, but for more freedom and democracy. Was there any contradiction or divergence between the two about how to react to the Arab Spring?

We don’t know yet. Pfarrer writes that bin Laden was planning to exclude al-Zawahiri from the new organizational structure of al-Qaeda.

If that claim were true, what could be the reason for bin Laden’s desire to get rid of al-Zawahiri? The writer of the book does not provide enough information about that, but we also may remember that one of al-Zawahiri’s most trusted men was in fact a double agent, named Ali Mohamed according to Lawrence Wright, an accomplished journalist and the author of the book “The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11.”

In his well-known article titled “The Man Behind bin Laden,” which appeared in The New Yorker on Sept. 16, 2002, Lawrence wrote:

“Fluent in English, French and German, as well as Arabic, Mohamed held both Egyptian and American citizenship. From 1986 to 1989, he served in the US Army as a supply sergeant at the Special Warfare School, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he was commended for his exceptional physical fitness. In 1984, Mohamed approached the CIA in Cairo, and after that meeting the agency sent him to Germany. There he made contact with a Hezbollah cell, but apparently he boasted of his CIA connection, and the agency cut him loose. He then began his association with Islamic Jihad. In 1989, he instructed a group of Islamic militants in Brooklyn in basic combat techniques; four years later, some of these militants bombed the World Trade Center. The same year, Mohamed talked to an FBI agent in California and provided American intelligence with its first inside look at al-Qaeda; inexplicably, that interview never found its way to the FBI investigators in New York. In 1994, he travelled to Khartoum to train bin Laden’s bodyguards.”

But is this information enough to think that al-Zawahiri had planned to kill bin Laden? I guess not.

I actually think that what Pfarrer aims to do is to understate the role of the CIA and complicate the 2012 presidential race. What the book wants the reader to think is that killing bin Laden was actually the success of the SEALs mission and not of the president and CIA. This, I guess, is why Pfarrer creates his own story about the CIA’s role in locating bin Laden’s compound: It was not the CIA’s success but al-Zawahiri’s own plan and desire to kill bin Laden.

Is this fair?

*Aydoğan Vatandaş is an investigative reporter based in NY. (This article was published on 27th Nov. 2011)

Catitan Sut:

Kematian seoarang tokoh militant umpama Usamah Bin Laden bukannya dapat dihurai dengan mudah : berita kematiannya merupakan umpan yang mahu dimanafaatkan oleh beberapa pihak berkepentingan. Versi cerita menjelang kematiannya tentu akan mempunyai jalan-jalan yang berbeza.

Bagaimana pula peranan al-Zawahiri selepas kematian Bin Laden?. Apakah tuduhan yang al-Zawahiri juga mempunyai 'peranan' dalam perancangan serangan ke atas Usamah juga akan mempuyai beberapa 'plot' yang berbeza-beza?. Ada yang menerima yang al-Zawahiri terslibat dalam plot pembunuhan ini, terutama dilihat dari latar belakangnya sebelum ini di Masir. Atau kerana otak sebahagian kita telah tercorak oleh 'logik Hollywood' tentang peranan orang dalam dalam satu- satu episod seumpama ini.

Seakan-akan tokoh pejuang itu dibiarkan hidup selama kuasa besar mahukan dia hidup, wataknya dimatikan apabila kematiannya dikehendaki oleh kuasa yang sama. Sungguh menakutkan seumpama kita sedang membaca novel-novel tulisan Dan Brown, semuanya penuh dengan conspiracy, penuh teka-teki yang mengelirukan.

Ya Allah perlihatkan kepada kami kebenaran sebagai kebenaran, serta rezkikan kami agar dapat menghayatinya, serta perlihatkan kepada kami kebatilan sebagai kebatilan, serta rezkikan kami agar dapat menjauhinya.

Revolusi Arab & Kuasa Barat

2011-11-27T15:25:00.000-08:00

Egyptian security forces are digging deeper into their budget with each volley of increasingly fatal US-made tear gas they launch at demonstrators.

The human cost of the violent crackdown in central Cairo is increasingly clear -- among the 39 fatalities reported to date, several are said to have died of asphyxiation caused by tear gas.

But the financial background to the use of crowd control weapons raises questions about the extent of Washington's financial assistance to Egypt's military and how this might filter down to the ministry of interior.

The USA is the biggest arms supplier to Egypt, providing an average of US$1.3 billion in military and law equipment every year since 2000.

Records from the US Department of State show the US supplied $1.7 million of "toxicological agents" -- "including tear gases and riot control agents" -- to Egypt in 2010.

This was the largest dispatch of such agents in at least 10 years.

In 2009, the US supplied 33,000 units of 'tear gas and riot control agents' worth $460,000. It did not supply in 2007 nor 2008, but gave 17,000 units worth $240,000 in 2006, documents show.

This assistance, however, was granted to the military, and it is not clear whether it was then channelled to the ministry of interior.

The Central Security Forces (CSF), Egypt’s riot control machine, is a division within the Ministry of Interior, but is closely tied to the armed forces, as its troops are conscripted through the military then transferred to CSF.

"The military’s arming includes tear gas and riot control weapons. The ministry of interior supposedly buys its own weaponry through other channels," Mahmoud Kotri, a retired brigadier general who wrote a book suggesting radical police reforms, told Ahram Online.

Kotri confirmed that when the current minister of interior, Mansour El-Essawy, was appointed in March he issued explicit instructions to CSF not to carry live ammunition when confronting protesters.

This directive apparently included a ban on shotguns. Kotra explained these weapons were formerly used to fire tear gas canisters via an ad-hoc launcher. El-Essawy’s instructions probably forced CSF to acquire new types of gas bombs and new ways of launching them, says Kotri.

Nevertheless, doctors on Tahrir Square treating the injured say they have seen many protesters hit by live ammunition, including shotgun wounds.

Kotri believes that a third party might be involved in the shootings

"No MOI official in his right mind would order the use of live ammunition. Not after what happened in January and the former security leadership currently on trial for killing protesters -- it just doesn’t add up," he says.

Protesters and medical staff in Cairo have also expressed concern about the kind of gas being deployed by security forces.

Speaking to Ahram Online at the field hospital in Qasr El-Dobara church behind Tahrir Square on Monday night, volunteer doctor Lilian Sobhy said their improvised clinic had seen 290 patients in 24 hours, the majority with breathing problems.

"Some in contact with the gas are suffering from a severe burning sensation in the lungs," Sobhy said. "This is not normal gas and these are not normal symptoms."

Others, however, claim the symptoms -- serious though they are -- are no different from those caused by extreme exposure to CS gas in the past.

A former police officer told Ahram Online a colleague of his in the CSF was exposed to tear gas used by Egyptian border guards on Palestinians who broke through Rafah crossing in 2008.

He said the army's gas was “unbearable and different from that used by CSF”.

Given the impressions above, many questions arise.

Is this a new kind of gas? If so, what is its nature? Is it designed use on civilians or is it a much more powerful assault tool used for military purposes? Who provided such weapons to the CSF? Was it the army, or did it get them through other channels?

For its part, the Armed Forced issued Communiqué’ no. 83 on their official Facebook page denying that it had used “gases” on protesters.

The 2010 supply of “Toxicological Agents, Including Chemical Agents, Biological Agents, and Associated Equipment”, which includes tear gas from the United States, which came under the auspices of 'foreign defence assistance', comprised 94,000 unspecified units.

Figures suggest the vast majority of these 'units' were tear gas canisters.

A crude calculation, made by dividing the aid sum by the number of units, shows the cost of a single tear gas canister may be around $18. Other, much-higher, figures have also been touted.

On Wednesday night, Amr El-Leithy, a prominent TV anchor, estimated the price of a single canister at $48, but did not give a source for this figure.

Eyewitnesses on the frontline in Cairo have reported hundreds of volleys of tear gas in the six days since the crackdown began.

Canisters found on the battle-scarred streets around Tahrir Square bear the manufacturing stamp of Combined Systems Inc (CSI), a US-based firm that provides equipment to military forces and law enforcement agencies around the world.

Among CSI's investors is the Carlyle Group -- an asset management firm which once counted former US President George Bush Snr among its advisors.

CSI produces its ‘riot control devices’ under its law enforcement brand name, Combined Tactical Systems (CTS), a firm headquartered in Jamestown, Pennsylvania.

CTS's website -- www.less-lethal.com -- displays what it calls the company's "full line of chemical irritant and smoke munitions".

Demonstrators have gathered three common types of gas canister with the following serial numbers and catalogue descriptions:

#4230 - CS Smoke

#6230 - CS Smoke - marketed as an 'outdoor grenade'

#3321 - Long-range CS Smoke - effective for 137 metres

A catalogue on the company's website displays the latest devices, but the dates of manufacture and design of some of the canisters show Egypt's Central Security Forces are using older, often-expired versions.

Instructions on gas canisters say they should not be used after expiry, which is five years after the manufacturing date. Some cans found near Tahrir have a manufacture date of 2001. The Minister of Interior has admitted using expired canisters but said this only means that they would be "less effective."

All the canisters above unleash CS gas -- a standard riot control agent -- but CTS also makes canisters that use CN gas, a more toxic formulation that takes longer to disperse and can cause disorientation and fainting.

Other media have reported finding CR gas canisters around Tahrir -- an agent that medical experts say can cause pulmonary, heart and lung problems among those subjected to intense exposure.

CR gas is banned for military use under the Paris Convention on Chemical Warfare of 1993 but several governments still use it against their own people and, allegedly, those under their military occupation. These governments include the United States, Sri Lanka and Israel, as well as Egypt.

Gas manufacturer CTS has been linked with the 'non-lethal' weapons used by Israeli forces that have been unleashed on Palestinian protesters, reportedly causing several deaths due to asphyxiation.

Its supply to the Israeli market might suggest why several canisters found in Cairo with CTS numbers and designs also have Hebrew markings.

Catitan sut:

Sebelum ini kita diberitahu yang Gaddafi sehingga masa-masa akhir kekuasaannya masih mempunyai penasihat-penasihat dari negara-negara barat. Sedangkan kuasa-kuasa barat begitu lantang mengencam Gaddafi dannNato telah membantu secara ketenteraan untuk melumpuhkan tentera Gaddafi.

Dalam sejarah pula, kita melihat bagaimana Perancis mempunyai hubungan ketenteraan dengan Uthmaniyyah, sementara Syarikat Hindia Timur , British pula membekal senjatra kepada Gerakan Syaikh Muhammad Abdul Wahab sehinggalah Perang Dunia Pertama, kuasa-kuasa barat utama yang menang perang menyokong Gerakan Wahabiyyah. Mereka melaungkan mahukan ummat islam yang sederhana (wasatiyyah?) tetapi mereka secara ketenteraannya membantu gerakan Ikhwan Wahabiyyah untuk menghapuskan keluarga pemerentah Ar-Rashid yang berpusat di Hail.

Maka kita sesama ummah yang akan berlaga, dilagakan menggunakan tanduk-tanduk yang dipertajamkan oleh kuasa-kuasa kuffar barat, yang kalah jadi abu dan yang menang jadi khadam kepada kuasa-kuasa barat.

Kita semua berpakat untuk melihat ummat ini diberi kebebasan dan keadilan, kita semua berpakat yang pihak berkuasa di negara-negara ummat ini terdiri daripada mereka yang mementingkan kuasa untuk diri dan kelompok mereka. Hanya kita bimbang gerakan untuk menuntut kebebasan dan keadilan secara jalur keras yang dibiyai atau didukung oleh kuasa-kuasa luar ini sebenarnya digerakkan atas tujuan yang berlainan dari inspirasi kita.

Kepada Allah kita berserah

Einstein Dan Hantu

2011-11-13T01:02:00.000-08:00

Every night, amateur ghost-hunting groups across the country head out into abandoned warehouses, old buildings and cemeteries to look for ghosts. They often bring along electronic equipment that they believe helps them locate ghostly energy.

Despite years of efforts by ghost hunters on TV and in real life, we still do not have good proof that ghosts are real. Many ghost hunters believe that strong support for the existence of ghosts can be found in modern physics. Specifically, that Albert Einstein, one of the greatest scientific minds of all time, offered a scientific basis for the reality of ghosts.

A recent Google search turned up nearly 8 million results suggesting a link between ghosts and Einstein's work covering the conservation of energy. This assertion is repeated by many top experts in the field. For example, ghost researcher John Kachuba, in his book "Ghosthunters" (2007, New Page Books), writes, "Einstein proved that all the energy of the universe is constant and that it can neither be created nor destroyed. ... So what happens to that energy when we die? If it cannot be destroyed, it must then, according to Dr. Einstein, be transformed into another form of energy. What is that new energy? ... Could we call that new creation a ghost?"

This idea shows up — and is presented as evidence for ghosts — on virtually all ghost-themed websites as well. For example, a group called Tri County Paranormal states, "Albert Einstein said that energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only change from one form to another. When we are alive, we have electrical energy in our bodies. ... What happens to the electricity that was in our body, causing our heart to beat and making our breathing possible? There is no easy answer to that." [6 Paranormal Videos Debunked]

In fact, the answer is very simple, and not at all mysterious. After a person dies, the energy in his or her body goes where all organisms' energy goes after death: into the environment. When a human dies, the energy stored in his or her body is released in the form of heat, and transferred into the animals that eat us (i.e., wild animals if we are left unburied, or worms and bacteria if we are interred), and the plants that absorb us. If we are cremated, the energy in our bodies is released in the form of heat and light.

When we eat dead plants and animals, we are consuming their energy and converting it for our own use. Food is metabolized when digested, and chemical reactions release the energy the animal needs to live, move, reproduce, etc. That energy does not exist in the form of a glowing, ghostly ball of electromagnetic energy, but rather in the form of heat and chemical energy.

Many ghost hunters say they can detect the electric fields created by ghosts. And while it's true that the metabolic processes of humans and other organisms actually do generate very low-level electrical currents, these are no longer generated once the organism dies. Because the source of the energy stops, the electrical current stops — just as a light bulb turns off when you switch off the electricity running to it.

Most of the "energy" that any dead person leaves behind takes years to re-enter the environment in the form of food; the rest dissipates shortly after death, and is not in a form that can be detected years later with popular ghost-hunting devices like electromagnetic field (EMF) detectors. Ghost hunters who repeat the claim that Einstein's theories provide a sound basis for ghosts reveal less about ghosts than they do about their poor understanding of basic science. Ghosts may indeed exist, but neither Einstein nor his laws of physics suggests that ghosts are real.

This story was provided by Life's Little Mysteries, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow Life's Little Mysteries on Twitter @llmysteries, then join us on Facebook.

Benjamin Radford is deputy editor of Skeptical Inquirer science magazine and author of "Scientific Paranormal Investigation: How to Solve Unexplained Mysteries." His website is www.BenjaminRadford.com.

Catitan Sut:

Agaknya menarik juga untuk melihat media hiburan barat, dari filemnya sehingga bukunya semakin banyak memuatkan cerita-cerita takhayyul. Sekarang ini cerita-cerita hantu dan makhluk aneh yang lain itu digabungkan dengan sains fiksyen; dan ianya menarik ramai peminat.

Setengahnya mengatakan ianya mengambarkan dunia barat kembali kepada zaman sebelum kristian, ke zaman paganism. Tetapi paganism yang punya ciri-ciri canggih dan post-modern, berbeza dari paganism yang asal dari rupa bentuknya walaupun kandungannya hampir sama.

Masyarakat dunia yang lain, termasuk masyarakat kitapun turut terpengaruh dengan trend sebegini, maka majalah Mastika yang dulunya adalah majalah separa-ilmiyyah kini telah menjadi majalah cerita hantu, kita kini mempunyai lebih ramai penulis "Tamar Jalis' daripada dahulu. Filem kita pun semakin banyak berkisar pada cerita hantu, sebagaimana dalam pasaran terdapat pilihan cerita hantu yang berlbagai dari Thailand, Korea, Cina dan lainnya.

Kemajuan sains rupa-rupanya tidak juga berupaya untuk mengalah kekarutan cerita hantu, tetapi hantu pula yang mendapat medium baru untuk menjelma; melalui filem, drama, buku dan majalah.Maka jangan ingat peranan pawang akan semakin terpinggir dalam masyarakat kita yang semakin maju, bahkan pawang bukan sahaja dicari oleh kelompok 4 no. ekor dan mangsa yang dirasuk bahkan pawang dipelihara oleh penjudi dan mangsa rasuk kuasa politik.....

Negara Ummah Islam Pasca Arab Spring: Syariat atau Sekular? (3)

2011-11-04T16:01:00.000-07:00

Friday, October 28, 2011

Tunisia, the prime mover of the Arab Spring, had its first democratic outcome: Last weekend, this small Arab nation held free and fair elections, which had been only a dream under the tyranny of its former dictator, the all-secular Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Moreover, the winner turned out to be the Islamic-inspired party that the same Ben Ali brutally suppressed for decades: the Renaissance Party, or, with its original name, Ennahda.

I am sure some eyebrows are now raised in the West, and elsewhere, for Ennahda is defined as an “Islamist” party, which might, say, ban alcohol, put women in burqas and chop off hands and heads. But that really does not seem to be what the party aspires to. Right after its election victory, Ennahda’s second figure, Hamadi Jebali, who is also the candidate to be the next prime minister, dismissed such fears. He said that if Ennahda comes to power, “individual liberties [will be] granted for foreigners and Tunisians alike.” Among these liberties, he explicitly said, are things like wearing bikinis, drinking alcohol or doing “non-Islamic” (i.e. interest-based) banking.

There are good reasons to believe that Ennahda will keep these promises if it comes to power, for its main leader, Rached Ghannouchi, is a thinker who has long reconciled Islam and freedom. Unlike radical Islamist thinkers such as Sayyid Qutb, from which he was influenced initially, Mr. Ghannouchi growingly synthesized Islam not with a totalitarian but a democratic vision.

So, as early as the 1980s, Ghannouchi began advocating “the end of single-party politics and the acceptance of political pluralism and democracy.” He defended women’s rights and education, along with equal rights for non-Muslim citizens.

Yet none of that saved Mr. Ghannouchi and his party from the wrath of the Ben Ali regime, whose secularism was simply an anti-religious madness. People could be arrested simply for frequenting mosques. Members of Ennahda, including Ghannouchi himself, were jailed and tortured. Many of them had to flee to Europe to save their lives and freedom.

With all that terrible history of secular dictatorship, Tunisia is very similar to Turkey: Both countries have suffered from not Islamic but secular fundamentalism, which they imported from France, but took it to even worse extremes. In both countries, for example, the headscarf was banned in the public square and veiled women were degraded to second-class citizens.

But just like in Turkey, democracy in Tunisia brought an end to secular dictatorship. The end of the Ben Ali regime in Tunis, in other words, is not too unlike the end of the Kemalist regime in Ankara. In both cases, powerful oligarchies who positioned themselves against religion were overthrown by masses that aspired for freedom, including freedom of religion.

Similarly, it is not only significant but also telling that Ennahda spokesmen have repeatedly said that they take Turkey’s incumbent Justice and Development Party (AKP) as their “example.” Ironically, Ennahda’s secularist rivals, the leftovers of the Ben Ali regime, seem to have taken an example from Turkey as well: Just like the Kemalists, all they did during their campaign was fear mongering about “the Islamists.” And, again, just like the Kemalists, they terribly failed.

Of course, it is time now for Ennahda to work toward forming a stable government and disproving the fears that secularists pump and some secular people probably genuinely have. If they can be successful in both and form a government that will bring more freedom and prosperity to Tunisia, they will have replicated the “AKP model” in the Arab world. As the initiators of the Arab Spring, and as the heir of a liberal Islamic tradition that dates back to the 19th century, they are simply the perfect people to do that.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Negara Ummah Islam Pasca Arab Spring: Syariat atau Sekular? (2)

2011-10-28T22:55:00.001-07:00

As officials confirm Ennahda’s victory in Tunisia’s first-ever free elections, the party’s leader immediately promises the country’s women that they will be free to dress as they choose unlike the leftists’ fears

Women will be free to decide whether or not to wear the Islamic headscarf, the leader of the Ennahda Party says. REUTERS photo

Ennahda, the Islamist winner of Tunisia’s elections last weekend, will not force women to wear the hijab because similar attempts to do that in other Arab states have failed, the party’s leader said Oct. 28.

“Ennahda will not change the way of life ... It will leave that up to Tunisian women,” Ennahda leader Rached Ghannouchi said Oct. 28 in promising women the right to choose whether or not to wear the Islamic veil.

Ghannouchi also said women would have jobs in the coalition government his party would “whether they wear a veil or don’t wear a veil.” Meanwhile, Ennahda expects to form a new government within 10 days, party Secretary General Hamadi Jbeli, who is likely to be prime minister in the new Cabinet, said Oct. 28. Jbeli said the economic program be prioritized in the discussions.

But as victory celebrations were underway, Ennahda’s offices in Sidi Bouzid, the birthplace of the Tunisian revolution, were targeted by youths upset after candidates belonging to rival party were disqualified by election authorities.

“Ennahda calls on Tunisians to pull together, for dialogue and the rejection of violence ... We accuse people from the [former ruling party] RCD of fanning the violence in Sidi Bouzid,” said Ghannouchi after the incidents.

Late-night results showed Ennahda, banned under dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, took 90 of the 217 seats, or 41.47 percent, in an assembly that will rewrite the constitution and appoint a president and a caretaker government. The Congress for the Republic (CPR) and Ettakatol emerged as the biggest parties on the splintered left, with 30 and 21 seats, respectively. Both have said they were in coalition talks with Ennahda. Fourth place, or 19 seats, went to the Petition for Justice and Development, a grouping of independents led by Hechmi Haamdi, a rich London-based businessman said to have close ties to Ben Ali.

“Ennahda is committed to respecting peace in the world and to respecting all Tunisia’s agreements,” said Ghannouchi. “The revolution did not destroy the state, it destroyed a regime.”

Ghannouchi said Oct. 28 that he would pursue a liberal economic policy which included making the country’s dinar convertible. Convertibility, a reform which should encourage foreign investment, was a commitment of Ben Ali’s administration.

“We are in favor of the convertibility of the Tunisian dinar,” Ghannouchi told Reuters in an interview. Asked about a timetable for this, he said: “Our experts are going to give clarifications on that.”

Friday, October 28, 2011

Negara Ummah Islam Pasca Arab Spring: Syariat atau Sekular?

2011-10-28T22:51:00.001-07:00

1-Turkish premier’s call for secularism in Arab Spring countries has raised Turkey’s stature as a model for democracy, Paul Salem tells the Daily News

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s call for secularism has calmed the fears of those concerned Turkey was about to create a network of Muslim Brotherhood-led governments to control the Arab world, said a regional expert. His statement also relieved the secularists who feared the Islamists, said Paul Salem, the director of Carnegie Middle East Center. Turkey stands as the most attractive model, since other models like Iran have failed, Salem told the Daily News in a recent interview in Beirut.

Q: Where are we with the Arab Spring?

A: It is a changed Arab world. Peoples’ mentalities have changed. Even if conditions in certain countries have not changed, people have changed. This change has gone in the direction of people prioritizing democracy and pluralism. This was clearly a pro-democracy revolution.

Now we are entering a new era. We had the era where political Islam in a non-democratic, often violent, format was the proposed solution. This is the era where democratization is the key. Political Islam is coming under the context and conditions of democracy. And obviously the Turkish example of a party with Islamic roots successful in a democratic state is the most attractive model for the states that have been through a revolution.

Today the majority of Arab citizens by number are either living in countries transitioning to democracy like Egypt, Tunisia, Libya or semi-democracies like Iraq or Lebanon or in countries in revolutions asking for democracy like Syria or Yemen. This is significant. But the process is filled with uncertainties, risks and challenges.

Q: How about the impact on international and regional balances?

A: It did not so far have a major impact on regional or international balance of power. This could change if the uprising in Syria reaches its end point with a regime change. If Syria changes its leadership this will mean the new regime will probably not have the same deep relations with Iran or Hezbollah. And it might lose access to Hamas and the Palestinian issue. This will be a major loss for Iran. It will retreat and focus more on Iraq and Afghanistan.

The U.S. has lost in the Arab Spring, but it has lost much less than it thought. The relationship with Egypt like the one with Turkey will be more challenging.

Turkey is one of the slight winners. The revolutionaries did not say we want to be like Iran or Saudi Arabia or America. Most of them were saying we want to be something like Turkey.

And these revolutions are pro-globalization and pro-business. That is good for Turkey. Egypt wants trade and economic progress. The Muslim Brotherhood and Islamist forces, which are likely to be important players, are looking to the Justice and Development Party (AKP) to see if they can learn anything. Now they realize being in the opposition is easier than being in the government. Arab Spring was about poverty and lack of economic progress.

The Muslim Brotherhood is realizing that if they cannot get jobs and the economy going, people will not like them either. And they are aware of that. They look to Turkey for advice. It is not a model. But they know that they have more to learn from Turkey than from Saudi Arabia or Iran.

Q: For “political Islam” to function under democracy, isn’t there a need to reconcile with secularism? Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s call for secularism was not welcomed by all.

A: Secularism has failed as a word and as a strong philosophy to build legitimacy in the Arab world. But what is meant by secularism has legitimacy in the wider Arab world.

Many parties and citizens participating in the Arab uprising actually believe in the details of secularism. Islamists won the argument that if you say you are secularist it means you are atheist. But Islamic slogans were hardly visible during uprisings even though Islamists were there. They agreed on the words “civil state”; they are the new buzz words.

This is where they disagree with Erdoğan: While accepting the civil state, the Islamist say “since we are mostly Muslim, we should include in the constitution a reference to Islam and sharia,” but they don’t say “we want to be an Islamic state.”

Q: So will the Islamist parties be the dominant players in the region?

A: They will do quite well in the elections. They will be the biggest single blocs, but not majority blocs. This partly reflects the strategy of Islamists. They are aware that they are feared.

Their strategy is to move gradually and to enter coalitions.

Q: There are fears that like in the Iranian example, the Islamists will soon get rid of their coalition partners and impose a less tolerant rule.

A: The risk is there, definitely. But, had the revolutions been an Islamist revolution, with millions on the street with Islamist slogans, that would have been a different situation. Second, the biggest Islamist movement, for example the Muslim Brotherhood, has certain Islamist ambitions, in which secularists and Christians disagree. But they are also aware of the Iranian experience and they are aware that it has failed. They don’t like it because it is not popular with its people. It is repressive and people see that it ended up very corrupt and unsuccessful at building jobs and economic progress.

They don’t look at Saudi Arabia as an attractive model; they don’t look to Taliban or al-Qaeda. This movement is coming to power after people have seen the extremists and made a judgment about it. Ten years ago Iran could have been a much more popular model. Ten years ago Turkey was not an attractive model, but it just so happens that it is now.

So 2011 is significant.

Also, in Egypt and Tunisia these parties are not entering into a vacuum. There are military, bureaucracy and business circles. The Islamists will be one among several players.

Any government in Egypt will be pleading for investment and money, so they cannot be extremists. The economics are not there. But in Libya or Syria that could be different.

Q: What makes Turkey so attractive?

A: It is the only real democracy in the entire Middle East. People are impressed that the AKP found a balance between cultural issues like faith, religion, nationalism and globalism. The extremists are anti-globalists. And obviously the economy. It the only rapidly growing non-oil economy in the region.

Q: Is this image not shaken by Erdoğan’s staments on secularism?

A: Muslim Brothers did not like it, but they had always said: “We have a lot of respect for Turkey and the AKP and have a lot to learn from them. But don’t assume everything is the same. We will not follow Turkey’s model as if it is a magical recipe.”

On the other hand it actually calmed a lot of fears. There was a rapidly growing concern that Turkey was building a network of Muslim Brotherhood-led governments to control Arab world. It was drawing hostility. Some started saying “Turkey is becoming too ambitious. It cannot rule the Arab world through Muslim Brothers.”

And also, Islamists were pointing at Turkey, saying “Look at them. Turkey is going Islamic too.” But Erdoğan said, “Wait a minute, we are a secular state.” So that was also welcomed by those who feared the Muslim Brotherhood.

Q: How was Turkey’s assertive role perceived in the region prior to the Arab Spring? There was criticism of neo-Ottomanism.

A: It was assertive toward Israel. But with the Arab world it was engaged with trade relations, visa abolitions. This was nice and welcomed. The neo-Ottoman argument is a bit silly. They are not establishing an empire; they are just engaging in a region that was part of the Ottoman region and are entering for good things like trade. Nobody can blame them.

Q: Is this image changing with the Arab Spring?

A: There is a new image. Before Turkey was about the “Zero Problems Policy.” It was about dealing with the status quo. Stabilize it and establish business deals. But now this has changed. It is not about trade any longer; it is about democratic change. Turkey has a role to play; it has responsibilities. Its position relates to different questions. Will Turkey help democratic change to succeed? Will it play a positive role?

Who is Paul Salem?

Paul Salem, the director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, works and publishes on the regional and international relations of the Middle East, as well as issues of political development and democratization in the Arab world. Prior to joining Carnegie in 2006, Salem was the general director of the Fares Foundation. In 1989, he founded the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, Lebanon’s leading public policy think tank, directing the center until 1999.

Artikel 2: Menujum Masa Depan Ummah :

Pengislahan Nilai Temporal atau Ajaran Syariat?

2-I am tempted these days to predict that, in a decade from now, we will see a much freer and more democratic Muslim Middle East

Predicting history is always a tough, if not risky, business. Hence to a big question such as “How do you think the Middle East will be a decade from now?” which I recently addressed in a panel discussion, my answer would normally be, “Well, we will see.” However, I am tempted these days to predict that we will see a much freer and more democratic Muslim Middle East by the year 2021.

To explain why, I should first acknowledge the problem: the Muslim Middle East, broadly speaking, is quite an illiberal part of the world, in which political, religious, cultural, and even economic freedoms are either limited or, in some cases, non-existent. (In the world freedom map of Freedom House, only a few Muslim-majority countries rank as “partly free,” while most of them are simply “not free.”)

Liberty matters

Recently, this problem has become a major concern to those in the West, partly due to their appreciation of liberty in principle, but also due to some of the disturbing byproducts of the lack of liberty in Islamdom, such as terrorism and other forms of seemingly religious violence. But the same Western concern, in my view, has led to some misconceptions, the most common being the argument that the root of the problem is nothing other than Islam itself.

This argument, knowingly or unknowingly, ignores two crucial facts:

First, the scarcity of liberty in the Muslim world is not always connected with Islamic theology. There are many other factors, such as nationalism, political conflicts, secular tyrannies, and the deep-seated “oriental despotism” in this part of the world. Graham Fuller, former vice chairman of the National Intelligence Council at the CIA, maps out some of these problems in his recent book, “A World Without Islam,” in which he persuasively argues that the political problems of the Middle East would probably be very similar if the region were dominated by some other religion. These problems, Fuller notes, stem from “nonreligious sources – not Islamic theology.”

Second, while there are surely problems with regard to Islamic doctrine, such as misogyny, imposition of piety, or the ban on apostasy in classical Islam, this same classical Islam also has the interpretive tools to reform these illiberal aspects, as I have shown in my just-released book, “Islam without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty” (W.W. Norton, 2011).

Another fact we should keep in my mind is the similar pattern that a sister faith has gone through. Christianity, and especially its Catholic form, had quite illiberal views until quite recently. In the mid-19th century, popes condemned religious freedom as “a heresy that no Catholic can accept,” and they were excluded all other faiths until Vatican II of the early 1960s. So if Catholicism has changed its attitude about freedom, why can’t Muslims do the same?

Reasons for hope

Of course, there is an important difference between the two traditions in question, for Islam, unlike Catholicism, lacks a religious hierarchy that can issue binding doctrinal statements. There is no central authority in Islam, in other words; there are just learned men (imams) whose views become popular by persuasion. In that sense, Islam is more “Protestant” than “Catholic.” So, a development of a more liberal attitude within Islam would be a much more decentralized and ad hoc job than the steps taken by the Catholic Church.

