Open letter to Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz – by Ani Zonneveld

Open letter to Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz – by Ani Zonneveld

Ani Zonneveld sent an open letter to the current Saudi King.  She “has correctly highlighted Saudi Wahabism as a major source of extremism and the foundations for terrorist groups like ISIS.”

Some items she mentions in her letter:

The Quran liberated women from subhuman status, gave us rights to choose whom to marry, to work, to be in leadership positions and to ultimately live in full dignity.

There is nothing Islamic about the way many countries in the Muslim world are run today.

The Muslim world remains corrupted by power and money, the very dynamic Muhammad spoke against.

______________________________

Dear King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz,
Assalamu-alaikum.

I am a 52-year-old Malaysian-born Muslim. I was raised in a harmonious interracial and interfaith society that accepted and respected other religious practices. The existence of different faith groups was viewed simply as different ways of connecting to the same God. Saudi Arabia started exporting its Wahhabi ideology in the 1970s, and it spread around the world, turning existing interpretations of Islam into one that is dogmatic and violent.

The result is a nearly unrecognizable form of Islam. It appears to get worse by the day. Murders, suicide bombings, sectarianism and religious hatemongering have become commonplace. We cannot continue on this path of religious-based mayhem in the name of Islam. The Muslim world needs a change. You are in the best position to take us out of this misery.

As a child, I remember celebrating Mawlid — the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday — with uplifting songs, prayers and even a parade. Now it is taboo to observe Mawlid even in America, and adherents to the Wahhabi brand of Islam would rather emphasize his death. The same clerics tell us we cannot critically engage with the Quran or use our God-given right to think in order to reconcile the contradictions that exist between the Quran and hadith, the collection of record of the prophet’s sayings that serve as a source of religious and moral guidance.

When I was growing up, weddings and community events were colorful and featured music and dance, without segregating the sexes. This is no longer the case in many Muslim communities. Music, dance and unsegregated gatherings are deemed haram, or forbidden. Artistic expressions must be Sharia-compliant, meaning no depiction of humans or animals.

The Quran liberated women from subhuman status, gave us rights to choose whom to marry, to work, to be in leadership positions and to ultimately live in full dignity. And yet in 2015, Wahhabi imams have relegated women to subhuman status by allowing husbands to cane their wives into obedience and promoting a version of Sharia that permits forced and child marriages and condones honor killings. Women have become sexual objects through forced veiling, which makes our voices, skin, hair and faces off limits, and even a handshake is deemed a potentially arousing sexual experience.

How is this Wahhabi chokehold different from the practice of burying daughters alive? 
Our society is increasingly looking like the age of jahiliyya, or ignorance that preceded the birth of Islam. You have the power to change that by lifting the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia, abolishing the male guardian system, granting full voting rights for women and promoting equality in all spheres of life for all people. This would deflate the theological foundation of the criminal beliefs of the ISILs, Talibans and the Boko Harams of the world.

There are many reform-minded Saudi men and women whom you should include in discussion rather than imprison them. This will have a profound effect on millions of women and men in the Muslim world and beyond.

Enough with the vilifying of minority sects and non-Muslims. You should sit down with the supreme leader of Iran and sign a covenant of peace till the end of time.

The divisive sectarianism and ideology of Islamic Sunni supremacy is sickening. We are tired of the infighting, the dehumanizing of “the other” at the minbar (mosque pulpit), the talk of takfir (excommunicating of fellow Muslims) and the slaughter of “the other” by assuming a God-like role as the judge and the punisher. There were no Sunni, Shia or other sects during Muhammad’s time, but there were believers of many faiths, nonbelievers and even pagans, all residing in dignity in your country — protected by the prophet.

The Quran teaches us all people are equal in the eyes of God: “We have created you men and women, into nations and tribes for you to learn from each other. Surely, the most honorable among you in the sight of God is the most righteous.” (Quran 49:13). Imagine a Saudi Arabia where all people can come together to exchange ideas freely and share in our humanity.  

