| Islam,Terrorism and Jihad | |
| 30 Oct 2009, NewAgeIslam.Com | |
| Pakistan: The great denial | |
| After Wednesday's devastating Jihadi bombing in Peshawar, what does it look like within Pakistan?
URL of this Page: http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=2018 ---------
The great denial By Nadeem F. Paracha 15 Oct, 2009
In Pakistan, the audacious has become the norm. The terrorist attack in Lahore today – along with the many that have taken place in the last many years in this unfortunate country – may seem something out of ordinary anywhere else in the world, but not in Pakistan.
Pakistan it seems stopped being part of the 'normal' world a long time ago. Nothing's impossible here when it comes to faith-driven terrorism. Now every day the terrorists manage to mock and dodge the government and the state, almost at will. Nobody and nothing's safe. One can go on criticizing the state's many intelligence agencies and the government for exhibiting utter ignorance and helplessness in anticipating terrorist acts that have been repeated over and over again using almost exactly the same ways and techniques and impacting the same venerable areas and spots, but I'd rather take a more self-critical view of the whole damn nightmare.
What is it that makes these terrorists so sure and confident about themselves? It's simple. We do!
It is the sheer hesitancy that we show towards fully realizing the grave dangers these terrorists hold, and a weird, inexplicable sense and understanding of reality that most Pakistanis look to be suffering from, that gives these terrorists the psychological edge and opening; providing them as convoluted a justification to commit acts of barbarism in the fine name of God, as is our own habit of ending up actually recognizing their many deeds as being either a sympathetic socio-political outcome, or, of course, a wild conspiracy by our many (largely imagined) enemies lingering on our borders.
The TV channels and drawing-rooms will be abuzz for a day or two discussing the mayhem, but very few Pakistanis actually take the time they get during the lull periods to reflect as to what has happened to their country and its people.
Instead, these lull periods are spent going right back to flexing our pulpy rhetorical muscles and sharpening of our non-existent teeth against our 'enemies.'
Amazingly, as politicians, TV talk show hosts, clerics, the chattering classes and journalists all get together for a collective show of inspired morning and bemoaning against our 'corrupt politicians' and 'government of beggars,' we so conveniently forget that at the moment nothing's as bad or more troublesome an issue in this country as terrorism. But it is not general apathy or distracted energies of the people that the extremists are feeding on; it is a collective case of denial on the part of an increasing number of Pakistanis that is strengthening these extremists.
First of all, it is a fact that violence-prone extremism was ironically the creation of the CIA, with patronage provided by Arab petro-dollars and the local intelligence agencies such as the ISI. There is not an iota of doubt about the history of these agencies using the concept of jihad as a calling card to gather fighters for the so-called 'Afghan jihad' in the 1980s. A string of radical Islamic scholars were used along with the state-owned media and madressahs to fervently indoctrinate a huge number of young Muslims. More dangerous was the way droplets of this aggressive strain started to trickle down to shape the sociology and politics of Pakistanis who are not extremists. That's why, for example, today, if you mention names like Musharraf, Zardari. Altaf Hussain or Nawaz Sharif, one won't be surprised to see a number of Pakistanis leap into to action, getting into an animated mode, criticising and lambasting corrupt politicians and power-hungry generals. However, the moment you try to discuss a recent episode of suicide bombing, most Pakistanis can then be seen suddenly going into a shell, trying to avoid the topic.
The majority will not condone suicide bombings and terrorism, but they will not condemn it either – or at least the way it should be condemned. No wonder, according to a recent survey, most Pakistanis actually believe terrorism is a secondary problem in their country – rather obnoxious a delusion indeed. And that's dangerous. Some Pakistanis would avoid discussing the issue altogether, actually believing that maybe criticising the 'holy warriors' (no matter how violent they may be), is like criticising Islam, while some would gladly become navel-gazing apologists of such acts, pointing their finger at the every ready list of imagined enemies who want to 'destabilise Pakistan.'
Whom should we blame, seems to be the question on their mind. The thinking is that blaming the extremists is perhaps equal to agreeing with Zardari and the US. It is this narrow, egocentric mentality, coupled with echoes of years and years of indoctrination of a contradictory and xenophobic strain of Islam that has left a bulk of Pakistanis apathetically suffering from and subdued by matters such as extremism and terrorism. What Musharraf represented or what this present government is all about in the form of the establishment comes with a historical and visible baggage. It is thus a target that can be clearly seen, pinpointed and attacked, whereas extremism remains an elusive enemy. Some would even go to the extent of negating its very existence, in spite of the ubiquitous sights of blood, bodies and limbs quivering on blackened streets. So, it is not general apathy or distracted energies of the people that the extremists are feeding on; it is a collective case of denial on the part of an increasing number of Pakistanis that is strengthening the extremists. A denial made worse by the animated apologists found babbling and foaming incoherent and unsubstantiated drivel across the many TV screens and channels of the nation.
Though it is true the terrorists are not overwhelmingly popular with the masses, it is also true that most Pakistanis have yet to perceive the extremists as the kind of enemy that they really are. With ready-made explanations like RAW, CIA and that 'fellow Muslims are being subjected to state atrocities in the north' spiel being their best answers to the madness of extremism and terrorism, it is highly unlikely to expect Pakistanis to tackle the issue anytime soon – in spite the fact that maybe it's already too late. Source: Dawn, Karachi URL of this Page: http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=2018
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Friday, October 30, 2009
Pakistan: The great denial
The majority in Pakistan will not condone suicide bombings and terrorism, but they will not condemn it either—or at least the way it should be condemned. No wonder, according to a recent survey, most Pakistanis actually believe terrorism is a secondary problem in their country. Though it is true the terrorists are not overwhelmingly popular with the masses, it is also true that most Pakistanis have yet to perceive the extremists as the kind of enemy that they really are. With ready-made explanations like RAW, CIA and that 'fellow Muslims are being subjected to state atrocities in the north' spiel being their best answers to the madness of extremism and terrorism, it is highly unlikely to expect Pakistanis to tackle the issue anytime soon – in spite the fact that maybe it's already too late
Why must America bleed for Afghanistan?
