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Saturday, October 18, 2008

[chottala.com] Jamaat's politics of hatemongering, discrimination and violence

 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

Those who led the bleeding of innocent civilians, raping of women must be tried: we must compel the government to bring the collaborators to justice. The future of liberty, democracy, peace and stability in Bangladesh largely depends on the trial of the perpetrators of the genocide in 1971. We must resist any attempt by the government and/or any interest group to legitimise Jamaat's politics of hatred, violence, and discrimination in our democratic process, writes ABM Nasir


WHEN Karl Rueger, an ultranationalist renowned for his hatred against the ethnic and religious minority and abhorrence for individual liberty, won the mayoral election of Vienna, Austria in 1895, it shook the foundation of emerging liberty in Europe (Fareed Zakaria, 2003, The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad, p59-60). The emperor Franc Joseph I of Habsburg, fearing that Rueger's induction would jeopardise the future of liberty, refused to recognise him as the elected mayor. Despite his indignation, the emperor eventually had to submit to the choice of majority and recognise Rueger as the mayor. Much later the emperor's fear was vindicated. The emperor had rightly feared that Rueger's intention, as ingrained in his ideology, was not to promote the virtues of democracy and liberty but to exploit the democratic process to promote his ultra-nationalism. Rueger's induction later led to the ascent of the Fascists and the Nazis, respectively, to the Italian and German political powers as organised minority albeit through democratic election.
   The Fascists (1922-1943) and the Nazis' (1933-1945) ascent to the political powers can be attributed, inter alia, to three important factors: (i) the failure of the political establishments in Italy and Germany to live up to the expectation of the people; (ii) the rise of ultra-nationalism; and (iii) the activism of the extremely organised propaganda machines and dedicated foot soldiers deployed by both the Fascists and the Nazis to undermine the credibility of the politicians and dismantle the political establishments.
   Once ascended to power, both the Fascists and the Nazis continued their onslaught on individual liberty and democratic institutions. They unleashed the infamous Black Shirts and Gestapo to suppress the voices of freedom. About 20 years of Fascist rule in Italy and 12 years of Nazi rule in Germany ended up with the greatest human disaster in history, the World War II, which annihilated 50 million people across the world including the massacre of six million Jews by the Nazis.
   The turn of the event in the history now proves that Karl Rueger, who abhorred individual liberty, democratic values, religious harmony and diversity, should never have been allowed to participate in the democratic process in the first place.
   In Bangladesh, Jamaat-e-Islami is the reincarnation of the Fascists of Italy and the Nazis of Germany. Its antipathy like that of Karl Ruegar toward democracy and liberty, its penchant for organised violence similar to those of Black Shirts and Gestapo, and its discriminatory principles against religious minority like that of Nazis are causes for serious concern. The reasons that should have prohibited Karl Ruegar from participating in the democratic process equally apply to Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh. At least four compelling reasons would justify why Jamaat must be rejected from participating in the democratic process. These reasons are as follows.
   First, Jamaat-e-Islami doesn't believe in democracy or any form of godless materialism. The excerpt 'Muslims who form the overwhelming majority will not tolerate secularism, socialism, capitalism or godless materialism' (Abbas Ali Khan, Jamaat-e-Islami's views on defence of Bangladesh, p4) bears testimony to this effect. A political party or any organization which doesn't believe in democracy must be cast out from the democratic process.
   Second, Jamaat's view on political participation is discriminatory. Once ascended to political power, Jamaat will not hesitate to restrict or even deny the rights of religious minorities and women, thereby degrading their status to second-class citizens. This fear is rightly justified when one reads the following passage extracted from the article 'An Introduction to the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh'. The passage reads: 'Any sane and adult person can become a Member of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh if he or she accepts the basic creed of the Jamaat-e-Islami as his or her own creed, accepts the aims and objects of the Jamaat-e-Islami as his or her own aims and objects, pledges to fulfil the demands of the constitution of the Jamaat-e-Islami, performs the obligatory duties ordained by Islam' (An Introduction to Jamaat-e-Islami; http ://www.jamaat-e-islami.org/ index.php?option=com_about&task= introduction, p2). Jamaat's creed being the belief in Islam, for any non-Muslim aspiring to hold political office under Jamaat's hegemony must submit to the creed of Jamaat-e-Islami. Such membership criterion is discriminatory, exclusive and unconstitutional. Any form of forced exclusion is anti-democratic. And, by requiring individuals to submit to the belief of any particular religion to be eligible to participate in the political process is against the country's constitution. Therefore, Jamaat is working against the constitution and must not be allowed to participate in the political process.
   Third, Jamaat's ultra-nationalistic view is anti-democratic and is a threat to the regional peace and stability. Jamaat's ultra-nationalistic view, similar to those of Karl Ruegar, Mussolini and Hitler, is reflected in the statement 'the psychology of the defence forces in Bangladesh must be anti-Indian' (Abbas Ali Khan, Jamaat-e-Islami's views on defence of Bangladesh, p4). Such jingoistic attitude is a serious threat to the regional peace and stability of South Asia.
   Fourth, in 1971, Jamaat not only opposed to the creation of Bangladesh, but it collaborated with the Pakistani army in perpetrating one of the worst genocides in the world history. Jamaat's crime against humanity led to the death of three million civilians and rape of more than 200,000 women and destruction of billions of dollars worth of properties. It's leadership including Golam Azam, Motiur Rahman Nizami, Ali Ahsan Mujahidi, Kamaruzzam, Delawar Hossain Saidi have never been tried in the court of law for committing such a heinous crime. Nor have they ever apologised for their opposition to the creation of Bangladesh. In contrast, they are thriving and constantly resorting to shenanigans to rub their dirty and bloody hands off their complicity in the crime against humanity and treacherous acts against the creation of Bangladesh. On October 28, 2006, the way few hundred armed Jamaat cadres stood up against thousands of angry opposition activists can be reminiscent of the way a few members of the black shirts used to dismantle political rallies during the Fascist rule in Italy. The thousands of rounds of bullets that came out of the guns of Jamaat cadres on that day indicates how ferocious Jamaat's foot soldiers can get, even today, to protect their fervent belief from being strolled or discredited.
   All these indicate that hatemongering, discrimination, and violence have always been the principle strategies of Jamaat's politics to rise to political office. A political party whose strategy and politics is based on such principles is anti-democratic and must be rejected.
   If we are to learn any lessons from the consequences of the Fascist and Nazi rules, then, to protect democracy and liberty, we must stop the recurrence of the same in Bangladesh. We must constantly remind citizens of the country that Bangladesh is born out of the sacrifice of millions. Those who led the bleeding of innocent civilians, raping of women must be tried: we must compel the government to bring the collaborators to justice. The future of liberty, democracy, peace and stability in Bangladesh largely depends on the trial of the perpetrators of the genocide in 1971. We must resist any attempt by the government and/or any interest group to legitimise Jamaat's politics of hatred, violence, and discrimination in our democratic process. If we fail to resist the Jamaatification of the institutions of the country, Bangladesh will fall into the grip of the forces of darkness of middle age.
   