The Muslim world remains corrupted by power and money, the very dynamic Muhammad spoke against. Imagine a Muslim world void of corruption and endowed with good governance. Such an environment would ensure that the ISILs and Saudi dissidents would not flourish. There is nothing Islamic about the way many countries in the Muslim world are run today. 

Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi ideology is the root of all the ills in the Muslim world. You have the power to uproot it once and for all through your influence in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the hundreds and thousands of madrassas the kingdom funds. As host to millions from around the world during the annual hajj, the kingdom can send a message of change to Wahhabi-influenced ideologues.
We do not have a pope in Islam, but by adopting the official title of custodian of our two holiest sites, Mecca and Medina, you have assumed a unique position of influence to shift our Muslim world onto a positive path.

I recognize that my letter is an idealistic plea. After all, you are a king with all the earthly needs one can imagine and so powerful that you have Muslim and non-Muslim nations at your feet. But do what Muhammad did: Promote equality and a just system that benefits all people. That is the true meaning of the straight path we recite in al-Fatihah.

With deepest sincerity,

Ani Zonneveld

___________________________

She is appealing to a medieval Saudi monarch who’s one and only pursuit is self preservation of the oligarch ruling class.    The Saudi monarchy abhors democracy.  It works quite well for the rulers of Saudi Arabia to use religion to control its people.  It would take a remarkable man to measure what she says as the truth.  Truth has little value in the minds the oppressors.

 

 

 

 

Obtained a copy of the letter October 15, 2019 at this web site: http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/2/open-letter-to-saudi-king-salman-bin-abdul-aziz.html

 

Mexicoleaks May Be A Threat To Mexico’s Political Elite.

Mexicoleaks May Be A Threat To Mexico’s Political Elite.

The start up of Mexicoleaks seems to be similar to seeing two old wood war ships side by side shelling one another.  Mexicoleaks appears to be a large cannon aimed at Mexico’s top politicians.  Here is their stated purpose:

“Méxicoleaks is a tool that allows you to send information of public interest media and civil organizations through secure technologies that guarantee the anonymity of the source. Under transparency and citizen participation in society seeks to build justice and democracy.”

The web site is in Spanish but if you use the Chrome web browser, it offers you the ability to translate.  Use Google Chrome and enter this web site address:https://mexicoleaks.mx/

Then make sure you choose the option to translate from Spanish into English.  After you successfully do that, the web site should read perfectly in English.

Firing Of Carmen Aristegui May Reveal Much More.

Firing Of Carmen Aristegui May Reveal Much More.

In studying sociology I found a singular concept that almost works like a tool to uncover hidden knowledge.  That concept is called “empirical indicator”.   This means “what we see” thus “shows us” something else.  The idea is that there can be one or more things that we can see but may actually stand for some hidden meaning.  In sociology the examples given are typically things you might see in a person’s office may indicate their rank in the organization.  If you see a potted plant, a rug, even a fire place in a person’s corporate office, each indicates a corporate ranking.  Simply put, the more elaborate the office furniture and trappings, the higher the person’s status.  The concept is based on common sense and we all had been using this concept well before sociologist put a name to it.  When we see a person not dressed well, we may think that person is poor.  The clothing a person wears may equate with how much money they have or not have.

This idea of empirical indicator can also be utilized in a lot of other ways.  Let me propose, for your consideration, that we take this concept and try to see if it fits a political situation.

A prominent Mexico journalist, Carmen Aristegui, was fired from her job at MVS Radio.  She revealed a number of political embarrassments committed by some top Mexican officials.  One such revelation, that the current president, Enrique Peria Nieto may have used his powerful office for personal gain in real estate deals.  Exposing this may have sent the ratings of the current Mexican president in a downward direction.

Now it is obvious conjecture that the president of Mexico exercised any influence in having Carmen Aristegui’s assistants dismissed.  Obviously, attacking her directly would be way too revealing.  Obfuscating the alleged pressure being applied to Carmen is better applied by sending her a strong message by having her close associates attacked, dismissed and hope she bows.  She obviously got the message.   She did not buckle and seems to have the tough stuff that we normally attribute to men.  Mexico needs more tough people in power like her, that have good ethics and moral values.   If she fades away, it will be a further loss for Mexico.

