Isu Dr Zakir Naik: Antara Sikap dan Pendekatan

Isu DZN ternyata menimbulkan polemik kalangan pelbagai pihak, waima antara aliran pemikiran dalam Islam mahu pun kalangan non-Muslim. Kalangan Muslim bergaduh isu status 'Wahabi atau tidak Wahabi'nya DZN. (Namun saya tidaklah berminat untuk mengulas polemik yang berlaku kalangan Muslim.)

Sementara itu ada di kalangan non-Muslim turut melahirkan kegusaran tentang pendekatan dialog antara agama bersifat 'apologetik'. Beliau dalam ceramahnya dikatakan pernah menghina tuhan kepada penganut agama lain justeru menimbulkan rasa kurang senang kalangan mereka.

Lebih-lebih lagi apabila ia dilihat sebagai suatu bentuk usaha pengislamisasian. Ketaranya kalangan yang Kristian evangelist. Berbanding dengan figur yang hanya mensasarkan kepada golongan Muslim sahaja, atau tidak mengkritik kebatilan agama lain di khayalak tentu bukan masalah.

Demikian juga sebahagian masyarakat non-Muslim tidak menghadapi masalah jika usaha-usaha dakwah itu hanya mensasarkan kepada golongan Muslim sahaja, berbanding dengan yang bukan Islam. Faktornya berpunca daripada Islam di sinonimkan dengan Melayu, dan Melayu dengan Islam (sebagaimana di Timur Tengah, Arab dengan Islam dan Islam dengan Arab.) Walhal tidak semestinya.

Namun itulah yang berlaku apabila masyarakat non-Muslim hendak mendekati atau memeluk Islam, mereka dianggap cuba hendak menjadi Melayu. Orang Melayu kita pula sebahagiannya tidak kurang hebatnya menjadi juara dalam rasuah berbillion, skandal dsb. Kekeliruan ini menyebabkan imej Islam kadang-kadang turut terpalit sama. Masuk Islam, dianggap hilanglah bangsa, tradisi dan hubungan kekeluargaan.

Meskipun ada yang kurang bersetuju, kadang kala kita tidak menafikan pentingnya figur seperti DZN ini, bagi membetulkan misconception terhadap Islam. Kewujudan saluran Islami radio dan televisyen yang sedia ada belum tentu mampu menarik pendengar kalangan bukan Islam (moga-moga). Sebagaimana mentor beliau Syaikh Ahmad Deedat, pendekatan apologetik DZN siginifikan lebih-lebih lagi dalam mendepani golongan evangelist.

Pada saya, apa yang menjadi isu di sini adalah soal pendekatan. Ada yang bersifat naratif yang tidak mengkiritik agama lawan. Ada berbentuk philosophy yang dilihat lebih harmoni dalam meraikan kepelbagaian yang wujud. Demikian juga pendekatan apologetic yang dibawa oleh DZN. Tidak kurang dengan pendekatan yang pernah digunakan oleh Ibn Taimiyyah (1263-1328M) dalam al-Jawāb al-Ṣaḥīḥ liman Baddala Din al-Masīḥ (1999) dan al Qairanawi (1818-1891M) dalam Izhar al-Haq (1989). Kesemuanya mengkritik.

Dalam agama lain tidak kurangnya ada tokoh apologists sedemikian, seperti Kristian ada tokoh seperti Duncan Macdonald dan Samuel Zwemer (1876 – 1952) yang mengkritik agama Islam dan Nabi Muhammad s.a.w dan sehingga menghina!

Cumanya, sebagaimana kita bersedia untuk menyampaikan risalah Islam kepada agama lain, pada masa sama bersedialah juga untuk mendepani figur-figur apologists melalui dialog secara sihat dan harmoni.

Ya, masing-masing mengaku pemiliki mutlak kebenaran. Justeru, kemukakan!

قُلۡ هَاتُواْ بُرۡهَـٰنَڪُمۡ إِن ڪُنتُمۡ صَـٰدِقِينَ

Katakanlah: Bawalah kemari keterangan-keterangan yang (membuktikan kebenaran) apa yang kamu katakan itu, jika betul kamu orang-orang yang benar. (QS Al-Baqarah 2:111)

Janji Tuhan, yang benar pasti muncul dan yang batil pasti terkubur.

Wallahu'alam.

Read More

Ekstremisme dalam Sejarah Agama-Agama

Serangan IS di Paris pada 13 November 2015 lalu kembali membangunkan dunia, persis peristiwa pengeboman di Boston pada 15 April 2013, Madrid 11 March 2004 dan 9/11 yang kesemuanya dikaitkan dengan kumpulan al-Qaeda, atau inkarnasi barunya dikenali sebagai IS (Islamic State). Seperti biasa, majoriti media Barat menjadikan isu ini di muka hadapan media. Berbeza jika isu tersebut berlaku kepada golongan bukan berkulit putih, contohnya sehari sebelum serangan IS di Paris, iaitu pada 12 November 2015, dua orang meletupkan dirinya di Bourj el-Barajneh, Selatan Lubnan. 43 orang maut dan lebih 200 cedera. 

