1. NEWS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS
1.1 Rationalism of Veer Savarkar ( in English )
Shree Godbole has started work on an English version of his book
in Marathi. So far he has completed the 1st draft of The Prologue / Preface and
Parts I to VIII. Our friend Pandit Ramakrushnayya of London has undertaken the
most difficult and important task of checking the draft and making valuable
suggestions for improvements. Godbole's original intention was to finish the
entire works by February 2003. However, due to certain unexpected unfortunate
events the work has been delayed and is now expected to be ready by July 2003.
1.2 Film on Veer Savarkar
At last the film on Veer Savarkar in Hindi was released in
Hindusthan on 30 November 2001. We heard from many friends who saw the film
that it has been very well done. Our hearty congratulations to famous music
director Sudheer Phadake and all others involved in its production.
1.3 This is Nathuram speaking
Nathuram Godse shot and killed Mahatma Gandhi on 30 January 1948.
His story has never been fully told. Above play was written some 15 years ago.
There were some shows on stage in Maharashtra and in
1.4 Events of 11 September 2001 and after
On 11 September 2001 some Muslim Fundamentalists hijacked two
planes belonging to United Airlines and crashed them into the World Trade
Centre in
The news shook the world. Third hijacked plane crashed and damaged
Pentagon in
WHAT AMERICANS DID ELSEWHERE
* It is natural to feel sorry for the innocent American civilians
who were killed. But what was
*
Worst of all in 1973, a
(Metro 24 September 2001).
* When
IMMIGRATION POLICY OF
* We should feel sorry to the extent that many Hindus (including
Sikhs) died in this incident. Otherwise, we must say that the Americans paid
for their arrogance. Their immigration officers in Mumbai are just as rude and
obstinate as their British counterparts. Here are some examples
Case I
We want to go to
Why?
My son's wife is expecting a baby.
So?
We want to help her.
We will grant visa to your wife, but not to you. What business
have to got to be in
Case II
We want to go to
Why?
I have two sons who are settled in
How old are you?
Fifty-four
We do not think you are a genuine visitor. You are seeking job in
------------------------------
Case III
We want to go to
Why?
My wife wants to see her sister. I have retired from service and
my son and daughter are married in
We do not think you are a genuine visitor. Permission refused.
These are true cases and not fictitious.
But, when it came to the hijackers, there was no questioning. Hijackers
were easily allowed in by American Immigration authorities. Of the hijackers
who launched the terrorist attacks passed through
More than half of the 19 hijackers appear to have been Saudi
nationals - and Mr bin Laden is himself
a Saudi, though long since deprived of citizenship.
[So, how did he travel? who supplied him the travel documents? ]
FAILURE OF THE INTELLIGENCE GATHERING AUTHORITIES
* What the F.B I does not know is precisely when the 11 terrorists
arrived in the
The presence of the hijackers in
(This could have been avoided if
* The failure of British intelligence to keep track of Islamic
fundamentalist terrorists in this country drew angry criticism. M.I.5 chiefs
are said to have allowed terror groups to operate in
By the time Stella Rimington quit as head of M.I.5 in 1996, it is
said to have been out of touch with Middle Eastern terror groups, who had used
asylum seeker routs to put agents into
A key point in the breakdown of British intelligence is said to
have been kidnapping of 18 Western tourists in
The incident, according to M.I.5 critics, showed that the service
' hadn't a clue ' about what was happening. There have been complaints from
intelligence services in
( Daily Mail 24 September 2001 )
--------------------
ROLE OF
Roger Howard reported for Daily Mail on 24 September 2001
'Will the secret enemy within
The role of The Inter Service Agency (ISI) at this vital time
should be to do the bidding of the government. In particular, it should be to
rein in the savage and potentially destabilising activities of the country's
armed militia - many paradoxically funded, armed and trained by the ISI as part
of its primary concern to drive
How ironic it would be if the U.S attempt to root out aggressive
fundamentalism in
So, what exactly is the ISI's game? The truth is that the Taliban
is, or was until very recently, the ISI's creature. Back in the early Eighties,
when
While the Taliban was fighting to gain control of
The West would be foolish indeed to count on the loyalty of the
ISI.
