Sulayman’s Stories

Bismillah,

One of the things that just boggles my mind is illiteracy in the Muslim world. Islam is the most scholarly religion; a religion that makes learning to read a requirement upon every Muslim man and woman. The first word revealed in the Holy Quran is “Iqra!” (Read!) Then why are so many Muslims illiterate? Take a look at these statistics:

CIA - The World Factbook — Field Listing - Literacy
definition of literacy: age 15 and over can read and write
Worldwide total population: 82%
male: 87%
female: 77%

note: over two-thirds of the world’s 785 million illiterate adults are found in only eight countries (India, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Egypt); of all the illiterate adults in the world, two-thirds are women; extremely low literacy rates are concentrated in three regions, South and West Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arab states, where around one-third of the men and half of all women are illiterate (2005 est.)

That, my friends, is not the bleakest part. Doing a quick spot-check on countries, it seems one part of the world is lagging;

Afghanistan
total population: 28.1%
male: 43.1%
female: 12.6% (2000 est.)

Pakistan
total population: 49.9%
male: 63%
female: 36% (2005 est.)

Morocco
total population: 52.3%
male: 65.7%
female: 39.6% (2004 census)

Egypt
total population: 71.4%
male: 83%
female: 59.4% (2005 est.)

Bangladesh
total population: 43.1%
male: 53.9%
female: 31.8% (2003 est.)

Compare this with other developing countries:

Honduras
total population: 80%
male: 79.8%
female: 80.2% (2001 census)

Dominican Republic
total population: 87%
male: 86.8%
female: 87.2% (2002 census)

Sri Lanka
total population: 90.7%
male: 92.3%
female: 89.1% (2001 census)

South Africa
total population: 86.4%
male: 87%
female: 85.7% (2003 est.)

Literacy, I’m quite sure, will solve many problems in people’s lives. It’s a critical first step towards knowledge and gives people opportunities. It’s part of the reason why the Ummah feels so behind much of the world today, at least that’s my opinon.

What is the solution? I say we form a new NGO (Non-Governmental Organization, like Unicef or Amnesty International) to promote literacy. It strikes me as strange that there’s only one other literacy NGO, Room to Read, but almost none of its countries are Muslim ones yet. If you do look around, it’s being done piecemeal, but the results make some very happy stories.

This is much bigger than I can do alone. Even Room to Read states, “In order to select a specific country, we have to look at a number of macro economic and education metrics, conduct on-the-ground interviews and research, and consult with other groups working in the area.” This is why they can’t expand that easily. We can do better, insha’Allah .

How do we start? I’ll need some people with expertise, and funding. In addition, you can’t just graft this overseas; does anyone know pro-literacy or education organizations that already exist in countries like these?

I will be taking the first steps to create this NGO over the coming summer, but I’ll need as much help as possible. If anyone is interested, email me and I’ll add you to the soon-to-be listserve.

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[By allowing constant rocket barrages from Gaza on nearby Israeli cities, the Palestinians] are “bringing upon themselves a greater holocaust because we will use all our strength in every way we deem appropriate, whether in air strikes or on the ground.” Israeli Deputy Defense minister, Matan Vilnai.

“The significance of the disengagement plan is the freezing of the peace process. Effectively, the whole package called the Palestinian state with all that entails has been removed indefinitely from our agenda. And all this with authority and permission – all this with a presidential blessing and the ratification of both houses of Congress. What I effectively agreed to with the Americans was that part of the settlements would not be dealt with at all, and the rest will not be dealt with until the Palestinians turn into Finns.” –Dov Weisglass

Of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, already growing last winter, Israeli adviser to the prime minister’s office Dov Weisglass joked in 2006, “It’s like an appointment with a dietician. The Palestinians will get a lot thinner, but won’t die.” [Professor Juan Cole commented: Of course they will. Anything that makes the healthy thinner has the potential of killing the sick and the very young. And what kind of fascist “social-engineering” joke was that? Why hasn’t this man been fired? Do US officials meet with him? Why?]

Let’s compare this with Ahmadinejad’s famous headline-grabbing statement:

“This occupation regime over Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time.”

Gee, it looks like we should sanction another country if we’re going to be consistent.

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Two articles I read today that really made me very upset:

The Gaza Bombshell: Politics & Power: vanityfair.com: The Bush administration provoked a civil war in Palestine. Worth reading all the way through.