That’s why the context of Islam is as crucial as its texts: Since there are no central Muslim authorities, change will come not via all-binding fatwas, but changes in the political, social and cultural context, which will influence all Muslim groups and individuals.

And that’s where the root of my optimism is: With the Arab Spring, the secular dictatorships of the Muslim world, which created their Islamist mirror images, are falling. Examples such as Turkey are showing that Muslim democracies are possible. And a slowly emerging middle class is looking at religious texts with a more rational and individualistic mind. Liberty is the destination to which these dynamics will ultimately lead us.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Catitan Sut:

Perkataan sekular adalah perkataan yang begitu relatif kemesraannya dengan ummah Islam. Ianya diterjemahkan ke dalam bahasa arab secara umumnya 'al-'almaniyyah' , di kalangan pendukung Islam secar khususnya ianya diterjemahkan sebagai 'al-La diniyyah'.

Dalam kegunaan bahasa Inggeris sendiri pun ianya digunakan dalam skop yang luas dengan pengertian yang longgar. Secularism difahamkan sebagai ideology yang menyahkan (atau meminggirkan) peranan agama dari ruang-lingkup awam. Dana awam tidak digunakan untuk sebarang tujuan keagamaan, rituals keagamaan tidak dimasukkan sebagai agenda resmi. Negara ditadbir sepenuhnya berdasarkan keputusan-keputusan setakat yang diputuskan oleh badan penggubal negara tanpa pengaruh agama.

Dari segi sejarah, agaknya ianya bermula dengan pembentukan Republik Peranchis, yang menolak authority 'The Holy Roman Empire', kemudiannya ia berjangkit ke negara eropah dan menular ke seluruh pelusuk dunia.

Dalam amalan harian pula, hatta padri yang tidak tinggal di convent dan tidak berpakaian keagamaan di panggil 'secular priest'. Mata pelajaran akademik yang tidak subjek keagamaan di panggil secular subjects. Agaknya istilah yang paling hampir dalam pengunaan kita adalah 'duniawi'.

Adapun sikap pimpinan politik ummah terhadap secular itu sendiri berbeza-beza. Kalau di negara kita mana-mana pemimpin muslim yang mendukung dan mengajak kepada amalan sekular akan dikecam dan dituduh tergelincir. Sementara di Turki, pemimpin yang dianggap 'Islamic' secara terbuka mengaku merteka mempertahankan amalan negara secular. Mereka umpamanya, Erbakan dulunya pernah mengatakan yang "kami adalah golongan sekular, sementara pihak tentera adalah golongan anti-agama", sekarang Erdogan juga mengajak kepada slogan yang sama.

Di India, saya difahamkan ulama yang tidak bersetuju dengan partition India-Pakistan 1948, banyak juga yang menyokong Parti Congress terutamanya Maulana Ahmad Madani, Gandhi telah dibawa balik dari Afrika Selatan antaranya kerana usaha anggota Jamiat al-Ulama Hindi, mereka mahukan Gandhi memimpin Parti Congress dan ketika menjelajah India, Gandhi banyak menumpamg di rumah orang Islam. Ulama ini merasakan mereka perlu menyokong suatu gerakan politik yang sekular untuk masa depan ummah yang baik, sekiranya India dikuasai oleh parti keagamaan yakni Hindu, maka ummah akan menghadapi belbagai tekanan.

Syiar dan lambang secularisme yang paling jelas dan nyata adalah amalan politik secara demokrasi, secara idelanya majoriti manusialah yang menentukan sesuatu keputusan, hak penggubalan undang-undang terletak sepenuhnya pada permesyuaratan sesama mnausia, tanpa campur-tangan tuhan. Tiada ketetapan termasuk agama dapat membatasi keputusan majoriti manusia,...

Dalam permainan lautan politik sebeginilah pemimpin ummah terpaksa berenang, ada ombak yang ganas, ada jerung yang ganas tetapi diharapkan kita semua akan menemui pantai akhirnya sebagai tempat kekal berteduh

Ikhwan : Yang Dikendung Tercicir, Yang Dikejar Belum Tentu

2011-10-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

Mostafa Ali, Thursday 20 Oct 201

Doctors' Syndicate election in Ismailiya

That was how the blur started. A few days before the Egyptian Doctors’ Syndicate held its first internal elections in 19 years, the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood electoral list, Doctors for Egypt, organised a press conference which seemed more like an early victory celebration than a leg in an electoral campaign.

Feeling confident that the Brotherhood, which has dominated the union for 30 years, would sweep the elections and retain its tight hold over the Syndicate, Doctors for Egypt merrily titled their press conference “Looking ahead towards a new future for our syndicate.”

Falling in line with the group’s cocky posture towards the outcome of the historic vote, all major media outlets and newspapers, including this website’s parent newspaper, predicted that the Brotherhood, favourites to win a sizeable chunk of the seats in next month’s parliamentary elections, would finish off their closest competitors, the Independence List, with a knockout punch.

Shortly after 5pm on Friday 14 October, many hours before monitoring judges opened all the ballot boxes, and even before the phosphoric voting ink on the thumbs of some of the doctors who voted had dried, media outlets rushed to declare that Doctors for Egypt had won by a landslide.

Reliable preliminary results added to this sense by showing that the independent candidate endorsed by the Brotherhood for the position of the Syndiacte's national president, Dr Khairy Abdel Dayem, had secured a landslide victory against 22 other competitors, including his closest challanger Dr Tarek El-Gazaly Harb, who was portrayed by the media as a "secular" alternative to the Brotherhood's candidate.

Abdel Dayem’s victory seemed to confirm all earlier predictions that the Brotherhood could be on its way to securing massive majorities in provincial battles across all 27 governorates.

However, after the last ballot was tallied, the country discovered that the Brotherhood not only failed to win by a landslide, but had actually suffered huge losses across the board.

The Independence List stunned all observers by winning solid majorities of seats in syndicate boards in 14 out of 27 governorates, and trounced the Brotherhood in a number of places they never dreamed of losing.

In the national syndicate board elections, the Independence List won six out of 24 seats, and broke the Brotherhood’s monopoly over power there.

The Indepenence List also won total, or near total, control of provincial syndicate boards in Ismailiya, Suez and Aswan – governorates where the Brotherhood could claim widespread support for its brand of politics.

In Alexandria, the country’s second largest city and one of the most important strongholds of the Brotherhood, and Islamists in general, Independence candidates won 14 out of 16 seats. The Brotherhood were left with two seats, and plenty to think about.

Back in Cairo, home to the country’s largest concentration of physicians, the Indpendence List garnered almost 70 per cent of the vote.

When the dust had settled, and it became strikingly clear to everyone that the Independence List and its allies had made a huge breakthrough, the Brotherhood attempted to put a positive spin on the defeats it accrued by arguing that the real winner in the elections was the doctors who made the union’s first democratic elections in decades a success.

Doctors for Egypt leaders hastily congratulated Independence winners and welcomed what they called “new blood” into the Syndicate’s leadership. They also urged everyone to put the elections behind them and announced that they were ready to cooperate with newcomers for the country’s good.

However, few of the Syndicate’s Brotherhood leaders were willing to publicly admit that their losses in the election might have been the result of anger against them brewing among a large number of physicians over time.

Indeed, many independent and partisan observers believe that the Brotherhood’s conservative record in office over the last three decades and its inability to fight against the Mubarak regime to improve doctors’ conditions set the stage for last weekend’s defeats.

El-Sayed Refaat, a physician and long-time Brotherhood activist in Suez, told Ahram Online that in his opinion the Brotherhood suffered heavy losses in the elections because it became too comfortable in its union offices, and was not able to adjust its policies and rhetoric to accommodate a new generation of radical doctors, especially since the revolution.

Ahmed Nour, a 27 year-old physician and a campaigner for the Independence List in Port Said, believes that the Brotherhood’s current woes date back to how they ran the Syndicate when assuming full control back in the 1980s, and has worsened in recent years.

Nour believes that the Brotherhood failed to mobilise doctors to take a stand against conditions that steadily infuriated more and more doctors.

“They did very little to fight deteriorating salaries or working conditions for doctors. They did not fight to improve infra-structure in public hospitals where 100,000 government doctors who are union members serve millions of poor people,” Nour said.

Some critics also charge that the Brotherhood leadership tried to impose an "Islamic" colouring on medical convoys that the Syndicate periodically sent to service poor Egyptians in the countryside, and even medical caravans to support Palestinians besieged by Israel in Gaza, in order gain a political advantage for the group.

Brotherhood leaders, for example, often made sure that Syndicate banners at the front of those medical convoys carried the group’s two-crossed swords logo, critics recall.

“The Syndicate under their control alienated many doctors because Brotherhood leaders were preoccupied with religious preaching and supporting Islamist-run healthcare charities and clinics, and they ignored mobilising doctors around basic bread and butter issues,” Nour added.

Moreover, the Brotherhood’s strategy of putting Islamic faith issues and slogans front and centre in Syndicate activities alienated Christian doctors who make up between 20 and 25 per cent of its membership, and further weakened the union.

As a result, a younger generation of doctors came into the medical profession in the latter years of the Mubarak regime only to find that all their Syndicate leaders were for the most part bearded men in their 60s who have held office without elections since Mubarak passed laws in 1993 to make it near impossible for professional syndicates to hold polls or elect accountable leaders.

Furthermore, a new generation of physicians entered professional life and joined the Syndicate only to find that the preacher-doctors who controlled it methodically violated their self-professed puritanical values in practice as they systematically doled out administrative positions to friends, political supporters and co-religionists.

"Because there were no elections in the Syndicate for many long years, the Brotherhood leadership simply replaced administrators who passed away with political supporters of the Brotherhood," Nour told Ahram Online.

Ultimately, according to Nour, the Brotherhood’s national syndicate board members, after thirty years on the top, grew comfortable in their positions of power, and even maintained a semi-cordial relationship with Hamdy El-Sayed – Mubarak’s National Democratic Party’s president of the Syndicate since 1978.

"The Brotherhood leaders failed both to mount a strong fight around doctors' demands for better wages and launch effective campaigns to force the regime to allow democratic elections in the organisation," says Nour.

Indeed, in the last years of Mubarak, a younger generation of doctors started to organise in rank and file militant groups such as Doctors Without Rights (DWR) outside of the Syndicate’s internal body, against both Mubarak’s regime and the Brotherhood’s conservative union policies.

In the aftermath of the January 25 revolution, these radical doctors, many of whom actually took part in the uprising against the dictator and were emboldened by their success in ousting him, embarked on organising their co-workers for campaigns to take workplace actions and strikes to improve their conditions.

Still, the Syndicate’s Brotherhood leadership persisted in its no-strikes, non-confrontational strategies and proved either unable or unwilling to adjust their actions or rhetoric to the new reality.

This contrast between the new attitude of emboldened members and a static leadership was illustrated during the unprecedented national doctors’ strike last May. When doctors in public hospitals took industrial action against the government to demand minimum salaries and increased spending on healthcare from 4 per cent to 15 per cent of the budget, both the president of the Syndicate, Hamdy El-Sayed, and the Brotherhood-controlled national syndicate board denounced the strikers.

Dr Mona Mina, a member of DWR who won a seat on the new national syndicate board in last Friday’s election and was one of the organisers of that historic strike, told Ahram Online that doctors found it hard to win that battle because of the Syndicate’s hostile position.

Indeed, the national leadership of the Brotherhood dispatched physicians who support it around the country to talk strikers into returning to work, arguing that negotiations with the government were the only reasonable course of action. Brotherhood anti-strike doctors enthusiastically worked in across the country, especially in areas such as Ismailiya where the strike enjoyed overwhelming support, to convince others to return to work.

On a national level, the Brotherhood took an anti-strike position, aligning itself with the government and military council against revolutionaries and workers.

Dr Essam El-Erian, a senior Brotherhood figure and a one-time young radical member of the Doctors’ Syndicate himself, spoke out against the decision to press for their demands in the media by striking.

“We were not just fighting against government intransigence and anti-doctor propaganda in the mainstream media. Our own syndicate was against us. They campaigned against us in the media. They let doctors in managerial positions in hospitals and clinics take punitive measures against strikers to break the action,” Dr Mina revealed.

Indeed, the Syndicate’s role in undermining the strikers’ efforts last May confirmed to many doctors that the success of their battle against the government is partly predicated on changing the old, conservative leaders within their ranks.

“The strike debacle confirmed to us that we needed to elect a new leadership for our Syndicate, a leadership that could back doctors’ demands, and unite all doctors in order to fight for a better future for the profession,” Dr Mina told Ahram Online.

Despite growing criticism among the rank and file of the Syndicate’s leaders, the Brotherhood insisted on maintaining its policy of avoiding confrontation with the state, and averted taking up issues that could antagonise the government – the ruling military council at this point.

For example, Doctors for Egypt campaign material failed to endorse a number of key demands that doctors have been fighting for in recent months such as a minimum monthly salary of 1200 pounds for doctors, a 700-750 pounds monthly stipend for first year residents and all expenses incurred by mandatory post-graduate academic training met by the government.

Oblivious to the financial crunch those young medics who earn an impoverishing 250-300 pounds per month suffer, Doctors for Egypt merely suggested that Syndicate leaders could help doctors finish post-graduate work by securing low-interest loans for them.

Staying true to Brotherhood non-confrontational strategies, Doctors for Egypt insisted in its campaign rhetoric and material that patient negotiations, and not strikes, were the only ways to put forward demands.

Moreover, Doctors for Egypt, continuing a Brotherhood tradition from thirty years atop the Syndicate, employed verses from the Quran in campaign material to rally the faithful among its supporters.

In this way the group’s candidates continued to alienate Coptic Christian voters, as well as Muslims who wanted religion out of union politics.

At the end, the Brotherhood candidates failed, by and large, to connect with a new generation of doctors who have become more open to ideas of struggle along the lines of industrial action.

In contrast, the Independence candidates, fresh from leading strikes and other rank-and-file campaigns, put great emphasis in their electoral campaigns on higher wages, a 12-hour cap on shifts and increased government spending on healthcare, and in this way managed to connect with doctors’ anger and desire for change.

Indeed, Independence won landslide victories in the places where the May strike was particularly solid, such as Ismailiya, the birthplace of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Moreover, the Independence laid out a strategy that was based on empowering Syndicate members, and championed the establishment, for the first time, of Syndicate chapters in all hospitals to represent doctors on a day to day basis.

On healthcare in general, the Independence candidates insisted on one of the key demands that doctors struck over last spring: increased government spending on healthcare to 15 per cent of the budget.

In tandem with the Independence efforts, Tahrir Doctors, another rank and file group of radical doctors who played a big role in treating those injured during the 18-day uprising against Mubarak, also ran candidates on a radical program.

Both groups coordinated their activities in a number of places such as Cairo and Alexandria to defeat Brotherhood incumbents.

Although the Brotherhood backed Abdel Dayem for the position of Syndicate president, the Islamist group will not be able to count on him as an erstwhile ally.

In fact, a large number of those who supported Independence and Tahrir candidates also voted for Khairy Abdel Dayem to head the Syndicate.

Indeed, Dr Mona Mina herself supported Abdel Dayem for syndicate president.

A closer look at Abdel Dayem’s campaign literature and interviews to media actually showed that he pushed economic demands and healthcare reform proposals almost identical to those raised by the Independence and Tahrir lists.

This suggests that Abdel Dayem’s radical positions might have been a key factor behind his success, not the Brotherhood’s endorsement.

Dr Nour, the 27-year-old doctor who campaigned for radicals, told Ahram Online that he and friends among Independence and Tahrir candidates had acquired organisational experience and gained the trust of many young doctors through their participation in strikes and in the uprising. They were able to utilise this to their advantage at the ballot boxes.

Dr Mona Mina, now one of six Independence members of the national syndicate board, insisted that the Independence List does not have an anti-Brotherhood agenda.

“On the contrary, we want to unify all doctors regardless of political background in order to build a strong organisation which is capable of fighting for doctors’ interests and better healthcare in Egypt,” Dr Mina said.

“We want this to be a strong professional union and we will work with anyone who wants the same thing,” she added.

Meanwhile, Dr Refaat told Ahram Online that he is happy that Dr Mona Mina was elected to the national board.

“I always speak my mind even if my own group disagrees with me. Our leadership woke up after the revolution to find that 40 per cent of doctors were young people in their early thirties, and they wanted to fight,” said Dr Refaat.

“I can say in all honesty that our people in the Brotherhood took doctors for granted. Many doctors felt that it might be time for change,” he lamented.

Catitan Sut:

Beberapa perkara yang berlaku dalam kehidupan kita adalah di luar jangkaan kita, anggota Ikhwan mungkin merasa lebih confident tentang keputusan pemilihan persatuan doktor di Masir , berdasarkan penguasaan anggota mereka sebelum ini. Apa lagi dalam suasana yang tiada tekanan sekarang ini, peluang untuk mereka terus kekal menguasai sepatutnya lebih cerah. Tetapi keadaan yang berlaku adalah di sebaliknya.

Kadang-kadang 'self-confidence' pada kita yang menjadi penghalang daripada kita mendapat apa yang diidamkan atau kita kehilangan apa yang sebelum itu telah menjadi milik kita. Kadang-kadang kelemahan kitalah yang memberi kita stamina untuk akhirnya kita mencapai apa yang kita maksudkan.

Untuk mengimbagi 'harap (raja') dan takut (khauf) dalam semua pertimbangan bukanlah suatu perkara yang mudah. Tetapi perkara yang bernilai memang tidak selalunya mudah!

Egyptians living abroad should be granted the right to vote in presidential elections, but not in constituency-based parliamentary elections. (10.13 %)
16 votes

Egyptians living abroad are full citizens and should have the full rights and privileges due to a citizen. Tunisian expats took part in their parliamentary elections and so should Egyptians. (74.05 %)
117 votes

Egyptians living abroad are subject to various influences in their countries of residence and therefore should be allowed to vote only if they return to the country. (3.8 %)
6 votes

The logistics of millions of Egyptians voting abroad are impossible to deal with in the current circumstances, so expat voting should be postponed until such a time as these challenges can be efficiently met. (7.59 %)
12 votes

I don't know. (4.43 %)
7 votes

Previous Polls

Bersemayam Atau Bersila Lendit :Kita Buka Kamus

2011-10-13T07:14:00.000-07:00

Minggu lepas, selepas maghrib malam jumaat seorang kenalan yang menjadi tenaga utama sebuah pondok pengajian telah menghubungi saya bertanyakan saya maksud 'bersemayam'. Beberapa hari berikutnya persoalan ini turut dibincangkan di kalangan rakan-rakan yang lain.

Saya menjawab secara spontan pada peringkat awalnya, kemudian saya rujuk kepada Kamus Dewan Edisi Baru cetakan 1989 yang ada dalam simpanan saya dan Kamus Besar Indonesia yang terdapat on-line, serta beberapa rujukan yang lainnya.

Biarlah kita mulakan dengan bersila-lendit: bersila adalah cara duduk yang bersilang kaki, kaki kanan di atas betis kiri atau kaki kiri di atas betis kanan, atau betis kiri di atas paha kanan atau betis kanan di atas paha kiri. (cross legged). Kita juga mengetahui cara-cara duduk selain daripada bersila; umpama duduk bertepuh (umpama dalam tahiyyat awal), duduk mencangkung, duduk berjuntai kaki (sekiranya di atas kerusi atau seumpama), duduk mengiring dan bersandar serta lain-lain cara duduk.

Lendik bermaksud pakaian yang tidak berkedut, sementara lendit pula diertikan tertib; itulah yang tercatit dalam Kamus Dewan.

Maka maksud bersila lendit : cara duduk yang bersilang kaki secara tertib. Perbuatan bersila lendit ini mungkin sahaja dilakukan oleh seorang raja yang berkuasa atau seorang faqir yang sangat papa. Ianya tidak mempunyai apa-apa significant lain kecuali menerangkan cara duduk seseorang.

Sementara bersemayam telah ditakrifkan sebagai : (1)duduk seorang raja di atas takhta, singgahsana atau peterana. (2) bermaksud tinggal atau berkediaman untuk seorang raja yang memerentah , umpama Tuanku bersemayam di Kuala Kangsar .

Bersemayam dikaitkan dengan kedudukan yang berkuasa dan memerentah. Umpamanya sekiranya sekalipun seorang rakyat biasa dapat duduk di atas peterana di istana, dia tidak akan dikatakan bersemayam di atas takhta. Adapun cara seorang raja yang berkuasa duduk, semada caranya bersila lendit, atau bersimpuh, atau berjuntai kaki atau mengiring tersandar sekalipun, duduk baginda itu dikatakan bersemayam di atas singgahsana. Bersemayam adalah istilah majestic yang menunjukkan kedudukan yang menjadi simbol memilki kuasa dan daulat bagi seorang raja.

Maka sudah tentu bersemayam tidak sama dengan bersila lendit, bukan sahaja kerana bersemayam adalah istilah majestic semata-mata, iaitu seumpama istilah bersantap bagi makan, beradu bagi tidur, bersiram bagi tidur. Sekiranya seorang Raja duduk di bawah pokok atau di atas bangsal, baginda tidak akan dikatakan 'baginda bersemayam di bawah pokok' atau 'bersemayam di atas bangsal'; tetapi raja bersemayam di atas takhta (singgahsana atau peterena). Ianya melambangkan kekuasaan dan daulat seorang raja yang memerentah.

Kemudian timbul pula keperluan memahami perkataan 'istiwa'. "Istiwa' adalah perkataan yang disebut berkali-kali di dalam al-Quran, 'istiwa' berasal dari perkataan 'sawa' yang membawa maksud 'persamaan'. Penggunaan perkataan 'istiwa' di dalam bahasa Melayu yang paling meluas ialah Khatu al-istiwa' ( garisan equitorial) yang menunjukkan ianya adalah garisan yang membahagikan dunia sama banyak antara yang di utaranya dan di selatannya.

Saya melihat kitab Mu'jam lafaz al-Quran bagi Syaikh Muhammad Fuad Abdul Baqi , di dapati :
(i)- istiwa 'ala al-Arasy [istiwa di atas Arasy] terdapat pada 8 tempat . Al-'Araf:45, Yunus:3, Ar-Ra'du:2, Taha: 5, Al-Furqan:59 as-Sajdah:4 dan al-Hadid:4.

(ii) -istiwa ila as-Sama' [istiwa menuju langit] ada pada 2 tempat. al-Baqarah:26 dan Fussilat:11

(iii)Di dalam Surah al-Fath:29, ianya digunakan untuk menunjukkan proses semakin membesar serta semakin kukuh [established] pertumbuhan pokok .
(iv) Di dalam Surah an-Najm:52 , ianya digunakan untuk menunjukkan 'menzahirkan dan menunjukkan rupa yang sebenar [ revealed/established] oleh Saiyyidina Jibrail.
(v) Di dalam Surah az-Zukhruf ayat 13, disebut dua kali dengan membawa maksud menetap duduk [ride] di atas belakang tunggangan.
(vi)Di dalam Surah Hud ayat 44, di sebut dengan membawa maksud berlabuhnya [settle] bahtera Saiyyidina Nuh di atas Gunung Judy.
(vii) Di dalam Surah al-Muk'minun ayat 28, disebut dengan membawa maksud menaiki bahtera semunya, Saiyyidina Nuh serta semua pengikut baginda .

Saya juga cuba memahami apa yang dicatit oleh Imam Ibn Manzur di dalam kamus Lisanu al-Arab. Di dalam penggunaan bahasa Arab klasik terdapat beberapa maksud yang selain daripada yang telah disebut. Antaranya, umpamanya apabila dikatakan 'lelaki itu istiwa' bermaksud dia telah mencapai kemuncaknya, atau dikatakan mencapai umur 40 tahun. Istiwa juga bermaksud urusan seseorang itu berpindah tempat, Istiwa juga bermaksud menguasai, umpama "seorang lelaki itu telah istiwa (mendapat kekuasaan) ke atas Iraq tanpa peperangan tanpa pertumpahan darah".

Istiwa juga digunakan seumpama "Sebelumnya dia berdiri, maka dia istiwa dengan duduk" juga "Sebelumnya dia duduk, maka dia istiwa dengan berdiri".

Bermacam-macam pengertian istiwa yang dibincangkan di dalam Kamus Lisanu al-Arab, antaranya yang kerap disebut oleh ulama ketika membincangkan 'istiwa 'ala al-Arash' adalah perkataan Imam al-Ummah, Imam Malik bin Anas ketika ditanya tentang bagaimana istiwa' , Imam ini mengatakan: "Bagaimana (kaifa) istiwa itu tidak boleh difikirkan (ghairu ma'qul), istiwa itu tidak pula tidaklah tersembunyi (dari segi pengertian bahasanya), beriman dengannya adalah wajib, menyoal tentangnya adalah perbuatan bid'ah".

Mengatakan Tuhan bersila lendit di atas Arasy zahirnya menunjukkan bagaimana cara Tuhan beristiwa di atas Arasy, dan ini adalah ditegah oleh syara secara jelas. Hampir kita tiada menemui khilaf di antara ulama Islam yang melarang kita dari menentukan cara istiwa dengan mengatakan cara duduk 'bersila-lendit'. Imam Fakhruddin ar-Razi, ulama besar dari aliran Asya'irah menyebutkan di dalam kitabnya Asasu fi at-Taqdis bahawa Sifat-Sifat Allah yang mungkin difahami menyerupai anggota makhluk haram diterjemahkan kepada bahasa selainnya (ajam) kecuali perlu kekal dalam istilah Qurani. Kerana skop pemahaman terhadap sesuatu istilah itu membawa makna yang berbeza-beza antara satu bahasa ke satu bahasa, agaknya larangan itu termasuklah juga dengan istilah istiwa ini.

Adapun khilaf di antara sebahagian ulama yang mengikut mazhab Imam Ahmad dengan jumhur yang mengikut Aya'irah-Maturidiyyah itu adalah di dalam persoalan mengithbatkan makna istilah-istilah secara zahir bahasa atau perlu ditafwidh (serahkan maknanya kepada Allah) atau ditakwil sesuai dengan pengertian istilah tersebut di dalam bahasa Arab yang murni. Yang paling menonjol dari kalangan sebahagian pengikut Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal adalah Syaikh al-Islam Ibnu Taimiyyah, aliran yang dikutinya dalam soal ini ialah mengithbat dahulu segala Sifat Allah atas makna zahir bahasa dan menyerahkan kaifiat Sifat tersebut kepada Allah , serta ditanzihkan daripada menyerupai sifat dan bentuk makhluk.

Sedangkan golongan yang mentafwidh perkara ini di kalangan ulama jumhur , mereka mentanzihkan dahulu Sifat Allah dari menyerupai sifat dan bentuk makhluk, kemudian mereka menetapkan lafaz istilah-istilah tentang sifat Allah yang terdapat di dalam al-Quran tanpa memberi makna apalagi menentukan kaifiat, mereka serahkan makna dan kaifiatnya kepada Allah.

Sementara ulama yang mentakwilkan istilah-istilah ini malukukannya berdasarkan penggunaan istilah tersebut bagi makna-makna yang tidak zahir, tetapi digunakan secara simbolik (majaz) bagi istilah-istilah tersebut sebagaimana yang telah digunakan dalam bahasa Arab yang murni, kerana sememangnya al-Quran turun di dalam bahasa Arab dan di dalam uslub Arab.

Tetapi ketiga-tiga aliran ini tidak pernah memberi erti istiwa' dengan cara duduk bersila-lendit, bahkan golongan mujasimmah yang disepakati sesat oleh ummah ini sekalipun tidak juga memberi cara duduk yang begitu specific bagi istiwa-nya Allah di atas Arasy. Jadi kenapa perlu ada yang berani menterjemahkan dan memberi makna Istiwa Tuhan di atas Arasy sebagai Tuhan duduk bersila lendik di atas Arasy?. Selepas menterjemahkan sedemikian, kemudiannya dikatakan bersila lendit itu sebagaimana yang sesuai bagi Allah. Kebijaksanaan apakah ini?

Keterlanjuran sebegini wajib ditegur, ianya keterlanjuran yang menyentuh soal asas Aqidah, iaitu kepercayaan kita kepada Allah dan Sifat-Sifat-Nya. Walaupun kita boleh terima bahawa sipenutur yang terlanjur ini berniat untuk menjelaskan sejelas-jelasnya kepada masyarakat, Tetapi kita perlu sedar yang mana mungkin kita mahu menjelaskan sesuatu yang dikatakan oleh Imam Malik dan sepakati oleh ummah sebagai perkara-perkara yang kaifiat-nya adalah majhul? Kita perlu ada batas di antara perkara-perkara yang memerlukan keimanan yang mutlak terhadap soal-soal ghaib sebagaimana yang dikhabarkan oleh Allah dan Rasul daripada keyakinan yang dibina berdasarkan percubaan dan huraian setakat garapan otak dan pancaindera.

Marilah kita cegah keterlanjuran ini kerana Allah, bukan kerana geram peribadi, bukan kerana dorongan kuasa dan darjat duniawi. Marilah kita tegur keterlanjuran walaupun dari mana ianya berpunca; semada dari kumpulan kita atau kumpulan lawan,, semada dari golongan bawahan atau atasan. Jangan hendaknya kita bina mentaliti dan sikap seumpama sarang labah-labah, walaupun setiap benang-benang sarangnya agak kuat, tetapi ianya hanya memerangkap mangsa-mangsanya yang kecil-kecil, sedangkan yang besar-besar akan terlepas. Marilah kita mencintai Allah dan Rasul-Nya melebihi cinta kita dan hormat kita pada yang selain daripadanya. Kita suburkan budaya nasihah kerana mencari reda Allah, serta kita jauhi sikap membisu di atas kemungkaran kerana pertimbangan dunia, harta dan kuasa.

Maulana Abu Hassan an-Nadwi memperingati kita dalam belbagai tulisannya agar kita bersikap menegur kemungkaran atau kegelinciran seseorang yang memegang kuasa, kerana niat kita untuk menjalankan tanggung-jawab agama, kerana didorong oleh kecintaan kepada kemulian dan kemurnian faham tanpa dicemari oleh hasutan untuk menjatuhkan sesiapa, tanpa dorongan untuk mengambil-alih kedudukannya atau dalam rangka melemahkan struktur organisasinya. Dalam semangat itulah Maulana Abdu Hassan an-Nadwi menulis kritikan terhadap fahaman Maulana Maududi, kerana itulah juga Maulana Manzoor Numani, Maulana Yusuf Binuri, Maulana Zakaria al-Kandahlawi menghujjah fahaman dan tulisan Mualana Maududi. Begiru jugalah yang dilakukan oleh Imam Hasan al-Hudaibi ketika menulis 'Duah la Qudah'.

Maulana Abu Hassan an-Nadwi memperingatkan kita yang Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal bangun untuk meluruskan anutan faham Khalifah al-Makmun tetapi tidak pernah terpetik dalam catatan sejarah yang Imam ini pernah terlibat dalam usaha menjatuhkan baginda. Begitu juga Imam Mujaddid Alif ath-Thani yang bangun menentang penyelewengan Maharaja Akbar di India tetapi dia juga tidak langsung terlibat dalam percaturan politik merebut kekuasaan. Bagi Maulana Abu Hassan itulah rahsia kejayaan dakwah imam-imam ini.

Maka marilah kita contohi jejak mereka yang dianggap The Saviours Of Islamic Spirit, kita tegur kegelinciran kerana ianya merupakan kegelinciran, tanpa sebarang niat apalagi usaha untuk mempergunakan kegelinciran seseorang itu sebagai modal politik untuk menggugatnya. Tinggalkanlah soal politik dan kekuasaan kepada 'pemain-pemainnya' kerana mereka sudah ramai, lebih dari mencukupi , kita tumpukan hemmah kita kepada bidang yang mereka sering abaikan .

