On this page I would like to will be covering what is in the media dealing with Muslims, Islam and Women in Islam.  I will be addressing these issues as they arise.  I feel it is important that these issues are addressed.  They will start with the most recent.  If you have an issue dealing with the media's representation of Muslims, Islam or  Women in Islam please e-mail me at the link below.

Winnipeg Free Press

CBS News

48 Hours Miss Al-Khalifa

Palestine

Converse

Oprah Winfrey Show

Turkey's  Ban on Hijab

Archives

 

 

Winnipeg Free Press

Due to prompt action by Muslims and a CAIR ALERT  The Winnepeg Free Press Issued a public apology.

To view the article click on the link Winnipeg Free Press

 

 

CBS News

CBS News Witness To A Killing

 

48 Hours

CBS News Love Crosses Borders

 

Palestine

A Poem

Personal Commentary:

Palestinians Riot.  Israeli Soldiers Taken Hostage.  Israeli Soldiers Killed.  Shocking headlines.  Of course they are and the first response would be they ought to take those Muslims and shoot them.  But what of these headlines.  Children Killed by Israeli Soldiers.  Twelve Year Old Boy Murdered by Sniper Fire.  Sharon Takes Soldiers To Mosque.  Israelis Use Bullets against Rocks or these in 1948  Western Countries approve New Country.  Palestine Now to Become ISRAEL (without the consent of the Palestinians)  We are all accustomed to seeing the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and the media portrays the Israelis as the ones who are suffering.  Are they the ones who are suffering?  The western media would have us believe this.  What has happened recently is the culmination of years of abuse and disregard by the Israelis of basic human rights.  Here are even more shocking headlines.  Barak Threatens to Bomb Syria, Iran.  Barak gives Arafat Deadline.  Let us not forget that Israel courtesy of the United States has nuclear capabilities.  We who are here in the west do not often get the whole story.  I challenge you to research for the whole story.

 

In The News:

The Question I ask "Israel Wanted Peace?"

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak announced the deadline on Saturday, saying that if Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat failed to end the violence, the peace process was dead and Israel's military would use whatever force necessary to bring calm to the streets.

 

In Ramallah, the violence broke out on Monday after the body of a 40-year-old Palestinian was found beaten and burned. Palestinians tossed rocks at three Israeli army vehicles. Israelis responded with tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. (Rubber coating steel bullets doesn't make them any less lethal.)

 

 

Read this account by a Muslim who witnessed first hand the atrocities that Israel has inflicted.    

 In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most
 Merciful. All Praise is due to Allah, Lord of All the
 World. The Protector, the Giver and Taker of Life.
 Peace and Blessings be upon Muhammad bin Abdullah, His
 Slave and Messenger, the Seal of the Prophets, the
 Mercy to all Mankind. Peace and Prayers be upon the
 Prophet's family , his companions and all the
 righteous until the Day of Recompense. Amen.

 As for what follows:
 Allah says in His Noble Qur'an, what can be translated
 into English as:

 Surah Al Isra 1
 "Glorified be He who took His slave (Muhammad) from a
 journey by night from Al Masjid al- Haram to the
 Farthest Mosque (in Jerusalem), the neighborhood
 whereof we have blessed, in order that we might show
 him (Muhammad) of Our ayat. Verily, He is the
 All-Hearer, the All Seer."

 Today, dear Muslims after Jummah (last Friday), I
 witnessed with my own eyes a horrendous act put upon
 the Muslims at the hands of the Jews. In this blessed
 Masjid (Masjid Al Haram Al Sharief-Masjid al Aqsa.
 The Israeli police, army and special military forces,
 shot and killed 5 Muslims and wounded hundreds. As I
 entered the Masjid, it seemed to be just another
 Jummah. See, the people here come to Jummah around
 8:00-9:00am in the morning, have a picnic and wait
 until the earlier lectures start and the Qur'anic
 recitation begins. It did not seem that it would be a
 day of infamy, in which all chaos would be inflicted
 upon the Believers.

