United Nations Legal Committee, member states voted that the order of Imam Ali to Malik al-Ashtar (Nahj Al-Balagha letter 53) should be considered as one of the sources of International Law. The United Nations urged the Arab nations to use that letter as a model.
The aforementioned are some of the recommendations of Imam Ali to Malik al-Ashtar whom he appointed as governor of Egypt. To date they have remained to be known as the Alawi Constitution, about which the Christian scholar George Geordac comments: “There is nothing the in the United Nation Human Rights declaration except that you would find its equivalent in the constitution of Ali ibn Abi Taleb, but then you would find in his constitution greater values and of higher essence.”
The then UN secretary General Kofi Annan said: “The words of Ali ibn Abi Talib, ‘O Malik! The people are either brothers in religion or your equal in creation’ must be adhered to by all organisations and it is a statement that all humanity must embrace.”
Annan suggested that the document of Imam Ali to Malik al-Ashtar must be considered from the legal viewpoint, and after lengthy studies and considerations by the UN Legal Committee, member states voted that the document should be considered as one of the sources of International Law.
Shebly Shmayyil, another Christian scholar states: “Ali ibn Abi Talib is the leader and guide for mankind, and the East and West has never seen anyone like him, neither in the past nor in the present. His dealings with those took up arms and practiced terrorism
Imam Baqir states that his great grandfather – Imam Ali – never labelled those who fought him with infidelity or hypocrisy, but used to say, “They are our brethrens who mutinied against us.”
Imam Ali did not only endeavour to promote the culture of coexistence, but rather relentlessly contributed to creating an environment of awareness and understanding on individual and social levels in order to facilitate a positive and continuous coexistence.
Ali believed that people and governors have rights over each other and God created these rights so as to equate with one another. The greatest of these rights that Allah has made obligatory is the right of the ruler over the ruled and the right of the ruled over the ruler.
If the ruled fulfill the rights of the ruler and the ruler fulfills their rights, then right attains the position of honor among them, the ways of religion become established, signs of justice become fixed and the sunnah gains currency.
Imam Ali wrote directions for his officials which clearly show what form of regime he wanted to introduce. It was not to be a regime whose officers had an upper hand and were fattened on public money. It was to be a regime where the governed and the tax-payers were at premium. It was their convenience for which the State was to function. It was a welfare-state working solely for the welfare of the people living under its rule, a regime where the rich cannot get richer while the poor are made poorer; a regime where canons of religion hold the balance between the governed and the ruler.
He asked people not to speak with him as they spoke with cruel governors and be honest with him.
Earlier, the UNDP in its 2002 Arab Human Development listed six sayings of Imam Ali about the importance of knowledge and establishment of ideal governance.
Monday 28 January 2008
Friday 2 November 2007
How to secure the loyalty
Scientists at the Rocket launching station in Thumba, were in the habit of working for nearly 12 to18 hours a day. There were about Seventy such scientists working on a project. All the scientists were really frustrated due to the pressure of work and the demands of their boss but everyone was loyal to him and did not think of quitting the job.
One day, one scientist came to his boss and told him - "Sir, I have promised to my children that I will take them to the exhibition going on in our township. So I want to leave the office at 5 30 pm."
His boss replied - OK, , You are permitted to leave the office earlytoday.
The Scientist started working. He continued his work after lunch. As usual he got involved to such an extent that he looked at his watch when he felt he was close to completion. The time was 8.30 p.m. Suddenly he remembered of the promise he had given to his children. He looked for his boss, He was not there. Having told him in the morning itself, he closed everything and left for home.
Deep within himself, he was feeling guilty for having disappointed his children. He reached home. Children were not there. His wife alone was sitting in the hall and reading magazines. The situation was explosive, any talk would boomerang on him.
His wife asked him - Would you like to have coffee or shall I straightaway serve dinner if you are hungry. The man replied - If you would like to have coffee, i too will have butwhat about Children??? Wife replied- You don't know - Your manager came at 5 15 p.m and has taken the children to the exhibition.