ABM Nasir teaches economics at North Carolina Central University, Durham, North Carolina, USA. nasnc@yahoo.com

 
 

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[chottala.com] American Muslim PAC Endorsed George W. Bush for President in Elections 2000

American Muslim PAC Endorses George W. Bush for President

WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct 23, 2000 - The American Muslim Political Coordinating Council Political Action Committee (AMPCC-PAC) today announced its endorsement of George W. Bush for president, citing his outreach to the Muslim community and his stand on the issue of secret evidence.

(AMPCC-PAC is an affiliated PAC of the American Muslim Political Coordinating Council. AMPCC members include American Muslim Alliance, American Muslim Council, Council on American-Islamic Relations, and Muslim Public Affairs Council.)

The endorsement was announced by chair of AMPCC-PAC, Dr. Agha Saeed.

"Governor Bush took the initiative to meet with local and national representatives of the Muslim community. He also promised to address Muslim concerns on domestic and foreign policy issues," said AMPCC-PAC head Agha Saeed.

The press conference was also addressed by:
Dr. Yahya Basha and Mr. Aly Abouzakuk of AMC,
Mr. Omar Ahmad, Mr. Nihad Awad, Mr. Ibrahim Hooper of CAIR,
Mr. Salam Al-Maryati of MPAC, and
Mr. Eric Vickers of AMA.

Representatives of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) attended the press conference as observers.

AMPCC made this critical decision after polling constituents and studying candidates' records on issues of concern to American Muslims.

"We have based our decision on a 3-point criteria", explained Dr. Agha Saeed: "1) Record, 2) community feedback, and 3) accessibility. It is on the basis of this criteria that we have endorsed Gov. Bush".

There are an estimated six million Muslims in the United States. Muslims constitute a potential swing-voting bloc in states such as California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. In several surveys of Muslim voters, the majority said they would vote for Bush.