Am I a Torturer?:

The first time Ben saw a detainee get beaten, he took the lead interrogator aside afterward to ask, “Was this stuff really allowed? Didn’t it violate the Geneva Conventions?” “These aren’t pows; they’re detainees,” he was told. “Those rules are antiquated and don’t apply. You can’t get any information without breaking that stuff.”

May God have Mercy on the oppressed, and may He give the oppressors what they deserve.

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A few months before the [Abu Ghraib] scandal broke, Coalition Provisional Authority polls showed Iraqi support for the occupation at 63 percent. A month after Abu Ghraib, the number was 9 percent. Polls showed that 71 percent of Iraqis were surprised by the revelations. Most telling, 61 percent of Iraqis polled believed that no one would be punished for the torture at Abu Ghraib. Of the 29 percent who said they believed someone would be punished, 52 percent said that such punishment would extend only to “the little people.” (Source: Newsweek)

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Saudi Arabia is governed according to Sharia (Islamic law, or at least theirs is a strict minority interpretation of it that other Muslim countries disapprove of), but the Basic Law that articulates the government’s rights and responsibilities was introduced in 1992-1993. The official constitution was adopted by Royal decree of King Fahd. I believe this is an english translation. Under international pressure (mostly from the US), the Saudi Arabian government announced it will implement further democratic reforms as of 2003, but it is yet to see how this will affect the government. Also, this Constitution copy dates from 1993.

Saudi Arabia allegedly tries to be as Islamic as possible. The Quran is supposed to be the supreme law of the land, far greater than any secular constitution. I guess that’s why a Constitution was written so late in the game, as it wasn’t really necessary to run the country for the time being. The country is officially 100% Muslim, save for visitors, diplomats, foreign workers, and munafiqs. I suppose the idea of a state being so non-secular is a bit of a surprise to some, but it is par for the course in the Middle East. Heck, even the Constitution of Greece lists an official state religion.

For an interesting comparison, compare it to the Constitution of Iran. Both claim to be Islamic states with Sharia [Islamic law]; however, Saudi Arabia is majority Sunni, and Iran is majority Shia. Both have very different governments and leadership. Most Muslims don’t consider Saudi Arabia an Islamic State, as it has no caliph. There are government-appointed scholars who will say otherwise, but few consider that an unbiased viewpoint, even within Saudi Arabia itself. Shias may see Iran as an official Islamic state with Ayatollahs in charge, but generally Sunnis would not.

Chapter 1 General Principles

Article 1
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a sovereign Arab Islamic state with Islam as its religion; God’s Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet, God’s prayers and peace be upon him, are its constitution, Arabic is its language and Riyadh is its capital.

Article 2
The state’s public holidays are eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Its calendar is the Hegira calendar.

Article 3
The state’s flag shall be as follows:
(a) It shall be green.
(b) Its width shall be equal to two-thirds of it’s length.
(c) The words “There is but one God and Mohammed is His Prophet” shall be inscribed in the center with a drawn sword under it. Statute shall define the rules pertaining to it.

Article 4
The state’s emblem shall consist of two crossed swords with a palm tree in the upper space between them. The statute shall define the state’s anthem and its medals.

Chapter 2 Monarchy

Article 5

(a) The system of government in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is that of a monarchy.
(b) Rule passes to the sons of the founding King, Abd al-Aziz Bin Abd al-Rahman al-Faysal Al Sa’ud, and to their children’s children. The most upright among them is to receive allegiance in accordance with the principles of the Holy Quran and the Tradition of the Venerable Prophet.
(c) The King chooses the Heir Apparent and relieves him of his duties by Royal order.
(d) The Heir Apparent is to devote his time to his duties as an Heir Apparent and to whatever missions the King entrusts him with.
(e) The Heir Apparent takes over the powers of the King on the latter’s death until the act of allegiance has been carried out.

Article 6
Citizens are to pay allegiance to the King in accordance with the holy Quran and the tradition of the Prophet, in submission and obedience, in times of ease and difficulty, fortune and adversity.

Article 7
Government in Saudi Arabia derives power from the Holy Quran and the Prophet’s tradition.

Article 8 Government Principles
Government in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is based on the premise of justice, consultation, and equality in accordance with the Islamic Sharia.