Namun liputannya tidak sebegitu meriah. Demikian juga dengan siri pengeboman dan pembunuhan yang berlaku hampir saban hari di Palestin, Syria, Iraq, Yaman, serta puluhan wilayah di timur tengah. Perilaku ekstrem sedikit sebanyak memalitkan Islam kerana tindakannya tanpa malu menjustifikasikan tindakan mereka dengan agama ini. 

Ratusan video propaganda mereka jarang yang tidak disertakan dengan ‘pembuktian’ kehalalannya daripada nas al-Quran, Hadis serta pandangan ulama versi mereka bagi menghalalkan segala tindakan. Metode pembunuhan tawanan, bukan hanya menyembelih mangsa, tetapi membakar mangsa secara hidup-hidup, melemaskan, meletakkan serbuk letupan di leher, mencampak dari bangunan yang tinggi dan sebagainya. Kesemua perilaku ini berpasak daripada ekstremisme dalam kalangan penganut agama. 

Saya bagaimanapun tidaklah akan membincangkan mengenai IS atau isu geopolitik semasa kerana di sana ramai lebih berautoriti. Namun lebih kepada sejauh mana wujudnya bentuk ekstrem dalam sejarah penganut agama. Ini sekali gus membuktikan bahawa ia bukanlah merupakan suatu yang baharu, kerana tidak pernah terpadam dari catatan sejarah. Ibarat bahagian bawah roda kembali berputar naik ke atas. Bak kata George Santayana dalam The Life of Reason (1905), “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Umum diketahui semua agama menolak kepada ekstremisme dan menyeru kepada pendamaian. Namun dalam lipatan sejarah, gejala ekstremisme tidak sunyi dari menghitamkan imej pelbagai agama, waima Islam, Kristian, Yahudi, Hindu, Buddha dan sebagainya. Tidak kiralah kerana perebutan kuasa dan harta, sikap rasisme, atau percanggahan ideologi. Cuma mungkin pada masa itu tidak wujudnya media sosial sebagaimana hari ini yang menyaksikan pelambakan maklumat yang bersifat selektif dengan menyasarkan kepada sesebuah agama semata-mata kononnya mengajarkan kepada ekstremisme. 

Dalam coretan sejarah Islam, sikap ekstremisme dalam dilihat dalam pelbagai peristiwa, antaranya pembunuhan berdarah dingin terhadap Muhammad bin Abu Bakar, anak kepada Saidina Abu Bakar r.a. Pembunuhnya kalangan yang mengaku Islam. Usai dibunuh, jasadnya dimasukkan ke dalam perut keldai lalu dibakar. Riwayat ini boleh ditelusuri dalam catatan sejarah ilmuwan Islam, antaranya Ibn Abi Syaibah, Ibn Athir dan al-Thabrani. 

Demikian juga tragedi pembunuhan kejam terhadap cucu baginda s.a.w., Saidina Hussain r.a dan 72 pengikutnya. Kepala beliau dipenggal dan diarak dari Karbala ke Damsyiq. Dikatakan, pelakunya sempat melaungkan ‘Allahuakbar’ sebelum memancung kepala Saidina Hussain r.a. Seolah-olah tidak adanya bezanya dengan neo-khawarij IS pada hari ini apabila mereka mengotorkan ucapan yang suci itu dengan perilaku yang jijik.

Tanpa dinafikan sumbangan yang besar terhadap perkembangan dunia Islam, di zaman khilafah juga tidak terlepas daripada pembunuhan yang berlaku kalangan mereka dan rakyat yang tidak berdosa bagi mengekalkan kuasa. Di zaman Khilafah Uthmaniyyah yang dipimpin oleh Sultan Hamid II, pernah berlaku pembunuhan terhadap 80,000 sehingga 100, 000 bangsa Armenia. 

Tragedi yang dipahat sejarah sebagai Hamidian massacres (1894–1896) bertujuan untuk mengukuhkan wilayah yang dikuasai sultan selain untuk mengukuhkan idea Pan-Islamisme sebagai ideologi utama negara. Pada awalnya dikatakan fokus hanya kepada penghapusan etnik Armenia, malangnya sejumlah 25, 000 etnik Assyrian yang menganut agama Kristian turut dibunuh. Ia sedikit sebanyak seolah-olah menggambarkan wujudnya sentimen anti-Kristian kalangan pemerintah pada masa itu.

Dalam sejarah penganut Kristian juga tidak terkecuali daripada palitan ekstremisme. Antaranya Arnold of Brescia (1100 – 1155) dan John Hus (1369 – 1415), tokoh agama Kristian yang lantang mengkritik pentadbiran gereja yang korup. Beliau dikurung, kemudian digantung dan dibakar. Justifikasi pembunuhan adalah kerana mereka pembawa ajaran bid’ah yang bercanggah dengan ajaran Gereja Katolik. 

