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- Khaled Abu Toameh: Abbas's "Diplomatic Intifada" Against Israel
- Mohshin Habib: Malaysia: The Word "Allah" Only For Muslims
Abbas's "Diplomatic Intifada" Against Israel
by Khaled Abu
Toameh
October 29, 2013 at 5:00 am
October 29, 2013 at 5:00 am
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The Palestinian Authority fears
that the EU, under pressure from the Americans, may delay imposing restrictions
out of fear that the move could harm the peace talks.
Abbas is also seeking to pave the way for the potential
failure of the peace talks by holding Israel responsible; sending the message
that Israel prefers settlement construction to peace with the Palestinians.
As the US-sponsored peace talks continue, the Palestinian Authority has
launched a worldwide campaign to promote sanctions against settlements in the
West Bank and Jewish neighborhoods of east Jerusalem.The latest campaign is mainly aimed at persuading the European Union [EU] to activate its new "guidelines" that call for imposing sanctions on any Israeli institution or organization that operates over the pre-1967 lines, namely east Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Golan Heights.
The EU regulations are expected to go into effect on the first of January, 2014.
But the Palestinian Authority fears that the EU, under pressure from the Americans, may delay imposing the restrictions out of fear that the move could harm the peace talks.
That is why Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas last week visited a number of EU countries in a bid to convince their leaders not to delay implementation of their anti-settlement "guidelines."
Catherine Ashton (L),
the EU 's foreign affairs representative, meets with PA President Mahmoud
Abbas (R). (Image source: European Union)
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Abbas's EU tour coincided with reports that the Palestinian Authority leadership has prepared a "blacklist" of 500 international companies that have business ties with settlements. The Palestinian Authority is threatening to take legal action against these companies.
So while the Palestinian Authority is conducting peace talks with Israel, its leaders are busy waging a fierce campaign in the international arena against settlements .
Yet what Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is not telling the European leaders is that he himself agreed three months ago to drop his demand for a full cessation of settlement construction as a precondition for returning to the negotiating table.
For four years, Abbas refused to resume peace talks with Israel unless the Israeli government agreed to a full cessation of settlement construction. He eventually abandoned this demand after coming under heavy pressure from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
What Abbas is also not telling world leaders is that he and his predecessor, Yasser Arafat, had negotiated with Israel for more than 14 years while construction in the settlements was continuing. Back then, the issue of the settlements did not seem to bother Abbas and Arafat.
According to Palestinian sources, Abbas even agreed to continued settlement construction in return for the release of Palestinians from Israeli prisons.
Facing growing criticism from Palestinians over his agreement to resume the peace talks with Israel unconditionally, Abbas is now trying to recruit the Europeans to exert pressure on Israel regarding the settlements.
His latest anti-settlement campaign is aimed at appeasing his Palestinian critics who accuse Abbas of capitulating to American pressure to drop his demand for a settlement freeze.
By placing the issue of settlements at the top of his list of priorities, Abbas is also seeking to pave the way for holding Israel fully responsible for the potential failure of the peace talks. The goal of his anti-settlement campaign is to send a message to the world that Israel prefers settlement construction to peace with the Palestinians.
Abbas failed to get a promise from the Americans that settlement construction would stop during the peace talks. Now he is hoping that the Europeans will step in to give him what the U.S. was unable to provide.
Some Palestinians have described Abbas's new campaign as a "diplomatic intifada" against Israel in the international community. They say that the move is the first in series of steps that the Palestinian Authority intends to take in the coming weeks and months to rally the world against Israel.
The next steps the Palestinian Authority is planning include seeking full membership in the United Nations General Assembly and other international agencies and conventions, especially the International Criminal Court. The Palestinian Authority says it has prepared a list of dozens of Israelis that it hopes to prosecute as "war criminals."
The anti-settlement drive should be seen in the context of the Palestinian Authority's massive efforts to isolate Israel in the international arena. Palestinian Authority leaders are hoping that international pressure will force Israel to its knees and prompt it to accept all of Abbas's demands, first and foremost a withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines.