Saya teringat pesanan Allahyarham Sasterawan Negara S.Othman Kelantan di suatu majlis makan malam di Hotel Perdana suatu masa dahulu ketika memberi respon kepada kenyataan tentang terjemahan kepada salah satu daripada Nama-Nama Allah yang Indah yang telah diulang-ulang tanpa sebarang teguran yang tegas sebelum itu dengan mengatakan : "bukalah kamus sebelum bercakap menggunakan sebarang istilah". Di atas saranan itulah saya memberanikan diri untuk merujuk kepada kamus-kamus yang ada walaupun saya bukannya ahli bahasa. Semoga Allah mengampuni kita diatas kekurangan dan kealpaan kita dalam menyatakan kebenaran ketika ada orang yang menyifatkan Allah dengan sifat-sifat yang tidak selayaknya , menceritakan perihal Saiyyidina Rasulullah dengan meremeh-remehkan kemulian peribadi dan keturunan baginda. Ya Allah perlihatkan kami kebenaran, sebagai kebenaran serta berilah kami kekuatan untuk melakukannya, Ya Allah perlihatkan kami kemungkaran sebagai kemungkaran serta berilah kami kekuatan untuk menjauhinya. tiada daya tiada upaya kami kecuali Daya dan Upaya Engkau, Ya Allah yang Maha Berkuasa.

Semoga Allah ampuni segala keterlanjuran zahir dan batin kita, Allah menunjukkan kita Jalan kebenaran dalam i'tiqad, niat dan amalan, Allah menunjukkan kita hudud di dalam agamanya, serta diberi taufiq kepada kita untuk patuh kepada suruhan-suruhan-Nya dan tidak melanggari larangan-Nya. Sekiranya kita tergelincir dalam apa-apa pegangan dan amalan , kita harapkan semoga Allah akan bangkitkan orang-orang yang menasihati kita sehingga kita sedar dari kesalahan tersebut.Semoga gembira kita dan marah kita berdasarkan kecintaan kita kepada Allah, Rasul-Nya dan Agama-Nya.

Pollitical Fashions Vs Reform Programmes

2011-10-03T16:33:00.000-07:00

Forget political fashions, start formulating programmes

Mediocrity takes lessons from others, while the real work of securing the revolution is to think out a programme for the Egyptian people

Ibrahim El-Houdaiby , Sunday 2 Oct 2011

Parliamentary elections are underway while Egyptian political forces remain incapable of developing coherent platforms. Incompetence of politicians manifests itself in their resorting to imitate readymade political projects that have dealt with other societies’ respective challenges, while hardly exerting any effort to scrutinise and contextualise them.

On the question of identity, political groups attempting to overcome the current Islamist-secular polarisation by promoting themselves as the Egyptian version of the Turkish ruling Justice and Development Party (JDP). Akif Beki rightfully noted after the party’s ascent in 2002 that it is capable of transforming “Islamism to Muslimhood,” but while Egyptian politicians attempt to mimic the JDP, they hardly scrutinise the experience of its members.

Jenny White highlights some catalysts leading to the Muslimhood’s ascent, including Necmettin Erbakan’s confrontational politics that increasingly irritated Muslim communities, the decline of old political parties, increasing cultural interaction between Islamist and non-Islamist intellectuals —particularly during the Abant meetings sponsored by the followers of Sufi Fethullah Gulen, and the latter’s long efforts to “Islamise Turkish nationalism; recreate a legitimate link between state and religion, and emphasise democracy and tolerance.”

But it was only through diligent efforts on both intellectual and political fronts that savvy JDP leaders were able to utilise the opportunity. Since the 1990s, they engaged in municipal politics, acquainting themselves with people’s real challenges, and practically illustrating how their “religious ethics inspired their public service,” as JDP minister Mehmet Aydin notes. During this process, key figures emerged, including Erdogan, a soccer player, businessman, and mayor who replaced Erbakan’s patronage-based politics with a more grassroots, participatory populist style. Accompanied by foundational political and intellectual work, these efforts pushed for the “personalisation of Islam, and Muslimisation of public and political spheres”.

The JDP’s political success could not be merely attributed to its stance vis-à-vis identity. In fact, extending their support base beyond the traditional Islamist constituency —as indicated by election results —is primarily an outcome of their success on both the economic and foreign policy fronts. On the latter, party leaders smoothly shifted the focus from Europe to the Middle East, transforming the country from being left behind with denial of access to the EU, to a regional leader. On the former, the JDP’s deep assessment of the country’s economic and political landscapes led to the adoption of a well-articulated and contextualised centre-right policy that soon transformed an economically ill country to the globe’s 17th largest economy.

Mediocrity leads Egyptian politicians to discard the efforts underpinning the JDP’s success and focus solely on mimicking its output in terms of identity. It is also mediocrity that causes most emerging political parties to avoid tough economic choices by adopting a “social democratic” stance; attempting to appease both rightist and leftist constituencies. The adoption of this stance, however, hardly says anything about a party’s economic orientation.

When the term was first coined, social democracy referred to radical left-wingers who, according to Richard Ely, had two distinguishing characteristics: “the vast majority of them are labourers, and, as a rule, they expect the violent overthrow of existing institutions by revolution to establish socialism.” Splits within the German Social Democratic Party (SDP) soon led to the term’s evolution, which had since been broadly defined in Eduard Bernstein’s words: a movement that ceaselessly labours to raise the workers from the social position of a proletarian to that of a citizen, and thus make citizenship universal.

Social democrats attempted to introduce gradual reforms within capitalist economies that lead to the emergence of socialist ones, adopting —in the Frankfurt Declaration —a stance that denounces both capitalism and Bolshevik communism. Another split amongst social democrats separated those who insisted on the necessity of abolishing capitalism —albeit gradually —and those who attempted to introduce dramatic reforms thereto. The latter trend witnessed further divides, with some of its advocates, notably Britain’s Tony Blair, adopting more centrist —or even centre-right —positions, leading to wider income gaps between the rich and the poor.

With this wide spectrum of orientations being labelled as social democracy, Egyptian “social democrats” need to embark on a more concrete platform that defines their stances. This spectrum is wide enough to allow for serious political rivalry. The Brazilian Social Democratic Party, in power until 2002, adopted policies defending economic liberalism, and eventually lost elections to Lula da Silva’s Workers Party, widely characterised as social democratic, promoting a mixed economy with welfare state policies and government regulation of private enterprise. Arguably, achieving social justice in Egypt —as defined by the Frankfurt Declaration —requires more than mild adjustments of economic policy, given the country’s experience with restructuring and liberalisation programmes. The magnitude, however, of changes remains vague in the parties’ programmes.

Different versions of social democracies also entail different foreign policies. During the world wars, major splits took place within the social democratic movement when some parties decided to side with their respective governments —a decision deemed by others as “outright treason” against the working class. While this clear local-international dichotomy seems less significant, Egyptian social democrats choose to adopt a rather vague stance on the local-regional dialectic.

This vagueness is only paralleled by their ambiguous stance on globalisation. Challenges on integration in the neoliberal global economy sparked serious debate after Mitterrand’s ascent in France. Although initially introducing sweeping socialist reforms, he soon chose to maintain his country’s membership in the European Monetary System over continuing reforms. Egyptian social democrats have not utilised these experiences or others to develop a clear, coherent stance on the matter. Their stances on issues like welfare, social security, government regulation and relations with international monetary institutions remain vague.

The success of Egypt’s revolution requires the emergence of competent, savvy politicians who successfully capture both the political and economic challenges of the Egyptian people and articulate serious programmes of reform. While the assessment of other success stories is necessary, focusing on the output thereof hardly provides any useful insights for the country. The emergence of competent politicians is likely to take some time, but it is, nonetheless, inevitable in a context of democracy and inclusion.

Catitan Sut:

Di tanah air kita, kita asyik melihat peragaan fashion politik oleh parti-parti yang ada; ada yang mahu kekal dengan fashion tradisional-nya, ada yang mahu jadi trendy dan up to date. Arus utama pula kelihatan mahu kompromi antara keduanya, yakni kekalkan beberapa ciri tradisi dalam perkembangan fashion politik semasa, agaknya ada persamaan kalau dalam social science, apa yang dipanggil aliran post-modernism.

Memanglah penampilan itu sangat penting, ianya melambangkan keperibadian/personality kotemporari sesebuah parti, dan fashionlah di antara penampilan yang paling ketara. Fashion politik sekarang, adalah fashion 'human rights' & 'freedom of expression'; mana-mana parti yang tidak berfashion sedemikian akan ketinggalan zaman. Maka tidak hairanlah beberapa akta ' fashion lapuk' seperti ISA dan Tahanan Terhad telahn lupus-pakai. Semakin berfashion, semakin banyaklah perubahan akan berlaku.

Punyalah kita berfashion, sehinggakan orang seumpama Namewee Nasi Lemak pun dimartabatkan oleh pemimpin tertinggi negara sebagai seorang penyokong inspirasi negara , yakni dikatakannya sebagai penyokong 1Malaysia yang kreatif. Apa tidak kreatifnya Namewee ini selain daripada membikin filem yang kelakar pecah perut, beliau juga telah berjaya menghasilkan beberapa lagu yang begitu sensasi, ada pula video clips yang tidak kurang kontraversi-nya. Ikon 1Malaysia yang tidak pula fasih bertutur menggunakan bahasa resmi negara tersebut, tetapi mampu mencaci dan mencarut secara yang berkesan dalam bahasa pasar!

Tetapi dalam dunia fashion sekarang, semua hal ini dianggap trendy, Perdana Menteri hadir di Konsert Suara Kita yang begitu meriah juga adalah suatu yang trendy. Trend-nya adalah keterbukaan, sehingga aurat dan aib juga didedahkan dan diterbukakan di depan khalayak. Nazri Aziz , contohnya mengaku tentang kemasukan cincin 24juta USD semasa dalam parlimen adalah suatu penonjolan fashion keterbukaan politik, walaupun ianya menyelak banyak persoalan dan mungkin mendedahkan diri kepada banyak kritikan, tapi masih juga berfashion secara yang menyolok mata.

Fashion sekarang adalah fashion politik yang tiada batasan aurat, kalau tidak ada yang sebenar, maka process membuka keaiban perlu direka-cipta. Maka keluarlah video-vidoe lepas satu-satu. Maka dikarang dogeng-dogeng di dalam alam ICT yang bertujuan menjatuhkan maruah pihak yang tidak disokong. Sekiranya pembohongan itu didakwa di mahkamah, maka golongan yang trendy ini akan mengatakan pendakwaan itu adalah usaha jahat untuk menyekat kebebasan mereka untuk bersuara. (Sedangkan usaha mereka memburuk-burukkan orang itu dianggap usaha murni dan bertanggung-jawab).

Fashion sekarang ini bercorak 'bold & expressive', berwarna terang . Tidak macam dahulu-dahulu lagi, yang orang Melayu banyak berkias, orang Melayu pukul anak untuk sindir menantu. Sekarang ini kalau nak kata, katakan sahaja; soal benar salah, tepat atau tidak itu tidak penting. Yang penting boleh kata. Ada pula yang mudah mengata, mudah mengeritik tetapi tidak boleh menerima kata orang lain, tidak tahan dikritik. Corak yang 'bold and expressive' itu biasanya datang dalam bentuk simplistic tanpa keperincian faham bahkan kerap kasar dan dangkal.

Hal ini berlaku di antara penyokong parti yang bertentangan, dan ianya juga berlaku di kalangan penyokong-penyokong parti yang sama. Sebagaimana dalam fashion pakaian yang trendy, walaupun bertudung sesuai dengan tuntutan syara', tetapi masih berseluar ketat singkat dan berbaju t-shirt yang mendedahkan aurat; begitu jugalah dalam fashion politik kita sekarang ini. Walaupun bercakap berbahasa 'ana- anta', bercakap tentang menegakkan hukum agama, masih mengamalkan budaya politik kepartian yang 'main cakap-cakap mengikut selira' tanpa tanggung-jawab. Mengamalkan sikap manis di depan, mengutuk di belakang,. Apa lah lagi fashion politik yang terserlah di kalangan aktivis yang hanya setakat bercakap tentang pembangunan negara dan hiburan muda-mudi.

Yang fashion yang tradisional pula bercakap tentang hak-hak bangsa yang semakin terhakis, atau penekanan kepada pembentukan Negara Islam terutama hukum hudud. Tetapi kalau kita tanya secara serious apa programme baru yang mereka susun untuk mencapai agenda mereka, mereka masih menjawab secara teragak-agak dan begitu apologetik kadang-kalanya. Atau dalam bahasa mudah, fashionnya memang bergaya denganj warna-warna garang, bagaimanapun content barunya hampir tiada. Kasihan....

Kita akan terus bergaya mengikut gaya fashion yang dikira boleh menawan cinta pandang pertama, tak kiralah fashion skirt singkat yang latest dari Paris, gamish dari timur tengah atau kebaya cheomsang dari warisan kita. Janji boleh menyebabkan kita akan mendapat jelingan manja dari yang terserampak.... walaupun kita terpaksa berbelanja besar untuk terus relevant dengan fashion yang digilai ramai..... biarlah papa asalkan bergaya. Papa dari segi content dan programme tetapi rhetorik dan slogan kita mesti penuh gaya!

Kadang-kadang berdiri juga bulu roma kita membaca ingatan Rasulullah Sollallahu 'alaihi wasallam yang Allah tidak melihat rupa paras kita, tidak melihat kepada harta kita tetapi Allah melihat isi hati kita. Ingtan ini hampir memati angin kita untuk kekal trendy....

Isu Hudud: Tuntutan Agama atau Modal Politik?

2011-09-27T23:14:00.000-07:00

Tanpa pengecualian, semua orang beriman mahu menjalani kehidupan mereka berlandaskan suruhan Tuhan, menjauhi larangan Tuhan. Kita semua bercita-cita untuk patuh sepenuhnya kepada ketetapan Allah, serta sangat mengharap yang ketetapan itulah yang akan mengawal uruan batin kita, mengawal kehidupan peribadi kita, mengawal kehidupan berkeluarga kita, mengawal kehidupan bermasyarakat kita dan seterusnya. Kita akan berjaya untuk mengurus dan diurus secara yang dikehendaki Allah hanyalah kerana rahmat anugerah dari-Nya , apa yang kita sebut sebagai hidayah dan taufiq-Nya, bermula dari pengurusan dalaman kita; bagi mendapat keikhlasan dan lain-lain sifat hati yang terpuji sehingga kepada pengurusan bekerajaan dan urusan antara kerajaan termasuk peperangan. Subhanallah, Allah menganugerahkan kita hukum syara yang meliputi segala aspek kewujudan kita, soal aqidah, ibadah, muamalat, munakahat, jinayah dan tazkiyyatu an-nafs. Tiada yang tercicir.

Antara ketentuan syara yang Allah taklifkan ke atas kita ialah perlaksanaan hukum jenayah, ianya sebahagian daripada elemen yang sepatutnya terdapat dalam kerajaan dan negara Islam. Ianya bukan 'terasing' dari elemen-elemen Islam yang lain, bahkan ianya berhubung rapat tanpa terpisah dari elemen-elemen yang merupakan ciri-ciri pemerentahan Islam. Ianya juga mempunyai rukun, syarat, mani' (penghalangnya) sebagaimana perkara lain dalam feqah Islam. Sebagaimana sembahyang dan puasa serta lain-lain ibadat itu adalah kefarduan ke atas kita, Semua fardu ini mempunyai syarat wajibnya, syarat sahnya, rukunnya serta mani' -nya. Tetapi ianya bukan wajib 'aini di atas setiap orang Islam, ianya diwajibkan ke atas penguasa dan institusi yang berkaitan dengan pihak berkuasa.

Sembahyang walaupun ianya wajib, dan ianya ibadat yang membezakan antara iman dan kufur; ianya juga masih mempunyai syarat wajibnya umpama: syaratnya adalah berakal , baligh, Islam , suci dari haidh dan nifas, masuk waktu. Ianya juga mempunyai syarat sahnya: umpama suci dari hadath besar dan kecil, menutup aurat, menghadap qiblat, tidak bersentuh atau menanggung najis; selain ianya mempunyai rukun-rukunnya yang kita kenali sebagai rukun 13.

Katakan seorang itu mempunyai segala syarat wajib sembahyang, begitupun dia perlu terlebih dahulu mengangkat hadath, membersih diri dari najis, menutup aurat, menentukan arah qiblat dan mempelajari rukun-rukun sembahyang sebelum beliau menunnaikan sembahyang. Begitulah juga dengan ibadat dan ketentuan hukum syara' yang lainnya. Prerequisite -nya perlu dipenuhi, sehingga prerequisite itu turut menjadi wajib, kerana tanpanya, kefarduan itu tidak akan terlaksana.

Nah sekarang ini kita akui kewajiban melaksanakan hukum jenayah Islam tertanggung di atas pundak kita ummat Islam secara kolektif secara amnya, di atas pundak pihak yang berkuasa secara khususnya. Kita perlu mengakui kewajiban kita menyediakan pre-requisites bagi perlaksanaan hukum tersebut, Tidak memadai, sebagai contoh, bagi seorang ketua kerajaan untuk mendakwa yang kerajaan pimpinannya bersedia untuk melaksanakan hukum hudud, tetapi prerequisite untuk melaksanakan hukum tersebut tidak diperdulikan kecuali menyediakan enactment jenayah sejak 20 tahun yang lalu. Bagaimana mungkin akan sempurna perlaksanaan hukum tersebut untuk dilaksanakan dalam kerangka perundangan dan penguat-kuasaan yang ada sekarang ini, walaupun kita mendakwa kita punya enactment hukum jenayah syariah. Dakwaan sebegini mungkin menghampiri dakwaan pihak berkuasa di Masir pada peringkat awal pemerentahan Presiden Anwar Sadat , apabila kerajaan pimpinan beliau memasukkan perkara ke 2 dalam Perlembagaan Masir yang menyatakan bahawa sumber perundangan Masir berasaskan masdar syariat Islami (al-Quran dan as-Sunnah)

Rasulullah Sollallahu 'alaihi wasallam meninggalkan kita dengan contoh ikutan yang baik, Allah memerentah Rasul-Nya untuk mengisytiharkan :
قل هذه سبيلى أدعوا ألى ألله على بصيرة أنا ومن اتبعنى وشبحان الله وما انا من المشركين
Katakan ya Rasulullah : "Inilah Jalan (agama)ku, kami mendakwah kepada Allah atas basirah, aku serta pengikutku. Maha suci Allah, dan bukanlah aku daripada golongan musyrikin".

Rasulullah telah mendakwah penduduk Makkah kepada mentauhidkan Allah, membina akhlaq, menjayakan kehidupan ubudiyyah, bersikap prihatin kepada anggota masyarakat, sedia patuh kepada Allah dan Rasul-Nya selama 13 tahun lebih . Natijah daripada penghayatan perkara-perkara yang mulia dan utama ini yang sudah terpacak kukuh dalam dada-dada ummat, Allah membuka kepada mereka jalan untuk bertapak di Madinah. Di Madinahpun perkara-perkara yang mulia dan utama ini masih menjadi asas kepada dakwah Rasulullah , masih menjadi intipati kepada dakwah Rasulullah. Sehinggakan Allah menyifatkan ummat ini sebagai ummat yang terbaik kerana ciri-ciri iman, mennyuruh yang makruf dan mencegah yang munkar. Allah menyifatkan Rasululullah serta pengikutnya , yakni para sahabat adalah golongan yang tegas menghadapi orang kafir, berkasih-sayang sesama sendiri, terkesan pada wajah-wajah mereka tanda sujud kepatuhan mereka kepada Allah, seakan mereka adalah pohon yang akan mengeluarkan buah-buahan yang lebat pada ketika musimnya.

Allah menjanjikan mereka kerana keimanan mereka dan amal soleh mereka dengan kekalifahan di muka bumi, Allah gantikan ketakutan dan kebimbangan mereka dengan keamanan, Allah memperteguhkan kedudukan mereka sehingga mereka dapat menundukkan kuasa-kuasa besar di zaman mereka.

Mereka adalah sebaik-baik generasi, mereka disediakan oleh dakwah yang bawa oleh Rasulullah untuk menerima kebenaran dan kecenderungan mereka adalah untuk hidup di atas kebenaran. Maka dengan suasana yang sebegini apabila akhirnya turun ayat mengharamkan arak, mereka terus memecahkan tempayan-tempayan arak mereka. Apabila turun ayat untuk melabuhkan hijab perempuan, wanita-wanita mereka mencarikkan kain-kain untuk dibuat kain hijab. Secara umumnya, suasana masyarakat mereka cukup ranum untuk menerima sebarang perentah Allah dan Rasul-Nya.

Inilah dia Jalan Rasulullah dan pengikut baginda, walaupun ramai manusia yang tidak akan faham. Adapun penglibatan dalam jalan-jalan yang selain itu, bukanlah jalan yang ditunjukki oleh Rasulullah. Penglibtan kita dalam proses pilihanraya atau selainnya merupakan penglibatan kita dalam sistem non-Islami, kita sekadar menumpang sistem itu untuk melindungi dan mencari ruang untuk Jalan kita, yakni menjayakan kehidupan berdasarkan keimanan, amal soleh dan dakwah kepada Tauhid.

Agaknya bolehlah kita manafaatkan kisah yang terdapat di dalam sirah Rasululullah, yang mana baginda mendapat perlindungan dari institusi Arab jahiliyyah, iaitu institusi asabiyyah berdasarkan keturunan. Rasulullah dilindungi oleh Bani Hashim, walaupun mereka tidak menyetujui dakwah Rasulullah, mereka melindungi baginda kerana semangat asabiyyah kerana baginda adalah darah-daging mereka. Begitu juga Rasulullah ketika turun dari Taif telah dilindungi oleh seorang yang terkenal perkasa di kalangan ahli Makkah, bukan kerana dia beriman yang Rasulullah membawa kebenaran, tetapi itulah institusi masyarakat yang wujud ketika itu.

Tetapi janganlah pula kita terlalu asyik dengan tumpangan sementara kita, janganlah kita menghabiskan tumpuan dan tenaga di situ, janganlah kita menjadikan tumpangan sekunder itu sebagai manhaj dan matlamat utama kita. Yang akan membawa kita kepada rahmat kehidupan ditadbir oleh syara' bukanlah melalui jalan sekunder ini, tetapi mengikut Jalan yang ditunjukki oleh Rasulullah. Jalan dakwah dan Jalan menghayati kehidupan tauhid dan ubudiyyah. Semoga Allah memasukkan kita dalam golongan tersebut.

Kembali kepada perlaksanaan hukum jenayah Islami, sudah tentu ianya adalah tuntutan agama sebagaimana tuntutan-tuntutan agama yang lainnya. Ia tidak sepatutnya digunakan sebagai bahan politik, kerana agama itu mengatasi kepentingan politik. Ia tidak perlu digunakan untuk menyesatkan golongan lain, tetapi bukan pula untuk menyalahkan kita sendiri kerana gagal melaksanakannya. Kita tidak perlu bertanya kepada golongan non-muslim, kerana asasnya mereka tidakpun menerima usul agama iaitu beriman kepada kebenaran Islam, mana mungkin mereka menerima kebenaran furu'nya , yakni hukum jenayah. Sebagaimana kita tidak bertanya mereka tentang kewajaran sembahyang, puasa, zakat dan haji kita.

Atau mana mungkin sekiranya kita tidak melatih diri kita untuk patuh kepada maqasid as-syariah yang enam itu pada peringkat peribadi, menjaga kehormatan agama , jiwa, aqal, keturunan, maruah dan harta, kita akan mampu membina masyarakat yang akan menjayakan perlaksanaan hukum tersebut. Kita mungkin hanya mampu bercakap tentang perlaksanaan hukum Islam, kita persalahkan orang lain sedangkan kita tidak pula mendukungnya sepenuh jiwa raga kita.

Lihatlah dalam sistem yang non-Islami, apabila didakwahkan yang dadah itu terlalu buruk, dipanggil najis, masyarakatpun bersedia untuk menerima hukuman bunuh untuk pengedar dadah. Bagaimana kominis itu dianggap jahat dan mengancam, maka sesiapa yang dikaitkan dengan faham kominis ditahan tanpa bicara. Jadi adakah kita sudah dakwahkan keindahan dan keadilan syara Islam sehingga paling kurang ummah ini bersedia dan menunggu-nunggu untuk diurus berdasarkan syara? Atau kita sekadar menakut-nakut penyokong parti lawan agar tidak terus bersama parti mereka atau demi menghalang ahli kita dari meninggalkan parti kita.

Sikap mencemuh golongan lain kerana mereka tidak memperjuangkan hukum jenayah Islam serta mencanangkan yang golongan kita sendirilah yang wira dalam isu ini mungkin merupakan suatu keterlanjuran. Kita dituntut untuk berusaha agar kita diurus berdasarkan syara', agar masyarakat kita juga diurus berdasarkan syara', begitu juga kita tidak reda untuk diurus selain daripada hukum yang Allah sendiri meredainya; tetapi untuk menggunakan isu perlaksanaan hukum jenayah Islam untuk mencemuh orang lain adalah isu yang lain.

Allah mengajar kita agar kita mentauhidkan-Nya tanpa sebarang sekutu, kita isytiharkan permusuhan kepada sembahan-sembahan selain daripada Allah. Tetapi Allah melarang kita daripada mencemuh sembahan-sembahan golongan kafir, nantinya kerana cemuhan kita itu mereka akan bertindak-balas dengan mencemuh Allah tanpa ilmu. Penentangan kita kepada kesyirikan itu wajib diperkukuhkan sekukuh-kukuhnya, contohnya mercu tertinggi kesyirikan adalah kehadiran berhala. Kerana itulah kita tidak sekali-kali reda dengan kehadiran berhala-berhala di dalam di negeri kita, apa lagi kita tidak reda serta marah kepada pihak yang membenarkan wujudnya berhala-berhala besar di negeri kita sewenang-wenangnya . Tetapi kita tidak pula menyumpah seranah berhala-berhala tersebut walaupun kita memang membenci kehadiran berhala-berhala yang merupakan kemuncak mercu bagi segala maksiat, yakni mensyirikkan Allah.

Kembali kepada isu hukum jenayah Islam, kita tidak sepatutnya mengeluarkan kenyataan-kenyataan yang akan menimbul tindak-balas oleh golongan-golongan lain yang secara zahirnya akan merosakkan aqidah mereka tanpa mereka sedar atau akan memburukkan lagi keadaan. Apalagi timbul polemik yang disaluti rasa kebencian, tanpa pertimbangan ilmu dan kepentingan praktikal yang akan menguntungkan agama dan ummah. Bahkan polemik yang akan tambah menyerabutkan lagi suasana dan menimbulkan kesalah-fahaman yang semakin menebalkan terhadap hukum Islam itu sendiri. Sepatutnya ada hal-hal yang kita perlu 'let us do the talks' bukannya 'let us talk the do's'. Lisan al-hal afsahu min lisan al-maqal.

Tersangat penting untuk kita kembali merenung tafsiran ayat 108 Surah al-An'am. Marilah kita darah-dagingkan kebijaksanaannya dalam kehidupan kita. Semoga kita dianugerahi Allah dengan keikhlasan dalam hidup beragama dan jauhi Allah kiranya kita dari penyakit hati yang parah umpama hubbu ar-riasah (kegilaan untuk menjadi pemimpin) , hubbu al-jah (kegilaan untuk mendapat kemasyuhuran) dan hubbu ad-dunya. Ya Allah selamatkan kami, jauhilah kami dari azab. Amin

Kominis: Mat Indera, Mat Sabu, Tun Razak & TGNA

2011-09-27T16:07:00.000-07:00

Tulisan ini terlalu lambat untuk dicatit, kerana isu ini sudah sejuk daripada diperkatakan oleh anggota masyarakat. Ianya lambat kerana kesibukan otak saya baru-baru dengan beberapa tugasan yang perlu diselesaikan; umpama kata-kata "it is better late than never", saya catitkan juga apa yang menjadi perspektif saya dalam melihat isu ini.

1-Mat Indera memang seorang kominis, itu adalah suatu penilaian yang jelas apabila kita melihat catitan sejarah. Menidakkan Mat Indera sebagai kominis adalah suatu helah yang tidak berasas. Bukankah kita tahu yang Mat Indera mengikuti kursus anjuran Sekolah Marxist Malaya yang diselenggara oleh Alimin, pemimpin PKI dengan dibantu oleh beberapa tenaga tempatan?

Mat Indera memang seorang yang terdidik dalam pengajian Islam dan seorang yang menunaikan kewajiban ibadat dan amalan Islam yang lainnya. Dia adalah seorang kominis yang beragama. Dia seorang kominis dari segi faham politik dan ekonomi, seorang muslim dari segi pegangan Ketuhanan dan kehidupan beribadat. Ini adalah suatu yang bukan janggal pada masa itu.

Karl Marx adalah seorang kominis yang atheist, tetapi bukan semua kominis itu atheist. Dan bukan semua atheist itu kominis. Sebagaimana mana ada pejuang demokrasi yang atheist dan ada pejuang demokrasi yang beragama, begitu juga agaknya dengan kominisme. Di Negara China hingga sekarangpun ada pemimpin Parti Kominis China yang muslim, ada yang buddist , ada yang taoist dan lainnya. Kominis adalah sistem politik yang berasaskan teori ekonomi yang tertentu, sedangkan anutan agama dan rituals keagamaan mengisi ruang yang berasingan dari ruang itu.

Regimen ke 10 PKM adalah regimen Melayu, turut dianggotai oleh pejuang-pejuang nasionalis 'kiri' yang menentang 'penguasaan' bangsa-bangsa asing di Tanah Melayu, termasuk ketika itu mereka yang dari keturunan cina.

Siapa talibarut penjajah , siapa pula pengkhianat , siapa pula pengampu kuasa hanya ditentukan oleh perspektif pengkaji. Bagaimanapun kita perlu mencuba untuk memahami sesuatu perkembangan mengikut perspektif masa itu, bukan perspektif masa kita dan mengikut kepentingan kita sendiri.

Pada masa itu ianya tidak aib untuk seseorang aktivis mengaku memperjuangkan kominis sebagaimana tidak aibnya aktivis semasa mengaku memperjuangkan demokrasi . Faham dan amalan kominis serta faham dan amalan demokrasi serta faham sosialisme bukanlah dari ajaran agama kita, tetapi memang tidak sedikit dari kalangan ummah yang terpesona dengan faham-faham ini termasuklah golongan berpendidikan agama sehingga kepada tenaga pengajar di Universiti al-Azhar sendiri pada zaman awal Presiden Jamal Abd Nasser. Begitu juga memang ada di kalangan aktivis ummah yang mahu memanafaatkan ruang dalam sistem demokrasi di negara-negara yang mengamalkan sistem pilihanraya 'bebas' untuk memperjuangkan Islam; sebagaimana ada yang mahu memanafaatkan ruang dalam sistem kominisme di negara-negara yang mengamalkan sistem satu parti di negara kominis.

Mat Sabu memang pandai memancing isu yang mampu menjadi sensasi, kebolehan beliau ini mungkin menandingi kebolehan rakan semasa di ITM-nya dulu, iaitu Ibrahim Ali, sekarang pemimpin PERKASA. Ketepatan huraiannya tentang sesuatu isu itu tidak begitu mustahak, tetapi lontarannya itu telah mengakibatkan terbentuknya 'waves and ripples' yang berlanjutan. Isu ini dibahas oleh Prof sehingga ke kedai-kedai kopi, turut mendapat liputan meluas di media massa utama negara. Sedangkan isu yang lebih dasar dan yang lebih menyentuh kehidupan harian rakyatpun tidak mampu meninggalkan impact yang sedemikian. Sejarah Mat Sabu selama beliau terlibat dalm politik sangat berwarna-warni, dari warna yang gelap, samar sehingga warna yang terang cemerlang.