What had really happened was The boss who granted him permission was observing him working seriously at 5.00 p.m. He thought to himself, this person will not leave the work, but if he has promised his children they should enjoy the visit to exhibition.
So he took the lead in taking them to exhibition. The boss does not have to do it everytime. But once it is done, loyaltyis established. That is why all the scientists at Thumba continued to work under their boss eventhough the stress was tremendous.
By the way, can you hazard a guess as to who the boss was????????
He was A P J Abdul Kalam.
One day, one scientist came to his boss and told him - "Sir, I have promised to my children that I will take them to the exhibition going on in our township. So I want to leave the office at 5 30 pm."
His boss replied - OK, , You are permitted to leave the office earlytoday.
The Scientist started working. He continued his work after lunch. As usual he got involved to such an extent that he looked at his watch when he felt he was close to completion. The time was 8.30 p.m. Suddenly he remembered of the promise he had given to his children. He looked for his boss, He was not there. Having told him in the morning itself, he closed everything and left for home.
Deep within himself, he was feeling guilty for having disappointed his children. He reached home. Children were not there. His wife alone was sitting in the hall and reading magazines. The situation was explosive, any talk would boomerang on him.
His wife asked him - Would you like to have coffee or shall I straightaway serve dinner if you are hungry. The man replied - If you would like to have coffee, i too will have butwhat about Children??? Wife replied- You don't know - Your manager came at 5 15 p.m and has taken the children to the exhibition.
What had really happened was The boss who granted him permission was observing him working seriously at 5.00 p.m. He thought to himself, this person will not leave the work, but if he has promised his children they should enjoy the visit to exhibition.
So he took the lead in taking them to exhibition. The boss does not have to do it everytime. But once it is done, loyaltyis established. That is why all the scientists at Thumba continued to work under their boss eventhough the stress was tremendous.
By the way, can you hazard a guess as to who the boss was????????
He was A P J Abdul Kalam.
Friday 24 August 2007
Spending few minutes under rockets attack
It was afternoon of August 20, 2007. I was in Sderot, an Israeli town located just 800 metres away from Gaza Strip. I along with few members of an Indian Muslim peace delegation, which was invited to Isreal by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the Australian Israel Jewish Affairs Council, climbed on a mountain to see the Gaza because the Israeli officials, citing security reason, didn't allowed us to enter inside Gaza, which is now under the control of Hamas.
We reached at the top of the small mountain and saw Gaza and its beautiful city Beit Hanoun. While we were discussing about the beauty of that city, some members of the delegation with excitement pointed their fingers towards Beit Hanoun. Suddenly, sirens -- placed in the different parts of the Sderot -- gave warning of a rocket attack. Before we could have understood anything one rocket hit the ground with a loud sound just few metres away from us.
Those present had to scramble behind the mountains to take shelter from rockets. Within minutes we heard sound of other rockets. We were scared. After few minutes, the sounds were stopped and we rushed towards our vehicle and took it away quickly.
Soon, we were out of the city. Later, i was told that Islamic Jihad had claimed the responsibilty for the attacks. Four rockets were fired on the city. A media organistaion quoting unconfirmed sources said that the rockets were fired to protest the delegation's unpublicised visit to Israel.
But very next day The Jerusalem Post, in its report, said that six Hamas activists were killed in an Israeli air strike just before our arrival in Sderot and the militants had fired the rockets to revenge that air strike.
It seemed that it was a co-incidence that delegates were present in the city when the rockets were fired. Anyhow, it was nice for delegation members to return from Israel in single piece.
We reached at the top of the small mountain and saw Gaza and its beautiful city Beit Hanoun. While we were discussing about the beauty of that city, some members of the delegation with excitement pointed their fingers towards Beit Hanoun. Suddenly, sirens -- placed in the different parts of the Sderot -- gave warning of a rocket attack. Before we could have understood anything one rocket hit the ground with a loud sound just few metres away from us.
