The Road to Happiness.

As young people unhappiness is certainly not a feeling that is alien to us. We are all struggling in some shape or form. Sometimes, failing to succeed in our studies tends to ruin our whole mood. Some of us are stressed about finding a job to support our living costs, others are wondering whether they picked the right degree, some of us may even be reading this and hoping to find something that may motivate them to find a goal in their life, your friend may be suffering from an illness, you may be that very person suffering from the illness or you may be someone looking for that ‘special’ person. There are many things for us to be unhappy about, this post was not written so you could be judged and looked down upon, it was written because from experience this feeling is not the best thing to live with. You may be indulging in mass sins and are too ‘scared’ to repent and return back to Allah. However I want to try and give you a different perspective on all of these matters. During my moments of hardships I read many books, attended various circles and watched many lectures and this is what I came to realise:

No matter how bad your situation is this Dunya is the lowest of places, it’s only up from here (Inshallah). This place was designed to be a complete test, some are tested with poverty, unhappiness and hardships, and others are tested with wealth, riches and goodness. It is tailored to each person and ultimately the test is how we deal with it; whether we become bitter from these hardships and fall into the trap of believing that a merciful Lord would not make us deal with these adversities or equally whether we fall into the trap of believing we are invincible and owe our wealth only to ourselves, whilst forgetting to be thankful to Allah everyday and forgetting to use our wealth in his way and for his sake. The companions of the Prophet (may Allah be pleased with them) frequently reiterated ‘When things are easy they are always followed by hard times, whereas when things are hard they are always followed by easy times.’ If we just became patient with all the tribulations that befall us we could technically be in Ibadah, you could be just sitting in your home and if you are patient with the trials Allah tests us with, you’re in Ibadah. But if you’re constantly complaining, know that Allah will give you more things to complain about.

When trying to overcome this sense of sadness, there are those of us who stumble due to the sins we commit; however we need to remember a statement made by the Prophet “I swear by Him in whose hand is my soul, if you were a people who did not commit sin, Allah would take you away and replace you with a people who would sin and then seek Allah’s forgiveness so He could forgive them.”  This is who we worship. No matter what it is, Allah forgives if you go back to Him with a sincere heart. His mercy is beyond our understanding. “And seek forgiveness of Allah; surely Allah is Forgiving, Compassionate” (Qur’an 73:20) As Rumi said in one of his poems: “Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn’t matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again, come, come.”

We know that Satan says that most of us aren’t in a state of gratitude. Allah states this very fact in the Quran “And few of my servants are grateful.” The root of Taqwa (god-consciousness) is gratitude. The Almighty is worthy of the gratitude; it’s not just about fear. We don’t want to be a people who are motivated to do things by a negative force (fear). Behind everything is Allah; therefore in being grateful to everything we are grateful to Allah. This effectively includes being grateful to people who harm us, because in reality, if we respond correctly, they are doing us a big favour in drawing us nearer to Allah.

Now that you have understood this, sit down and think all the blessings Allah has bestowed upon you. He has allowed you to use electricity to read this piece; he has allowed you to have eyes to witness the very world he allowed you to reside in. He has allowed some of us to attend universities where we enjoy the presence of great people. He has allowed us to own a stomach where we enjoy the very food he has allowed us to eat. The list is endless.

Sometimes dedicating time and pondering about all the things Allah has allowed us to enjoy shifts our whole mood. When I say this I am not saying it just for the sake of it but because this matter is true. Over the past few days I have reflected a lot and realised that in some way or another Allah has answered all of my pleas. Sitting down and pondering over the Mercy of Allah overwhelms me. This has certainly made me a happier person, this has eradicated the senses of depression and most importantly this realisation has allowed me thank Allah for any incident that occurs to me. It is important to continually be in a state of reflection, the world we live in is one that can drain our Iman and our happiness, the only way to overcome this, is to remember and thank Allah and count our blessings more than once. This thanking of Allah however is not merely saying Alhamdullilah after everything that occurs but it is also utilising the very things he has blessed us with. So if you have the gift of being creative then use that help those of us who are dull in the approaches, if you have been blessed with wealth donate to projects that would allow other human beings to smile and feel this sense of gratitude, if your divine gift is in giving advice or writing then by all means use those powerful verses to help another person. As the saying goes, the world is your oyster and it’s up to you to really show this gratitude.