Perjuangan kominis sering kali dikaitkan dengan keganasan dan perjuangan dalam bentuk revolusi. Itu memang ada kebenarannya sebagaimana yang terdapat dalam pengalaman kita, tetapi keganasan bukan sinonim dengan faham kominis, bukankah kita memerhatikan keganasan yang berlaku di Iraq oleh pihak Amerika dilakukan atas nama demokrasi dan kebebasan manusia? Bukankah tahanan di Guatanamo telah dipersalah-lakukan oleh pihak Amerika atas nama kebebasan manusia sejagat? Bukankah revolusi juga telah dicetuskan oleh Khomeini, pemimpin agama aliran shiah?. Bukankah pula di Nepal dan beberapa negara lain parti Marxist menyertai pilihanraya secara amannya?

Ketika Tun Husein Onn megambil alih pimpinan negara berikutan kematian mengejut Tun Razak di London, beberapa orang kanan Tun Razak telah ditangkap kerana mereka adalah kominis. Itulah versi resmi kerajaan Malaysia. Mereka ditahan, mereka membuat pengakuan di dalam TV, dan semua ini dilakukan secara terang dan resmi oleh pihak kerajaan sendiri. Menteri Dalam Negeri ketika itu adalah Ghazali Syafi'ie. Gambarannya adalah Perdana Menteri Malaysia, Tun Razak telah dikelilingi secara sangat rapat dan intim oleh agen-agen kominis, hanya secara resminya Tun Razak sendiri tidak pernah dikatakan sebagai seorang kominis! (walaupun ada pihak yang menentang Tun Razak sanggup mengandaikan yang Tun terpengaruh dengan konsep ladang communal sebagaimana yang disarankan dalam tulisan Lenin ketika mewujudkan FELDA).

Dato Tuan Guru Nik Abdul Aziz (TGNA) sebelum pilihanraya pada akhir 1990'an telah menolak cadangan Keadilan untuk meletakkan Dr.Syed Husein Ali sebagai calun bagi parlimen Kota Bharu dengan alasan Dr.Syed Husein adalah seorang yang berfahaman sosialis, yang disifatkan oleh TGNA sebagai 'adik sedikit pada kominis'. Sekalipun benar Dr.Syed Husein Ali mempunyai faham sosialisme, tetapi tidak pernah kita ketahui beliau menyeru kepada keganasan dan perjuangan senjata. Kita dengar yang kebebasan beliau dicerobohi dengan ditahan dibawah Akta ISA.

Kita hanya menanti sikap 'istiqamah' dari TGNA dalam isu kenyatanan Mat Sabu tentang Mat Indera... Atau TGNA sudah ada pandangannya yang baru tentang pendukung faham-faham 'kiri'?

Apakah Kita Ada Pilihan Menentukan Arah Perubahan?

2011-08-31T16:17:00.000-07:00

Dark threat to the revolution

Extremist Islam is rearing its head, seeking to create Kabul in Cairo, and to impose a vision on the people’s revolution

Abdel Moneim Said , Tuesday 23 Aug 2011

The entire region is giving up new secrets every day. The Arab region, and perhaps the entire Middle East, has become like an onion whereby every layer you peel off reveals another and so on, until you reach an enigma at the centre that you cannot solve as your eyes well with tears out of fear and desperation over an unknown future.
The truth that overshadows us is the first layer of Arab revolutions that the Western media has coined the “Arab Spring”, even though they all took place in winter and did not bloom into flowers or a pleasant breeze but sandstorms. Martyrs fell along with the regimes, while others still await the outcome of intense battles; foreign interference is present, and the second layer comes thick with signs of division and strife that some loath to awaken. But they have stirred and have become reality and are quickly taking us to an unknown destination.
The dilemma now —and perhaps this is the third layer —is what is acceptable of revolutions born from the wombs of regimes that were unable to adapt or progress in a timely fashion and remained stagnant too long. It reveals a fear of what was omnipresent, namely in the belly of healthy young benign democratic revolutions there is a cancer that some of us portray as a “terror” manipulated by previous regimes to extend their existence and corruption, while others thought it had left us to other countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and the land of the Great Satan.
But the cancer has arrived here, in Sinai, on the border between Egypt and each of Palestine and Israel. For the first time since signing the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, heavy Egyptian forces were needed to uncover jihadist groups that view the state, ruler and officials as heretics and that fighting this status quo is a form of jihad. The banner of these groups is a “black flag” with the following phrase printed in the centre of a circle: “There is no God but God”. This abrogates the country’s law and order and seeks revenge on anyone who works for the state.
Some of these flags were spotted in Cairo during what became known as Kandahar Friday, when Islamic groups occupied Tahrir Square on 29 July during a million-strong protest in a show of strength and heavy presence on the street. What is peculiar is that some of those arrested in Sinai are members of groups that were previously arrested and were “set free” during the revolution by other groups —perhaps ones that raised the black banner in the heart of Cairo.
What is occurring in Sinai, such as blowing up gas pipelines and terminalsto Israel, Jordan and Syria, and finally the police station at Al-Areesh —even the declaration of an Islamic emirate in Sinai —are not part of the Egyptian revolution but are found in all Arab revolutions. While nationalistic and revolutionary forces battle to overthrow one of the most tyrannical, unjust, random and unsuccessful Arab regimes, namely Muammar Gaddafi’s in Libya, the Black Curse group assassinated one of the leaders of the revolution, Major General Abdel-Fattah Younes, in order to be rid of a stubborn enemy who would have played a major role after the success of the revolution.
The Black Threat has crept from underneath various Arab revolutions, which were no doubt necessary, to steer them in an opposite direction that is pitch dark with fanaticism, ignorance, extremism and domination. The signs are very clear in Egypt, as it attempts to reach national consensus on a constitutional format during the interim to safeguard the country’s civic nature, while at the same time maintain one of the main covenants for religious groups, namely “the principles of Islamic Sharia are the main source for legislation”, while also protecting the religious rights of other faiths.
This format has been accepted by the majority of political groups and movements in Egypt. It has appeared in several documents, one of which was released by Al-Azhar, as well as others issued by individuals, political parties and alliances. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) intends to combine them into one “instructional” document for those who will draft the new constitution.
But the supporters of the Black Threat have reared their heads to undermine this consensus by insisting that the document includes a text that “Egypt is an Islamic not secular state,” which has never appeared in other constitutions since they essentially confirm the identity of the state and not deny what it is not. As long as it states that the “religion of the state is Islam” then what is the reason of adding a text that states it is an Islamic state? Moreover, adding that “the rulings of Islamic Sharia are the primary source of legislation” instead of the phrase “the overall principles of Sharia are the primary source of legislation,” as stated in Al-Azhar’s document.
The Black Threat is interfering and amending the religious fundamentals of a document prepared by Al-Azhar, one of the most prominent pillars of Islamic education in the world. This is based in extremism and domination that is rooted in a history of violence, terrorism and a view of the revolution that its path is to create another Afghanistan —not in Kabul this time, but in the heart of Cairo.
The danger is clear and present and takes many shapes, whether through violence, or speech on television, or interference in constitutional conferences. Strangely, Arab revolutions rose against regimes that aged in power, as was declared in Egypt once, and proposed an alternative to terrorism that struck several Arab states during the past three decades but failed despite violent tactics to change regimes in any of these countries. These aged regimes are now gone for good, and only “remnants” are left, as the saying goes in Egypt —essentially the remainders of a defeated army.
Meanwhile, terrorist groups under any name, whether Islamic, jihadist, Salafi, or calling the other infidel, have infiltrated the various revolutions and begun to impose their doctrines, philosophies and outlook on the future. Some were hasty, as was the case in Sinai, to force the state —Egypt in this case —to sever a dear part of the country to establish whatever they please in the form of an emirate, similar to what occurred in other emirates.
A final point, which may require further discussion, is that the death of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan has perhaps revived the Black Threat in our region, in a violent and determined way that we have not witnessed before.

Catitan Sut:

Pandangan di atas adalah pandangan seorang penulis yang bimbangkan kebangkitan Islam yang garang di negara Arab, Islam yang akan memaksa ke atas rakyat dan negara dengan belbagai tekanan atas nama tuntutan agama. Hal ini merupakan impian bagi sebahagian daripada ummah kita, dan merupakan igauan yang menghantui sebahagian yang lain.

Di sebalik itu, perubahan lanskap politik yang begitu lama bertapak di negara-negara Arab juga membimbangkan golongan Islam itu sendiri. Misalnya di Masir, perubahan ini telah membuka jendela bagi golongan liberal-sekular untuk mencadangkan agar perkara 2 dalam Perlembagaan Masir yakni Syari'at adalah masdar (sumber) perundangan bagi negara Masir perlu digugurkan, atas nama ianya adalah suatu bentuk diskriminasi ke atas golongan minoriti non-muslim.

Di Masir yang merupakan negara induk bagi gerakan Political Islam yang tersusun & terancang seumpama Ikhwan al-Muslimin, belum lagi tentu yang Ikhwan akan mendapat manafaat yang maksima daripada perubahan lanskap ini. Mungkin sahaja pihak-pihak lain yang akan meraih manafaat untuk mengarap kuasa dan melebarkan pengaruh.

Sebahagian ummah dulu merasa lega dengan terpinggirnya sultan-sultan Uthmaniyyah yang lemah dan korup , diganti dengan pemimpin tentera yang berkaliber, yang mereka gelarkan tokoh ini sebagai Mustafa Kamal al-Ghazi, kemudian mereka menyedari yang pimpinan sultan yang lemah dan korup rupa-rupa ditukar dengan pemimpin yang memerangi agama.

Jatuhnya Saddam Husein yang ganas dan keras ke atas musuh-musuh politiknya digantikan dengan kerajaan boneka amerika yang tidak dapat berbuat apa-apa ketika rakyat biasa mati terbunuh saban hari di pasar dan di masjid, perbalahan antara puak berasaskan keturunan dan faham agama semakin meruncing. Sedangkan mereka dulunya dijanjikan dengan syurgawi demokrasi yang makmur dan adil.

Sukarnya untuk kita bersikap seumpama Badiuzzaman Said Nursi yang berdiri teguh dan berani menentang usaha-usaha kerajaan Turki yang memerangi agama tetapi berlepas diri dari menentang kekuasaan kerajaan itu sendiri. Perbezaan menentang usaha jahat pihak berkuasa dengan mementang kekuasaan sesebuah kerajaan itu terlalu seni untuk kita sebagai orang awam bezakan. Badiuzzaman tidak pernah didakwa atau dipenjara kerana tuduhan cuba mengguling kerajaan tetapi belaiu didakwa dan dipenjara kerana melanggar peraturan dan dasar kerajaan tersebut. Beliau tidak pernah dilihat sebagai ulama kerajaan, pada masa yang sama bukan pula ulama yang dituduh meruntuhkan pemerentahan.

Seakan-akan orang-orang agama rata-rata dilihat semada sebagai penyokong kerajaan atau penyokong pembangkang; yang menyokong kerajaan akan terus menerus mengeritik pembangkang tanpa menyebut kemungkaran yang ketara di pihak pemerentah. Yang menyokong pembangkang akan terus menerus mengeritik kerajaan tanpa menyebut kemungkaran yang ketara di pihak pembangkang. Takwilan untuk membenarkan pendirian pihak yang disokong oleh masing-masing dibuat secara berterusan, huraian memburuk pihak yang ditentang juga dibuat secara berterusan. Mereka dirabunkan daripada melihat kelemahan sendiri serta dijulingkan dari melihat kebenaran pihak yang ditentang.....

Saya teringat pelajaran yang pernah disebut oleh almarhum guru saya yang dikasihi, dia menyebut tentang kepentingan menggunakan istilah yang sesuai dan mengelak daripada penggunaan istilah yang mengundang penolakan, apabila kedua-dua istilah itu mambawa maksud yang sama. Contohnya dia sendiri dalam khutbahnya menggunakan ungkapan perkara-perkara yang merosakkan iman yang baginya semakna dengan perkara-perkara yang membawa kemurtadan. Dia juga memberitahu yang ada seorang ulama (kalaulah tidak silap ingatan saya, sultan al-'ulama Imam 'Izuddin Bin abd as-Salam) yang membaca doa di dalam khutbahnya agar Allah menjadikan pemimpin daripada orang yang terbaik di kalangan mereka, apabila sultan ketika itu mendengar perkara tersebut , baginda telah menangkap Imam 'Izuddin. Komen guru saya itu "tidaklah perlu kita berdoa agar dijatuhkan pemerentah yang zalim dan buruk, dengan berdoa agar pemimpin kita dijadikan daripada golongan yang terbaik di kalangan kita, maka pemerentah yang zalim dan buruk akan jatuh dengan sendirinya". dan itulah menyebabkan Sultan di zaman Imam 'Izuddin telah menangkap Imam tersebut kerana baginda insaf akan natijah doanya yang sebegitu.

Kita tidak dapat menahan perubahan, kerana perubahan sudah menjadi suatu lumrah masyarakat pada zaman kita ini. Perubahan berlaku dalam bidang sains dan teknologi, perubahan berlaku dalam bidang penyampaian maklumat, perubahan berlaku dalam struktur ekonomi dan politik. (Semoga Allah menyelamatkan kita daripada perubahan fahaman dan amalan agama yang terubah daripada pertunjuk Allah dan Rasul-Nya). Perubahan berlaku dalam bidang ketenteraan dan peperangan. Hinggakan slogan yang memenangkan Barrack Obama dalam pertandingan presiden Amerika juga ialah janji perubahan. Menjadi suatu tuntutan kepada pihak yang terlibat untuk menguasai ilmu dan kemahiran untuk mengurus perubahan (Change management), tanpa membiarkan perubahan yang akan menguasai dan mengenderai kita, bukannya kita yang menguasai dan mengenderai perubahan.

Ya Allah, Tuhan yang merubah-rubahkan hati manusia, tetapkan hati-hati kami atas agama-Mu. Ya Allah, pada hari yang bergonyangnya bumi dengan goncangan yang dahsyat, Engkau tetapkan pendirian kami dan tolongilah kami....

Apabila Sistem Kehakiman Rapuh: Di Mana Keadilannya?

2011-08-22T21:42:00.000-07:00

Saya tidak mengetahui apa yang sebenarnya berlaku, saya juga tidak tahu sejauh mana kebenaran pihak yang mendakwa mahupun kebenaran pihak yang membela DSAI. Tetapi saya beriman yang Allah Maha Mengetahui, Maha Berkuasa dan Maha Pemutus. Saya beriman yang banyak perkara di dalam hidupan dunia yang kebenarannya bersifat nisbi; kecuali kebenaran mutlak yang menyelamatkan , ianya berpunca dari perkhabaran Allah dan Rasul-Nya.

Bagaimanapun ketika membaca al-Quran dalam usaha mengkhatam al-Quran dalam bulan Ramadan yang mulia ini pada minggu yang telah berlalu, ayat ke 71 Surah Yunus terlekat di ingatan saya sehingga kini, ketika membacanya saya terlintas "apakah terdapat persamaan antara message terkandung di dalam ayat ini dengan keadaan yang dihadapi oleh DSAI?" - "Apakah sehinggakan perkara semasa sebeginipun, begitu jelas persamaannya dengan message di dalam al-Quran?" - "Atau kerana kecenderungan tertentu, maka saya pun sengaja mahu melihat dari sudut yang melegakan lantas mengiyakan perhitungan saya?" -

واتل عليهم نبأ نوح أذ قال لقومه ياقوم أن كبر عليكم مقامى وتذكيرى بئايات الله فعلى الله توكلت فأجمعوا أمركم وشركاءكم ثم لا يكن أمركم غمة ثم اقضوا ألى ولا تنظرون

"Dan bacalah (ya Muhammad) ke atas mereka (kaum kafir Makkah) berita tentang Nuh. Ketika dia berkata kepada kaumnya: "wahai kaumku, jikalaulah menjadi keberatan (ancaman) besar ke atas kamu dengan kehadiran (kedudukan) aku (di kalangan kamu) serta peringatan yang aku beri dari ayat-ayat Allah, maka kepada Allah lah aku bertawakkal. Maka (oleh itu) sepakatkan keputusan di kalangan kamu serta sekutu-sekutu kamu (untuk memusnahkan aku), kemudian janganlah jadikan perkara kamu itu kabur (terselindung; berterus terang sahaja lah tentang tujuan kamu ), kemudian laksanakan atas aku (apa-apa yang telah kamu putuskan itu) dan jangan kamu bertanggung-tangguh lagi".

Perkara yang sama juga telah dinyatakan oleh tukang-tukang seher di zaman Saiyyidina Musa, apabila mereka sudah tahu maksud perbicaraan yang mereka akan lalui, ugutan siksaan yang dikenakan atas mereka oleh Firaun. Mereka mengungkapkan dengan penuh keimanan dan ketegasan, kenyataan itu telah diabadikan oleh al-Quran dalam ayat 71-72 Surah Taha :

قالوا لن نؤثرك على ما جاءنا من البينات والذى فطرنا فاقض ما أنت قاض أنما تقىضى هذه الحيوة الدنيا أنا ءامنا بربنا ليغفر لنا خطايانا وما أكرهتنا عليه من السحر والله خير وأبقى

Mereka (tukang-tukang sihir yang kemudiannya telah memeluk Islam ) berkata: Kami sekali-kali tidak akan melebihkan (ugutan) engkau atas bukti-bukti yang nyata (tentang kebenaran Saiyyidina Musa) yang telah datang kepada kami dan daripada (Allah) yang menjadikan kami; maka berhukumlah dengan keputusan yang telah engkau putuskan, sesungguhnya engkau hanya berhukum pada kehidupan di dunia ini (sahaja; kerana kelak kamu juga akan menerima hukuman) . Sesungguhnya kami telah beriman kepada Tuhan kami, semoga Dia mengampuni kami bagi kesalahan-kesalahan kami dan apa yang engkau paksa ke atas kami dalam melakukan sihir, sesungguhynya Allah lebih baik (balasan -Nya) dan lebih kekal (siksaan-Nya)

Allah juga merakamkan kenyataan Saiyyidina Hud yang dimusuhi oleh orang kafir kerana mereka mengatakan baginda menghina sembahan-sembahan mereka, Saiyyidina Hud menyatakan dalam ayat 55-56 Surah Hud:

قال أنى أشهد الله واشهدوا أنى برىء مما تشركون من دونه فكيدونى جميعا ثم لا تنظرون أنى توكلتو على الله ربى وربكم ما من دابة ألا هو ءاخذ بناصيتها أن ربى على صراط مستقم

Saiyyidina Hud berkata: "sesungguhnya aku bersaksi kepada Allah dan bersaksilah oleh kamu sekelian bahawa sesungguhnya aku berlepas diri dari apa yang kamu syirikkan selain daripada-Nya, oleh itu laksanakan tipu daya sekelian kamu ke atas aku, janganlah kamu bertangguh lagi (laksanakan segera perancangan kamu), sesungguhnya aku telah bertawakkal kepada Allah Tuhanku dan Tuhan sekelian kamu, Tiada suatu binatangpun yang melata kecuali Allah yang memegang ubun-ubunnya, sesungguhnya Tuhanku di atas Jalan Yang Lurus.

Dalam rakaman kenyataan-kenyataan di atas , kita dapat perhatikan gambaran menyeluruh tentang suasana apabila sistem kehakiman (pemutus hukum) tidak lagi bersikap objektif; sudah ada hukuman yang telah sedia dirancang untuk dihukum tanpa mengira kekuatan hujjah bagi pihak yang dituduh. Kemungkinan juga pihak penguat-kuasa peraturan dan beberapa pihak lain bersekutu dan berserongkol dalam menentukan yang dituduh akan tetap dihukum dengan hukuman yang telah diputuskan sebelum perbicaraan. Maka ketika itu apa lagi maknanya penghujjahan dan segala pembuktian, kerana hukuman bukan lagi bergantung atas hujjah tetapi mengikut pihak yang berkuasa.

Dalam keadaan itulah Rasul dan orang yang teguh imannya meminta pihak yang sedemikian agar tidak bertangguh-tangguh lagi, berselindung di sebalik 'procedures', bahkan segerakanlah laksanakan hukuman yang mereka telah rancangkan itu. Mereka tidak merasa terancam kerana mereka telah sandarkan keyakinan mereka yang utuh kepada Allah. Mereka melihat hukuman yang akan dikenakan ke atas mereka oleh pihak penguasa yang zalim itu tiada tara berbanding dengan ganjaran pahala menegakkan Tauhid, kebenaran serta memperteguhkan kesabaran serta siksaan kerana kesyirikan, kemaksiatan dan kezaliman. Kalau tidakapun apa lagi ada pilihannya?

Ya Allah selamatkan kami dari bala yang dahsyat seumpama ini, atau sekiranya kami ditakdirkan menghadapinya maka Engkau perteguhkan iman kami, Engkau tinggatkan tawakkal kami kepada Engkau serta Engkau tariklah ubun-ubun kami ke arah keselamatan.

Ya Allah selamatkan pihak penguasa kami, tanahair kami dari bencana seumpama ini, Ya Allah suburkan keimanan, kebajikan dn keadilan di tanahair kami serta Engkau peliharalah penguasa kami daripada melakukan kezaliman dan kemaksiatan kepada Engkau. Y a Allah jadikan kami hidup mengikut Syariat Engkau dan di atas Sunnah Nabi-Mu, Saiyyidina Muhammad.

* Semoga saya masih memelihara pesan guru-guru saya agar mengelak diri dari menceburi politik, semoga catitan ini akan membawa manafaat kepada saya dan saudara-saudara seagama tanpa prejudice politik kepartian. Amin

Syria: Luka Lama Yang Berdarah Semula

2011-08-16T23:34:00.000-07:00

Towards a Sectarian War in Syria?

10 August 2011, Wednesday / OYTUN ORHAN, ORSAM

The operation, which was carried out by the Syrian army on July 31st in Hama, brought the questions “why now” and “why Hama” to agenda. The first possibility about timing is the fact that it is related to the month of Ramadan. As there is no any organized opposition in Syria, the only place where people could come together and talk to each other are mosques.

The mosques offer people the possibility of organizing, and enable them to be mobilized by adding an emotional dimension to the event. As throughout the Middle East, in Syria as well, the civil commotions mostly take place on Fridays. The crowd of people, who come together only during the Friday prayer, will have the opportunity of organizing anti-regime demonstrations during the month of Ramadan. This detection may have directed the Syrian administration to weaken the protest movement, right before the month of Ramadan.

As for the answer of the “Why Hama?” question; it is related to the sectarian conflicts, which create a part of the protest in Syria. Since the date, when Syria gained her independence, the Muslim Brotherhood has been one of the major actors in the Syrian political life. The pressures on the Muslim Brotherhood have become intense after the Ba'ath Party's coming into power in 1963, and they have had a problematic relationship with the Ba'ath administration, which they define as the “apostate regime”. The society of Muslim Brotherhood made an attempt to make an armed revolution in Hama in 1964, which is the following year of Ba'ath's coming into power. However, this attempt was squashed by the administration. The Muslim Brotherhood, which was reorganized, continued their struggle during 1970's. During these years, the Nusayri (Arab Alawite) originated soldiers, who worked in security units, were assassinated. Upon the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood seized a military guardhouse in the province of Hama in 1982, the administration responded in a harsh way and the bloody events known as the “Hama massacre” took place. As the regime, which sent the army to the province, killed about 30.000 people, most of whom were the members of the Muslim Brotherhood; the organization fell from power to a large extent. Therefore, historically, the province of Hama has become the epicenter of the Sunni majority reaction against the regime that is under the control of the Nusayris (Arab Alawites). For the very reason, after the most recent Hama operation, “the Alawite elites in the leadership of the Assad family launched the sectarian war against the Sunnis, and the province of Hama was one of the largest Sunni fortresses,” stated the leadership of Muslim Brotherhood, which is in exile.

The sectarian dimension is one of the important factors of the civil commotion, which took place in Syria. Neverthless, of course, it is not the only and the most important factor. Looking at the protester groups, it is seen that, seculars, liberals, the Arab tribes and even people from the minority groups such as; Nusayri, Druze, and Christians are also found in these groups. Therefore, it is possible to state that the regime has lost its legitimacy in many various sectarian, social, and economic groups. However, the sectarian dimension, especially the Sunni-Nusayri conflict is one of the major factors. The Syrian administration may be trying to reduce the civil commotion to only the sectarian level, by attacking to the provinces such as Hama, Deir ez Zor, Daraa, where the Sunni nature dominates. It does not come to mean that a nonexistent sectarian conflict was created. However, the regime may be trying to provoke an existing conflict. Because, in the current situation, the Assad regime could think that it could rebuild its lost legitimacy over security and force by creating a sectarian conflict. The fact that the problem is reduced to “Sunni majority's effort to take control of the power”, would prevent getting the support of other social parts, which hesitates the “Sunni Arab dominance”; and also it would prevent the civil commotion's spreading all over the country and the social segments. Thus, it would be able to achieve winning the groups such as liberals, seculars, and the minorities, who support the revolution movement, over.

In the future of the Syrian regime, the attitude of the middle and upper class in Damascus and Aleppo would be one of the determinants. Neither in Damascus nor in Aleppo, which are the largest cities of the country, any protest demonstration that could threat the regime has not been carried out yet. Roughly, it could have two possible reasons: The first reason is the fact that the Assad regime's legitimacy is relatively stronger among the urbanized, educated, secular middle and upper class. And the second is that the security controls are extremely high in these cities. The news, which claim that the military and the other security units make their presence felt in these cities more than ever, increase this possibility. Until a movement takes place in these two cities, the change of regime does not seem to be possible. Therefore, the attitude of the Sunni Arab upper class, which is in search of stability, and which has a relationship based on self-interest with the regime, is of great importance. If this segment of society starts to believe instability lies on regime's keeping on being in power rather than its breakdown, their attitudes could change.

One of the factors enabling Syria to behave freely is the fact that an international intervention in Syria is a very low possibility because of several reasons. First of all, almost all of the Syrian people and the opponents are against the international intervention. “The explicit refusal of the external military intervention” article takes place in all of the final declarations, which were published during the Syrian opponent conferences held in Turkey. It is believed that the international intervention will drag the country to a more severe chaos environment. In this sense, the Libyan intervention sets a negative example for the Syrians. In addition to this, the international community has severe hesitations related to the intervention. The Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen indicated that they carried out an operation based on the UN's open protection in Libya, that they received the support of the countries in the region, and that these two conditions were not created in Syria. Difficulties have been gone through even on issuing a denouncement decision on Syria in the UN Security Council. Although Russia and China criticize the Syrian administration because of its actions in Hama, they are not even open up to the denouncement decision with the concern of the possibility that it could lead to an international intervention. The chance of success of a military operation, which is not based on the UN's protection, is known to be weak. In fact, it can be said that the method the Syrian regime resorted to while squashing the civil commotions, and the level that the events attained are not different from the Libya example, and in this sense it can be said that the conditions of the intervention were created. Nevertheless, the factor forcing Rasmussen to make such a statement is related to the political facts. Considering the assessments such as; the consequences of the intervention in Syria would have severe influences on the region, the chance of success of the intervention is weak, the post-Assad period cannot be estimated and that they cannot see a substitute strong, organized opposition; the intervention is not leaned toward. For the very reason, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs William Hague indicates that, We should concentrate on alternative ways in order to affect the Assad regime and to repair the situation in Syria.” Therefore, the only choice for the West to follow is to increase the international pressure on the regime, and to try to improve the profile of the opposition. In this direction, the European Union expands the sanctions towards the Assad government. Related to the military operations in Hama, the assets of 5 authorities in the EU were frozen, and ban on leaving the country was introduced. However, it is obvious that these steps do not mean a lot for the Assad administration, which has encountered problem of the survival of the regime. Thus, having a result in a short-term is not possible. It's only a sign pointing out that the sanctions will gradually get tougher.

The Syrian administration, which think that it will not have difficulty because of the listed factors, would continue to squash the demonstrations with force. The reform steps, which are possible to create solutions before the demonstrations take place and the administration resorts to arms against its own people, would not create any solution as from this point. Therefore, in the following process, the spread of the instability in Syria to a long process could be expected. The following stage may be the Syrian civil commotion's attaining to an armed level. And this would come to mean that a further bloody process will start in Syria, which has been dragged almost into a sectarian war. Although it has not been confirmed yet, in northern Syria, in a region that is close to the Turkish border, the presence of an armed settlement under the name of “Free Syrian Army”, which was created by certain officers escaping from the army, is mentioned. As a result of the increasing number of escapes from the army, the opposition's increasingly being more organized with every passing day, and the external support to the armed and political opposition groups, Syria may go through a long process with the prevalence of instability in the country.

»» Oytun Orhan, ORSAM Middle East Researcher, oytunorhan@orsam.org.tr

Catitan Sut

Bandar Hama dan Halab adalah dua bandar yang telah musnah teruk akibat serangan tentera pada tahun 1980'an. Kedua bandar ini dikepung ketika musim sejuk dan dibedil dengan dahsyatnya. Banyak kematian di pihak orang awam dan pejuang Ikhwan al-Muslimun di dua bandar ini. Kedua bandar ini merupakan bandar yang banyak melahirkan para ulama zaman berzaman.

Ironi-nya politik negara arab, tampuk kuasa politik dan ketenteraan Syria dikuasai dengan ketatnya oleh puak minoriti, Syiah Nusairi. Mereka asalnya penduduk pergunungan yang tidak sangat terdedah kepada pelajaran dan kemajuan, tetapi tokoh-tokoh dari kalangan merekalah yang memang sedang berkuasa sepenuhnya di Syria.

Syria sebuah negara di tanah purba, yang mana majoriti rakyatnya adalah pengikut ahli as-sunnah, bahkan ianya adalah bumi yang subur melahirkan ulama yang terbilang dari dulu sehingga sekarang. Kalau dalam lipatan sejarah kita akan sebut dengan penuh kekaguman dan takzim kepada nama-nama besar umpama Imam Ibn Kathir, Imam Zahabi, Imam Ibn Taimiyyah, Imam Abdul Ghani an-Nablusi, Imam Ibn Arsalan, Imam Ibnu Qayyim, Imam Ibnu Asakir, Imam Ibn Rajab. Kita layak menziarahi perkuburan para sahabat Rasulullah di sini, umpama Saiyyidina Bilal, Saiyyidina Abu Darda, Saiyyidina Khalid al-Walid, Saiyyidina Abu Hurairah, juga kubur tokoh yang wafatnya di sini umpama Imam Ibn Arabi, Sultan Salahuddin al-Ayubbi dan deretan nama-nama besar dalam sejarah ummah.

Sementara di zaman ini kita akan sebut Syaikh Abdul Fatah Abu Ghuddah, Syaikh Said Hawwa, masyaikh dari keluarga Zuhaili, keluarga Said Ramadan al-Bouti, keluarga Syaikh Soleh al-Farfour, Syaikh Mustafa Siba'ie, Syaikh Abudullah Nasih al-Ulwan, Syaikh Syaikh Muhammad al-Yaakubi, Syaikh Ali as-Sabouni, para ulama kerohanian, para qurra al-Quran dan lain-lain tokoh yang begitu banyak.

Bagaimana kita dapat mengerti tanah yang begitu subur melahirkan para ulama tetapi telah dikuasai oleh golongan minoriti Nusairi? Tiadalah Allah menentukan sesuatu dengan sia-sia, Subhanallah.

Kita juga mengetahui sikap ulama Syria terbagai kepada dua; satunya golongan yang menentang penguasaan golongan minoriti Nusairi, kebanyakan mereka terusir dari tanahair mereka atau diancam oleh pihak berkuasa. Sementara satu lagi tidak mahu mencampuri urusan politik; mereka mahu menyampaikan ajaran agama kepada ummah dan mentazkiyyahkan jiwa ummah. Mereka mahu berada mengatasi kemelut kuasa. Untuk berada di kedua-dua pendirian ini adalah sesuatu yang sangat mencabar. Apabila dizahirkan penentangan kepada pihak minoriti yang berkuasa maka perlu bersiaplah untuk menerima ancaman dari kerajaan, dan apabila dinyahkan pertimbangan politik kekuasaan, maka sebahagian rakyat menganggap ulama tersebut sebagai ulama kerajaan yang telah makan kenyang di tangan pihak berkuasa.