The empirical indicator I wish to suggest to you is that the alleged action taken against Carmen may stand for the fact of top Mexican corruption.   So, not a potted plant or a fire place in an office but instead an action may stand for something way more important – top Mexican political corruption.

Ian Masters Radio Show Segment: The Magnificent Seven with Professor Lawrence Wilkerson

Ian Masters Radio Show Segment: The Magnificent Seven with Professor Lawrence Wilkerson

Lawrence Wilkerson, the former Chief of Staff to United States Secretary of State Colin Powell joins Ian Masters to discuss his article at The Huffington Post “The Magnificent Seven”  What is shocking in the radio segment is Mr. Wilkerson is candid and seemingly honest in his evaluation of the Republican Party.  The most shocking view that he puts forth is that one of the Republican Party’s problem with President Obama is black prejudice.  I have suspected this for a long time but it seems that most everyone fails to talk about it.  What is more shocking is Mr. Wilkerson’s prediction if the Republicans take the white house and keep exercising personal self serving policies that only enrich the Republican oligarchs, the United States will fall into decay.

[Update: December 7, 2017, Ian Masters has moved his web site and I found that this radio show segment is not available currently.]  Listen to the radio show segment “The Magnificent Seven”

E-mail from Score Card to Professor Wilkerson:

WOW!  I listen to your segment with Ian Masters entitled “The Magnificent Seven” and you really come across as honest, intelligent and knowledgeable about what ails the United States.  You really do not state your mind bluntly.   I just love that.  I have suspected for quite a long time that Republicans are prejudice against blacks.  What is sort of disturbing, if true, is no one seems to want to mention this possibility.  You are the first one to bring this up (in my world).  Thank you again in a different perspective as it firms my blog approach (I am a blogger).   I am really disturbed in contemplating that a large segment of the United States population is simply stupid and if so, what do you do with that problem?  Thank you for sharing your views.  I hope to hear more from you.  Start a blog or better yet, write a current world situation book.

Professor Wilkerson’s reply:

Thank you for taking the time to wrote to me and to express your support and your views.  Our Founders were concerned about the same matter, i.e., how does one keep the electorate–the people–knowledgeable, competent, and able to cast a smart vote, or even ensure that the candidates available are the right ones for the positions, local, state, and national.   Thomas Jefferson actually stated that such was the reason he and others founded the University of Virgina and, as you may know, Jefferson had that founding put on his gravestone. It was one of his proudest achievements.  Jefferson also was a slaveholder, one who had sexual relations with his dead wife’s half-sister, Sally Hemmings, a slave herself–sexual relations that led to several children.  None of us is perfect, in other words.  We just have to keep trying.  I believe Jefferson was right about education.  It is the most important answer to the question of how to keep a democracy sound.  Ours is weak right now primarily because the people are weak–and they are weak primarily because there are so many among us who are ignorant, uneducated, and therefore vulnerable to the political charlatans like Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton.

Thanks again for writing.

Prof Lawrence Wilkerson

National Geographic: The War On Science

National Geographic: The War On Science

I have lived over seven decades and I am shocked at discovering, all of a sudden, and with proof, that a whole huge population of humane beings are utterly stupid.  I have run into this view quite a few times by my acquaintances and friends saying this to me on occasion.  They refer to this or that group in foreign countries.  Let me be a bit more specific with one example that does not represent what my friends have told me but a singular instance, in this country, that really stands out in my mind.  I go to a gym almost every day and the major makeup of the people who go to that gym are conservative, meaning they are a mixture of Republican and Libertarian.  One person who is a friend of mine utterly refuses to believe in global warming.  If you don’t believe in global warming, this blog post is about you.  Well this guy cherry picks his examples from the most obscure Internet sources to try and verify his points.  I could not figure out why someone who is in most every other way intelligent is so stupid about this subject.  His family history sort of puts a light upon it.