A very noble man said not too long ago “If you take a child and you throw the child up, there is a point where you see this, they go into this state of complete panic and then when they come back to your arms they are laughing. That is dunya, I guarantee you, that moment, that is your life, you came from God and you are going back to God and there is just a moment when you are in a complete state of panic but just relax, you are in good hands. Just relax.”

Be happy, stay positive, ponder on your successes and constantly be happy with what you have been blessed with.

May peace be granted to all of us.

By Ali Habib (inspired mostly by my friends and the sheikhs that provided the information and life lessons)

The bombardment of Gaza: A never ending story

Whilst in the procedure of planning and finalizing the finishing touches of this blog remaining professional and not emotionally attached to the content portrayed was probably the hardest obstacle during the formation of this piece. The horrific pictures one has to witness on a daily basis of little children being shredded into pieces with missing limbs scattered around the Gaza strip has the power to touch even the most stubborn of people in society. From the resignation of Baroness Warsi to even Nick Clegg turning against his master, people are starting to realize that this brutal oppression against the people of Gaza is barbaric and intolerable. This is why my emotions run very high as I visited Palestine not long ago during the summer vacation to witness firsthand the conditions Palestinian Arabs were living under the rogue State of Israel.  As many may be aware travelling to and from the Gaza strip is near impossible due to the land and sea blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt in 2007, so my ambitious dream to visit this besieged land was safe to say short lived. However I was fortunate enough to travel around the West Bank only to find out the existence of an subsidized oppression enforced upon the Palestinian Arabs in their own semi autonomous territory. If you thought apartheid ended in South Africa then you are terribly wrong. I myself remember walking in route ‘H1’ in the city of Hebron (West Bank)  where the settlers were situated in luxurious houses with lush surroundings thanks to her majesty the queen and her burgundy passport whilst my Palestinian friend whom I was going to meet on the other side had to walk through ‘H2’ simply because he was an Arab. The consequences of him accompanying me were too great to risk. Many other factors which slowly unveiled during my week long stay really started to play in my mind questioning myself if this is how the Israeli authorities are treating the people of west bank whom they have a ‘friendly’ relation with i.e. the PA (Palestinian authority led by Mahmoud Abbas), Then God have mercy on the people of Gaza.

Historically speaking the current 2014 bombardment of the Gaza strip is one of many attacks deployed by the Israeli state. In the years 2008-2009, 2012, the Gaza strip has witnessed disproportionate bombings carried out by the IDF (Israeli defense forces) targeting civilian population and institutions. With each year having its own story, the one thing that remained the same is the density of Gaza strip which sparks international debate questioning whether these bombings are war crimes. The Gaza strip is the most densely populated place on earth deprived of basic necessities as it economy is hampered by the Israel-Egypt blockade. With 70% of the population living under the poverty line, this open air prison when bombed has devastating repercussions as mass innocent civilians are prone to death if not almost guaranteed. With not even UN school shelters left to spare that were built under the consensus of the international community for the well-being of the Gazan children, the Palestinian people find themselves in an awkward position as they cannot flee to a neighbouring country to escape the ‘crossfire’. I put the word crossfire in inverted commas because according to the Israeli chain of events their sole objective is to target Hamas affiliated locations whilst anyone caught in between is a result of ‘tragic’ crossfire. Personally every time I witness Israeli officials such as Mark Regev taking up a moral high ground using words like ‘tragic’ on BBC or Sky news makes me cringe as clearly there is a hidden agenda behind why coincidentally there are over 1,100 people dead and the infrastructure of Gaza bought down to turmoil. I also find it hard to comprehend how children playing football on the beach can possibly pose as a threat towards the IDF.

