keep it shut

Dude tried to run away, but five guys caught him and dragged him back into the alley.

You try to defuse the situation, Man, let him go, it’s not worth it. You push the punches away, shouting at the top of your lungs so your goon friends listen to you.

Stop, stop.

An elbow drops you to the pavement. You’re winded, but you try to get up again. They’re really beating him up bad. He can’t stand anymore, his body held upright by someone’s tight grip around his neck, torso flailing inside a circle of blows.

You pull your friend down. Enough.

He sits and looks at the battered puppet. Yes, enough.

They throw him onto the cobblestones. Slumped to one side, eyes bruised shut, unconscious.

Why?

He did us wrong, he tells you. He had it coming.

It wasn’t like he didn’t know what would happen if he did it again. We’ve warn him many, many times. Still he did it. He’s either stupid or an idiot.

You really disagree, look at him, you’ve beaten him to a pulp. He needs a hospital, he could have broken bones

He grabs your arm, he will be alright, he knew what was coming, he got what he deserved, and he better learn his lesson. Now question is, have you?

You feel the others waiting for your answer. You hear the adrenalin pumping through their hearts.

I won’t say a thing. I hate what I’ve seen, but I won’t say a thing.

the Egyptian thugs forget that the revolution's not only in Tahrir Square

excerpt from Mariam Mokhtar's article (via Dr Dzul)

They see a land which has few opportunities to offer, and where only the elite enjoy power.

Sounds familiar? I was describing Egypt but I could just as easily be describing Malaysia.

The Egyptians are fighting the government mainly for financial reasons. Its people face economic gloom, rising prices, rising unemployment, poor living conditions and the breakdown of law and order.

the Cairo revolt from this point forward will be remembered as what happens when people realise that their poverty does not make sense, and illustrates just how far desperate despots are willing to go to maintain their grip on power, with no regard for public opinion or sanity

2011 looks set to be an interesting, if violent, year. Even if the year's fireworks ends with the petrol bombs in Tahrir Square, the flames are sure to be seen around the world for a long time to come. No way is this going to end quietly and quick

Happy Year of the Rabbit folks

Extremism is Extremism

This is probably the most difficult post for me so far.

For a long time, I preferred remaining on the sidelines of this issue. Mainly because it is something that runs deep to many muslims. The Jihad. Or rather The Jihad?

I feel that a spade should be called just that, a spade. That suicide bombings, indiscriminate killings and murders, and blatant aggression should be acknowledged for what it is: extremism.

How strange I felt on the steps of the State Library last week, as the demonstrators applauded
'the resistance' of Iraq.
Are they celebrating the same 'resistance' that detonated a 'car-bomb' using children to pass through security checkpoints.
Is it the same 'resistance' that blows bombs during religious festivals?

So comes the question, is this Islam?
Yes, muslims are oppressed the world over;
yes, muslims are in a position of weakness;
but is this how the Prophet S.A.W taught us to act?
Is this how he reacted?

I cannot convince myself anymore that Islam condones indiscriminate murder. Or that it condones the murder of child who has never raised a weapon against a muslim. Nor of anyone who does not aggress us.

Saddam was a tyrant, but no one deserves the current anarchy. It is said that a ruler, even a tyrant, is a blessing from God. One only has to ask those living outside the Green Zone to know what that means.

Here's the link:

Former Jihadist Renounces Violence