Chapter 3 Features of the Saudi Family

Article 9
The family is the kernel of Saudi society, and its members shall be brought up on the basis of the Islamic faith, and loyalty and obedience to God, His Messenger, and to guardians; respect for and implementation of the law, and love of and pride in the homeland and its glorious history as the Islamic faith stipulates.

Article 10
The state will aspire to strengthen family ties, maintain its Arab and Islamic values and care for all its members, and to provide the right conditions for the growth of their resources and capabilities.

Article 11
Saudi society will be based on the principle of adherence to God’s command, on mutual cooperation in good deeds and piety and mutual support and inseparability.

Article 12
The consolidation of national unity is a duty, and the state will prevent anything that may lead to disunity, sedition and separation.

Article 13
Education will aim at instilling the Islamic faith in the younger generation, providing its members with knowledge and skills and preparing them to become useful members in the building of their society, members who love their homeland and are proud of its history.

Chapter 4 Economic Principles

Article 14
All God’s bestowed wealth, be it under the ground, on the surface or in national territorial waters, in the land or maritime domains under the state’s control, are the property of the state as defined by law. The law defines means of exploiting, protecting, and developing such wealth in the interests of the state, its security and economy.

Article 15
No privilege is to be granted and no public resource is to be exploited without a law.

Article 16
Public money is sacrosanct. The state has an obligation to protect it and both citizens and residents are to safeguard it.

Article 17
Property, capital, and labor are essential elements in the Kingdom’s economic and social being. They are personal rights which perform a social function in accordance with Islamic Shari’ah.

Article 18
The state protects freedom of private property and its sanctity. No one is to be stripped of his property except when it serves the public interest, in which case fair compensation is due.

Article 19
Public confiscation of money is prohibited and the penalty of private confiscation is to be imposed only by a legal order.

Article 20
Taxes and fees are to be imposed on a basis of justice and only when the need for them arises. Imposition, amendment, revocation and exemption is only permitted by law.

Article 21
Alms tax is to be levied and paid to legitimate recipients.

Article 22
Economic and social development is to be achieved according to a just and scientific plan.

Chapter 5 Rights and Duties

Article 23 Islam
The state protects Islam; it implements its Sharia; it orders people to do right and shun evil; it fulfills the duty regarding God’s call.

Article 24 Holy Places
The state works to construct and serve the Holy Places; it provides security and care for those who come to perform the pilgrimage and minor pilgrimage in them through the provision of facilities and peace.

Article 25 World Peace
The state strives for the achievement of the hopes of the Arab and Islamic nation for solidarity and unity of word, and to consolidate its relations with friendly states.

Article 26 Human Rights
The state protects human rights in accordance with the Islamic Shari’ah.

Article 27 Welfare Rights
The state guarantees the rights of the citizen and his family in cases of emergency, illness and disability, and in old age; it supports the system of social security and encourages institutions and individuals to contribute in acts of charity.

Article 28 Work
The state provides job opportunities for whoever is capable of working; it enacts laws that protect the employee and employer.

Article 29 Science, Culture
The state safeguards science, literature and culture; it encourages scientific research; it protects the Islamic and Arab heritage and contributes toward the Arab, Islamic and human civilization.

Article 30 Education
The state provides public education and pledges to combat illiteracy.

Article 31 Health Care
The state takes care of health issues and provides health care for each citizen.

Article 32 Environment, Nature
The state works for the preservation, protection, and improvement of the environment, and for the prevention of pollution.

Article 33 Armed Forces
The state establishes and equips the Armed Forces for the defence of the Islamic religion, the Two Holy Places, society, and the citizen.

Article 34 Military Service
The defence of the Islamic religion, society, and country is a duty for each citizen. The regime establishes the provisions of military service.

Article 35 Citizenship
The statutes define the Regulations governing Saudi Arabian nationality.

Article 36 Arrest
The state provides security for all its citizens and all residents within its territory and no one shall be arrested, imprisoned, or have their actions restricted except in cases specified by statutes.

Article 37 Home
The home is sacrosanct and shall not be entered without the permission of the owner or be searched except in cases specified by statutes.

Article 38 Punishment, nulla poena
Penalties shall be personal and there shall be no crime or penalty except in accordance with the Shari’ah or organizational law. There shall be no punishment except for acts committed subsequent to the coming into force of the organizational law.