Meanwhile as the death toll rises beyond belief Israel continue to dismiss their war crimes by diverting the blame to Hamas or collateral damage.  With the military prowess Israel possesses surely they should be efficient in the manner they carry out their bombings, not that I am endorsing the Gaza bombardment but rather questioning Israel intentions behind its operations.  Funding from America is close to utopia with a staggering 3 billion dollars per year dedicated to military aid over the span of 10 years. Modern warfare technologies such as drones and intercontinental ballistic missiles (one of many perks being the puppet of America) provide Israel the luxury to hit their targets at ease however as I mentioned earlier the death toll in Gaza does not correlate with the military capability Israel boasts about. Yes to clear the elephant in the room Hamas are also firing rockets across the border but do they have an iron dome system to defend itself? How many Israelis have actually died apart from the Bedouin Arab Israeli citizen? Does Hamas have the right to resistance? These are all pressing issues that need to be addressed around the table diplomatically with viable international actors. Egypt for a start is ironically distressing to see hosting the peace talks but that’s a debate for another time.

On that note I urge all my readers to make the most of our resources around us for the sake of people just like me and you who ponder every day whether they will see a new day after sunset. Anything from persuading your friends to join demonstrations or even writing to your local MP addressing where you stand and what should be done about this perpetual issue will strengthen the  collective struggle we face towards the solidarity of Palestine. Utilizing the democracy we live in is vital because as a society we are all responsible to hold our Government into account and to prevent complacency on an issue millions feel deeply about. Remember the Gaza crisis is not a issue of religion but a matter of humanity.

By Mohammad Jakir Hossain

The forgotten art of solitude- discover that stranger hiding inside of you

One evening, as I was sat alone entertaining my own thoughts of what the future may hold, I saw my little sister repeatedly come into the room, sit down, and then leave. I asked her if she’s ok, and to that she responded, “I want to keep you company because no one likes to be lonely”. That was a bitter sweet moment for me, a moment when reality and realisation hit hard. It dawned upon me that my sister, 10 years of age, is part of a generation where independent thought, dare I say, has ceased to exist. Or in the less hyperbolised form become an endangered species. Where separation from external social interaction is deemed undesirable and distressing. Where solitude and loneliness have intertwined to become one.

And yet, do I blame them? These children are being raised by the virtual world, whereby virtual social interaction has become an involuntary lifelong commitment and opinions are based on what’s received the most likes or the most retweets. Smart phones are easily accessible and every application under the sun is available to interact with friends and strangers (the dangers of that being obvious. That’s a story for another day). We adults too have fallen into that trap of escapism. We would download any app, any game (angry birds), anything, just anything to do so we don’t have to be left to our thoughts. Society has entered the state of being ‘alone together’. We are all alone, yet interact together to keep us from ourselves; therefore alone together. We can tell you what he ate or where she went on holiday or what his religious view is or what her political opinions are, yet we hesitate to answer the most basic question of all: “Tell me about yourself…?”

Considering I have spent the past 19 years living with myself, it always alarms me how blank my mind goes whenever I’m asked that question. Suddenly my existence boils down to name, age, religion, nationality and studies. If you dig deeper I might even throw in my family. But that is all. And yet it doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface. Instantly, a problem arises, and it is that we have failed to attempt to connect with ourselves the same way we do with others. To many of us, the social front we maintain outside the home and the person we become at home is in someway an indication of a mild form of bipolar. But that isn’t the root of the problem. The root is that we are strangers to our own selves. That is why our reactions to situations can very often surprise or even shock us. It’s because we are harbouring a stranger within our walls that we know nothing of. Apart from the name, age, religion, nationality and studies. And if you dig deeper they might throw in their family too.