Kita menantikan negeri Shams yang aman, yang akan menjadi tempat perlindungan kepada sebahagaian ummah dari kawasan lain yang berdepan dengan kekacauan, negeri Shams yang akan menyambut turunnya Saiyyidina Isa kemudiannya memerangi Dajjal.

Negeri Shams akan kekal sebagai lubuk ilmu ahlu as-Sunnah, Insyaallah. Dari ulamanya kita memanafaatkan pencarian kita dalam memahami ajaran Islam. Tidak hairanlah kenapa Iran, negara Syiah, yang beriya-iya benar menyokong kebangkitan rakyat di Tunisia, di Masir, di Bahrain tetapi berdiam dalam memerhati rakyat Hama dan bahagian lain di Syria disembelih saban hari. Tiada kepentingan agaknya bagi mereka untuk melihat golongan majoriti ahli sunnah menguasai politik bumi Syria, apa lagi melihat golongan agama dari kalangan ahli sunnah untuk berkuasa.....

Orang Agama & Pejuang Bangsa Bercakap Ikut Terlepas?

2011-08-11T16:26:00.000-07:00

Apabila berita 'serbuan' JAIS ke gereja Methodist di Damansara mula kencang diperkatakan, kita dapati akhbar Melayu , terutamanya Utusan Malaysia telah mensensasikan berita tersebut yang dilihat sebagai propaganda politik untuk menarik sokongan kepada agenda mereka. Seakan-akan Utusan sangat prihatin untuk menjaga kemurnian ajaran dan amalan Islam serta kepentingan Melayu. Demi menjaga kemurnian ajaran dan amalan Islam serta kepentingan Melayu itu , maka ummah secara tersurat dan tersirat tiada mempunyai pilihan kecuali mempertahankan sokongan mereka kepada UMNO.

Sebaliknya ada pula pemimpin PAS yang mengatakan 'serbuan' tersebut adalah agenda UMNO untuk menutup beberapa isu hangat politik semasa. Pemimpin PAS yang paling tertonjol agaknya adalah YB Khalid Samad, Ustaz Idris Ahmad tidak begitu diberi perhatian. Bahkan YB Khalid Samad menulis di dalam blog-nya mengulas isu serbuan ini dari angle yang agak menarik. YB Dato Hassan Ali pula mempertahankan JAIS dan rela dikenakan apa-apa tindakan dari kerajaan negeri dan partinya sendiri.

Kita juga membaca kenyatan NGOs yang menyokong JAIS dan juga kenyataan Dr. Asri Zainal Abidin yang mempersoalkan tindakan JAIS di dalam Malaysiakini kemudian di petik oleh beberapa blog. Seperti biasa MAZA memang mahir menunggangi arus populariti, dia adalah seorang selebiriti agama bagi sebahagian ahli masyarakat kita termasuk dalam isu ini.

Sebelum kita memperkatakan sudut pandang kita ke dalam isu ini, kita perlu menentukan beberapa tanggapan asas:
1-Adakah JAIS bertindak luar bidang kuasanya dan melanggar peraturan yang sediada?
2-Atau adakah tindakan JAIS itu merugikan Islam dan Ummah, terutamanya ianya adalah tindakan yang tidak syar'ie?
3-Adakah benar majlis tersebut mengandungi unsur-unsur dakyah untuk menarik orang Melayu kepada ajaran kristian di dalam majlis tersebut?
4-Adakah benar terdapat unsur-unsur amalan (rituals)keagamaan semada kristian atau campur-aduk antaragama di dalam majlis tersebut?

Sekira JAIS telah melepasi bidang kuasanya atau melanggar mana-mana peraturan, maka pihak berwajib negeri perlu meluruskan perkara ini, ianya masaalah pentadbiran . Yang salah perlu diperbetulkan.

Sekiranya JAIS bertindak melanggari ketetapan syara, serta bertindak merugikan agama dan ummah, maka pihak berwajib dan ulama perlu bertindak agar JAIS patuh sepenuhnya kepada ketentuan syara', perkasakan JAIS agar ianya menjadi badan agama yang berwibawa dan berfungsi mengikut ruh dan amalan syara'.

Bagaimanapun sekiranya JAIS bertindak mengikut peraturan dan dalam bidang kuasanya serta mengikut ketentuan syara', JAIS perlu diberi sokongan oleh semua pihak, kelemahan yang ada perlu diperbaiki, imej JAIS perlu dijaga, peranan JAIS perlu dipertingkatkan. Bukankah soal-soal beginilah yang dilaung-laungkan oleh UMNO, yang diperjuangkan oleh PAS, yang didukung oleh PKR bahkan PERKASA.

Berhubung dengan soal sebegini, kelmarin saya menerima panggilan telefon dari seorang sahabat lama, beliau adalah seorang pemikir dan perancang bagi sebuah organisasi politik. Beliau menimbulkan soal yang di dalam budaya politik kepartian, sebuah parti akan membuat pendirian yang bertentangan dengan pendirian parti lawannya, sehingga melarat ke dalam soal-soal kepentingan agamapun; sekiranya parti lawan mengambil sikap sebegini, maka parti itu akan mengambil sikap sebegitu. "Lawan tetap lawan", ya sehingga mungkin yang menang jadi arang dan yang kalah jadi abu.....

Kembali kepada soal yang kita bincangkan, adakah terdapat unsur-unsur dakyah kepada agama kristian di dalam majlis tersebut dan terdapat ungkapan-ungkapan 'rituals' bagi agama tersebut?. Apakah kebimbangan bahawa majlis seumpama ini memang bertujuan secara tersiratnya kalaupun tidak secara tersurat agar ummah Islam cenderung untuk memeluk kristian itu mempunyai asas?.

Kita ummah Islam mengetahui bahawa jenayah murtad adalah jenayah yang tersangat berat. Sehingga jenayah tersebut lebih berat daripada bunuh, di dalam mazhab Imam as-Syafi'ie sememangnya hukuman bagi orang murtad adalah bunuh. Ayat 191 surah al-Baqarah yang menyebut 'fitnah itu lebih dahsyat dari pembunuhan" telah ditafsirkan oleh ulama yang fitnah di dalam ayat ini bermaksud kekufuran , maka kemurtadan itu lebih berat lagi dari kekufuran yang asal. Lihat juga ayat 193 surah yang sama.

Rasulullah mengingatkan kita yang kita sepatutnya takut dan bimbang tergelincir dari Islam lebih daripada takut dan bimbang daripada dicampak ke dalam api yang marak membakar. Itulah sepatutnya 'paradigm' kita dalam soal yang berkaitan dengan isu murtad. Ianya bukan soal secondary bagi pemerentah Islam, masyarakat Islam , keluarga Islam dan individu Islam. Pemerentah bertanggung-jawab menjaga agama, maksudnya mempertahankan faham agama, mengamalkan amalan agama dan menyekat penyelewengan dan kemurtadan dari agama.

Tidak layak dan sekali-kali tidak patut bagi mana-mana pimpinan organisasi Islam yang menjadikan isu murtad sebagi isu secondary. Bagaimana tergamak agaknya YB Khalid Samad mengatakan sekira memang terdapat dakyah-dakyah untuk mengkristiankan orang Islam (sekiranya tidak dipaksa), maka JAIS tidak layak menyerbu, sebalik JAIS sepatutnya menggunakan saluran undang-undang untuk mencegah kemaksiatan ini , dari mana datangnya logik beliau ini ?. Rasulullah berpesan kepada kita sekiranya kita melihat sesuatu kemungkaran, hendaklah kita ubahnya dengan tangan, sekiranya tidak mampu dengan lidah, sekiranya tidak mampu maka cegahlah dengan hati, dan itu adalah sedaif-daif iman. Apakah ada maksiat yang lebih dahsyat daripada kemurtadan? Atau kita bertanya adalah tindakan JAIS dalam kes ini menyalahi undang-undang dan peraturan yang sedia ada?.

Kita membaca yang Dr.Asri Zainal Abidin dengan sinisnya membuat suatu perbandingan atau qias (dalam istilah feqah) mempersoalkan larangan orang bukan Islam dari memasukki masjid, serta tegahan orang Islam berada di gereja: katanya kalau larangan orang Islam berada di gereja kerana bimbangkan orang Islam meninggalkan Islam, maka apakah larangan orang bukan Islam memasukki masjid kerana bimbangkan orang bukan Islam memeluk Islam?

Masyaallah kenyataan ini datangnya dari seorang bekas mufti, yang sepatutnya bercakap mengikut syara', berdasarkan al-Quran dan sunnah serta fahaman dan amalan salaf as-soleh.
Bagaimana agaknya MAZA memahami ayat 28 Surah at-Taubah:
"Wahai orang yang beriman sesungguhnya orang musyrikin itu najis, jangan (benarkan) mereka mendekati Masjid al-Haram selepas tahun mereka yang ini (9 hijrah), dan sekiranya kamu takut ianya akan membebani kamu (kerana kekurangan sumber pendapatan), maka Allah nanti akan memberi kekayaan kepada kamu dari anugerah-Nya sekiranya dikehendaki-Nya, Sesungguhnya Allah Maha Mengetahui dan Maha Bijaksana."

Imam Ibn Kathir menyebut dalam tafsirnya yang Khalifah Umar bin Abdul Aziz telah mengeluarkan arahan kepada gabnor-gabnor nya agar mencegah orang kafir daripada memasukki masjid. Larangan orang kafir memasukki masjid adalah persoalan feqah, kita juga mengetahui khilaf ulama tentang hukum tersebut, sekiranya MAZA tidak bersetuju dengan tegahan tersebut, maka bahaskan dari sudut feqah, mana pendapat yang rajih dan mana pula yang marjuh.

Tentang larangan berada di dalam majlis keagamaan penganut agama lain itu atau bersamaan dengan mereka itu sangat jelas dihuraikan oleh Imam Ibn Taimiyyah di dalam kitabnya 'al-Iqtida', Besarlah hati kita untuk membaca huraian MAZA tentang apa yang dikupas oleh Imam Ibn Taimiyyah dalam kitabnya yang berharga ini. Selama ini MAZA kerap menimbulkan pandangan-pandangan Imam Ibn Taimiyyah yang bertentangan dengan amalan agama dalam masyarakat kita, eluklah juga pendapat yang begitu gagah yang diberikan oleh Imam Ibn Taimiyyah dalam isu ini diketengahkan pula oleh MAZA demi memperkukuhkan jati diri ummah.

Kita sangat mengahrapkan agar tokoh-tokoh bagi ummah di negara kita tidak bercakap sekadar ikut sedap tetapi berdasarkan nas-nas agama yang kita boleh menumpang huraiannya di dunia dan di akhirat kelak.

Apabila Penjawat Agama Tiada Lagi Amanah Ilmu

2011-08-10T16:02:00.000-07:00

1. Mufti Perlis VS Ustaz Uthman el-Muhammady Dalam Isu Wahabi

Mufti Perlis Dr.Juanda begitu beriya-iya mahu bersemuka dengan Ustaz Uthman bagi membincangkan isu Wahabi dan keganasan, atau faham Wahabi dikatakan mampu menggugat keselamatan negara. Dr.Juanda menghantar surat menjemput Ustaz Uthman ke Perlis untuk tujuan itu, kemudian beliau sendiri membuat kenyataan yang disiarkan dalam media yang Ustaz Uthman secara bertulis telah menolak pelawaannya.

Berikut adalah kandungan surat Ustaz Uthman kepada Dr.Juanda, sekiranya kita berlaku adil, maka kita dengan mudah mampu mengaku tiada sedikitpun terbayang Ustaz Uthman enggan untuk berdepan dengan Dr. Juanda, yang ada Ustaz Uthman mengesyurkan agar perjumpaan itu dianjurkan oleh pihak yang berwenang dan yang bertangung-jawab dalam isu ini.

Sesiapapun yang membaca buku tentang pegangan dan gerakan Syaikh Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahab, semada dari tulisan aqidahnya sendiri yang dihimpunkan dalam Majmu at-Tauhid, atau membaca syarah bagi kitab aqidahnya seumpama Fath al-Majid, atau membaca kitab sejarahnya yang ditulis oleh pengikutnya seumpama kitab Tarikh an-Najdi atau Unwanu al-Majdi akan menemui kenyataan dan sikap Syaikh Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahab yang mengkafirkan orang yang beriqrar dengan kalimah syahadah, akan menemui kenyataannya yang mengatakan musyrikin sekarang (yakni orang Islam yang mengamalkan tawassul) lebih berat kekufurannya daripada orang musyrikin yang diperangi oleh Rasulullah. Bahkan Syaikh Muhammad Abdul Wahab bukan setakat mengkafirkan orang yang bersembahyang, berzikir, menunaikan haji serta takut kepada Allah serta bertawassul dengan para rasul atau solihin , bahkan beliau menghalalkan darah (harus dibunuh) dan harta mereka (dijadikan ghanimah). Sekiranya kita membaca buku-buku mereka ini kita akan temui sikap mereka yang menganggap Hejaz sebagai Dar al-Kufur, kerana terdapatnya kubah-kubah dikuburan, sikap mereka yang menganggap Pemerentahan Uthmaniyyah sebagai kerajaan kafir, yang disebut disebahagian tempat dalam kitab mereka sebagai golongan Rom dan bahagain lain golongan Turk ; yang terdapat isyarat di dalam hadith sebagai golongan nyang diperangi oleh ummah.

Pengeritik dan penentang kepada gerakan Syaikh Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahab bukan semuanya penentang 'aliran salafiyyah Syaikh al-Islam Ibn Taimiyyah', bahklan sekiranya kita membaca secara jujur, maka kita terpaksa mengakui Syaikh Sulaiman Abdul Wahab, saudaranya Syaikh Muhammad sendiri, yang menentang Syaikh Muhammad Abdul Wahab adalah seorang yang berpegang kepada huraian Syaikh al-Islam Ibn Taimiyyah, Beliau menentang sikap Syaikh Muhammad yang terlalu bermudah dalam mengkafirkan serta menghalalkan darah sesama Islam. Begitu juga kritikan Syaikh Jarjis an-Naqsyabandi di Qaseem itu.

Dalam isu pendirian mengkafirkan sesama Islam, menghalalkan darah serta menghalal harta sesama Islam, menentang pemerentah ummah maka pendirian Syaikh al-Islam Ibnu Taimiyyah berbanding dengan pendirian Syaikh Muhammad Abdul Wahab adalah sejauh timur dengan barat, sejauh langit dengan bumi (oriental hyperbole).

Ikatan fahaman dan amalan di Saudi kepada fahaman asal Syaikh Muhammad Ibnu Abdul Wahab adalah ikatan sejarah dan sentimen, sebenarnya mereka lebih hampir kepada faham salafi yang dibawa oleh Syaikh al-Islam Ibnu Taimiyyah dan Ibnu al-Qayyim. (kecuali golongan minoriti dari mereka seperti aliran Syaikh Rabi' al-Mudkhali).

Secara jujurnya, mana-mana pemerentahan termasuk Saudi sendiripun akan bermasaalah sekiranya sebahagian rakyatnya menghayati ajaran Syaikh Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahab secara totok, lihat lah sejarah perpecahan dan tuduhan sesama mereka apabila sebahagian nya telah meminta pertolongan Uthmaniyyah untuk memegang tumpuk kuasa.

Lagipun kenapa perlu Dr. Juanda mengkaitkan perbincangan fahaman Wahabi dengan hubungan kerajaan dengan Saudi?. Sepatutnya kita bahaskan sesuatu fahaman itu bertujuan untuk mencari kebenaran, hubungan antara negara adalah isu yang berbeza dan di dalam lingkup yang berlainan. Apakah selepas ini kita terpaksa berdiam diri kepada gejala Syiah yang merebak di kalangan sebahagian rakyat kerana menjaga hubungan baik dengan Iran, negara yang mengimport minyak kelawa sawit dan lain-lain pengeluaran kita?. Apakah kita tidak lagi boleh mengeritik dasar luar Amerika kerana ianya adalah rakan dagang penting negara? Apakah kita hanya berdiam diri terhadap liberalisma faham agama dan budaya barat kerana ini merupakan nilai-nilai negara barat yang kita masih bergantung kepakaran dengan mereka?. Kalaulah begitu logiknya yang kita pakai dari Dr. Juanda, maka kita terpaksa tutup minda tutup mulut dari mengeritik kebanyakan faham agama dan falsafah kebendaan kerana menjaga kepentingan-kepentingan tertentu......

Kalaulah kenyataan ini keluar dari pihak Kementerian Luar Negara, atau Tabung Haji atau pemimpin politik, kita akan menerima logik tersebut dengan lapang dada, tetapi apabila logik ini datangnya dari seorang mufti, maka kita tertanya di manakah ada amanah ilmu dan faham pada penjawat agama hari ini?

Berikut adalah kandungan surat jawapan Ustaz Muhammad Uthman El-Muhammady:

*******

Bertarikh 1 Ogos, 2011

Kepada Sahibussamahah Mufti Kerajaan Negeri Perlis dengan alamatnya

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

Tuan

Dengan merujuk kepada surat tuan (…) bertarikh 27hb Julai 2011 dinyatakan dengan hormatnya, surat itu itu telah dibaca dan difahami.

2. Bagi menjawabnya, oleh kerana kenyataan-kenyataan saya dalam sesi berkenaan dibuat dalam majlis anjuran KDN Bahagian Keselamatan Dalam Negara, menyentuh aliran-aliran tertentu, dalam Islam, saya meminta pihak tuan memohon kepada JAKIM dan Majlis Keselamatan Negara (yang merupakan pihak-pihak yang berwenang tentang sesi itu) untuk mengadakan satu Persidangan Pakar bagi menangani masalah kebocoran maklumat rahsia ini dan menyelesaikan masalah salah tanggapan oleh pihak-pihak yang berpandangan tidak tepat itu dengan kadar yang segera.

3. Ahli-ahli yang mengambil bahagian itu hendaklah pakar-pakar yang ditentukan oleh JAKIM dan MKN, dan orang-orang yang tidak berkenaan hendaklah dikecualikan daripada hadir di dalamnya kalau perlu dengan “screening” dilakukan oleh MKN.

4. Maklumat-maklumat rahsia itu kalau diputuskan oleh MKN munasabah disebarkan kepada sasaran yang sesuai barulah ia disebarkan. Atas nama individu-individu penyebarannya tidak dibenarkan.

5. Dalam hubungan itu, dengan ini tidak timbul “bahaya’ dari mana-mana kerajaan tertentu (saya tambah lagi di sini: juga tidak timbul “sesat” mana-mana kerajaan tertentu, dan “keganasan” kerajaan tertentu, itu tuduhan tidak benar, fitnah) dan masalah ibadat haji tidak perlu ditunda sebab saya sendiri pun baru menunaikan haji akhir tahun 2010.

6. Saya menanti dengan penuh harapan agar permohonan pihak tuan dilaksanakan oleh MKN dan JAKIM.

Wassalam,
Yang benar
tt Muhammad Uthman El-Muhammady
ISTAC IIUM
Kuala Lumpur Campus

Dengan cc kepada YAB Menteri Dalam Negeri, KP JAKIM, dan Setiausa Bahahagian Keselamatan Dalam Negeri KDN.

***********

Nota tambahan: Tidak timbul daripada surat ini saya tidak mahu bertemu dalam dialog, hanya saya mahu ia menyelesaikan masalah, menjamin kesejahteraan negara, menjaga hubungan negara dengan negara-negara lain, tanpa sensasi, budaya benci membenci, mencari nama, mencaci orang, menangguk di air keruh. Allahumma sallimna wal-muslimin.

Tentang orang hendak menuduh saya itu dan ini respon saya ialah: hasbuna’Llahu wa ni’mal-wakil ni’mal maula wa ni’man-nasir. Kita serah kepadaNya Amin.

Yang benar

Muhammad Uthman El-Muhammady ISTAC Campus KL 9-8-11 3.03 ptg

Hosni Mubarak Di Mahkamah

2011-08-03T18:51:00.000-07:00

This video image taken from Egyptian state television shows 83-year-old Hosni Mubarak laying on a hospital bed inside a cage of mesh and iron bars in a Cairo courtroom Wednesday Aug. 3, 2011 as his historic trial began on charges of corruption and ordering the killing of protesters during the uprising that ousted him. the scene, shown live on Egypt's state tv, was Egyptians' first look at their former president since Feb. 10, the day before his fall when he gave a defiant speech refusing to resign.

The spectacle, aired live on state television, was a stunning moment for Egyptians. Many savored the humiliation of the man who ruled with unquestionable power for 29 years, during which opponents were tortured, corruption was rife, poverty spread and political life was stifled.

After widespread skepticism that Egypt's military rulers would allow one of their own - a former head of the air force - to be prosecuted in front of the world, the scene went a long way to satisfy one of the key demands that has united protesters since Feb. 11, when Mubarak fell following an 18-day uprising.

"This is the dream of Egyptians, to see him like this, humiliated like he humiliated them for the last 30 years," said Ghada Ali, the mother of a 17-year old girl in the city of Alexandria who was shot to death during the crackdown.

"I want to see their heart explode like my daughter's heart exploded from their single bullet," Ali told The Associated Press, breaking down in sobs.

It was the first time Egyptians have seen Mubarak since Feb. 10, when he gave a defiant TV address refusing to resign.

In the courtroom, a prosecutor read the charges against Mubarak - that he was an accomplice along with this then-interior minister in the "intentional and premeditated murder of peaceful protesters" and that he and his sons received gifts from a prominent businessman in return for guaranteeing him a lowered price in a land deal with the state.

"Yes, I am here," Mubarak said from his bed, raising his hand slightly when the judge asked him to identify himself and enter a plea. "I deny all these accusations completely," he said into a microphone, wagging his finger. His sons also pleaded not guilty.

The emotions swirling around the trial were on display outside the heavily secured Cairo police academy where the trial was held.

A crowd of Mubarak supporters and hundreds of relatives of slain protesters and other Mubarak opponents massed at the gates, scuffling sporadically as they watched the proceedings on a giant screen. They threw stones and bottles at each other while riot police with shields and helmets tried to keep them apart.

About 50 supporters pounded on the steel gate trying to get into the compound, chanting "We Love you, Mubarak!" until police charged at the with electrified batons and dispersed them. "We will demolish and burn the prison if they convict Mubarak," they screamed. Some of the supporters had bandaged heads from beatings, and many wore t-shirts with the slogan, "I am Egyptian and I reject the insulting of our leader."

But the father of a slain protester, among those sweltering in the heat outside on the third day of fasting in the Muslim month of Ramadan, was ecstatic. "We are here to tell Hosni, 'Happy Ramadan, congratulations on your new cage,'" Mohammed Mustafa el-Aqad said.

Wednesday's court session was largely taken up by procedural measures as lawyers from both sides filed motions.

But no matter how dry the action, the sight of Egypt's one-time most powerful man inside the defendants' cage, made of iron bars and metal mesh was riveting. Defendants are traditionally held in cages during trials in Egypt.

Mubarak, a sheet pulled up to his chest, was wheeled into the cage on a hospital bed at the session's start. Though he was pale and his eyes were ringed with red, he appeared alert and aware of what was going on. He showed little discernible emotion. With him in the cage were his nine co-defendants, including his two sons - one-time heir apparent Gamal and wealthy businessman Alaa - his former interior minister Habib el-Adly, and six top former police officials.

From time to time, Mubarak craned his head to see the proceedings. Other times, he crooked his elbow over his face as if in exhaustion. While the other defendants sat on wooden benches in the cage, the 47-year-old Gamal and 49-year-old Alaa in their white prison uniforms stood next to their father's bed, at one point with their arms crossed on their chest seemingly trying to block the court camera's view of their father. The two sons each carried a copy of the Quran and leaned over to talk to their father.

The courtroom itself was divided. Relatives of the defendants sat near the cage. A fence running through the middle of the chamber divided them from the rest of the audience of around 300 people, including a few relatives of protesters killed in the uprising, kept far enough that they cannot shout or throw anything at the former leader.

During the session, Mubarak's lawyer filed a motion that Defense Minister Hussein Tantawi - the head of the council of generals that now runs Egypt - be called to testify in the trial. He argued that Tantawi was in control of security after Jan. 28, three days into the protests. The motion signals an attempt by the defense to drag the military into the case.

After several hours, the judge adjourned Mubarak and his sons' trial until Aug. 15, though hearings in el-Adly's case would continue Thursday. The judge ordered Mubarak held at the International Medical Center, a military hospital on the outskirts of Cairo, and that an oncologist be among the doctors monitoring him. That was one of the strongest indications yet that the 83-year-old Mubarak has cancer after months of unconfirmed reports.

Up to the last minute, many Egyptians had doubted that Mubarak would actually appear at the trial. The skepticism remained up until the moment early Wednesday when Mubarak was taken from his hospital room in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to a military plane that flew him to a military airport in Cairo. From there, he was transferred by helicopter to the police academy where the trial was held.

Mostafa el-Naggar, one of the leading youth activists who organized the anti-Mubarak uprising, called it "a moment no Egyptian ever thought was possible."

"I have many feelings. I am happy, satisfied. I feel this a real success for the revolution, and I feel that the moment of real retribution is near," he told The Associated Press.

The trial came only after heavy pressure by activists on the now ruling military - one of the few demands that still unites the disparate protest movement. It answers, at least partially, a growing clamor in Egypt for justice not only for the wrongs of Mubarak's authoritarian regime but also for the violent suppression of the largely peaceful uprising, in which 850 protesters were killed.

In February, as protests raged around him, Mubarak vowed he would die on Egyptian soil. The last time Egyptians saw him, he appeared on state TV, handing most of his powers to his vice president but refusing to resign. He proclaimed he was "adamant to continue to shoulder my responsibility."

The next day, his resignation was announced and Mubarak fled to a palatial residence in Sharm el-Sheikh. The ruling generals who took power from him - and who were all appointed by Mubarak before the uprising - appeared reluctant to prosecute him, but protests flared anew, pressuring action.

In April, Mubarak was moved to the Sharm el-Sheikh hospital and put under arrest while his sons and former cronies were held in Cairo's Torah Prison.

The prosecution is an unprecedented moment in the Arab world, the first time a modern Mideast leader has been put on trial fully by his own people.

The closest event to it was former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's trial, but his capture came at the hands of U.S. troops in 2003 and his special tribunal was set up with extensive consultation with American officials and international experts. Tunisia's deposed president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, has been tried and convicted several times since his fall several weeks before Mubarak's, but all in absentia as he remains in exile in Saudi Arabia.

Mubarak, el-Adly, and six top police officers are charged in connection with the killings of protesters. All eight could face the death penalty if convicted. The charge sheet said that Mubarak "allowed (el-Adly) to use live ammunition" in the crackdown on protesters.

Separately, Mubarak and his two sons face charges of corruption. According to the prosecutors, the father and sons received five villas worth nearly $7 million from prominent businessman Hussein Salem in return for using their influence to get him a lower price for state land to build a resort complex in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Near Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the protesters, a dozen people swarmed around newspapers at a stand, reading headlines about the trial. One man spit on a picture of Mubarak on a front page.

"When he is in the cage and we know he is there, then we know we have started to put our feet on the path of justice," said the newspaper seller, Nabil Hassan, 65. "If he and his accomplices are in court, he becomes one of the people no different from anyone else facing justice. I have faith in Egyptian judges."

Catitan Sut:

Kita melihat perasaan dendam dam marah yang melampau sebahagian rakyat kepada bekas pemimpin negara mereka. Hosni Mubarak yang dulunya segala berkuasa, bukan setakat berada di dalam kurungan ketika hadir di mahkamah, tetapi terpaksa menerima laungan slogan kebencian sebahagaian rakyat terhadapnya, yang mungkin selama ini terpendam kerana penguat-kuasaan undang-undang dan keterbatasan kebebasan. Walaupun begitu masih ada golongan kecil yang sentiasa mengingati Hosni Mubarak dengan ingatan yang baik, yang menyebut pembangunan negara yang dilakukannya di zaman beliau berkuasa, dengan segala jasanya kepada Masir.

Peristiwa ini merupakan renungan bagi kita; ianya merupakan pengera bagi sebahagian pemimpin kita dan lainnya tentang suatu kebenaran yang selama ini sengaja dipendamkan. Adalah suatu hal yang begitu emosional untuk melihat seorang pemimpin yang begitu lama berkuasa, begitu dicurahkan pujian dan sanjungan di dalam media resmi dan majlis kerajaan akhirnya terkurung, terdampar sakit di atas katil , hadir di mahkamah sebagai orang yang kena tuduh.

Kita tidak mengetahui apa pula yang akan berlaku di tanahair kita, ada pihak yang mengatakan mahkamah dimanipulasikan untuk kepentingan politik, ada tokoh yang kes mahkamahnya sentiasa tiada putus-putus, ada tokoh lanjut usia yang akan dipanggil ke mahkamah. Aduhai Hosni Mubarak, sesungguhnya engkau sepatutnya mengajar kami sesuatu untuk dimanafaatkan...

Tuhan dan Manusia: Hubungan Yang Tidak Putus

2011-08-03T18:44:00.000-07:00

İBRAHİM KALIN
i.kalin@todayszaman.com

God is dead, so is man

When the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche had his “madman” declare that “God is dead,” he was referring to the death of metaphysics and morality in the West. The mortal humans who had killed God now had the chance to be the masters of the world. What kind of a world have they created after killing God? All the evidence suggests that “the brave new world,” in the words of Aldous Huxley, is neither more rational nor more humane.

What was Nietzsche's point? What does it mean to say that God is dead? With his typical flamboyant voice, Nietzsche was describing a turning point in Western metaphysics. The death of God does not mean the literal death of the Divine; such an understanding goes against the very definition of God, who is alive, infinite and absolute. It means the end of belief in any and all absolutes, the end of religion and ethics, the end of the ground of reality. The death of God means the loss of any higher principle against which man can be held responsible. It means that men have removed God from the world and now can claim to be the masters of the universe.

The critical point here is not so much the death of God, but what comes after it. We return to Nietzsche for the answer. In the “Gay Science,” section 125, Nietzsche has his “madman” declare the following: “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives; who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?”

Yes, “we have killed Him.” Can man ever comfort himself after this greatest crime? Of course, the death of God does not mean that people have ceased to believe in God, left religion completely, stopped going to the mosque or the church, etc. No, it means something bigger, something graver. It means that modern man now charts a new course for modern civilization as if God never existed or mattered in the first place. It means that modern civilization has nothing but man as the measure of all things. It means that man has become the only absolute of the new world that he has created -- the very world which now threatens his own existence.

This is not simple atheism. It is more than atheism. It is the crime of the greatest hypocrisy man can ever have. It is the deepest hubris the world can ever see. It is the greatest illusion that man, who is mortal, selfish, jealous and destructive, can claim the throne of God and declare himself to be the only absolute by which things are to be measured. And he believes he can do all this without any responsibility because now there is no one above to judge him.

The atheists and secular humanists may celebrate this as the liberation of man from the shackles of religion, dogma, history, tradition and anything that transcends man. But Nietzsche warns again: The death of God has not made man freer, more rational or more ethical. The result is dreadful, more dreadful than man can ever imagine or admit to himself.

The result is a “wasteland” that grows. The “wasteland grows” inside us, in the outside world, in nature, in our daily relations, in politics, in consumerism, in ruthless capitalism, in power politics, in international relations and in everything we touch as humans. It grows and burns everything from the Holocaust to most recently Oslo and Hama. “The wasteland grows,” and we can do nothing about it. With all the mighty armies, sophisticated technologies, trillion dollar budgets, faster communications, we can do nothing to stop it. We become the wasteland. With planes crashing into skyscrapers, with an Islamophobic terrorist murdering children, with tanks shelling unarmed people in Hama, Syria and countless other “triumphs” of modern civilization, we are the wasteland.

