letters

Letters long and short, from north, south, east and west

Donation

OK, I decided to send money to you instead of my old "alma mater," who keeps calling and sending me letters. I'm sure you can use the money and I don't think they need it as much as you do.

Carlos

Editor's note: Thank you, Carlos, and thanks to everyone else who has contributed during the March solicitation of donations to keep The Panama News going and improve its coverage of Panama.

Paging Tamara Arthur

Greetings from Georgia!

I was in Panama back in 1998 at Howard AFB.  I met a young lady there by the name of Tamara Arthur.  She used to work at a beauty salon called "The Look", I have not communicated wth her in quite some time.  Was wondering if you could use your paper to locate her.

 I can be reached anytime at (478) 320-2701 or by email at mrfitz31@yahoo.com.

Randall Fitzgerald

Paging Keith Knitter

I wish to find a Keith Knitter who took pictures for your magazine, specifically the Christmas Parade in 2005.

Do you have any information on him? I'm an old friend of his from the Air Force days.

If you don't want to give me his info --can you give him mine?

Nancy Papaliosas

nancypap@albanyhome.com

Editor's note: I seem to have lost Sgt. Knitter's email address myself, which is why I publish this rather than pass it along privately.

Aussies to Muslims --- obey or leave!

Just in case you haven't seen this, here is what the Australian government told the Muslim to do: http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/australia.asp.

It's a shame that the US isn't on the ball in this  situation. Perhaps Panama should before it might get out of  hand.

Don Rentfrow

Editor's note: Panama does, in fact, have a history of insisting that Muslims accept the mainstream Catholic world view. It was called the Spanish Inquisition. These days Panama has, with few exceptions, religious freedom and a tolerant attitude. The neighborhood in which The Panama News office is located has many Muslim residents, and it is not a problem. We have had one apparent experience with radical Muslim terrorism, the bombing of a commuter plane in 1994, but that was apparently the work of foreigners and in any case the crime is officially unsolved and there are those who say that it was drug-related rather than an act of political/religious fanaticism. However, if Panama decided to adopt policies aimed at restricting the rights of Muslims, it would then be likely that we'd occupy a higher position on Osama's boys' hit list and that some Panamanian Muslims would be radicalized by the insult.

My advice to Muslims

It is not enough to be good; one must also show the right path to others who might otherwise do evil.

Dear Muslims!

You know that to eliminate all kinds of vices from the world and to promote good is the responsibility of every Muslim. Allah, the Lord of the universe, says: "You are the best Ummah who have been created to show the right path to the people. You command for doing good and forbid from doing evil, and you have faith in Allah."

The Holy Prophet (SAW [Editor's note: an abbreviation of an Arabic expression meaning "peace be unto Him"]) has also said that everyone amongst you is a caretaker and is responsible for his subordinates on the Day of Judgement. Rulers will be answerable for the citizens of their state, every family head will be accountable for the members of his family and will be asked as to what he did for their reformation, education and better life. He will be asked as to whether he forbid them from adopting the bad ways, and helped them in leading a pious life or not. The Holy Quran has called this task as "Enjoining (People) To Do Good and Forbidding (Them) From Doing Evil."

Respected Muslims! The world history reveals that until Muslims performed the task of commanding the people to do good and barring them from doing evil, the pious people remained dominant in those societies and there was peace and tranquility and satanic forces were subdued. But, when this collective responsibility was designated only to clerics, and the common Muslims ignored this task, in spite of the efforts of the clerics, waywardness spread quickly. A wave of offenses, terrorism, tyranny, evils, sins, ignorance and anarchy engulfed almost every segment of life. Disorder, commotion and chaos were on the rise in the world society, wrecking the peace of all mankind.

The Holy Prophet (SAW) has warned of this danger in these words:

"I swear to the Lord Who is the Master of my soul (it is your duty that) you must enjoin (the people) to do good and forbid (them) from doing evil, otherwise, the day is not far when Allah Almighty will unleash His wrath on you, and then you will pray (for help) to Allah, but your prayers will not be answered." (Trimdi)

The world is facing disaster upon disaster every day and people are expecting a major catastrophe. The deeds that have been forbidden by God are being committed openly. The evils are increasing, while the virtues are fading out gradually. Tyranny, oppression and carnage are going on, liars and cheats are overcoming. Terrorism, bribery, corruption, evil, nudity, vulgarity and wickedness have assaulted the world. It seems we have reached inferno before the Last Day. History tells us that such a situation arises when people are being cursed by God.

