Rabu, 30 Januari 2013

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News


Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info
Sumber Asal Berita :-

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News


S’gor may dissolve state assembly after Chinese New Year

Posted: 30 Jan 2013 12:30 AM PST

However, the decision will be made by the highest leaders in Pakatan Rakyat, says Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.

(Bernama) - Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said the state government has proposed to dissolve the State Legislative Assembly after Chinese New Year, next month.

He said the decision, however, depended by the highest leaders in Pakatan Rakyat.

"If the Prime Minister [Najib Tun Razak] does not make any announcement or indicate a date for the general election after Chap Goh Meh, we plan to do this (dissolve the state assembly)," he said at a press conference after chairing the weekly executive council meeting, here today.

"We feel that the people who have chosen us are ready and they should not have to wait longer than necessary," he added.

Commenting on the water issue, Khalid said the state government had written to Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister (Peter Chin Fah Kui), stating that it would take over water services from the Selangor concessionaire company.

"We've given the ministry 14 days from next Monday to respond on the matter and if they don't, the takeover process will be carried out," he said.

 

Anti-Lynas group enters politics to bring down BN in Pahang

Posted: 29 Jan 2013 10:41 PM PST

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/images/uploads/2013/january2013/m_wongtack301.jpg

(TMI) - Environmental group Himpunan Hijau today said it will campaign against the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition in Pahang in its bid to stop Lynas from operating its controversial rare-earth plant in the state.

 

"Himpunan Hijau from today onwards is entering politics," the group's chairman Wong Tack(picture) told a press conference today, saying that Himpunan Hijau wants to change the state government.

At the launch of the group's "Pahang Green Corridor" campaign today, Himpunan Hijau said it will campaign for federal opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and will focus more on six out of eight parliamentary constituencies and 14 out of 23 state constituencies in that zone.

 

"Our job now...is to make sure our team will be down to the kampung (village) and visit every single family and reach every quarter of society," Wong Tack said, adding that the group will set up committees called Angkatan Mat Kilau to giveceramah (talks) and spread information among those in the rural areas.

When asked what is the assurance that PR will stop the Lynas project if it wrests control of Pahang, Wong said the group has given up hope on the ruling BN coalition.

"We have verbal assurance from the Pakatan Rakyat that if they are in power, they will close down Lynas...so we take this promise seriously," Wong said.

Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/anti-lynas-group-enters-politics-to-bring-down-bn-in-pahang/ 

Malaysia falls to record low 145th in press freedom index

Posted: 29 Jan 2013 04:39 PM PST

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/images/uploads/01/censor0130.jpgReporters Without Borders credited increasingly restricted access to information for Malaysia's decline in the index. — Reuters pic 

(TMI) - Malaysia has plunged 23 rungs in the 2013 World Press Freedom Index and placed 145th out of 179 countries ― the country's worst showing in the benchmark since 2002.

 

Malaysia had been ranked at 122 and 141 for the years 2011/2012 and 2010, respectively, in the index compiled by Reporters Without Borders.

According to the organisation, the drop was due to access to information "becoming more and more limited".

A report by the organisation said that Malaysia's "sorry record" was caused by the government's repeated efforts to censor information.

It also attributed the decline in the country's media freedom to what it described as the government's campaign of repression, pointing to what is seen as the authorities' heavy-handed crackdown on the Bersih rally for electoral reform last April.

Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/malaysia-falls-to-record-low-145th-in-press-freedom-index/ 

Sugumaran’s death: PM wants forensic report

Posted: 29 Jan 2013 04:38 PM PST

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Najib-Vel-Paari-C-sugumaran-300x202.jpg 

(FMT) - MIC strategic director S Vell Paari reveals that the police have also agreed for a second post-mortem to be carried out.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has instructed Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai to submit a forensic report on the death of security guard C Sugumaran.

It is also learnt that the police have given the green light to the family to conduct an independent post-mortem.

MIC strategic director S Vell Paari said the prime minister made the call after MIC president G Palanivel raised the matter during the Cabinet meeting this morning.

"Justice must be ensured for the deceased's family. The police and the related ministries must be transparent in this matter," added Vell Paari.

Vell Paari said that he spoke to Selangor deputy police chief A Thaiveegan and the latter revealed that a second post-mortem was permitted.

He added that MIC Youth was willing to bear the cost of the independent post-mortem.

Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/01/30/sugumarans-death-pm-wants-forensic-report/ 

Have you forsaken your flock, Archbishop?

Posted: 29 Jan 2013 03:46 PM PST

Catholics stumped by Murphy Pakiam's conspicuous silence and his failure to come out and defend the faithful over the burn-the-Bible issue

Jared Pereira, FMT

The Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, Murphy Pakiam, has received a barrage of criticisms from Catholics for keeping mum on Perkasa's call to Muslims to seize and burn Bibles.

Pakiam has yet to make a statement regarding Ibrahim Ali's call to burn Bibles which contained the term "Allah" and other religious Arabic terms, leading some from his flock to label him as a weak leader.

Ibrahim has come under relentless attack from all quarters since he made the call two weeks ago and many have asked why the police and Attorney-General have not arrested him for making seditious remarks.

Both Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing, the head of the Catholic Church in the Malacca-Johor diocese, and Bishop Sebastian Francis, Penang's Catholic leader, have spoken out against Ibrahim and made a stand for Christians, a quality Pakiam seems incapable of.

Tan was quoted as saying in media reports that Ibrahim's comments were an "incendiary statement that far exceeds the bounds of civil discourse in Malaysia.

Bishop Francis on the other hand called for the country to emulate the example set by Nik Aziz, Kelantan's chief minister and not the provocative sentiments of Ibrahim.

"He [Murphy Pakiam] should stand his ground and stand in the name of God without fear or favour. As a Catholic, I'm disappointed in him," said Jane Thomas, a Malaysian Catholic who currently resides in the United States..

"His predecessors were noble Archbishops who took their roles seriously. What kind of "shepherd" is he if he can't stand up for Catholics?" asked Jane.

'Catholics still waiting'

This is not the first time Pakiam has come under fire. He came under attack for accompanying Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak on the federal government's official visit to the Vatican to meet Pope Benedict XVI in 2011.

"As a Roman Catholic, I feel hurt with the senior cleric's move to jump on the same bandwagon as the prime minister," said Joshua Lopez in a blog.

READ MORE HERE

 

PSM ready to join Pakatan

Posted: 29 Jan 2013 03:32 PM PST

The application to join Pakatan was put in verbally and in writing due to public demand.

K Pragalath, FMT

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) today announced that it was ready to join Pakatan Rakyat.

"We have notified Pakatan verbally in June and in writing in September last year," PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan said during a press conference to unveil the party's manifesto for the coming 13th general election.

"We are open to both electoral pact or partnership with Pakatan," Arutchelvan added.

PSM had previously worked with Pakatan based on an electoral pact without joining Pakatan. The party was formed in April 1998 but only got its registration approved in August 2008, months after the March 2008 general election.

It had its first experience in the general election when it contested for the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat on a DAP ticket in 1999.

PSM increased the number of seats contested in the 2004 general election. It contested two parliamentary seats – Sungai Siput in Perak and Subang in Selangor – and two state seats – Jalong in Perak and Bukit Lanjan in Selangor. They lost all the seats in both of the elections.

In 2008, PSM contested in Sungai Siput and three state seats – Kota Damansara, Semenyih and Jelapang.

Aside from Jelapang, PSM contested all the seats on a PKR ticket. In Jelapang it contested as an independent. It won the Sungai Siput and Kota Damansara seats.

The party has always taken an anti-Barisan Nasional stand and supported the Pakatan federal opposition alliance in Parliament.

PSM central committee member, who is also Sungai Siput MP, Dr D Michael Jeyakumar, meanwhile, said that PSM would be able to provide input on issues of the grassroots.

"We have a sharper analysis on neo-liberalism policies and can have a lot of synergy with Pakatan," he said.

Party chairman Nasir Hashim, who is also Kota Damansara state assemblyman, added that PSM "went through the mill in championing the rights of the urban poor, estate and factory workers.

PSM's inclusion in Pakatan is expected to ease the tension over the Jelapang state seat.

Both PSM and DAP have been at loggerheads over Jelapang.

As for the manifesto, PSM unveiled its nine point manifesto.

READ MORE HERE

 

Keep speaking out, Pakatan tells Zaid

Posted: 29 Jan 2013 03:26 PM PST

While Pakatan Rakyat leaders hailed Zaid as an asset to the nation, Nazri Aziz referred to the former law minister as a flop

G Vinod and Priscilla Prasena, FMT

With former Kita president Zaid Ibrahim quitting politics, two Pakatan Rakyat leaders urged him to continue voicing out on issues affecting Malaysians at large.

