National Dignity

Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s arrival in India and the warm reception he got from the country’s leadership on the government side, as well as the opposition, are signs that it marked the strengthening of an enduring relationship. It was significant not just for the $7.6 billion pipeline deal that will link the world’s second largest gas reserve with the growing South Asian economies, but also for what it means to the international balance of power. Perhaps, for the first time after the collapse of the Soviet Union, America’s diktat on how the world should shape itself is being defied without the neocons being able to shriek “terrorism.” Even Dick Cheney, representing everything that is evil in America, cannot threaten India with democracy by bombs.

I am not an Indian in the sense that I am not a citizen of the Republic of India. But I am an Indian in the sense of having been born in and being a citizen of the subcontinental landmass that is still called India. I am proud that a fellow citizen of mine — in the latter sense — had the gumption to tell America, loudly and clearly, not with hysteria but with the quiet assurance that comes from the confidence of one’s own worth, it will not be dictated to by upstarts.

He was right: India and Iran represent ancient civilizations with a history of millenniums. No parvenu can presume to tell them how to conduct their affairs or who their friends should be.

I hope my leaders, who felt no shame while boasting about how they were kicked into war by the Americans, will have the decency to appreciate the sense of national dignity our fellow citizens across the border showed.

Amjad, Dhahran published 5 May 2008

Maligning Media

This refers to the report “Media Deliberately Trying to Malign Us, Says Commission Chief” (April 30). There is nothing wrong with the mission of the commission — enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong. Allah has made it a social responsibility of every individual.

Problems only arise when commission members start to overstep the moral and legal boundaries set by their code of conduct. Look at the rude way they behave with people, and humiliate them in public places and in the privacy of homes. Before teaching others how to behave, they themselves should become role models for others to follow. The Islamic concept of showing respect to people and talking politely to them seems to be alien to them. Self-discipline and respect for law are missing from their code of conduct. It is high time that all government employees — law-enforcement departments in particular — from top to bottom, were taught to behave decently with all people, big or small. Law can still be enforced while being decent to people. It is not necessary for us to feel arrogant to make others feel the power of our position.

Sirajuddin Chanda, Riyadh published 5 May 2008

Maligning Media [2]

The president of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice was right in stating that some sections of the media deliberately try to malign his institution. Of late, it has become a fashion for some Muslims, who try to show to the West that they also follow a Western-style life, to criticize the commission, while their supporters in the international media, who have a hidden agenda against Islam, enjoy giving publicity to it. Many letters and articles have been published in Arab News itself criticizing members of this commission. As the commission president pointed out, it is actually a noble and respectable institution with the goal of preserving Islamic values, principles and customs. It only aims to persuade people to adhere to their religion and prevent them from moral lapses. Most of its critics are ignorant about this noble institution and they purposefully highlight a few individual mistakes to portray the commission as an evil entity.

I know from my own experience that its members are far better than other officials in doing justice to the residents of this country, irrespective of their nationality or race. I have no doubt that giving them more power, not only in religious activities but also in various other fields such as labor disputes and detecting robbery, theft, etc., will contribute to improving the general security situation. It is understandable that those who wish to contaminate the streets of this country with their flesh-revealing women, prostitution, liquor and blue films will try to besmirch the image of the commission. One of my non-Muslim friends recently told me that the safest days here were when the commission had more power and that he was able to walk on any street without the fear of being mugged, robbed, stabbed or spitted on. It is only after the commission’s activities were limited that the crime rate has gone up. All across the country these days, expatriates are daily robbed, beaten up and stabbed by criminals. These criminals are drunkards, drug-users and adulterers, and they use the robbed money for these immoral activities.

If members of the commission are given the authority to cover this area, that too at a time when police personnel are alleged to be lenient to the criminals, it will be a relief to all people, expatriates in particular.

Hamza Mohammed, Dammam published 5 May 2008

Freedom of Information

Every year since 2004, the United Nations Department of Public Information has refused to issue press credentials to Taiwan’s journalists for the World Health Assembly (WHA), rendering them unable to cover its annual meeting. The stated reason for the refusal is that Taiwan is not a member of the World Health Organization (WHO). This is a clear indication that the Taiwanese people’s health rights and their right to know are being violated on political grounds. This behavior also runs contrary to the global understanding that the UN is obliged to uphold justice.

Freedom of the press is a universal value that transcends politics. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

The World Health Report 2007, stresses the importance of information sharing and cooperation between nations to combat disease. The report emphasizes that WHO must allocate more resources to setting up a comprehensive global epidemic prevention network. But WHO has weakened its own epidemic-prevention mechanism and created a loophole in the global health network by barring Taiwan’s journalists from reporting at the WHA. If the international community were to further turn a blind eye to have such a policy continued, it would threaten the global disease prevention network.

The UN and WHO should not allow political considerations to supersede press freedom and the spirit of journalistic independence. These organizations should, in respecting the principle of parity, lift their discriminatory ban on and issue WHA press passes to Taiwan’s journalists.

Fareed Hwang, Jieh-Shan, Taipei Office, Riyadh published 5 May 2008

Indian Satellite

The successful launch of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C9) from Satish Dhawan Space center on April 28 has enabled India to join the list of countries that have placed multiple satellites in the orbit using single-launch vehicles. It is a remarkable moment for the Indian Space Research Organization and for India. By launching 10 satellites simultaneously, India has shown that it is capable of launching multiple satellites in a single mission. It is matter of pride for Indians that satellites of developed countries such as Germany and Canada were among the payload the rocket carried into space.

The scientists and engineers of ISRO deserve the highest level of appreciation. Though their job, which demands high level intellect and dedication, is tough and demanding, they are low-paid when compared to those in, say, the IT sector. The government should make professions in basic sciences more attractive and ensure that the legacy of Vikram Sarabhai, Abdul Kalam, and U.R. Rao is carried forward.

Mir Gazanfar Ali Zaki, Jeddah published 5 May 2008