Di Perancis, jangan lupa sejarah pernah mencatatkan pembunuhan penganut Katolik terhadap golongan Protestan terbesar yang dikenali sebagai golongan Huguenot. Golongan ini dibunuh kejam iaitu dibakar hidup-hidup pada zaman Raja Henry, setelah diadili di mahkamah yang dinamakan The Burning Chamber. Penyembelihan Bartholomew dan ribuan para penyokongnya pada 1572 oleh tentera Katolik persis apa yang dilakukan oleh Nazi Jerman kepada Yahudi. Bahkan sebagai menghargai tindakan Raja Perancis Charles IX, Pope Gregory XIII menulis surat kepada beliau, 

“Kami berasa gembira dengan kamu bahawa dengan pertolongan dari Tuhan kamu telah membebaskan dunia ini daripada bid’ah yang terkutuk”

Demikian juga apabila rentetan kekalahan Byzantine ke atas tangan Turki-Seljuk pada tahun 1071, Raja Byzantine, Alexius I meminta bantuan dari Puas Urban II sekaligus menjadi pencetus kepada Perang Salib I. Paus lantas menyeru seluruh penganut Kristian di Eropah untuk memerangi penganut Islam bagi mendapatkan kembali Jerusalem yang dikuasai oleh umat Islam. Ucapan beliau sarat dengan naratif agama dan ekonomi: 

"Disebabkan tanah ini yang kalian duduki, yang di sekeliling adalah lautan dan puncak gunung yang terlalu semput untuk populasi kalian yang ramai; juga tiadanya hasil kekayaan dan tidak cukup... Tanah di Jerusalem itu dipenuhi dengan susu dan madu bagaikan syurga... Pergilah kalian menuju ke makam suci, dan ambillah tanah itu dari tangan orang-orang jahat dan jadikan ia tanah kalian!” 

Lantas seruan itu disambut dengan ucapan ‘Dieu le veult’ (Tuhan mengehendakinya) oleh perajurit Kristian.

Agama Yahudi. Dahulu kita mendengar berabad lamanya penganut agama yang terdiri daripada bangsa bani Israel hidup dalam penindasan. Sehinggalah mereka mendapat tempat di Palestin pasca pengisytiharan Deklarasi Balfour pada 1917 oleh Britain. Bermulalah detik itu, kemasukan pendatang haram penganut Yahudi menjarah sedikit demi sedikit tanah dan ribuan nyawa rakyat Palestin. Saban hari rakyat Palestin hidup dalam penindasan, ada kalangan rumah mereka yang dirobohkan, ada yang ahli keluarga mereka ditangkap dan dibunuh, tanpa mengira bayi atau orang tua. Malangnya dunia membungkam dan tidak pula dikritik perilaku ekstrem ini. 

Pembunuhan terhadap penganut Islam oleh pelampau Hindu juga tidak dapat dipadamkan dari catatan sejarah. Sejak 1950 lebih 10,000 ribu nyawa melayang dalam pertembungan kedua penganut agama ini. Selain itu pembunuhan terhadap penganut Islam oleh penganut Hindu di Gujerat pada tahun 2002 meragut nyawa seramai 2000 penganut Islam. Ketua Menteri ketika itu Narendra Modi, dituduh sebagai dalang kepada kejadian berikutan banyak mengeluarkan ucapan berbaur kebencian dan permusuhan kepada penganut Islam. Ia bukan suatu kepelikan kerana Modi merupakan calon daripada Parti Bharatiya Janata (BJP), parti ekstrem Hindu. Jika Mahatma Ghandi masih ada, pasti beliaulah orang pertama yang mengecam tindakan ekstrem ini.

Agama Buddha yang terkenal dengan belas kasihan pada abad ini bertukar kepada agama yang ganas lantaran sikap radikalisme sebahagian penganutnya. Ashin Wirathu, seorang biksu Buddha memimpin kumpulan 969 sejak tahun 2001 untuk menghapuskan etnik Muslim yang dianggapnya ‘anjing gila’. Katanya, kamu boleh menjadi seorang yang penuh dengan kebaikan dan kasih sayang, namun kamu tidak akan dapat tidur lena di sebelah anjing gila. Perilaku ini sudah pasti mampu menjadi penghalang kepada penganut Buddha untuk mencapai nirvana..

Perilaku ekstremisme wujud dalam kalangan sebahagian penganut agama, walaupun kebanyakan agama dan majoriti agamawan melarang keras penganut agama bersikap ekstrem. Kesilapan dalam memahami konteks yang berlaku mengundang salah faham terhadap agama itu sendiri kononnya sebagai punca konflik dan peperangan, sebagaimana pandang sudut Huntington dalam tesisnya The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (1996) dan Philip Broadhead dalam Can Faiths Make Peace? Holy Wars and the Resolution of Religious Conflicts (2007), walhal isunya adalah penganut agama dan bukan asal ajaran agama itu. Sekalipun wujud beberapa pandangan yang dilihat secara literal dalam bentuk agak keras, namun ia tidak boleh digeneralisasikan kepada semua. Bahkan dalam konteks Islam, di sana majoriti ilmuwan kontemporari menolak sebarang penisbahan ekstremisme dengan agama ini. Ironinya berpunca daripada kejahilan. Kejahilan terhadap agamanya dan kejahilan terhadap agama lain. 

