In contrast to the worldwide outrage at the murder of cartoonists and journalists in Paris, there has been hardly any public reaction to news that Saudi Arabia is savagely beating a blogger, Raif Badawi, for “insulting Islam.”
The Saudis plan to inflict a sentence of 1000 lashes in weekly installments of 50. Badawi is also to spend 10 years in prison, where his lawyer must stay 15 year for daring to defend him.
The news that Boko Haram has just murdered some 2000 people and driven 30,000 from their homes -- ostensibly in its continuing campaign for Shariah law -- has also met with little international anger.
This double standard is infuriating.
Saudi Arabia should be subjected to the same bitter condemnation as the terrorists in Paris and its government should be censured by all organizations, national and international, that stand for civilized values. Journalists especially must be vocal in defending their own.
In the case of Boko Haram, there has been no shortage of outrage at its previous crimes, but the mass media continue to report its Islamic pretensions as if they were serious; they are only camouflage for its main business, trafficking drugs.
Saudi Arabia and Boko Haram presenting themselves as proponents of "Islam" is as bizarre as the claim of the butchers of Paris to be avenging the Prophet.
All of them deserve a noisily rude raspberry.
1 comment:
Just had this sent to me as a comment on my blog:
Je suis Ahmed Merabet
How many media outlets bothered to tell us that the injured French
policeman executed by terrorists on the pavement was a Muslim French
policeman by the name of Ahmed Merabet. These terrorists seemed like
professionally trained maybe by a state intelligence service and yet
“conveniently” forgot an identity card in the get-away car and are
killed not apprehended. The timing of this incident was suspicious.
First it came a week after France voted in the UN Security Council to
end the Israeli occupation that started in 1967 (i.e. with a
sub-minimal demand supported by International law). Second, the terror
attack happened just after the Israeli government said their largest
number of immigrants in 2014 came from France and they want more
colonial settlers. What came to mind is the bombing of Jewish
community centers in Baghdad in the 1950's that helped recruit needed
Jews for Israeli colonial activities. In that case it was exposed to
be a Mossad operation. We also recall the Lavon affair (Israeli
bombings of American and British interests in Cairo blaming it on
Egyptian nationals). Whether this was yet another false flag operation
or by rogue terrorists not left alive to be questioned, Zionists are
milking it to the best of their (very large) media abilities and they
talk endlessly about Muslims and Islam. When Jewish terrorists like
Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon committed crimes, they was merely
"deluded renegades" (but who became prime ministers of Israel). Why
not call those in Paris also "deluded renegades"? But more importantly
what are lessons to draw from all this?
I and many people around the globe work daily to challenge
fundamentalism/ extremism (be it cloaked in Christian, Muslim, Hindu,
Buddhist, Jewish or other cloak). We try to bring these deluded racist
humans into reality. The best way is via positive action with
insistence on human rights and international law EVERYWHERE. Freedom
of speech is critical. The biggest enemy for all of us is fear (the
opposite of love) that suppresses freedom of speech and makes for
compliant "customers" rather than involved citizens. Our biggest ally
is hope which springs from being at peace in our own hearts. It allows
us to transform the world (not fight it). In the words of a wise
friend (Chris R): "If evil is explained as anything other than the
fruit of a distracted mind, distracted by its own choice, you divide
the human race into the good and evil, and politics is
impossible.....We cannot give up on anybody ... The
alternative--giving up on someone--that's racism, for one thing, and
it's never justified." [and I might add is a dead end road for
humanity].
Our thoughts are with the victims' families including the family of
Ahmed Merabet. Let us plant hope, love, and kindness in our hearts.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/08/ahmed-merabet-mourned-charlie-hebdo-paris-attack
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/01/Ahmed-Merabet-police-officer-killed-charlie-hebdo/384331/
And we move positively and confidently to connect to our humanity and to nature.
إنجازات أول 6 شهور لمتحف فلسطين للتاريخ الطبيعي بدعمكم
Achievements of the Palestine Museum of Natural History since
launching in June 2014
http://www.palestinenature.org/achievements-2014/
في اجتماع المتطوعين لمتحف فلسطين للتاريخ الطبيعي يوم الاثنين
حددنا 5 أهداف لعام 2015 ونحتاج شراكتكم ودعمكم
In our volunteer meeting Monday for the Palestine Museum of Natural
History, we reviewed and updated accomplishments (13 listed below) and
we identified 5 goals for 2015. We could use your help.
http://www.palestinenature.org/goals-2015/
In the immortal words of martyr Vittorio Arrigoni: Stay human
Mazin Qumsiyeh
in Bethlehem, Occupied Palestine now blanketed in snow and it is still falling
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