Daily Online Alochona: Dec 13, 2007

Thursday, December 13, 2007

[vinnomot] Young Americans Paying Close Attention to Presidential Race

SAN-Feature Service

SOUTH ASIAN NEWS-FEATURE SERVICE

December 14,2007

Young Americans Paying Close Attention to Presidential Race

By Michelle Austein

Polls show that young Americans are paying close attention to both American politics and national and international affairs

SAN-Feature Service : Young Americans are paying attention to the 2008 presidential race, and many are ready to help their preferred candidate achieve victory, a poll by Harvard University's Institute of Politics (IOP) shows.

Like the national average, voter turnout among young Americans has been on the rise. From 2000 to 2004, turnout among 18- to 29-year-olds increased 9 percent, more than double the overall turnout increase. In the 2006 midterm elections, turnout in this age group was 3 percent higher than in 2002, nearly double the national turnout increase. The 2006 election was the first increase in young voter turnout in a nonpresidential election in 24 years.

Today polls indicate that youth turnout in 2008 could once again increase. Polls show that young Americans are paying close attention to both American politics and national and international affairs. A poll conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press in March showed that 85 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds say they are interested in keeping up with national affairs.

Young Americans share many of the concerns of those in other generations. In a poll conducted by IOP, the war in Iraq and health care are their top concerns -- mirroring most national polls.

Those who worked on the IOP poll presented their findings at the Brookings Institution in Washington December 5. Conducted online between October 28 and November 9, the poll asked some 2,500 18- to 24-year-olds about the issues that concern them and which candidates they prefer. About half of those polled were college students.

IOP found that 18- to 24-year-olds do not share their parents' and grandparents' views on all issues. For example, youth are more supportive of U.S. leaders unconditionally meeting with heads of rogue nations. They also more strongly believe that international organizations such as the United Nations should take the lead in solving international problems.

Many young people, about 40 percent, consider themselves to be independent, while 35 percent say they are Democrats and 25 percent are Republicans, IOP found. Those who do identify with a party are quite loyal to it -- more than 40 percent of young Republicans and Democrats say they are "strong" members of their party.

Young people are more willing to support a third-party candidate, said John Della Volpe, IOP's polling director. Unsatisfied with the current political parties, about 37 percent of young people from both parties said that a third party is needed, according to IOP.

Young Americans are ready to help out in campaigns -- more than a third said that if asked, they would volunteer for a campaign. Even more are willing to if encouraged by a friend. Sixty percent said they would spread the word about a candidate they like by talking with friends and family.

More than half said they would join a candidate's online group, such as a Facebook group. Candidates have been focusing much of their efforts online, but as Harvard University junior Marina Fisher said, students also like the more traditional methods of promoting a candidate with lawn signs, bumper stickers and rallies. "These seem like the oldest ways of engagement we can think of," Fisher said.

"It is clear that while new media are emerging, the old ones are here to stay," she said.

While much of the media has focused on young Democrats' support of Illinois Senator Barack Obama, the IOP poll shows that young Democrats support many candidates. While Obama is still the preferred Democratic candidate in this poll, it is far from guaranteed that the majority of youth will support him. He is especially popular on college campuses, but those youth not in college favor New York Senator Hillary Clinton.

On the Republican side, the IOP found that young voters favor former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, followed by Arizona Senator John McCain. However, a large number, 30 percent, say they are unsure who they will vote for, which is slightly higher than when IOP polled in March. A rise in undecided voters as the election nears is very unusual, noted Della Volpe.

Della Volpe discussed the difficulty of polling young people. Traditionally, most polls are conducted via landline phone, but nearly half of young voters do not have a landline. Pollsters are not allowed to call cell phones.

With young Democrats, those who do have landline phones tend to have more conservative views and different feelings about the war in Iraq that tend to align them more with Clinton, Della Volpe said, so polls conducted by phone tend to show more Clinton supporters. This may be one reason why the IOP poll, conducted on the Internet, shows Obama leading young Democrats, but a poll by the Sacred Heart Polling Institute conducted by phone two weeks earlier showed Clinton with a large lead.—SAN-Feature Service/ USINFO

Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. __._,_.___

Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[mukto-mona] Commentary : Stifled and silenced

SAN-Feature Service

SOUTH ASIAN NEWS-FEATURE SERVICE

December 14,2007

Commentary : Stifled and silenced

Dr. Farish A Noor

SAN-Feature Service : Once in a blue moon, in the developing world, there appears that rare sort of politician who claims that he wants to listen to the people and take them into account. Of course the sighting of these rare characters is greeted with some degree of elation and relief, a bit like witnessing a lunar eclipse or winning a small lottery, for the developing world is replete with arm-wielding, thug-hugging, testosterone-driven macho-types who often preach their gospel of governance with one hand holding a club and the other poised on the trigger.

