The Islamist

ENI CEO says oil is still cheaper than Coca-Cola - Oct. 7, 2006

2006-10-13T17:41:19-07:00

Link: ENI CEO says oil is still cheaper than Coca-Cola - Oct. 7, 2006.

"I often say that unfortunately you don't find oil in Switzerland. I cannot choose. Since oil is not in Switzerland but it is in Russia, in Iran and Kazakhstan, we have to be there," he said.

"Then we modulate our presence according to terms and conditions. Terms and conditions that change all the time. But if you are not there, you are out," he said.

That's what Paolo Scaroni,one of the Chief Exec of ENI (Italian Oil giant) answered to the problem of price. It is a good insight to common people who only knows to complain about the Oil price but never to worry about the scarcity of the resource. Oil is war,oil is money, and I can say oil is the that is driving the world of materialist.

It's a complex industry, a 100 years old one.Just look at this graph.

Numerous account of disastrous events that trigger the oil prices all over the world! We should be relieved we STILL CAN HAVE OIL rather FIGHTING FOR OIL .

Economist, bank win Nobel Peace Prize - Yahoo! News

2006-10-13T13:24:45-07:00

Link: Economist, bank win Nobel Peace Prize - Yahoo! News.\

Grameen, which means rural in the Bengali language, was the first lender to hand out microcredit, giving small loans to poor Bangladeshis who did not qualify for loans from conventional banks. No collateral is needed for Grameen loans, which average about $200.

The bank says it has loaned $5.72 billion to 6.6 million Bangladeshi, 97 percent of whom were women, and today provides services in more than 70,000 villages.

The success has allowed Grameen to expand its credit to include housing loans, financing for irrigation and fisheries as well as traditional savings accounts.

But Grameen is not without critics, many of whom focus on the bank's high interest rates. Its business loans carry a rate of 20 percent, significantly higher than the 10-15 percent charged by commercial banks.

Microfinance to the resuce!!!!!!!!!!But...with a higher interest rates than conventional banks. The poor of Banglades has been using Grameen bank to lift them up from poverty which is great of course, by offering micro amount of loan for them to start their small business. Well, if we did not analyze this effort carefully, then surely we said "an interesting set of curbing poverty".

I see it differently. This is a new trap for the poor. People always love to play around with numbers. We can be deceived so easily when it comes to numbers. What I meant was that, this microcredit can be a real death trap to the poor because if you realised how the 20% interest rate charged could gobble their life up like there is no tomorrow!

Maybe for us, small amount of credit with an interest rate of 99% is considered 'ok' due we can pay it on time ( i mean normal,particular working class in devoloping countries) but to the Bangladeshi's poor, where uncertainties has become their best friends for a long time, this micro credit can wipe out their chances in building a better life in a long run plus they are not educated people who knows how to keep balance the account when running business.

I think everyone should be careful about this. Don't simply look upon the simplicity of the offering without considering the ultimate justice for the poor's rights.

Ignorant Pope

2006-10-08T21:04:35-07:00

Benedict XVI and Islam

John L. Esposito

Washington, D.C. - The primary purpose and message of Benedict XVI's address in Regensburg, Germany was not about Islam, referred to in only four paragraphs of his eight-page lecture. And yet, this papal address to a university audience turned into an occasion for an international protest across the Muslim world. Morocco withdrew its ambassador to the Vatican, heads of state from Turkey to Indonesia voiced criticism, the Sheikh of Al-Azhar commented on the Pope's ignorance of Islam, and leaders of Muslim organisations called for a public apology. The incident has also triggered public demonstrations, the burning of the Pope in effigy in Pakistan and acts of violence against both Christians and churches.

The Pope clearly stated that his primary purpose was to discuss the issue of "faith and reason". He did so reacting and responding to a major concern of his, the excesses of secularisation: the triumph of secularism and increased weakness of Christianity and the Roman Catholic Church in his homeland, Germany, and in Europe in general, and attempts to exclude religion from the realm of reason.

