Enjoin Good.....Forbid Evil
This is a one person’s views on current Israeli war in Gaza and the complicity of world political leaders in this collective punishment of oppressed, helpless, and innocent people.
Gaza Strip is a small piece of land (360 km sq.) with a population of about 1.5 million people who live in four major towns:
Gazahha, Dayr al Balah, Khan Yunis and Rafah. These towns are amongst the world’s most densely populated areas. And they have been under Israeli occupation for the last 40 years.

Following the January 2006 victory of Hamas in the Palestinian parliamentary elections, Israel, US, EU, and Canada listed it as a “terrorist organization” and implemented restrictive measures against Hamas.

Canada was the first nation to stop aid to poor Palestinians. Arab states, as usual, failed to provide any assistance to besieged Palestinians. Mahmoud Abbas, the so-called President of Palestine (a State that does not exist) issued a decree on 18 June 2007 outlawing the Hamas militia and executive force. In response, Hamas took over administrative control of Gaza, expelled Abbas’ Fatah factions, and started occupation, and siege of Gaza. These improvised explosive devices often miss their marks and land short of their targets. At the start of current Israeli raid in Gaza, only one Israeli was killed by ‘missile’ attacks while hundreds of Gazans had died due to
shortage of food, medicine, safe drinking water, access to hospitals and lack of other amenities that we take for granted - all consequences of occupation, sanctions and siege. Arguably, a siege of ‘slow genocide and ethnic cleansing’.
Shame on me for not speaking against decades of illegal occupation, aggression and massacre of innocent, helpless people. And shame on Muslim despots and puppet leaders who are complicit in wars and other crimes against humanity.
Shame on Me

Allah commands me in Al-Qur’an to enjoin good and to forbid wrong and evil. I did nothing. In Canada, I have the freedom of speech but I chose to remain silent. I neither arranged meetings, rallies or conferences, nor I wrote letters to my MPs, PM and mainstream media. In fact, I did not participate in letter writinetter writing campaigns, lectures, and protest rallies organized by other social justice activists and people of conscience (mostly non-Muslims). I did pretend, however, that I care by taking refuge in religious rituals and litanies. But I ignored Allah’s warning, “Surely, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition.” (13:11). In short, I ignored the spirit and meaning of Brotherhood in Islam and let my Brothers and Sisters down in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and other areas of conflict. Cries of hungry children, tears of young widows and old mothers, and despair of helpless brothers and fathers had no effect on me. I built a callous shell around me to protect my own interests and comforts. And I am ashamed of myself!

Western Leaders Western political leaders did even worse than I. Prime Minister; Harper supports President Bush’s belligerent policies and strong backing of Israel’s occupation and other offensives in Palestine. President-elect, Barrack Obama, remains silent as Israel kills Palestinians with impunity. European Union is no different. It continues to support Israeli aggression politically and financially while imposing sanctions on besieged Palestinians. The Quartet of UN, US, EU, and Russia, led by Blair of England and Rice of US, failed to ease Israeli blockade of Gaza. Humanitarian considerations, compassion, and goodwill to mankind were thrown to the wind to protect interests of the powerful. Age-old tactics of diplomacy (hypocrisy, deceit, and treachery) have been fine tuned to blame and kill the victims of aggression. The powerful formulate the concept of terrorism in normative terms to justify their oppression of the victims and the weak.

Arab Leaders Arab leaders have failed miserably to hide their incompetence in protecting Palestinians. In fact, they have exposed their complicity in a well orchestrated Israeli invasion of Gaza. Despot Hosni Mubarak of Egypt has refused to open Rafah boarder for Gazans to escape hunger and death until Hamas surrenders to Abbas and Israel. Both Abbas and Mubarak blame Hamas for breaking the ceasefire without explaining to them what has six month’s ceasefire done to end the blockade and occupation other than increasing misery, deprivation, hunger, and slow and painful death for 1.5 millions Gazans.

Arab League could not bring its foreign ministers together on Sunday, December 28 to give their usual lip service to the Palestinian cause. They were too busy in their routine GCC and MU meetings to care for the dead and dying in Gaza. Now, they will meet on Friday, January 2, 2009 to discuss the issue. Sure, the timing is perfect. It will give Israel enough time to cripple Hamas and start mop up operation. And it will not interfere in their New Year celebrations in Dubai, London, and New York. Well done, leaders of the Ummah!

And we should pay our respects to His Majesty, King Abdullah, of Saudi Arabia. After Israel, he is the second closest ally of US in the Middle East, and the best friend of George Bush. And he has bigger worries to protect Six Trillion Dollars loot invested in US interests than to care for a few million Palestinians.

I beg You Allah to forgive me for betraying my Palestinian brothers and sisters in Islam, and I beg You to protect them from their Arab rulers. Palestinians have no one to trust except You, O Lord!