We have seen this sort of nasty governance in many developing countries. The riot police in South Korea used to have a 'smiley face' on their riot shields, just to add insult to injury when they shot off their tear gas canisters at point blank range. Indonesian security forces during the time of Suharto used to chat pleasantly with the locals over a cup of tea before they sent in bulldozers to flatten entire villages. Why, even the death squads of Saddam Hussein used to send a bill and invoice to the families of those whose members had been kidnapped and murdered at night.

But there is also that other type of soft authoritarian despot that many of us in the developing world are familiar with by now. These are the more media-savvy types who can at least tie a tie around their necks, feel comfortable in a suit, quote from a novel offhand, and smile at you. Then they do things like place their citizens under detention without trial, have them arrested at dawn while they are asleep in their homes, manipulate the media and control every branch of government from the legislature to the judiciary.

Looking at the developments in Malaysia of late, one might come to the conclusion that that is precisely the sort of soft authoritarianism that has come to roost. Over the past month, Kuala Lumpur witnessed at least two mammoth demonstrations in a country where the national pastime seems to be shopping. The first was a march organised by a coalition of NGOs called 'BERSIH' that called for free and fair elections. The second was a large march organised by the Malaysian Hindu Action Rights Force (HINDRAF) that highlighted the plight of millions of Malaysian Hindus who remain at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder in the country.

As expected, the Malaysian government's reaction was to demonise the demonstrators, block the roads, call in the riot police and have the demonstrators arrested, chased and tear-gassed in the streets of the capital. Images of Malaysian citizens being doused by water sprays and gassed appeared instantaneously across the world courtesy of YouTube and other internet sites, and the happy fiction of Malaysia being the land of peace and plenty sank accordingly.

But what is most worrisome is the epistemic and cognitive dissonance between the actions of the state and its rhetoric. The administration of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi came to power on a huge mandate and riding on the promise that it would not only clean up the Malaysian political system but also initiate a series of reforms and listen to the people.

Now the last point is terribly important for many Malaysians have always felt that their opinions were of little worth in the eyes of the powers-that-be. The previous administration of Dr Mahathir Mohamad did little to cast any suspicions that it was remotely democratic, and Dr Mahathir even went as far as proclaiming his own deep misgivings of democracy and reform. Badawi, on the other hand, tapped into the frustrations of the Malaysians and promised an outlet by stating that he would take them into account and listen to them But what has been the result?

It could be argued that the two massive demonstrations witnessed in the streets of Kuala Lumpur were merely instances of public communication. One doesn't have to be a scholar of semantics or semiotics to see that expressions of public distrust and anger in the public domain is a case of public communication at its most explicit. These were instances of Malaysians saying to the government and to Badawi in particular: "You promised us reforms, but you have not delivered. Now we are exercising our fundamental right to complain."

But the complaints of the Malaysians were stifled and silenced by the police sirens and the popping of tear gas canisters in the streets. It is difficult for any leader to listen to the people when he is gassing them simultaneously. It is equally difficult for there to be any meaningful dialogue between the state and the population when the latter is demonised as being anarchists, unpatriotic trouble-makers, foreign agents, etc as soon as they show the slightest signs of protest.

So what gives? Prime Minister Badawi had appealed to the Malaysian public to give him time, feedback and support. The demonstration of frustration and the demand for reform happen to be precisely the sort of feedback he needs at the moment, one could argue. Yet Badawi's reaction on the eve of the BERSIH demonstration was to threaten the demonstrators with arrest and to state bluntly that he will not be challenged. Is this the real face of the benevolent administration that came to power on the promise that the leader would listen to the Malaysian public, and which asked Malaysians to 'work with me, and not for me'?

The developing world is facing numerous structural, institutional and social-normative challenges at the moment. Yet the pace of globalisation will not falter nor rest, and it is imperative that developing countries and their governments adapt to the realities of our times, living as we do in a globalised world where images of riot police shooting and beating demonstrators, as recently happened in Burma, will be on the internet in minutes, if not seconds.

Yet developing countries like Burma and Malaysia, as well as Zimbabwe and many others, continue to labour under regimes that have not only lost touch but have been left far behind. Yet another thuggish James Bond villain for a leader is exactly what the developing world does not need. And that's what the people are saying in the streets while they are being gassed by their benevolent and smiling leaders.—SAN-Feature Service

Dr Farish A Noor is a Malaysian political scientist and historian based at the Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin; and one of the founders of the www.othermalaysia.org research site

__._,_.___

***************************************** Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm ***************************************** Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf ***************************************** MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona. ***************************************** Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm ***************************************** Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm ***************************************** Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/ ***************************************** MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm ***************************************** German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/ Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/index.htm ***************************************** Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona: http://www.mukto-mona.com/new_site/mukto-mona/faq_mm.htm **************************************************** VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/ **************************************************** "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it". -Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190

__,_._,___

[mukto-mona] Killing of Intellectuals in 1971

Killing of Intellectuals in 1971

Existing evidence enough to try killers

Zayadul Ahsan and Shakhawat Liton

Bodies of unknown intellectuals dumped at Rayer Bazar mass killing field by local collaborators of Pakistan army days before Bangladesh won the Liberation War. Photo: File Photo

The killers of intellectuals during the Liberation War can be prosecuted on the basis of evidence preserved by the government. It only needs to take a move to resume the long halted process of trial of the intellectuals' murder cases.