The Muslim leaders also noted that Bush challenged the use of "secret evidence" at the second presidential debate. American Muslims and civil libertarians believe secret evidence, as it is currently used in Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) deportation hearings, is unconstitutional. They believe that it is used disproportionately against Muslims in America.

A number of Muslim detainees have been held for up to four years based on evidence that is not revealed to them or their attorneys. The Secret Evidence Repeal Act currently awaits passage in the House and Senate.

"In the nineties", observed Dr. Agha Saeed, "the Muslim civil rights were significantly curtailed due to Executive Order of 1994, Secret Evidence clause of the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1995, and ADC v. Janet Reno decision of the US Supreme Court of April 1999. Our collective efforts are aimed at rectifying these setbacks. It is extremely important for Muslims to vote for a civil agenda this year."

Source: American Muslim Alliance

 
 

American Muslim bloc vote in 2000 elections

American Muslims made history in 2000 presidential elections when they voted en bloc for George Bush. The American Muslim Political Coordinating Council Political Action Committee (AMPCC-PAC), a coalition of four major American Muslim organizations, only two weeks before the election announced its endorsement of George W. Bush for president, citing his outreach to the Muslim community and his stand on the issue of secret evidence.

 

In a post-election survey of American Muslim voters conducted by the Washington, DC-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), one of the nation's largest grassroots Muslim advocacy and civil rights groups, nearly three-quarters of respondents indicated that they had voted for Texas Governor Bush. Of these, 85 percent noted that the endorsement of Bush by the American Muslim Political Coordinating Committee Political Action Committee (AMPCC-PAC) was a factor in their vote. In this survey of 1,774 voters, 72 percent of Muslim respondents said they voted for Bush, 19 percent supported Green Party candidate Ralph Nader, and only 8 percent favored Vice President Al Gore. Muslims, therefore, became the only bloc vote for Bush.

The former Congressman, Paul Findley, in his book Silent No More: Confronting America's False Images of Islam, estimates that about 3.2 million Muslims turned out for vote and 65 percent voted for President Bush. Mr. Findley said: The importance of Muslim bloc voting arises from its magnitude as well as its focus. Best estimates put the national Muslim population at seven million, 70 as the percentage of those eligible to vote, and 65 as the percentage of those eligible who actually voted. This means that the national turnout of Muslims on Nov.7 came to 3.2 million.

About 700 Muslim Americans ran for various local, state and federal offices in the 2000 elections. At least 152 of them were elected to local and state offices. These individuals were elected as members of precinct committees, delegates to Democratic and Republican party conventions, city councils, state assemblies, state senates, and judgeships. Ninety-two of these were elected from Texas.

 

 AFP Report: Muslim vote went to Bush, says survey

WASHINGTON, Nov 17 2000: More than 70 per cent of Muslim American voters voted for Texas Governor George W. Bush in the presidential election, a poll released on Friday said.

The governor garnered 72 percent of the Muslim vote compared to Vice President Al Gore's eight per cent, in what the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) billed as a victory for the campaign to deliver a bloc vote for the Republican presidential candidate.

The Lebanese-American consumer activist and long-shot Green Party candidate, Ralph Nader, polled 19 per cent of the Muslim vote, according to exit polls taken by CAIR.

"Muslim voters clearly followed the lead of Islamic political groups in voting for George W. Bush. This signals that a Muslim voting bloc must be taken into consideration in future elections," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad.

The Muslim community endorsed Bush last month, citing his outreach to their community and his pledge to end the use of so-called secret evidence in immigration deportation hearings.

A full 85 per cent of the voters surveyed said the endorsement by the American Muslim Political Coordinating Council Political Action Committee (AMPCC-PAC) was a factor in their decision.-AFP
 

Elections 2000:

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[chottala.com] Urgent Blood Needed. Plz save a Life.

Dear All,
It's very sad to give you the information that our classmate Tuhin Borua's Sister is suffering from Blood Cancer. It was detected 3 days before. Now she is in Chittagong Medical Hospital
She needs continuous Blood. Her Blood Group is O+ ( O positive)
Her Blood Group is O+ ( O positive)
Plz if you or your known person have the same Blood Group and want to give blood then it will be very kind and
helpful to contact with Tuhin Borua.
Any helpful information regarding blood cancer you can give him.
He is really in undone situation

Tuhin Borua's contact no. - 01191258039

plz send this mail to all your known address. and plz plz plz help him if it is possible for you.

regards
RS Tanvir Cuet Cse-03

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