| War on Terror | |
| 30 Oct 2009, NewAgeIslam.Com | |
| Why must America bleed for Afghanistan? | |
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The US military has given its assessment. It said that stabilising Afghanistan and removing it as a threat requires rebuilding that whole country. Unfortunately, that is a 20-year project at best, and we can't afford it. So our political leadership needs to insist on a strategy that will get the most security for less money and less presence. We simply don't have the surplus we had when we started the war on terrorism after 9/11 — and we desperately need nation-building at home. We have to be smarter. Let's finish Iraq, because a decent outcome there really could positively impact the whole Arab-Muslim world, and limit our exposure elsewhere. Iraq matters. -- Thomas L. Friedman URL of this Page: http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=2019 -----
Why must America bleed for Afghanistan? October 29th, 2009 By Thomas L. Friedman
It is crunch time on Afghanistan, so here's my vote: We need to be thinking about how to reduce our footprint and our goals there in a responsible way, not dig in deeper. We simply do not have the Afghan partners, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies, the domestic support, the financial resources or the national interests to justify an enlarged and prolonged nation-building effort in Afghanistan.
I base this conclusion on three principles. First, when I think back on all the moments of progress in that part of the world — all the times when a key player in West Asia actually did something that put a smile on my face — all of them have one thing in common: America had nothing to do with it.
America helped build out what they started, but the breakthrough didn't start with us. We can fan the flames, but the parties themselves have to light the fires of moderation. And whenever we try to do it for them, whenever we want it more than they do, we fail and they languish. The Camp David peace treaty was not initiated by Jimmy Carter. Rather, the Egyptian President, Anwar Sadat, went to Jerusalem in 1977 after Israel's Moshe Dayan held secret talks in Morocco with Sadat aide Hassan Tuhami. Both countries decided that they wanted a separate peace — outside of the Geneva comprehensive framework pushed by Mr Carter. The Oslo peace accords started in Oslo — in secret 1992-93 talks between the Palestine Liberation Organisation representative, Ahmed Qurei, and the Israeli professor Yair Hirschfeld. Israelis and Palestinians alone hammered out a broad deal and unveiled it to the Americans in the summer of 1993, much to Washington's surprise. The US surge in Iraq was militarily successful because it was preceded by an Iraqi uprising sparked by a Sunni tribal leader, Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, who, using his own forces, set out to evict the pro-Al Qaeda thugs who had taken over Sunni towns and were imposing a fundamentalist lifestyle. The US surge gave that movement vital assistance to grow. But the spark was lit by the Iraqis.
The Cedar Revolution in Lebanon, the Israeli withdrawals from Gaza and Lebanon, the Green Revolution in Iran and the Pakistani decision to finally fight their own Taliban in Waziristan — because those Taliban were threatening the Pakistani middle class — were all examples of moderate, silent majorities acting on their own. The message: "People do not change when we tell them they should", said the Johns Hopkins University foreign policy expert Michael Mandelbaum. "They change when they tell themselves they must".
And when the moderate silent majorities take ownership of their own futures, we win. When they won't, when we want them to compromise more than they do, we lose. The locals sense they have us over a barrel, so they exploit our naive goodwill and presence to loot their countries and to defeat their internal foes. That's how I see Afghanistan today. I see no moderate spark. I see our secretary of state pleading with President Hamid Karzai to re-do an election that he blatantly stole. I also see us begging Israelis to stop building more crazy settlements or Palestinians to come to negotiations. It is time to stop subsidising their nonsense. Let them all start paying retail for their extremism, not wholesale. Then you'll see movement.
What if we shrink our presence in Afghanistan? Won't Al Qaeda return, the Taliban be energised and Pakistan collapse? Maybe. Maybe not. This gets to my second principle: In West Asia all politics — everything that matters — happens the morning after the morning after. Be patient. Yes, the morning after we shrink down in Afghanistan, the Taliban will celebrate, Pakistan will quake and Osama bin Laden will issue an exultant video.
And the morning after the morning after, the Taliban factions will start fighting each other, the Pakistani Army will have to destroy their Taliban, or be destroyed by them, Afghanistan's warlords will carve up the country, and, if Bin Laden comes out of his cave, he'll get zapped by a drone. My last guiding principle: We are the world. A strong, healthy and self-confident America is what holds the world together and on a decent path. A weak America would be a disaster for us and the world. China, Russia and Al Qaeda all love the idea of America doing a long, slow bleed in Afghanistan. I don't.
The US military has given its assessment. It said that stabilising Afghanistan and removing it as a threat requires rebuilding that whole country. Unfortunately, that is a 20-year project at best, and we can't afford it. So our political leadership needs to insist on a strategy that will get the most security for less money and less presence. We simply don't have the surplus we had when we started the war on terrorism after 9/11 — and we desperately need nation-building at home. We have to be smarter. Let's finish Iraq, because a decent outcome there really could positively impact the whole Arab-Muslim world, and limit our exposure elsewhere. Iraq matters.
