Palestine
"The conclusion of the Mecca agreement must surely serve as a firm signal
that the rest of the world must now end all measures intended to isolate the Palestinian Authority, and thus show respect for the wishes of the Palestinian people and their decisions to determine their own internal affairs…..
…..Anything else will not contribute to advance the cause of peace between Israel and Palestine and the rest of the Middle East….
…..The moment demands that all those charged with the responsibility to lead should dare to sue for peace, inspired by the same courage with which they have dared to go to war." (President Thabo Mbeki on the current situation in Palestine.)

Any sane and intelligent person would come to no conclusion other than the above.

The question is whether the US approach regarding Middle East issues is, in any way, sane, intelligent and honest. In addition, is the Israeli view, influencing the US view, which is influencing the view of all other parties.
Look at the following:

The BBC reports that, “The US and Israel will not work with a new Palestinian unity government unless it recognises Israel”. (Ehud Olmert). The BBC article goes on to say that Mr Olmert said a Palestinian government that failed to accept conditions laid down by the quartet of the US, EU, Russia and UN "cannot receive recognition and there will not be co-operation with it". "I spoke about this on Friday with the president of the United States, and I can tell you the Israeli and US positions are completely identical," Mr Olmert said
in televised comments.

VoA reports that a State Department spokesman, Tom Casey, said “the U.S.
will wait to see what policies and positions the new Palestinian government adopts”, even though Russia welcomed the agreement. The Foreign Ministry
in Moscow said Friday the unity government would be an "important factor" in reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. It added that the pact should prompt the lifting of sanctions imposed on the Palestinian Authority. French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy welcomed the deal as a positive step and urged the international community to back the new government. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, initially spoke very positively on the developments and expressed hope that agreement on the new Palestinian Unity Government will pave the way for peace in the region.

Later on, the Quartet of Middle East negotiators — the U.S., the U.N., Russia and the European Union, held a conference call to further discuss the deal. EU spokeswoman Emma Udwin said all parties agreed there was a need "to take the time to consider, to see what the agreement is and how it is going to be implemented," before deciding on lifting the embargo.

Steven Cook, a Middle East expert at the Council on Foreign Relations in the US, said the United States would likely follow Israel's lead. "If it satisfies the Israelis, it's likely to satisfy us. But until that point, it's likely to be something that the United States looks at cautiously," he said.

The Right to Equal Opportunity
South Africa's ruling ANC party has been strongly criticised for a programme it considers to be standard international practice. The programme involves charging fees to business leaders and other persons for access to meetings and gatherings where ministers and other top officials would be present,
share views and disseminate information which would grant them a distinct advantage over other players in the field of various fields of operation. This select group, who can afford to pay the fees of being part of the privileged few would be privy to ‘exclusive’ information not divulged to the general public, in the ordinary scheme of activities, even though the information provided is supposed to be public information.

Is it correct to introduce a system which establishes some of the community
as better situated and positioned than others; especially when these ‘some’ are afforded this opportunity of undue privilege on the basis of membership,
a membership which has as its core steep monetary fees?

There most surely must be a difference between the right to information, the knowledge of the right to the information, the easy access to the information and the equal opportunity to retrieve the information. Is the majority being marginalized?

Attacks on Islam: Is there no end in sight?
Rightwing Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders said in an interview with the daily De Pers on Feb. 13 that Muslims should throw away half their holy book
if they wanted to stay in the Netherlands and that he would chase the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) out of the country if he were alive today.

HIV/AIDS
HIV AIDS is a serious problem. It is becoming more and more prevalent in the Muslim community. In light of the serious threat that it poses the lives of all South Africans including Muslims, the Jamiatul Ulama, together with the Islamic Careline (the Jamiatul Ulama, Islamic Careline and the IMA are founder members of MAP – Muslim Aids Awareness Program) are focusing on HIV/AIDS in the Online Newsletter.

Names in the case histories are not actual names (to protect the identity of the persons), but permission to print the case histories has been obtained from the respective persons.

Muslim AIDS Programme / Islamic Careline
We have provided personal testimonies of people living with AIDS (PLWAs) for the last few weeks in order to highlight the realities around this devastating pandemic. As Muslims, we are not immune to HIV and AIDS as many infected and affected people will know.

In conclusion, it is apparent that HIV and AIDS is a major problem in the community at large. The solution is therefore to treat the root of the problem i.e. sexual promiscuity and drug abuse which are the two primary modes of transmission. Prevention should include discouraging sex outside of the marriage, chastity should be vigorously promoted and fidelity within marriage should be upheld at all costs. It is the Muslim AIDS Programmes firm belief,
that this is the only solution to stem if not eradicate the onslaught of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

As far as drug abuse is concerned, young people should remember to have clean fun with friends, not with destructive substances like drugs and alcohol. Sporting activities are a great way to socialize and enjoy yourself. You cannot get away from your problems but you can learn to deal with them and succeed – so get help if you are in need of it. Your future is too valuable to lose.

We at MAP are confident that we are making a positive contribution to the Faith Based Initiative in the partnership with the National Government in the fight against a disease that is destroying our community and our nation.

MAP: 011 373 8083/5 ~ ISLAMIC CARELINE: 011 373 8080
FAX: 011 373 8089 ~ E-MAIL: careline@islamsa.org.za

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