just commentary august 2009

Vol 9, No.8 August 2009

Turn to next page

STATEMENTS

JAPAN: TWILIGHT IN THE LAND OF THE

RISING SUN?

By Yvonne Ridley....... .................................. page 8

ARTICLES

PIRATES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN

UIGHUR DISCONTENT .... It would be a

mistake for the Chinese government to rely mainly upon

massive arrests bans upon demonstrations and curbs on

the media to contain Uighur discontent......................P.2

By J. Y. Chiam

THE USE OF “ALLAH”

1MALAYSIA: THE WAY AHEAD

By Chandra Muzaffar................................... page10

ZIONISM: THE PROOF IS IN THE RUBBLE

By Sanen Marshall ...................................... page 7

By Omar Zaid Abdullah ............................ page 11

It was the new year of 2009. As throngs

filled temples across the country, praying

for a peaceful, successful and prosperous

new year, television news were filled with

images of the newly unemployed and

homeless. This flood of homeless was a

direct result of the shedding of jobs by

Japanese manufacturers hard hit by the

economic fallout from the global financial

crisis, and enabled by the liberalisation

of labour laws during the past decade.

Japan, an export-oriented economy, bore

serious consequences from the collapse

in global demand. For fiscal year 2008,

which ended on March 31, 2009, Japan

posted its worst post-World War II gross

domestic product (GDP) figure, with the

national economy shrinking an

unprecedented 3.5 percent. The numbers

from economic statistics and forecasts,

as well as businesses‘ spreadsheets, are

grim, although the Central Bank of Japan

has – in May 2009 - recently released more

optimistic forecasts for the coming year

in anticipation of the bottoming out of

the Japanese economy, and industrial

production has even surged in recent

months. Sustainable recovery, however,

is still an uncertain prospect as

unemployment continues to rise, and

deflationary pressures bear upon the

Japanese economy.

In response to the economic downturn,

the Japanese government has rolled out

a stimulus budget of $149 billion (¥ 14.9

trillion) – projected to be worth a total of

$570 billion (¥ 57 trillion) – and other

measures to counter the declining

fortunes of the Japanese economy. The

effectiveness of the stimulus package,

however, is highly suspect due to the

poor structure and contents of the

package, with some economic analysts

prognosticating that any positive

outcomes from the package would likely

be short-lived. At recent G20 meetings,

Tokyo has also promised to strengthen

international cooperation and to

coordinate with other countries in any

efforts to mitigate the crisis. One such

measure includes Japan pledging more

funds to the International Monetary

Fund (IMF) to strengthen and expand the

institution‘s core work. All this additional

spending will weigh heavily on the

budget of the Japanese government,

which, with a public debt reaching about

174 percent of its GDP in 2009, is the

largest public debtor in the world. This

will severely constrain what steps the

Japanese government can take in any

future crisis, whether political, economic

or social.

Gloomy economic conditions have

contributed to the declining support for

the governing coalition of the Liberal

Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan and the

new Komeito. A dearth of effective

leadership in the ruling coalition has seen

a change of the top LDP post three times

since Junichiro Koizumi stepped down

as prime minister in 2006. They are

increasingly in a precarious position of

power, with the main opposition party,

the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ)

ARTICLES

THE MARWA MURDER AND ISLAMOPHOBIA

By Chandra Muzaffar.................................... page 3

INDIA: THE PROMISE OF STABILITY

By Kanishk Tharoor...................................... page 4

THE NEW SOUTH AMERICA

By Ignacio Ramonet ..................................... page 6

I N T E R N A T I O N A L M O V E M E N T F O R A J U S T W O R L D

2

continued from page 1

continued next page

gaining support amongst the public,

although DPJ experienced a dip in support

as a result of a political funds scandal

involving the top secretary of former DPJ

president, Ichiro Ozawa, who stepped

down in May 2009. The DPJ, which holds

a majority in the Upper House, is hoping

to wrestle power from the LDP in the

coming Diet Lower House election due

this fall. In acknowledgment of the

challenges facing the nation, the DPJ

president, Yukio Hatoyama, has proposed

a vision of Japanese society based on

the concept of yu-ai (fraternity). How this

might translate into state policy if the DPJ

ever holds the reins of government

remains to be seen.

Notwithstanding her image as an

egalitarian society, the facts on the ground

paint another more complex and

disturbing reality. Years of adopting the

Washington-led economic model had not

only brought material prosperity to Japan,

it brought in tandem with it, marginalising

and divisive socio-economic conditions.

Japan has one of the highest Gini

coefficient (a measure of national wealth/

income distribution) among Organization

of Economic Co-operation and

Development (OECD) countries, topping

0.5263 in 2005 (the closer the Gini

coefficient approaches one, the more

unequal the wealth distribution).

Additionally, according to an OECD

report (data from the mid- 2000s), Japan‘s

relative poverty is a high 15 percent,

coming second only to the United States,

with 17 percent. Among OECD countries,

Japan consistently scores0poorly on all

other measures in terms of poverty

amongst its population. This is partly a

reflection of the fact that non-regular

workers account for about a third of the

total Japanese workforce, with the

majority of them earning less than 2

million yen annually.

The problems are compounded by the

fact that most young people in their 20s

and 30s, if they are able to find any work

at all, end up in jobs with little prospect

for advancement, even while their

contributions are needed to prop up

Japan‘s social safety net and pension

system. The increasing socio-economic

stratification of Japanese society,

popularly referred to as kakusa shakai

(gap-widening society), has resulted in

what has been termed kibo kakusa (gap

of hope – a term coined by sociologist

Masahiro Yamada) among, in particular,

the youth in Japanese society. The

ramifications are serious for the Japanese

social fabric, as Japan is also a rapidly

aging society and faces a declining

population base. Already, Japan, long

considered one of the safest places in

the world, has seen crime grow.

According to the latest statistics

provided by the National Police Agency,

robberies, in contrast with overall crime,

jumped 12.4 percent in the first quarter of

January-April 2009, mirroring an increase

in unemployment, which recorded a rate

of 4.1 percent in January, surging to 4.8

percent in March.

The widening gap in inequality, and other

socio-economic issues reveal that Japan

has been facing a mounting crisis long

before the global financial and economic

meltdown. The global economic

implosion has only deepened and

widened the endemic problems in

Japanese society, and made it that much

harder to ignore. Yet, the nation‘s

leadership has been unwilling to

earnestly examine the underlying reasons

for the malaise in Japanese society, and

to improve the situation with radical

solutions, instead choosing to repeat the

status-quo mantra of more economic

growth and social spending to tackle the

existing problems. Undoubtedly,

increased social spending is urgently

required to mitigate the effects of

inequality and the global economic crisis

on the most vulnerable part of society;

however, the fundamental problems with

the current economic model are never

questioned, and even the concept of

sustainable development has been

disregarded in recent years. Moreover,

pledging even more funds to the IMF,

whose policies leave much to be desired,

is a step in the wrong direction.