* Question that was never asked - when
*
On 24 September Rahul Bedi reported from
The White House said the sanctions were no longer in
The move means that
* Peter Popham reported from
'
Bush indicated as long ago as July 2001 that he wanted to lift
sanctions against
But by bartering nuclear restraint for co-operation on terrorism,
Mr Bush risks giving a green light to other countries that might be on the
verge of developing nuclear weapons, which will now hear the message that they
can proceed without fear of penalty. In this haste to make the world free from
one form of terror, Mr Bush risks condemning it to a different type a year or
two down the road.
A similar myopic approach 20 years ago - when the CIA poured
billions of dollars into
Twenty years from now, yesterday's decision may be condemned for a
similar reason.
* What we did not expect was the collapse of the opposition from
Muslim Fundamentalists in
--------
PROPHESYS PROVED WRONG.
Military experts had warned that
(1) Taliban fighters
* Colonel Yuri Malishev wrote in Daily Mail on 19 September 2001 '
As a Red Army veteran of the Afghan war, I believe Bush is making a terrible
mistake -he'll never beat the Taliban' He explained - The Taliban fighters that
American and British forces will come up against are invisible. It is hard to
explain what it is like to face enemies you cannot see. They move around in the
mountains with impunity. They are constantly one step ahead of you - time and
again. Over years they have laid down supplies of firepower, bombs, food and
clothing in remote parts of this rough and mountainous terrain, which they know
like back of their hands. Yet this is an environment which is utterly alien even
to the best-trained soldier from other countries '
' Taliban may seem like a primitive force, but don't be deceived.
If today's coalition of world powers does decide to invade
* The head of the German equivalent of the SAS has angered senior
Nato officers by predicting a "bloodbath" if special forces from
allied nations move into
In a deliberate call for caution, Brig General Reinhard Gunzel,
who commands the elite Kommando Spezialkrafte ( KSK) said success would be
almost impossible without severe and unacceptable losses to his special troops
and those of other allied nations.
Even if such a combined force did find bin Laden, this would not
mean victory, he said " Behind him stand so many fanatic followers that
another one would immediately replace him."
The 57-year-old brigadier general added : " Special forces
would come lightly armed and unprotected. There would be a bloodbath. No
special unit in the western world could agree to such an action."
The Brig Gen insisted that troops with a 'western philosophy' and
a will not to die would have "little chance against men who are willing to
give their lives in a fight."
( Daily Telegraph 24 September 2001, page2 )
Daily Telegraph also carried a report from David Blair in
But if any American troops set foot in
By contrast, the former fighters had a wary respect for Russian
soldiers, especially those from the Spetsnaz special forces. Ali Amjud, 40,
paid tribute to the prowess of the invaders he had fought. " The Russians
were very brave and they were used to mountain warfare. The Spetsnaz were very
dangerous, they climbed mountains like goats. Despite the fierce fights with
Russians Mr Amjud never had any doubts about the final victory. " All the
weapons, training and technology of the Russians gave way because they had no
purpose in life. They only fought for a salary. We fought for the cause of
Islam, because Allah commanded us."
" We embraced death, we were willing to be martyrs" he
said.
(2) The Talibans also have Stringer missiles - the sophisticated
U.S - built surface to surface missiles that
(3) The Afghan opposition forces in the north are not large. They
have about 15,000 well-trained men, many of them in Panjshir, and another
40,000 militia, but they are now-finally -likely to receive as much money and
as many arms as they want.
(Daily Telegraph 24 September 2001).
Moreover we were told that they are not a homogenous group and
consist of Uzbecks, Tajiks, Hazaras and Persian speaking Heratis. They had
nothing in common except utter hatred of Talibans.
(4) From late October to May, thick snow blankets much of
(5) Other difficulty quoted was short time available for action by
All these doubts were proved wrong. There were no reprisals
against Americans or Britons in Islamic countries even though they did not stop
bombing during the month of Ramadan
THE END RESULT
It is surprising how quickly the Talibans were smashed. They did
not put any sort of fight at all, let alone fight for the last man on any
battle ground. Here is the summary of events
24 September 2001-- 1000 Muslim clerics last week called on Bin
Laden to leave
1 October --- Taliban
rulers admitted that they were hiding Osama bin Laden.
7 October -- Americans start bombing Taliban strongholds
17 November -
21 November -
27 November - Kunduz falls
28 November - U.S prepares
for attack on
30 November -
7 December - Taliban rule 'over' as arms are surrendered.
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
Surprisingly enough interests of many diverse countries coincided
and
* One immediate concession that Vladimir Putin of
*
Mr Karimov was quick to blame
*
*
INTERNATIONAL LAW - WHAT LAW ?
