Thursday, December 14, 2006

Leaving for Hajj on Saturday iA

Assalamu alaikum,

InshAllah my wife and I are leaving for Hajj on Saturday.

Please forgive me if I've wronged you in any way.

If I owe you anything please let me know ASAP, and i'll do my best to return it to you ASAP.

So, please say the following, in at least a whisper (so that at least the angels on your shoulders could hear):

"I forgive Amir and Muneeba for everything".

jazzakAllah Khair,
Amir

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Israel-Palestine debate muffled in U.S.

"Israel-Palestine debate muffled in U.S.
By Jimmy Carter
I signed a contract with Simon & Schuster two years ago to write a book about the Middle East, based on my personal observations as the Carter Center monitored three elections in Palestine and on my consultations with Israeli political leaders and peace activists.
We covered every Palestinian community in 1996, 2005 and 2006, when Yasser Arafat and later Mahmoud Abbas were elected president and members of parliament were chosen. The elections were almost flawless, and turnout was very high -- except in East Jerusalem, where, under severe Israeli restraints, only about 2 percent of registered voters managed to cast ballots.
The many controversial issues concerning Palestine and the path to peace for Israel are intensely debated among Israelis and throughout other nations -- but not in the United States. For the past 30 years, I have witnessed and experienced the severe restraints on any free and balanced discussion of the facts. This reluctance to criticize policies of the Israeli government is due to the extraordinary lobbying efforts of the American-Israel Political Action Committee and the absence of any significant contrary voices...."

... read the rest here:

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/16213056.htm


.... and here's the book, haven't read it, but have heard great things:
http://www.amazon.com/Palestine-Peace-Apartheid-Jimmy-Carter/dp/0743285026/sr=1-1/qid=1165947416/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-2774796-1412719?ie=UTF8&s=books