Yes, shrinking down in Afghanistan will create new threats, but expanding there will, too. I'd rather deal with the new threats with a stronger America. Source:http://www.deccanchronicle.com/dc-comment/why-must-america-bleed-afghanistan-017 URL of this Page: http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=2019
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My last guiding principle: We are the world. A strong, healthy and self-confident America is what holds the world together and on a decent path. A weak America would be a disaster for us and the world. China, Russia and Al Qaeda all love the idea of America doing a long, slow bleed in Afghanistan. I don't.American soldier embraces Islam in Guantanamo Jail
| Urdu Section | |
| 30 Oct 2009, NewAgeIslam.Com | |
| American soldier embraces Islam in Guantanamo Jail | |
| | |
| By Ishteyaq Beg
URL: http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamWarOnTerror_1.aspx?ArticleID=2022
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Pakistani people's responsibility in fighting Jihadi terrorists
| Urdu Section | |
| 30 Oct 2009, NewAgeIslam.Com | |
| Pakistani people's responsibility in fighting Jihadi terrorists | |
| By Raoof Aamir Papabaryad
URL: http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamWarOnTerror_1.aspx?ArticleID=2021
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WHY THIS FRENZY IN PAKISTAN?
| Urdu Section | |
| 29 Oct 2009, NewAgeIslam.Com | |
| WHY THIS FRENZY IN PAKISTAN? | |
| A medieval state Thank God, I am NOT a citizen of the Islamic state of Pakistan. Imagine if my parents had been enamoured of Jaswant Singh's newfound hero Mohammad Ali Jinnah and migrated to the Islamic State of Pakistan. What a tragedy could have befallen my family and me! I could have either myself turned into a bigot or my kids could have taken up guns in the pursuit of a puritanical Islamic state like Saudi Arabia. I am extremely indebted to my parents for sticking to their roots in Allahabad and happily accepting the citizenship of 'Hindu India' instead of saltanat-e-khudadad-e-Pakistan (godly kingdom of Pakistan). Ironically, there is nothing godly or saintly about Pakistan today. Pakistan could never become a modern republican state. So the state eventually withered away and got out of everyone's control. There was a time not too long ago when the world believed that it was the Pakistan army whose writ ran the country. How naive was this understanding. -- Zafar AghaURL of this page: http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=2012 ----------
A medieval state Zafar Agha October 16, 2009
Thank God, I am not a citizen of the Islamic state of Pakistan. Imagine if my parents had been enamoured of Jaswant Singh's newfound hero Mohammad Ali Jinnah and migrated to the Islamic State of Pakistan.
What a tragedy could have befallen my family and me! I could have either myself turned into a bigot or my kids could have taken up guns in the pursuit of a puritanical Islamic state like Saudi Arabia. I am extremely indebted to my parents for sticking to their roots in Allahabad and happily accepting the citizenship of 'Hindu India' instead of saltanat-e-khudadad-e-Pakistan (godly kingdom of Pakistan). Ironically, there is nothing godly or saintly about Pakistan today. Pakistan could never become a modern republican state. So the state eventually withered away and got out of everyone's control. There was a time not too long ago when the world believed that it was the Pakistan army whose writ ran the country. How naive was this understanding.
Once considered the most powerful power centre, the Pakistan army headquarters in Rawalpindi is now under attack from Pakistani jihadis. The world also thought that the Punjabi elite had a tight grip over Pakistan establishment. Now the Punjabis themselves are not secure in their beloved town of Lahore where terrorists' strike at will. Who then controls Pakistan? Is it the democratic establishment led by Asif Zardari? No, not at all! There is no consensus between Zardari and Mian Nawaz Sharif, the two leading rival democratic parties, even in these moments of grave internal crisis. Are the executive and judiciary now acting as the watchdog? Well, both sympathise with the likes of Hafiz Saeed and nuclear technology smuggler AQ Khan more than the state of Pakistan. Saeed and Khan are the two ideological masters of Pakistani jihadi philosophy.
All the Pakistani terror groups revere them. So it is neither army, nor the Punjabi elite that controls Pakistan any longer. Instead it is men like Saeed and Khan who do, ideologically at least. You cannot arrest Saeed in Pakistan because he is the ideological pope of jihad. You cannot prosecute him either. The police would make such a weak case that it won't stand in a court of law for a minute. The judiciary would let him walk out because of his 'heroic services' in 'destabilising India'. And even America cannot harm Khan.
After all, he delivered a nuclear bomb to the insecure Pakistanis, stealing and smuggling nuclear technology from all over the world. The world is convinced that he smuggled dreaded technology to North Korea and Iran. He is the last hope of the jihadis who believe that Khan would one day deliver them a nuclear device to destroy their hated enemy, America. Pakistan is today controlled by the syndicate of Taliban, al Qaeda and Punjabi terror outfits like Jaish e Mohammad. But why is it that Pakistan has failed in modern sense of the word state? A modern state in the post renaissance and post industrial revolution world is essentially run by the will of the people through democracy.
Pakistan has nothing to do both with renaissance and industrial revolution. Its ideological frontier very soon after its inception was a medieval Islamic state whose only function was to destroy India. So the people were always kept at the margin of state affairs. Pakistan elite facilitated the military takeover of the establishment to fight India and 'liberate Muslim Kashmir from Hindu hands'. When the entire Pakistani establishment failed to harm an emerging modern Indian state and got truncated in 1971, it vengefully came up with the idea of jihad against India 'to bleed India in Kashmir'. A jihad genie like Jaish e Mohammed was created with the ideological training from men like Saeed and Talibani madrasas spread across the tribal belt of Pakistan to harm India. The genie is now out of the bottle consuming the state that created it. A medieval Pakistani state, run by an army and ideologically driven by myopic people like Saeed and terror outfits like Jaish, has had to finally come to this pass where no one now understands who runs Pakistan.