Politicians and corporations alike should

take a leaf from the book of the traditional

Japanese merchant values of sampou-

yoshi (trinity of goodness) – a motto from

the Ohmi merchant class in what is now

Shiga Prefecture – which emphasized the

satisfaction of and positive impact on all

the parties involved in any transaction,

which include the seller, buyer and

general public. An expanded version of

the concept to include the environment

and future generations would definitely

offer a more holistic approach to securing

socio-economic security for the Japanese

than the ‘winner-takes-all‘ paradigm

which has dominated for so long, and

which is being revealed daily as the bane

that it is on humanity and the rest of the

planet.

18 July 2009

Ms J.Y. Chiam, a Malaysian who lives in

Japan, is a keen observer of global economic

trends and international relations. She

interned with JUST in 2005.

STATEMENTS

UIGHUR DISCONTENT

It would be a mistake for the Chinese

government to rely mainly upon massive

arrests, bans upon demonstrations and

curbs on the media to contain Uighur

discontent in the Xinjiang province of

Western China.

The Chinese government should address

the root causes of the discontent.

Poverty, widespread unemployment, low

paying jobs and alleged discrimination

in the work-place, have created a deep

sense of alienation within the Uighur

population. There is also considerable

unhappiness about the Han influx into

Xinjiang which has altered the province’s

demography. Today, about 50 percent of

the province’s population is Han; five

decades ago it was less than 5 percent.

The Uighurs who are 10 million strong

and make up the other 50 percent, feel

overwhelmed in their own homeland

especially since most of the powerful and

influential positions are held by the Han.

It is the Hans, the Uighurs allege, who

enjoy the lion’s share of rapid economic

growth in a province that is well endowed

with oil and gas reserves. Add to all this,

allegations of severe curbs upon Uighur

S T A T E M E N T

I N T E R N A T I O N A L M O V E M E N T F O R A J U S T W O R L D A R T I C L E S

3

continued next page


culture and language, and one can

understand why Uighurs have from time

to time revolted against Beijing.

This is why improving the economic well-

being of the Uighurs is a major challenge

facing the Chinese government. Special

efforts should be made to channel

development assistance to the Uighurs.

The civil and social rights of the Uighurs

and their distinctive cultural identity

should also be accorded the respect they

deserve. Most of all, empowering the

Uighur minority should be part of a larger

transformation that leads to the

devolution of authority from the Centre

to the provinces and the strengthening

of individual human rights and collective

ethnic autonomies within the larger

framework of the Chinese nation. This is

a process that will take time but one

hopes that the Chinese authorities will

begin to move in that direction.

The Uighurs for their part should

continue their quest for justice in a

peaceful manner, without resorting to acts

of violence. The violent reaction of a

small segment of the community to the

killing of a couple of Uighur workers by

Han Chinese in a toy factory in

Guangdong province on 26 June 2009 has

been exploited by the Chinese media to

tarnish the image of the Uighur people

both domestically and internationally.

The Uighurs should also guard against

the infiltration of extremist

interpretations of Islam which have begun

to take root among a small fraction of their

youths.

If Uighurs remain on the middle path, it is

quite conceivable that more of the Han

Chinese intelligentsia will begin to

understand and support their struggle for

justice.

Dr Chandra Muzaffar,

President,

International Movement for a Just

World (JUST).

17 July 2009.

ARTICLES

THE MARWA MURDER AND ISLAMOPHOBIA

By Chandra Muzaffar

While the German authorities have

shown a certain degree of sensitivity in

their handling of the issues arising from

the murder of a 32 year old Egyptian

woman, Marwa al-Sherbini, in a German

court room on the 1st of July 2009, the

tragic incident has highlighted once

again some fundamental questions in the

troubled relationship between European

society and its growing Muslim minority.

The murder was perpetrated by a 28 year-

old recently arrived Russian immigrant of

German descent referred to in public

records as “Axel W” who was in court in

Dresden to appeal against an earlier

conviction for insulting Marwa in a public

park where she was playing with her three

year old son by calling her an “Islamist”,

a “terrorist” and a “slut” without any

provocation whatsoever. “Axel W” was

a passer-by, not known to Marwa who

was wearing a hijab in the 21 August 2008

incident. For insulting Marwa, the culprit

was fined 780 euros by a lower court last

year. In his earlier trial, “Axel W” had

admitted that he hated Muslims. It was

this hatred and the court fine that drove

him to stab Marwa in the presence of her

son and husband a couple of weeks ago.

It would be wrong to dismiss Marwa’s

murder as the work of a ‘lone wolf’. It is

not the first hate crime of its kind to target

Muslims in Germany and Europe. UN

reports over the last decade or so have

revealed numerous cases of Muslims

being subjected to humiliation,

vilification, discrimination in schools and

work places, physical abuse and even

murder. Islamophobia is alive and well in

Europe.

Of course, there are laws in almost every

European country against racially

motivated hate crimes and ethnic and

religious discrimination. That Marwa was

able to bring a case against “Axel W”

and that the judiciary defended her right

is testimony to the effectiveness of the

system. But racial hatred and religious

bigotry cannot be overcome through laws

alone. There has to be a holistic

transformation of popular attitudes and

popular sentiments through mass

education.

In this regard, two institutions which

could have played a constructive role in

educating Germans and other Europeans

about the underlying issues in the Marwa

tragedy have failed to do their duty. The

German and European media as a whole

have been rather muted in their response

to the tragedy. According to analysts,

there have been few attempts to discuss

in depth the Marwa murder in the context

of Islamophobia and majority-minority

relations in the mainstream media. The

only major international news media outlet

that reported the incident was the

Associated Press (AP) — and that too,

three days after the murder! And yet from

a news angle, it was not just the incident

— a murder in court — that was

“newsworthy”. Marwa was four months

pregnant and her husband who came to

her aid was not only stabbed by — “Axel

W” but was also shot in the leg by a court

security guard who thought that he was

the attacker. That perception itself, it is

alleged, is a reflection of the prevailing

bigotry. As the dead woman’s brother put

it, “The guard thought since he (the

husband) was not blond, he must be the

attacker, so he shot him.” The husband,

who is on a research fellowship at the

Max-Planck Institute in Dresden, is now

in a critical condition in a German

hospital.

The European media’s treatment of the

Marwa tragedy contrasts sharply with

the way it dramatized the murder of the


4

A R T I C L E S


INDIA: THE PROMISE OF STABILITY

Dutch film director, Theo van Gogh, by a

Muslim fanatic in 2004. Muslim groups

in Egypt and elsewhere have made this

comparison to emphasise the biasness

of the European media and its double

standards. They argue that the injustice

of Marwa’s death runs deeper for she

had not done anything which could be

construed as an act of provocation while

in the case of van Gogh, he had

deliberately and contemptuously

denigrated Muslim culture — though it

in no way justifies his heinous murder.