 As I took my place in the forth row of the Masjid (at
 10:30 am) it seemed all calm as the Qur'anic reciter,
 recited. The Mufti took his place on the mimbar,
 giving salaams to the people and the adhan was called.
 The Mufti began by reciting Surah Al Isra ayats 4-7.
 Which can be translated into English as:

 "And we decreed for the Children of Israel in the
 Scripture, that indeed you would do mischief on the
 earth twice and you will become tyrants and extremely
 arrogant. So, when the promise came for the first of
 the two, we sent against you slaves of ours to
 terrible warfare.  They entered the very innermost
 parts of your homes. And it was a promise
 (completely) fulfilled. Then We gave you once again, a
 return of victory over them. And We helped you with
 wealth and children and made you more numerous in
 man-power. (And We said): "If you do good, you do good
 for your own selves, and if you do evil (you do it)
 against yourselves. "Then, when the second promise
 came to pass, (We permitted your enemies) to make your
 faces sorrowful and to enter the mosque ( of
 Jerusalem) as they had entered it before, and to
 destroy with utter destruction all that fell in their
 hands."

 The Mufti told the people from what I could understand
 from the Arabic, that the Jews would never get Al
 Aqsa. We are prepared to die for this place. He told
 us of the deal that the Jews had offered to Arafat
 regarding allowing them to take al Aqsa and giving the
 dome to the Muslims. Never! He shouted. This blessed
 place its for the Muslims from all over the world. He
 ended with dua and we stood for prayer. All the while
 outside, the Israeli troops were mounting their
 assault on the sides of the Masjid. There is an
 average between 50,000 - 100,000 thousand people at
 Jummah. Not even two minutes after the tasleems did I
 hear the first loud bombing noise. The noise of tear
 gas being fired at the people. Suddenly the people
 retaliated with rock throwing.  I made my way to the
 front of the Masjid into the courtyard area, where I
 saw men, women, and children running. The youth were
 throwing rocks. The elderly men were taking refuge
 behind the large pillars. Then I saw the first
 casualty. A man's head was filled with blood. At that
 point I realized that this was no joke. The people
 were shouting Allahu Akbar, God is Great, God is
 Great!!!!

 Suddenly, the Israeli troops advanced coming out of
 the sides shooting. They tell you in America that they
 are rubber bullets, but they are in fact steel bullets
 with a rubber coating. As the people continued to
 scatter for cover and the troops still advancing, I
 tried to take one more picture, when a brother pulled
 my arm and pulled me into the Masjid. I come to find
 out that he is the son of a brother from Florida
 (Sheikh Yusef). As the massive doors in al Aqsa
 closed, the special forces continued to shoot at the
 door. Suddenly, I saw a brother one foot from me start
 to fall. As I watched him go down I saw the blood gush
 from his chest. I stood there in shock. How could they
 do such a thing? I thought to myself, as I continued
 to look at the brother, I felt all emotions come up
 from inside, not out of fear but, rather this man
 being my brother. I immediately fell to the floor in
 sujood, praying to Allah for  help. As I began to get
 my composure, I looked around the Masjid in a daze and
 saw the brothers raising their hands in supplication.
 There was this old man sitting near me, saying "There
 is no god but Allah", over and over in Arabic. This
 was real. This was extremely real. I felt myself
 cursing the Jews. Not in they way of back in the days
 of ignorance, but rather sending duas against them,
 asking Allah for their destruction. I felt anger,
 sympathy, and complete sadness.

 Some time went by and the doors opened and the
 brothers came running in with stretchers heed to get
 the wounded. As I made my way to the side door as
 people were exiting, I saw the young brother who
 practically saved my life. He was injured. He asked if
 I had witness anything like this before. I told him
 yes. After the Rodney King verdict, in Atlanta. Yet,
 with that uprising the police were trying to restore
 order rather then being the cause of chaos. I really
 saw the hatred of the Jews towards Muslims. As I began
 to walk through the courtyard, towards  the dome, all
 I could see in front of me and around me were Israeli
 military with their assault rifles, with their fingers
 on the triggers. As I walked toward the gate. I walked
 pass the dome where many women and children were
 barricaded inside. At each time they tried to exit, I
 watch them run back in. I noticed this sister jumping
 up and down with a bloody towel or shirt where she was
 screaming about her shield and cursing the Jews.
 Again, I thought to myself how can a man do such a
 thing.