Pakistan shunned renaissance wisdom and post-industrial democratic institutions.Such a medieval state has had to run out of steam sooner or later. So it is now implodingand being consumed by the medieval and tribal hatred it nurtured against India. Thank you mom and pop, for not migrating to Islamic state of Pakistan because I would have also exploded if not imploded by the jihadi forces that are consuming Pakistan now. The writer is a commentator on political affairs Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/opinion/main-article_a-medieval-state_1299884 URL of this page: http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=2012
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The Jihad Is Joined At Temple University As Muslim Students Try To Shut Down
| Islam and Politics | |
| 29 Oct 2009, NewAgeIslam.Com | |
| The Jihad Is Joined At Temple University As Muslim Students Try To Shut Down | |
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In point of fact Wilders has not been tried by any Dutch court, and was recently exonerated by a British court which declared the ban on his entry illegal. The Temple community should reject the call by the MSA to censor free speech on the Temple campus, and should recognize it for what it is - an assault on the right of all Americans to have a democracy that is inclusive, tolerant and respectful of the rights of others. -- David Horowitz URL of this page: http://newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=2015 --------
The Jihad Is Joined At Temple University As Muslim Students Try To Shut Down By David Horowitz 15 Oct, 2009
The Temple Muslim Students Association is attempting to shut down the scheduled appearance of Geert Wilders on October 20. As part of its Islamic-Fascism Awareness Week, and its campaign to Stop the Campus War Against Israel and the Jews, the David Horowitz Freedom Centre is sponsoring appearances by Dutch Parliamentarian Geert Wilders at Temple and Columbia university's (October 20 and 21). The Muslim Students Association has issued a statement condemning the event and calling on the Temple Administration to close it down. The MSA statement can be found at the end of this post. The David Horowitz Freedom Centre statement follows: David Horowitz Freedom Centre Response to the Muslim Students Association The Temple Muslim Students Association has issued a call to the Temple University administration to censor the forthcoming campus appearance of Dutch Parliamentarian Geert Wilders on the 20th of October, which is sponsored by the David Horowitz Freedom Centre. The Temple administration should reject this attack on the First Amendment rights of all members of the Temple community. It is not surprising that the Muslim Students Association would seek to shut down the free speech of Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders who has been an outspoken critic of Islamic terrorists and Islamic attacks on Jews and other religions. Assaults on the First Amendment and efforts to censor critics of radical Islam are, in fact, typical of the tactics used by the Muslim Students Association, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim American Society, all groups which support the jihad against the west and are part of the network created by the Muslim Brotherhood, which is the parent organization of the terrorist groups al-Qaeda and Hamas. The faculty advisor for Temple MSA is presently a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. It is the height of hypocrisy for the Muslim Students Association to accuse Geert Wilders of spreading hate or anyone of being a hate group. Chapters of MSA at UC Irvine and Ohio State have raised money for the terrorist group Hamas whose goal - as stated in its official charter - is the destruction of the Jewish state and the extermination of the Jews. Speakers sponsored by the MSA have called for the execution of homosexuals, war against the United States and the destruction of the Jewish state and the extermination of the Jews. Every year, on the day commemorating the birth of the Jewish state, the MSA sponsors nationwide campus protests against the existence of the Jewish state calling its creation the "nakba" - the catastrophe. This is an act of genocidal hate. Temple MSA refers to the fact that security will be necessary at the event as proof that Geert Wilders is dangerous. This is the perfect Orwellian mindset of supporters of the jihad. The threat to the Wilders event making security measures necessary comes from Muslim radicals who have already assassinated two prominent Dutch critics of Islamic terrorism - Pym Fortun and Theo Van Gogh (who not incidentally both happened to be gay). In point of fact Wilders has not been tried by any Dutch court, and was recently exonerated by a British court which declared the ban on his entry illegal. The Temple community should reject the call by the MSA to censor free speech on the Temple campus, and should recognize it for what it is - an assault on the right of all Americans to have a democracy that is inclusive, tolerant and respectful of the rights of others. David Horowitz, Craig Snider For the David Horowitz Freedom Centre Philadelphia Statement from the Muslim Students Association on Geert Wilder's visit From: Monira Gamal-Eldin < mgamal@temple.edu b.walsh@temple.edu This e-mail address is being protected from spambots Date: Wed, Oct 14, 2009 at 9:52 PM Subject: Statement from the Muslim Students Association on Geert Wilder's visit To: barry.scatton@temple.edu This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it, b.walsh@temple.edu This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , cherij@temple.edu This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it, tua36511@temple.edu This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , info@horowitzfreedomcenter.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , press@temple-news.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it October 14, 2009 The Temple University Muslim Students Association (MSA), one of the largest, most active and socially conscious student organizations on Temple's campus, is issuing this public statement of protest concerning the invitation of Geert Wilders to address the Temple community on October 20, 2009. Geert Wilders is a far-right Dutch MP who is infamous for his anti-Islamic rhetoric and extreme hatred towards Muslims. A person who has been tried in the Netherlands Supreme Court for his hate speech concerning Islam, banned from the United Kingdom due to the threat he poses to community harmony, and is concurrently being charged for violating anti-hate laws in the European Union, should not be allowed to address the Temple community. Temple MSA speaks for the many Muslims and socially conscious students and faculty on campus when we say that the presence of Geert Wilders on our campus is a breach of Temple University's pledge to ensure the wellbeing and safety of all students and faculty on campus. The Muslim population at Temple feels attacked, threatened, and ultimately unsafe that Mr. Wilders has been invited to voice his hate-driven opinions. The fact alone that backpacks are prohibited for entry to this event reinforces our argument that this creates an unsafe atmosphere where prejudiced, racist and vehemently hateful words will be disguised under the veil of academia. Temple MSA deplores the decision made by Temple College Republicans, The David Horowitz Freedom Centre, Temple University Purpose, Temple Student Activities, and Temple University as an institution of higher learning, for welcoming Geert Wilders when so many have found his speech to be repugnant to society as a whole. We condemn Temple University for being the first university in the United States to allow Mr. Wilders to address their population and hope that the administration realizes the reputation and ideologies they are fostering not only to the Temple community, but to the world. The decision to allow Mr. Wilders to share his viewpoints is a danger not only for the public safety of Muslims and the honour of the core principles of Islam, but also for academic integrity and objectivity on campus. We strongly urge that his invitation be rescinded immediately in order to foster appreciation of free speech that is not based on hatred and discrimination. Thank you for your urgent attention to this matter. Monira Gamal-Eldin President of the Temple Muslim Students Association - Monira Gamal-Eldin mgamal@temple.edu This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