Sufficient number of documents and records on the cases have been preserved since 1972 at the home ministry, Criminal Investigation Department, Ramna police station, district and sessions judges' courts, chief metropolitan magistrates' courts and deputy commissioners' offices.

Over the years, eminent jurists said all this evidence has now become ancient documents according to the evidence act, and is more effective than any other evidence in trying a case. And the government won't have to gather fresh evidence for trying the killers of intellectuals.

The Evidence Act, 1872, says documentary materials, which are more than 30 years old, are to be treated as ancient documents.

To resume the trial process, the jurists said, the government could enact a new law, or revive the Bangladesh Collaborators (Special Tribunals) Order, 1972, which was revoked on December 31, 1975, burying the process of trial of the killers.

"The government can revive the cases any time, if it wants. In the absence of parliament, the president can promulgate an ordinance to this effect," Vice-Chairman of Bangladesh Bar Council Khandker Mahbub Hossain told The Daily Star yesterday.

He was chief prosecutor of the cases under the collaborators order.

Echoing his views, Ghulam Rabbani, former judge of Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, said people who collaborated with the occupation Pakistan army should be punished. He pointed out that according to globally acclaimed jurist Lord Denning the main justification for punishment of a criminal is not that it is deterrent, but it is the emphatic denunciation of a crime by a community.

"Therefore, the collaborators order should be put into force again, and it will not affect the fundamental rights as stated in Article 35 of the Constitution…Secondly, Article 35 will not stand in the way of such revival of the order," Rabbani said.

After the independence, the then government of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman promulgated the collaborators order and set up 73 special tribunals, including 11 in Dhaka to try Razakar, Al-Badr and Al-Shams forces, defined as collaborators in the order.

The families of many martyred intellectuals filed a large number of cases under the order, and the government initiated a move to try the criminals.

Trials started in June 1972 at a special tribunal with the first case being that for killing Abul Kalam Azad, a professor at the Institute of Advanced Science and Technology Teaching. The charge sheet in the case was submitted on June 13.

Information gathered from the families of martyred intellectuals, lawyers of the cases and newspaper reports of those days say six cases were disposed of and five persons convicted.

But the August 1975 changeover stopped the trial process since the collaborators order was revoked on December 31 that year and almost all the convicted collaborators were released in the early days of the regime of General Ziaur Rahman.

"I presume that necessary documentary materials for convicting the collaborators including the killers of intellectuals are lying with the home ministry. Since the materials are more than 30 years old, according to the evidence act those are to be treated as ancient documents. No other evidence is required as those at the disposal of the ministry would be sufficient as exhibits in the case records, and conviction and sentence on the basis of that are very much possible," Rabbani said referring to Section 90 of the Evidence Act, 1872.

Section 90 of the act says where any document, purporting or proved to be 30 years old, is produced from any custody which the court in the particular case considers proper, the court may presume that the signature and every other part of such document, which purports to be in the hand writing of any particular person, is in that person's hand writing, and in the case of document executed or attested, that it was duly executed and attested by the persons by whom it purports to be executed and attested.

"Furthermore, there are sufficient admissions, as admissible under the evidence act, in the statements, news or photographs published at that time in the newspapers," he said.

Besides, the home ministry regularly kept contact with the occupation army since the Pakistan government sent messages to it ,and the ministry also forwarded information about the activities of collaborators to the Pakistan government during the Liberation War. And it has evidence of those.

The government of Bangabandhu had formed a committee comprising the late Supreme Court lawyer Sirajul Haque and the late attorney general Aminul Huq to enquire into the genocide. The committee compiled evidence and submitted a report on about 1,500 cases to the home ministry in July 1972.

The report listed the war criminals in two categories -- 195 members of Pakistani army and bureaucracy, who had been taken into custody in New Delhi and were subsequently handed over to Pakistan in 1974 following the Simla Agreement, and about 12,000 of their local collaborators, including members of Razakar, Al-Badr, Al-Shams and the peace committees.

HOW MANY INTELECTUALS WE LOST
When it became clear that the Pakistani forces headed for a defeat, they and their collaborators targeted the intelligentsia, dragging academics, journalists and professionals out of their homes, mostly on December 14, 1971, and killing them one after another.

In a statement on December 20, 1971, a spokesman of the Mujibnagar government said the Pakistani army and their henchmen had killed 360 intellectuals before they surrendered on December 16.

"Bangladesh", a documentary publication of the government in 1972, said the Pakistani occupation forces and their collaborators had killed 637 primary and 270 secondary schoolteachers, and 59 college teachers during the war of independence.

Bangla Academy in its encyclopaedia of martyred intellectuals named 'Shaheed Buddhijibi Koshgrantha', put the number at 232. The encyclopaedia, reprinted in 1994, however said the list was neither complete nor comprehensive.