Muslim activists and intellectuals are

also comparing Marwa’s case with the

constant airing of the death of a young

Iranian woman by the name of “Neda”

during the recent demonstrations in

Tehran over all major news networks in

Europe. While most of them condemn the

shooting of a peaceful protester, they are

asking why the brutal stabbing of a

pregnant woman, who was the victim of a

religious slur, has received so little

publicity in a media that claims to protect

human rights. It is not just another

example of the selective attitude towards

human rights and justice that the

European media has always been guilty

of; it is incontrovertible proof of how the

media often serves the larger political

agenda of the powers-that-be.

The other group that has also failed to

uphold the tenets of justice and truth in

the Marwa tragedy are human rights

NGOs in Europe. Quick to expose any

human rights violation committed by

governments in the Global South, the vast

majority of them have been

conspicuously silent on the Marwa

tragedy. The murderer had crushed the

most fundamental of all rights — the right

to life — in such a callous manner and

yet there has been very little

condemnation.

Unless there is a significant

transformation in the attitudes of the

media and human rights NGOs in Europe,

deep-seated prejudices against Europe’s

largest religious minority will continue

to erupt from time to time. These

incidents will make it more difficult to

improve relations between Europe and

the Muslim world.

However, it is commendable that on this

occasion Muslim groups have been

largely peaceful in their protests against

the Marwa murder. Rational arguments

are much more effective in revealing the

ugly truth about Islamophobia in Europe.

13 July 2009

By Kanishk Tharoor

Five years ago, Indian voters

comprehensively shredded the

predictions of their country’s chattering

class, toppling the then ruling Bharatiya

Janata Party (BJP) government and

sweeping to power the centrist Congress

party. Analysts, pollsters, and journalists

at the time all expected a BJP triumph,

believing too readily the hype

surrounding the BJP’s promise of an

“India Shining”. The country’s electorate

- the largest in the world - proved them

woefully wrong.

Once again, the Indian voter has

upstaged the Indian commentator. While

many predicted that the ruling Congress-

led coalition would shade this year’s

national elections, none foresaw the

emphatic victory that Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh claimed this weekend.

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) -

comprising the Congress and its

remaining regional allies - won 263 seats

in the 543-member Lok Sabha (the lower

house of parliament), a measly nine seats

short of the required majority. Congress

leaders need only cherry pick small,

convenient parties to make up the deficit.

The Hindu nationalist BJP and its allies,

under the umbrella of the National

Democratic Alliance (NDA), return to the

opposition after only mustering 158

seats, trailing by a yawning chasm of

over one hundred MPs. They now look

on morosely as Congress builds a

coalition government likely to be the

strongest and most stable in over two

decades of fractious politics.

A false dusk for Congress

If one believed the ubiquitous media

narrative ahead of this election, such an

outcome would have been unimaginable.

We were told that Congress - the 124-year

old party that won independence from

Britain in 1947, but held dynastic sway

over India for over four decades thereafter

- was in irreversible decline. We were told

that regional and identity-based parties

would continue to siphon away

disillusioned voters, further splintering

India’s vast political landscape. We were

told that India was doomed to

governments with increasingly weak

mandates, governments dependent on

anarchic, unreliable coalition allies to

maintain their fitful hold on power.

The results disclosed on Saturday

suggest otherwise. Nearly one out of

three voters (28.5 percent) chose the

Congress party, a substantial sum given

that Indians had to find their way through

a blizzard of 1,055 contesting parties. Its

own tally of 206 seats is Congress’

highest since 1991, when it won 244.

While Indian electoral politics can be

intensely local and parochial (voters

often cast their ballots with their

religious, caste, ethnic or linguistic

identities in mind), Congress’ success is

being understood as a vote of approval

for its last five years of leadership.

The UPA government allowed the

lightning pace of economic growth in

India to tick along, while ensuring the

country remained in large part sheltered

from the buffeting winds of global

recession. In the face of criticism from

free-marketeers and governance sceptics,

it invested in the gargantuan National

Rural Employment Guarantee Act, a

project of unprecedented size that begins

to make up for India’s egregious lack of a

social welfare net. And it demonstrated

coolness in the wake the 26/11 attacks in

continued next page


5

A R T I C L E S

Mumbai, resisting hot-headed calls for

military pressure and action against

Pakistan.

If the elections of 2004 were a rejection

of the hyperbole of the BJP, this year’s

polls seem to have rewarded the UPA’s

restrained, sober rule with an indisputable

mandate. Some Congress leaders have

spoken of the victory as ushering in a

moment of “renewal”, but in truth it is

one of triumphant reinforcement. In New

Delhi today, elected Congress MPs

joyously backed Manmohan Singh’s

return as prime minister for a second term.

They know that there will be much more

scope in the next five years for their

initiative, their strategy and their agenda.

Would-be friends

It is a chastening prospect not lost on

Congress’ fickle, erstwhile allies. Parties

that jettisoned the UPA in the run-up to

the election now plaintively seek re-entry

into the ruling coalition. In the north

central state of Uttar Pradesh (India’s

most populous state), the Samajwadi

Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)

have pledged their unconditional outside

support (at the least) to the UPA. Both

parties were stunned by the success of

the Congress after it won 21 seats in Uttar

Pradesh, a feat attributed in large part to

the party’s intensive grassroots

campaigning under the state leadership

of Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the Nehru-

Gandhi dynasty.

The fortunes of the BSP, in particular, also

grate against the pre-election narrative.

Many analysts speculated about the

possibility of Mayawati, the iconic BSP

leader and chief minister of Uttar Pradesh,

becoming prime minister. She and her

party represented the supposed

ascendance of alternative, centrifugal

trends in Indian politics, galvanising the

support of marginalised groups and

capitalising on the failings of the big

parties. The BSP’s disappointing results

around the country have now left its

leadership in the midst of gloomy soul-

searching, with Mayawati pledging to

return to the purely caste-based agenda

that had won her success in the past.

In neighbouring Bihar, the dismal

showing of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)

and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) - the

latter of which was effectively wiped off

the map - prompted further promises of

support for the newly victorious UPA.

Both parties’ leaders had held prominent

ministerial posts in the last UPA

government, before ditching the

Congress ahead of the polls in what

turned out to be a disastrous decision.

Now, local Congress workers insist that

any serious reconciliation with the RJD

and its colourful and controversial leader

Lalu Prasad Yadav would only derail

hopes for a Congress “revival” in Bihar.

Far from relying on their regional allies,

the Congress may be better off without

some of them.