Fast forward to March 2015, at COSTCO, I picked up the National Geographic magazine issue with the title “The War On Science” by Joel Achenbach.  I open to page 30 and see the huge words “The Age Of Disbelief”.  The article is a shock for me to read but at the same time a comfort that this mystery is explained of why some people seem so stupid.  I really recommend this issue for you to read.  The article is well written and makes a lot of very interesting points.

Here are some, not all, of the key points that I found interesting.  I am drawn in these points because I am currently writing about why there are terrorists coming out of the Middle East and these points seem to explain part of that problem:

  • Personal experience trumps the facts.  My friend, who refuses to accept global warming, had a father that hated unions because the union bosses were crooks.  His father’s attitude toward politics may have tainted the son’s views.  Thus, his father’s experience may have became his.  Parents have a tremendous influence upon their children.
  • We look for evidence that confirms what we already believe. My friend would peruse the Internet trying to find justification for his preconceived notions about global warming.  I found it quite amusing at his resourcefulness at finding “facts” that supported his beliefs.
  • “Our beliefs are motivated largely by emotion and the biggest motivation is remaining tight with your peers”.  Wow.  That was a surprise for me to take in.  The author seems to extrapolate this premise  from a study by Dan Kahan of Yale University.   This sort of makes sense because I am really struck by reading the importance of tribalism in the Middle East.  Tribalism appears to be one principal factor holding a whole host of nations backward and this is why this article seems important to my understanding of the Middle East problem.

In summary, the article tells us that reason and truth is secondary to our emotions, how we feel about a subject.   It may seem that global warming denial and Middle East terrorism may have similar roots because both go against well thought out inspection and arguments.  Stupid does rule for some people.

 

Updated: 3-6-19.  National Geographic Magazine link removed due to time out error.
Keep Web Site Login Information Ready and Secure.

Keep Web Site Login Information Ready and Secure.

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I was drawn into helping a hair salon owner regain control of her web site.  She had lost control of a prior site because she handed over the whole process to a person and then had some falling out.  She was paying for the web site name registration and hosting fees but utterly failed to understand the importance of keeping the account information in her records.  She lost the prior web site name because she could not communicate with the domain registration and hosting company.  She had to start over and find another domain  name and register it.  I was called in to help her break into her second web site. She was about to lose control if it too.  Thankfully, the person who set up her second web site chose HostGator.  They are somewhat difficult to reach because the wait time on the phone to talk to someone can be quite long.  But, once you are on the phone with one of their technical support persons, they can provide all the necessary information you need.  My guess is, it took me less than ten minutes of technical support’s time on the phone to regain ownership of this women’s web site.  Their technical support person was perfect in their conduct of helping their client.

I have two points to make in writing this post. The first is I wish to commend HostGator for providing very good support for their host services and their support for WordPress software.  My second point is to tell you, the reader, that if you intend to start up a web site PLEASE follow the following suggestions listed below.

Record accurately the following information:

  • Domain name registration company name and web site address.
  • Domain name registration company billing information.  (This is very important to keep track of because it proves to the company that you own the web site domain name.  Do not delete the past two or more year’s e-mails from this company.)
  • Domain name registration company land line phone.
  • Domain name registration company login user name.
  • Domain name registration company login password.
  • Domain name registration company e-mail address if this has been activated.  (My sister has a web site registered domain name and she knows that the company includes, as part of their name registration package, an e-mail service.  She uses this web site domain name to get ONLY a personal e-mail account.  If you enter the domain name for her web site you will see this:

“Welcome to namecheap.com. This domain was recently registered at namecheap.com. The domain owner may currently be creating a great site for this domain. Please check back later!”

I was totally surprised that my sister had the knowledge to do this.  All her e-mail gets sent to her web site name except the web site does not exist, only the domain name and the cost is incredibly cheap.

I do not recommend GoDaddy for web site name registration because they are bloat, full of extra paid options that most people do not need.  Most important for me is when I did my research, they had a less than impressive reputation for caving in to any legal query into who owns a particular web site.   I use NameCheap to register my web sites.  Their prices seem cheaper than GoDaddy.  Their web site is less attractive and a bit clunky to use than GoDaddy.