The encyclopaedia defined martyrs as people who had been either killed by the Pakistani army or their collaborators or had gone missing between March 25, 1971 and January 31, 1972. It also defined intellectuals as writers, scientists, artists, singers, teachers at any level, researchers, journalists, lawyers, physicians, engineers, architects, sculptors, government and non-government staff, persons involved with film and theatre, and social and cultural workers.

Immediately after the discovery of a mass grave of martyred intellectuals at Rayer Bazar in the capital, Buddhijibi Nidhan Tathyanusandhan Committee was formed on December 18, 1971, under the initiative of a group of leading civil society members for enquiry into the killings.

The late filmmaker and litterateur Zahir Raihan was made convener of the 17-member committee. The committee started recording depositions on December 20, 1971 and worked on the lists and other documents recovered during raids on the killers' camps at Dhanmondi, Motijheel and elsewhere in Dhaka.

The lists, some short and others long, contained the names of 20,000 of the best brains of the nation, according to the members of the committee.

__,_._,___

[mukto-mona] Killing of Intellectuals in 1971 : Existing evidence enough to try killers

Killing of Intellectuals in 1971

Existing evidence enough to try killers

Zayadul Ahsan and Shakhawat Liton

Bodies of unknown intellectuals dumped at Rayer Bazar mass killing field by local collaborators of Pakistan army days before Bangladesh won the Liberation War. Photo: File Photo

__,_._,___

[vinnomot] Killing of Intellectuals in 1971 : Existing evidence enough to try killers

Killing of Intellectuals in 1971

Existing evidence enough to try killers

Zayadul Ahsan and Shakhawat Liton

Bodies of unknown intellectuals dumped at Rayer Bazar mass killing field by local collaborators of Pakistan army days before Bangladesh won the Liberation War. Photo: File Photo

__._,_.___

__,_._,___

[vinnomot] What's the difference between politicians between Canada and Bangladesh

Accepting Money From Schreiber a 'Mistake'

Source: CBC News

Posted: 12/13/07 11:43AM

Former prime minister Brian Mulroney has flatly rejected allegations he negotiated a lobbying deal with Karlheinz Schreiber while he was still in office, saying he promoted business on Schreiber's behalf only after stepping down.

Former prime minister Brian Mulroney and his lawyer Guy Pratte check their watches prior to testifying before the Commons ethics committee on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007. (CP Images)

Mulroney appeared before the federal ethics committee Thursday to face questions about his dealings with the German-Canadian businessman, notably the $300,000 in cash payments he received from Schreiber in hotel rooms between 1993 and 1994.

In an affidavit filed in an Ontario court last month, Schreiber alleged Mulroney received the money as part of a lobbying deal negotiated on June 23, 1993, two days before he left office. He also alleged a Mulroney adviser asked Schreiber to transfer funds in connection with Air Canada's 1988 purchase of Airbus planes to a Mulroney lawyer based in Switzerland.

On Thursday, Mulroney angrily denied the allegations in Schreiber's affidavit.

"All of the allegations in the affidavit are completely false. He will say anything, sign anything and do anything to avoid extradition," said Mulroney.

Mulroney said Schreiber first proposed they work together during a meeting at a Mirabel airport hotel on Aug. 27, 1993. Schreiber suggested Mulroney use his status to internationally promote Thyssen armoured vehicles for peacekeeping missions, something Mulroney said he felt he could do.

Mulroney said Schreiber then passed him a cash-stuffed envelope, saying he is an international businessman who only deals in cash.

"I realize I made a serious error in judgment in receiving the payment in cash for this assignment, even though it was decidedly not illegal," said Mulroney.

"That mistake in judgment was mine alone. I should have declined the offer. I should have insisted the payment be in a more transparent manner."

Mulroney also said he received three payments of $75,000, for a total of $225,000, not three payments of $100,000.

Mulroney said he regretted his relationship with Schreiber.

"My second-biggest mistake in life, for which I have no one to blame but myself, is having accepted payments in cash from Karlheinz Schreiber, for a mandate he gave me after I left office," Mulroney said Thursday during his much-anticipated testimony before a federal ethics committee on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

"My biggest mistake in life was ever agreeing to be introduced to Karlheinz Schreiber in the first place."

Mulroney began his testimony on Parliament Hill at about 9 a.m. ET and is expected to answer questions for four hours. His wife and four grown children accompanied him to the committee room where he is speaking, a room packed to capacity with journalists, many of whom arrived at 7:30 a.m. ET to secure their seats.

Mulroney's payments, according to Schreiber, came from a secret account the businessman had created in Zurich, under the codename BRITAN. There is no evidence Mulroney knew where the money was coming from.

Schreiber is suing Mulroney to recoup the money. Mulroney said Thursday that matter would be resolved by the courts.

Schreiber, who is out on bail while he fights extradition to Germany to face fraud and bribery charges, contends that Mulroney did not provide the services. The allegations haven't been proven in court.