Article 39 Expression
Information, publication, and all other media shall employ courteous language and the state’s regulations, and they shall contribute to the education of the nation and the bolstering of its unity. All acts that foster sedition or division or harm the state’s security and its public relations or detract from man’s dignity and rights shall be prohibited. The statutes shall define all that.

Article 40 Communication
Telegraphic, postal, telephone, and other means of communications shall be safeguarded. They cannot be confiscated, delayed, read or listened to except in cases defined by statutes.

Article 41 Residents’ Duties
Residents of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia shall abide by its laws and shall observe the values of Saudi society and respect its traditions and feelings.

Article 42 Asylum, Extradition
The state shall grant the right to political asylum when the public interest demands this. Statutes and international agreements shall define the rules and procedures governing the extradition of common criminals.

Article 43 Royal Courts
The King’s Court and that of the Crown Prince shall be open to all citizens and to anyone who has a complaint or a plea against an injustice. Every individual shall have a right to address the public authorities in all matters affecting him.

Chapter 6 The Authorities of the State

Article 44
The authorities of the state consist of the following:

the judicial authority;
the executive authority;
the regulatory authority.
These authorities cooperate with each other in the performance of their duties, in accordance with this and other laws. The King shall be the point of reference for all these authorities.

Article 45
The source of the deliverance of fatwa in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are God’s Book and the Sunnah of His Messenger. The law will define the composition of the senior ulema body, the administration of scientific research, deliverance of fatwa and it’s (the body of senior ulema’s) functions.

Article 46
The judiciary is an independent authority. There is no control over judges in the dispensation of their judgements except in the case of the Islamic Shari’ah.

Article 47
The right to litigation is guaranteed to citizens and residents of the Kingdom on an equal basis. The law defines the required procedures for this.

Article 48
The courts will apply the rules of the Islamic Shari’ah in the cases that are brought before them, in accordance with what is indicated in the Book and the Sunnah, and statutes decreed by the Ruler which do not contradict the Book or the Sunnah.

Article 49
Observing what is stated in Article 53, the courts shall arbitrate in all disputes and crimes.

Article 50
The King, or whoever deputizes for him, is responsible for the implementation of judicial rulings.

Article 51
The authorities establish the formation of the Higher Council of Justice and its prerogatives; they also establish the seniority of the courts and their prerogatives.

Article 52
The appointment of judges and the termination of their duties is carried out by Royal decree by a proposal from the Higher Council of Justice in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Article 53
The law establishes the seniority of the tribunal of complaints and its prerogatives.

Article 54
The law establishes the relationship between the investigative body and the Prosecutor-general, and their organization and prerogatives.

Article 55
The King carries out the policy of the nation, a legitimate policy in accordance with the provisions of Islam; the King oversees the implementation of the Islamic Shari’ah, the system of government, the state’s general policies; and the protection and defence of the country.

Article 56
The King is the head of the Council of Ministers; he is assisted in carrying out his duties by members of the Council of Ministers, in accordance with the provisions of this and other laws. The Council of Ministers establishes the prerogatives of the Council regarding internal and external affairs, the organization of and co-ordination between government bodies. It also establishes requirements to be fulfilled by ministers, their prerogatives, the manner of their questioning and all issues concerning them. The law on the Council of Ministers and its prerogatives is to be amended in accordance with this law.

Article 57

(a) The King appoints and relieves deputies of the prime minister and ministers and members of the Council of Ministers by Royal decree.
(b) The deputies of the prime minister and ministers of the Council of Ministers are responsible, by expressing solidarity before the King, for implementing the Islamic Shari’ah and the state’s general policy.
(c) The King has the right to dissolve and reorganize the Council of Ministers.

Article 58
The King appoints those who enjoy the rank of ministers, deputy ministers and those of higher rank, and relieves them of their posts by Royal decree in accordance with the explanations included in the law. Ministers and heads of independent departments are responsible before the prime minister for the ministries and departments which they supervise.

Article 59
The law defines the rules of the civil service, including salaries, awards, compensations, favors and pensions.

Article 60
The King is the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces. He appoints officers and puts an end to their duties in accordance with the law.

Article 61
The King declares a state of emergency, general mobilization and war, and the law defines the rules for this.