Kejahilan disertai dengan keangkuhan menyebabkan tertutupnya pintu dialog dan usaha untuk mencari persefahaman di sebalik perbezaan pandangan yang wujud. Selain itu, kegagalan dan ketidaksediaan untuk menguruskan perbezaan pandangan menyebabkan kesimpulan awal untuk menutup pintu perbincangan, seterusnya menganggap pendekatan yang ekstrem boleh menjadi solusi kepada masalah yang berlaku. Kesinambungannya membawa kepada permusuhan, kebencian dan dendam yang tidak berkesudahan.

Wallahualam.

Faiz As-Syirazi
Shah Alam 

Read More

Kesatuan adalah Kemenangan Terbesar Rakyat Palestin - Abu Ubaida

Brigade Ezzeddin al-Qassam Hamas mengumumkan pada 27/8 (Rabu) bahawa perjuangan telah menyatukan semua rakyat Palestin dan kumpulan politik mereka. 

Pada sidang akhbar bersama di Semenanjung Gaza untuk semua sayap kumpulan pejuang Palestin yang diadakan di kejiranan Shujaya malam lepas, portal berita Al-Sharq memetik jurucakap Al-Qassam, Abu Ubaida, berkata: "Kami di sini bukan untuk mengira semua aspek kemenangan yang kita kecapi, tetapi untuk menekankan perpaduan nasional dan sokongan untuk perjuangan. "

Menurut jurucakap al-Qassam lagi: "Ini ialah imej bagi sebuah negara yang tidak berbelah bahagi telah meletakkan pertikaian dalaman ketepi. Perjuangan ini telah menamatkan pertikaian dan menyatukan kami merupakan kejayaan terbesar daripada peperangan ini. Dan ia merupakan tanda aras yang tiada siapa boleh merosakkannya bermula saat ini. "

Abu-Ubaida menjelaskan bahawa kerjasama nasional memerlukan kajian terperinci dan terdapat keperluan "segera dan serius" untuk mereformasikan institusi negara Palestin supaya dapat mewakili rakyat Palestin dengan cara yang lebih baik. 

"Kepimpinan politik Palestin perlu yakin bahawa terdapat satu bangsa yang besar di belakangnya, dan juga rintangan yang mulia dengan pejuang berani," kata Abu Ubaida. Beliau menambah: "kepimpinan ini tidak membenarkan penjajahan Israel untuk memeras ugut mereka selepas hari ini." 

Jurucakap Al-Qassam itu menambah bahawa unit elit pendudukan Israel adalah "tidak lebih daripada propaganda semata-mata."

Terjemahan dari: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/13775-al-qassam-brigades-resistance-unites-palestinians

Read More

Memoirs of Mr. Hempher

The Memoirs of Mr. Hempher was an autobiographical account of a British spy who had infiltrated the Ottoman Empire in the early 1700s. In the document, Hempher confesses to a number of plans to destroy the Ottoman Empire by promoting separatism in the Middle-East and thus leave the Muslim world in tatters.

Hempher was a British spy who had been specially raised and sent to the Ottoman Empire. After receiving an in-depth education in Islam and the Turkish language in Britain, he was sent on his first mission in Istanbul.

On arrival, after portraying himself as a lonely westerner who had converted to Islam, he came under the tutelage of a scholar known as Sheikh Ahmed. Under his tutelage, he learned Arabic and the Islamic sciences, as well as further enhancing his Turkish.

An early 18th century British spy in the Ottoman lands revealed covert 

operations designed to spread separatism across the Muslim world.

Hempher later returned to Britain to be briefed by the British Imperial Ministry. He was then sent on a new mission to Basra, Iraq to study, stir and even provoke new separatist tendencies in the Muslim world. In a place where both Sunni and Shiite Muslims coexist, Basra was the ideal location for this mission.

According to Hempher, nine other agents like himself were operating in the Ottoman lands. One of these agents went missing in Yemen, while another went missing in Russia. The agent in Egypt abandoned his mission after actually converting to Islam, whereas another agent died while on duty.

In his memoirs, Hempher details the weak points of the Muslim world, and along with exposing tensions between Sunnis and Shiites, he also explained the formation of a new movement which later became known as Wahhabism.

One of the most important confessions of Hempher was that the British Imperial Ministry was following political developments in the Muslim world so closely that they had even established a unit to predict new trends.

The most shocking roles that this unit fulfilled was appointing individuals to operate as copycat covers of the Ottoman sultan and Sheikh-ul-Islam (Grand Mufti), as well as the Safavid ruler, grand vezir and the Shiite spiritual leaders. According to Hempher’s account, these individuals were specially trained the disguised to represent these personalities. Together with their advisers and scribes, they would collect information on their assigned districts.

In his memoirs, Hempher stated that these units were able to correctly predict the trends and reflexes in the Muslim world seventy-five percent of the time.

While in the city of Najaf, Hempher posed as a student of knowledge. In one particular instance, he recalled encountering one of these copycat spies, who was posing as a Shiite religious scholar, but at that time Hempher was not aware that the scholar was actually a spy like himself.

Hempher asked the fake scholar if it was permissible to rebel against a Sunni regime. The scholar replied saying that it was not justified to rebel against a government just because it was Sunni, that all Muslims were brothers and that it would only ever be permissible if the Sunni establishment was subjecting the Muslims to oppression and cruelty within the boundaries of ordaining the good and forbidding the evil.