Those present had to scramble behind the mountains to take shelter from rockets. Within minutes we heard sound of other rockets. We were scared. After few minutes, the sounds were stopped and we rushed towards our vehicle and took it away quickly.
Soon, we were out of the city. Later, i was told that Islamic Jihad had claimed the responsibilty for the attacks. Four rockets were fired on the city. A media organistaion quoting unconfirmed sources said that the rockets were fired to protest the delegation's unpublicised visit to Israel.
But very next day The Jerusalem Post, in its report, said that six Hamas activists were killed in an Israeli air strike just before our arrival in Sderot and the militants had fired the rockets to revenge that air strike.
It seemed that it was a co-incidence that delegates were present in the city when the rockets were fired. Anyhow, it was nice for delegation members to return from Israel in single piece.
Tuesday 24 July 2007
A day with Ahmed Faraz, the Pakistani poet
"Let's again begin the journey of love, let's again become each others'. If there is question of ego with you, then let me extend my hand of friendship to you."
Legendary Urdu poet Ahmed Faraz recites this couplet as he emphasises that to bridge differences between neighbouring countries it is necessary to undertake "cultural landscaping."
The culture across the borders is same, people on both side have no difference, they were living together for hundreds of years like brothers then why can't they stay together now, asks Faraz while prearing two cups of tea -- one for himself and another for me. He then offered it to me.
Faraz, during our meeting, recalls the sacrifice of those who laid their lives during freedom struggle and recited few couplets from one of his famous poems which he wrote 50 years back just after independence.
"Tum ne jiss dasht-e-tamanna ko lahu se sinchha,
hum ne unko gul-o-gulzar kiya hai aakhir. "
(The trees of desires and hopes which you irrigated by your blood,
we have raised them and carried your legacy forward.)
"We are celebrating the independence which is gifted by those martyrs," says Faraz, who is considered as one of the greatest modern Urdu poets of the last century and greatest living Urdu poet of present times.
The poet expresses his pain about the geographical division of the land but sees 'Mushairas' as a ray of hope in the darkness. "The journals or books written by Indian poets are not available in Pakistan and vice versa. So, there exists a communication gap. The people of both countries could not get the access to other's work. But, the inter-country 'Mushairas' tries to fill that vaccum. It brings people more and more close," Faraz told me.
Complaining about the declining standards of Urdu poetry, he says "These days, especially in India, poetry is being done like performatory art. Most of the poets beg for appreciation. They do not care for the classics but go for low standard poetry to gain cheap popularity."
"The language is becoming weak," he says explaining the reason as "because the words have been removed from it. It has been distorted. It has lost its originality."
About his current writings he says "I now only write when I am forced to from inside."
Faraz, who has been compared with Mohammad Iqbal and Faiz Ahmed Faiz, enjoys a unique position as one of the best poets of current times, with a fine but simplistic style of writing that even common people can easily understand and identify with.
Outspoken about politics, Faraz blames the leadership of both India and Pakistan for the mistrust and communication gap of decades, and says "Some political and military leadership doesn't want the relationship between two countries to be improved because this will certainly reduce their influence.
He, however, claims, "We are trying our best to improve the relationship between both the countries and its people. "We are working for the noble cause (to bring people close to each other). I wrote poems calling people to come together and so did several Indian poets like Ali Sardar Jafri and others."
Faraz, who was awarded the Pakistan's eight highest civillian honour Hilal-e-Imtiaz in 2004, in recognition of his literary achievements, returned the award in 2006 after becoming disenchanted with the military government and its policies.
He went into self-imposed exile during the Zia-ul-Haq era after he was arrested for reciting certain poems, including "Mahasara" (The Siege) at a mushaira criticizing the military rule. But still that incident seems no effect on the poet who continues to write and attend mushairas.
Legendary Urdu poet Ahmed Faraz recites this couplet as he emphasises that to bridge differences between neighbouring countries it is necessary to undertake "cultural landscaping."
