From: gt7242a@prism.gatech.EDU (KHAN,RAHEEL)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.arabic,soc.culture.turkish
Subject: Bosnia: Another Spain? (The need for urgent Muslim Action )
Date: 20 Aug 92 18:57:28 GMT
Followup-To: soc.culture.arabic
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology

In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Benificent

Assalamu'alaikum:


The war in Bosnia rages on. Tens of thousands of Muslims have been
killed.  More than 3000,000 have been mercilessly driven out of their
homes. The Serbs now hold 90 percent Bosnian Territory.

As if the sight of mutilated bodies, and of crippled children was not        
enought, the pictures of Serb Concentration camps and chilling description
of numerous Serb Death Camps rocks our imagination.  Our continued silence 
is incriminating: Our collective conscience, it seem, has been put to death 
by a snipper bullet. 

In a land where adult corpses cost $300, and the cadavres of children bring 
in $150, it is no surprize that human conscience fell victim so easily.  
"Death Camps", "Ethnic Cleansing", "Humanitarian Nightmare":  The rhetoric
is endless.  The international press continues its flirtation with the 
crisis in the "Balkan Slaughter-House", but, predictably, each day brings a
new development, a new issue, a new media-darling: "Bosnia?  Interesting 
but not always news worthy".  The "Leaders of the World", both of Muslim and 
non-Muslim countries, treat the crisis adroitly: "Some resolve by the UN on
maintaining the supply of food and medicine shall suffice in pacifying the 
feeble noise of our Collective Conscience: meanwhile, the pragmatice solution 
is to ignore the problem."  The Champions of the Western Way of Life(Deen), 
who constantly invite the "pagans" of the East to bow at the Alters of 
Democracy and Freedom, theorize that arming the Bosnians will only prolong the
"Humaninatarian Nightmare".  The best solution is to let the war to take its
course and to hope that the Serbians war machine will serve a Coup de Grace to
the Moslem forces.  After all, "lasting World Peace" and the "New World 
Order" is more important than Six Million Muslims. 

Already the Bosnians are being compared to the Palestenians:  A people without
a homeland. But this very comparison actually exposes the fundamental problem
with the the international response.  The plight of the Palestenians is similar
to the Exodus of the Bosnians in that in both peoples were victims of 
over-zealous nationalism (which was driven by religious chauvanism).  However,
blind nationalism (which was driven by religious zeal).  However,  
is no place the Bosnians can turn to and no Muslim country has even reacted
to the tragedy in the same way it did to the Zionist take-over of Palestine.

It is apparent from Serbian actions that they will stop at nothing short of 
"cleansing" the area of all Muslims.  The Bosnians Muslims are not a distinct 
ethnic group and they are being massacred for no other reason than they are 
Muslims.  The Serbs consider them traitors because they adopted a religion
which was not of their "ancestors".  The Serbs massacre the Muslims to rid their
lands of the "impure" influences of Islam.  And Europe watches perhaps becuse theyfear that one day they will have to deal with "Global Islamism", and the 
presence of another Muslim state in Europe could be dangerous.  When all the 
facts of the situation are reviewed, it seems that the situation in Bosnia 
is comprable to the fall of MUSLIM SPAIN, not to Palestine.


The real tragedy of Bosnia is not that the United States did not act to stop
the massacring of Muslim women and children in former Yugosalavia.  The 
tragedy is that we, the Muslims of the world, the students, the workers and 
businessmen witness this massacre and fail to do anything about it.  How
brutal must Serb attacks be before we deciede to act?   Will we simply await
the day that Islam is cleansed from Bosnia and than write nostalgic Odes 
to Bosnia? 

The Chetniks (Serbian Guerillas) destroyed mosques in Bosnia and the Muslims
remained silent.  The Serbs tied Muslim girls to fences and stripped them
for "Public Use", and We did not act. Thousands of elderly men and young  
children were mercilessly slaughtered and we failed to help any of them.  
And the Jews were more vocal about Serbian Death Camps than Muslim were! 

Afghanistan became a Jihad for Muslims because it was on the priority list of 
the Western governments to teach the USSR a lesson.  Why has the Bosnian 
situation not stirred the same response in the Muslims?  

Our Brothers in Bosnia need our help.  Presently, they don't need Physical 
help.  President Izetbegovic has repeatedly requested the uplifting of 
the arms Embargo on Bosnia.  There are tens of thousands of men in Bosnia
who are willing to fight but they have few weapons to fight with.  The Serbs
who have the arsenal of the Yugosalavian army behind them have already 
occupied 90 percent of the Bosnian Territory.  Time is of essence.
The main focus of our efforts should be to help Bosnian Muslims aquire 
weapons and put political pressure on the governments of the countries
we live in to do more for the Muslims in Bosnia. 
A few suggestions for possible actions are:

   1)   Send donations for Bonsia to any major Islamic Organization in 
        the U.S.  ICNA and ISNA are among the many organizations who are
        trying to gather funds for Bosnia.

   2)   Try to increase awarness about the issue among Muslims and Non-Muslims
        by organizing marches, seminars, protests, and whatever else you 
        think might work.

   3)   If you know any Muslim from the regions express your moral support
        to him/her

   4)   Call the White House, the State Department and your local Senators 
        and Congressmen

   5)   Call the Embassies of Muslim countries  and ask them to help the 
        Bosnian Muslims

   AND MOST IMPORTANTLY

   6)   Remember your Brothers and Sisters in Bosnia (and in other parts of 
        the world like Kashmir , Algeria, Somalia and Burma ) in your prayers




"May Allah help Muslims against the Kuffar and Guide them in their efforts to
 become better Muslims" 

Ameen

Wassalam
                    

Raheel Khan (gt7242a@prism.gatech.edu)

-- 
KHAN,RAHEEL
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332
uucp:	  ...!{decvax,hplabs,ncar,purdue,rutgers}!gatech!prism!gt7242a
Internet: gt7242a@prism.gatech.edu