The bereaved

Congress leaders may take particular

pleasure in the stunning decimation of

the Left. Last summer, India’s Communist

parties withdrew their outside support for

the UPA and threatened to topple the

government altogether over the Indo-US

nuclear deal. The Left will be unable to

launch such a bold bid in the next five

years after being crushed in their

strongholds in the eastern state of West

Bengal and the southwestern state of

Kerala. Their representation in parliament

plummets from 59 seats to a dejected 24.

Events in West Bengal, where

Communists have been in power since

1977, were particularly striking. The

Trinamool Congress (TC), the main

opposition in the state, increased its block

in the Lok Sabha from a solitary seat to

19, while the state’s ruling Communist

party dipped from 35 seats to 15.

Disillusionment with the Communists’

heavy-handed management of the

divisive development projects at Singur

and Nandigram most likely contributed

to the party’s downfall. Key leaders are

set to resign as the Left cuts its losses.

Also licking its wounds is the BJP. The

Hindu nationalist party remains the

second largest party in parliament and

the core of the opposition to the new

government, but morale within the party

has plunged. Its shrill, often ad hominem

attacks on the Congress failed to rouse

voters. Its petty politics over the Indo-

US nuclear deal - a policy that it would

have certainly pursued if in power -

undermined its credibility. And its

continued ties to atavistic extremist

groups (like the Shiv Sena in

Maharashtra) alienate India’s many non-

Hindus and young people tired of

religious politics. For the sake of Indian

democracy and for its own good, the BJP

must discard these unsavoury allies and

reinvent itself as a truly centre-right party,

shorn of its fanatic fringe.

Strength at the centre

As the implications of the election results

sink in across India’s vast and diverse

political landscape, optimism amongst

Indians has surged. The country’s stock

markets saw frenetic activity yesterday

and today, some indexes reaching

astonishing highs. With Congress in

such a strong position, Indians look

forward to a stable government that will

finally be able to shape coherent,

determined domestic policy in the many

areas that require its attention.

Congress’ emphatic victory will also

come as welcome news to western

powers. Europe and the United States

want India to play an increasing role as a

responsible stakeholder in the

international system. A Congress-led

government, unburdened of the anti-

imperialist ideology of its former

Communist allies, will be better able to

navigate the global stage. The alarming

growth of insurgency, terrorism and

instability in neighbouring countries in

south Asia also demands clear-thinking

and decisive strategy from New Delhi. A

weak government, constantly looking

over its shoulder, would not be up to the

task.

Amidst all the hope, one must sound a

cautionary note. India has had its fair

share of strong Congress governments

in the past, not many of which could be

deemed successful, even in the most

generous terms. The regionalisation and

fragmentation that has characterised the

last twenty years of Indian politics arose

from the systemic failings allowed by grey

ladies like the Congress party. Congress

leaders should not only use the stability

of the government to advance policy

objectives, but to build a more inclusive

politics, to deepen Indian democracy

from the bottom-up. This would be the

best way to honour the privilege of the

mandate of a billion people.

19 May 2009


Kanishk Tharoor is associate editor at

openDemocracy. He is a publisher and award-

winning author of short fiction.

Source: http://www.opendemocracy.net/

india/article/inda-elections-results-congress-

UPA-stability

A R T I C L E SI N T E R N A T I O N A L M O V E M E N T F O R A J U S T W O R L D

6

9 April 2009

Ignacio Ramonet was editor of Le Monde

Diplomatique.

Source: Le Monde Diplomatique

THE NEW SOUTH AMERICA

By Ignacio Ramonet

The recent victory in El Salvador of

Mauricio Funes, candidate or the

Farabundo Martí Front for National

Liberation (FMLN), has a threefold

meaning. For the first time, the Left

manages to wrest power from the hard-

line Right, which had always dominated

this unequal country (0.3 percent of

Salvadorans hoard 44 percent of the

wealth). More than one-third of all

Salvadorans live under the threshold of

poverty and another third is forced to

migrate to the United States.

Funes’ success at the polls also

demonstrates that the FMLN was right

when, in 1992 and in the context of the

end of the Cold War, it abandoned the

guerrilla option after a 12-year conflict

that took 75,000 lives, and adopted the

road of political combat and the ballot box.

At this point, in this region, an armed

guerrilla movement is out of place. That

is the subliminal message sent —

particularly to the Colombian FARC —

by this FMLN victory.

Finally, Funes’ victory confirms that the

winds that are favorable to the Lefts

continue to blow strongly in South

America [1]. Since Hugo Chávez’s

historical victory in Venezuela 10 years

ago, which cleared the road, and despite

the media campaigns of fear-mongering,

more than a dozen progressive presidents

have been elected by popular vote on

platforms that announce social

transformation of great breadth, a fairer

redistribution of wealth, and the political

integration of social sectors that were

previously alienated or excluded.

While in the rest of the world (very

particularly in Europe) the Lefts, distant

from the popular classes and committed

to the neoliberal model that has caused

the current crisis, appear exhausted and

bereft of ideas, in South America,

stimulated by the powerful energy of the

social movement, the new socialists of the

21st Century overflow with political and

social creativity. We are witnessing a

renaissance, a true refounding of that

continent and the final act of its

emancipation, initiated two centuries ago

by Simon Bolívar and the other Liberators.

Although many Europeans (even leftist

Europeans) may not know it — because

of the colossal wall of lies erected by the

big media conglomerates to conceal the

truth — South America has become the

most progressive region in the planet. It

is the place where more changes are

being made in favor of the popular

classes and where more structural

reforms are being adopted to emerge from

dependence and underdevelopment.

Beginning with the experience of the

Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela, and

with the encouragement of presidents

Evo Morales of Bolivia and Rafael Correa

of Ecuador, an awakening of the

indigenous people has taken place.

Significantly, these three states have

resorted to referendums to write new

Constitutions.

Shaken to its foundations by winds of

hope and justice, South America also has

given a new direction to the great dream

of integration of the peoples, not only of

the markets. In addition to the Mercosur,

which shelters the 260 million inhabitants

of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay

and Venezuela, the most innovative

institution in its promotion of integration

is the Bolivarian Alternative for the

People of Our America (ALBA).

Its members [2] have achieved a stability

that allows them to devote themselves

to the struggle against poverty, misery,

alienation, and illiteracy, to guarantee

their citizens an education, health care,

housing and decent jobs.

Thanks to the Petrosur project, those

nations also have achieved a greater

energy cohesion, as well as a significant

increase in their agricultural production

that will enable them to achieve food

sovereignty. Thanks to the creation of

the Bank of the South and a Common

Monetary Zone, they are also moving

toward the creation of a common currency

that could be named the sucre [3]

On March 9, several South American

governments [4] took a step that seemed

inconceivable: they decided to form the

Council for South American Defense

(CDS), an organization of military

cooperation created through the Union

of South American Nations (UNASUR),

an organization founded in Brasília in

May 2008.