This is the point at which man dies with God. His mortal, stubborn ego refuses to recognize it. But the fact remains: Modern man has died with the death of God. He has created a world of wonders, but now it threatens his own existence. The greatest achievement of the man who killed God has become his own destruction.

Can man still be saved? Or is it too late?

Catitan Sut:

Ramai daripada kita tidak pernah menafikan kewujudan Tuhan, kita dengan keyakinan menyatakan Tuhanlah yang menjadikan alam dan segala isinya. Hanyalah Tuhan selepas mencipta alam dan segala isinya itu telah diketepikan , diperadakan di suatu sudut untuk sekadar memerhati apa yang kita lakukan. Manusialah segala pelaku dan penentu bagi seluruh urusan mereka, kecuali dalam keadaan yang jarang sangat berlaku; umpama apabila berlaku 'bencana alam'. Kita mengatakan alam bertindak balas terhadap apa yang kita lakukan, masih Tuhan sekadar memerhati ciptaan-Nya berintraksi....

Dengan kefahaman sebeginilah , tamaddun hari ini dibina. Ianya didirikan dengan tiang-tiang utama dan asasnya yang meminggirkan Tuhan, Tuhan telah dilupakan. Manusia merancang, manusia melaksana, manusia mendapat hasilan dari rencana dan perlaksanaan mereka. Tidak semua yang dirancang dan dilaksanakan itu keburukan dan pendurhakaan bahkan masih banyak nilai-nilai yang 'baik', nilai-nilai bertimbang-rasa dan 'pertanggung-jawaban kepada alam dan manusia', hanya tidak bertanggung-jawab terhadap Tuhan!

Pada masa yang sama timbul pula gerakan kerohanian semasa, ianya biasanya bersifat sejagat, tanpa terikat kepada 'aqidah dan rituals yang ketat'; bahkan ianya menekankan falsafah dan orientasi pemikiran otak. Ia mengandungi sejumlah kebijaksanaan tahap manusiawi, gersang dari petunjuk Tuhan. Hasilnya pula mampu melahirkan manusia yang cekap serta produktif, manusia yang mesra dengan elemen-elemen alam, manusia yang berpuas-hati kerana dapat berkhidmat kepada manusia lain, walaupun tidak kepada Tuhan.

Kemanusiaan yang mengambil alih ketinggian Tuhan dalam aqidah dan pemikiran manusia ini telah menelan sebahagian besar manusia, bukankah kemuncak manusia itu ialah pada kekuasaan dan kuasa penentu yang mutlak di tangan mereka sendiri, mengantikan pengabdian dan kerendahan hati dan jiwa yang faqir kepada Tuhannya. Lalu dibayangkan semua balasan dari hasil perancangan dan perlaksanaan seseorang itu akan dikecapi oleh belaiu semada beliau berada di bumi ini atau akan terus diwarisi oleh menusia dan makhluk yang lain selepas kematiannya juga di bumi ini, tiada alam lain kecuali bumi ini. Alam yang lampau, alam yang sekarang dan alam yang akan datang semuanya dicantumkan untuk berada semata-mata di bumi ini....

Tuhan sekadar memerhati. Ya Allah selamatkan kami dari kemusnahan ini.....

Ramadan Yang Mengunjungi kIta

2011-08-02T18:50:00.000-07:00

Holy month of Ramadan means hassles for some Turkish non-fasters

Monday, August 23, 2010

ÖZGÜR ÖĞRET

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Fasting, feasting and spiritual contemplation define Ramadan for Muslims, but some not-so-religious residents of Turkey say it's a time of traffic jams, late-night noise pollution and judgmental stares for them. The social pressure goes both ways, fasters and non-fasters say, calling for tolerance and respect for pious and secular practices alike

The faithful's race home to break their fasts with the iftar meal makes Istanbul's already infamous traffic busier. DAILY NEWS photo, Hasan ALTINIŞIK

The holy month of Ramadan is among the most joyous events of the year for Muslims, but for members of Turkey’s non-fasting minority, it can be a time of intolerance and annoyance instead.

“Do not even get me started about the ezan and the Ramadan drums,” said Yusuf, a young writer living in Istanbul, referring to the five-times-daily call to prayer and the peripatetic percussionists who bang out pre-dawn wake-up calls to fasters during Ramadan.

Like most other people who said they find Ramadan an unpleasant experience, Yusuf did not want to give his last name. More than by the sleep disruptions, he said is he upset at the social pressure and disapproval he experiences during the holy month – the cashier who gives a customer buying beer the cold shoulder or the bus driver who starts an argument about the coffee in a passenger’s hand.

Ozan, a ceramics artist living in İzmir, said he is not disturbed by Ramadan practices in the Aegean city, though that was not the case when he spent time in the eastern province of Ağrı a few years back. “All the places to eat were closed. You could not smoke outside,” he said. “Once, I was about to light up and this guy hanging around his store interrupted, telling me, ‘Brother, if you light up, [people] will beat you.’”

Zeynep, an event organizer in Istanbul, shared her mother’s response to Ramadan-related hassles: “I carry on with my own life in its normal flow; I am not interested in other people’s lives.” For her part, Zeynep said the only thing she finds bothersome about Ramadan is the rush-hour traffic as people race home to break their fasts with the evening meal known as iftar after abstaining from food or drink from sunrise to sunset.

Busy traffic is also the main Ramadan complaint of Salur, an engineer from Ankara. “When the idea of fasting is planted, it should be thought simultaneously that mastering your temper and communicating joyfully is as indivisible a part of the fasting activity as mastering your hunger,” he said.

Journalist Erdem from Istanbul expressed similar sentiments, saying, “I am sure tolerance is not a stance Muslims practice only toward each other.”

The pre-dawn drumming is a source of irritation for many non-fasters, including Onur, a French instructor in İzmir who said he has been disturbed by the drummers “all his life.” Though he is pro-secular, Onur said the drums would bother him “even if I was someone who fasts 30 days in a row.” He said the traditional wake-up call is unnecessary in this day and age and as problematic as the “mosques that turn up the speaker volume to the limit and play a pre-recorded ezan.” Calling the drumming a pretentious act to appear religious, he said the drummers are just doing it for money and added that he thought they should be banned.

The social pressure Ozan and Yusuf described is another hot-button issue, especially for women. Communications specialist Pınar said she recently visited her mother at her family’s summerhouse in Southeast Turkey, where the conservative neighbors complained to her mother about Pınar returning home from the beach wrapped in a towel, saying their neighborhood is not a “nudist colony.” Pınar said her mother also told her not to walk around in a bikini because people were fasting.

“I did not make changes to my clothes because of this and I did not get angry at the ‘morality police’ either,” Pınar said. “They will learn not to get angry at me, too. They will, at worst, get used to me.”

Pınar’s discomfort is shared by Ayşe, an advertiser in Istanbul who said she “feels the peer pressure when [she] wears low-necked tops during Ramadan, [though] not an intolerable amount.” Another woman, singer Sanem, said she is disturbed by people staring at her because she is not fasting, and may even be smoking or drinking. “We can be much happier if everybody would grant [everyone else] the right to be,” she said, noting that she respects others’ beliefs and is not disturbed by “drums or anything.”

The tables are turned, however, for Merve Şebnem, who runs her own investment company in Istanbul. Though the businesswoman does not wear a headscarf or other outward signs of piousness and enjoys a drink every once a while, during Ramadan, she is a fasting Muslim who does not consume alcohol – something she said her friends find strange. “I receive a lot of questions like ‘You have been drinking for 11 months, and didn’t for one; what type of Muslim are you?’” she said. “I tell them, ‘My [religion] is just like yours; you get to be a Muslim without practicing.’ They do not understand.”

Merve said people also judge her in other ways. “If I lose my temper and get angry, people say, ‘We told you, one should not fast in this heat,’” she said, adding that she tolerates people who make such comments because she believes they mean well. “But, how can they not empathize when I [am empathetic toward them] and mind their own business?” she said. “That is the sad part.

Catitan Sut:

Ramadan adalah bulan yang istimewa bagi orang Islam, hanya kita semakin terlupa keistimewaannya kerana kesibukan kita dengan urusan kehidupan duniawi kita.

Ramadan mempunyai sekurang-kurangnya 5 inti asas: ianya bulan puasa, ianya bulan Qiyam (sembahyang malam), ianya bulan yang mengandungi Lailatu al-Qadr, ianya bulan al-Quran, ianya bulan bermurah hati dengan bersedeqah

Beruntunglah sesiapa yang dapat menghimpunkan kebajikan yang belbagai pada bulan yang mulia ini, sebagaimana yang terbayang dalam maksud hadith yang diriwayatkan oleh Imam Muslim: Rasulullah bertanya "siapakah di antara kamu yang pagi ini berpuasa?". Abu Bakar menjawab ; "saya". Rasulullah bertanya: "Siapakah di antara kamu pada hari mengiringi jenazah?". Abu Bakar menjawab : "saya". Rasulullah bertanya; "siapakah yang bersedeqah dengan sesuatu sedeqah?". Abu Bakar menjawab : "saya". Rasulullah bertanya: "siapakah di antara kamu yang menziarahi orang sakit?". Abu Bakar menjawab :"saya". Rasulullah menyatakan ;" sesiapa yang menghimpunkan perkara-perkara ini akan memasukki syurga".

Setiap amalan-amalan yang ditanyai oleh Rasulullah itu mempunyai kelebihan yang ketara. Apa lagi terdapat tokoh-tokoh dari kalangan salaf yang brusaha meraih kebajikan yang banyak dengan sengaja menjemput golongan miskin untuk sama-sama berbuka, untuk mendapat kebajikan memberi makan, apa lagi untuk berbuka puasa kepada golongan yang kurang.

Bulan Ramadan adalah bulan al-Quran, Imam Ibn Rajab al-Hambali menyebut yang kitab-kitab samawi, seperti Suhuf Ibrahim, Taurah, Injil dan al-Quran diturunkan di dalam bulan Ramadan. Saiyyidina Umar telah mengadakan tiga imam untuk mengimami terawih, baginda menyuruh Saiyyidina Ubay bin Kaab membaca 200 ayat dlam serakaat, mereka habis sembahyang hampir kepada fajar, sementara dua imam lagi masing-masing membaca 25 ayat dan 20 ayat bagi setiap rakaat,

Sementara Imam Malik memakruhkan bacaan yang kurang dari 10 ayat bagi satu rakaat, Imam Ahmad mengatakan memandangkan kedaifan ummah untuk bersembahyang panjang maka bacalah apa yang sesuai semada 5, 6, 7 ayat bagi setiap rakaat agar dapat dikhatamkan al-Quran pada malam 27 Ramadan.

Golongan salaf membaca al-Quran dengan banyaknya dalam sembahyang dan di luar sembahyang pada bulan Ramadan. Imam kita as-Syafie dan Imam Abu Hanifah mengkhatamkan al-Quran sebanyak 60 kali dalam bulan Ramadan, Imam Malik akan berehat daripada majlis pengajaran hadith dan ilmu yang lain di dalam bulan Ramadan kerana menumpu kepada al-Quran. Begitu juga Sufian at-Thauri yang akan meninggalkan ibadat lain di bulan Ramadan kerana menumpukan kepada al-Quran.

Sekarang ketika terdapat di kalangan ummah yang merasakan Ramadan adalah bulan yang membebankan dan bulan pengacau; routine mereka terganggu, maka bagi kita tuntutan ke atas kita untuk menjejaki amalan generasi salaf semakin menjadi keperluan. Kisah-kisah kesungguhan mereka menjadi peransang untuk kita terutama ketika masyarakat semakin kucar. Ya Allah , Engkau yang memegang ubun-ubun kami, hadapkan kami kepada keredaan Mu.

The Muslim Future: What We Could Not Predict

2011-07-20T00:50:00.000-07:00

1-Egypt's Brotherhood, divided by five ‎

Can the organisation ‎withstand the winds of change? The Muslim Brotherhood's reputation for unity is in tatters as four ‎splinter groups seek to form their own parties

Amira Howeidy, Al-Ahram Weekly ‎, Saturday 2 Jul 2011

Can the organisation withstand the winds of change? (Photo: AP)

Alluding to the Muslim Brotherhood as Egypt's “most organized” political force might soon become a redundant cliché. The 83-year-old organisation is metamorphosing - some might say disintegrating - into five political parties. It is a far cry from the Islamist group that has, since 1948, survived repeated attempts by the state to weaken it while retaining, on the surface at least, its monolithic structure.

In post-revolution Egypt the Ikhwan (Brothers) is no longer simply the Gamaa'a (Organisation). It faces no existential threat from a dictatorial regime or police state and now has a political party, Freedom and Justice. Officially approved on 6 June, it is led by three ex-members of the Brotherhood's Guidance Council. Soon it could be joined by four other parties spawned by members of the group: El-Nahda (Renaissance); El-Riyada (Pioneer); Haraket El-Salam Wa Al Tanmiya (Movement for Peace and Development) and the youth-led El-Tayar El-Masri (Egyptian Current).

None of the four have been licensed yet. First they will have to meet the requirements of the Political Parties Law, issued in March by the Military Council, Egypt's de facto rulers since Hosni Mubarak's ouster on 11 February. The new law stipulates that any political party seeking a license must first garner 5000 supporters from ten or more governorates.

El-Nahda expects to apply for a license within ten days, according to its founder Ibrahim El-Zaafarany, a senior member of the Brotherhood who resigned from the organisation two months ago. El-Zaafarny, who is also secretary general of the Doctor's Syndicate in Alexandria, was a leading member of the MB's reformist wing. Many reformers are now working outside the organization, having left it to form their own parties.

Khaled Dawoud, also from Alexandria, describes the dissidents as the generation that gave the Muslim Brotherhood “the kiss of life in the 1970's”. After 35 years in the organisation Dawoud is now busy trying to set up El-Riyada, which he describes as a “centre left” party. His co-founders include several reformist members of the Brotherhood though Dawoud insists the would-be party's membership will be drawn from across the political spectrum.

Unlike El-Zaafarany Dawoud didn't resign from the MB. But, he says, all too well aware that the MB's reigning mindset was opposed to the “proposals for reform and calls for revising thoughts and ideas” he and others have submitted to the leadership over the years, he realised he would have to work outside the group's official framework.

A number of Muslim Brotherhood leaders have been quoted as saying that any member who joins a party other than the group's Freedom and Justice will be expelled. The statements were reiterated on 24 June in response to consecutive announcements of new would-be parties created by MB members.

Whether the organisation, facing the biggest internal rift in its history, will act on its threats is unclear. It would mean losing members and damaging its reputation as a united front. It has already expelled Abdel-Meneim Aboul-Fotouh, 60, a popular figure in the Brotherhood who decided to field himself as a presidential candidate against the group's policy.

But insiders say the real reason Aboul-Fotouh was thrown out of the organization is because his ideas clash with those of MB strongman and second in command, Khairat El-Shater. The group may well not have the stomach for mass expulsions.

Aboul-Fotouh and El-Shater epitomise the decades old conflict between reformists and hardliners in the group. It is a battle that has surfaced repeatedly in the past - in the MB's December 2009 internal elections reformists, including Aboul-Fotouh, were purged from the Brotherhood's Guidance Council - but which was never allowed to spiral out of control in the face of the Brotherhood's prioritizing of unity when threatened by security clampdowns.

No longer threatened by a police state differences within the group are now emerging from the shadow. In the words of Hossam Tamam, a Brotherhood expert: “The revolution has shown that the exceptional solid unity of the MB can't be sustained forever.”

The MB might not be disintegrating, he told Al-Ahram Weekly, but departures from the group should not be underestimated.

Speaking to the Weekly on Tuesday, MB leader Essam El-Erian denied that large numbers are leaving the organization. “They're only five or six,” he claimed. But that seems a serious underestimate. The dissidents may well number hundreds.

Hamed El-Dafrawi, founder of the would-be party the Movement for Peace and Development, described the Brotherhood as being in thrall to “a 'secret organisation' mentality”.

“They haven't been able to transcend this mindset, hence the departure of frustrated members.”

But how different are the platforms of the splinter groups emerging from the MB? Ibrahim El-Houdaiby, a researcher into Islamic movements, says some of the would-be parties reflect disagreements within the organisation “over administrative matters” rather than ideology. Part of the conflict is a reflection of the struggle “between three different generations in the Brotherhood: the leadership, mid-management and the young people who were part of the revolution and gained media exposure”.

The MB's young cadres, often hailed as co-heroes of the revolution for remaining in Tahrir Square until Mubarak's ouster, were until recently invisible to the public and the media. They ignored their leadership's orders during the revolution to withdraw from Tahrir Square and later joined the 25 January Youth Coalition alongside leftists, secularists, liberals and independent groups.

Emboldened by this experience and the media attention they gained, the Brotherhood's youth wing held its first public conference in March despite the leadership's opposition, sharing with the public their views on the organisation's policies.

The conference demanded that if the MB did form a party it should be allowed to operate independently from the parent group's hierarchy. Their demands were ignored and the Freedom and Justice party was duly formed, led by three unelected senior Brothers.

“The MB's youth groups have every right to believe the leadership owes them a lot for improving the MB's image during the revolution,” says Tammam. “They should have been absorbed and given space to work on a more influential level in the organisation, even as consultants, but they were snubbed.”

With reformists and younger cadres walking out of the organisation it's unclear how this will affect the Brotherhood's popularity, an urgent consideration if legislative elections are held in September.

In the 2005 parliamentary poll the Brotherhood won 88 seats, becoming the biggest opposition bloc. The vast majority of these ex-MPs haven't left the organisation and are now part of the Freedom and Justice party, subscribing to a manifesto which Tamam describes as “obsessed with Islamic sharia and the issue of identity and Islam”.

Their popularity might be put to test now that Egyptians are more willing to engage in politics. In last March's referendum on constitutional amendments 41 per cent of registered voters went to the polls. This contrasts sharply with a voter turn out of less than 10 per cent in the 2010 elections.

“I'm afraid for the Brotherhood,” says Dawoud. “If they don't do damage control and introduce reform they're at risk of disintegrating. There's a revolution in Egypt but it hasn't reached the MB yet

2-I am tempted these days to predict that, in a decade from now, we will see a much freer and more democratic Muslim Middle East

Liberty matters

This argument, knowingly or unknowingly, ignores two crucial facts:

Reasons for hope

Catitan Sut:

Apalah sangat kita boleh ramalkan tentang hal ummah ini di masa depan.. Ikhwan al-Muslimin mampu menahan tekanan bahkan termasuk hukuman bunuh dan penjara serta kerja berat. Memang benar ianya pernah berpecah berikutan Imam Hasan al-Banna mati dibunuh, memang benar ada anggotanya termasuk ulama yang meninggalkan Ikhwan. Tetapi semua perpecahan dan keguguran itu adalah cerita sampingan, seumpama gugurnya ranting dan serpihnya dahan pada pokok yang sentiasa subur.

Tetapi apakah Ikhwan bersedia untuk menghadapi zaman tanpa tekanan, zaman anggotanya bukan takutkan hukuman tetapi terpesona dengan peluang dan keuntungan. Mungkin sahaja godaan dapat mematah apa yang tekanan tidak mampu.

Saya terkenang wajah-wajah pakcik Ikhwan yang sempat saya gauli, wajah-wajah ceria yang menyaluti peristiwa lara lama; wajah Pak Cik Abbas Asisi di Iskandariyyah, Pakcik Fahmi Abdul Aty di Roxy, Pakcik Makmum Hudaibi, Pakcik Hassan Doah di Hotel Aman Dokki, ayahanda Dr. Zaghloul el-Naggar, Pakcik Muhammad Mehdi Akef beserta lain-lain. terima kasih atas layanan baik mereka, terima kasih atas segala sumbangan masa, kewangan, idea, kefahaman yang mereka kongsi.

Mereka adalah generasi yang sempat survive segala tekanan yang mendatangi mereka, Pakcik Muhammed Mehdi Akef terutamanya dipenjara selama 20 tahun kurang seminggu, tetapi peluang yang terbuka di atas nama kebebasan yang selama ini hanya menjadi idaman kepada pakcik-pakcik pada suatu masa dahulu belum tentu dapat disaring dengan baik oleh penerus-penerus mereka. Berapa ramai yang akan gugur dijaringan kebebasan?

Bagaimana relevannya kehidupan bermunajat sebagaimana yang dilakarkan oleh Imam Hasan al-Banna, Ustaz Omar al-Telmasani dan Ustaz Mustafa Masyhour kepada aktivis-aktivis parti-parti Islam? Bagaimana matlamat kemenangan di dalam pilihanraya akan melentur beberapa prinsip yang selama ini tegak? Bagaimana tarbiyah mungkin terpinggir apabila program politik terlalu padat? Bagaimana ukhwah yang terbina akan terungkai apabila kepentingan politik begitu menggoda?. Bagaimana struktur yang dapat mengimbangi tekanan dalaman kerana terdapatnya tekanan luaran terpaksa menyesuai bentuk kandungan apabila tekanan luar semakin berkurangan?

Apakah ummah ini akan semakin 'dewasa' dengan dapat menyesuaikan kehadiran mereka dalam persekitaran demokrasi lagi liberal? Ada pula sekelompok aktivis parti yang mahu mengagamakan segala tindakan politik yang diambil parti mereka. Contohnya selepas demonstrasi BERSIH baru-baru ini ada aktivis PAS yang memberi kuliah tafsir di masjid yang mengatakan demonstrasi itu adalah sama dengan perjuangan Nabi Musa, tidak banyak beza firaun dalam al-Quran dengan firaun yang ada sekarang, tukang-tukang sihir yang berpaling tadah dari firaun dan memeluk Islam itu adalah umpama sasterawan negara dan ahli akedemik yang selama ini membisu yang ini bersuara menyokong BERSIH. Sebelum beliau berlepas dengan keretanya, saya menyatakan kepadanya yang saya agak terkilan tentang persamaan yang dilakukannya itu, kerana penganjur BERSIH adalah Ambiga (seorang Hindu), sedangkan pengajur ummah ketika itu ialah Saiyyidina Musa (seorang Rasul), yang dimatlamatkan Ambiga ialah pemurniaan demokrasi sementara yang dimatlamatkan oleh dakwah Sayyidina Musa ialah Tauhid. Beliau dengann tegas mengatakan dia boleh radd (mematahkan) apa yang saya katakan itu, hanya beliau kesuntukan masa.

Pada saya kefahaman sebenar kita tentang peranan penglibatan kita dalam politik serta keterbatasan politik kepartian jarang kita fikirkan dengan masaknya, mungkin kerana kita hanya sibuk memikirkan strategi gerak-kerja politik itu sendiri. Kita memerlukan siri perbincangan yang telus dan serious tentang sejauh mana ummah perlu terlibat dalam kancah politik kepartian ini?

Hal ini semakin mendesak kerana ummah di negara kita semakin retak kerana hal-hal sebegini. Retak di antara pengikut parti-parti yang berbeza, retak kerana suatu hambatan yang mengancam 'kemurnian Islam dan kedaulatan Melayu', retak kerana menganggap politik hari ini adalah politik Islam, maka hukum-hukum agama konvensional dikeluarkan bagi suatu keadaan yang sebenarnya tidak konvensional.

Kini aktivis politik bercakap tentang Negara Berkebajikan yang kadang-kadang aktivis itu sendiri tidak mampu membezakannya daripada konsep welfare state di barat. Agaknya kita perlu kembali memahami turath kita, seumpama kitab Hisbah oleh Imam al-Mawardi, Nasihatu al-Mulk oleh Imam al-Ghazali atau lain-lain kitab, semoga kita tidak selama-lamanya terhanyut oleh tekanan arus luar yang semakin terik.

Perlembagaan : Menjujung atau Menyinsih al-Quran

2011-07-12T05:55:00.000-07:00

1-Religion and state in the people’s constitutions
(While secular forces are proposing how to balance the Islamic identity of Egypt in the new constitution, Islamist forces — including the Muslim Brotherhood — have not yet declared a position)

Samer Soliman , Sunday 10 Jul 2011

Political debate in Egypt has recently begun to focus on how to write a constitution (through a founding society or parliament) as well as the content of the constitution. This was intensified when many groups and political personalities announced their versions of the constitution or the principles on which to build one. Mohamed ElBaradei, the potential presidential candidate, presented a “bill of political rights” that includes some principles that ElBaradei wants political forces to agree on and to make a cornerstone of the new constitution. Meanwhile, the National Council —the coordinating body between civic political groups —issued “The principles of the Egyptian constitution”. At the same time, the Popular Constitution Committee proposed an entire constitution, while there have been other suggestions here and there.

There have also been proposals to compose a constitution from the bottom up, meaning by having human rights activists and politicians hold extensive dialogue with popular bases to gauge their opinion on the content of the new constitution. For example, the “Let’s write our constitution” initiative sponsored by the Hisham Mubarak Law Centre.

These initiatives were mostly launched by civic or secular forces, and essentially reflect the concerns of these forces that the hegemony of religious powers will be reflected in the new constitution, laying the foundation for a religious state that limits personal and public freedoms, curtails religious freedoms and discriminates against minorities. These initiatives aim to mobilise public opinion to put pressure in the near future on the entity that will draft the new constitution and the interim authority to adhere to a civic state.

Although many civic and human rights forces opposed Article 2 of the previous constitution (which states Islam is the religion of the state and Islamic Sharia the main source of legislation), because it discriminates against non-Muslims and is used by conservative powers to establish religious powers, various versions of the new constitution maintain this article in place. It seems that civic forces are now convinced that the large majority of Egyptian Muslims want this article to remain in place since it reflects the Islamic identity of the people.

This realistic acceptance of Article 2 of the previous constitution does not mean that the authors of the proposed constitutions are not trying to prevent this article from being used to establish a full-fledged religious state. The Popular Committee attempted to dilute Article 2 by removing reference to Islam as the religion of the state, proposing instead that Islam is the religion of the majority of the Egyptian people. Where it says that the principles of Islamic Sharia are the main source of legislation, the Popular Committee asserted that the state is committed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Meanwhile, ElBaradei left Article 2 as is, but Article 11 of his “Declaration of Political Rights” stipulates that the rights guaranteed in the declaration —such as freedom of belief —cannot be amended or removed, and that violation of these rights or attempting to amend them is prohibited. Also, that citizens have the right to resort to legal prosecution to defend these rights. In other words, it delegates the judiciary to defend the civic character of the state in case a parliamentary majority in the future attempts to amend the constitution and establish an entirely religious state.

Like ElBaradei, the National Council has also kept Article 2 in place and added another article that prevents the creation of a religious state. Article 7 of the council’s proposal states: “The Armed Forces are charged with defending a civic democratic republic from any legislative violation which threatens the regime, after seeking the opinion of the Supreme Constitutional Court.” In that manner, the council not only gives the judiciary license to protect the civic state, as ElBaradei did, but it also made the armed forces the last frontier to safeguard the civic nature of the state.

Two months ago, ElBaradei said he was considering including a clause that would give the armed forces the right to intervene to protect the civic and democratic character of the state. But, as reflected in his Declaration of Political Rights, he changed his mind because adding this clause would take a political toll on any political player or potential presidential candidate. Granting the army the right to intervene in the political process is a violation of the principles of democracy that puts political responsibility in the hands of representatives elected by the people. At the same time, giving the military license to intervene in politics for a particular reason leaves the door wide open for the army to intervene for other reasons.

In drafting a constitution, civic forces have revealed their deep concern over Article 2 in the constitution. In reality, this article was a powerful tool for Islamist forces under Mubarak when many court verdicts and political restrictions on freedom of expression were based on this article. These include jail sentences against writers and bloggers, removing custody from Christian mothers whose husbands converted to Islam, based on the rule that Islam is the superior religion according to which children should be raised.

At a time when civic forces have disclosed their agenda regarding the relationship between state and religion, the position of Islamist forces remains relatively ambiguous. Of course, they all want to keep Article 2 in place, but it is unclear if they want it to remain exactly the same or if they want to revise it, such as rewriting the phrase “the principles of Islamic Sharia are the main source of legislation” into “the rulings of Islamic Sharia”. The difference is large, because “principles” is a general word that could be interpreted to mean truth, justice and equality, but “rulings” implies a set of legislative and legal rules.

Meanwhile, Islamic forces have not yet decided how to implement Article 2. Will they create a body of religious scholars to review laws and legislation issued by parliament to ensure that they comply with Islamic Sharia, as proposed by the Muslim Brotherhood years ago; or will they rely on the majority they expect to win in parliament to guarantee that all legislation complies with Islamic Sharia? Creating a body of religious scholars based on a constitutional clause paves the way for a theocracy in Egypt, since it gives an unelected religious entity authority over elected bodies, over which it would have veto power.

It is unlikely that Islamic forces will insist on creating an entity of religious scholars because it will be strongly opposed by the people, and it would be difficult to decide how to choose its members. It is more likely that Islamist forces will maintain Article 2 as it stands, but will reject clauses that give power to the army or judiciary to intervene to guarantee the civic character of the state. In such a case, we will return to where we were during the Mubarak era in terms of the relationship between state and religion, namely a quasi-civic state with religious overtones.

Under these conditions, the new constitution will not resolve the battle between civic and religious forces in Egypt but uphold the current balance. This conflict will play out in the next parliament, essentially through attempts by religious forces to pass laws and draft new policies in support of an Islamic state, while civic forces inside and outside parliament try to obstruct them. In other words, it is unlikely that the civic-religious conflict will be resolved in one blow but through a gradual process.

(The writer is assistant professor of political economy at the American University in Cairo)

Wednesday, 13 July 2011

2-Seven out of 10 Muslim youth In Malayisa want Quran to replace Constitution

UPDATED @ 05:27:32 11-07-2011

By Debra Chong

BANGI, July 11 — A new survey among Malaysian Muslim youth released today show a large majority back the idea for the Quran to replace the Federal Constitution as the country’s highest law.

The survey in Malaysia by independent pollster Merdeka Center revealed that about 72 per cent of Muslims aged 15 to 25 support the Islamic holy book as the highest law; 25 per cent disagreed.

About 71.5 per cent support the cutting off of hands as punishment for convicted thieves, and 92.5 per cent agree to the death sentence for murderers.

Support for whipping as punishment for those who drink alcohol is at 92.4 per cent.

While the young Muslims surveyed appear to be religiously conservative at first glance, their views in real life appear to contradict the show of support for this change.

Only 18.1 per cent confessed to read the Quran often; 8.6 per cent say they never do; and the rest say they read it sometimes.

Only 28.7 per cent say they always perform the compulsory five daily prayers.

According to Merdeka Center director Ibrahim Suffian (picture), the conflict is due to the perception among Muslims that the Quran, being God’s law, has a higher status than the Federal Constitution.

“Why many see it so is partly because in Muslim life, the Quran is . . . complete,” he told The Malaysian Insider.

“Many are also not exposed to discussions on the Constitution and the position of Islam within it in the current education system,” he added.

The survey polled 1,060 people between October and November last year.

About 70 per cent of Malaysian Muslims surveyed were ethnically Malay, while the remaining minority were mostly Bumiputera Muslims from Sabah.

The survey also included Muslim youth in Indonesia, home to the world’s biggest Muslim population.

In the same survey to find out their priorities for the future, only 20 per cent of Indonesian Muslim youth answered “Yes” when asked if the Quran should replace their country’s constitution.

The survey “Values, dreams, Ideals: Muslim Youth in Southeast Asia” was jointly conducted by Merdeka Center with University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Goethe Institute Malaysia, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and, on the Indonesian side, the Lembaga Survei Indonesia.