The whole episode showed that Might is Right is still the law.
What happened the UNO? Did that body approve use of military force? Nobody even
raised this question.
HINDUS REPRESENTED AT LAST
On 24 September 2001 David Sapsted reported from
Prayers and patriotism ease the grief.
A palatable feeling of the families' loss filled Yankee Stadium.
The grief of more than 30,000 people who lost loved ones and colleagues in the
World Trade centre attack found voice in a poignant but rousing prayer service
in
WHAT DO WE THINK ?
It was good that the Talibans were defeated. Consequences of their
victory would have been too dreadful to imagine. What a pity that
1.5 The BBC and Islam
BBC2 showed a series entitled Empire of Faith In July 2001. Here
is some criticism of the series. On 22 August 2001, in the Daily Mail, in the
Letters to the Editor column we found a letter by Keith Matheson of
" TV critic Peter Paterson was spot-on about the BBC series
of programmes on Islam. It went to town to promote Islam as a caring and
tolerant religion, but it didn't show the other side of the coin.
Could it not have mentioned that in
I have no objection to Moslems practising their faith in this
country, and I abhor the abuse that is sometimes directed against them. But
theseprogrammes did not show the true face of Islam."
1.6 Indian rail is better
It is rare for the British newspapers to publish anything good
about
" I wonder if Pamela Johnson ( Metro 18 Oct ) has ever
actually been to a
Given the resources that are available, the cheap price of tickets
( by local standards ) and the sheer number of people who use the local rail
services and bus services in Mumbai, the authorities there are have achieved
nothing short of a stellar service.
Although it may be more crowded, the people are more accommodating
and do not cling on to their personal space, without any consideration of the
inconvenience to their fellow passengers.
While the passengers in Mumbai have endured years of crowded
trains, the service these days is reliable enough to ensure they can reach
their destination on time. That is no mean accomplishment considering the
drivers of some of these trains have been victims of the violence of irate
passengers in the past."
2. AROUND
Slide shows
Dr Agarkar of Kalyan,
He conducted a show at Tilak Mandir, Bhiwandi on December 13, 2001. It is an old
establishment functioning from 1920. He was told Lokmanya Tilak visited this
place before 1920. The slide show went very well. 30 people attended.
Agarkar also made another show in a school in Bhandup, Mumbai
in January 2002.
On 1 July 1909, Madanlal Dhingra, a contemporary of Veer Savarkar
shot and killed Sir Curzon Wyllie, Political A.D C to Secretary of State for
To the Glory of
God
And in lasting
memory of
LT COL SIR
WILLIAM HUTT CURZON WYLLIE, KCIE, CVD
Younger son of
General Sir William Wyllie, GCB
Born October 5th
1848. Assassinated July 1st 1909
while attending
an assembly of his Indian fellow subjects
at the Imperial
Institute in
This tablet is
erected in sorrow and in love
by his friends.
Entering the Army
in 1866 and the Indian Political
Department in
1879, he earned distinction in the
Afghan War of
1879-80, in Oudh, in
He rose to the
highest rank in the Service. In
1901 he was
chosen to be Political Aide-de-Camp
to the Secretary
of State for
Innocent of all
offences.
A devoted public
servant, courageous and gentle,
of a winning
courtesy, and a constant self-denial.
He was loved by
the Princes and people
and died as he
had lived
in the Service of
Jesus said I am
the resurrection and life St
John XI 25
His servants
shall serve Him, and they shall see his face
Rev XXII 34
1869-1870
1866-1869
R.S.R
106
In 1909, it was indeed a very high honour for such a tablet to be
placed in the crypt of
4.1 Assimilation : Will it spell the end of the Jews ?
A very interesting article ( in three parts ) by Graham Turner
appeared in The Daily Telegraph in April 2001. In part II he reports :-
'
The sense of dismay is
patent, and the statistics certainly look ominous. In
The consequences for the
future in both countries are dire. ' where there's a mixed marriage' said Rabbi
Ammiel Hirsch, who runs the World Union for progressive Jewry in
Once, Jews who married out were severely stigmatised. Thirty years
ago their parents would have killed them. Now, they don't even object.