DAP vice-chairman M Kulasegaran said, "I hope he will continue to lend support to righteous political leaders."

Yesterday, Zaid announced that he would quit politics to pay more attention to his business ventures.

His decision comes in the wake of his RM17.15 million purchase of 350 million shares from Singapore-based Ipco International.

The Straits Times reported today that Zaid's purchase will give him a seven percent stake in Ipco, which has diversified portfolio of investments.

Kulasegaran, who is also Ipoh Barat MP, described Zaid as a "man in a hurry".

"Judging from his actions, I can see that Zaid wants quick fix on things but it's not that easy in politics. Nevertheless, he is still a useful leader to many," said the DAP leader.

PKR vice-president Chua Jui Meng echoed Kulasegaran's sentiments, saying Zaid is an intelligent man who could cut across the racial and religious divide.

"He's an asset to the nation. Zaid is a courageous man who will articulate his views without fear or favour," said Chua.

The former health minister urged Zaid to assume a "peace-maker" role in society and speak out on issues affecting the nation.

"He can voice out against any leader who is making a mistake, be it Barisan Nasional or Pakatan," said Chua.

READ MORE HERE

 

How to vote: Guide for first-time voters

Posted: 29 Jan 2013 11:56 AM PST

http://fz.com/sites/default/files/styles/mainbanner_645x435/public/13th%20general%20election_1.jpg 

(fz.com)AS ELECTION day looms closer, it is essential that anyone who has reached the voting age (yes, only those who have officially reached their 21st birthday and who have registered as voters) know the responsibilities that they will be shouldering come the 13th general election. 

Recent developments and changes rocking the country have also impacted the voting process, with several amendments being introduced by the Election Commission (EC) at the behest of pressure groups such as the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih), as well as following recommendations from the Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reform.
 
These measures include expanding overseas voting beyond civil servants and full time students to those residing overseas (with the exception of several countries), as well as the introduction of the use of indelible ink.
 
There have also been significant changes to the area of postal voting. For the first time, 12 categories of workers under the media industry – including journalists, photographers, editors, graphic designers and other related personnel – are allowed to apply to vote through post.
 
With the many amendments and changes, the process in general can come off as intimidating; hence, the FZ team has put together a step by step chart, detailing the different categories and procedures one would need to take, from the registration process all the way to election day!
 

 

RCI: 'Money was their master'

Posted: 29 Jan 2013 11:45 AM PST

http://www.mole.my/sites/default/files/images/mole-RCI-SABAH-Tun-Mahathir.jpg 

(NST) - NO ORDERS GIVEN: Those who issued ICs to foreigners in Sabah did it for money, RCI told

KOTA KINABALU: THOSE  behind the issuance of Malaysian identity documents to foreigners in Sabah were doing it solely for the money and not under instructions from anyone, the Royal Commission of Inquiry was  told yesterday.

Several former state National Registration Department (NRD) admitted to selling the documents on their own accord and not under orders from any quarter.

Sarawak Special Branch head Datuk Ibrahim Zakaria, who took the stand as the 33rd witness, testified that in 1996, he had been tasked to interview former Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee Datuk Abdul Rauf Sani, who had served as Sabah NRD director from 1990 to 1992.

"He (Rauf) had admitted to issuing 6,305 identity cards to foreigners and had collected RM167,300 from it. He also admitted to doing so for personal profit and on his own will without instructions from any quarter."

Ibrahim, who was then with Bukit Aman Special Branch, added that Rauf was detained under the ISA for illegally issuing identity cards.

Rauf had told the inquiry that blue identity cards were issued to increase the number of Muslim voters in Sabah.

He had said the immigrants issued with identity cards were taught how to vote in elections, or risked having their documents withdrawn.

Intelligence Technical Unit staff officer of the Kelantan police headquarters, Deputy Superintendent Badaruddin Ismail, told the panel that another ex-Sabah NRD director, Ramli Kamaruddin, had admitted to giving 16,000 receipts known as JPN 1/9 (temporary identity documents) and JPN 1/11 (temporary documents to indicate the holder of an identity document that was reported lost) to foreigners.

Badaruddin told the the panel that during his interview with the former ISA detainee, Ramli had charged RM250 for each receipt and had received more than RM1 million from it.