However, unfortunately this stranger doesn’t have whatsapp, and isn’t going to open up to you at 3 am and expose their deepest darkest secret. This stranger is more challenging to connect with, and requires your utmost attention and concentration. Only through that connection with the stranger will you unmask the many layers of your very complex entity.
But how? I’ve struggled with that question for years too. How do I connect with myself? As much as I like the sound of my own voice, and as appealing as conversing with myself seems, it wasn’t the way forward. Nor was locking myself in a dark room for a day the solution. I realised that this was going to be a gradual process. For starters, time alone. Take a walk. No friends, no phone and no iPod. Just you vs. the world. Clear your mind of others and their lives and opinions and dramas. Think simple thoughts. Identity is a critical aspect that shapes our entire being, so ask yourself, or rather your estrange self the question “tell me about yourself…?”, and begin to listen to the answers through your thoughts. Expand and continue beyond your usual response. Branch out and keep digging deeper. Much deeper than usual. You’ll be surprised what your mind has to say about you!
Throughout every opportunity you have to be in solitude, whether it’s some time alone on the sofa or a stroll in the park, attempt to engage with your emotions. Think long and hard about what makes you happy, what upsets you, what irritates you, what fascinates you. Discover and understand yourself emotionally, and believe me, it’ll become much easier for others to understand you too. Understanding our emotions and triggers for certain feelings will help in maintaining emotional stability and control, and will also come close to eliminating any embarrassing or otherwise surprising outbursts in the future. Stability in character can only be achieved through understanding ones place in the universe, what our needs are and what our wants are and what our aspirations are, and emotions have a vital part to play in all of this.

In Allah SWT alone is dependency of any nature, including emotional, leading to contentment. This beautiful ayah comes to mind; “Indeed in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.” However, when we place our dependency on other sources, and we become emotionally dependent upon people as a source of happiness, we have put ourselves in a venerable and destructive position. Dependence on others for happiness and maintaining a ‘social high’, feeling happy in the company of people, can lead to bouts of depression or intense feelings of distress and loneliness when alone. Be the source of your own happiness through achieving goals and reaching targets. Discover and delve deeply into them to seek contentment with ourselves and internal fulfilment. Of course I am no psychologist, just a normal person going about her daily life trying to discover her inner stranger.

So back to my sister, who inspired all of this midnight thought process. In an attempt to repair a yet feeble impressionable mind, I began explaining to her that being ‘alone’ and ‘lonely’ is not the same thing. Of course, without expecting her to have understood any of it, I still proceeded to highlight the importance of balance, and how alone time is good for our internal wellbeing. Looking back at me with confused eyes she asked “will this make sense when I’m older?” I sure hope it does.

The Four (Groups of) Palestinians

The Four (Groups of) Palestinians.

The Four (Groups of) Palestinians

I am sure by now that more or less everyone is aware of the 66 year old land dispute between the Jews in the then newly formed state of Israel and the native Arabs known as the Palestinians, which up to 700, 000 were forced to flee their homes to make way for the new Jewish settlers in this new state. The Arabs who lived in what was known as the British mandate of Palestine before 1948 (The birth of Israel) are those who have come to be known as the Palestinian People, but who are they? where are they now and what living conditions do they live in?

Israeli Arabs

These are the Palestinians who were not evicted from their houses or chose to stay in what then became the state of Israel, in general they are Arab citizens of the state of Israel and receive the majority of rights other Israeli citizens are granted, however there are some rights that they are not fully entitled to. Amongst the Arab citizens of Israel are the Druze, who are a religious sect separate from Islam. Male Druze Israelis are conscripted into the Israeli Army by law and are not given any exemptions. Many Druze see themselves as proud Israelis who are serving their country and often do not agree with the idea of them having a Palestinian identity, but often it could be the total opposite. There are also the Arab Bedouin citizens of Israel who themselves are of a different set of culture than other Palestinians and their daily lives are generally focused around their nomadic lifestyle, this means that at times these Bedouins do not associate themselves or feel alienated from their greater Palestinian identity, as a result there are a number of Bedouin conscripts into the Israeli army. The Bedouins themselves face many problems as a minority population within the state of Israel, they currently face the Prawer plan which is a plan to uproot all Bedouin out of their unregistered temporary villages into registered towns accounting to an unprecedented land loss as well as a destruction of the Bedouin lifestyle. Other Israeli Arabs are mainly of Muslim and Christian descent and are scattered across the north of Israel, although this demographic is not conscripted in the army by law , nevertheless they are at great disadvantage because they don’t have land purchasing rights or the right to settle anywhere else in Israel. Furthermore these Palestinian Arabs of Israeli citizenship cannot travel to most of the Arab and the Muslim world since their Israeli citizenship limits them as most of these countries do not recognise the Jewish State, in addition these Arabs fall outside the jurisdiction of a future Palestinian state if talks were to prove successful which is a huge blow to their national aspirations.

