From: ilyess@davinci.concordia.ca (Ilyess Bdira)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.arabic
Subject: Re: ISLAMIC BROTERHOOD - BOSNIA V/S SOMALIA
Date: 1 Sep 92 13:29:35 GMT
Organization: ECE - Concordia University

The following reply is not directed to the hateful Kumar because
I have no interest in improving his pathetic condition. He deserves
what he is feeling. The reply is to clean some of the pollution that he
is causing to some well meaning nonmuslims.

Within the so-called "Islamic Fundamentalist" circles, there is no difference
between Somalia and Bosnia. There is equal sympathy and a sense of urgency and
attempts to collect donations for both on equal basis. Actually, Somalia, until
recently had a bigger share, and the Somali relief fund existed long before most
Muslims heard about Bosnia. The Governments in Muslim countries who are 
supported by the west in their oppression of the Islamic movement are another
matter. They usually do not care about anything except the interest of the 
ruling clan which usually coincides with western interests (the immediate ones
that is). So when the U.S says Bosnia, they say Bosnia, when the U.S says
Somalia, they will say Somalia. There is also another factor that makes these
governments even more reluctant than the west in helping Muslim causes: they
do not want to add any fuel to the fire of pan-Islamic movement that is growing
and threatening to topple their corrupt separatist regimes.

Having said that, I would like to diagress that there is still reasons why
the Muslim movement is more motivated right now to help Bosnia:

1)In Somalia the tragedy is partly a result of natural tragedy (famine) and
partly a result of fighting among Somali clans. These types of tragedies
usually are hard to motivate the masses. This is a fact, I do not think it
is right, but thta is human nature. In Bosnia, there is a massacre going
on and it is done by Serbs for a specific purpose: eliminate Muslims. 
Here let me diagress to point out the difference between western
aid and Islamic aid: western aid is meant to make the Muslims  survive
the pogroms by giving food, banning arms, and allowing the already armed
Serbs to procede in their ethnic cleaning (a western term for genocide
applied only for this situation!) while minimizing the atrocities to an
accaptable level. Islamic Aid aims to help Muslims resist the genocide
by giving arms, food and moral support in favor of their cause.

2) The idea of a Muslim state in Europe is very appealing to
Islamic movements. It is something that all western European
countries want to avoid also, thus their hypocritical approach.
Why? because it shows Europeans that Islam is not a stranger, and
it is not confined to the third world (although I consider most
former Yugoslav republics third world countries).

I still believe that those two reasons above are not enough, and
I am for a strong Muslim country with  a clean image and I do not care
if it is in Europe or Africa. The only way to clean the distorted image
of Islam is 
1)To clean up our house,
2)To have a strong economy and a respected army, because in this world 
only the strong and successful is respected.

That is precisely the goal of all Islamic movements in Muslim
countries.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.arabic