Ramli had also said that he did not receive any instruction from anyone, including government leaders, to issue the temporary identity documents to foreigners from 1993 to 1995.

Badaruddin told the inquiry that Ramli had distributed the money among subordinates involved in the scam and had used it for his own use.

The money was also used to sponsor a sports event in Penang for state NRD employees.

Ramli, however, had told the RCI that then deputy home minister, the late Tan Sri Megat Junid Megat Ayub, had ordered him to issue NRD receipts, which matched the names and IC numbers of registered voters, to immigrants.

Ramli had claimed that some 200 NRD receipts had been issued in five or six state constituencies before the 1994 state election.

The 1994 state election saw Parti Bersatu Sabah winning 25 out of 48 state assembly seats.

Ibrahim and Badaruddin were among nine witnesses called to testify. The inquiry resumes today.



 

 

Johor Sultan raps those who claim cops cannot be trusted

Posted: 29 Jan 2013 11:37 AM PST

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSvFDM_52Ln7d93NAijSG95ufMm9emrST0r5AMunrtlidYRArKz 

(The Star) - The Sultan of Johor has lashed out at critics of the police force, labelling them traitors to the country.

Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar said there were irresponsible people questioning police actions to portray it as a force that could no longer be trusted.

The Ruler said such accusations were "too much" and only guilty criminals would try to twist facts to escape from being punished.

"What is worse is when some of these criminals flee abroad and then make accusations to tarnish their own country. If their allegations are true, prove it and stop being cowards," he said in his royal address when opening the new Kulaijaya district police headquarters, about 30km from here, yesterday.

Defending the police force against baseless accusations and allegations, the Ruler said Malaysia, being a sovereign nation, had its laws and all actions taken by any authority, including the police, would be in accordance with these laws.

"As such, I hope no quarters will try to question and accuse the police as being one sided," he said.

He also commended the Johor police and the government in their efforts to maintain security in the state.

Sultan Ibrahim said that the community and the media chose to play up the weaknesses and shortcomings of the force while police successes were merely deemed as "responsibilities".

However, he advised the force to continue acting "in a proper manner" and to carry out their duties without fear or favour.

He reminded that in a rapidly developing state like Johor, especially with the Iskandar Malaysia project, security should be always be maintained and not turned into an issue that could ruin the state's economic development.

"Security is important to an investor who intends to open a business in any country," the Sultan said.

He also urged the police to enforce law and order and effectively combat crime. 

PM announces election for September 14

Posted: 29 Jan 2013 11:33 AM PST

http://images.smh.com.au/2013/01/30/3991873/art-gillard-specs-300x0.jpg 

(Sydney Morning Herald)Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced the federal election date as September 14 this year.

In a surprise move, Ms Gillard broke with tradition to set the election date months before the polling date - effectively setting the country up for a campaign season lasting more than seven months.

"Time is not for wasting. So decisions have to be made about how we use our time this year," Ms Gillard said in a speech to the National Press Club in Canberra.

It comes as Opposition Leader Tony Abbott launched a mini-campaign, ahead of the first week of parliament this week.

This is well before the latest possible election date for the House of Representatives of November 30, 2013.

The writs for the election will be issued on August 12, setting up a short parliamentary year until the election. This will see the House of Representatives dissolved and half the Senate up for re-election.

Read more at: http://m.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/pm-announces-election-for-september-14-20130130-2dk4u.html 

The road to renewal

Posted: 29 Jan 2013 11:26 AM PST

http://media.economist.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/full-width/images/2013/01/articles/main/20130126_ird001_0.jpg 

(The Economist)Many blame Islam's supposed innate hostility to science. Some universities seem keener on prayer than study. Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, for example, has three mosques on campus, with a fourth planned, but no bookshop. Rote learning rather than critical thinking is the hallmark of higher education in many countries.

 

After centuries of stagnation science is making a comeback in the Islamic world

THE sleep has been long and deep. In 2005 Harvard University produced more scientific papers than 17 Arabic-speaking countries combined. The world's 1.6 billion Muslims have produced only two Nobel laureates in chemistry and physics. Both moved to the West: the only living one, the chemist Ahmed Hassan Zewail, is at the California Institute of Technology. By contrast Jews, outnumbered 100 to one by Muslims, have won 79. The 57 countries in the Organisation of the Islamic Conference spend a puny 0.81% of GDP on research and development, about a third of the world average. America, which has the world's biggest science budget, spends 2.9%; Israel lavishes 4.4%.