[Editor's Note: I find it interesting that the Muslim Students Association has no compunction about twisting our Constitutional right to Free Speech and then tries to legitimize their warped interpretation of that Constitutional Right by saying that it can only be allowed if it is a certain kind of "free speech" as they define it: "free speech that is not based on hatred and discrimination". I hate to break it to them but what part of "FREE" speech is incomprehensible to them? Just because someone does not like or agree with what a person says does NOT make it "based on hatred and discrimination" and therefore disallowed. Even if it were, THAT still does NOT mean that it cannot be spoken. Currently, in the United States of America, people have the right to speak their mind, and if they HATE a certain thing, idea, person or group, it is their right to say so. While they do not have the right to incite violence against or advocate death for what they hate, they do have the right to express their opinions, their feelings, their thoughts. Free Speech is NOT limited by someone else's definition of what may or may not be talked about or what they believe to be "politically correct". THAT is why it is FREE, unfettered, uncensored. From all appearances Islam and it's supporters seem to wrap themselves in this country's freedoms all the while working diligently to destroy those very freedoms for others. Just judging by their actions, Islam is the most intolerant, hate-filled, war-mongering ideology on the globe, demanding special status, special consideration and seeking to force acceptance of their ideology on all others. They seem not content with being equal to and free to practice their religion as everyone else in this country is allowed. Rather they seek to deprive everyone else of the very freedoms they demand. These groups, Muslim Student Association, Muslim Brotherhood, and CAIR, should all be investigated as hate-groups advocating violence against anyone who commits no crime other than to speak the truth or who might choose to disagree with their ideology. Anyone interested in voicing their support of Geert Wilders and this country's First Amendment right to Freedom of Speech is encouraged to email to those same recipients noted at the beginning of the above Muslim Students Association thinly veiled threat (no hijab pun intended). ] URL of this page: http://newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=2015
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Temple MSA refers to the fact that security will be necessary at the event as proof that Geert Wilders is dangerous. This is the perfect Orwellian mindset of supporters of the jihad. The threat to the Wilders event making security measures necessary comes from Muslim radicals who have already assassinated two prominent Dutch critics of Islamic terrorism - Pym Fortun and Theo Van Gogh (who not incidentally both happened to be gay).Can the idea of martial races be dismissed: British Indian Army experiences in World War II
| Current affairs | |
| 29 Oct 2009, NewAgeIslam.Com | |
| Can the idea of martial races be dismissed: British Indian Army experiences in World War II | |
| Over a period of five years, 617,353 Muslims volunteered.[8] The vast majority were recruited from modern day Pakistan, particularly the Punjab and the North West Frontier, home to some of the world's most formidable martial traditions: the Pashtun, Rajput, Awan and Jat.[9] Ian Sumner suggests that 'Muslim regiments provided 65 per cent of Indian troops fighting in North Africa, Italy and Burma'. [10] Although it has been fashionable to some scholars to dismiss the idea of martial races, the key point here is that, for peoples of the sub-continent, these military values were not only real but deeply held. Indeed they went to the very heart of certain communities; for Pashtuns and Rajputs in particular, the martial tradition has been an intrinsic aspect of their life and sense of identity. -- Jahan Mahmood URL of this page: http://newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=2013 ---------
Britain's Pakistani communities and their contribution to the Italian Campaign of World War II [1] by Jahan Mahmood, Visiting Lecturer, University of Birmingham, April 2009 Paper given at All Souls College, University of Oxford, 3 April 2009, (re-edited on 23rd April 2009) http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/bmh/BMH-Britains-Pakistani-communities-and-their-contribution.htm Britain 'couldn't have come through both wars if they hadn't the Indian army' Field Marshall Sir Claude Auchinleck[2]
This paper explains the historical and political reasons behind Muslim recruitment during the Second World War. It provides a breakdown of Muslim casualties in the Italian Campaign according to recruitment areas within British India and it highlights the contributions made by communities from these regions. Most significantly, because of the pressing need to restore a sense of identity and self-esteem for young British Muslims today, an attempt is made to establish a link between contemporary British Pakistani communities and these very same regions of recruitment. The statistics presented here are based on the casualty records of more than 5,000 soldiers who fell liberating Italy. These records were provided by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).[3] Unfortunately, so far, it has not been possible to locate the files of British Indian servicemen serving in Europe. However, it is hoped that this work will allow British Muslims and other British communities to celebrate a shared past, which would increase mutual understanding and provide a platform for dialogue and the development of a post-colonial British Muslim identity. Therefore this work is part of the story of the sacrifices of Muslim soldiers from territories that are now part of modern-day Pakistan.
In September 1939, at the outbreak of the Second World War in Europe, Lord Linlithgow, the Viceroy of India, declared that India would join the war effort alongside Britain. Mahatma Gandhi opposed any military support from Indians by advocating a non-violent approach to Hitler's aggressive expansion. Mohammed Ali Jinnah [4], on the other hand, supported involvement. He was fully aware that Britain's defeat could threaten the position of the minority Muslims by removing the constraint of British rule in a society where the majority voice was Hindu. Britain's position was further strengthened with the addition of another Muslim politician, Sikander Hayat Khan, head of the Punjab Unionist Party.[5] The Muslim community in South Asia was important to Britain not just because of their political backing, since they also provided the bulk of the manpower for the Indian Army. In short, Britain could not afford to lose support of the Muslim population. During the Second World War the Indian Army expanded from a force of 200,000 in 1939 to 2,500,000 in 1945. The army was an entirely volunteer force and conscription was never imposed.[6] According to Marston, the Indian Army 'ended the war as the largest all-volunteer force the world had ever seen….'.[7] Over a period of five years, 617,353 Muslims volunteered.[8] The vast majority were recruited from modern day Pakistan, particularly the Punjab and the North West Frontier, home to some of the world's most formidable martial traditions: the Pashtun, Rajput, Awan and Jat.[9] Ian Sumner suggests that 'Muslim regiments provided 65 per cent of Indian troops fighting in North Africa, Italy and Burma'. [10] Although it has been fashionable to some scholars to dismiss the idea of martial races, the key point here is that, for peoples of the sub-continent, these military values were not only real but deeply held. Indeed they went to the very heart of certain communities; for Pashtuns and Rajputs in particular, the martial tradition has been an intrinsic aspect of their life and sense of identity.