Catitan sut:

Suatu phenomena yang menarik, bagaimana muslim melihat dan menaggapi kedudukan al-Quran yang mulia itu, serta kedudukan perlembagaan dalam pentadbiran sesebuah kerajaan,

Islam semenjak awalnya mentabdir kerajaan dan ummahnya tanpa perlembagaan, kalaupun ada ianya adalah dokumen-dokumen tentang qanun. Yakni ketetapan-ketetapan undang-undang . Undang-undang berlainan dengan perlembagaan, kerana perlembagaan adalah dokumen rujukan tertinggi bagi semua keketapan undang-undang itu sendiri di sesebuah negara.

Adapun apa yang dikenali sebagai Piagam Madinah (sahifah al--Madinah) yang telah menyebut tentang asas-asas hubungan dan tanggung-jawab setiap kaum yang ada di Madinah; itu agak sekur untuk diketegorikan sebagai perlembagaan, sekiranya ianya sebuah perlembaaagn sudah tentu ianya akan sentiasa dirujuk sebagai asas kepada sebarang pembentukkan undang-undang baik di zaman Rasulullah mahupun selepasnya, atau kita akan dimaklumkan dengan penggubalan perlembagaan baru mengantikan Sahifah al-Madinah itu. Tetapi itu tidak berlaku. maka lebih senang kita mengatakan Islam dalam bentuk klasiknya mentadbir ummah dan wilayahnya tanpa perlembagaan, tetapi disokong oleh qanun-qanun.
Sahifah al-Madinah itu lebih merupakan perjanjian bersama atau perjanjian pertahanan besama di antara penduduk-penduduk Madinah, Ianya lebih merupakan dokumen perjanjian bukannya perlembagaan.

Dan kita juga sedar ulama hadith membincangkan kesahihan riwayat tentang Sahifah itu sendiri, ianya bukan suatu yang disepakati kesahihannya.

Apabila kita telah menetapkan dalam pemikiran kita yang kerajaan memerlukan perlembaaan, kerajaan sekular dengan perlembaaan sekular, maka kerajaan Islam mesti mempunyai perlembagaan Islam. Maka ketetapan inilah telah menimbulkan suatu persoalan yang sewajarnya tidak timbul, seakan kita mahu mengenakan peraturan permainan ragbi bagi perlawanan sepak bola!

Perlembagaan adalah undang-undang tertinggi bagi sesebuah negara, ianya boleh diubah dari masa ke semasa dan ada artikel-artikelnya yang boleh dimansukhkan sama sekali. Berlainan dengan al-Quran, ianya Wahyu Allah yang kekel dan terpelihara, manusia tidak mempunyai hak untuk menukar apalagi memansukhkan mana-mana ayatnya.

Al-Quran bukan setakat sumber syariat ( legality) Islam, bahkan sumber bagi aqidah, akhlaq, tazkiyyatu an-nafs, soal selepas kematian dan akhirat dan sejarah ummah terdahulu. Ianya jauh lebih tinggi dan lebih luas daripada mana-mana perlembagaan. Adapun slogan "al-Quran dusturuna" yang dipopularkan oleh Imam Hasan al-Banna, lebih membawa makna dutur/perlembaaan bagi pegangan dan kehidupan kita. Ianya dustur kita dalam erti kata 'faham kita, citarasa kita, amalan kita, pegangan kita dan pembawaan kita' semada bagi kehidupan dalaman kita, kehidupan persendirian, keluarga , masyarakat dan alam sejagat.

Adapun artikel ke 2 dalam perlembagaan Masir yang menyebut Islam sebagai agama negara dan Syariat sebagai sumber rujukan asas yang sedang dipersoalkan di Masir mempunyai sejarahnya sendiri. Artikel ini telah dimasukkan ke dalam perlembagaan Masir ketika peringkat awal pemerentah Anwar Sadat . Ketika Anwar Sadat mula memegang kuasa, beliau dalam usahanya untuk melonjak penerimaannya di kalangan rakyatnya telah memanggil wakil-wakil dari belbagai pihak untuk memperkemaskan perlembagaan negara. Almarhum Syakh Umar al-Telmasani telah mewakili Ikhwan al-Muslimin ke pertemuan-pertemuan ini. Belialah di antara yang berusaha untuk memasukkan artikel 2 ini ke dalam perlembagaan itu. Beliau telah dikritik secara sinis, seakan-akan beliau terlalu 'naive' sehingga boleh terpedaya yang dengan ada artikel 2 itu, maka kerajaan Masir akan menjadi lebih Islami. Tetapi itu bukan maksud Syaikh Umar al-Telmasani, beliau mengharapkan sekiranya ada pemimpin yang berjiwa Islam akan berkuasa di Masir, maka pemimpin itu mampu memenafaatkan artikel 2 tersebut tanpa perlu banyak mengubah dasar-dasar utama yang ada di dalam perlembagaaan.

Biarkan semangat mahu al-Quran dijadikan perlembagaan itu terus memarak di kalangan kita, hanya kita mesti terus menentukan bagi diri kita pada setiap kali untuk membaca al-Quran, berusaha memahami suruhan dan larangannya, pengajaran dan hikmah yang terkandung padanya.

Ya Allah ajarkanlah kami al-Quran, bacaannya, tafsirnya, bahasanya dan jadikan kami daripada ahli-ahli al-Quran

Maryam Jameelah: Makcik Yang Kita Terlalu Banyak Terhutang Budi

2011-07-10T02:09:00.000-07:00

Young Muslim Digest’s Interview With Maryam Jameelah (July 2005)

YMD: We have always known about your conversion through contacts with Mawlana Mawdudi, but nothing about how in the first instance you got interested in Islam. Would you like to throw some light on your initial days of interest in Islam?

MJ: Like Muhammad Asad (Leopold Weiss), I first became interested in Islam by a fascination with everything Arab. I read all the books about Arabs I could find and loved to listen to recordings by Umm Kalsoum. Then, as now, most of these books were by Orientalists or missionaries and presented a very negative view which I knew was unjustified. Only years later I acquired knowledge about Qur'an Majeed through Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall's translation which inspired me with the desire to convert to Islam.

YMD: You have settled in Pakistan since 1962. How different has been the experience in this shift of cultures, indeed, of ideologies, as in your case? Of course, your expectations of Muslim culture would have been quite high, and there must have been some disappointments especially in the beginning. Was it a lack of alternatives or, satisfaction with what you found in Pakistan or merely familial bindings that led you to remain in Pakistan, perhaps never traveling out once?

MJ: I settled in Pakistan at the invitation of Maulana Maudoodi with whom I had been corresponding for two years. He not only gave me emotional support as a new convert but also a permanent home in Pakistan, and helped me find a good husband. I have been on such good terms with his family. I never wanted to go anywhere else, convinced there was nothing for me in America. My first impression of Pakistan was that it was a very good Muslim country. Disillusions with its numerous shortcomings only came later.

YMD: Have you performed Hajj and what has been your impression. Do you travel for 'Umrah and if you do, do you find changes in Arab adherence to Islam in the two holy Harams?

MJ: I talk with everyone I know who has returned from Hajj and read everything about it that I can. I deeply regret that the expansion of the Haram and the Masjid-an-Nabi could only be accomplished by the massive destruction of nearly all the Ottoman structures of the Holy Cities including numerous historic places associated with the Holy Prophet. Everything has been modernized/ westernized including much inappropriate technology. However, the comforts and physical accommodations have been vastly improved. Despite all this, returnees who have returned to tell me their experiences insist that the Hajj was the greatest spiritual experience of their lives.

YMD: You have known the late Mawlana Mawdudi well in your close association with him. How relevant are his ideas for the future of the Muslim community today? How do you view the policies and practices of the Jamat-e-Islami in Pakistan today? How has its policies changed since the time that it was first launched in 1941?

MJ: At the beginning in 1941 Maulana Maudoodi was concerned with cultural matters in Islam's relation with the West. Now everything is politics. Placing politics at the centre of the Islamic mission is contrary to the traditions of Islam. However, Jamat-e-Islami deserves all the credit for restraining the worst excesses of secular military dictatorships.

YMD: It has been said that the logic of your discursive approach has recently led you away from current forms of Islamic revivalism and even from the Jamat-e-Islami itself. It has also been said that increasingly aware of revivalism's own borrowing from the West, you have distanced yourself from the revivalist exegesis and have even criticized your mentor, Mawlana Mawdudi, for his assimilation of modern concepts into Jamat-e-Islami's ideology. How much do you agree with this?

MJ: I became disillusioned about the Maulana's disdain for the necessity for beauty in the lives of his followers, of traditional Islamic philosophy and Islamic art and his whole-hearted acceptance of industrialism, technology and evolutionism. But now I am less critical. Maulana Maudoodi, Sheikh Hasan al Banna and Syed Qutb devoted their entire lives to the Islamic cause and sacrificed all their time, energy and resources and even their lives towards that end. They strictly abided by Shariat all their lives and inspired many others to do so.

YMD: You once said that you were totally in disagreement with what Allama Iqbal wrote in his 'Reconstruction of religious thought in Islam.' Can you please explain the basis of this disagreement?

MJ: In his 'Reconstruction of religious thought in Islam' Allama Iqbal attempted a most unconvincing reconciliation with certain 19th century western philosophies. The entire book is based on evolutionism and progressionism. It will remain one of the most well known classics of Islamic modernism.

YMD: You have known the late Muhammad Asad through his writings and perhaps also in his capacities in the foreign ministry of Pakistan. Were his works like 'The Road to Makkah' and 'Islam at the Crossroads' instrumental in your own conversion to Islam? Did you ever perceive a certain evolution in his thought: an evolution to which you couldn't reconcile yourself in later years? If so, can you please explain where you differed from his viewpoints? What is your opinion about his Commentary (on the Qur'an)? Would you recommend its inclusion in Islamic studies, either private or institutionalized?

MJ: Muhammad Asad's 'The Road to Mecca' inspired my desire to live in a Muslim country and 'Islam at the crossroads' determined my entire literary career. However, his 'Message of the Qur'an' is almost entirely based on 'The Manar' by Shaikh Muhammad Abduh. It is filled with modernism and naturalism. Muhammad Asad was a great admirer of Shaikh Muhammad Abduh and was much influenced by him.

YMD: Alija Ali Izzetbegovich, the former President of Bosnia-Herzegovina, has been one of the most unsung Muslim intellectuals in modern European history. What has been your own assessment of his life and works? How would you rate his work, 'Islam between East and West'?

MJ: Having only read a brief biography and obituaries and not 'Islam between East and West,' (I may say that) Alija Ali Izzetbegovich is renowned as the most distinguished Bosnian Muslim statesman.

YMD: Writing in as far back as 1969, you had stated that the Muslim Ulema (with honourable exceptions) 'had become like the Pharisees against whom Jesus Christ devoted his entire mission. In their extremes of verbal hair splitting, some of our Ulema have outdone the Talmud and put the Rabbis to shame.' How much has the situation progressed for the better today, some thirty-five years later?

MJ: Although certain Ulema have shortcomings the righteous amongst them uphold the Shariat, combat bid'ah or innovations and can be regarded as the indispensable pillar of traditional Islamic civilization.

YMD: Do you see a marked difference in approach on the part of the Orientalists in view of the spread of Islamic knowledge, and in view of questions of their intellectual integrity raised now and then, especially by Norman Daniel?

MJ: Even the most 'sympathetic' Orientalists think Islam should change in conformity to the demands of modern life; some of them even propose that Qur'an and Hadith be subjected to 'Higher Criticism' like Biblical studies, (and that) a search (be made) among modernists for one who could play the part of a Muslim Martin Luther and 'updating' Islam like Vatican II.

YMD: Some years back when Frithjof Schuon was criticized in the Impact for his Sufi practices, you had reacted strongly. Do you agree with the ideas presented by him, and the practices he tried to promote?

MJ: I was utterly shocked by the article in Impact condemning Frithjof Schuon and considered it (and still do) the worst character assassination. When dissatisfied with revivalist books, I was at first greatly impressed with Schuon's writings. The writings of his school were alone in emphasizing the necessity of beauty and Islamic art, strongly condemned industrialism and modern science and upheld traditional orthodox Islamic civilization in every aspect of a Muslim's life. Schuon's writings remained my favourite books until I met with his divorced third wife. We became best friends and she related all her experiences in her 30-year life with Schuon. So Impact's article turned out to be true after all. My new found friend disclosed even more shocking facts about Schuon which utterly disqualified him as a spiritual guide. She disclosed that Schuon lived with three women without proper Nikah. He loved nudity and was accused in court of sexual child abuse. He hugged dozens of beautiful, bare-breasted young girls clad in only a transparent loin-cloth. He painted fifty pictures of his youngest wife in the nude. As entertainment, he and his followers danced native Indian dances. Outside Schuon's house was a life-sized statue of the Virgin Mary. Worst of all, he forbade his followers to befriend other Muslims. I still have all Schuon's books; they still attract me but I cannot look at them without a profound sense of shame.

YMD: What, in general, is your assessment of the neo-apologists and propagators of Sufi ideas such as Schuon, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Martin Lings, or others of this class? Do you think that, in effect, they offer pantheism rather than impress about Islam's unique ideas and strict tawhid perspectives?

MJ: Like Schuon, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Martin Lings are my favourite writers. More profound criticism of Western philosophy, science and technology is not found among any of the revivalist writers. Martin Lings Seerat is by far the best in English - based entirely on Qur'an and Hadith.

YMD: How do you rate Rene Guenon's writings? Do you think his obsession with the cyclic explanation, did away with whatever good criticism he made against the Western culture, and contributed nothing, despite his long stay in Egypt, to the projection of Islam as primarily rational?

MJ: No modern writer attacked modern civilization and all it stands for more than Rene Guenon. Next to him the revivalist figures appear childish. His all-out attack on evolutionism and progressionism is decisive and irrefutable. He proved the cyclic and disproved progress. No sensitive, intelligent mind can study Rene Geunon's 'Crisis of the modern world' and 'Reign of quantity and signs of the times' without being changed forever.

YMD: How would you explain the exclusion of many powerful Muslim personalities of not only our own times, but even of the first half of the last century from the 'Encyclopedia of Islam' produced at Braille, when you find entries on other less influential men of the past?

MJ: The 'Encyclopaedia of Islam' is entirely an Orientalist work. The exclusion of these powerful Muslim personalities of the past and present serves their own nefarious purposes of keeping serious scholars ignorant about them.

YMD: In your opinion, how effective is the present educational system in the Muslim world? Will a piecemeal attempts at making conventional western-style education conform to Islamic requirements suffice in effecting a lasting transformation amongst the Muslim youth today? Or will a wholesale shift in paradigm be necessary before a new edifice of education is built on premises that are strictly in keeping with the founding principles of the Islamic worldview?

MJ: The present educational system in Muslim countries results in imitation of Westerners. It destroys faith in Islam and the Islamic way of life. Maulana Maudoodi was most concerned about this when in 1939 he wrote Talimat and Tanqihat. Despite all their defects I am most opposed to the secularization or closing down of the Deeni Madaris - all that is left of traditional Islamic education for the young today.

YMD: While the Jews have always disowned the 'Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion' ever since it was first discovered in the early years of the twentieth century, there is a widespread belief that the 'Protocols' form the blueprint for Jewish world domination. What is your own view on the 'Protocols' and the Zionist movement in general?

MJ: Nobody knows if the 'Protocols of the learned elders of Zion' is authentic or not (?). If so, it was probably written by Theodore Herzl at the first Zionist Convention in Basle, Switzerland in 1897. Literary similarities between the 'Protocols' and 'The Jewish State' (1896) are striking. Racial anti-semitism produced by the 'Protocols' which fail to distinguish between Judaism and Zionism is a Western import into the Muslim world previously unknown. Orthodox Judaism and Zionism conflict and are irreconcilable.

YMD: The WTC attacks of September 11, 2001, have had a profound impact on the prospects for Islamic revival in the 21st century. How historic do you think is this development? What has been your assessment of global developments with regard to Islam and the Muslim world in the four years since the event? Do you perceive an attempt at neo-colonization of the energy-rich Muslim lands by the Western Powers led by the US as sufficient justification for those Muslims who have picked up the gauntlet and have responded in kind to the oppression that has become the staple fare of innocent Muslims in several parts of the globe?

MJ: The USA under President Bush is engaged in an all-out war on Islam: the same colonialism and imperialism as the British and French a century ago. But insurgency and suicide bombers are no effective response. Shocking disregard for human life, especially women, children and the elderly - all innocent non-combatants cannot qualify the struggle as Jihad. Jihad must be waged according to Shariat.

YMD: Your views on the future of the Muslim people and the prospects for the Islamic faith in the 21st century? Do you see a vision of hope which bases itself on the inherent strengths - howsoever negligible - of the Muslim Ummah today, as against one which has for its premises the myriad weaknesses of the community?

MJ: As despair and hopelessness are forbidden in Islam, I view the future with great caution. The destruction of most of the outward signs of traditional environment and atmosphere in Islam, particularly architecture and Islamic dress for males as well as females is a catastrophic loss. Taqwa will remain in the next century although it will grow less and less and harder and harder to find. Many signs of the Last Days predicted by Hadith are now present. When asked what to do at the approach of the Last Days, the Holy Prophet replied: 'Separate yourself from the evil ones, concentrate on your own affairs and cling to the roots of the tree (of Islam) until death overtakes you in that state...'

Catitan Sut:

Pada akhir tahun 70an dan awal 80an, budak-budak dakwah banyak menyebut nama Maryam Jamelah, Maryam Jameelah seorang asal dari keluarga Yahudi Orthodox , berutus surat dengan Maulana Maududi, dengan kemudiannya berhijrah ke Pakistan.

Tulisan Maryam Jameelah pada peringkat itu adalah tulisan seorang yang 'membenci peradaban dan nilai-nilai barat' serta sangat mengkagumi nilai-nilai baik yang masih tersisa di kalangan ummah. Dari tulisan beliaulah kita terdedah kepada sudut pandangan kritikal terhadap Syaikh Muhammad Abduh, Syaikh Jamaluddin al-Afghani, Muhammad Amin pengarang Duha Islam , Zia Gokalp, Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan dan lain-lain tokoh modernist.

Dari tulisan beliau juga kita mula-mula terdedah kepada tokoh pejuang ummah Imam Shamil, Uthman Dan Fodio, Sayyid Ahmad Syahid dan lain-lain pejuang. Kita juga membaca tulisan kreatif beliau 'Ahmad Khalil' dengan semangat (hanya kini apabila direnung balik , kita rasakan plotnya terlalu simple untuk menceritakan complexity kehidupan dan pertembungan aliran pemikiran yang sebenar),

Bagaimanapun hampir semua tulisan beliau mudah difaham, berbahasa tegas dan terarah kepada matlamat yang beliau tuju secara jelas, mampu mencetak suatu bentuk fahaman terhadap hidup di pemikiran kita budak-budak dakwah. Pada tahun 1979 saya telah menghantar surat kepada beliau, beliau membalas surat saya berserta kiriman tiga buku kecil tulisan beliau. Tulisan tangan beliau pada setiap buku yang dihadiahkan itu berupa huruf sebiji-biji yang bulat-bulat . Terima kasih makcik yang banyak berjasa ini... (sehingga kini say simpan buku-buku ini)

Bermula dari tulisan Maryam Jameelah kita mencari tulisan-tulisan yang lebih terperinci tentang tokoh-tokoh yang disebut atau kritikan-kritikan yang diutarakan. Maruyam Jameelah membuka jendela-jendela untuk kita menjenguk secara lebih teliti kepada tajuk-tajuk yang diutarakan.

Pernah suatu masa dulu saya bertanya diri saya berapa lama Maryam Jameelah mampu berpuas hati dengan tulisan dan aliran Maulana Maududi?. Dari tulisan-tulisan beliau, kita dapat memerhatikan yang Maryam Jameelah berganjak dari tapak pemikiran Maulana Maududi, contohnya kritikan beliau terhadap barat mula lebih refine daripada kritikan Maududi yang coarse and gross. Cara beliau menilai tinggi tokoh-tokoh traditionalist umpama Syaikh Ahmad Alawi, the sufi saint of the 20th century (guna tajuk bagi tulisan Syaikh Martin Lings) dan Badiuzzaman Said Nursi atau memetik pandangan Maulna Abu Hasan an-Nadwi, semua ini membayangkan terdapat diversion dari pola logic yang diunjurkan oleh Maududi.

Suatu yang saya tidak tahu ialah Maryam Jameelah telah mengkagumi tulisan tokoh-tokoh muslim perrenialist, umpama Rene Guenon, Titus Burckhart, Husein Nasr dan Frithjof Schuon. Bagaimanapun sudah tentu kita semua boleh bersetuju sekiranya kita mahu memahami kesenian Islam dalam perbincangan tradisional berperspektif secara semasa, sudah tentu tulisan Titus Burckhart adalah antara pilihan yang terbaik, sekiranya kita ingin menyelusuri sejarah sains dan teknologi ummah secara yang tidak apologetik , sudah tentu tulisan Husein Nasr adalah pilihan yang teratas (hanya sebahagian pengeritik mengatakan tulisan Nasr terlalu memberatkan sumbangan Islam-Parsi daripada warisan ummah bahagian lainnya). Sekiranya kita ingin membaca Sirah Rasulullah yang baik dalam bahasa inggeris, sudah tentu tulisan Martin Lings adalah antara pilihan teratas. Kita tidak dapat mengelak daripada mengkagumi tulisan-tulisan mereka dalam mengeritik asas-asas tamaddun barat dan mempertengahkan kepentingan nilai-nilai traditional yang sentiasa relevan.

Pandangan sebegini berjalan dengan licin sehingga kita dikejutkan dengan tulisan Ziauddin Sardar dalam majlah Impact International pada pertengahan 80'an tentang Schuon. Mengetahui sedikit sebanyak latar belakang dan kefahaman Ziauddin Sardar, mulanya kita tidak mengambil serious tulisan itu. Sehingga kita mencari sendiri dalam internet subject :" schuon painting" , alang terkejutnya kita untuk mendapati lukisan-lukisan perempuan bogel yang dilukis oleh spiritual master ini, kita baca kisah dari pihak yang mengkagumi Schuon tentang Schuon menyertai tarian gadis-gadis Red Indian, yang kemudiannya dirakamkan dalam lukisan-lukisan beliau. Kita yang terdidik secara timur ini, sekali-kali tidak dapat menerima seorang spiritual master yang mempunyai pengalaman kerohanian untuk terlibat dalam perkara-perkara seumpama ini. Walaupun kita mencari takwil untuk membenarkan perbuatan seumpama ini, ianya menemui jalan buntu. Walaupun kita hanya sekadar terkilan dalam cuba mentakwil hubungan Rene Guenon dengan gerakan Nazi dan ada yang mengatakan dengan Freemasson. Begitupun kita masih menerima dengan segala lapang dadanya pujian yang dicurahkan oleh Syaikh Abdul Halim Mahmud ke atas Rene Guenon. Bahkan kita sengaja menziarahi kuburnya Rene Guenon di Kaherah.

Alhamdulillah, makcik kita Maryam Jameelah masih membantu kita dalam membentuk perspektif dalam membina pendirian kita terhadap kelompok elite ini. Dari zaman kita berumur akhir belasan tahun, makcik Maryam Jameelah menyediakan bahan bacaan yang sesuai dengan semangat dan tahap kita ketika itu, sehingga kini ketika janggut sudah seluruhnya uban, peringatan dari makcik maryam Jameelah masih sangat berguna. Walaupun peringatan itu sudah jauh berbeza kerana bertambah matang daripada bahan-bahan yang kita baca ketika berumur akhir belasan tahun.

Rasulullah Sollallahu 'alaihi wasallam mengingatkan kita kepentingan berpegang kepada al-Kitab (al-Quran) dan itrah (keturunan baginda), baginda juga memperingatkan kita tentang iman dan hikmah yang rendang diYaman. Di umur sebegini, kita merasa lebih nyaman untuk menumpang keberkatan ilmu dan amal golongan habaib (keturunan Rasulullah) di Hadramaut, Yaman. Semoga ianya memenuhi peringatan Rasulullah tersebut. Mereka ini beraqidah mengikut fahaman Asya'irah, feqahnya mengikut mazhab Imam as-Syafi'ie dan mengamalkan amalan kerohanian sesuai dengan ajaran Imam al-Ghazali. Antara tokoh dari golongan ini ialah Imam Habib Abdullah al-Haddad.

Terima kasih makcik Maryam Jameelah atas kesempatan menumpang kefahaman, semangat dan pendewasaan faham untuk 30 tahun ini......Semoga Allah terus memanafaatkan kami serta saudara-saudara kami dengan tulisan beliau, serta dianugerahi Allah ke atas beliau kesihatan dan ketajaman fikir yang berterusan.

Demonstrasi BERSIH: Pendek Kata Apa Selepasnya?

2011-07-09T18:16:00.000-07:00

Alhamdulillah, kita sudah berganjak sehari dari 9hb Julai, hari yang mana sejak 2 bulan lalu banyak diperkatakan. Alhamdulillah Negara kita masih aman, tiada lapuran kerosakan teruk pada harta-benda, Kini keadaan Kula Lumpur kembali macam hari-hari biasa. Tidaklah sebagaimana yang digeruni sebelum ini, kita digerunkan yang akan berlaku rusuhan kaum- tetapi semalam kita melihat rakyat belbagai kaum berkejar-kejaran menyelamatkan diri dari semburan air berkimia dan gas pemedih mata sambil bantu-membantu antara satu sama lain.

Kita digerunkan yang kemungkinan ketumbukan PATRIOT yang sanggup menumpahkan darah atau PERKASA yang sanggup mengadai jiwa raga atau pasukan Silat yang sanggup berkorban dalam mempertahankan kedaulatan negara dan Raja-raja Melayu: tetapi kita membaca lapuran yang peserta PATRIOT tidaklah begitu ramai apa lagi untuk bertindak secara berkesan, ahli PERKASA 20-30 orang dikatakan bersantai di restoren Tasik Titiwangsa, tiada pula lapuran tentang pasukan silat pimpinan Omardin beraksi di mana-mana.

Ada beberapa perkara yang agaknya menarik untuk kita mengimbas tentang peristiwa semalam:

1- Zaman kita ini semuanya boleh dirakamkan, semuanya tersebar dengan cepat semada dalam negeri mahupun di peringkat antarabangsa. Censorship atau black-out untuk sebarang berita sudah tidak relevan. Gambar polis kita bertindak dengan cara 'tegas' dan 'berani' itupun dirakamkan, tersebar di seluruh dunia. Masyarakat dunia memerhati kecekapan polis kita bertindak; semada baik atau buruknya. Semada membantu menaikkan nama negara atau nama negara terus merudum. Kita tahu polis bertindak atas arahan (di negara kita bukan sahaja polis hatta DYMM Agong, sebagai raja berpelembagaan, baginda pun hanya boleh bertitah dan bertindak mengikut nasihat daripada Perdana Menteri dan Jamaah Kabinet (sebagai yang dijelaskan oleh sendiri oleh Rais Yatim). Oleh itu jika berlaku sebarang kekasaran pada p[ihak [polis, wajarkah anggota polis dipersalahkan?

2-Anggota masyarakat yang tidak berparti merasa meluat membaca kenyataan pimpinan parti politik dari pihak berkuasa mahupun pembangkang. Pimpinan parti yang menyokong kerajaan sejak sebulan lalu telah mengeluarkan kenyataan-kenyataan melampau tentang kemusnahan yang bakal diakibatkan oleh demonstrasi jalanan yang dirancang untuk diadakan selama 2 jam (dari jam 2 sehingga jam 4 petang). Sementara pimpinan parti pembangkang pula, mereka tidak sedarkan nasib untung mereka. Demonstrasi BERSIH bukan perancangan mereka, ianya adalah perancangan 60 NGO, bahkan dalam komitinya tidak terdapat nama-nama pemimpin pembangkang; tetapi tanpa rasa malu selepas demonstrasi ini, mereka menguggut dan mendakwa yang 9hb ini hanyalah permulaan bagi kebangkitan rakyat, mereka mungkin akan adakan lagi demonstrasi yang lebih besar. Kalau boleh kita ingin katakan " awak semua sekadar meramaikan demonstrasi itu, awak hanya umpama orang yang datang meramaikan jemputan kenduri perkahwinan, jangan pula awak merasa yang majlis itu majlis awak, dan awak tuan rumah".

3-Ketua Polis Negara terlalu gopoh menafikan berita Anwar Ibrahim tercedera akibat terkena canister gas pemedih mata. Mungkin kecederaan beliau itu tidak serious, tetapi menafikan suatu kejadian yang terakam adalah cerita yang berbeza. Atau mungkin sungguh Ketua Polis hendak memberitahu :"memang ada orang lain yang raut mukanya macam DSAI; oleh itu imbasan digital raut muka yang terlantar di hospital itu perlu terlebih dahulu dihantar ke Amerika atau ke Korea untuk pakar-pakar di sana menganalisa ketulenan gambar tersebut". Ya lah , di zaman sekarang ini, semua rakaman boleh dimanipulasi mengikut kehendak yang berkepentingan.........
4-Rais Yatim menyebut di Kuala Terengganu tentang pengkhianatan siKitul yang telah akhirnya meruntuh kerajaan Melayu Melaka, Rais memang banyak mengeluar kenyataan berkaitan dengan demonstrasi BERSIH ini, maklumlah dia Menteri Penerangan, dan PhD-nya pula dalam undang-undang serta beliau diakui oleh kakitangan DBP sendiri sebagai seorang yang berbudaya dan punya ketinggian bahasa. Hanya kadang-kadang kenyataan dan kencaman beliau itu terlalu tinggi nilai estetika-nya sehingga jauh dari sasaran yang sebenarnya. Beliau bercerita tentang siKitol di zaman Melaka, maklumat sejarah beliau mantap; sepatutnya beliau juga bercerita tentang peranan Haman dan Qarun; menteri dan penasihat Firaun serta tokoh ushawan yang serba kaya dalam mengapi-apikan Firaun agar terus menerus menyiksa Bani Israel, yang akhirnya Fiaraun yang mati kelemasan di Laut Merah. Jangan disalahkan siKitol sahaja, salahkan juga peranan Haman dan Qarun....... Lagipun kedua VIP disebut adalam al-Quran, bukan setakat dalam Sejarah Melayu.

5-Sebahagian ahli masyarakat kita mendakwa merasa rimas melihat gandingan penunjuk perasaan antara yang yang beragama Islam dan bukan beragama Islam, antara Haji Hadi dengan Ambiga. Kedua tokoh ini ada sejarah dan latar belakang mereka sendiri-sendiri. Kenapa hal sebegini dtimbulkan?. Adakah agama kita atau undang-undang negara melarang?. Apa yang lebih penting ialah tuntutan 8 perkara yang dibuat oleh BERSIH, adakah antara 8 perkara itu ada yang bertentangan dengan agama atau dengan undang-undang negara?. Atau apakah agama kita melarang kita untuk berkerja-sama dengan pihak yang berlainan agama sehingga dalam perkara-perkara yang kita semua mempunyai kepentingan bersama?. Atau adakah pihak berkuasa hari ini mempunyai kepentingan agama dan bangsa untuk tidak melayan tuntutan 8 perkara oleh BERSIH itu? Kenapa pihak berkuasa terlalu liat untuk melayani 8 tuntutan yang tidak memihak secara jelasnya kepada pembangkang itu?

6-Pendek kata rupa-rupa sebahagian daripada penyokong parti pemerentah (bukan setakat penyokong pembangkang) mempunyai pendirian yang sangat mencurigai rakyat dari bangsa yang berlainan, bacalah sebahagian blog-blog kendalian individu yang menyokong kerajaan, terlalu banyak sangat sentimen 'Melayu dan Islam terancam' yang telah dimain-mainkan...... Takan lah selepas 50 tahun parti Melayu berkuasa di Tanahair kita, bangsa dan agama kita semakin terancam sebegitu rupa kecuali yang berkuasa itu tidak menjalankan amanah dan tanggung-jawab mereka.