In
There is no doubt that, in the years after the war, a great many
British and American Jews were only too ready to dump religious practises that
not only made no particular sense to them but also set them apart from the
Gentile community. They wanted both accepted and successful.
Nor was that surprising. Even after the horrors of the Holocaust,
they were still subjected to overt discrimination. In
Jewish students had the same humiliating experience. " I
wanted to do a doctorate in chemistry at
A good many American Jews, however, did not stand on their dignity
in the same way. In order to get on, they imitated gentile customs and neglected
religious observance. Kosher went out of the window. There were Christmas trees
and presents. Reform Synagogues in
" Many of my parents' generation" said Adele Malpass,
who is 39 " wanted to be part of
The sense of crisis in both
Orthodox Jews make up only 10 -15 per cent of the Jewish community
in
Orthodox Jews believe that the first five books of the Bible are
God's word, and that's it. The liberal and Reform communities on the other
hand, think it is a human and not divine document. The Orthodox have no choice
but to conform to everything in those books, whereas others believe that Jews
should study them and then do what their educated and enlightened consciences
tell them to do.
That is only the most important of a vast range of differences. In
Orthodox synagogues, men and women sit separately, with a mehitza, or barrier
between them ; the rest worship together. Reform Judaism, which in
For the Orthodox to be Jewish, you must either have a Jewish
mother or one who has gone through an Orthodox conversion. Reform Rabbis in
Ultra Orthodox Jews believe the same as their Orthodox brethren,
but they keep themselves to themselves rather than integrate with the general
community. In
Orthodox and Ultra Orthodox have one thing in common - large,
sometimes huge, families. In the northern suburbs of
" What's the difference between an Orthodox, Conservative and
reform wedding ?" I asked David Rosen, a former Chief Rabbi of
To a Gentile, Orthodox Jews can seem remarkably pernickety about
what they can and cannot do on Sabbath. . Jews are not permitted to use an
umbrella on the Sabbath - and if one even touched it, that might be construed
as using it...
The Jewish community is
certainly not going to boost its numbers significantly by conversion, since
joining its ranks is made incrediblydifficult. Judaism has not been a
proselytising for the past 2000 years. Ammiel Hirsch says that, traditionally,
rabbis were expected to reject applicants for conversion twice, and talk about
it only if the supplicant came back a third time. A reform conversion in the
One English convert who has experienced to the full the truth of
conversion difficulties is 38 year old Hadar Fatida of
NOTE :- This has strong implications for Hindus. The death of Jewish
lobby in
4.2 Corruption - but of a
different kind
Many times, when scandals are exposed in the western society, we
say, ' well, the westerners are just as corrupt as us Indians' There is one
vital difference.
After the events of 11 September 2002 Bill Clinton, former
president of
Mr Clinton said, ' I authorised the arrest and, if necessary, the
killing of Osama Bin Laden. We actually made contact with a group in
Mr Clinton said he was optimistic about his successor George
Bush's chances of capturing Bin Laden in
Bill Clinton was a famous womaniser, corrupt politician. But, when
it came to the crunch he ordered execution of Bin Laden. That is something
Indian politicians will never do. They will sit like cowards. THAT IS THE
DIFFERENCE!!
Remember the Michel Fay affair of 1994? This hooligan damaged cars
in
Fay's Democratic member of U.S Congress Mr Tony Hall and even Bill
Clinton appealed to the
( Daily Telegraph 10 March 1994 )
The Guardian reported on 20 March 1994, " President Bill
Clinton personally intervened yesterday for the third time. Mr Clinton
described the proposed beating with with six strokes os a ratten cane as
severe. .. Apparently unconcerned about exacerbating the bilateral animosity
caused by the case, Mr Clinton said he remained unconvinced of Fay's guilt ...
Mr Clinton's repeated personal intervention in the case have caused surprise
and anger in
Eventually Fay was flogged. On 6 May 1994 Financial Times reported
" Bill Clinton said
By 16 June 1994 BBC reported that
That is the difference between corrupt American and corrupt Indian
politicians.
In 1979 Immigration officers in
4.3 Hindu marriages - stop meddling with our rites.
Having attended a few Hindu marriages in
False ideas of equality
(i) Bridegroom puts a Mangalsutra made up of black beads around
the bride's neck. Immediately the bride puts a necklace around the bridegroom.
This is childish. It is not the question of ' you gave me something so I will
give you something in return.' That is not the reasoning behind a Hindu
marriage.