 Dear Muslims, I witness something that has shocked my
 heart, yet has instilled the truth of Allah's word as
 well. The Prophet said what can be translated into
 English as:

 Narrated Abdullah bin Masud, I asked Allah's Messenger
 "O Allah's Messenger! What is the best deed?" He
 replied, "To offer the prayers at their earlier fixed
 stated times". I asked, "What is next in goodness?"
 He replied, "To be good and dutiful to your parents."
 I further asked, "What is next in goodness?"  He
 replied, "To participate in Jihad in Allah's cause."

 I believe at this time this would be the closest I
 would reach towards armed struggle. Dear Muslims this
 place was defiled by the Israeli's. Blood was spilled
 on the ground. Muslim blood. I appeal to you to help
 in whatever way you can. I urge you to change things
 with your hands, tongue, or heart. Dear Muslims make
 dua for the people. I will insha Allah try to keep
 you updated. As of today there are more that 1200
 wounded and 50 dead. I pray to Allah for victory of
 over the disbelievers. Amen.

 Your brother in Islam

 Khatib Muhammad, in Al Quds

 

The Question I ask "Israel Wanted Peace?"

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak announced the deadline on Saturday, saying that if Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat failed to end the violence, the peace process was dead and Israel's military would use whatever force necessary to bring calm to the streets.

 

Here is an article on this and the shocking photos of the death of an innocent child.  My question is this as human beings can we continue to watch these and not do something to stop the shedding of the blood of innocents.

Switch to Arabic Version of Palestine
 
 
  Search Mail Chat Discussions e-Cards myarabia
 
Palestine Home>  News>
 
Boy's death an image haunting Israel
 
There was abundant television coverage of the violence, but one image stood out

 


By Andrea Shalal-Esa
October 02, 2000, 09:38 AM
WASHINGTON (Reuters)
 
- Shocking pictures showing the death of a Palestinian boy reverberated in global media this weekend, prompting London's Independent to write about "an image that will haunt the world as painfully and powerfully" as any of those dating to the Palestinian uprising or Intifada.

 
Palestinian boy
 
The Jerusalem Post called video from clashes in the Gaza Strip on Saturday "gruesome," and blasted Palestinian television for broadcasting the film over and over again.

In the United States, a photo still of the video ran on the front page of the Sunday New York Times, and the video footage was replayed on all major news broadcasts.

There was abundant television coverage of the bloodiest wave of violence between the two sides in four years, but one image stood out.

ABC News anchor Carol Simpson prefaced a segment on the video on Sunday's "World News Tonight" saying, "We warn you that what follows is difficult to watch."

The footage, shot by France 2 cameraman Talal Abu-Rama, showed 12-year-old Mohammed al-Durra as he and his father, Jamal al-Durra, cowered near a cement block as Palestinian and Israeli security forces traded fire.

Reporters watched helplessly as the boy and his father became trapped as bullets flew around them on a road near the Jewish settlement of Netzarim in the Gaza Strip.

Abu-Rama, a veteran Palestinian journalist, told National Public Radio in an interview that he was only about 15 feet (4 meters) from the two, but said a hail of bullets prevented him from running to help them.

He kept his camera trained on the weeping Mohammed and the father, who tried in vain to shield the boy with his arms and body, for 45 minutes, he told NPR.

At one point, the father raised his head and wagged his finger, as if to scold the Israeli troops firing on them.

Abu-Rama said he heard a loud blast and when the dust cleared the boy was slumped in his father's lap.

Mohammed died, while his father survived badly wounded. An ambulance driver who braved the gunfire in an attempt to rescue the boy and his father was killed.