__._,_.___

__,_._,___

[vinnomot] Fwd: Reports on Maischari land grabbiing

Note: forwarded message attached.

Mithun Chakma
C/O: Hill Literature Forum(HLF)
94,Aziz Super Market
Shahbag
Dhak-1000
Bangladesh
cell phone:+88-0152-559763

Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. __._,_.___

__,_._,___

RE: [vinnomot] India is moving ahead in quiet road and Bangladesh is falling behind by keeping us bu

Mr. Mithu,
It is a very small news that 'Indian docs get US boost'. Indian economy has just reached its take off stage and once it is set on its orbit, it will run automatically. Development in India has been a continuous dream of its leadership and the people. This understanding among the People, Government and the State is the result of continuous total faith in Democracy. In contrast, Bangladesh is a case of stormy adolescence when everything is fun and easily gettable. For instance a pack of half baked military just got out and killed Sheikh Mujib and his family and thought they have liberated the country from an oppressor. Being block-head military, they had no capacity to realise that a nation's dream has been destroyed before it its budded. Since then nothing developed normally except corruption, free-style looting and confusion of the ignorant believers. The efficient, enlightened, caring leadership that makes a government of the people, by the people and for the people possible, was never to be found in Bangladesh. Just think of yourself- how many times you sent free advice to the government of Bangladesh and then boast that they have listened to you. So you see anybody is somebody in Bangladesh and everyone can become a savior. But no body bothers to know where the shoe pinches. Bangladesh will never prosper unless it is returned to its own people. If the Army would not have interfered in the people's rule, Bangladesh would by now become a self sufficient country because basically Bengalis are imaginative, creative and highly enterprising. Again, look at you. However, let us not give up hope.
Thank you for your time.
Belal Beg

To: khabor@yahoogroups.com
From: cgmpservices@yahoo.com
Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:01:11 -0800
Subject: [vinnomot] India is moving ahead in quiet road and Bangladesh is falling behind by keeping us busy who should be in power

Indian docs get US boost
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 13
The United States has said India's recognition system for undergraduate medical courses is at par with theirs, an achievement that could facilitate mobility of doctors from here to the US.

The National Committee on Accreditation in the US, highest statutory body in the US responsible for foreign accreditation, has granted parity to the recognition system in India for undergraduate medical courses, Dr Vedprakash Mishra, vice-chancellor of the Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences University, said at a news conference convened to brief on the Indo-US health summit starting tomorrow.

The parity has been granted for two years. The parity does not give automatic passage to the US or any other country. But the standards of education will be treated at par with the US which will enable students' mobility to the US, said Dr Hemant Patel, president, American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI).

The parity status was given on six parameters-curriculum, teaching, method of evaluation, extension, research and impact of education processes.
The first-ever Indo-US healthcare summit is being held here on December 14-15, Robinder Sachdev, a spokesman of Indian American doctors announced today.

Over 125 Indian-origin doctors from the US will be attending the summit, marking the largest ever gathering of NRIs from the US in New Delhi. This summit is being organised in partnership with the Indian Medical Association, the Medical Council of India and the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs.
The objective of the summit is to hold a dialogue and discuss specific steps about healthcare in specific states in India and strategies to mitigate the incidences of such diseases.

The Association of American Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), the moving spirit behind the summit, has signed an MoU with the Ministry of Overseas of Indian Affairs to provide rural healthcare in targeted states in India. Doctors from the US will be coming and delivering voluntary services in rural areas as per the MoU.

The best games are on Xbox 360. Click here for a special offer on an Xbox 360 Console. Get it now! __._,_.___

__,_._,___

[vinnomot] Fwd: Bangladesh: You are still beautiful!!!

14DEC2007

From
Mohammad Gani
NJ/BOS.

Bangladesh: You are still beautiful.

The following links might interest you. If they do, please say "Thank you" to our lost intellectuals, Engineers, Doctors, poets, writers those laid down their lives; for our cause, for our freedom, on this day 14 December 1971 in the hands merciless and brutal Pakistani military machines. [ You may need window media player]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiyZ51cUDO4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LknudHKSWpI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsCnGGfpZhk&feature=related

***********************************************

__._,_.___

__,_._,___

[mukto-mona] Fwd: Bangladesh: You are still beautiful!!!

14DEC2007

__,_._,___

[mukto-mona] Muslim Scholars Debate Apostates in Islam / Apostasy and Islam: Dr M Omar Farooq

In two parts:

At the end there is a partial re-post of an earlier posting on this subject, from a Bangladeshi forum asserting that according to the Qur'an, there is no death punishment for apostasy, converting or re converting from Islam. So read and view the Saudi debate keeping in mind that their word is not written in stone nor in the Qur'an.

Excerpts from the text:

<<...Al-Sweidan: But what if a person is not convinced?

Gamal 'Allam: Then there is something wrong in his head.

Al-Sweidan: That's what you think, but isn't he entitled to have something wrong in his head?