Article 62
If there is a danger threatening the safety of the Kingdom or its territorial integrity, or the security of its people and its interests, or which impedes the functioning of the state institutions, the King may take urgent measures in order to deal with this danger And if the King considers that these measures should continue, he may then implement the necessary regulations to this end.

Article 63
The King receives Kings and Heads of State. He appoints his representatives to states, and he receives the credentials of state representatives accredited to him.

Article 64
The King awards medals, as defined by regulations.

Article 65
The King may delegate prerogatives to the Crown Prince by Royal decree.

Article 66
In the event of his travelling abroad, the King issues a Royal decree delegating to the Crown Prince the management of the affairs of state and looking after the interests of the people, as defined by the Royal decree.

Article 67
The regulatory authority lays down regulations and motions to meet the interests of the state or remove what is bad in its affairs, in accordance with the Islamic Sharia. This authority exercises its functions in accordance with this law and the laws pertaining to the Council of Ministers and the Consultative Council.

Article 68 Consultative Council (Shura)
A Consultative Council [shura] is to be created. Its statute will specify how it is formed, how it exercises its powers and how its members are selected.

Article 69
The King has the right to convene the Consultative Council and the Council of Ministers for a joint meeting and to invite whoever he wishes to attend that meeting to discuss whatever matters he wishes.

Article 70
International treaties, agreements, regulations and concessions are approved and amended by Royal decree.

Article 71
Statutes are to be published in the Official Gazette and take effect from the date of publication unless another date is specified.

Chapter 7 Financial Affairs

Article 72

(a) The statute explains the provisions concerning the state’s revenue and its entry in the state’s general budget.
(b) revenue is entered and spent in accordance with the rules specified in the statute.

Article 73
Any undertaking to pay a sum of money from the general budget must be made in accordance with the provisions of the budget. If it is not possible to do so in accordance with the provisions of the budget, then it must be done in accordance with Royal decree.

Article 74
The sale, renting or use of state assets is not permitted except in accordance with the statute.

Article 75
The statutes will define the monetary and banking provisions, the standards, weights and measures.

Article 76
The law will fix the state’s financial year and will announce the budget by way of a Royal decree. It will also assess the revenues and expenditure of that year at least one month before the start of the financial year. If, for essential reasons, the budget is not announced and the new financial year starts, the budget of the previous year will remain in force until the new budget is announced.

Article 77
The competent body will prepare the state’s final statement of account for the passing year and will submit it to the head of the council of ministers.

Article 78
The same provisions will apply both to the budgets of the corporate bodies and their final statements of account and to the state’s budget and its final statement of account.

Chapter 8 Control Bodies

Article 79
All the state’s revenues and expenditures will come under subsequent control and all the state’s movable and immovable funds will be controlled in order to confirm the good use of these funds and their preservation. An annual report will be submitted on this matter to the head of the Council of Ministers. The law will define the competent control body and its obligations and prerogatives.

Article 80
government bodies will come under control in order to confirm the good performance of the administration and the implementation of the statutes. Financial and administrative offenses will be investigated and an annual report will be submitted on this matter to the head of the Council of Ministers. The law will define the competent body in charge of this and it’s obligations and prerogatives.

Chapter 9 General Provisions

Article 81
The implementation of this law will not prejudice the treaties and agreements signed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with international bodies and organizations.

Article 82
Without violating the content of Article 7, no provision of this law whatsoever may be suspended unless it is temporary such as in a time of war or during the declaration of a state of emergency. This temporary suspension will be in accordance with the terms of the law.

Article 83
This law may only be amended in the same way as it was promulgated.

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Plenty of Americans wonder why the US is so disliked internationally. Although many have a sense of why since the Iraq war began, people are quite oblivious as to what the US (and other Western countries) were doing before it. Plenty of knowledgeable people in America point out US failures like the Israeli-Palestinian struggle or quagmires like Vietnam. Those may be the most well-known examples, but there’s a list of countries, each with a strong case to make on how the US shares the blame for their troubles today. You could make a list, Iran, Afghanistan, Chile, Venezuela, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, etc.