"It is an image that will haunt the world as painfully and powerfully as any of the pictures that emerged when the children of the unborn state of Palestine took on Israel's well-armed troops during the Intifada," the Independent wrote in Monday editions.

Abu-Rama told ABC News he believed Palestinian and Israeli negotiators should have to watch the footage when they next meet "because a lot of civilians did die for nothing."

"I want them to understand one of these days maybe one day their own sons will be in the same position," he said.

Israeli officials have questioned whether the boy was killed by Israeli bullets and said he could have been hit by stray Palestinian gunfire.

The New York Times quoted one veteran Israeli journalist as saying he saw the footage for the first time as he was delivering the news on Saturday night.

"I lost my voice. I've been doing this for many years. ... But my brain went dead, and my tongue went limp. To see a little boy killed before your eyes."



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Read Also
- Arafat in Jordan for talks with King Abdullah
- Two Arab Israelis died of gunshot wounds
- Annan appeals to Barak, Arafat to halt bloodshed
- Arabs, Muslims condemn Israel, praise Palestinian struggle
- Palestinians call for ceasefire, Clinton calls Arafat
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The Question I ask "Israel Wanted Peace?"

 

Foes trade threats

Throughout the rising conflict, Palestinian and Israeli leaders have exchanged barbs and accusations, putting an additional strain on peace talks that have proved tenuous at best in recent months.

Barak was blunt with reporters Sunday.

"If in the next two days we do not see a complete change in patterns of behavior and cessation of violence we will consider that this is a deliberate act by the Palestinian Authority to stop (peace) negotiations, and we shall instruct the defense to act accordingly," he said.

Barak threatened to use the "full force of the military" if necessary.

Palestinian leaders were curt in their replies.

"I have the impression that according to him it is Palestine that occupies Israel and not Israel that occupies Palestine," Afif Safieh, Palestinian delegate to the United Kingdom, told CNN. "All the battles, confrontations are taking place around Palestinian urban centers. All Israel has to do is withdraw 300 meters (330 yards) so that there is no confrontation."

Palestinian security chief Mohammed Dahlan said Barak's remarks were insulting. After years of involvement in negotiations, he said his optimism for peace had waned.

The Palestinians said it was up to the Israelis to stop the shooting, and they laid down their own condition: Accept a U.N. Security Council call for an international commission to investigate the violence.

The Security Council late Saturday approved a resolution that condemned Israeli "acts of violence, especially the excessive use of force against Palestinians, resulting in injury and loss of human life."

Personal Commentary:  The U.S. abstained.  Why?  Israel is an ally and we protect our allies regardless if they are violating fundamental human rights.  Would we stand quietly by while another government took our land from us to create another country?  Would we stand aside while our government took our homes, imprisoned our children, and forced us to become beggars in our own land?  We say we stand for justice, human rights, and freedom.  Do we?  Are Muslims terrorists?  Is Islam the religion of terrorism?  Or are these people merely trying to fight for what is theirs as any normal human being would.?  Only you can answer these questions for yourself.

The above is from http:/www.cnn.com/

And it is said that Israel wanted peace?  If this is so then why allow the actions of Sharon that provoked this human tragedy to occur?  Israel knew how the Arabs and Muslims felt about Sharon.  The question now is who has suffered the most.  Answer:  The innocents who have been slaughtered and many of them have been children under the age of 15.  Let us all mourn the deaths of these innocents.  I do not wish to make this site for a political forum but what has occurred is a human tragedy.  We reacted when Milosevic committed atrocities in Kosovo yet we fail to act when Israel commits atrocities in Palestine, because Israel is and always will be land that belongs to Palestine and the Palestinians.

Here are other links on this the tragedy in Palestine.  Yes, as a Muslimah and a mother I am upset and appalled by this tragedy.  Below are some media links both western and middle east.  Read them to get both sides of the story.  What we hear and see in the west is not always the completed story.

