The Oppression against Islam

The BBC published an article that made me see the world in a different light, you can read about it here or follow my dissection of the important points raised in the article.

First off, the very name drew my attention, like a moth to the flame; Egypt protests: Israel watches anxiously.

For those that do not know; Egypt is the single Arab country to have a signed treaty with Israel.

Anwar El-Sadat was assassinated as a direct result of that treaty, being viewed as a traitor to his race and religion. Israel has used this fact, and Egypt has imposed the Emergency Law since then to stifle any dissidence that is religiously linked, giving full automony and power to the Police Force to stamp down on whom they see fits the bill.

"What could develop and which has developed already in several countries, including Iran - repressive regimes of radical Islam - that is the fear, of all of us," said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday in his strongest comments yet on the Egyptian crisis.



The Muslim Brotherhood has so far taken a back seat in the Egyptian uprising.

But Israel's fear is that if there were to be fresh elections in Egypt, the party could do well and even win.

Israel is using smoke and mirrors, warning of an imminent threat to global security with words like "could", and "might", and "if" and "maybe".

Key in Islamophobia, 30 years ago.

Everyone is using the idea of radical Extremists as a focal point for enforcing more restrictions on, you guessed it, Muslims.

To protect Israel from a "supposed and alleged" attack by elements of a radical extremist group; 80 million people, for 30 years, have lived in an environment that fosters oppression and the stifling of freedom of speech, of the right to protest, and the right of freedom of press.

Why is it that Israel can pull such clout in global socio-economic and political fields? I believe Dr. Norman Finkelstein said it best, they keep playing the holocaust card over, and over, and over.

El-Baradei was vehement in voicing his condemnation of the double standards imposed in the Middle East; Arab (key word ARAB) countries were forbidden from engaging in any nuclear research unless it is initiated, maintained and controlled by a foreign body. Whereas Israel, the instigator of all violence against Arabs in general and Islam in particular, is free to conduct its own nuclear research, and has yet to verify this, although it is a well-known fact.

Simply check the table on Wikipedia on the list of Countries with Nuclear weapons; Israel is the only one that reads data n/a.

In 2010 the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty was signed between the USA & Russia, in efforts to reduce the nuclear stockpiles of both countries. What of those that dwell in the hornets nest?

For too long Islam has been viewed as a religion of violence, hate, prejudice, sexism and terror. Instead of opposing this, we have succumbed to it, not only that, we have imposed those measures on our own people, in our own countries.

It has now become normal practice for Muslims themselves to attack Islam.

There are radicals in every religion, remember the KKK? The Nazi's?

I believe that any faction, regardless of its original orientation, is now more favored to wreak wanton destruction and then claim they did it in the name of Allah. It is the current craze, is it not? You can have someone who knows nothing about Islam claim he is delivering gods message, and the media will eat it up (e.g Jihad Jane).

Jihad Jane, a great example: here you have a woman who has gone through a tumultuous life, the death of her brother and father, her divorce, she attempted suicide. And then all the sudden, she is an Islamist.

Did the media focus on her background? Nope, they only portray her as a crazy, burqa-clad extremist. No mention of her mental instability PRIOR to her new-found faith.

The term Islamist is thrown around hapazardly. I am a Muslim, and I am not an Islamist, an Islamist is a scholar who is knowledgeable in Islamic studies.

I am not saying that all followers of Islam are "perfect", just recently the actress that plays one of the Patil Twins in the Harry Potter franchise (a national of Pakistan living in the UK) was attacked by her brother who found out she was having a relationship with a Hindu boy.

Why? Because she is Muslim.

It is crucial that we change our own views on ourselves, before we seek to change others views on us.