Thanks to these recent instruments of

cooperation, the new South America will

attend — more united than ever — its

big date with the United States at the

Summit of the Americas in Port-of-Spain

(Trinidad & Tobago), April 17-19. There,

the South American leaders will engage

in debate with the new President of the

United States, Barack Obama, who will

state his vision of U.S. relations with its

neighbors to the South.

In his recent visit to Washington,

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da

Silva asked Obama to totally lift the United

States’ economic embargo against Cuba,

arguing that it is opposed by all the

countries in the region [5]. On March 11,

Washington announced that Cuban-

Americans may visit whoever they want

on the island once a year and remain in

Cuba as long as they wish. Although

during his presidential campaign, Obama

promised to maintain the embargo, it

seems that an era of rapprochement

between Havana and Washington is

approaching. It was time.

Still to happen is a normalization of

relations with Venezuela and Bolivia.

More broadly, Washington must admit

that the concept of a “back yard” is over,

that the people of South America have

begun their march. And that this time they

won’t stop.

[1] The concept of South America, which

Venezuelan Bolivarianism supports, surpasses

that of “Latin America” because it

acknowledges the participation of indigenous

nations and people of African descent, and

encompasses countries and territories whose

“Latin Americanness” is questionable. In

other words, the traditional concept of

“Latin America” is unable to define the

South American space as a package of

realities, from the Rio Grande and the

Caribbean to Tierra del Fuego.

[2] Bolivia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic,

Honduras, Nicaragua and Venezuela (Ecuador

is an observer nation.)

[3] Single System for Regional

Compensation.

[4] Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia,

Chile, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru,

Surinam, Uruguay and Venezuela.

[5] Costa Rica and El Salvador, the only two

countries in the region that had no

diplomatic relations with Havana, announced

in March their decision to reestablish them.

A R T I C L E SI N T E R N A T I O N A L M O V E M E N T F O R A J U S T W O R L D

7

continued next page

ZIONISM: THE PROOF IS IN THE RUBBLE

By Sanen Marshall

Now that Israel has gone through the

formalities, it can proceed to do in Arab

East Jerusalem what it has been doing

for decades with impunity in other parts

of the Occupied Territories. Last month,

an alternative zoning plan submitted by

the residents of the Al-Bustan

neighbourhood of the Palestinian village

of Silwan was rejected by the Jerusalem

municipality. This procedural appeal by

the Palestinians was allowed in 2005 after

the international outcry that followed a

decision by the Jerusalem municipality to

demolish more than 80 homes in Al-

Bustan, Silwan. The decision to demolish

on such a large scale – which will affect

1,500 of the 45,000 Silwan residents – has

been effected through the municipal

zoning of Al-Bustan for ‘public

recreational use.’ At the same time, it

appears that many of the structures that

have been built by Silwan residents on

their own land are without municipal

approval. But Palestinian residents

complain that they usually cannot get

permits to build from the Jerusalem

municipality. Thus, apart from the

alternative zoning plan which costs the

neighbourhood of Al-Bustan $80,000 to

produce, many Silwan residents regularly

pay municipal fines for illegally built

structures in addition to their municipal

tax.

Apart from the political pressure there is

thus financial pressure on the residents

of Silwan to keep their homes. It is

perhaps because of this that some Silwan

residents have already sold their homes

to Jewish settlers, while other homes –

considered as abandoned - have been

simply seized by settlers. There are now

about eighty Jewish settlers in the village,

and a number of Israeli flags flutter over

Silwan in the winds of change. Staking a

claim for modern Israel to a piece of land

that has been in Arab hands for several

generations is not an issue for the

settlers. After all, is not Silwan located

on an archaeological site that dates back

some 3,000 years to the ancient kingdom

of Israel? One or two Israeli

archaeologists have even claimed to have

found a structure used by King David.

The Silwan area is now called the ‘City of

David.’ Sight-seeing tour operators run a

brisk business. These tours sometimes

feature commentaries containing

messages synonymous with the idea of

the return from exile, which strikes a

chord with a segment of the religious

Jewish community.

Zionism is bad news for Palestinians. At

the centre of the ‘City of David’ is an

archaeological park. It is built on land

confiscated from Palestinians on which

their homes once stood. The expansion

of archaeological excavations and the

park itself seem imminent. Some years

ago, Jewish settlers began establishing

themselves in Silwan around such sites

and there are fears that archaeology itself

is being used to serve political ends.

Tunnelling is now being carried out

under Palestinian homes in Silwan and

several homes and a local mosque have

been damaged. The residents fear that

their buildings’ foundations are being

destroyed. The fact that the non-

governmental organisation running the

excavations - known as the Elad

foundation – is alleged to have links to

the settler movement has added to the

controversy. In fact, some reports claim

that it is a settler organisation! It is

reported that last year during one of the

Elad-sponsored archaeological digs

some 100 meters from the Al-Aqsa

Mosque, dozens of skeletons thought

to be from an early Islamic-era period

were discovered but were discarded

without inspection.

Hence the public outcry. Some

archaeologists have called it ‘bad

science.’ Others have demanded clear

proofs of the archaeological discoveries

ascribed to King David. There appears

to have been a serious breach of

professional ethics. This is now the

subject of a petition by a number of

internationally renowned historians and

archaeologists. Citing hardships suffered

by the Palestinians of Silwan, they are

calling on the Israeli authorities to remove

Elad from the ‘City of David.’ The

campaign to save Silwan is also being

waged on one other front. Last month

when a leading credit card provider in

Israel mass-mailed a gift coupon to its

customers promising significant

discounts when using the credit card to

buy a tour of the ‘City of David,’ Jewish

activists of the Israel-based Peace Now

counter-acted by asking people to write

the credit card company’s managers to

inform them how ‘Elad settlers…are, for

more than a decade, making life for

Palestinians in Silwan into hell.’

Alternative tours are now being

conducted to inform visitors to the ‘City

of David’ of the plight of the Silwan

residents. At the same time the US-based

Jewish Voice for Peace, which has for

sometime now been calling on people to

write in protest to the company that sells

bulldozers to Israel, has updated its

campaign to highlight this latest threat

to the houses in Silwan.

In a nutshell, citizens’ groups are now

suggesting that we reconsider the

perceived neutrality of private capital and

how through our everyday actions or

inaction we are complicit in the sufferings

of others. Over the decades the refusal

of the Palestinians of accept the

Occupation has become so evident that

the idea of a Palestinian state is now

widely acknowledged. Conversely, the

idea of settlements in the Occupied

Territories or even the idea of Jerusalem

as the undivided capital of Israel is now

increasingly controversial. Thanks to the

wanton actions of Jewish settlers and the

agencies that actively support them, even

the ideology and thinking that fuels and

legitimises the demolishment of

Palestinian houses and the seizure of

Palestinian land may once again come

into focus. In the early 1990s, as a reward

for its participation in the Madrid peace

conference [which eventually led to the

Israeli-Palestinian Liberation

Organisation (PLO) peace accord], Israel

received what it asked for: the rescinding

of the 1975 United Nations General

Assembly Resolution 3379, equating

Zionism with racism. After a decade of


8

A R T I C L E Scontinued from page 7

continued next page

broken promises and provocative

actions, that idea has been revived.