The culture across the borders is same, people on both side have no difference, they were living together for hundreds of years like brothers then why can't they stay together now, asks Faraz while prearing two cups of tea -- one for himself and another for me. He then offered it to me.
Faraz, during our meeting, recalls the sacrifice of those who laid their lives during freedom struggle and recited few couplets from one of his famous poems which he wrote 50 years back just after independence.
"Tum ne jiss dasht-e-tamanna ko lahu se sinchha,
hum ne unko gul-o-gulzar kiya hai aakhir. "
(The trees of desires and hopes which you irrigated by your blood,
we have raised them and carried your legacy forward.)
"We are celebrating the independence which is gifted by those martyrs," says Faraz, who is considered as one of the greatest modern Urdu poets of the last century and greatest living Urdu poet of present times.
The poet expresses his pain about the geographical division of the land but sees 'Mushairas' as a ray of hope in the darkness. "The journals or books written by Indian poets are not available in Pakistan and vice versa. So, there exists a communication gap. The people of both countries could not get the access to other's work. But, the inter-country 'Mushairas' tries to fill that vaccum. It brings people more and more close," Faraz told me.
Complaining about the declining standards of Urdu poetry, he says "These days, especially in India, poetry is being done like performatory art. Most of the poets beg for appreciation. They do not care for the classics but go for low standard poetry to gain cheap popularity."
"The language is becoming weak," he says explaining the reason as "because the words have been removed from it. It has been distorted. It has lost its originality."
About his current writings he says "I now only write when I am forced to from inside."
Faraz, who has been compared with Mohammad Iqbal and Faiz Ahmed Faiz, enjoys a unique position as one of the best poets of current times, with a fine but simplistic style of writing that even common people can easily understand and identify with.
Outspoken about politics, Faraz blames the leadership of both India and Pakistan for the mistrust and communication gap of decades, and says "Some political and military leadership doesn't want the relationship between two countries to be improved because this will certainly reduce their influence.
He, however, claims, "We are trying our best to improve the relationship between both the countries and its people. "We are working for the noble cause (to bring people close to each other). I wrote poems calling people to come together and so did several Indian poets like Ali Sardar Jafri and others."
Faraz, who was awarded the Pakistan's eight highest civillian honour Hilal-e-Imtiaz in 2004, in recognition of his literary achievements, returned the award in 2006 after becoming disenchanted with the military government and its policies.
He went into self-imposed exile during the Zia-ul-Haq era after he was arrested for reciting certain poems, including "Mahasara" (The Siege) at a mushaira criticizing the military rule. But still that incident seems no effect on the poet who continues to write and attend mushairas.
Sunday 29 April 2007
Journalists' Safety
There is no greater threat to press freedom across the world than violence committed against journalists and people associated with media.
The reports say more than 1000 journalists or their associates have been killed over the decade around the world especially in conflict zones.
In India, the recent attacks on the Mumbai-based office of Star News channel and lathicharge on journalists in another state once again proved that it's journalist who is soft target both for extremists and police. Journalists are subject to harassment, physical threat, kidnapping, psychological pressure, trauma and violence. At some places the situation is even worse.
We, as a community, mourn the deaths of our brave journalists.
We must review where we are on this critical issue of safety both at home and at war front.
I demand a special protocol for the safety of journalists must be added in Geneva Convention.
The reports say more than 1000 journalists or their associates have been killed over the decade around the world especially in conflict zones.
In India, the recent attacks on the Mumbai-based office of Star News channel and lathicharge on journalists in another state once again proved that it's journalist who is soft target both for extremists and police. Journalists are subject to harassment, physical threat, kidnapping, psychological pressure, trauma and violence. At some places the situation is even worse.
We, as a community, mourn the deaths of our brave journalists.
We must review where we are on this critical issue of safety both at home and at war front.
I demand a special protocol for the safety of journalists must be added in Geneva Convention.
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