After the great successes of British Indian units in North Africa in 1940-42, three battle hardened Indian divisions were deployed to Italy where they fought some of the most determined Nazi troops. Paratroopers and Panzer Grenadiers, themselves bloodied by campaigns in the Mediterranean and northwest Europe, were just some of the specialist formations the Indians had to encounter. [11] The first Indian units arrived in Italy in the summer of 1943, but it was clear from the outset that this campaign would be the scene of some of the most intense fighting of World War II. Casualties were high and the terrain provided almost as great an obstacle to the allies as the Germans. High peaks, hill-top positions and river crossings were fraught with danger; waters rose in a matter of minutes, soldiers drowned and others became sitting ducks for incessant spandau machine gun fire. During the Italian campaign, the Eighth Indian division, confronted by the toughest conditions, became legendary as 'the river crossing division'. On 9 April 1945, a Pashtun soldier by the name of Ali Haidar, alongside his battalion, the 6/13 Frontier Force Rifles, attempted to cross the Senio River. On their left 6/13 Frontier Force Rifles likewise carried the near slope in the first surge. But as they topped the bank, the trough of the river was lashed by a score of machine-guns, firing from portholes in both inner banks, and from enfilade positions on the left. The Frontiersmen dashed into the stream, where many fell dead and wounded...Sepoy Ali Haidar and two others were all of one platoon to reach the far bank. From thirty yards away a machine-gun nest spat death. Bidding his comrades give him covering fire, Ali Haidar lopped a grenade and followed in under it. Although wounded by a stick bomb he closed and destroyed the post. Without pause he charged the next weapon pit, from whence four machine-guns played on his comrades. He was struck twice and fell, but he crawled forward, pulled the pin of a Mills' bomb with his teeth, and hurled it into the spandau nest. Weak with loss of blood he pulled himself to his feet, staggered forward and threw himself upon the gunners. The two surviving Germans surrendered. [12]
After recovering from his wounds, Ali Haidar was awarded the Victoria Cross by King George VI for bravery in the field of battle. There were three 'great' Indian divisions in Italy; the Fourth, Eighth and Tenth, all of which were able to refer proudly to similar acts of courage. However, these battles came with a dreadful cost. In total there were approximately 60,000 Indians present in Italy. Over a period of 22 months, more than 20,000[13] were injured and 7,000 died. The CWGC holds the details of 5,500 personnel, but curiously some 1,500 remain unaccounted for. [14] What follows is a ground-breaking attempt to analyse the statistics on the ethnic and regional composition of British Indian casualties in Italy. This is followed by a breakdown of the Muslim youth contribution. Table 1 shows the ethnic composition of the 5,500 Indian casualties provided by the CWGC. Table 1 Indian casualties from 1943 to 1945 Ethnicity Casualties British – Eng, Scots, Irish, Welsh 100 Hindus other Indian religions[15] 1650 Muslims 1413 Nepalese 1500 Sikh[16] 850 Muslims recruited from what was to become Pakistan territory (namely Punjab, Azad Kashmir, North West Province, and Baluchistan): 1187; Muslims recruited from what became India 192; Muslims belonging to modern day regions of Bangladesh: 5; Muslims belonging to unknown territories: 29. The ratio of recruitment from India compared to those drawn from what was to become Pakistan is approximately 1: 6. This indicates that Britain relied on the Muslim population from a particular region even though a larger number of Muslims resided within the boundaries of modern day India. Table 2 shows top six Pakistani territories responsible for the largest number of Muslim casualties. Table 2 Muslim causalities from the Punjab and the N.W.F.P Regions Casualties Attock (Punjab) 155 Hazara (NWFP) 98 Jhelum (Punjab) 153 Kohat (NWFP) 145 Peshawar (NWFP) 46 Rawalpindi (Punjab) 200 The cities of Attock, Hazara, Jhelum, Kohat, Peshawar and Rawalpindi[17] provided the bulk of volunteers. These cities are located at strategic crossroads, constantly pressured by invasions these communities were forced to develop a martial culture. Attock, Kohat, Peshawar and Hazara are locations in north Pakistan with a large population of tribal and non-tribal Pashtuns. Jhelum and Rawalpindi[18] on the other hand was an ideal region to recruit 'Punjabi Mussalmans'; mainly Rajputs and Jats. Table 3 shows the ethnicity/religion of the youngest casualties of the Italian campaign Table 3 Ethnicity/religion of casualties under the age of 18 Ethnicity 15yr olds 16yr olds 17yr old Total Indian (religion unsure) 1 3 4 7 Muslims 3 9 78 90 Nepalese 3 16 19 Sikhs 1 4 5 4 16 102 Total NB. Ninety out of a possible 122 youth casualties were of Muslim origin. All of these with the exception of one (unrecorded) were from the territories of modern day Pakistan; Punjab, Kashmir and the North West Frontier Province. Table 4, shows the exact regions of recruitment for these ninety young volunteers Table 4. Youth casualties from cities (province) situated in modern day Pakistan Regions 15 year olds 16 year olds 17 year olds Total Attock (Punjab) 1 1 13 15 Gujrat (Punjab) 2 2 Hazara (NWFP) 1 1 Jhelum (Punjab) 2 5 7 Kohat (NWFP) 1 1 19 21 Khurram Agency 1 1 Llyalpur (Punjab) 1 1 Mianwali (Punjab) 6 6 Mardan (NWFP) 1 1 Mirpur (Kashmir) 1 1 2 Peshawar (NWFP) 2 2 Poonch (Kashmir) 1 1 Rawalpindi (Punjab) 1 4 18 23 Sargodha (Punjab) 2 2 Shahpur (Punjab) 2 2 Sheikhupura (Punjab) 1 1 Sialkot (Punjab) 1 1 Unknown 1 1 Total 3 9 78 90 The proportion of youth casualties compared to the general population of Kohat and Attock are singularly greater than Rawalpindi; both are Pashtun regions of Pakistan. One explanation would be the martial traditions of the Pashtun. More, than the other Muslim