Babri Masjid

I respect the opinion of Mr. Iqbal Ansari in his letter on June 20, 2009 as every one has the right to it of their own accord. I would certainly like to bring to his kind notice that an issue like Babri Masjid can never be a dead issue to a good Muslim wherever he lives let alone Saudi Arabia. If Mr Iqbal had attended the program he would have known Mr Jilani was in Jeddah for his annual Umrah trip and on the request of the foundation he willfully agreed to preside the seminar. Unfortunately people like Mr. Iqbal who jump to conclusion with bias in their minds to desecrate one’s good intentions.

I suggest if you cannot be a part of the community who support a good cause, at least do not try to sabotage it. I still do not understand what gave this concerned gentleman the illusion that NRIs in this country or anywhere in the world are not concerned about Babri Masjid. It is because of people like Mr. Jilani that this issue is still alive. If it was for people like Mr. Iqbal this ship would have sunk long time ago.

Zabiullah Khan, By e-mail published 21 June 2009

Combating street crime

In her letter, “Warning to Ladies”, Anne Harvey drew attention to the dangers of having handbags snatched on city streets. It is a remarkable fact that there is comparatively little crime here, making Saudi Arabia one of the safest places in the world to live. However, that does not mean that it is completely crime-free. Unfortunately, no country is! Cases of pick pocketing also occur here, and if we include breaking the rules of the road by driving dangerously, most people would probably concur that driving ‘’crimes’’ are rather too common.

In some places, such as Hong Kong, foot patrols by police officers are readily seen on the city streets, and this does much to deter street crime. Here in Riyadh, I have never seen a police officer on foot patrol; they seem always to be in cars, even in downtown areas.

Perhaps greater deployment of police officers here would help toward deterring criminals from attempting to commit their anti-social activities on the city’s streets. That well-established method certainly helped make Hong Kong’s city streets some of the safest in the world. A combination of widespread use of such foot patrols here, with stern punishments as an added deterrent, would likely contribute to making Riyadh’s streets even safer than they are already.

Paul Surtees, Riyadh published 21 June 2009

King Abdullah

King Abdullah deserves the world community’s appreciations for his efforts aimed at global peace and harmony. What the world needs now is his vision for regional and global peace and interfaith dialogue and understanding.

At home he has initiated a large number of sociopolitical and economic reforms. He is a great reformer. He knows that no country can make progress without women’s participation. His pragmatic vision has brought women into the decision-making process and for the first time a woman finds a place in the Council of Ministers. His services for the people of his country will always be remembered. The expansion of holy mosques in Makkah and Madinah is highly appreciated in the Muslim world.

No less praiseworthy are the reforms in education and the opening of new universities. He believes in a knowledge-based economy. He wants to see Saudi Arabia enter the league of developed countries.

Currently there are various discords and conflicts in the Muslim world and Muslims the world over expect King Abdullah to play a vital role in bringing peace to those war-torn countries because he is highly respected in the Muslim world. His efforts to bring peace to the Middle East have won the admiration of the whole world.

Long live King Abdullah.

Abdullah Rahman, Jeddah published 21 June 2009

Inconvenient truth

Some people contend that there has been no rise in CO2 levels nor any corresponding rise in temperature. Let’s look at what factual science has to say about it. Nate Lewis of CalTech made the following three points about CO2 based on information from NASA’s Goodard Institute of Space Studies and from ice core samples.

1. The composition of the Earth’s atmosphere had been relatively unchanged for the past 20 million years, but in the last 100 years we have begun to dramatically transform that atmosphere and change the heat balance between the Earth and sun.

2. From ice core samples, it was shown that on the eve of the Industrial Revolution, the level of CO2 stood at 280 parts per million, and it had been at that level for 10,000 years before that. Then, C02 levels started to dramatically surge, especially in the 1950s. By 2007, CO2 levels were at 384 parts per million and appeared to be climbing by 2 parts per year.

3. As for temperature rises, the Earth has already warmed by 0.8 degrees Celsius (1.44 degrees Fahrenheit) since 1750, with the most rapid rise occurring in 1970. If this seems like a minor rise of no consequence, then imagine your own body temperature rising by that amount. And, according to the World Meteorological Organization, the 10 hottest years on record were 1995-2005. Those who contest this might research The Pew Center of Climate Change’s report, “Climate Change 101” for the relation between excess CO2 and rising temperatures. Once again, I would like to suggest that the interested reader consult Thomas Friedman’s book “Hot, Flat and Crowded” for a more detailed study of global warming or Al Gore’s book or movie documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth.”

Steven M. Corcoran, Alkhobar published 21 June 2009

‘Natural growth’

Avigdor Lieberman, Israeli foreign minister, has defended the new settlements in occupied territories as “natural growth”. He says, “Everywhere people are born, people die and we cannot accept a vision of stopping the settlements completely.” Can’t this be done in Israel proper? Lieberman is filling this natural growth with East European immigrants, while denying the right of return to the Palestinians, the original inhabitants who were violently evicted from their ancestral lands.

Colonize and grab as much land as possible in order to kill the chances of any viable Palestinian state in the West Bank is the policy of this Russian immigrant. US President Obama should make it clear that the price of noncompliance with his demand for freezing settlements will be America’s “go easy” on Iran. Then we will know just how important the Iranian threat is to Israel. Is it more important than the threat of a viable Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza? Either Israel will freeze settlements or the world will know the Iranian threat is a mere excuse to stall peace moves.

S.H. Moulana, Riyadh published 21 June 2009

Iran election

If the Iran election is annulled and re-run, the world outside will be expecting independent monitoring to dispel any suspicion of cheating. May I suggest that the Iranian government request the services of the Election Commission of India for this purpose?

Having very recently completed an election which was acknowledged as free, fair and eminently well-run, both inside the country and worldwide, this organization would be responsible for monitoring the distribution of ballot papers and boxes, the operation of polling stations (including ensuring no multiple voting or box-stuffing), the transport of full ballot boxes to counting stations and the counting process itself. And all that would not need an intimate knowledge of Iran or Farsi, its major language, even though there are no doubt many Farsi-speaking Indians. I am certain that “the international community” would accept the result of an election held under such monitoring, whatever the result might be.

Tony Marshallsay, Riyadh published 21 June 2009

Iran election 2

LS from the United States questions the democratic nature of Iranian elections (June 18).

Yes, the elections were democratic. Iranian democracy is not the same as Western democracy. Candidates need to have certain qualifications before they can run for office; running the country is not for every Tom, Dick and Harry. Every country prescribes certain qualifications for candidates, even the US. They might not be as strict as Iran’s but nonetheless there are restrictions in place.

Mansoor Ansari, By e-mail published 21 June 2009

Babri Masjid 2

Iqbal Ansari in his letter on June 20, 2009 argues that Babri Masjid issue is a dead issue. In other words he is asking whole Muslim Ummah to forget Al-Aqsa mosque. The legal efforts to rebuild Babri Masjid has left a great impact on our struggle to liberate Al-Aqsa mosque. May I know that who are you to judge which issue is dead or alive? Suppose if someone would have occupied your own land or property and rest of the society from which you belong considers your issue as a dead issue. India is world's biggest democracy and every Muslim on this planet expect a quick judgment on this issue and of course, Indian Muslims will win their legal battle.

I am requesting you to stop publishing such biased letters which have no basis.

Abu Saeed Derhally, Amman, Jordan published 21 June 2009