Although the Vatican stated that the Pope did not intend to offend, his remarks did in fact upset many Muslims. Particularly offensive to Muslims was his citation of a fourteenth century Byzantine emperor's remarks about the Prophet Muhammad: "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

Now, Muhammad is revered in Islam as the final Prophet of God and the model of Muslim life. Moreover, the remark that he commanded the spread of Islam by the sword is simply inaccurate, for what the Qur'an and Muhammad did was recognise the right to defend Islam and the Muslim community by fighting those Meccans who threatened and attacked Muslims.

Equally problematic is the Pope's statement that the Qur'anic passage, "There is no compulsion in religion" (Qur'an 2:256) was revealed in the early years of Muhammad's prophethood in Mecca, a period "when Mohammed was still powerless and under [threat]" but was overtaken later when he ruled Medina by "instructions, developed later and recorded in the Koran [Qur'an], concerning holy war."Both these statements are incorrect. Qur'an 2:256 is not an early Meccan verse but is itself from the later Medinan period and the Qur'an does not equate jihad with holy war. This interpretation of jihad developed years later after Muhammad's death when it came to be used by rulers (caliphs) to justify their wars of imperial expansion and rule in the name of Islam.

Benedict XVI is a distinguished Catholic theologian but he is not an expert on Islam. The Vatican in the recent past has had some first class scholars of Islam serving the papacy as advisers. The inappropriate references to Islam in the Regensburg address could easily have been averted. If the Pope's primary purpose was to address the issue of the relationship between faith and compulsion on the one hand and faith and reason on the other, Christian history offers ample examples (the Inquisition, Galileo and other issues he mentions, violence and extremism, holy wars) without having recourse to passages drawn from mutual polemics.

Have Muslims over-reacted to the Pope's statement? Their responses need to be understood in the context of our post 9/11 world with its greater polarisation and alarming increases in Islamophobia. Many Muslims feel under siege. A Gallup World Poll of some 800 million Muslims from Morocco to Indonesia indicates widespread resentment over what respondents see as the denigration of Islam, Arabs and Muslims in the West. The cartoon controversy in Europe demonstrated both the dangers of xenophobia and Islamophobia, and the depths of anger and outrage. Therefore, it is easy to understand why Muslims would express their disappointment and anger and call for an apology and dialogue much the same as Jewish leaders strongly urged meetings with the Pope or other Church leaders for offensive comments or actions. This was the case for American Jewish leaders before the papal visit of 1987, after Pope John Paul II had met with Kurt Waldheim. As prominent Muslim leaders noted during the European cartoon controversy and in the current situation, expressions of concern or outrage do not preclude discussion and dialogue and certainly never justify acts of violence.

Pope Benedict has now apologised, but more can be done. The Pope could invite Muslim religious leaders and scholars to meet and discuss the issues that his statement raised and hear their concerns and responses to his specific comments about Islam, the Prophet and jihad. He could invite them to join with him in mutually acceptable language to express concern about violence in the name of religion and the abuse of human rights. The Pope's upcoming visit to Turkey could be an occasion to demonstrate in his public pronouncements his respect for Islam and Muslims and his desire to continue the major accomplishments that the Catholic Church has made since Vatican II in Catholic-Muslim dialogue.

It is now time to move on. The Pope has apologised and Muslims and Catholics (as indeed all Christians) must now get back on track, building on the significant accomplishments in inter-religious dialogue in recent decades. In the twenty-first century, critical to Catholic-Muslims relations will be how Benedict XVI's papacy and Catholics work with their Muslim counterparts to overcome ignorance and hostility as well as the threat from violence and intolerance globally.

* John L. Esposito is University professor of religion & international affairs, director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University and author of What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam and Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org.

Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 26 September 2006, Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

Ignorant Church.What a shameful statement.They are playing with fire. In this age of technology it is a 'sin' for the leaders for being ignorant in critical issues like this. We have already know that the Danish cartoon has erupted the volcano of the Ummah to its highest level in recent years. Are they blind and deaf o Vatican? Wake up and smell the coffee back. Before this you deserve my respect as a new pope because I'm hoping for a better integration between Christian West and the Muslim World that has long being tarnished with hatred against each other.But I'm not surprise with this news because its their nature to be damn ignorant towards others.Sorry for the harsd word Pope, but you deserve it this time.Allahuakbar!

The Rain Man of Gaza

2006-07-03T10:00:25-07:00

In the heart of Kuala Lumpur, particularly around LRT Masjid Jamek area, money-making opportunity can be made by looking upon the weather forecast. Whenever Kuala Lumpur rains, it will be the jackpot for the Rain Man. These men will sell umbrellas to LRT commuters with very cheap price maybe around RM 5.00. Believe it or not, it sells like a hot cake.

Well, I'm not going to take your time to tell about this Malaysian Rain Man but let us focus upon the Israeli Rain Man or the best term would be The Zionist Rain Man. They used the same methodology to gain profit from their daily work of 'disturbing' the Palestinian. This time around they managed to divert the Earthly Citizen towards World Cup fiesta than pondering upon the terrorising act of the Israeli soldiers towards the oppressed Palestinian people.

They hit hard at the right time at the right place. Just like the Rain Man of Masjid Jamek where they planned their business at the right time and at the right place, targetting the ever rushing commuters of Kuala Lumpur.

It Works. Smoothly and Discretely.

Bridges, houses, government officials ( the legally won democratically HAMAS leaders )and so many other Palestinian public amenities were being targeted to be demolished for a single soul named Gilad Shalit as show of force towards the Muslim World.

This coup d'etat has been labeled 'major humanitarian crisis' by the United Nation yet nothing has been done to stop the monster of Israel to crush the weak Palestinian in every direction.

It can be seen that Mr.Olmert has used certain Realpolitik element in weakening the Palestinian peole especially around the West Bank area. As quoted from Al-Jazeera:

Doctors say the lack of electricity is a health hazard because food is going bad without refrigeration and clean water cannot be pumped.

"The cut of power on the commercial refrigerators resulted in the invalidation of food such as meat and fish.

"Drinking water and waste water are being mixed with each other as a result of the loss of power for the pumping motors," Hasanin said.

Sun exposure was creating further problems for people stranded at the closed Rafah border.

"They number more than 600 and are directly under the sun's rays which cause different diseases," Hasanin said.

Mamoun Ahmed, who owns a dairy, said: "I started to reduce production and plan to stop it completely because the dairy products depend completely on refrigerators. The loss of power stopped the work of the massive refrigerators at the factory.

"Shopkeepers also started to return products as they grow sour because their refrigerators don't work."

This humanitarian crisis will never stop by UN because as you know, Uncle Sam vetoed every decision that could 'harm' Israel by othe members of Security Council. So, many more will be suffering because one Israel soldier that is being held as a hostage to free some of the innocent Palestinian comprises of women and children.

They only want the women and children plus some 1000 prisoners that I think could never create any harm compared to the Al-Qassam brigade that has been silenced for 16 months for respecting the agreement of democratic constitution that Hamas has implemented.

It's not fair for them to be treated this way.No way Israel need to use tanks and jets to retrieve Shalit back. Peace talk can be done easily if Mr.Olmert is sensitive enough about Palestinian feeling and suffering.

"Where is the Arab League?"

"Don't ask me. I've been waiting for them too!"

Maybe that is the typical conversation between Abu of Gaza and his cousin Salleh from West Bank.

Same old story, same old method. The Rain Man of Gaza did it again and the Muslim World is still soaking in the rain.

The Rain Man of Gaza is inspecting the quality of his product.

Welcome...

2006-07-03T04:25:13-07:00

This is an adventure of an Islamist. An everlasting adventure that brings new dawn to mankind. Insyaallah...

Islam is the way of Life