Martial cultures, Pashtuns have a very strong sense of identity, this is partly due to many years of internecine conflict amongst tribes or neighbouring tribes which has only served to create a stronger sense of 'us and them'. This sense of being Pashtun and the codes of Pashtunwali[19] are strongly ingrained in the Pashtun psyche from a very young age. In addition to the Italian campaign, Muslim soldiers played a significant role in France and Greece. Four mule companies stationed in Britain were part of the British Expeditionary Force in France. These men played a worthy role in the battle around Dunkirk and had to be evacuated back to Britain when the Germans unleashed a ferocious offensive in May 1940. [20] The majority of the Royal Indian Army Service Corps serving in mule companies buried in Britain and France are Muslim. A small community claiming to be the descendents of Muslim servicemen belonging to these mule companies can also be found in Inverness, Scotland. [21] Besides serving in France, Muslim soldiers belonging to the Fourth Indian division were engaged in Greece. In the aftermath of the Nazi withdrawal, Greece descended into anarchy and the Fourth Indian were despatched from Italy to deal with the civil crisis. The Indians suffered almost two hundred fatalities during peace-keeping duties in Greece. [22] Today, Britain contains large communities from Kohat, Attock, Peshawar, Jhelum and Rawalpindi. Large proportions of these communities are located in larger towns and cities across England. Migrant communities from Attock are resident in Birmingham, Bradford and Cardiff; Kohat and Peshawar in Birmingham, London, Manchester and Reading and those from Jhelum and Rawalpindi live in Birmingham, London, Manchester and other Lancashire towns. [23] Besides a call for post-war economic labour, this paper suggests that there could be another explanation behind the migration of some of the Pakistani communities in Britain. If the links between Pakistanis from certain regions and their migration to Britain can be established, it will throw considerable light on the development of the Pakistani communities in the UK after World War II. Although this paper is based upon records of Muslim casualties rather than soldier's service records and thus appears to some extent anecdotal, the thesis is supported by other historical research. As Brigadier Noor Husain states: Almost 70 per cent of the wartime recruitment was from what became Pakistan had been from the undivided Punjab, 19.5 per cent from NWFP….The three semi-arid districts of Punjab-Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Attock …. And two districts of NWFP-Kohat and Mardan pre-dominated in supplying recruit volunteers in World War II.[24] It is therefore reasonable to conclude that Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Attock and Kohat provided the bulk of Muslim recruitment. The only point of contention would be the Brigadier's choice of Mardan over the author's Peshawar; however both are located in the NWFP. With the surrender of Nazi Germany in the spring of 1945, the war came to an abrupt end and Indian soldiers were shipped back to British India. There was little mention of these distant heroes after their departure from Europe. Many were shunned in India for serving the colonial power and many others were refused pensions by the Pakistani and Indian governments. Some died due to their injuries and some continued to proceed through life whilst never forgetting the trauma they had witnessed in the battles for North Africa and Europe. [25] The Indian Army Muslims had contributed to the Allied war effort and suffered heavy casualties just like soldiers from the UK and USA, but they have been largely neglected in Britain's popular Second World War narrative. Almost sixty years ago Muslims had stood shoulder to shoulder with UK and US troops. From the Far East to Europe they were part of a huge British effort to rid the world of the axis power. Today the same regions of Pakistan are on the edge of civil war, pushed on by drone activity and radical voices. The great tragedy is that the history of the shared hardships and achievements of British and Muslim comrades in the Second World War, and the many other conflicts before 1939 has been overlooked, paradoxically by young British Muslims as well as the majority of the population. Perhaps, if more was known about the contribution of so many Muslim soldiers of the British Indian Army, it would help to restore a sense of pride, cement the social bonds of different communities in British society, and turn the idea of a shared heritage into a meaningful weapon against prejudice. The appendix below gives the details of three fifteen year old boys. They fought for Britain, thousands of miles away from their native home, never to return to their families. Amir, Mian and Gulab gave up their lives at an age when life begins to take shape. They made the ultimate sacrifice so that future generations in Britain, Europe and elsewhere could live in peace and security. Their story can now be told but there will be no way of ever knowing how many other young boys and men could have perished from among those who remain unaccounted for, so many decades ago. Clearly the action of men from the Punjab and North West Frontier Province of Pakistan illustrates the shared histories and sacrifices of all those forgotten heroes who fought to demolish fascism. Their contribution has yet to be acknowledged! ________________________________________ Appendix: Three young casualties of the Italian Campaign[26] AMIR KHAN, Naik (Corporal), 13289, 4th Bn., 13th Frontier Force Rifles. 14 October 1944. Age 15. Son of Sher Khan and Unisa, of Manja Ghundi, Injra, Attock, Pakistan; husband of Nur Bibi, of Manja Ghundi. Grave Ref. XV. C. 10. GULAB KHAN, Naik (Corporal), 11087, 6th Royal Bn., 13th Frontier Force Rifles. 17 December 1943. Age 15. Son of Piari, of Lohsar, Saghri, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Grave Ref. XVIII. B. 13. MIAN KHAN, Sepoy, 16388, 1st Bn., 12th Frontier Force Regiment. 