Here is your second important list to write down some place secure:

  • Web site host company name and web site address.
  • Web site host company billing information. (This information is important to prove you own the web site.  Keep all e-mails from the host company.)
  • Web site host company billing land line phone number.
  • Web site host company C-Panel web site address.  (C-Panel is your host control panel in graphical user information (GUI) form and damned important for you to control).
  •  Web site host company C-Panel login user name. (VERY IMPORTANT)
  • Web site host company C-Panel login password.  (VERY IMPORTANT)
  • There are a whole long list of further information that your web site host company should send you by e-mail such as exact server address, FTP information and other information that may be specific to your web site.  At the very least, know exactly how to gain access to your web site C-Panel.

After you have a web site name registered and then pay for hosting fees, typically for a year, you then have to decide what software to put up into your rented host computer hard drive.  If you are starting out, this being your first time putting up a web site, I strongly recommend that you consider WordPress.  I do not recommend that you host at WordPress but rather use a good host company and use their C-Panel to load the software.  There are other packages that you can install from your C-Panel but WordPress, for me is pretty easy to use and has a lot of features.  Take the time to research which software package might be the best fit for what your intentions are.  Once you do the installation of the web site software, you can easily remove that software if you do not like it and switch over to another.  You can even install two or more software systems into the same web site but in different sub directories.  I have done this.  I typically put WordPress into its own sub directory for text content.  I can do a web site redirect to anyone who goes to the root directory  which will result in them being sent to the WordPress sub directory.  WordPress can show photographs but if I think I need a more robust photo gallery I put up another software package into a different sub directory and provide a link to it from the WP.  The point I wish to make is when you install WordPress or any other software, they almost always include their own login.  Treat this login with respect and care and do not share this information with anyone you do not trust.  Write down the following information and keep it safe:

  • Software package login user name. (VERY IMPORTANT)
  • Software package login password.  (VERY IMPORTANT)
  • Software package information such as the sub directory it is located in.

Once you have installed your main web site software that makes your web site look the way it does to your customers you can then add optional software packages that augment and enhance the operation of the main software.  Each of these sub software installations may include their own logins.  Make darn sure you write this information down.

  • Sub package login user name.  (IMPORTANT)
  • Software package login password. (IMPORTANT)

You can some times add social networking links and these too need to be added to your web site document and recording.

You have a number of options for recording the above information.  I strongly suggest that, at the very least, you copy from e-mail sent to you by any company the vital information and then paste each item into some text document.  The reason for this is I have had to deal with some people who write down on a pad of paper some of this information and they totally fail to understand the importance of upper case, lower case, spaces, special characters, punctuation.  In other words they screw up the login process.  By doing the copy past method you remove the possibility for these humane errors will occur.

If you are a Macintosh computer user, consider using Keychain to hold this information because it is secure and comes with each computer you buy.

There are a lot of password safe software that you can buy.  I currently use MSecure but I am not totally happy with it.

Once you have devised a reliable, easy to call up document with all the above information:

  • DO NOT LOOSE IT!
  • KEEP IS SAFE!
  • DO NOT SHARE WITH ANYONE unless they have a damned good reason to know.  If you hire a web developer to create your web site, make darn sure you take charge of all the information listed above.

I mentioned before that I do like HostGator.  I do recommend them for beginners using WordPress.  What I do not like is that I can easily take over a web site if I get into the C-Panel.  I would start out with HostGator and if you wish to gain slightly better security a few years later, look around carefully for another good host company.  I am currently with LinkSky.  Their C-Panel will not allow you to easily gain control of the web site which is even more reason to document well all the login information associated with your web site.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Weeks after I wrote the above blog piece, The Wall Street Journal did an article entitled Thieves Steal Company Web Addresses.  The article does not take the same view that you need to keep safe your web site information but instead warns web site owners that there are criminals out there who can some times take your web site domain name away from you.