It is feared that members of the previous generations will be accountable for their individual deeds on the Day of Judgment, but present generation will be thrown as a whole into hell after a collective prosecution, because the nobles of this generation remained as silent spectators instead of restraining the wrongdoers from committing, cruelty, sins and misdeeds.

The Divine punishment to an ancient civilization seconds this fear. There were three groups during that period. One was of knaves, the second was of the people who did good deeds but did not halt the disobedient from transgression. The third group was of the people who followed the Divine doctrines as well as restrained others from disobeying them. When God cursed the nation, the people exempted from this torment were those who had been observing the limits fixed by their Master and were stopping others from wrongdoing as well.

There is another but similar happening. The residents of a town had been engulfed by an ocean of sins. However, there was a noble man who was always busy in worshipping God, but he did not bother about persuading others to give up their bad ways. When God ordered the angels to destroy the town, He said: "Overturn the town on the person who was anxious to save himself from the Divine Punishment, but was not endeavoring to save others from it."

I request the virtuous people of the world that they should not only depend upon their prayers to save themselves from the Divine Punishment; rather they should lead the Evil Doers and followers of Satan who have gone astray, to the right path. They should undertake this task against Evil Doers with full determination. Only then will their virtues and prayers save them from the Divine Punishment.

S.A. Rehman

Peace Activist

Pakistan

SAARC, a cart before horse without MNSPP

The interest (including economic) shown by world community (including observer countries) at recent South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit held in Delhi is quite understandable given the fact that almost one-fourth of mankind lives in these eight countries of SAARC, which is the disturbed developing world of South Asia that practices mainly Islam and Hindu religions, coming to terms with modern civilization triggered by unprecedented advancement in science and technology.

Notwithstanding the hyped analogy, SAARC is not going to be like EU (which is constituted of peaceful, stable and mutually un-hostile nations) but ultimately on the pattern of the USA with genuine federalism and a strong central command. This will automatically take care of myriad vexing political problems (without which economic progress is impossible) of this region such as terrorism friendly Kashmir dispute between two nuclear powers, huge infiltration of Bangladeshis causing deep political unrest and violence in northeast of India, the intense and  bloody Sri Lankan civil war (a chronic headache for world community), political turmoil in Nepal, politically deeply scarred Afghanistan, etc.

The population of SAARC is above 1.5 billion out which approximately 1 billion are Hindus (which as per the law of India includes ‘Sanatani’ Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, etc.) while approximately 0.5 billion are Muslims. This requires a genuine secular order for any peaceful co-existence and interaction of the peoples of future United States of Secular Democratic SAARC countries, in view of the communal tension between populations of most of the SAARC countries. 

Hence the optimism aired by the leaders of SAARC countries and observer countries is going to remain a ritualistic exercise unless they realize that first of all people of SAARC countries have to meet politically (for strengthening the secular forces of SAARC in order to effectively and decisively defeat the well entrenched communal force of these countries) before heads and members of governments ofSAARC countries may hope to achieve any worthwhile association of SAARC countries.

For this, following is needed:

1.      Provision for Multi-National Secular Political Parties (MNSPP) is to be incorporated in the laws of all the eight SAARC countries so that people from all these countries may become member of any such MNSPP.

2.      These MNSPP should be entitled to participate in the elections of respective SAARC countries for forming their governments and local bodies.

3.      There should be a Registrar of Multi-National Secular Political Parties (RMNSPP) for SAARC with its head office in some SAARC country and offices in all the eight SAARC countries.

4.      RMNSPP will be responsible for ensuring periodic organizational elections in MNSPP in all the eight SAARC countries.

5.      MRNSPP will also be responsible for ensuring filing of annual returns of audited accounts of these MNSPP with relevant government authorities of all the eight SAARC countries.

6.      Some sort of institutionalized recognition and incorporation by UN of these MNSPP and RMNSPP of SAARC countries will be in order in the interest of developing a viable political model for strongly emerging trend of globalization.

Without introducing MNSPP and RMNSP, the present formulation of SAARC and expectations of world community (including observer countries) will tantamount to putting cart before the horse.

Hem Raj Jain

New Delhi, India