Hempher was stunned when he found out that the fake scholar was actually a spy, as he himself was so convinced that he was actually speaking with a Shiite scholar. At the same time he felt proud of the other spy for pulling off such a great act.

Despite all of this, Hempher still could not contain admitting his admiration for the Qur’an and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) at certain points in his memoirs.

Source: http://www.worldbulletin.net/

***

Download here or read full article online

Read More

Boycott Israel Goods between Reality and Rhetoric

Concern for the people of Palestine has been growing worldwide, not just alone in the Muslim world. It has risen dramatically considering the horrific events that have happened this year in the State of Palestine.

With the debate growing on how the masses can help, many intellectuals and political activists have said the best way is through boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS). The BDS campaign covers all Israeli products: It’s a broad tactic aimed to pressure the state itself to change. But it also reserves a special focus for companies that are actually involved in — and make hefty profits from occupation policies. These organizations may be forced to pay attention to the boycott very soon and they may not be the ones you’d expect!

1. Volvo

The automobile giant has been criticized by BDS campaigners for supplying equipment to bulldoze Palestinian homes. Interestingly enough, the Swedish automobile manufacturer also holds a 27% stake in Merkavim, whose buses are used to transport Palestinian prisoners to and from Israeli prisons.

2. Hewlett Packard

Hewlett Packard’s slogan is “If you’re going to do something, make it matter.” For Palestinians it definitely matters a lot. The tech giant owns EDS Israel, which supplies the computer systems for Israeli Defense Forces and produces hi-tech equipment like the Basel System, a biometric permit system that controls the movement of Palestinian workers through checkpoints in Gaza and the West Bank.

HP equipment is also used by Israeli prisons and the army. If that is not enough the company has also invested in the technological development of illegal settlements, taking part in the Smart City Project in the town of Ariel.

3. Intel

Intel operates plants in Kiriyat Gat, site of the former Palestinian villages of Iraq al-Manshiya and Faluja. According to Israeli historian Benny Morris it was in the 1948-49 war that the residents of these villages were expelled, in line with Israel’s strategic plans.

Intel, whose processors can be found in most of the world’s computers, has reportedly invested $2.7 billion to upgrade its Kiryat Gat plants where it is working on new chips that will make computers lighter and faster. That brings its total investments in Israel to about $10 billion, plus it has also benefited by more than $1 billion in the form of Israeli government grants.

4. Motorola

BDS supporters have targeted telecommunications giant Motorola for providing surveillance equipment around Israeli settlements, along the Israeli-built separation barrier and along the Israel-Gaza border. In addition to that, the American multinational has signed a $100 million deal this year with Israel for encrypted smartphones for its soldiers and security personnel.

5. McDonald’s

The largest fast food chain in the world has long been targeted by Pro-Palestinian groups for its longtime partnership with the Jewish United Fund. Through its Israel Commission, the Jewish United Fund “works to maintain American military, economic and diplomatic support for Israel; monitors and, when necessary, responds to media coverage of Israel”

6. Coca-Cola

The largest soft drinks manufacturer in the world that houses numerous carbonated drinks under its umbrella, including Sprite, Fanta and Schweppes amongst many others has been surrounded by many controversies over its supposed support of Israel. Amongst them include the fact that its Israeli subsidiary – Coca-Cola Israel owns dairy farms on occupied Israeli settlements of Shadmot Mechola in the Jordan Valley and a plant in the industrial zone of Katzerin on the occupied Golan Heights.

Back in the year 2009 the company hosted a special reception at the Coca-Cola world headquarters to honor Brigadier-General Ben-Eliezer. Eliezer is claimed by Pro-Palestinian groups to be a war criminal, during the Six-Day War his unit was responsible for the execution of over 300 Egyptian POWs. Under Sharon, Ben-Eliezer served as the Defense Minister presiding over the massacre at Jenin.

7. Danone

Close to 2 decades ago Danone opened its R&D facility in Israel – the Danone Institute. Not that surprisingly enough the French company also owns a 20% share of Israel’s second largest food company, the Strauss Group.

8. Estee Lauder

The American Conglomerate, home to big brands such DKNY, Tommy Hilfiger, M.A.C, Clinique amongst many others has been targeted by BDS activists due to the pro-Israeli activities of its chairman, Ronald Lauder. Lauder is also the current president of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) – a quasi-governmental agency whose main function is to legitimize Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. In fact an American based group led a boycott in the country with their “Estée Slaughter” campaign.

9. Marks and Spencer

Since its beginning M&S has been linked inextricably to Zionism.  A book on M&S by Lord Marcus Sieff – long time Chairman of M&S – in it he cited that one of the fundamental objectives of M&S is to aid the economic development of Israel (Management: The Marks & Spencer Way, Weidenfield & Nicolson, 1990). As per an article in the Jerusalem Report dated 5/6/2000 M&S supports Israel with approximately $233 million in trade every year.

Furthermore in 1998 Sir Richard Greenbury the CEO of Marks & Spencer, received the Jubilee Award by the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. This is the highest tribute ever awarded by the “State of Israel” in recognition of those individuals and organizations, that through their investments and trade relationships, have done the most to strengthen the Israeli economy.