At the 2001 UN conference on racism held

in Durban, US and Israel delegates walked

out after a fiery NGO declaration called

for among other things the ‘reinstitution

of UN resolution 3379 determining the

practices of Zionism as racism practices.’

Though the idea never made it into the

final conference document, the Durban

declaration was still ‘concerned about the

plight of the Palestinian people under

foreign occupation.’ Even this was too

much for the US and Israel. The US and

Israel did not attend the recently held

UN-sponsored review conference on

racism in Geneva

One line of defence used by Israeli

representatives and spokespersons at

international forums down the years is

that Israel is being unfairly singled out

when in fact there are other conflicts in

other parts of the world that cost more

lives. Why this argument is fallacious and

why the Israel-Palestine conflict has

critical implications for international

justice and human rights do not need to

be repeated here. However, the states of

the UN-system who criticise Israel and

declare their support for the Palestinians

in their sufferings, should themselves be

shinning examples of anti-racism. They

should first and foremost have ratified

the International Convention on the

Elimination of All Forms of Racial

Discrimination. And they should not be

considered to be in breach of the object

and purposes of other major international

human rights agreements through their

explicit reservations against the articles

that have implications for combatting

racism. They should above all make

widely accessible – as usually demanded

by international human rights

agreements – their five-yearly reports on

the efforts undertaken in their own

societies to uphold human rights,

including those efforts to educate people

against supremacist thinking and

legislate against racial discrimination.

This year’s Geneva declaration does not

specifically mention Israel or the

Palestinians but ‘all those under foreign

occupation.’ It does, however, explicitly

reaffirm the Durban declaration. Small

victory perhaps. But for those diplomats,

journalists and academics who are

inclined to miss out the word

‘occupation’ when speaking of Palestine,

its adoption by a major conference on

racism is doubly significant. For those

who bear first-hand witness to the

condition of the Palestinians, however,

even this word does not capture the

gravity of the situation. Rachel Corrie,

the American student-activist who was

killed in 2003 when she placed herself

between an Israeli military bulldozer and

a Palestinian home, had another word for

it. Genocide.15 July 2009

Sanen Marshall is a member of the

International Movement for a Just World

(JUST).

PIRATES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN

By Yvonne RidleySorry to be so direct, but Palmor is a

purveyor of deceit, a liar - and a very

unconvincing one at that.

NOT content with committing war crimes

and human rights atrocities in full view

of the world, Israel has now confirmed

itself as a rogue state by launching into

international piracy.

Dawn had not yet broken over the

Mediterranean waters in which the SS

Dignity was sailing when an Israeli naval

gunboat appeared from the inky black

and rammed the aid-bearing ship.

The act of aggression on a peace mission

was launched in international waters 90

miles off Gaza, without any warning to

the captain of the Dignity or the crew.

Israel claimed the incident was an

accident and that its naval officers had

made numerous attempts to communicate

with the Dignity. It was an accident that

was to repeat itself three times.

Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal

Palmor told one press agency that the

naval vessel tried to contact the aid boat

by radio for identification and to inform

it that it could not enter Gaza.

“After the boat did not answer the radio,

it sharply veered and the two vessels

collided, causing only light damage,”

Palmor said.

I wonder how many traffic cops around

the world have heard that line from a

drunken or reckless driver in the wake of

a crash.

The Israeli spokesman then went on to

accuse the international activists of

“seeking provocation more than ever.”

Isn’t it amazing how Yigal and Co

suddenly go belly up and adopt a victim

men tality? I wonder how he will react to

the news that onboard the ship, among

the cargo of much-needed medical

supplies and humanitarian aid were TV

crew s from CNN and Al Jazeera as well

as other media.

For goodness sake, the Dignity was on a

peace mission, armed with nothing more

than humanitarian aid - hardly a match

for the tooled up, hi-tech Israeli Navy and

its deadly arsenal.

Sorry to be so direct, but Palmor is a

purveyor of deceit, a liar - and a very

unconvincing one at that. You see all sea-

faring people know that there is a certain

radio channel and frequency which

remains open 24 hours a day.

I know myself, because the Israeli Navy

used that exact same frequency on one

of the two Free Gaza boats as they set

sail back in August 2008 to break the siege

of Gaza by sea. That emergency

frequency carried messages of threats

and intimidation as clear as a bell.

Radio communications were used without

any difficulty on the Israeli Navy several

times by human rights activists from the

Free Gaza Movement warning the

gunboats to back off when they fired at

Gazan fishermen. The westerners were on

the tiny fishing ships to stop the naval

bully boys terrorise the unarmed

fishermen.

And by the way, what the hell is Israel up

to by banning or trying to prevent boats

from entering waters not in its territory?

This is the Mediterranean. Just when did

Israel assume complete authority of the

Med?

It is also worth pointing out that SS

Dignity was clearly flying the flag of


9

A R T I C L E Scontinued from page 8

Gibraltar, and was piloted by an English

captain with a passenger list including

revered politician Cynthia McKinney

from the US. The Israeli Government

Press Office director was faxed the entire

passenger list and press release shortly

after Dignity set sail.

Cynthia is a former Congresswoman from

Georgia, and the 2008 Green Party US

presidential candidate. She was travelling

to Gaza to assess the ongoing conflict.

I know her and I can tell you she is one

sassy lady. If the Israel Navy thinks this

little incident is going to sink without

trace then they truly are in for one rude

awakening.

After reaching port safely in Lebanon,

where thousands greeted the SS Dignity,

Cynthia said: “Israeli patrol

boats...tracked us for about 30

minutes...and then all of a sudden they

rammed us approximately three times,

twice in the front and once in the side...the

Israelis indicated that [they felt] we were

involved in terrorist activities.”

She was joined by another woman of

substance, Dr. Elena Theoharous, MP

who is a surgeon and a Member of the

Cypriot Parliament. She was going to

Gaza to assess the ongoing conflict,

assist with humanitarian relief efforts, and

volunteer in hospitals.

Also on board is another good friend of

mine, Caoimhe Butterly, an organizer with

the Free Gaza Movement. She said: “The

gunboats gave us no warning. They came

up out of the darkness firing flares and

flashing huge floodlights into our faces.