West bank Palestinians

These are the residents of the region which was annexed by Jordan in 1948 and then conquered by Israel in 1967, Although most of this population is under the Palestinian authority and account as citizens of a future Palestinian state; never the less they are at disadvantages in many counts. First of all they do not have the freedom of movement to travel in and out of what is now the state of Israel, in addition Palestinians moving between cities within the West bank have to face the hurdles of checkpoints between each major city. Palestinians in the west bank also have to live alongside Jewish settlers in the west bank who are bestowed a range of welfare as well as water security and a set of Settler only roads which Palestinians are forbidden to drive on or walk across. Many Palestinians in the West bank also do not live under the PA but Israeli military law where they are accustomed regular Israeli army raids and arrests.

Gazan Palestinians

This group probably has the biggest disadvantage than all other Palestinian groups, this group of 1.8 million, mainly children live in an incredibly crowded strip of land which accounts to 600km squared. First of all Gaza is blockaded by air land and sea by Israeli forces in addition the Narrow border with Egypt is also blocked by Egyptian forces. This means that Gazan live in the world’s largest open air prison, Gazans are unable to fend for themselves , they cannot fish in the Mediterranean because Israeli naval ships blockade it , there is a lack of water availability as well a lack of medical care, those who have great Injuries or in need of specialist medical assistance are often unable to due to the fact that Gazans cannot make it into Egypt due to the closed Rafah border crossing. If conditions couldn’t even become less humane the Gaza strip is prone to unprovoked Israeli aerial bombardment which the recent on going conflict resulting in more than a thousand Palestinian deaths is evidence of.

Palestinian Refugees outside of Palestine

These are often the forgotten ones , the 700,000 refugees that were forced to leave their homes to make way for the creation of Israel and their descendants. This population is scattered all over the world but the majority of them are straddling across Palestine’s immediate neighbours Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. While some of these still live in refugee camps in Jordan the majority of these are now citizens of the state , in fact the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is in fact more than 70% ethnically Palestinians, that having been said there are still many instances Palestinians fall as second class citizens in this state to Transjordanian Arabs. Nevertheless you could see how this is a world away from how Palestinian refugees suffer in Lebanon and Syria , in Lebanon three decades ago there was the infamous Sabra and Shatila massacre where extremist christian militants in Lebanon were aided by Israeli Army troops to desecrate an entire Refuge camps population. In fact this can be mirrored by the on-going conflict in Syria where the Palestinian refugee camp was blockaded by Syrian troops which resulted in the starvation of thousands of Palestinian refugees, in addition to this Palestinian refugees may never be granted the right of return if a Palestinian state was ever created in the future.

Fashionable activism?

Fashionable activism?

Sometimes it feels like whenever something kicks off people have the urgency to go all out and share whatever they can find on the Internet without verifying if its true or not.
Some would even argue this is causing harm (Haretz recently stated that Palestinians are spreading propaganda) and not doing anyone much favors. Personally, I feel that awareness among people, who have a sense of empathy and decency, know what is going on and lets be frank here if all of this was successful we would have seen change long time ago in regards to Palestine, Syria, Myanmar, Central African Republic etc. Another sad reality that this form of activism causes is that people from other affected places will start getting upset knowing that their cause or suffering isn’t ‘worthy’ enough which then makes people compare calamities across the globe and distances the gap between people.