10. Starbucks

The close relationship of this brand with the state of Israel has been doing the rounds for quite sometime. They escalated when Howard Schultz an active Zionist – the founder, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Starbucks was honored by the Jerusalem Fund of Aish HaTorah with “The Israel 50th Anniversary Friend of Zion Tribute Award” for his services to the Zionist state in “playing a key role in promoting close alliance between the United States and Israel”.

Starbucks proudly displayed the award on the company’s website under the section of ‘awards and accolades’ that the coffee giant has won, however, once the boycott started to bite, the award mysteriously disappeared from its website.

11. Nestle

The Swiss multinational has a good share of controversies and criticism surrounding its big brand name. For Pro-Palestinians activists one of the main problems they had with the food and beverage company was the fact that it bought 51% shares in Osem investments in the mid 90′s. Osem Investments is an Israel based company that is directly engaged in the production and distribution of food products in Israel and abroad.

Moreover in 1998, Peter Brabeck – the former CEO of Nestle received the Jubilee Award (the highest tribute offered by the state of Israel) in recognition of his company’s efforts to support the state of Israel.

There are still many more brands whose actions we still remain unaware of, but this is a start. So if you feel for the people of Palestine, please share this message and educate the masses.

Reference: menzene.com

A word from them

Rhetoric Boycott Campaign of Muslim Country

1. Starbucks

2. McD

Meanwhile in Western Countries

Then, Think twice!

Read More

History of Hamas Rocket (With Illustrations)

July 2014 witnssed yet another escalation in HAMAS rocket capabilities with the introduction of the new longer range Khaibar-1 M302 rocket, capable of targetting much of the Israeli population. On March 5, 2014 the Israeli Navy intercepted a shipment of “dozens” of rockets identified as “M-302" rockets aboard a cargo ship name the Klos-C in the Red Sea. The rockets were being shipped from Syria to Iran and destine for Sudan where they could be taken through Egypt to Gaza.

The M-302 rocket is a Syrian-made munition that can launch a 375-pound warhead as far as 125 miles. According to Israeli media reports, the model intercepted on March 6, 2014  was an A302, which is five meters long and with a total weight of 500 kilograms. It has a range of 90 kilometers and carries a 170 kilogram warhead.

In a Hizbollah attack on August 4, 2006, what was evidently a 302 mm rocket landed close to the Israeli city of Hadera, some 90 km south of the Lebanese border, the southern-most hit of any rocket fired against Israel during the war. The system is clearly not related to any known Soviet/Russian or Iranian MLRS. It has long been thought that the M302 rockets are Syrian derivatives of rockets for the Chinese WS-1 and/or WS-1B MLRS. The WS-1 (Weishi or “Guardian”) series rockets are visually similar to the Khaibar-1, and the launchers also share some characteristics. Production of these systems is done under license in Turkey and more recently in Thailand.

November 2012 witnessed a major escalation of HAMAS rocket capabilities, as the Iranian Fajr-5 artillery rocket was employed for the first time. With a range of about 75 kilometers, it had twice the range of rockets previously used by HAMAS, and brought Tel Avic and Jeruslalem within range of HAMAS attacks. At the outset of Operation Pillar of Defense, the IDF targeted a significant number of long-range rockets sites (over 40 km) owned by Hamas. 

This deals a significant blow to the terror (author: read resistance) organization's underground rocket launching capabilities and munitions warehouses that are owned by Hamas and other terror organizations. The aim of targeting these sites is to cripple the terrorist organization's rocket launching and weapons build-up capabilities. One Fajr-5 [range of about 75 km] launch site that was struck IAF aircraft was located in close proximity to a mosque and other civilian structures.

Sirens went off late Thursday 15 November 2012 in Tel Aviv sparking a panic and nearly crippling mobile phone service after missiles fired from Gaza approached the city. Israeli officials say the missiles fell into the sea. Palestinian militants issued a statement claiming responsibility, saying they had fired Iranian-made rockets. It is the first time sirens had sounded in Tel Aviv since the Gulf War in 1991. Tel Aviv is about 80 kilometers from Gaza, indicating the use of the Iranian Fajr-5, which has twice the range of the rockets previously used by HAMAS. On Friday 16 November 2012 one rocket landing in a field outside Jerusalem.

Yossi Mekelman, a regional expert at London-based Chatham House, told Radio Free Europe on 17 November 2012 that the Fajr-5 missiles were smuggled from Iran to Gaza through Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. "The assumption is that they arrived through the Sinai Peninsula through the tunnels [to Gaza] because since the end of the Mubarak regime the border [between Egypt and the Gaza Strip] at Rafah is quite open," Mekelman says. "And if you remember, Israel two weeks ago attacked an arms factory in Sudan. So the alleged route goes from Iran to Sudan into the Sinai Peninsula, and the lawlessness in the Sinai enables the smuggling of more and more sophisticated weapons."

The year 2008 saw a dramatic increase in the extent of HAMAS rocket fire and mortar attacks on Israel, with a total of 3,278 rockets and mortar shells landingin Israeli territory (1,750 rockets and 1,528 mortar shells). These numbers are double those of 2007 and 2006, years which marked a five-fold increase over prior years. There was also a significant increase in the number of Israeli residents exposed to rocket fire. 