Western Media

CNN.com - World - Israeli deadline passes for Palestinians to end violent protests - October 9, 2000

Annan Tries to Head Off Israeli-Palestinian War

ABCNEWS.com Sunset Deadline Passes With Diplomatic Flurry

Diplomacy Expands in Mideast Crisis

U.S. Restore Calm in Mideast

NBCiMiddle East and North Africa News

‘The Danger We Are Facing’

CBS News Home

Middle East Media

crime

Arabic News .com Front Page for Arab News

Middle East Times 2000

Sahafa Online, Arabic News, Arabic Newspapers, Magazines, Radio & Television.

Intertent Arabic Radio and Television Webcasting

The Daily Star - Lebanon

Planetarabia.com Gunfire Erupts As Mideast Clashes Flare

Action Alert #271

Converse

 

CONVERSE DISRESPECT ISLAM AND MUSLIM WOMEN IN
 ADVERTISEMENT
 
The Centre for Muslim Affairs in Australia is
 calling
 on Converse (Stock Symbol: CVEO) to apologize
 for running an advertisement degrading Muslim women
 and disrespecting Islam.  In a recent
 advertisement, run in the November edition of TV
 Hits
 (Australia), women in black hijab are shown
 posing, wearing Converse sneakers  
 
 
 URGENT ACTION REQUESTED:
 
 We are asking Muslims to send polite but firm
 letters
 to both Converse and the publisher of
 TV Hits magazine (Pacific Publishing).  Muslims
 should
 demand a public apology from both
 companies, as well as a retraction of the
 advertisement. 
 
 1) Contact the Converse head office:
 
 Attention: Glenn N. Rupp (CEO)
 Converse Inc.
 One Fordham Road
 North Reading, MA 01864-2619
 UNITED STATES
 
 Tel: 1-978-664-110
 Fax: 1-978-7528
 Email: info@converse.com
 
 2) Send copy to the Australian distributor:
 
 Conquest Sports Pty. Ltd.
 28-36 Terracotta Drive
 Blackburn 3130
 AUSTRALIA
 
 Tel: (03)-9-894-2333
 Email: conquest@consports.com.au
 
 3) Contact the publisher of TV Hits:
 
 Attention: Shane Sutton (Editor)
 Pacific Publications Pty Ltd
 35-51 Mitchell Street
 McMahons Point
 NSW 2060
 AUSTRALIA
 
 Tel: (02)-9-464-3300
 Fax: (02)-9-464-3508
 Email: tvhits@pacpubs.com.au
 
 4) Refrain from buying Converse products until the
 matter has been resolved satisfactorily

 

Oprah Winfrey Show

A show recently appeared on this show is Jane Fonda on Sanctioned Violence Against Women 
The site URL is Oprah.com The Show Past Shows.  This aired September 29th 2000.  I did not see the show personally but I hope what is on the site and what was shown are the same.  It is imperative for the media to distinguish cultural practices from Islam.  Islam does not condone such actions.

 

Turkey's Ban on Hijab

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_938000/938485.stm

As the new academic year begins in Turkey, thousands of female students are being prevented from entering their universities and colleges because they want to wear the Islamic style
headscarf.

The students say their human rights are being infringed but influential figures in the state education system
insist that wearing the scarf is a statement of political intent and current laws allow
them to ban it.

A ban on beards was lifted but the headscarf ban remains. On the first day of term at the beginning of the week men wearing beards  were also banned because facial hair is seen by some
defenders of Turkish secularism as an statement of Islamic identity.  

Now the beards have been let in but the women wearing headscarves are still locked out.

Mixed picture

There are protests at state universities around the country, but it is a mixed picture.

Some faculties at Ankara university for example are not enforcing a ban. It all depends on individual decisions made by professors and administrators.

The secular elite which has ruled modern Turkey for more than 75 years says the head scarf has become a disruptive political symbol.

The students involved insist they wear the scarf because of their religious beliefs, not because of political
ideology.

It is an issue which goes to the heart of Turkey's complex effort to define the role of the state and the role of
religion in society.

And as the dispute goes on it is claiming many victims. One human rights group estimates that last year alone more than 16,000 women were prevented from entering universities or taking
exams because they refused to remove their scarves

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