Gamal 'Allam: Anybody who is insane should go to a mental asylum, or else if he is insane, his head should be removed so that it does not contaminate the heads of others.

Al-Sweidan: We all agree that whoever violates the law must be punished. Nobody is disputing that. We are talking about a matter relating to one's belief, not about violation of the law.

Gamal Al-Bana: I believe that the freedom of thought and belief is absolute, because this freedom of thought leads to freedom of political opposition, which established democracy and got rid of kings and tyranny. It also led to freedom of the sciences, which has led progress, and freedom of justice, which led to fair treatment for laborers and women. Freedom of thought is indivisible, and the most important element of freedom is one's belief, because it has to do with one's conscience. Therefore, it cannot be restricted in any way...>>

November 5, 2007 MEMRI [The Middle East Media Research Institute] To view the video in Arabic with English subtitles click here: http://www.memritv.org/clip_transcript/en/1623.htm	Clip No. 1623

Muslim Scholars Debate Apostates in Islam

Following are excerpts from a debate on apostates in Islam, which aired on Al-Risala TV on November 5, 2007. Of course you can view the video as well. Sheik Tareq Al-Sweidan: We have a question for the viewers at home, not in the studio, and they can respond with a text message. What is the best way to deal with apostates who converted from Islam? You have three possible responses. The first is through dialogue only. The second option is killing them, and the third option is to leave it up to the legal system. Enter your votes, send in your answers, and the results will appear on the screen. As for the young people with us in the studio, you can participate in a survey on which we will base our discussion with our guests. You've heard one opinion, and my question is very simple: Does a Muslim have the liberty to change his religion or not? Does a Muslim have the liberty to change his religion? [...] Al-Sweidan: If a person converted out of conviction, should he be declared an infidel? Abir: First, he should be allowed to repent. We should explain his error to him, and if he is adamant on rejecting this and insists on his interpretation, he should be allowed to repent and have the opportunity to... Al-Sweidan: And afterwards, he should be pronounced an infidel? Abir: I believe he should be. Al-Sweidan: Thank you, Abir. Let's move to Fatima. What's your opinion? Fatima: In my opinion, he should be declared an infidel. Why is there a problem with declaring people to be infidels? Al-Sweidan: I'm not saying there is, I'm just asking a question. Fatima: He should be declared an infidel. The Koran divided people into Muslims, infidels, and the People of the Book. So there is a group of people who should be declared infidels. [...] Gamal 'Allam: With regard to matters of faith, the Sunni scholars have agreed that some acts lead to the excommunication of a person. If a person commits any of these acts, he is considered an infidel. The first case is denying something that is irrefutably part of Islam. [...] Gamal 'Allam: Another case is when a person forbids something that is irrefutably permitted. If Allah permitted something, and along comes somebody and forbids it... Al-Sweidan: For example, some Muslim countries forbid polygamy. Gamal 'Allam: Someone who forbids polygamy is an infidel, who should be excommunicated, because he is defying Allah in his right to forbid and permit. [...] Gamal 'Allam: Whoever rules according to a law other than the law sent down by Allah, and who does so out of full awareness and conviction... [...] Gamal 'Allam: If he believes that his law is equal to the law of Allah, he is comparing Allah to human beings, and thus, he is an infidel. If he believes his law to be better than the law of Allah, then he prefers the creature over its Creator, and thus, he is an infidel. Gamal 'Allam: Anybody who calls people to worship him... Al-Sweidan: Obviously, like Pharaoh. Gamal 'Allam: Yes, anyone who called upon people...or who claimed he was the son of God, or that he... Al-Sweidan: This is obvious. [...] Gamal 'Allam: One is considered an infidel if one curses Allah, His messenger, or the Koran, or who mocks the Prophet's family. [...] Gamal 'Allam: Whoever mocks Muslim men or women because of their religion...I don't mean a person who has a dispute with someone, and says to him: You mock me as a Muslim, you are an infidel. I mean a person who mocks or curses a Muslim because he prays... Al-Sweidan: In other words, he mocks the religion. Gamal 'Allam: He mocks one of the religious rites. For example, a person who mocks a woman for wearing the veil... [...] Gamal Al-Bana: Whoever says: "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah" is a Muslim. End of discussion. It is not our place to delve into the details of his belief. In addition, heresy and faith are, first of all, up to Allah, and secondly, they are personal issues. [...] Al-Sweidan: Before the break, I asked our audience for their views on this important issue. Does a Muslim have the liberty or the right to change his religion? The results are as follows: 24% said: "Yes, he has the right to change his religion." 76% of the people said: "No." Let's hear some opinions and then I will return to out guests. [...] Audience member: Sir, if you become an apostate, your punishment is death. There is a great problem that most of us, 70% of us, are Muslims because they were born to Muslim fathers and mothers. Before a person converts to Islam, he has the liberty to choose, but remember that if you want to convert from Islam, you will be punished by death. So you have the liberty to choose, but on the condition... Al-Sweidan: That's not liberty. Audience member: It has conditions... Al-Sweidan: What you are saying is: You have the right to become an apostate, but I will kill you. Audience member: That's right. I won't tell him not to. Al-Sweidan: What can be worse than being killed? Audience member: That's why he will not become an apostate. [...] Al-Sweidan: I'd like to give the floor to Dr. Gamal again. 76% of the young people here believe that a Muslim does not have the right to change his religion. How do you respond to that? Gamal Al-Bana: That is very saddening. This result indicates a lack of knowledge regarding the essence of Islam, which is faith and liberty. If belief is not based on awareness and conviction, it is worthless. As the Koran says: "If it had been thy Lord's will, they would all have believed." In other words, every Muslim has the right to change his religion as much as he likes, and nobody is allowed to stand in his way, because this is a question of freedom of conscience, and it is forbidden to intervene in matters of people's conscience. Talk to him, persuade him, hold a dialogue with him, but do not force him. You presented three options: Dialogue, killing, or the legal system. What do the legal system or killing have to do with people's conscience? [...] Gamal Al-Bana: That is very sad. Most of you are young and do not believe in freedom. Gamal 'Allam: I'd like to salute our young men and women for their natural and healthy belief and for their religious zeal. At the same time, it was sad to hear Mr. Gamal Al-Bana calling for "freedom of thought," but let me make a correction – what he is calling for is "freedom of heresy" in Muslim countries. Gamal Al-Bana: "Let him who want believe, and let him who want reject." [...] Al-Sweidan: If a person wants to go to hell, who are we to say "no"? Gamal 'Allam: Let him go to hell. [...] Gamal 'Allam: Islam is the only religion that begins with the imperative "Read." It is the only reasonable and convincing religion. Al-Sweidan: But what if a person is not convinced? Gamal 'Allam: Then there is something wrong in his head. Al-Sweidan: That's what you think, but isn't he entitled to have something wrong in his head? Gamal 'Allam: Anybody who is insane should go to a mental asylum, or else if he is insane, his head should be removed so that it does not contaminate the heads of others. [...] Al-Sweidan: We all agree that whoever violates the law must be punished. Nobody is disputing that. We are talking about a matter relating to one's belief, not about violation of the law. Gamal 'Allam: If this belief pertains to that person only, there would be no problem. The problem is that he is harming me, you, and Muslim society... Al-Sweidan: No, if he wants to become an infidel, he is free to go to hell. This does not harm me in any way. Take, for example, Salman Rushdie, who became an apostate. Good riddance. He did not affect me in any way. [...] Gamal Al-Bana: I believe that the freedom of thought and belief is absolute, because this freedom of thought leads to freedom of political opposition, which established democracy and got rid of kings and tyranny. It also led to freedom of the sciences, which has led progress, and freedom of justice, which led to fair treatment for laborers and women. Freedom of thought is indivisible, and the most important element of freedom is one's belief, because it has to do with one's conscience. Therefore, it cannot be restricted in any way