With such an intifada raging against Israel, it is hard to see how the peace talks could ever result in an agreement between Israelis and Palestinians. Abbas obviously does not believe that the talks will produce an agreement. That is why his strategy these days is, with the help of the international community, to try to impose a solution on Israel.
Related Topics: Israel
| Khaled Abu
Toameh
Malaysia: The Word "Allah" Only For Muslims
by Mohshin Habib
October 29, 2013 at 3:00 am
October 29, 2013 at 3:00 am
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"It is our judgement that
there is no infringement of any constitutional rights." — Chief Judge
Mohammed Apandi Ali
"It is a retrograde step in the development of law in
relation to the fundamental liberty of religious minorities." — Reverend
Lawrence Andrews Editor, The Herald
In possibly the first time ever in the world's history of religion, members
of a monotheist institution objected to another monotheist groups' using the
same name for God that they use, as Malaysia's appellate
court ruled on October 14th that Malay-speaking non-Muslims,
especially the Roman Catholic community of the country, may not use the word
"Allah.""The term 'Allah' must be exclusive to Islam or it could cause public disorder," the high court said.
As an Abrahamic religion, Islam's texts consider that Christians, the children of Israel and Sabians as Ahl Al Kitab, which means the People of the Book -- although there are often many contradictions in the texts. These writings and teachings were reflected in the Muslim dominated Malaysian justice system, as well.
"The usage of the word Allah is not an integral part of the faith in Christianity," said chief judge Mohammed Apandi Ali, who led a three member appeals court panel. "It is our judgment that there is no infringement of any constitutional rights. We could find no reason why the Catholic newspaper is so adamant to use the word Allah in its weekly."
At the time of the ruling by the appellate court, about 200 Muslims, led by a right-wing Malay Muslim rights group, "Perkasa," gathered outside it with banners that read, "Allah just for Muslims, fight, no fear."
The New York Times reports that one group, Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia, said those who disagreed with the decision could emigrate.
Judges of the country's appeals court overturned a 2009 ruling of a lower court that allowed the Malay-language edition of the Roman Catholic newspaper, The Herald, to use the word Allah. Shortly after the ruling, Malaysian churches were subjected to vandalism and arson.
The government argued that the word Allah is specific to Muslims, and that the Home Minister at the time therefore decided to deny the permission that had been previously enjoyed by the Catholic newspaper.
In response, Reverend Lawrence Andrew, editor of The Herald, said, "We are greatly disappointed and dismayed. This is unrealistic. It is a retrograde step in the development of law in relation to the fundamental liberty of religious minorities."
Malay is the official language of the country. Allah, a loanword from Arabic, is sometimes used as the equivalent to the English word God. Not only the Muslims, but also the other religions in Malaysia have been using the word for hundreds of years. The word 'Allah' is used by Arab Christians and it has been included in Malaysian version of the Bible for four hundred years.
Reverend Lawrence Andrew said that a Latin-Malaysian dictionary published in 1631 by the forerunner of the Congregation for the Evangelization of peoples, that translates "Deus" as "Allah," establishes decisive proof of the legitimate use of the word "Allah" by Christians.
The history of Christianity in Malaysia is long. Persian and Turkish traders of Nestorian Christian origins were in the region as early as 7th century. Currently, Muslims make up 61% percent of the country's 28 million people; Christians about 9.2%.
There are many sayings about the etymology of the word Allah. Historically, the word Allah exists in Semitic languages including Hebrew and Aramaic. In the Middle East, prior to Islam, Allatu was the prominent Goddess of Underworld. The Prophet Mohammad destroyed her shrine in 630 AD. The name Allah was used by Nebataeans. Moreover, the term Allah is used 37 times in Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Scripture.
Islam is the religion of the federation -- but the Malaysian constitution guarantees freedom of religion.
Related Topics: Mohshin Habib
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