Prior to 2008, the city of Sderot (about 20,000 residents) as well as villages around the Gaza Strip were the main targets of rocket fire and mortar shelling. In 2008, the cities of Ashkelon and Netivot came under attack by Grad artillery rockets with a range of about 20 kilometers. Later, during Operation Cast Lead, Ashdod, Beersheba, and other cities were attacked by a previously un-identified rocket with a range of 40 kilometers from the Gaza Strip. This rocket created a new reality in which nearly one million Israeli residents [about 15 percent of the entire population] were at risk.

Israel launched an air assault on Gaza on Saturday 27 December 2008, following a series of rocket attacks on its territory and the collapse of a shaky truce that had been in effect for the past six months. Israel's military intelligence chief said Hamas' ability to fire rockets had been reduced by 50%. Hamas rocket fire dropped off sharply, from more than 130 on Saturday 27 December 2008 to just over 20 on Sunday 28 December 2008. Hamas launched a total of 40 rockets and mortars at Israel Sunday 28 December 2008, bringing to around 300 the number fired since the six- month truce ended.

Hamas launched an upsurge in rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza once it declared an end to a truce with Israel on 19 December 2008. By 18 December 2008 Palestinian militants had fired at least 40 missiles into Israel since Tuesday 16 December 2008. On Wednesday 17 December 2008 no less than 24 rockets landed in the Western Negev desert area. On Thursday 18 December 2008 a further seven rockets landed in Israel. 

On December 24, five days after the lull arrangement ended, the cities of Ashqelon , Netivot and Sderot, the towns and villages near the Gaza Strip, the crossings and IDF bases were subjected to a massive rocket and mortar shell attack. At least 60 rockets and mortar shells were fired, most of them by Hamas. Palestinian militants fired over 40 rockets and 20 mortar shells at southern Israeli border towns in the largest daily attack since the end of a six-month ceasefire. Hamas responded by firing more rockets and mortars into southern Israel.

By 15 January 2009, since the beginning of the IDF operation in Gaza (Dec 27, 2008), four Israelis had been killed and 285 wounded by rocket fire. 771 rockets and mortars had been fired at Israel.

The "Color Red" system provides warning to civilians from the launch to the rocket strike:

Up to 10 km. - 15 seconds

10-20 km. - 30 seconds

20-30 km. - 45 seconds

30-40 km. - 1 minute

40-km Range Rocket

Musheir al-Masri, a Hamas spokesman in the Palestinian Legislative Council, said (Filastin al-'An website, December 24) that the rockets which had been launched were only the first message and threatened to extend the attacks beyond what had been carried out so far. He guaranteed that Israel would "be hit in a way it had never been before," and that he was not afraid of Israel threats. The population of the villages bordering on the Gaza Strip, as well as Sderot and Ashqelon, would not be secure "as long as Palestinians are not secure".

Hamas now has longer range Iranian-made rockets, and several hit near the Israeli port city of Ashdod for the first time, 23 miles [37 km] from Gaza.Israel's Home Front Command recommended that all communities within a 40-kilometer range of Gaza be hooked up to the Color Red incoming missile alert system.

On 28 December 2008, two impacts of artillery rockets were identified near the towns of Gan Yavne and Bnei Darom. The rockets were launched from the northern Gaza Strip and attained ranges of some 33-34 km. Examination showed that they were Chinese-made rockets with similar characteristics to standard 122-mm rockets. The maximum range of those rockets is up to 40 km.

While news accounts reference these as Grad rockets [the Russian nomenclature] or "enhanced Katyusha", the rockets used in the attack on Ashdod must have a range twice that of the BM-21 Grad. Photographs of a rocket that landed near Gan Yavne, northeast of Ashdod on 28 December, do indicate that it was a 122-mm rocket. This is inconsistent with the idea that HAMAS was using Iranian-made rockets, either the Oghab with a range of 34-45 km or the Fajr-3 / Ra'ad with a range of 45 km.

The WeiShi [literally "Guardian", (WS) family of the multiple launch rocket systems were developed by China's Sichuan Aerospace Industry Corporation (SCAIC, also known as Base 062) in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. The WeiShi series includes the 122mm WS-1E with a ranage of 40km. The WS-1 series weapon system did not enter PLA service, and was not known to have received any orders from foreign customers.

  

Grad

On 28 February 2008 at least 10 Grad rockets hit the coastal city of Ashkelon, about ten miles from the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip. At least 60 more Qassams, targeted Sderot that day. During the first few days of March 2008 dozens of Qassam rockets and Grad-type Katyushas were fired at Ashkelon, Sderot and communities bordering Gaza. Ashkelon is only a few minutes away from the Qassam-battered city of Sderot, the principal target of Qassam attacks. The western edge of Sderot is about a mile from the border with Gaza. The Israeli Center for Victims of Terror and War found that 28 percent of adults and 30 percent of children of Sderot have post-traumatic stress disorder. when Hamas broke open the border with Egypt, Hamas was able to bring in more of the manufactured Katyusha rockets.