We were so shocked that at first we didn’t

react. We knew we were well within

international waters and supposedly safe

from attack. They rammed us three times,

hitting the side of the boat hard. We

began taking on water and, for a few

minutes, we all feared for our lives. After

they rammed us, they started screaming

at us as we were frantically getting the

lifeboats ready and putting on our life

jackets. They kept yelling that if we didn’t

turn back they would shoot us.”

Furthermore, the attack was filmed by the

journalists, and crew and passengers and

no doubt we will see the full extent of

that footage and the damage caused by

Israel.

Of course Israel is always using the

“Oo-er, sorry it was an accident” routine.

That’s the excuse the Zionist State used

when it hit the USS Liberty on June 8,

1967 with a flurry of bombs, murdering

34 American servicemen in cold blood.

In the 40 year s since, those with the

blood of those shipmates on their hands

have gotten away with murder.

But try as they might to rewrite what

happened onboard the Dignity and the

Liberty, there are some memories which

will not die. And what Israel has done to

Gaza in the last few days will become an

epitaph for the Zionist State.

Israel’s deplorable attack on the

unarmed Dignity is a violation of both

international maritime law and the UN

Convention on the Law of the Sea, which

states, “the high seas should be

reserved for peaceful purposes.”

Delivering doctors and urgently needed

medical supplies to civilians is just such

a “peaceful purpose.” Deliberately

ramming a mercy ship and endangering

its passengers is an act of terrorism and

piracy.

As I write this a funeral is being planned

for five Palestinian sisters who were

slaughtered in their sleep when an

airstrike hit the next-door mosque in

Gaza.

One of the walls collapsed on to their

small asbestos-roofed home and they

were all killed in their beds in the densley

populated Jabalya refugee camp. The

eldest sister, Tahrir Balousha was 17

years old, the youngest, Jawaher, just

four.

Some hours earlier Israel’s Foreign

Minister Tzipi Livni told al Jazeera:

“”Hamas seeks to kill children; it fires at

kindergartens, schools, civilians –

because this corresponds with its

extremist ideology. Our values are

completely different,” she said.

Her outrageous claim went

unchallenged, like so many statements

coming out of Tel Aviv do these days.

In a way, Ms Livni is right - Israel’s

values are different. Hamas has killed no

one’s children but the Israeli cabinet

members who have spent the last the

fact that leaders in the international

community seem unwilling or unable to

halt the Zionist War Machine, there are

international lawyers who think otherwise.

And that is why one by one, those

responsible will one day be charged with

war crimes ... the evidence is stacking up -

Nuremberg would be quite a fitting arena

to try the guilty but London, Paris, Berlin,

Amsterdam or Madrid will do.

The Israelis might not acknowledge their

guilt publicly, but Brigadier-General Aviv

Kochavi has cancelled a study sabbatical

in London for fear of being indicted for

“war crimes” and former IDF Southern

Commander Doron Almog clung on to his

passenger seat when someone from the

israe li Embassy advised him not to put

one foot on the ground at London’s

Heathrow Airport after a suit had been

filed against him for “war crimes” during

his stint as head of the IDF Gaza division

from 1993-95 and head of the IDF Southern

Command starting in 2000. IDF Chief of

Staff Moshe Yaalon and former Shin Bent

director Avi Dichter are two others who

are advised not to leave outside Israel.

I understand fresh writs are being prepared

for the next generation of Israeli war

criminals and that includes all those

involved in the Gaza massacres ... which

could be anyone from a lowly reservist

who has just been called up right through

to the top ranks and beyond.

Like the Nazi and war crime hunters of the

past, we must never forgive, never forget

and never submit to the demands of

morally bankrupt states and politicians.

Yvonne Ridley and film-maker Aki Nawaz

sailed to Gaza with the FGM on the first

mission to break the siege. http://

yvonneridley.org/yvonne-ridley/articles/

pirates-of-the-mediterranean.html

Source: Information Clearing House

July 2009

1 July 2009


10

1MALAYSIA: THE WAY AHEAD

By Chandra Muzaffar

In his royal address in conjunction with

the King’s birthday on the 6th of June

2009, His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan

Agong, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin,

called upon all Malaysians to make the

“1Malaysia” concept central to their

lives. On the same occasion, the

proponent of the concept, Prime

Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak,

made it explicitly clear that in its quest

for national unity, 1Malaysia will be

guided by the Malaysian Constitution.

This clarification is important since it

defines what the 1Malaysia quest is

and what it is not.

1Malaysia acknowledges that there are

certain underlying socio-political ideas

in the Constitution which will shape its

journey towards a nation that is truly

united in diversity. One of them is the

idea that the multi-ethnic Malaysia of

today with its principle of common

citizenship has evolved from Malay

Sultanates and other indigenous

entities, suggesting that our

Constitution integrates the past with

the present. Related to this evolution is

the attempt to balance the rights and

interests of the various communities.

Thus, while Malay is the sole official

and national language, the use and

study of other languages is also

protected in the Constitution; while

Islam is the religion of the Federation,

the freedom to practise other religions

is also safeguarded; while the special

position of the Malays and other

indigenous peoples is enshrined in the

Constitution, it also guarantees the

legitimate interests of the other

communities. This equilibrium is a vital

dimension in the nation’s philosophy

of, and approach to, national unity. It

is reinforced by a third idea. The

Constitution recognises the importance

of principles, processes and institutions

that transcend ethnic interests in

holding the nation together. Civil

liberties, common electoral rolls and

multi-ethnic legislatures would be some

examples.

1Malaysia’s lineage is not confined to

the Malaysian Constitution. The

Rukunegara with its commitment to

national unity, among other goals, and

the New Economic Policy (NEP) that

had pledged to eradicate poverty

irrespective of ethnicity and

restructure society in order to reduce

the identification of ethnicity with

economic function are part of its

heritage. So is Wawasan 2020 which

enunciates

“a united Malaysian nation with a sense

of common and shared destiny” as the

first of its nine central strategic

challenges.

1Malaysia, it is apparent, is the latest

in a whole series of ideas and visions

which seek to promote unity among

our diverse communities. It is

significant that they have emerged at

regular intervals in our history— the

Rukunegara and NEP 13 years after the

1957 Constitution; Wawasan 2020 21

years after the Rukunegara and the

NEP; and now 1Malaysia 18 years

after Wawasan 2020. They represent

renewal and rededication to an ideal

which continues to elude the nation.

One of the reasons why we are

nowhere near our goal of a united

nation is because there has been no

attempt to inculcate in our people a

profound understanding and

appreciation of the Constitution or the

Rukunegara or Wawasan 2020. That

is why 51 years after Merdeka, a huge

segment of the non-Malay population

refuses to acknowledge the Malay root

of the nation’s identity even though it

is so much a part of our political and

cultural landscape. Likewise, a sizeable

section of the Malay population is

reluctant to recognise the legitimacy of

the non-Malay yearning for equality

inherent in their status as long

domiciled citizens of the land.