10 December 1943. Age 15. Son of Amin Khan and Gulzira, of Warasta, Hangu, Kohat, Pakistan. Grave Ref. XVIII. C. 7. ----- Bibliography Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate, G.H.Q. 1946. The Tiger Triumphs: The Story of Three Great Divisions in Italy, His Majesty's Stationery Office for the Government of India, p. 4. Marston, D. P. 'A Force Transformed: The Indian Army and the Second World War' in Marston and Chandar S. Sundaram (eds.). 2007. A Military History of India and South Asia: From the East India Company to the Nuclear Era, Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Security International, pp. 102-120. Prasad, B. (ed.). 1956. Official History of the Indian Armed Forces and Defence Organisations 1939-45: Expansion of the Armed Forces and Defence Organisation, Combined Inter-Services Historical Section India & Pakistan, Appendix 13, p. 460. Sumner, I. 2001. The Indian Army 1914-1947, Botley, Oxford: Osprey, p. 25. Visram, R. 2002. Asians in Britain: 400 Years of History, London: Pluto Press, p. 345. Yeats, F. 1945. Brown Martial India, London: Eyre and Spottiswoode. ___________ Website: Brigadier Noor Husain, 'The Role of Muslims Martial Races of Today's Pakistan in British-Indian Army in World War II', on http://www.defencejournal.com/sept99/martial-races.htm (accessed on 4th April 2009). Adnkronos, Italy: Homage to Indian Soldiers killed in WWII http://www.punjabheritage.org/content/view/756/28/ (accessed on 6th April 2009). 'Copyright © Jahan Mahmood. All rights reserved _________ Footnotes [1] This paper would not have been possible without the advice and support of Dr Malcolm Dick, Acting Director, Centre for Birmingham and Midlands History, University of Birmingham. The author would also like to thank the following for their help in preparing this paper: Dr Tahir Abbas, Director, Centre for Ethnicity and Culture, University of Birmingham; Major John Cotterill, Mercian Regiment, Birmingham; Birmingham; Dr Ashley Jackson, Senior Lecturer in War Studies, Kings College, London; Dr Laura Zahra Mcdonald, research fellow, University of Birmingham; Dr Steffen Prauser, Director, Centre for Second World War Studies, University of Birmingham; Patrick Wing, Neighbourhood Manager, Balsall Heath Forum, Birmingham; Waleed Bagadi, Tim Hicks, Zubeda Limbada, Parminder Jutla, Mike Taylor, [2] Field Marshall Sir Claude Auchinleck quoted in R.Visram, Asians in Britain: 400 Years of History (London: Pluto Press, 2002), p. 345. [3] I am grateful to the CWGC for providing this information to the author on CD. [4] Jinnah was the leader of the Muslim League, India's largest Muslim political organisation. [5] This party was a multi-ethnic political organisation in one of India's largest and richest provinces. [6] Daniel P. Marston, 'A Force Transformed: The Indian Army and the Second World War' in Marston and Chandar S. Sundaram (eds.), A Military History of India and South Asia: From the East India Company to the Nuclear Era (Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Security International, 2007), p. 102, 120. [7] Ibid., p. 120. [8] Figures are calculated by the author from Bisheshwar Prasad (ed.), Official History of the Indian Armed Forces and Defence Organisations 1939-45: Expansion of the Armed Forces and Defence Organisation (Combined Inter-Services Historical Section India & Pakistan, 1956), Appendix 13, p. 460. [9] Brigadier Noor Husain, 'The Role of Muslims Martial Races of Today's Pakistan in British-Indian Army in World War II', on http://www.defencejournal.com/sept99/martial-races.htm (accessed on 4th April 2009). [10] Ian Sumner, The Indian Army 1914-1947 (Botley, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2001), p. 25. [11] Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate, G.H.Q., The Tiger Triumphs: The Story of Three Great Divisions in Italy (His Majesty's Stationery Office for the Government of India, 1946), p. 4. [12] The Tiger Triumphs…, op. cit. [13] adnKronos, 'Italy: Homage to Indian soldiers killed in WWII' on http://www.punjabheritage.org/content/view/756/28/ (accessed on 7 April 2009) [14] Based on information supplied by CWGC and as a result of conversations with staff at the CWGC. The author has attempted to make sure the information presented is accurate, but it should be noted that the raw data are dependent on the accuracy of those responsible for recording details of the soldiers when they first signed up. [15] Since it is difficult to differentiate between names of Hindus, Jains and some other Indian religions. Christian and Parsi names are also categorised under 'Hindu and other religions' [16] The Sikh population was smaller than the Hindus, Muslims and Nepalese; they were proportionally the largest contributors to the British Indian Army. [17] Rawalpindi housed the largest British garrison in British India. [18] In the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny British recruitment shifted to the Punjab region especially Rawalpindi and Jhelum [19] Pashtunwali translates to 'way of the Pashtun', it plays a dominant role in the lives of most tribal Pashtuns and stresses three major themes: revenge, honour, hospitality. [20] Visram, op. cit., p. 343. [21] Author's visit to Inverness. The graves of nine Muslim soldiers who died in 1942 and 1943 are located in Kingussie Cemetery, Inverness-shire. Information supplied by CWGC. [22] Information provided by CWGC. [23] Information based on the personal research by the author. [24] Brigadier Noor Husain, 'The Role of Muslims Martial Races of Today's Pakistan in British-Indian Army in World War II', on http://www.defencejournal.com/sept99/martial-races.htm (accessed on 4th April 2009). [25] Author's initial conversations with ex-servicemen in Pakistan. [26] Based on information supplied by the CWGC. URL of this page: http://newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=2013
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