Before the US was criticized for supporting the coup against the democratically elected Palestinian government, people were already saying the US deliberately overthrew democracies and installed dictatorships. Overthrowing the democracy of Iran in the 1950’s was one such case. One other country that seems to escape the attention of Americans and most Westerners is Algeria, Africa’s second largest country. Algeria; an Arab country that borders the Mediterranean Sea, Morocco, and Libya, was ruled by the French for over 100 years. This wasn’t just colonialism, the French considered it a part of France itself. In 1954, independence movements in the country erupted into warfare that lasted for eight years and resulted in over a million deaths. It was a brutal war against the French, which today mirrors that of the struggle in Iraq. (Even the US military privately admits the similarities, they have screened the film The Battle of Algiers at the Pentagon for top level leaders.)

In 1989, the military government in Algeria announced that it would hold free elections for parliament. A new constitution was set forth, calling for a multi-party system. In 1990, the first local and regional elections were held, where the surprise winners were the Islamic Salvation Front (which is known in French as FIS), winning with 54% of the votes cast. The party grew stronger as they announced their opposition to the then-current Gulf War, Desert Storm. They organized huge demonstrations to protest the government’s gerrymandering, which only ended when the government promised fair parliamentary elections. The government grew nervous, arresting the leaders, but the party itself remained legal and on the ballot.

Full National elections followed, when on December 26, 1991, the Islamic Salvation Front won 48% of all the votes across the country, winning 188 of the 231 seats offered in the first round. It was amazing, unanticipated, and clearly heading for an overwhelming majority. An FIS-dominated government seemed inevitable.

The largely secular military government in power became extremely nervous. This was clearly something they weren’t counting on. The problem, they saw, was that the Algerian constitution at the time allowed parliament to amend the constitution by a simple majority vote, which would then be approved in a popular referendum. This is unlike the US; the states or provinces in Algeria don’t ratify the Constitution, instead the population votes on it. The Algerian military could plainly see that the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) would soon get the majority once the rest of the elections took place, and could change the constitution at will.

This is what really made the military officers sweat, so to speak. The way they saw it; the FIS party could change the constitution so that there could never be another vote, if the FIS wanted. They could make Islamic law the rule of the land. They could have the Algerian military leaders executed if they liked (as it had happened in Iran during the revolution). Nobody knows if that would have happened, but the military wasn’t worried about their intentions, but what the FIS could do.

The military staged a coup, taking control of the country, forcing the President out, and canceling the election results on January, 11, 1992. They banned the FIS party, claiming the party was anti-democracy (but somehow fairly elected by the majority), and instituted the High State Council to rule over the country. This enraged the FIS, Islamic groups, and the majority who voted in favor of the FIS.

How did the USA react? What about France, the country who had colonized Algeria and still had interests in it? Did they send in peacekeepers like in Haiti? Did they put pressure on the current government to step aside and allow the democracy to take place? Did they even do as little as to condemn the Algerian military in a useless speech? No! In fact, France supported the coup. The US issued a formal but low-key statement on January 13 condemning the coup, but retracted it 24 hours later and offered support. Both countries opposed the FIS, which was anti-colonialist and thus anti-French and anti-American. As the US Assistant Secretary of State, Edward Djerejian said when he showed his support, he thought the FIS would cancel democracy (after getting fairly elected by the people) by making it “one man, one vote, one time.”

At the time, the Arab world hadn’t seen a populist democratic process like Algeria’s in quite a while. But still, the US willingly accepted the coup and the cancellation of that process. The FIS, which was a democratically elected Islamist government, was considered unacceptable in Washington. Why? Because the FIS was openly hostile to American dominance. The democratically elected FIS-led government was extremely unlikely to allow the US to use Algeria as part of its attempts to create a hegemony, but the army government was much more willing to cooperate with America’s ambitions.

So many FIS members were arrested- the government said 5,000 but the FIS said 30,000- that the jails had no room to hold them all. The government had to set up concentration camps in the Sahara desert where there were many reports of widespread torture. Men with beards became afraid to leave their houses lest the government arrest them as being “Islamist.” The government cracked down on protests, suspended many rights, and Amnesty International reported that the government frequently tortured many people. The army took power, democracy was ended, and the popular FIS was scattered.