Of course, developing a deeper

understanding of the nation’s

documents of destiny among its

citizens is not a panacea. There should

be constant efforts to bridge the gulf

between Constitutional principles and

the goals of the Rukunegara, on the

one hand, and the realities that confront

the lives of our people, on the other,

especially in relation to national unity.

More than that, the government and

other actors should address the causes

behind this failure to live up to national

goals and principles with courage and

integrity.

Malaysians hope that 1Malaysia will be

different; that there will be greater drive

and determination to unite our people

at a more concrete and substantive

level. Given the current situation, there

are perhaps at least five gaps that

1Malaysia could focus upon.

One, there is the territorial gap which

separates the communities and cultures

of Sabah and Sarawak from the people

of Peninsular Malaysia. Integrating their

cultures into the mainstream is a

necessary but not a sufficient condition

for national unity. Sabahans and

Sarawakians have to be

accommodated in mainstream politics

and administration at a faster pace.

Two, there is an ethnic gap between

significant sections of the Malay and

non-Malay communities on the

Peninsula which, as we have seen,

expresses itself in conflicting

perceptions of the nation’s identity, the

rights of the different communities,

how they are rewarded, and so on. A

needs based approach— rather than the

present emphasis upon ethnicity— in

areas related to socio-economic justice

may help to narrow this ethnic gap.

continued next page


11


THE USE OF “ALLAH”By Omar Zaid Abdullah, as’Siddiq

16 June 2009

The controversy over the use of “Allah”

by the People of the Book is little more

than an adolescent gang marking it’s

territory with grafitti. It smacks of

Tribalism, an estate the Prophet (pbh)

and Allah (swt) condemn rather

strongly.

God’s name is extremely important to

Him, and accordingly should be so to

all Believers! It is clear He gave His

Name to Prophets who brought the

Scriptures Al’Quran confirms, so

Muslims who object have little ground

upon which to stand.

The Jews removed over 3,000 direct

references to this name from their

manuscripts, and it seems the early

Church Fathers have done the very

same in the New Testament with

regards to the name of Yeheoshua

[Isa].

Elah or Al’Yah is another form of

Elohim: a combination of El or Strength

and Alah or Swear. Literally meaning

— in ancient Hebrew — To swear by

Strength” — (see Strong’s

Concordance 425 and Scofield’s

Reference Bible, First Edition), where

it is also recorded that this very term,

Allah, had been deleted from the revised

text of the bible last century.

It is also thought to be a combination

of two other words meaning ‘the

God’, and is used in reference to God

more than 2500 times in the Old

Testament.

The Tetragrammaton: YHWH

pronounced Yahveh, in the Original

form is Yah. El was used at the time to

mean ‘Lord, King, or Chief’.

The combination El-Yah or Lord-God

is quite sensible, and it is not

inconceivable that El-Yah, Al-Yah, or

the Aramaic Eli (reportedly spoken on

the cross), are derived from this use.

The first inscription bearing the name

Yahveh is found on the famous Moabite

For further reading, see my Book Trinity and

also Yahweh, Yashua & You, by Gail Melvin,

1998, ISBN 0-9665602-0-5 #98-91512, an

excellent treatise on the derivation and

deletion of God’s name from the Biblical texts,

including complete scholarly references.

Dr Omar Zaid Abdullah, as’Siddiq, M.D.

is attached to the International Institute of

Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC) at

the International Islamic University

Malaysia. He is also a member of JUST.

Stone. YHWH means I AM WHO AM

or I BE.

Therefore, it is rather arrogant and non-

productive to refuse today’s People of

The Book the use of this Holy name.

It is actually one of the bits of recovered

knowledge that eased my own path to

Islam when I discovered the

knowledge some years ago, and long

before my reversion.

It is truly sad that the Malaysian

Government has so far to go before

executing its role as Vicegerent with

knowledge and wisdom, rather than

methodologies that belie its

vulnerabilities.

May Allah have mercy on us all.

5 June 2009

Three, there is a growing religious gap

that has increased the social distance

between segments of the Muslim and

non-Muslim communities especially on

the Peninsula. The issues that have

caused this polarization will have to be

tackled effectively within the

framework of a more progressive

understanding of religion in the

contemporary world.

Four, there is an income and wealth

gap which has heightened the

differences between those who “have-

a-lot” and those who “have-a-little” in

our society.

Apart from the inherent injustice of

widening disparities in any society, the

alienation and relative deprivation of the

latter has contributed in no small

measure to increased crime and other

social malaise.

Five, there is a generational gap of sorts

that appears to distinguish those above

fifty from those in their twenties and

thirties when it comes to crucial issues

such as the need for compromise and

consensus among the different

communities and the importance of

stability and change in Malaysian

politics. These attitudinal differences

may lead to the erosion of core elements

in current inter-ethnic arrangements

with all their dire consequences for the

nation.

Though the federal government will

have a major role to play in reducing

these gaps, all sectors and strata of

Malaysian society will also have to

commit themselves wholeheartedly to

this monumental challenge of

transforming the idea of 1Malaysia into

reality. Are we ready for this challenge?

INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENTFOR A JUST WORLD (JUST)P.O BOX 288Jalan Sultan46730 Petaling JayaSelangor Darul EhsanMALAYSIAwww.just-international.org

Bayaran Pos JelasPostage Paid

Pejabat Pos BesarKuala Lumpur

MalaysiaNo. WP 1385

The International Movement for a Just World isa nonprofit international citizens’ organisationwhich seeks to create public awareness aboutinjustices within the existing global system.It a lso attempts to develop a deeperunderstanding of the struggle for social justiceand human dignity at the global level, guided byuniversal spiritual and moral values.

In furtherance of these objectives, JUST hasundertaken a number of activities includingconducting research, publishing books andmonographs, organising conferences andseminars, networking with groups and individuals and participating in public campaigns.

JUST has friends and supporters in more than130 countries and cooperates actively withother organisations which are committed to

similar objectives in different parts of the world.

About the International Movement for aJust World (JUST)

It would be much appreciated if you

could share this copy of the JUST Com-

mentary with a friend or relative. Bet-

ter still invite him/her to write to JUST

so that we can put his/her name on our

Commentary mailing list.

TERBITAN BERKALA

Please donate to JUST by Postal Order or Cheque

addressed to:

International Movement for a Just World

P.O. Box 288, Jalan Sultan, 46730, Petaling Jaya,

Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

or direct to our bank account:

Account No. 5141 9633 1748

Malayan Banking Berhad, Damansara Utama Branch,

62-66 Jalan SS 21/35, Damansara Utama, 47400,

Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan,

MALAYSIA

Malaysian Tax Exemption no.

LHDN.01/35/42/51/179-6.5755

Donations from outside Malaysia should be made

by Telegraphic Transfer or Bank Draft in USD$

just commentary august 2009

Documents