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Shahed Amanullah & Naeem Mohaiemen
Fanatical bombers talk about “Islam”, but in fact Islam condemns these acts of violence. The Prophet Muhammad gave Muslim armies clear instructions not to attack civilians—women, children, the elderly, and religious people engaged in worship (2:194). The Qur’an does not recognize “collateral damage” as legitimate even during war. Some have tried to arbitrarily label Israeli civilians as “combatants” to circumvent Islamic injunctions - a logic that has no precedent in Islamic history.
Dima Tareq Tahboub
When my husband decided to go to Baghdad, he knew that I would protest. He told me that I was exaggerating the risks; that there was nothing to be afraid of because he was a reporter, an objective witness, neither on this nor that side, and because of that was protected by world protocol. He bid us farewell, apologising for having been so busy. He promised to make it up to me and our daughter, Fatimah, when he returned.
Max Cleland
A quarter of a million troops are committed to the Iraq war theater, most of them bogged down in Baghdad. Morale is declining and casualties continue to increase. In addition to the human cost, the war in dollars costs $1 billion a week, adding to the additional burden of an already depressed economy.
Hasan Abu Nimah
The situation in Iraq continues to worsen. Already six months into the occupation, the security situation is so grave that the United Nations secretary general is withdrawing UN staff whose presence there is vital for humanitarian work. In addition to the armed robbers who have been roaming the streets of Iraqi cities, terrorising people since the collapse of the old regime, the resistance is acting indiscriminately, targeting, besides the occupying forces, foreign missions, UN installations, Iraqi police, worshipping places, political figures and members of the Governing Council. With every added day to the already delayed and indeed incapable handling of the growing security problem, the outlaws grow stronger and harder to remove.
Chris McGreal
Marwan Barghouti, the highest ranking Palestinian on trial in Israel for terrorism, defended the past three years of violent intifada yesterday by warning that if Israel failed to deliver independence to the Palestinians it would have to accept Arabs as equal citizens.
Mark Weisbrot
In recent weeks U.S. officials have made a series of remarkably unfriendly statements against the government of Venezuela, and its President Hugo Chavez. This breach of diplomatic norms can only serve to worsen relations between the two countries. It also provokes resentment in Latin America - in the same way that the Bush administration’s decision to disregard the United Nations and invade Iraq lowered our standing throughout the world.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva views the recent collapse of the World Trade Organization (WTO) talks at the Mexican tourism resort of Cancun as a great geopolitical victory for Brazil. “We scored an exceptional goal,” he said, using a soccer metaphor to describe the outcome.
We mourn with greatest sadness the death today of Professor Edward W. Said. We extend our deepest sympathy and condolences to Edward Said’s family, and we share our profound sense of loss with the large community that loved him.
Ahdaf Soueif
Once again it’s funny mirrors time. The world watches the events taking place in Palestine, and Western media see one process taking place while the Arabs generally see another. Interpreting these events is largely a matter of how you view the relationship between the USA and Israel. A few weeks ago I heard a well-known British columnist say he was sick of being told that the Palestinian/Israeli conflict was the ‘litmus test’ for how people can expect the American Imperium to influence the world. Yet “Freedom for Palestine” was the demand on millions of the banners in the anti-war demonstrations that swept the world last February.
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