For those FIS people who remained free after the initial mass arrests, many took it as a declaration of war. The FIS developed a sizable guerrilla army and fought, gaining back control of some territory. Barely a week after the coup, fighting began. They initially targeted the army and police, but some guerrillas launched a bloody campaign against any and all supporters of the military regime. Some Algerians turned to violence and terrorism, including the government, plunging Algeria into chaos. Factions fought one another, human rights abuses were committed, and the people suffered. The government forces routinely arrested, detained, and killed Algerian citizens accused of being members or supporters of the banned groups. Amnesty International reported in 1997 “Arbitrary and secret detention, unfair trial, torture and ill-treatment, including rape, ‘disappearances’, extrajudicial executions, deliberate and arbitrary killings of civilians, hostage-taking and death threats have become routine.”

The government claimed that many of the massacres of civilians were done by “Islamic terrorists,” yet many took place “within shouting distance of army barracks” and lasted for hours with no government intervention. The majority of these massacres took place in the capital, Algiers, in one of the most militarized areas of the country, yet the government didn’t stop the killing nor stop them from leaving. The most telling fact is that the vast majority of the victims weren’t non-Muslims; whom one would think “Islamic terrorists” would obviously target. Instead, the victims were almost entirely poor villagers; the Muslim people who voted overwhelmingly for the Islamic party. Rarely were officials or pro-army supporters targeted, both enemies of the FIS. Why would the FIS massacre its own supporters, its own popular base, rather than its real enemies?

According to the UK newspaper The Independent, one 23-year old soldier reported how some of the army soldiers wore fake beards and went into town to kill civilians, acting as “Islamic terrorists.” The government would “respond” to such attacks by arresting dissidents and using torture to get confessions. Several doctors of hospitals and morgues reported that “the dead from those who commit these horrible crimes were not circumcised.” Circumcision is the norm for all Algerian Muslim males, which implies that the perpetrators weren’t Muslim, despite what the military government insisted for years.

The war pitted secular and religious forces against one another, killing well over 100,000 persons since 1991, through constant village massacres and urban assassinations lasting more than a decade. The Algerian Civil war became a terrible internecine conflict. Only today, over a decade later, are the people trying to reconcile their differences and put an end to the ongoing bloodshed. It left Algeria in tatters, despite its promising economic future that was in store for them.

The US, despite all its public rhetoric on promoting democracy, didn’t help support democracy when Algeria came under the coup. They just did the same as they did in Venezuela when President Chavez was overthrown; they supported the undemocratic people doing the coup while the White House praised the dictators for helping to bring “democracy” to the country. The informed know that it’s actually the opposite, democracy is subverted by a dictator more friendly to the US, and thus green-lighted by US officials.

Actually, it’s far more similar to when Salvador Allende, a Marxist, won the 1970 Presidential election democratically in Chile. Henry Kissinger, the US Secretary of State (who later was accused of war crimes), said “I don’t see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its people.” Apparently democracy, the freedom of choosing your government, only matters to the US if you make a choice they like, otherwise you are “irresponsible.” As he also famously said, “The issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves.” As the US saw Communism as a threat to the world, they decided to take power out of the hands of the Chilean people. Kissinger’s CIA group sent a message to its operatives; “It is firm and continuing policy that [the democratically elected government of] Allende be overthrown by a coup…” The Chileans suffered when the US-staged coup succeeded, bringing Dictator Augusto Pinochet to power, who then ordered the murder of over 5,000 Chileans. Chile is still recovering from the effects.

Why did the US government support the coup in Algeria? Their stated official reason was because they feared the Islamic party would get too much of a majority and thus control the government completely and reshape it. That’s absurd when you think of it; the Republican Party in America controlled the White House, the House of Representatives, the Senate, the Supreme Court, and numerous state governments and legislatures with sizeable single-party majorities. Does that mean America was at risk of losing their democracy, and thus should be invaded and overthrown? Some argue that the Republicans don’t have the intention to get rid of democracy, but the GOP threatened the “nuclear option” in 2005. That plan was to use their majority votes in the Senate to remove the minority rights of Senators, imposing a “tyranny of the majority” against minority parties in the government. Did the FIS of Algeria ever threaten anything like that? Critics claim that some of the FIS leaders and preachers who backed the party were anti-democracy in their speeches, but they followed the Constitution and were voted for anyway by the people, winning the election fair and square.