---------------------------------

Re-posting:

http://apostasyandislam.blogspot.com/

Monday, April 2, 2007

On Apostasy and Islam:
100+ Notable Islamic Voices affirming the Freedom of Faith

Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq
Upper Iowa University

April 2, 2007
[Compilation in Progress; farooqm59@yahoo.com]

Freedom of faith is essential to Islam. Prophets and Messengers of Allah along with their communities had to struggle for their freedom of faith. That Islam is by choice is unambiguously stated in the Qur'an and reflected in the Prophetic legacy. However, throughout history, the issue has been clouded due to mixing the issue of apostasy with treason. Now one of the biggest tools of anti-Islam/anti-Muslim propaganda is based on the issue of apostasy, claiming that Islam does not uphold the freedom of faith. Even our own children are getting confused and many are quietly disavowing our wishy-washy position on as fundamental issue as freedom of faith/religion.

Undeniably, the traditional position of Muslim scholars and jurists has been that apostasy [riddah] is punishable by death. The longstanding problem of the traditional position, as held by Classical jurists or scholars, can be explained and excused as not being able to see apostasy, an issue of pure freedom of faith and conscience, separate from treason against the community or the state. However, the accummulated experience over the history in terms of abuse of this position about apostasy even against Muslims as well as the changed context of a globally-connected, pluralistic society should help us appreciate the contemporary challenges in light of the Qur'anic norms and the Prophetic legacy. In this context, while the classical misunderstanding about this issue of apostasy is excusable, the position of some of the well-known contemporary scholars is not.

