[IslamCity] Fw: Palestinians Deserve Respect, Support: Guardian

[S A Hannan]

----- Original Message ----- From: Mahmudul Hasan To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; Witness Pioneer Sent: Friday, January 27, 2006 9:55 PM Subject: Palestinians Deserve Respect, Support: Guardian   Palestinians Deserve Respect, Support: Guardian Supporters of Hamas celebrate the election results inside the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Al-Quds. (Reuters) CAIRO, January 27, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – The Palestinians deserve respect and support as their real democratic legislative elections proved that civil society in Palestine is more vibrant than anywhere else in the region and owes nothing to Washington's selective efforts to promote democracy out there, Britain's mass-circulation the Guardian commented on Friday, January 27. "Today's priority is to accept that Palestinians have spoken freely. They deserve respect and support," the British daily said. It said that Wednesday's election proved that the Palestinian politics has its own dynamics, dictated not by outside pressure but the social and economic demands of ordinary people in appalling conditions. The resistance group Hamas swept the Palestinian legislative elections, winning 76 seats in the 133-seat Palestinian Legislative Council, nearly 57.6 percent of the seats up for grabs. The daily said that the elections were a more impressive _expression_ of democracy and freedom than any other in the Middle East. "The poll was a more impressive display of democracy than any other in the region, outstripping last year's votes in Lebanon and Iraq both in turnout and the range of views that candidates represented. "Whereas in Iraq parties that opposed the occupation had to downplay or even obscure their views, Palestinian supporters of armed resistance to Israel's expansionist strategies were able to run openly," it said. Much Fuss The British daily said Europeans were making much fuss about Hamas's refusal to accept Israel. "History and international politics do not march in tidy simultaneous steps. For decades Israel refused even to recognize the existence of the Palestinian people, just as Turkey did not recognize the Kurds," it said. The paper said until 15 years ago the Palestinians had to be smuggled to international summits as part of Jordan's delegation. The Guardian said that Hamas could disarm itself and recognize Israel in future. "That will be the end of the process of establishing a just modus vivendi for Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East. It cannot be the first step." On Thursday, the United States and European Union have stepped up pressures on Hamas to accept Israel after the group's stunning election victory. "Encouraging Hamas" The British daily further urged the Europeans to "encourage Hamas" and not to get hung up on wrong issues such as the armed resistance and the so-called "war on terror." "Murdering a Palestinian politician by a long-range attack that is bound also to kill innocent civilians is morally and legally no better than a suicide bomb on a bus," it said, citing the example of senior Hamas figure Mahmud Al-Zahar. "He has felt the occupation on his skin. His wife was paralyzed and his eldest son killed by an Israeli F-16 attack on his house in 2003. Zahar was in the garden and lucky to survive." The paper also warned of cutting off EU aid to the Palestinian Authority after Hamas's win. "Any cut-off in EU aid would only be a gift to Israel's hardliners," it said. "You cannot use European taxpayers' money to strengthen Palestinian institutions while privately wanting reforms to fail. Hamas should be encouraged in aiming to be more honest than its predecessors." http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2006-01/27/article06.shtml (27 Jan 06) Find your next car at Yahoo! Canada Autos *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)  also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest". SPONSORED LINKS Holy quran YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS  Visit your group "islamcity" on the web.    To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:  [EMAIL PROTECTED]    Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.