As a Canadian official said, “the West supported the coup in Algeria in an effort to prevent Islamic fundamentalists coming to power through the ballot box.” This is a clear case of hypocrisy. The West claims to consider democracy its best form of government available, and works to promote it in their speeches and economic policies. However, when a democracy like Algeria allows a democracy that the West doesn’t agree with, they support its overthrow and even work to keep the dictators in power. Europe’s access to Algerian oil would have been jeopardized by an Islamic government, simply because a genuine Islamic government would use its resources for its population instead of allowing them to be owned by Western companies. Part of the Western support for the new Algerian (military-controlled) regime stems from its promises to open the country to foreign trade and liberalize its economy.

Algeria’s oil exports are over $33 Billion alone. It’s a member of OPEC and 90% of it goes to Europe; a pipeline is in the works. For a steady source of oil and Natural gas, of course a country like France is willing to turn a blind eye to the government’s human rights violations. France even contributed, quietly giving the Algerian army helicopters, aerial surveillance and night-vision equipment, and French spy agencies monitored all Algerian radio round-the-clock to help the Algerian military track the FIS. Considering the Algerian military was a corrupt and torturing tyranny, it makes the “pro-democracy” France all the more hypocritical. The UK gave nearly £5 Million in military equipment, knowing full well the atrocities the military committed. The US did similiarly, training the Algerian military and getting the use of Algerian ports in exchange. The fact that the Algerian military was implicated in the deaths of thousands seems not to have bothered anyone in the US government at all. The EU provided around $65 Million, provided the Algerian generals allowed Western involvement supervised by the IMF and World Bank.

Rather than pressuring the Algerian government to end the war, the West did the opposite. By giving weapons to the tyrannical regime, they are directly supporting the mass killing with the excuse of fighting “Islamic terrorists.” Of course it’s not mentioned that Algeria has oil or many companies want to get access to Algeria’s Billions of dollars in resources. Everyone wants a piece of Algeria; France wants to extend its culture and language to Algeria and get its oil, the US wants the Arab Maghreb markets to sell in. British journalist John Sweeney put it best when he called the 100,000 deaths in Algeria as “Europe’s gas bill.”

Of course, not only was oil a factor, but also the West’s distrust of Islam. If the FIS won, it would have put dedicated Muslims in power of a country nearby Europe. The West would rather have a corrupt, brutal junta in power than a cleaner and popular FIS which is not subservient to the West. When it comes to its interests, the West is quite prepared to abandon its self-proclaimed ‘principles’. It demands democracy in a country like Burma and criticizes the dictatorship for not respecting the wishes of the people, but backs the dictators in Algeria. This can be proven by hundreds of American engineers working on the oil areas in Algeria, and companies like Exxon, Mobil, and BP exploring the country for more oil fields, while the Algerian people’s income steadily decreases every year.

The US and West really showed its hypocrisy and betrayed its values when it came to Algeria, as well as elsewhere. Many hearts and minds were lost in the 1990’s by this, let alone after the 2003 Iraq war or toppling the popular Somali government. Supporters argue that the US acted pragmatically, but in doing so the US government lost all moral authority it sanctimoniously claims. The West proved that human rights are irrelevant or only selectively enforced when it comes to foreign policy, as a rich country like Algeria is too good to pass up in economic imperialism.

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Alive in Baghdad has a video report:
Field Report - Protecting Hospitals in Iraq

It genuinely bothers me that people would be sick-minded enough to attack hospitals, which has happened in the past in Kirkuk and Mosul. (That doesn’t let the US soldiers off the hook for deliberately attacking an Iraqi hospital in Fallujah either.)

As an EMT, pharmacy worker, and aspiring doctor, few things upset me more than those who deliberately target healthcare workers; doctors, nurses, ambulance personnel etc. Every so often, I’d look at the Palestinian Red Crescent website and see reports of attacks against PRCS members by Israeli soldiers; drivers and patients shot, delays at checkpoints killing patients, and mistreatment of workers (the website used to have photos). It’s just cruel. There have also been attacks on Israeli ambulances (which is just as reprehensible), but I can’t find nearly as many incidents.

If you want to read and hear more about the brave doctors and the risks they take worldwide, visit Doctors Without Borders

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Alive in Baghdad has a video blog in Iraq.

One bit of good news, however brief. Field Report - Iraqis Celebrate Winning the 2007 Asia Cup, baghdad

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