Sayyid Abul A'la Maududi (commonly known as Maulana Maududi), the late founder and leader of Jamaat-e-Islami and a leading independent, revivalist Islamic personality of 20th century, is frequently referred to for his ardent argument for capital punishment for apostasy. He argued that there is an broad agreement of the leading jurists on this issue. He claims:

"To copy the consecutive writings of all the lawyers from the first to the fourteenth century A.H. would make our discussion very long. Yet we cannot avoid mentioning that however much the four Schools of Law may differ among themselves regarding the various aspects of this problem, in any case all four Schools without doubt agree on the point that the punishment of the apostate is execution." [The Punishment of the Apostate According to Islamic Law]

Such a sweeping claim is misplaced because the alleged agreement is about apostasy-cum-treason, not about solely apostasy. Furthermore, any claim of consensus (ijma) on almost anything should be taken with a great deal of circumspection. [see The Doctrine of Ijma: Is there a consensus?]

Another well-known Muslim scholar and jurist of our time, whom I also generally hold in high regard, is Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi. He asserts: "The duty of the Muslim community — in order to preserve its identity — is to combat apostasy in all its forms and wherefrom it comes, giving it no chance to pervade in the Muslim world." Similar to Maulana Maududi, he also claims ijma on this: "That is why the Muslim jurists are unanimous that apostates must be punished. ... apostasy is a criminal act." [Apostasy: Major and Minor]

Dr. Al-Qaradawi also fails to separate apostasy from treason. It is unfortunate that such scholars of high repute have shown such serious lapse in recognizing that, as Dr. Irfan Ahmad Khan, a scholar and Qur'anic exegete, argues: "Freedom of faith and religion is meaningless without the freedom to change one's faith."

Then, also there are scholars, even in the USA, who are either wishy-washy or ambivalent in regard to their positions. Some are too much beholden to the traditional views held in the past, right or wrong. Views and positions of scholars and leaders, such as Maududi and al-Qaradawi, not only provide powerful ammunition for propaganda against Islam and Muslims, but also confound the mind of our own community, including our youth, whose discerning mind sees through the double-standard or self-contraditiction quite transparently.

While many contemporary Muslim scholars have expressed their views affirming the freedom of faith, the collective voice of Muslims is still feeble and little known. In this write-up we have collated opinions and positions of various Muslim scholars, academics, intellectuals, imams, professionals, community leaders and others on this issue. Even young students are voicing against the double-standard that contradicts the Islamic values and principles.

These voices, representing a broad spectrum of Muslim community/ummah, are tipping the scale of the discourse on this issue in favor of affirming and upholding the pristine Islamic principle about freedom of faith. It also debunks the claim of unanimity (ijma), which was not quite true in the past, and it is even less true in the present.

Some additional explanatory notes: (a) Views of some of the early scholars might not be categorical or without variant reports. However, the excerpts included can be basis for identifying them as the precursors of the contemporary views on this issue. (b) There are (or have been) many scholars, early and contemporary, who hold that in case of apostasy capital punishment is not warranted, but have sanctioned or kept open the possibility of other punishments. There views have not been included here. (c) There are also scholars who belive that punishment of apostasy is not hadd (mandatory, specified punishment based on the Qur'an or sunnah), but it is subject to ta'zir [discretionary punishment, determined by the proper Islamic judicial system]. In this collection, there views have not been included either.

Before the views and opinions of a broad spectrum of Islamic voices are presented below, two brief statements about apostasy in the Qur'an and in hadith are in order.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Punishment of Apostasy in the Qur'an

As presented in excerpts from numerous sources below, and links to works available online, there is no worldly punishment solely for apostasy [i.e., changing of one's faith/religion] mentioned in the Qur'an.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Punishment of Apostasy in Hadith

Reader are invited/urged to explore a vast amount of resources/links presented at this blog, where scholars authoritatively have shown that none of the hadiths about apostasy is without problem or weakness. Also, there is no hadith confirming punishment or retribution solely for apostasy. In every single case, where punishment has been meted out, riddah involved treason or rebellion

To read (and review) the views of about 100 other Muslim scholar's you can click on:

http://apostasyandislam.blogspot.com/

__,_._,___

Daily Online Alochona

Banner Advertiser

Thursday, December 13, 2007

[vinnomot] Young Americans Paying Close Attention to Presidential Race

[mukto-mona] Commentary : Stifled and silenced

[mukto-mona] Killing of Intellectuals in 1971

[mukto-mona] Killing of Intellectuals in 1971 : Existing evidence enough to try killers

[vinnomot] Killing of Intellectuals in 1971 : Existing evidence enough to try killers

[vinnomot] What's the difference between politicians between Canada and Bangladesh

Accepting Money From Schreiber a 'Mistake'

Source: CBC News

Posted: 12/13/07 11:43AM

[vinnomot] Fwd: Reports on Maischari land grabbiing

RE: [vinnomot] India is moving ahead in quiet road and Bangladesh is falling behind by keeping us bu

[vinnomot] Fwd: Bangladesh: You are still beautiful!!!

[mukto-mona] Fwd: Bangladesh: You are still beautiful!!!

[mukto-mona] Muslim Scholars Debate Apostates in Islam / Apostasy and Islam: Dr M Omar Farooq

Muslim Scholars Debate Apostates in Islam

Apostasy and Islam

Monday, April 2, 2007

Blog Archive

Link List

Addvertise

Reffaral Link