We can’t change the world via sharing posts regarding an area every minute or protesting once or twice a year and doing nothing for the rest of the year. If we look at Palestine, for example, we usually hear and see people’s outcry during Israeli advances into Gaza which have recently occurred in 2009, 2012 and now in 2014. What about Syria? We usually see people’s outrage when the regime decides to employ chemical weapons against civilians. How many of you knew that more than 1000 people were killed during June alone? What about the ongoing crises in Burma or must we wait until the BBC decides to showcase a 1 minute segment?

I admire the people who dedicate their lives to causes that are benefitting to humanity as they try and ensure that we don’t forget about these sufferings in our life of luxury and safety but what annoys me is when people do these acts just to jump on a bandwagon and make themselves feel at ease. I understand this helps people overcome the feeling of helplessness but there is so much more we can do. We need to establish ourselves so we can lobby this government as the Zionists have done for years because years of protests have had very little impact.

(I am not directing this to anyone in particular as I myself have been guilty of this, just something to reflect on)

Afghan elections 2014

I’ve been meaning to write about what I think about Afghanistan, the 13 year war legacy, freedom and progress, women’s rights, what it means for ISAF & US forces to leave by the end of the year and a few other things. What captured my attention today was when I logged into my FB page and saw in my notification box a question from an old college friend who was concerned about a women in Chador (the long robe that Afghan & Iranian women traditionally wear) casting her vote and how he saw that as oppressive. Above the picture lay the bold headline “People in Afghanistan are defying the Taliban to cast votes”.

It seems like this is what Afghanistan has been reduced to and the wrong questions are being asked. It’s important that I start off with some history because if there’s one thing we can learn from history is that we haven’t learnt anything from it. If we look back in time, pre-9/11, what we see is a period where the US supported the mujahideen against the Soviets, in collaboration with the Pakistani ISI at a time when Afghan children where being educated and women were being treated as equals. This begs the questions, was this for freedom and democracy or for the sake of advancing global capitalism? If you believe the former then you have been brainwashed by incessant media propaganda. I don’t consider defending global capitalism at the expense of hundreds of thousand dead as progress. What happend before 9/11 is also happening now too. None of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were Afghans or members of the Taliban. Of the dozen or so major terror plots that UK security agencies have successfully prevented since 11 September 2001, none have been linked to Afghanistan. The war in Afghanistan was launched under a false pretence.

As for the legacy of the war, will the departure of ISAF and US forces make the country safer? No, it won’t. Look at Iraq for example, the last American troops left Iraq in December 2011, leaving behind a staff of at least 16,000, including 5,000 private security contractors, assigned to the large $750m Embassy in Baghdad. But Iraq has seen a rise in sectarian violence, suicide bombing, and the drumbeats of sectarian cleansing have not slackened. Similarly, violence against Afghan women and children is on the increase, the number of applicants seeking asylum has doubled, and there have been reports of Afghans drowning trying to reach the shores of Australia.

Lastly, with regards to women’s rights. If anything war psychologically and physical injures more women than men. You don’t wage a war to emancipate women, that’s the biggest BS we’ve been sold. It reduces them to refugees, widows, access to healthcare and education becomes more dangerous and their lives more unstable. Throughout the Soviet war (80s) and Civl war (90s) and the current “Operation Enduring Freedom” women have been victims on a larger scale than men. In each war, rival male combatants have claimed that they knew what was best for Afghan women, while marginalizing women in the actual planning of their future. And in each war, women and their children were often the victims of the violence itself. And if we take closer look at the so-called “progression” of women’s right in Afghanistan what you see is completely different than what we are told. For example, the Karzai government does not keep records of women slain as a result of doing their duty, no Afghan is ever brought to trial over their murders. In addition, the millions of foreign dollars that have poured in for contractors and infrastructure have mainly benefited men and in many cases have created incentives for escalating conflict between male-led groups

What I do expect from the Afghan elections is one thing: a revision of its peculiar success. I expect to see articles about how the Taliban have been crushed, Al-Qaeda dismantled (they are probably only operating a 100 men in that country), how women’s right is flourishing, education is better and how the country is more progressive than before. Only time will tell who is right. History does not tell lies, men do.