Qassam

Production of the shorter range Qassam rocket began in September 2001, following the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada. The rockets have been manufactured and deployed primarily from the Gaza Strip although Israeli Defense Forces have seized rockets in the West Bank. The Qassam rocket is cylindrical and contains a small warhead on its tip. The rocket contains four small stabilizing wings on one end, a middle section containing the engine, and an attached warhead with a detonating fuse on the other end. The rocket is constructed from iron approximately 2.5-3mm thick.

The rocket gets its name from Sheikh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam [less commonly, Izz Al-Din Al-Qassim], a militant Syrian preacher who advocated resistance against European colonial powers in the Middle East during the 1920s and 1930s. Izza-Din Al-Qassam, a Muslim Brotherhood member, fought the French in Syria, lost and then took his fight against the British and Jewish Haganah in Palestine. He preached Jihad (holy war) and revolution against both the British and the Zionists regime, and organized and led the first Palestinian guerilla group. He was killed in action on 19 November 1935 in the first Palestinian guerilla action against British forces. His martyrdom triggered the Great Revolt of 1936-39. Hamas has named part of its organization after Qassam and in recent years developed the Qassam rocket.

The Qassam rocket was first launched into Israeli territory on March 5, 2002, by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. While the rocket lacks a guidance system and is very inaccurate, the initial psychological effect of the rockets upon Israel has been significant. Prior to the Qassam, Palestinian militants lacked the means to conduct long range attacks. The simple nature of the small rocket makes it exceedingly hard for Israeli officials to shut down its production. The IDF has noted that militants commonly hide a Qassam in a commercial truck, drive to a clearing near the Gaza border and launch the rocket. One Hamas website states that this takes only 15 minutes.

In response to Qassam rocket attacks, the Israeli government has launched raids against production factories and launching sites within the Gaza Strip. The Israeli goverment has also installed early warning radar systems to notify communities of Qassam launches and to instruct residents to move to bomb shelters.

Numerous variants of the Qassam rocket have been developed and launched. The Qassam-1, first used in October 2001, had a maximum range of approximately 3-4.5km. The rocket was approximately 60mm in diameter and weighed about 5.5kg. The Qassam-2, used primarily from 2002-2005 was approximately 180cm long, had a maximum range of 8-9.5km and could carry a payload of 5-9kg. Beginning in 2005, newer types of Qassam rockets known as the Qassam-3 were developed, possessing a maximum range of 10-12km and carrying a payload of 10-20kg.

A total of about 450 Qassam rocket attacks were launched against Israel over the two years 2003 and 2004.

In November 2003 Israel Television Channel Two Military Affairs Correspondent Ronnie Daniel reported that the Palestinians were testing stages of a new generation Qassam 4 that was to have a range of 17 kilometers. Since September 2005, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades developed a Qassam rocket with a maximum range of 15-16.5km range and two rockets with diameters of approximately 115mm and 155mm, respectively. Additionally, in June 2006 and again in July 2006 the Brigades fired a Qassam rocket equipped with two engines.

During 2004 HAMAS was responsible for an increase in Qassam rocket attacks. A rocket attack on Sderot on June 28 was the first fatal attack against Israelis using Qassam rockets. Two Israelis died in the attack. In September, two Israeli children were killed in Sderot from another Qassam rocket attack. In response to the continued Qassam rocket fire, the IDF launched a three-week operation on September 28, in which 130 Palestinians (among them 68 HAMAS and Palestine Islamic Jihad militants) and five Israelis died, according to press reports.

HAMAS activity dropped significantly in 2005, in part because of its adherence to the ceasefire. After agreeing to the ceasefire, Fatah's militant wing, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, claimed credit for Qassam rocket launches from the Gaza Strip into the western Negev desert that destroyed property and injured Israeli civilians and soldiers.

During 2006 Israel grappled with the problem of Qassam rocket launches from the Gaza Strip. On numerous occasions, rockets struck Israeli communities in the western Negev desert, including Sderot, or landed near or in the city of Ashkelon. Evidence suggested that Palestinian terrorists were able, on occasion, to improve the range of the Qassams. On at least three occasions, longer-range Katyusha rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip. 

To address the problem of rocket launches from populated areas, the IDF modified its rules of engagement to permit its forces to fire on targets a few hundred meters from Palestinian homes and police positions. Early in 2006, Israeli security officials said Israel was not targeting HAMAS because it forbade its members to participate in Qassam rocket launches. The Israelis maintained, however, that HAMAS activists were providing assistance to militants from other terrorist groups launching Qassams.

Source:
Article: Global Security 
Picture: File picture and Google

*Note: Most of the facts in this article have been justified by Islamic Resistance Movement, foremost Hamas and Hezbollah, although the information delivered indirectly. Please look at 2012 speech of Palestinian/Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, Khaled Mash'al, leaders of Bridged al-Quds, Dr. Ramadhan Shalah; and Secretariat of Hezbollah Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, and several key people among them. Personally, I've several of the collections.

Another thing, kindly, read carefully any words that refer the Islamic Resistance movement to the negative terms. For instance, the word 'terrorist' should be read as 'resistance' in term they fight against the Zionist regime which is the real terrorist. Furthermore, the Islamic resistance movement have right to protect their land.

Read More