Ilhan Omar… Anti-Semitism or Islamophobia?

by with No Comment CultureFeatured

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s recent remarks about Israel’s involvement in US affairs has sparked outrage in our government. In one of her statements to Congress, she said, “I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country.” Without ever attacking Jews or Judaism itself, she has been labelled as “anti-Semitic.” Pro-Israel lobbying groups quickly went up in arms to attack her, and multiple people have called for her to be removed from the Foreign Affairs Committee. President Trump even tweeted a response in which he called her comments reflective of a “dark day for Israel.” A picture of Omar has gone viral that depicts her in front of the burning buildings from 9/11.

Despite receiving an inordinate amount of criticism, Omar has not retracted her comments or stepped down from her position on the Foreign Affairs Committee. Plenty of Democrats have voiced their opinions against her, despite belonging to the same party. Several days after Omar’s remarks, a resolution was passed to denounce anti-Semitism and overall hate, which includes anti-Muslim rhetoric as well.

I recently spoke to someone who highlighted something I had never thought of before. When someone says something against Jews or Judaism, they are labelled as anti-Semitic. The use of the prefix “anti” indicates that the person who is committing the action is in the wrong. They are against something that they should not be against. When there is anti-Muslim rhetoric; however, it is most often labelled as Islamophobic. The suffix “phobia” implies that it is not necessarily wrong for someone to be against Islam. In fact, the use of this term categorizes Islam as something to be afraid of, like the dark or spiders. A person who is Islamophobic is seen as a good person who is rightly afraid of something, whereas an anti-Semite is a bad person who is against something good. The usage of these terms are not an accident, and it is clear that there are political associations with both words.

Ilhan Omar brought to light an important matter concerning our country’s undying loyalty to a foreign nation, yet she was attacked for doing so. The U.N. recently found that Israel intentionally shot children, journalists, and the disabled during protests in Gaza; yet, we see more outrage when someone questions our national loyalty than the murder of innocent people. It is clear that there is a major issue with the way that the US blindly supports Israel and its policies, and I hope that Ilhan Omar will not be the last one to call attention to this problem.

Similar Read: Ideas Make This Country Great

The Unknown Heroes of Rojava

by with No Comment FeaturedGen ZGlobal

When people think of war, they imagine the US Marine Corps or the British Royal Air Force. These are the men who receive our gratitude and respect. There are many men and women; however, that seem to go unnoticed. In 2014, The Islamic State declared their “Caliphate” inside of a Mosque in the city of Mosul, Iraq. The videos posted by the Islamic State horrified many people across the world striking fear into their hearts. There were some men and women who couldn’t sit idly and let the Islamic State continue their brutal oppression, so these everyday people, many of whom had zero military experience, left for Rojava (Western Kurdistan) to fight alongside US-backed YPG and YPJ forces. 

It is believed, around a thousand western volunteers have joined their ranks, many of whom have since lost their lives. These men and women live and die for the sake of humanity without anyone knowing their names. An IT technician named Jac Holmes from Bournemouth, UK had joined them. He quickly became infamous for his drive and skill. He carried out many operations and helped liberate the de-facto capital of the Islamic State, Raqqa. On October 23, 2017, Jac lost his life, he stepped on an IED left behind by the Islamic State. Nobody knows his name, not even most British people. He had fought bravely and with honor yet receives zero recognition for his selfless acts.

Why are his actions deemed less honorable than those in the military? He died fighting against the Islamic State and should be honored as a hero. When Trump wants to withdraw from Syria it disgusts me, it is a blatant betrayal to our loyal Kurdish allies and to all western volunteers. Jac had given his life to bring peace to Rojava; however, this peace is threatened by Turkey’s looming invasion. The best way to honor these unknown heroes is by rejecting Trump’s rash decision and demanding we stay and protect our Kurdish partners.  