Pornographer: To be or not to be?

Pakistan: guilty of having the highest number of searches for pornography on the internet. 
US of A: a pornographer wrote an open letter to Mitt Romney with the request that the Republican party tone down its anti pornography rhetoric. He argued that “they don’t have their pulse on America” and that Americans have embraced pornography, so it’s about time the Republicans do so too.
Why is pornography the most popular form of media in many countries across the globe?

Neuroscientist Mohammed Ghilan wrote the following: “As the images are displayed on the screen, an arousal takes place and the dopaminergic system is triggered just like it would be by drugs such as cocaine. The newly formed connections in the brain from watching pornographic images become greatly reinforced by the massive amounts of dopamine being released. Rather than going into short term memory, where these images can be forgotten after the screen is turned off, the dopamine reinforcement ensures they’re moved into the long-term memory stores where they can be stuck in replay mode in the person’s mind. The troublesome fact about this is that the more something is recalled, the more it solidifies it in the brain. Think back to your school days when you studied for an exam – you repeated the statements you needed to memorize over and over until they stuck.”

In short, we have entered into a pornified culture: a concept studied by Pamela Paul in a book called ‘Pornified’ and Chris Hedges in his book, ‘Empire of Illusion.’ This force is corrosive and is eating away at the moral character of society- and I’ll explain why.

Pornography turns human beings into pathetic creatures, weak in front of electronic impulses that stimulate their neurological cells until they…. Pornography is simply a fantasy resulting in the user to be convinced and to believe that every relationship they have is different – every single time.

We have now developed into nations divided by godlessness, with licentiousness and lust for all.

I think one of the most terrifying aspects of pornography is that its creation is a complete disregard for human beings. There is no person behind the image and yet that person is often an abused woman whose moral agency is questionable due to her life history. Some of these women are in sexual slavery, and this is a result of optimization of profit, being the immoral pivot of capitalism. Aristotle stated that if he has no virtue, man is the most unholy, brutish and savage of all animals and he is full of lust and gluttony. What this disease has done is made people look at the opposite sex as a means and not an end; a means to your own pleasure, and gratification.

In the past, those who would watch people in private acts of intimacy were labelled ‘peeping toms’, and to do so was a crime in the United States. Now, these images are shown to the public and rather than being the former, they are now ‘consumers of entertainment’.

Funny, isn’t it?

 

Are human rights truly universal?

The notion that human beings are assigned human rights merely for being a human is something which allegedly developed in Western civilisation.  Many trace this belief back to Plato and Aristotle who had a different view to that which was later visualised by Locke. Plato’s “ideal society” had no place for the freedoms enumerated in the Bill of Rights, freedom of religion, of speech, of assembly, of the press and so forth. Rights were something given to an individual by the collective society according to how he contributed in the prospering of it. Thus, in Plato’s society “there could be human rights but not equal human rights.” John Locke asserted that God’s natural law stated that “no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions”.  Therefore, a natural duty is given by the law to each individual so that first and foremost they respect the lives, liberties and properties of others, and secondly, the political community that is handed to a common authority is the entity with the right and duty to protect those natural rights which may be a cause of conflict as a result of the egoistic human nature. In Locke’s development of the idea of human rights, the concept involves self-respect, moral dignity, moral choice, and equality. Such rights are vital in the context that without them there cannot be any sort of right grounded in the specific social circumstances in which individuals live. Such rights can neither be “overtaken, transferred” and nor alienated as they are rights which belong to human beings simply because they are humans and thus they are “universal human rights”.