2011-07-06T18:02:00.000-07:00

Who's afraid of the Salafists?

The first conference of Al-Nour Party held in Alexandria shows that the Salafi movement will be a force to be reckoned with, even if it has a long way to go

Hossam Tammam, Monday 4 Jul 2011

Salafi supporters of Egyptian cleric Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman call for his release in front of the US embassy in Cairo (File Photo: Reuters)

The first Salafi conference held by Al-Nour Party in Alexandria deserves a closer look and a different reading of the state of Salafis beyond the blasé and sometimes alienating method by which the Egyptian media deals with the Salafi issue in general. Since the arrival of the Salafis on the political scene, the media machine has only dealt with them in a traditional manner —sometimes leaning towards incitement and shallow coverage without presenting the complex and complicated nature of the Salafi scene, to uncover the dormant potential of political growth within the trend. The Alexandria conference would have been an opportunity to find out other facets of the Salafi movement, but unfortunately the Egyptian media squandered the opportunity.

The first issue of note for observers is that the new Salafi party chose to hold its first broad conference in a public place instead of at one of the many mosques they own in Alexandria. There was a clear message they promoted and confirmed, namely a complete separation between the party, its activities, and the proselytisation movement it belongs to. The irony is that while Al-Nour Party was able to resolve this issue early on —even before it was born —the Muslim Brotherhood and its Freedom and Justice Party remain confused on the matter and unable to resolve it.

A second issue of note is the message of openness that the new Salafi party is keen on promoting, inviting the participation of all political factions and forces, as well as new parties or ones still under construction. They also invited Christians and a representative of Al-Seyouf Church in the district where the conference was held, as well as large numbers of foreign media and provided simultaneous translation into English with extensive explanation for foreign attendees.

Another remarkable step was inviting speech and hearing impaired people —a segment that all other political parties had ignored —and signing them up in the party and explaining the party programme to them. For the first time ever, there was sign language interpretation for all events at the conference and this segment was strongly present.

Things looked promising and demonstrated that this Salafi party is unlike anything we expected. While the content was important, it would be difficult to detail all the political speeches that were made, which were naturally heavy on religious rhetoric. It is noteworthy, however, that this is a Salafi group discussing the “Egyptian state” and holding extensive debate about Egypt and its future, which will never be a Taliban state or even like Saudi Arabia. Other models were promoted as inspiration, such as Turkey and Malaysia.

For the first time, Salafi youth discussed economic issues in detail and there was also debate about development and progress. This is a completely novel agenda that demonstrates that a segment of Salafis are about to make a big entrance onto the political scene. But this won’t be easy because of root and complex problems, some of them structural, which plague this endeavour. Observers can see the disparity that although the leadership has attracted a wide popular base and is informed politically (figures such as Emad Abdel-Ghaffour), it seems to be under pressure from an old guard whose ideas need to be modernised.

The Salafi base was built on proselytising rhetoric rooted in religious debate without much attention to politics. Anything relating to politics dates back to before the establishment of states and barely recognises their legitimacy, if at all. Any thoughts about politicians are based on the sultanate state that does not recognise the modern state, citizenship, or the separation of powers —nothing that we are living, or even contemporary political reality. Now, suddenly, they are delving into the issues of political parties, the state, parliamentary elections, Salafi representation in parliament or the presidency, and many other complex questions that they never cared for or were allowed to ponder under Mubarak’s authoritarian, tyrannical and oppressive regime, let alone consider exercising.

This base requires intense political investment to enable it to deal with the progressive ideas that the party’s leadership is proposing. This leads us to another point, namely that despite assurances that there is separation between preaching and politics, and that the leaders and founders of the proselytising school allow the party complete independence and freedom of action (unlike the Muslim Brotherhood, for example), I believe more is needed than a mere decision to separate proselytising and politics. The path of the movement and attention of Salafi proselytising leaders should converge onto the new problems facing the nascent Salafi political entity, which requires them to take the courageous decision of intellectual and political openness.

One must admit that currently the Salafis, especially the Wahabis among them, are not offering what is needed to establish a political project. Accordingly, their leaders should embrace intellectual openness to allow the political movement to acquaint itself with Islamic discourse and debate, to help it outline a new political vision. I believe that many Salafi leaders, especially Sheikh Mohamed Ismail Al-Moqaddem, the founder of the group, have enough energy and inner strength to sponsor such political and intellectual debate, to expand the realm of Salafi political thought.

There is promise in incorporating the Salafi phenomenon when building a modern Egyptian state, but the challenges are immense. Part of this is the responsibility of Salafis, but another part lies with other political players, such as secularists, in helping the group, bringing it closer to the spirit and reason of an all-inclusive Egyptian state.

The writer is an expert on Islamic movements.

The Turkish model

Everybody now seems to have something to say about Turkey

Mona Anis , Thursday 16 Jun 2011

It is impossible to have a political conversation these days – and politics is all Egyptians ever talk about – without the word Turkey cropping up within minutes. Turkey is the topic of interest: meetings are being held to discuss it, and writers, journalists, bloggers and even tweeters write incessantly about the lessons the Turkish model holds for Egypt at this crucial juncture while the country readies for a democratic transformation following the great uprising of 25 January.

Many of these speakers and writers, including the present one, have had the opportunity to visit Turkey over the last couple of months at the invitation of one or other Turkish institution, many of which are currently conducting a highly successful public diplomacy campaign.

Naturally, such visits increased on the eve of the Turkish elections, as many interested groups, including a group of "Young Revolutionaries," were invited to follow the Turkish democratic experiment at close range. This specific youth group was invitedby the Turkish Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research, and they toured Konya, Ankara and Istanbul, being received separately by Turkish President Abdullah Gül, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.

Not surprisingly, most delegates came back impressed, especially as this week's elections in Turkey ended in the third consecutive victory for the ruling Justice and Development Party, adding grist to the mill of comparisons. At the centre of the debate is the comparison between Turkey's Islamists and their Egyptian counterparts. But while the Turkish model may be of relevance to the Islamists of Egypt as regards gaining power, one should not overlook the fact that many differences exist in the respective social formations of Egypt and Turkey, as well as many differences between formative influences on the Islamist movements in each country.

Admittedly, there are some common features between the two countries. Both embarked on a modernisation project inspired by the French model at roughly the same time: Egypt under Muhammad Ali and Turkey under the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II. Both suffered the same disillusionment regarding this project, which sought to make of the two respective nations "part of Europe," in the famous words of Muhammad Ali's son the Khedive Ismail. However, Turkey, guarding the division between Europe and Asia, with the Bosphorus providing the only sea passage out of the Black Sea into the Mediterranean, had a legitimate claim to belonging to Europe, while Egypt had only the dreams of a ruler who was duly deposed by the European powers in 1879.

Besides, we should not forget that Turkey at the height of Ottoman power was an empire with vast territories, while Egypt's attempts to free itself from the Ottoman yoke ended with falling under British occupation in 1882. By the beginning of the 20^th century, when Turkey was dubbed the “sick man of Europe,” it had lost much of its territory and had become increasingly dependent on the financial control of the European powers, but it still had a powerful army with an imperial history, which, despite the crippling defeat dealt to it in World War 1, was still able to lead the country into the foundation of the Turkish Republic in 1923.

Another important difference between Egypt and Turkey is that while the Islamist organisations in Turkey are a fairly recent phenomenon which started to gain political influence in the 1980s with Erbakan's Welfare Party (the predecessor of today's Justice and Development Party), the Muslim Brotherhood, the main Islamist organisation in Egypt, has been around for more than eight decades with many of its ideological precepts unchanged.

This is not to argue that the Muslim Brotherhood, seemingly the best-organised political force in Egypt now, is incapable of restructuring itself along similar lines to those followed by the Turkish Islamists. The point I am making relates to the history of both movements, not to the future development of the Brotherhood, which could benefit from the experience of both the Welfare and Justice and Development parties.

When I visited Istanbul ten years ago, I could feel the tension between those who wanted Turkey to remain totally westernised and the emerging Islamist forces. Last month, I was glad to see the city evidently more self-confident under the leadership of the Islamists, who seem to have allayed a great part of the secularists' fears regarding the path they are taking. I felt that the city was more elegant and vibrant than ever before, with a happy co-existence between secular and religious people; that old feeling of being in a place torn between two worlds had totally disappeared.

As I was preparing for the trip to Istanbul, I picked up a Globetrotter travel guide to the city purchased ten years earlier. In the short introduction on “government and economy in Turkey” I read the following: "Turkey's big problem is that there are too many political parties and too little power for any one party. In June 1999, a coalition government was formed… During this time, the only constant has been the Islamic fundamentalist Welfare Party, which now holds around 21 per cent of the seats in parliament. But with its anti-European and strong religious views, the Welfare Party has been unable to form a coalition. The army, in any case, firmly secular in outlook, will fight hard against a fundamentalist government."

So much for travel guides. I was very happy to find that the Islamists of Turkey, with their "zero conflict" strategy, had defied expectations of this kind, which have not been limited to travel guides. I would also like to see the Islamists in Egypt defy the expectations of their adversaries and emulate the Turkish model in this respect.

Catitan Sut:

Masir adalah bumi yang mampu mencambah beragam aliran pemikiran, sehingga dikatakan 'sekiranya kita ke Masir, kita akan menjumpai manusia yang berfikiran dan mempunyai minat yang sama dengan kita' walau seganjil manapun pemikiran dan minat kita itu.
Aliran salafi telah mendapat tempat yang agak awal dalam sejarah moden di Masir, antara tokoh awal aliran ini yang menonjol ialah Syaikh Sayyid Rashid Reda dan Syaikh Muhibbudin al-Khatib. Kepelbagaian yang terdapat di Masir yang mana berdirinya al-Azhar, institusi pengajian aliran tradisional yang paling established di dunia, yang mana juga terdapat sekelian banyak tariqah sufiyyah, aliran salafiyyah juga mendapat tempat dan dukungan tanpa banyak halangan. Sesuatu sifat yang hampir kita tidak terfikir akan boleh berlaku dalam masyarakat di negara salafi, umpama Saudi atau di negara Shiah, umpama Iran.
Kalau sebelum ini banyak daripada gerakan aliran keras, umpama Tanzim al-Jihad, mengaku berpegang kepada aqidah huraian aliran salafi, ada di kalangan mereka telah menyingkir sebahagian pimpinan Islam dan Gerakan Islam yang lain kerana keterlibatan mereka dalam proses politik semasa; sehingga ada di kalangan mereka yang menolak penglibatan dengan pihak berkuasa. Kini perkembangan di Masir ini menunjukkan suatu yang baru, suatu yang membatalkan sikap sebahagian mereka (pengikut Syaikh Omar Abdul Rahman) yang sebelum ini.
Suatu lagi pemerhatian yang menarik, ialah golongan yang menentang kerajaan secara menggunakan kekerasan ketika kerajaan menekan, sehingga mereka sanggup pula untuk masuk keluar penjara, rupa-rupanya akan bersikap 'civic' apabila terdapat ruang yang lega untuk mereka menyuarakan pandangan dan fahaman mereka. Mereka telah dijinakkan dengan kebebasan (They were tame by freedom), sedangkan mereka tidak dapat ditundukkan dengan hukuman dan deraan.
Maka suasana di Masir akan menjadi lebih berwarna, semoga Hizbu an-Nour kini akan berperanan sebagaimana patutnya dalam menyumbangkan tenaga untuk kebaikan Masir dan ummah seluruhnya. Semoga 'pembukaan ini' akan mematangkan semua pihak bukannya memalapkan kreativiti pemikiran mereka.
Bagaimana pula salafi di Malaysia ?, Yang jelasnya, sebahagiannya sudah membentuk 'Ulama Muda ' dalam UMNO; kini mereka telah bersuara dalam media utama negara. Mereka telah mengulangi fatwa yang demonstrasi (walaupun di negara demokrasi) adalah amalan khawarij. (umpamanya lihat buku kecil oleh Ustaz Rasul Dahari).
Bandingkan pula pendekatan politik di Turki oleh kumpulan yang dipengaruhi oleh pemikiran Badiuzzaman Said an-Nursi, yang masyhur dengan ungkapannnya "aku minta berlindung dengan Allah dari syaitan dan politik"

Siapa Yang Buat Keputusan Tender: Pendek Kata Bukan Harta Kita, Tetapi Harta Negara

2011-07-05T05:31:00.000-07:00

Pua: LRT awards show open tenders ‘a sham’

By Shannon Teoh (Malaysian Insider)

June 20, 2011

Pua questioned the manner in which Putrajaya was meddling in the open tender process. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 — DAP has ridiculed the Najib administration’s efforts at awarding government contracts through open tenders, citing reports of government intervention in the light rail transit (LRT) extension project worth up to RM890 million.

Publicity chief Tony Pua said today that the government has made “a complete mockery of its open tender exercise” by choosing to spend up to RM280 million extra on the 17km extension to the Kelana Jaya line.

“Unfortunately, the entire exercise has been made a sham... it has in effect wiped out the entire credibility of the Najib administration.

“After attracting some of the top international companies to take part in the tender, they are now finding out that Malaysia will award the party that puts in the higher or highest bid, and not that of the lowest,” said the Petaling Jaya Utara MP.

The Malaysian Insider reported last Friday that a finance ministry committee ordered Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd to award the deal to the Hartasuma Sdn Bhd-Bombardier joint-venture, whose RM890 million bid is nearly 50 per cent higher than the lowest bid.

A source had claimed that “all bids are technically the same” but Prasarana had recommended Ingress Corp Bhd-Balfour Beatty Rail Sdn Bhd, which put in a bid of RM610 million, the lowest, against Hartasuma-Bombardier’s bid, which was the highest.

The Singapore Straits Times, citing senior industry executives and government officials close to the tender, reported today that the joint-venture between Colas and CMC Engineering Sdn Bhd would now be awarded the project instead.

This new about-turn, if confirmed, comes ahead of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s official visit to London next month, where he is hoping to meet his British counterpart David Cameron.

Pua today said that since the Finance Ministry headed by Najib already had in mind who to award the deal to “regardless of the tender outcome, the government might as well just scrap the ‘open tender’ show and ‘save’ everyone the trouble.”

He added that despite Putrajaya’s stated intention to award more contracts through open tender, it has continued to hand contracts over directly to companies such as Gamuda-MMC as the “project delivery partner” for the RM50 billion Mass Rapid Transit, Naza TTDI for the RM682 million Matrade International Convention Centre, and 1Malaysia Development Bhd for both the proposed Kuala Lumpur International Financial District (KLIFD) and the Sungai Besi Airport redevelopment project.

Prasarana is spending some RM7 billion for the extension of both the Kelana Jaya and Ampang LRT rail networks. The Ampang network will be extended by another 17.7km.

The wholly-owned unit of the finance ministry was forced to cave in to pressure from Malay rights groups last month when it revised pre-qualification criteria for several construction packages for the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) by allowing joint-ventures or consortiums.

It had on March 30 imposed additional criteria on contractors taking part in the project tender, which disallowed them from forming joint ventures or consortiums.

Perkasa, however, accused Prasarana of blocking Bumiputera contractors from participating by enforcing “strict” guidelines that would only benefited “rich non-Bumis”, saying that project delivery partner MMC-Gamuda was “looting and monopolising” the project.

The MRT is expected to be the largest-ever construction project in Malaysia and had earlier been estimated to cost between RM36 billion and RM53 billion.

Catitan Sut

Sekiranya lapuran di atas benar, maka kita perlu merenung panjang, apalah bala yang akan menimpa negara ini.

Ketika rakyat diminta berjimat-cermat, ketika kerajaan mengaku terbeban kerana terpaksa memberi subsidi untuk menstabilkan harga minyak dalam pasaran tempatan , ketika harga gula dinaikkan memandangkan pengambilan gula yang berlebihan tidak baik untuk kesihatan; apa rationalnya kerajaan memberi tender kepada syarikat yang menanwarkan harga yang tertinggi.

Sudah tentu tender tidak dinilai semata-mata di atas pertimbangan harga yang terendah, tetapi meliputi pengalaman kerja, peralatan, kekuatan kewangan. Sepatutnya kerajaan bersikap telus dalam soal ini.

Walaupun ianya hanya suatu daripada tender daripada begitu banyak tender kerajaan, tetapi perkara seumpama yang dilapurkan ini akan menjejaskan keyakinan rakyat kepada kerajaan. Keyakinan (trust) rakyat kepada kerajaan, kepercayaan kerajaan kepada rakyat adalah elemen asas yang penting dalam proses membina negara yang berjaya. Ianya juga penting kepada keutuhan negara ketika ia menghadapi zaman kemelesetan dan kepayahan.

Marilah kita bina dan kita pupuk sikap percaya-mempercayai, sifat amanah, budaya nasihat untuk kesejahteraan bersama; janganlah khianati amanah yang diberi. Kedua pihak semada kerajaan atau rakyat hendaklah berusaha untuk merealisasi perkara yang baik ini.

Sekarang ini seakan-akan negara kita di dalam krisis saling tidak mempercayai antara satu elemen dengan yang lain; orang ramai mungkin tidak mempercayai yang polis telah bersikap amanah dan saksama dalam mejalankan tugasan, mahkamah dilihat tempat pihak berkuasa menunjukkan kuasanya, SPRM yang memerangi rasuah dicurigai kerana perkembangan-perkembangan yang baru berlaku, SPRM yang mengurus pilihanraya dituduh tidak bersikap telus dan memihak kepada kerajaan....... Kerajaan tidak mempercayai yang rakyat kita matang dan mampu bertindak mengikut peruntukan undang-undang.

Pendek kata siapakah sebenarnya yang menentukan keputusan kerajaan? Siapa pula yang perlu memikul tanggung-jawab untuk pihak kerajaan?. Pendek kata soalannya tidak semudah itu.

Demonstrasi BERSIH: Pendek kata Pandangan Tun Mahathir Masih Dominan

2011-07-04T15:56:00.000-07:00

Saya membaca catitan Tun Mahathir dalam blog Che Det-nya tentang demostrasi BERSIH. Hujjah-hujjah penolakan demostrasi BERSIH yang dinyatakan oleh Tun itulah yang masih menjadi hujjah resmi pihak-pihak berkenaan dalam menolak perhimpunan BERSIH. Tun masih merupakan trend-setter dalam menentukan arus logik untuk pihak dalam kerajaan,( hanya trend ini agak terganggu sedikit di zaman pemerentah Tun Abdullah Badawi). Tun punya pengalaman luas, beliau membandingkan negara kita dengan negara jiran, Singapura. Beliau menyebut yang DAP hanya sekadar 'peninggalan' PAP. Sedangkan kita tahu bagaimana kerajaan PAP sangat strict dalam menghalang 'gangguan' pihak pemprotes.

Kemudian Tun bandingkan dengan keaadaan di Masir selepas berlaku demonstrasi besar-besaran, kata Tun akibat demonstrasi itu Masir mengalami kemerosotan sumber ekonomi terutama sektor pelancongan. Pendek kata Tun merumuskan walaupun demonstrasi adalah sebahagian daripada amalan yang dibenarkan di negara demokrasi tetapi ianya mendatangkan banyak kerosakan daripada kebaikan.

Kita setuju tentang penyataan Tun berkenaan Singapura, tentang sejarah awal inspirasi penubuhan DAP barangkalinya. Tentang ehwal di Masir itu kita agak khilaf dengan Tun. Masir mengamalkan demokrasi, sepanjang di bawah pentadbiran bekas-bekas pegawai askar selepas Raja Farouq digulingkan (Presidennya adalah Naguib, Jamal Abdul Nasser, Anwar Sadat dan Husni Mubarak) .Tun pun lebih tahu tentang perjalanan dan keputusan pilihanraya yang diadakan sebelum ini di Masir; keputusannya tidak semestinya melambangkan suara majoriti rakyat Masir itu sendiri.

Terakhir di bawah Husni Mubarak, ekonomi Masir tidak juga berkembang pesat, jurang perbezaan golongan miskin dan kaya tidak semakin mengecil, ini menyebabkan golongan muda mengadakan demostrasi di Medan Tahrir. Secara jujurnya, Tun mungkin mampu menjawab :

1-adakah majoriti rakyat Masir menyokong atau menentang demostrasi di Medan Tahrir itu?.
2- apakah institusi demokrasi di negara itu bertambah baik atau bertambah buruk?.
3-apakah suasana ekonomi yang lebih adil dan kondusif untuk masa depan Masir semakin baik atau bertambah terancam?.
4-apakah keyakinan rakyat Masir kepada sistem pilihanraya dan pengurusan kerajaan semakin memburuk atau meningkat pasca Mubarak?
6-apakah amalan korupsi dan kronism semakin parah atau sedikit berkurangan?
7-adakah masa depan Masir sebagai sebuah negara berdaulat dan rakyatnya bertambah baik atau semakin buruk?
8-adakah Israel lebih mesra dengan kerajaan dahulu atau yang akan terbentuk pasca demonstrasi? (paling kurang ini soalan favourite Tun)

Saya bukan penyokong demostrasi, hanya saya mahu nyatakan yang demonstrasi aman mempunyai tempat di sebuah negara demokrasi. Saya sekali-kali tidak mengiyakan semua demonstrasi yang telah berlaku, memang kadang-kadang ada pihak yang sengaja mengeskploit 'mass-pyscho' untuk mengerakkan rakyat ramai dengan tujuan yang buruk tanpa disedari oleh rakyat dan ianya bukan sekali-kali inspirasi dari rakyat banyak. (seumpama agaknya rusuhan di Kelantan pada tahun 1978 dahulu. Tun tentu masih ingat).

Bagaimanapun suatu yang mengganggu fikiran kita apabila seolah-olah pihak atasan yang berkuasa memandang rendah kepada kebolehan dan keupayaan rakyat sendiri:
1-pihak atasan beranggapan rakyat kita tidak civic-minded . Kalaupun dbenarkan berdemonstrasi secara aman , mereka tetap akan mengganas dan merosakkan harta-benda awam.
2-pihak atasan beranggapan rakyat kita tidak berfikiran peka. Mereka dipergunakan oleh pihak pembangkang semata-mata. (suatu yang lain sekiranya kita mengatakan mereka adalah penyokong parti pembangkang)
3-pihak atasan menganggap rakyat tidak sedar-sedar yang perjalanan pilihanraya di negara kita dijalankan secara bersih dan telus, perbuatan untuk berhimpun hanyalah perbuatan pengacau dan pengkhianat.
4-pihak atasan memberi alasan-alasan yang tidak dapat dihadam oleh pemikiran orang ramai kecuali yang taasub menyokong parti pemerentah, seumpama demonstrasi ini didukung oleh golongan yang mahu menggulingkan DYMM Agong, diresapi oleh elemen kominis, dibiayai oleh pertubuhan-pertubuhan kristian dan lain-lain. Seolah-olah mahu menidakkan yang ianya inspirasi dari sebahagian rakyat kita sendiri. Sindrom penafian begitu ketara sekali.
5-pihak atasan kelihatan kurang saksama dalam usaha pencegahan. Pihak yang ditangkap adalah pihak yang mengatakan mereka mahu berhimpun secara aman, Sedangkan kita masih menunggu tindakan yang lebih tegas terhadap kenyataan yang berbau 'kekerasan' seumpama ugutan yang keluar daripada Lokman Noor Hakim dengan kumpulan Patriot-nya. (sekalipun kita ketepikan kenyataan Omar Din dan Ibrahim Ali). Kesaksamaan dalam soal keadilan bukan setakat dilaksanakn tetapi perlaksanaan itu mesti jelas nampak kesaksamaannya.
6-pihak berkuasa dan penyokong mereka janganlah sangat menggunakan ugutan seumpama ISA , Ordinan Darurat atau mengeluar kenyataan 'sanggup bertumpah darah' , sebaliknya marilah kita bentangkan hujjah yang munasabah dan perbincangan yang win-win situation bagi semua pihak. Saya percaya kebanyakan rakyat baik yang menyokong parti pemerentah mahupun parti pembangkang, semuanya mahukan kebaikan untuk negara ini, hanya mereka berbeza versi dan keutamaan , agaknya. Ugutan kerap berjaya menghalang sesuatu, sekiranya berlebihan ianya merupakan perangsang untuk sebahagian bagi 'to test the limit'.

Alangkah bertuahnya sekiranya negara kita bertindak seakan tubuh yang satu, anggota kepala tidak akan memperbodoh-bodohkan anggotanya yang lain, sementara anggota-anggota yang lain pula mempunyai keyakinan kepada kebijaksanaan kepala yang bertindak untuk kebaikan tubuh seluruhnya. Sekiranya ada penyakit yang mengenai mana-mana bahagian anggota sekalipun, seluruh tubuh akan terkesan dan akan mencari jalan untuk merawatnya. Masing-masing bertindak untuk kebaikan seluruh tubuh, sekiranya ada system yang tidak lancar, maka seluruh tubuh akan terlibat dalam penyembuhannya. Kalau sekiranya perkara yang sebaliknya berlaku, kemungkinan tubuh itu diserang penyakit kanser atau lain-lain penyakit yang kronik.

Sekiranya Tun melihat jiran kita di selatan untuk diambil iktibar, agaknya ada manafaatnya kita melihat ke utara untuk mengambil iktibar dari keputusan pilihanraya yang baru sahaja diadakan.

Kita semua tahu Yingluck Shinawatra dengan partinya Phue Thai telah menang besar. Sebahagian mereka ini dahulunya penyokong baju merah yang telah berdemonstrasi berbulan-bulan lamanya di Bangkok. Sehingga dalam kempen pilihanraya Abishit mengatakan "a vote for Yingluck would be a vote for choas" (lapuran Associate Press 4July). Rupa-rupanya yang marah sangat kepada penunjuk perasaan Bangkok itu adalah pihak berkuasa ketika itu, sedangkan ramai rakyat Thai pula tidak menolak mereka kerana 'kekacauan' yang mereka telah lakukan itu.

Phue Thai sebagaimana kita tahu adalah kesenimbungan kepada Thai Rak Thai pimpinan Thaksin. Sebagaimana kita tahu Thaksin telah dijatuhkan hukuman oleh mahkamah Thailand kerana 'jenayah-jenayah' yang dilakukan, Thaksin telah diburuk-burukkan kerana menjual kepentingan negara kepada pihak asing. Sehingga Thaksin terpaksa melepaskan dirinya dari hukuman di luar negara dan khabarnya bercerai dengan isterinya. Abishit juga menyebut dalam kempennya yang pilihanraya ini "the best oppurtunity to remove the poison of Thaksin from Thailand" Rupa-rupanya hukuman mahkamah yang mendapati Thaksin bersalah serta segala pendedahan pengkhianatan Thaksin kepada rakyat dan negara itu tidak meleburkan sokongan rakyat kepada beliau. Rakyat semakin menyokong Thaksin si 'penjenayah', rakyat semakin menyokong pendemonstrasian baju merah yang mengacau......

Pendek kata marilah kita pandang perkembangan di selatan dan di utara kita selepas bertahun-tahun kita pandang ke timur . Tun Mahathir tentu boleh mengupas dengan lebih menarik tentang perkembangan-perkembangan ini dengan ulasan selari tentang perkembangan di negara kita.

Saya sekadar meluahkan pandangan saya yang sudah tentu terdedah kepada salah dan silap, sekiranya saya tergelincir faham, sangatlah saya mengharapkan teguran kerana tiada manusia mahu memekak dari mendengar pandangan yang berbeza sehinggakan sampai menjadi rabun dari melihat beraneka warna-warna sebenar yang ada.

Demonstrasi BERSIH: Pendek kata Bagaimana Hendak Tahu Berapa Ramai Yang Terlibat

2011-07-02T16:22:00.000-07:00

How Is Crowd Size Estimated?

By Remy Melina, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
03 September 2010 3:33 PM ET

This picture shows how a grid is used to estimate the population density of an area during Glenn Beck's Aug. 28 rally at the National Mall, an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C. Credit: Ryan Shuler | www.Airphotoslive.com

Reports of the number of people that attended Glenn Beck's Aug. 28 rally have varied wildly –from 78,000 to 800,000 people. How is crowd size estimated – and who does the counting?

For large outdoor events, whether they're political gatherings, benefit marathons or just massive crowds watching firework displays or parades, private companies are hired to count the attendees.

Researchers apply various methods to detect, track and monitor mobs of people using technologies that includes lasers, satellites, aerial photography, 3-D grid systems, recorded video footage and surveillance balloons, usually tethered several blocks around an event's location and flying 400 to 800 feet (120 to 240 meters) overhead.

"I would say the most accurate way to estimate the number of people in a large outdoor crowd is to get good aerial imagery, break it into regions of similar density, measure the square footage of each region, apply a reasonable value for the density in each region, and then add the calculated number of people in each region back into a total estimate," said Stephen Doig, a census expert at Arizona State University.

"The only better way would be if the crowd had to buy tickets and go through turnstiles to get in; alas, that rarely is the case," Doig told Life's Little Mysteries.

Doig uses his crowd-counting experience and techniques to help companies like AirPhotosLive.com (which covered President Obama's 2009 Inauguration ceremony, as well as the recent Glenn Beck rally in Washington, D.C.) get their figures.

To get the numbers for an event, the company uses a 360-degree, spherical panoramic camera that can capture shots of the crowd from every direction all at once during the "peak" time of an event, or when attendance is at its highest, according to Curt Westergard, president of AirPhotosLive.com.

From those shots, an image analyst estimates the crowd size. A series of 3-D grids can be super-imposed over the images, breaking up the massive, complex crowd images into an easier-to-manage system.

Samples of sections of the grids (which can include 100-by-100 feet or 500-by-500 feet squares) are then tallied by counting every person in them. These headcounts are then plugged into a mathematical formula (based on known, spatial distributions of crowds) that calculates how many similar grid sections there are based on the density of people in each section, according to Westergard.

Crowd counting

Why is the time-consuming and laborious collection of these figures so important?

Most importantly, estimated attendance numbers help keep the crowds at large gatherings safe. Event coordinators and officials are able to plan how to manage traffic in the area, how many medical response personnel will be needed in case of an emergency, as well as how much security to hire. Crowd size is also needed for media news reports and to historically record the event – which can get tricky.

In 1995, the organizers of the "Million Man March" threatened to sue the U.S. National Park Service over the NPS's estimate that 400,000 people attended the event. Following this ordeal, the NPS stopped releasing crowd projection figures to the public, according to the Boston University Center for Remote Sensing.

"Counting a crowd can be very easy, but there's some factors that make it harder," Westergard told Life's Little Mysteries.

For example, the more widely that a crowd is spread out, the more challenging it can be to get an accurate estimate of those attending, as it can become difficult to determine whether people near the event's perimeter are there for the event or are in the area for other reasons, according to Westergard.

Catitan Sut:

Setiap kali ada perhimpunan, kita akan membaca lapuran yang berbeza-beza tentang bilangan kehadiran, sekiranya ianya anjuran parti pemerentah, maka akhbar-akbar utama akan melapurkan begitu ramai mereka yang hadir, sementara akhbar pembangkang akan melapurkan bilangan yang jauh lebih sedikit.

Begitu pula bagi perhimpunan yang berlawanan kepentingan dengan pihak parti pemerentah, akhbar utama akan melapurkan bilangan kehadiran yang rendah sementara media pembangkang akan menyiarkan angka yang lebih tinggi.

Sebelum ini kita sangka yang angka adalah suatu yang bersifat objective, rupa-rupanya tidak begitu, ianya boleh dimanipulasi mengikut kehendak dan kepentingan, bilangan sebenar yang sama boleh dihitung dengan banyak atau sedikit mengikut kehendak kita.

Menjelang 9hb julai ini, sekiranya perarakan yang dirancang oleh BERSIH itu menjadi kenyataan, maka kita akan tahu membaca lapuran tentang bilangan peserta yang dilapurkan...