HIDDEN GENOCIDE… INTERNMENT CAMPS IN 2018?

by with No Comment Diversity & InclusionFeaturedGlobalRace Relations

History

The Uighur people are old. They have been in China for thousands of years and have a rich history filled with khans, empires, slavery, courage, and now genocide. Xinjiang is one the largest and most significant administrative regions of China. It borders eight countries. India, Pakistan, Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan – and only recently, was the population of Xinjiang mostly inhabited by the Uighur.

The majority of Uighurs are Muslim, and Islam is an essential part of their daily life and identity. The language of the Uighur is part of the Turkic group of Altaic languages, making the Uighurs the oldest Turkic people of Central Asia. Because Xinjiang sits at the crossroads of the famous silk road, Its region has been booming economically and thus has brought the region into the spotlight, and also has had a push of new residents from central areas of China where the Han Chinese reside.

Throughout its long history with China, Xinjiang has had short spells of autonomy and occasional independence, but this all changed in the 18th century when the region came under the Chinese rule. In 1949, an East Turkestan state was declared, but it was short-lived, as later on that year Xinjiang officially became part of Communist China.

Because of this tug and pull of power and influence, in the 90’s, support for separatist groups increased, and its influence only grew after the collapse of the Soviet Union. This fall led to the emergence of independent Muslim states in Central Asia. However, the rise of Islamic sentiment was suppressed by Beijing, and with its suppression, demonstrators and activists were forced underground. 

What’s Happening Now

As of now, China is being accused of detaining more than a million Uighur Muslims. The U.N. has openly stated that this type of detainment resembles “a massive internment camp, shrouded in secrecy, a sort of no-rights zone.”

From the reports that are coming in through various news outlets, it is stated that the camps are currently stationed in the western region of Xinjiang. The government of China denies that such camps even exist, but inadvertently state that there are established locations named “vocational education and employment training centers” which are built to help criminals who have committed petty crimes and are need to be “rehabilitated,” so they can be reintegrated into society.

China claims that this crackdown is to maintain the peace and to prevent terrorism from finding a solid footing to grow and flourish. A government can spin the story in any form it wishes too. It is one of the great perks of being part of such a powerful establishment, the story is what they make it out to be, not what it indeed IS.

Conclusion

The documentaries and articles of the Uighur people and this ongoing struggle are plenty and heartbreaking. It needs to be cracked open like the tale of the Rohingya people was so that way the whole world can pay attention and make the “great sleeping dragon” as China is aptly known to be rudely shaken from its nap.  

Change in the Air: The Protests in Iran

by with No Comment International

For a while now, the people of Iran have had two things to be angry about: the economy and the government.

Years of rising costs in real estate and the price of meat have put Iranians in an awkward position. Iranians expected more than what they got. Regional experts like to talk about how Iran is not as dangerous or oppressive as some of its neighbors, and the very fact that Iranians can complain proves this. But the country is still struggling, and if you lived there, you would feel it immediately.

Iran is a hard country, and the desire to separate the economic woes from the political mess might cause one to miss the point. Both issues are intertwined, more so when outcry is met with violent repression.

The protests you have been slowly hearing about started around Dec. 28. The Islamic Revolutionary guards corps and the clerical establishment under the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, are the enforcers of the repression in Iran, as well as the beneficiaries of a system that has performed poorly for everyone else. This fact is not lost on the demonstrators who have vehemently objected to the new budget by calling for an end to the current regime.

The people who are currently protesting are from the lower classes and are motivated by the lack of economic fairness and opportunities in the country. The nuclear deal, with its promise to end the sanctions that never really happened, did not appease the longstanding unemployment crisis. The 2018 budget released last month, revealed in harsh terms the regime’s desire to spend on religious institutions and foreign adventures, even though there have been cuts in cash dispersals and an increase in fuel prices, the threat of drought in the provinces, environmental degradation, and embezzlement have repeatedly incited the public.

Maybe all these issues are growing pains of a country trying to redefine its presence in a globally-minded world, or perhaps it isn’t. The truth for many Iranians is that their country has resources that their family and friends never see.

As of now, the protesters know that they won’t be able to effectively make a change to the current establishment. But what they are hoping is that their cry for change will be picked up and echoed by more and more people in the country and around the world to build enough pressure for the government to make positive changes.