 

However, certain scholars have challenged Locke’s idea of human rights. The traditional concept that mankind have the right to life, liberty and property are seen as “negative rights” because they are limited to man’s private sphere and can be gained only if constraints are imposed on others.

 

Some critics of the universal idea of human rights are arguing that different cultures, traditions and beliefs have significant implications within different communities. For instance, responsibilities in the Confucian or Verdic traditions are considered more important than rights and in some African societies the community is the corner stone of the individual and the good of the community always comes before that of the individual. As evidence of this, one African writer summed up the African philosophy of existence saying: “I am because we are, and because we are therefore I am”.

 

One controversial issue surrounding the human rights debate is the question of “who defines human rights?” Islam proposes a somewhat different approach to human rights: “O believers, be you securers of justice, witness for God. Let not detestation for a people move you not to be equitable; be equitable that is nearer to God-fearing.” According to Islam, basic rights and public freedoms are an integral part of the Islamic belief. Observing the essential rights is a type of worship which is compulsory upon every Muslim. In the Islamic community, there are duties and rights which are part of the daily life of every individual. It is believed that these values are a strict sphere of conduct that both the single person and the community should observe and therefore the manoeuvre that is allowed to be elaborated should be within the context of the community’s common good.

 

However, what became clear is that not all countries agreed with the concept, and there were various conceptions of the term.  For some scholars such as Ferguson and Ajami, there is such a thing as universal human rights that we possess, inherent in individuals simply because they are human beings.  Others asserted that they have their own human rights values, whether they be Asian, African or Islamic. Such differences did not help the cause of those who advocated universal human rights. Nor did the actions of the preachers of universal human rights do any favours to the concept through their policies, such as that of the Muslim women’s headscarf. In this post September 11 situation, the concept of universal human rights has been shaken to it’s very core. Whether the concept of universal human rights does or can exist, it is worth mentioning an intriguing parable given by one American scholar in a book titled “The Empire and the Crescent. Hamza Yusuf Hanson quotes the Persian poet Rumi who wrote of three foreigners travelling down a road together, and then coming across a drachma coin. Each announced what they wished to do with it, the first wishing to buy Inab’ (Arabic for grapes), the second Persian wishes for ‘angur’ (Farsi for grapes) and the third being Roman asked for ‘vitis’ (Latin for grapes). The journey of friendship turned into one of animosity as they begun to fight. Rumi commented that all they needed was a translator to show they all wished for the same thing. Hamza Yusuf asserts: “A tragedy of the human condition is that at the root of much of our suffering is a simple human desire: the desire for men and women to live in human dignity, treated with respect.”

 

 

Yemen’s racial problem

Who are the Akhdam?
 The Akhdam are a group of people who live in Yemen, they can be differentiated from other Yemenis because they have more African features. The origins of the Akhdaam is disputed however the most common belief is that they are descendants of Nilotic Sudanese people who travelled with the Abyssinian army during the conquest of Yemen during the pre-Islamic period. What is the meaning of “akhdaam”? 
“Akhdaam” (اخدام) is Arabic for “servants”. The singular of this word is “khaadim” (خادم).




How are the Akhdam treated in Yemen?
 The majority of Akhdam are socially displaced in Yemeni society. The Akhdam live in slums known as “mahwa” (محوي) on the outskirts of major cities in Yemen. These “mahwa” have unbearable living conditions. The Akhdam are seen as servants in Yemen, even though slavery was abolished in Yemen after the 1962 revolution. They are also forced to do menial jobs such as street sweeping, garbage collecting, and shoe-making. Sometimes they are treated worst than animals by other Yemenis who are not Akhdam. 


What is another name that the Akhdam people go by?
Another name for the Akhdam is, “Al Muhamasheen” (المهمشين) meaning “the marginalised (ones)” in Arabic.

Some prefer not to be called any of the above, because they are human beings like other Yemenis who are not Akhdam.

 Anthropologists such as Vombruck suggest that Yemen’s history and social hierarchy that developed under various regimes, including the Zaydi Imamate, created a caste-like society.