Many blame Islam's supposed innate hostility to science. Some universities seem keener on prayer than study. Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, for example, has three mosques on campus, with a fourth planned, but no bookshop. Rote learning rather than critical thinking is the hallmark of higher education in many countries. The Saudi government supports books for Islamic schools such as "The Unchallengeable Miracles of the Qur'an: The Facts That Can't Be Denied By Science" suggesting an inherent conflict between belief and reason.

Many universities are timid about courses that touch even tangentially on politics or look at religion from a non-devotional standpoint. Pervez Hoodbhoy, a renowned Pakistani nuclear scientist, introduced a course on science and world affairs, including Islam's relationship with science, at the Lahore University of Management Sciences, one of the country's most progressive universities. Students were keen, but Mr Hoodbhoy's contract was not renewed when it ran out in December; for no proper reason, he says. (The university insists that the decision had nothing to do with the course content.)

But look more closely and two things are clear. A Muslim scientific awakening is under way. And the roots of scientific backwardness lie not with religious leaders, but with secular rulers, who are as stingy with cash as they are lavish with controls over independent thought.

The long view

The caricature of Islam's endemic backwardness is easily dispelled. Between the eighth and the 13th centuries, while Europe stumbled through the dark ages, science thrived in Muslim lands. The Abbasid caliphs showered money on learning. The 11th century "Canon of Medicine" by Avicenna (pictured, with modern equipment he would have relished) was a standard medical text in Europe for hundreds of years. In the ninth century Muhammad al-Khwarizmi laid down the principles of algebra, a word derived from the name of his book, "Kitab al-Jabr". Al-Hasan Ibn al-Haytham transformed the study of light and optics. Abu Raihan al-Biruni, a Persian, calculated the earth's circumference to within 1%. And Muslim scholars did much to preserve the intellectual heritage of ancient Greece; centuries later it helped spark Europe's scientific revolution.

Not only were science and Islam compatible, but religion could even spur scientific innovation. Accurately calculating the beginning of Ramadan (determined by the sighting of the new moon) motivated astronomers. The Hadith (the sayings of Muhammad) exhort believers to seek knowledge, "even as far as China".

These scholars' achievements are increasingly celebrated. Tens of thousands flocked to "1001 Inventions", a touring exhibition about the golden age of Islamic science, in the Qatari capital, Doha, in the autumn. More importantly, however, rulers are realising the economic value of scientific research and have started to splurge accordingly. Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, which opened in 2009, has a $20 billion endowment that even rich American universities would envy.

Foreigners are already on their way there. Jean Fréchet, who heads research, is a French chemist tipped to win a Nobel prize. The Saudi newcomer boasts research collaborations with the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and with Imperial College, London. The rulers of neighbouring Qatar are bumping up research spending from 0.8% to a planned 2.8% of GDP: depending on growth, that could reach $5 billion a year. Research spending in Turkey increased by over 10% each year between 2005 and 2010, by which year its cash outlays were twice Norway's.

The tide of money is bearing a fleet of results. In the 2000 to 2009 period Turkey's output of scientific papers rose from barely 5,000 to 22,000; with less cash, Iran's went up 1,300, to nearly 15,000. Quantity does not imply quality, but the papers are getting better, too. Scientific journals, and not just the few based in the Islamic world, are citing these papers more frequently. A study in 2011 by Thomson Reuters, an information firm, shows that in the early 1990s other publishers cited scientific papers from Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey (the most prolific Muslim countries) four times less often than the global average. By 2009 it was only half as often. In the category of best-regarded mathematics papers, Iran now performs well above average, with 1.7% of its papers among the most-cited 1%, with Egypt and Saudi Arabia also doing well. Turkey scores highly on engineering.

Science and technology-related subjects, with their clear practical benefits, do best. Engineering dominates, with agricultural sciences not far behind. Medicine and chemistry are also popular. Value for money matters. Fazeel Mehmood Khan, who recently returned to Pakistan after doing a PhD in Germany on astrophysics and now works at the Government College University in Lahore, was told by his university's vice-chancellor to stop chasing wild ideas (black holes, in his case) and do something useful.