The latest protests have no leaders to imprison or publicly humiliate. These demonstrations aren’t pitting the elites against one another, but everyday people against the state. If there is anything you should know as you read this article, it’s how little we know as Americans about what is happening in Iran. The current regime and its desire to censor everything, made sure of this. So the battle is a two-pronged war. One part is our foreign policy on Iran, and the other is Iran’s need to push everything under the rug.

Al-Aqsa Crisis… Israeli Palestinian Fighting Continues

by with No Comment FeaturedGen ZGlobalInternational

On July 14th the Israeli government made the decision to shut down Al Aqsa Mosque, the 3rd holiest site in Islam, after a clash that left three Palestinians and two Israeli officers dead. For the first time in nearly 50 years, the Friday prayers were canceled. The Israeli government then proceeded to install security cameras and metal detectors at the mosque before reopening it. Palestinians rejected these measures as violations of their rights and of the status quo, and refused to pray in the mosque, opting to pray in the streets instead.

Amid continued protests, the Israeli government continued to add restrictions – preventing men under the age of 50 from entering the compound. Palestinians organized demonstrations in “a day of anger” and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas froze contact with his Israeli counterparts. The Israelis were worried about an escalating security situation and elected to install new security cameras to replace the metal detectors – a measure also rejected by the Palestinians as a move that expanded Israeli control over the holy site.

As of July 27th, Israel removed all the security measures and Palestinians planned to resume prayer in the mosque. The conflict seemed to have temporarily subsided – until minutes after worshippers returned to the mosque Israeli police wounded dozens with stun grenades and rubber bullets. The official Israeli reports states that they were attacked with stones but Amnesty International reports that Israeli actions were unprovoked. Palestinian Muslims have now returned to the mosque and services have resumed as usual but tensions are still simmering.

To Palestinians, this is about much more than just metal detectors and security cameras. This is a system that devalues Palestinians and enforces a systemic repression of a people who have been denied even the fundamental right to have a state. They are fighting to retain a status quo that disadvantages them to begin with because they fear what would happen to them if the status quo was done away with entirely. The Palestinians already face a lack of sovereignty and they see this as a further undermining of their identities. In case you think all this status quos talk is ridiculous, consider this fact: there is a ladder in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem that has not been moved in centuries because to move it would be to undermine the status quo, and that would cause a conflict between the different churches that reside there.

It’s not as if the response was strange or unexpected by the Israelis. It’s a known fact that any interference with Al Aqsa inflames tensions and escalates the conflict. The second intifada (the second Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation) was in part spurred by Ariel Sharon’s visit to the compound after the failure of peace negotiations and is called the Al-Aqsa intifada for that very reason. Jerusalem has always been and continues to be the line in the sand that cannot be crossed without inciting a violent reaction on both sides.

One important takeaway: Palestinian leadership had very little to do with the mass mobilization of the last two weeks. In fact, Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority struggled to make themselves relevant regarding this tense situation. This is in part because the Palestinian citizens of East Jerusalem are relatively isolated from the Palestinian Authority, separated by an Israeli checkpoint from the West Bank. This may, however, also be a sign of Mahmoud Abbas’s shrinking support, and the resulting weakness of the Palestinian Authority, with two-thirds of Palestinians calling for the octogenarian leader to resign. Abbas’s decision to cut off ties with Israeli government pending resolution of the conflict seemed reactionary and an attempt to satisfy his quickly shrinking base.

Long term, this further underscores the importance and the tensions surrounding Jerusalem and final status negotiations. Both sides claim the city as their capital, although the majority of the international community officially recognizes neither. The Palestinian capital, East Jerusalem, is under Israeli occupation and effectively cut off from the Palestinian Authority, and the Israeli government will not allow them to fund projects within the city. If there is to be any hope of a final settlement to the conflict, Jerusalem must be addressed and the status of its religious institutions, holy to the worlds three Abrahamic faiths, must be taken into account.