(ii) Essentially, man is a wanderer. He does not want to stay in
one place. It is the woman that gives him stability. And therefore it is the
man who has to take oath of allegiance to his wife three times. He has to say,
' Dharme cha, Arthe cha, Kame cha, Nati
charami ' He has to give this promise to the bride's father. But nothing is
asked of the bride - that is the beauty of Hindu marriage. Men and women are
NOT equal. They are complimentary to each other.
(iii) Saptapadi
This is an essential part of Hindu marriage. When Social Security
officers investigate claims of widows they ask questions about the marriage
ceremony that the woman went through. If she does not remember Saptabadi, there
is suspicion about her claim.
Saptapadi means taking seven steps together by the couple. But
again it is the man who asks his wife to share his fortune, status and comforts
of married life. Here are the seven steps
(1) May we have plenty of food at all times. So take this first
step with me.
(2) May we enjoy pleasures of body for a long time. So take this
second step with me.
(3) May we enjoy wealth in our married life. So take this third
step with me.
(4) May our married life be full of enjoyment. So take this fourth
step with me.
(5) May we be blessed with beautiful children. So take this fifth
step with me.
(6) May we enjoy all the seasons. So take this sixth step with me.
(7) May you be my lifelong friend and supporter of me. So take
this seventh step with me.
Such is the beauty of our ceremony. Why spoil it with trying to
emulate the Europeans ?. In a leaflet given out at the marriage in 1998 I found
the following information -
Saptapadi - Both ( bride and groom ) take seven vows of marriage
(i) promise to be faithful to each other
(ii) to live together under all circumstances
(iii) to serve the parents and society at large.
(iv) to avoid that which hinders their sacred union.
(v) Both have equal rights in society.
(vi) to observe religious ceremonies together.
(vii) May the forces of nature - the fire, earth, air and water
help us to give noble children.
Why deviate from our traditional ceremony ? Even the film Gandhi
of
Richard Attenborough shows these seven steps clearly.
4.4 Yvonne Ridley is proud to be British. Are you proud to be an
Indian?
Despite the turmoil caused by the events of 11 September 2001
Yvonne Ridley, a 43-year-old British woman journalist ventured into Afghanistan
on 28 September near the city of Jalalabad without her passport and visa from
Taliban, Though she wore burqa and was accompanied by two guides, Taliban
soldiers became suspicious and arrested her. She was found to have a secret
camera with her. And immediately there were pictures of Miss Ridley, her 74
year-old grandmother, her 9 year-old daughter Daisy and her dog in British
newspapers. No one said that she was extremely foolish and must suffer the
consequences. She knew very well that eight western foreign aid workers were
held by Talibans for two months on charges of preaching Christianity. Americans
started their bombing on 7 October.
She was chief reporter for Sunday Express and said that she was
treated with respect and courtesy. ( The Talibans knew what the consequences of
maltreatment would be )
Her nine-year-old daughter Daisy wrote to Tony Blair pleading for
his help to win release of her mother
Following an intensive diplomatic offensive involving talks with
Taliban officials in
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said he was 'delighted Miss Ridley
was safe. I know what a great relief this must be for her family, especially at
such a difficult and uncertain time' he said ( Daily Mail 9 October 2001)
The fact that Miss Ridley was a Captain in the Territorial Army
was hardly mentioned. Daily Telegraph revealed that Miss Ridley had her
daughter by a former Palestine Liberation Organisation ( PLO ) official.
Now ask yourself this question - what would have been the fate of
an Indian woman reporter in a similar situation ? We need go no further. We
found the answer on the front page of Times of India of 21 April 2001. It
reported 'Bagladesh returns 15 bodies of BSF jawans.'
The Border Security Force ( BSF ) confirmed that Bagladesh had
returned the bodies of 15 BSF soldiers who were killed in the attack by
Bangaldesh Rifles ( BDR ) at the north-eastern border outpost. Most of the
bodies, BSF sources said, were in mutilated form. Only seven dead soldiers
could be identified while eight could not be as they were disfigured and beyond
recognition. A preliminary inspection of the bodies of the soldiers indicated
that they had been killed after being shot from very close range. They seem to
have been killed in cold blood."
And what did Mr A B Bajpayee, the Indian Prime Minister do? He
disarmed the Indian
BSF !!!
5. BEHAVIOUR OF CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS TODAY
5.1 THE CHRISTIANS
Creation controversy is alive again.
We dealt with
Contradictory Bible
James of Wildman of London wrote :-
Anyone with an ounce of commonsense knows the Bible contradicts
itself many times, in very precise and unarguable ways. Consider the contrast
between the depiction of God as Love in the New Testament with the spoilt child
Lord Of Hosts, who orders every men, woman, child and animal of the Israelites'
enemies slaughtered without mercy in the Old. The entirety of the Book of Job
is about a pious man whom God deliberately tests to breaking point with the
destruction of his farm, livelihood, family and health, and then punishes when
he gets angry about his treatment. What kind of moral message is that ? I am a
Christian and a believer, as Ms Rowett is, but her kind of dogmatic
fundamentalism is both sick and stupid, and the root of much of the world's
evil.
Brin Hodgskiss of
Ms Rowett suggests science must be questioned more, while the
Bible must be blindly accepted. Apart from being contradictory, she seems to
overlook the fact that rigorous questioning of beliefs is an essential part of
both science and religion. Wasn't Jesus questioned by his disciples ? What do
theologians ( many of whom are deeply religious ) do ? Without questioning, any
belief is built on sand.
Shaun Meeham of
Does Steve John ( Metro 4 October 2001 ) think all 'sins' in the
bible make sense for today's world ? The Bible clearly says those who work on
the Sabbath should be put to death ( Exodus 35:2). Am I morally obligated to
kill all those who work on a Sunday or is it OK just to report them to the
police ?
On 10 October 2001 we found the following letters in Metro
* David Nicholson wrote, " Unlike Jane Rowett ( Metro 5th ) I
believe the Bible is no more than a set of moral guidelines and should not be
taken literally. In the many years Bible has been written, re-written,
translated and passed down by word of mouth, can Ms Rowlett not see the naivety
of taking such a book at face value? There are many religions and beliefs and,
because of this, there are many holy books. Does Ms Rowlett believeall of these
are wrong and the Bible is the only true religious book ? It is because of
these 'tunnel-vision' views many holy wars have started. When translated, these
books say the same thing - be nice to each other.
* Gareth Bartlett of London wrote, " Jane Rowlett tells us we
should spend more time questioning the 'wisdom' of scientists. Why then should
we not spend more time questioning the Bible ?"
5.2 The Muslims
5.2.1 Muslims and
the numbers game
* In the aftermath of the Muslim suicide bomber's attack on the
World Trade Centre on 11 September 2001, Daily Mail reported on 24 September, '
the brothers (of Osama bin Laden the brain behind the attack) inherited a
fortune from their construction magnate father, Mohammed. He left millions to
each of his 57 children by 12 wives after dying in a plane crash in 1968.'
This is what the Muslims are up to. By producing such large number
of children, they will conquer the world. They do not want to live in the 21st
century.
The world now has 1.18 billion Muslims
* European Convention on
Human Rights was absorbed in British Law in the year 2000. Immediately Muslims
stated that they MUST be allowed to marry four wives as it is their human right
to do so. This means of course that each Muslim will produce 14 children,
because the wives have human right to bear children too.
Will we Hindus ever learn?
5.2.2 (So called) Islamic Brotherhood of man
Muslims always taunt Hindus and say, " look we Muslims are
one. You hurt one Muslim and the entire Muslim world will rise against
you." We always foolishly believe in such boasts.
In January 2000, Sarfaz Najeib, a Muslim student was severely
beaten outside the Majestyk nightclub in
Let us take two recent examples :-
(i) On 3 October 2001 Dailt Mail reported on page 26 ' Asian chef
stabbed to death in racist attack.'
A father of two was beaten to death by a gang of white youths in
an apparently racist attack, a court heard yesterday.
The Old Bailey heard how Shiblu Rahman, a 35 year old Bagladeshi
chef was branded a 'Paki' before being set upon as he walked home from work.
Witnesses told of hearing a squealing noise 'like a dog being
kicked ' as he begged for his life.
Mr Rahman, who had just finished a shift at an Indian restaurant
in Romford, Essex, managed to crawl back to his flat on his hands and knees to
raise the alarm with his terrified wife, it was claimed. But his injuries were
so severe he died later that night, the jury was told.
One witness heard someone screaming outside. He looked down and
saw three white males attacking an Asian man. They were punching and kicking
him around his whole body and face. He was crying out ' please stop. What have
I done to you, help, help.' The men were shouting out ' shut up you Paki'
(ii) On 25 January 2002 Evening Standard reported, ' Arsonists
blamed for blaze at east
Arsonists are being blamed for a fire which partly destroyed a
mosque after a burglary. Police fear the attack on the Limehouse Bangladesh
cultural centre and mosque may have been racist. Firefighters spent more than
an hour tackling the blaze, but no one was hurt.
Detective Sergeant Mark Adams said : Burglary appears to be the
most apparent motive as some money was stolen from a collection box. But we are
not dismissing the suggestion that there could be a racial element to the
incident.
Once again we ask, ' was there a reaction in the Muslim world ? '
The answer is NO. And where were the Islamic Jihadis ? They are nowhere to be
seen.
5.3 CHRISTIANS
AND MUSLIMS
In the aftermath of events of 11 September 2001 we found some
interesting correspondence under the title : Bishops have missed the point
about Islamic threat in the Daily Telegraph of 24 September.
Frank Baigel of Prestwich, Greater Manchester wrote
The 11 bishops ( letter, Sept 22 ) have misunderstood the real
problem wit Islam inside and outside their own dioceses.
In their laudable concern for the welfare of Muslims in this
country, they must realise by now that Islamic religious leaders, both here and
abroad, have failed miserably to spread the message of peace and tolerance
among their own young people.
Instead we have seen a radicalisation of their youth. This is the
generation that supported the murderous suicide bombers in
All the Islamic leaders in the world - not just the few British
Islamic scholars and pundits who appear in the media - must come out clearly
and coherently with statements and actions that condemn all those Muslims
involved in terrorist acts wherever they occur.
Not all the Muslims in the
Francis Bennion of
The bishops are patently wrong in saying that the present struggle
to suppress terrorism has nothing to do with Islam.
The 1989 furore over Satanic Verses and the fatwa against Salman
Rushdie brought us all up against what religion involves. Exclusive
fundamentalism, whether Christian, Islamic or other, is the only possible
stance for a true believer. The New Testament presents Christianity as the only
true religion : ' No one comes to God except by me' ( John xiv 6 ) The Koran
makes a similar claim for Islam. True believers must treat apostasy and
blasphemy as ultimate transgressions, for they defame the very God they believe
in.
Tim Clarke of
While I agree with bishops' humanitarian sentiments, I wonder if
they are aware that the Koran denies that Christ died on the Cross. By
implication, this refutes the Resurrection, the central tenet of Christianity
Brian Gill of
If Muslims adhering to the Islamic faith deny that Jesus Christ is
Son of God, then how is it possible for the 11 bishops to state that we are all
'children of one God ' ? We need revelation, not deception.
S J Power of Solihull,
The idea of martyrdom in Christianity and Islam - it is not just a
world of difference, but a whole eternity of difference.
The martyrs of ancient
Islamic martyrs die with the whole idea of bringing about death to
others as an offering to their god, Allah.
6. Why we cannot tell the truth
On 24 October 2001 the Evening Standard reported, " Exam
board sacks GCSE whistleblower."
The man who blew the whistle on the "fixing" of record
GCSE results has been sacked by the exam board which employed him in what he
has described as 'conspiracy of silence' to hide the truth about education
standards, writes Tom Miles.
Jeffery Robinson, a senior maths examiner with the Oxford,
Cambridge and RSA exam board before he retired this year, exposed in the
Evening Standard how over 16 years he saw marks required to achieve each exam
grade steadily fall. Exam boards, driven by competition, deliberately
manipulated pass rates to offer schools the best chance of league table
success, he claimed. Now his employers have accused him of ' breaching
confidentiality' and he has been sacked from his job as an examiner with his board's
international arm, Cambridge International Examinations.
Today, Mr Robinson, 67, accused the board of acting out of 'spite'
because he had exposed the truth. Several fellow maths examiners publicly
disputed his claims but last week he dismissed an inquiry into his allegations
as a 'whitewash' after Education Minister Stephen Timms said the Qualifications
and Curriculum Authority had found no evidence that grade boundaries have been
lowered.
Now he is seeking support to win his job back. The
David Hart of the National Association of Head Teachers, said he
did not agree with Mr Robinson's claims about exam standards, but defends his
right to speak out.
Our comments :- Now you know why Indian historians are afraid to
speak the truth about Taj Mahal.
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