Yemen Times, unsigned editorial
Mr. Abdul-Qader Bajammal, the Prime Minister was not off mark when he pointed out last week that the top items on the agenda of the New Cabinet will be to combat terrorism and deal with the corruption that has plagued our society far too long to be just dealt with closed eyes. Anyone, who knows Yemen well enough, is not oblivious to the fact that these two issues have been a major drawback to getting stability and development to interact together for the mobilization of all the potential that awaits the Republic of Yemen, socially and economically. If a suitable environment can be created to attract investment and harness the latent energies and capabilities of the people of Yemen, one is confident that great achievements can be achieved in little time. Yemenis have proven time and again, at home and overseas, that they can be productive and cohesive in working towards a common goal, when the right environment exists for them to unleash their capabilities.
| And this is true. Outside their home grounds and Pakistan, most Yemenis are as rational as anyone else... |
This issue, we deal with the first priority. It must be borne in mind that when we are talking of terror, we should not confine ourselves to the White House and Tel Aviv interpretations of terror.
| Oh, certainly not. Why would Yemen regard Hamas as a terrorist organization? It doesn't blow up Yemenis. |
Nevertheless, the general population of Yemen is not at all enthusiastic about uninformed or sometimes needy Yemenis being misled by religious misconceptions that have been imported by well organized and dubious self-proclaimed religious so called âfundamentalistsâ, whose fundamentals and perceptions of Islam, have been often been more of a great disservice to Islam. Many Yemenis are realizing that such orders need to be checked in their paramilitary manifestations, conceptual misinterpretations and institutional implications. It is important for Islam to remain, the religion of tolerance, reason and down-to-earth good sense, since these were the attributes by which Islam gained the overwhelming majority of its converts throughout the world. We must always bear in mind that Islam is the religion of peace and understanding. This does not mean that Moslems are to be off guard in protecting their interests and their proper moral convictions, but they should do so in a rational and progressive manner, that does not in anyway corrupt the civilized approach that the great prophet of Islam, Mohammed (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his early disciples followed in reflecting the message of Islam. This is especially important, when considering that the Moslem World is in an extremely weak and fragile position, facing insurmountable pressures from the outside and within the Nation, as a whole and the individual Moslem states.
| Rational and progressive would be an improvement. At the risk of repeating myself until my lips callouse, the weak and fragile position of the Islamic world is largely the result of its own doing... |
Having said all that, we must bear in mind that in Yemen, we are also facing another form of terror, which has become a dangerous menace to our security situation. The persistent long drawn out blood feuds that are tarnishing our cities with needless bloodshed is certainly a menace that must be dealt with. This calls for a systematic national effort that will review all the cases leading to such needless and senseless bloodshed, in which ironically the innocent are the first victims, as we saw in the latest barrages of blood feud clashes that erupted in Sanaâa last week. In fact, some observers are pointing out that these erratic scenes of violence have turned Yemen into a war zone, with clashes occurring sporadically throughout the country, especially in the cities, which used to be traditionally regarded as âneutral zonesâ from any tribal confrontation. Those who argue for âmaintaining our traditions and customsâ overlook any of the important customs, which were so useful in maintaining some semblance of order and provided adequate protection for the innocent or those who are not involved in the dispute.
| The writer apparently sees no connection between the blood feuds in downtown Sanaa and the problem of irrational fundamentalism, which has entered into a blood feud with the modern and particularly the non-Muslim world. Is the war we're fighting a product of religion, or a product of a culture that includes blood feuding as one of its bases? More subtly, since the religion grew out of the culture, will we be able to coexist in the long term with the religion? |
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