Science is even crossing the region's deepest divide. In 2000 SESAME, an international physics laboratory with the Middle East's first particle accelerator, was set up in Jordan. It is modelled on CERN, Europe's particle-physics laboratory, which was created to bring together scientists from wartime foes. At SESAME Israeli boffins work with colleagues from places such as Iran and the Palestinian territories.

By the book

Science of the kind practised at SESAME throws up few challenges to Muslim doctrine (and in many cases is so abstruse that religious censors would struggle to understand it). But biology—especially with an evolutionary angle—is different. Many Muslims are troubled by the notion that humans share a common ancestor with apes. Research published in 2008 by Salman Hameed of Hampshire College in Massachusetts, a Pakistani astronomer who now studies Muslim attitudes to science, found that fewer than 20% in Indonesia, Malaysia or Pakistan believed in Darwin's theories. In Egypt it was just 8%.

Yasir Qadhi, an American chemical engineer turned cleric (who has studied in both the United States and Saudi Arabia), wrestled with this issue at a London conference on Islam and evolution this month. He had no objection to applying evolutionary theory to other lifeforms. But he insisted that Adam and Eve did not have parents and did not evolve from other species. Any alternative argument is "scripturally indefensible," he said. Some, especially in the diaspora, conflate human evolution with atheism: rejecting it becomes a defining part of being a Muslim. (Some Christians take a similar approach to the Bible.)

Though such disbelief may be couched in religious terms, culture and politics play a bigger role, says Mr Hameed. Poor school education in many countries leaves minds open to misapprehension. A growing Islamic creationist movement is at work too. A controversial Turkish preacher who goes by the name of Harun Yahya is in the forefront. His website spews pamphlets and books decrying Darwin. Unlike his American counterparts, however, he concedes that the universe is billions of years old (not 6,000 years).

But the barrier is not insuperable. Plenty of Muslim biologists have managed to reconcile their faith and their work. Fatimah Jackson, a biological anthropologist who converted to Islam, quotes Theodosius Dobzhansky, one of the founders of genetics, saying that "nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution". Science describes how things change; Islam, in a larger sense, explains why, she says. 

Read more at: http://www.economist.com/news/international/21570677-after-centuries-stagnation-science-making-comeback-islamic-world-road?fsrc=scn/tw/te/tr/theroadtorenewal 

My Jihad Ad Campaign Launches In Washington, D.C. (PHOTOS)

Posted: 29 Jan 2013 11:23 AM PST

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/965055/thumbs/r-MY-JIHAD-DC-large570.jpg?15

WASHINGTON –- Ready to see more ads about jihad during your morning commute? 

"This campaign is about representing our voices, our lives -- our reality," theorganization's website reads. "The purpose of the campaign is to bring forth the mainstream majority of moderate voices that is often squeezed out between two extremes. The simple, yet much ignored fact is that Jihad is a positive, peaceful, and constructive practice."

Huffington Post 

 

Just months after controversial anti-Muslim ads went on display, the nation's capital will feature a campaign meant to redefine, in positive ways, the popular understanding of jihad.

Four Metro stations -- Shaw-Howard U, Waterfront, Rockville and Dunn Loring-Merrifield -- will host the Council on American-Islamic Relations' My Jihad campaign, a project intended to educate residents on the proper meaning of a term largely understood to have negative and violent connotations.

"Jihad is a central tenet of the Islamic creed which means struggling uphill in order to get to a better place," a media release about the campaign explained.

"This campaign is about representing our voices, our lives -- our reality," theorganization's website reads. "The purpose of the campaign is to bring forth the mainstream majority of moderate voices that is often squeezed out between two extremes. The simple, yet much ignored fact is that Jihad is a positive, peaceful, and constructive practice."

The earlier Metro ads, paid for by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, painted jihad in a different light. "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad," that campaign read.

"We're troubled by how the word 'jihad' has been hijacked by people who…have made careers out of pushing anti-Muslim sentiment," Zhara Billoo, executive director of CAIR's Bay Area chapter, told The Huffington Post earlier this month. "For too long people outside the Muslim community have been telling us what our religion really teaches."

Using the Twitter hashtag #MyJihad, the organization encourages people to share their struggles -- or rather, their jihads -- online (as one Twitter user wrote, "#myjihad is to greet everyone I meet, even random strangers, with a smile").

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/29/my-jihad-dc_n_2576098.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003 

 

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

0 ulasan:

Catat Ulasan

 

Malaysia Today Online

Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved