MORE KILLINGS IN JOS

News filtered in this morning that unknown persons attacked and killed three people in Kwata village, about 14 km from Jos, at about 11:30 pm last night. The village head was on State television saying that between 7 and 8 men, dressed in black, were seen speeding in a pick-up van and shouting, "The Fulanis are here. The Fulanis are here." The unknown men then proceeded to shoot the villagers sporadically killing 3 people and wounding 2 who are now in hospital.

A month ago, 7 persons were killed in Bassa LG in similar fashion. Of course, the Mazzah incident in Jos East LG of three months ago is still fresh in our memories.

Note that all these armed attacked were totally unprovoked. Also, the communities attacked have remained calm and law-abiding. The Dogo Na-Hawa and Kuru jenta attacks were also not avenged by the villagers.

As usual, the Joint Task Force (JTF) personnel stationed all over the Jos area, arrived after the deed was done and they could not arrest anyone. It appears these attackers have some understanding with the JTF. How come they search us thoroughly when we meet then while armed bandits seem to pass their check-points unnoticed? Should we retain the JTF after such dismal failure to defend us? Are we sure that the Fulanis and Muslims among them are being partisan in these repeated attacks?

WINSTON CHURCHILL ON ISLAM 1899

Winston Churchill On Islam A quote from an 1899 book by Winston Churchill, "The River War", in which he describes Muslims he apparently observed during Kitchener 's campaign in the Sudan

"How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property - either as a child, a wife, or a concubine - must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities.Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the Queen; all know how to die; but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science - the science against which it had vainly struggled - the civilisation of modernEurope might fall, as fell the civilisation ofancient Rome." Someone should please correct this 100 year old impression.

THE MIDDLE BELT DIALOGUE

I wish to use this space to announce the launch of a new movement that seeks to promote the actualization of the Middlebeltan in the geographical entity called Nigeria after 50 years of marginalization. All the text below, which includes the communique issued at the end of the their first conference, has been copied from their website. It is a cause to which I fully subscribe:

A Middle Belt Summit organised by the Middle Belt Dialogue held at Manyi Royal Suite, Lafiya, Nasarawa State from 17th to 18th September 2010. Delegates from Kogi, Plateau, Kaduna, Adamawa, Bauchi, Kebbi, Niger, Gombe,Taraba, Benue States and the Federal Capital territory were in attendance. Key note addresses were presented by Professor Yusufu Turaki and Dr Bala J Takaya. Delegates thereafter broke into syndicate groups to discuss issues raised in the presentations as well as issues that had been discussed on the social networking platforms of the Middle Belt Dialogue.

COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF THE MIDDLE BELT SUMMIT ORGANISED BY THE MIDDLE BELT DIALOGUE, HELD AT THE MANYI HOTEL, LAFIA, NASARAWA STATE, 17TH – 18TH SEPT. 2010. A Middle Belt Summit organised by the Middle Belt Dialogue held at Manyi Royal Suite, Lafiya, Nasarawa State from 17th to 18th September 2010. Delegates from Kogi, Plateau, Kaduna, Adamawa, Bauchi, Kebbi, Niger, Gombe,Taraba, Benue States and the Federal Capital territory were in attendance. Key note addresses were presented by Professor Yusufu Turaki and Dr Bala J Takaya. Delegates thereafter broke into syndicate groups to discuss issues raised in the presentations as well as issues that had been discussed on the social networking platforms of the Middle Belt Dialogue. It was resolved that the Middle Belt Region would support all efforts by politicians and activist groups to expand the political space in Nigeria as the 2011 Elections approaches so as to allow all groups and peoples of Nigeria to be incorporated into the Nigerian project. In that light, the Middle Belt Region will vigorously support the bid by President Jonathan Goodluck to run for the 2011 Presidential election because he presents the best prospect for more a democratic and just Nigeria. Furthermore, the Summit notes that the South-West, the North and now the South-South have held the Presidency. Consequently, the Summit resolved that by 2015 it would be the turn of the Middle Belt to produce the President. To achieve this noble goal, the Summit calls on all social and political groups including churches and traditional institutions to immediately commence vigorous mobilization of the people of the Middle Belt to come out en mass to register for the forth coming general elections. The Summit notes with great concern the increasing tendency by the Hausa Fulani Oligarchy and also other Nigerians who in their home regions and states forcefully protect their ancestral rights to land and traditional institutions only to deny the same rights to Middle Belters. It is now common practice for Nigerians from other zones to lay claim to ancestral rights of their Middle Belt host communities, sometimes attempting to chase out their hosts from their lands by means of violence. Land ownership everywhere in Nigeria is based on ancestral rights, but in the Middle Belt everybody claim ancestral rights to land and traditional institutions . The Summit therefore resolved that all non Middle Belters resident in our region remain settlers, without prejudice to their constitutional citizen rights, just like our people are treated in other parts of Nigeria. The summit viewed with concern the spate of attacks on communities of the Middle Belt and the complicity of the security agencies in allowing the free flow of arms and ammunitions. It is sad that up to date the people who were allegedly arrested for the genocide at Dago Nahauwa, Riyom and Mazzah are yet to be prosecuted. Over 200 school children at Chwelnyap who were picked by the Army in Jos are still in detention without trial. The Summit therefore resolved that henceforth, any attack by any aggressor on any community of the Middle Belt, would be considered an attack on all parts and people of the Middle Belt. The Summit welcomes the recent changes in the high command of the Armed Forces and other security agencies. The Summit is however dissatisfied that the General Officer Commanding GOC, 3rd Armoured division, Jos, General Saleh Maina who has demonstrated gross incompetence in managing the security of Jos and grown contemptuous of the Constitution. He has assumed exclusive control of the security of Jos and is behaving as alternative governor. The Summit therefore insists that the allegations of extra judicial killings personally ordered by General Maina and other serious allegations should be investigated be brought before a Court Marshall since the allegations are numerous and persistent. The Summit is alarmed and concerned with the continuous selective retirement of military officers of middle belt origin from the Nigerian Armed Forces. Over 40% percent of military officers retired in the recent retirement exercise are of middle belt origin. The Summit calls on the President to institute an inquiry into this situation. The summit calls on politicians and political parties to encourage and support women and youths of the Middle Belt to go into partisan politics and productive economic activities. Mr. Rima Shawulu Kwewum, Facilitator, Middle Belt Dialogue Barr. Mark Jacob, former PDP National Legal Adviser Ms Ngukwase Surma, Political Activist

ISLAMIC HONOR KILLINGS IN AMERICA

We are told that Islam is a religion of love and peace. In reality, it appears to be more a religion of hate and murder. The vicious acts of terrorism aside, consider the practice of honor killing. This is defined by the Human Rights Watch as “acts of violence, usually murder, committed by male family members against female family members, who are held to have brought dishonor upon the family.” These are very common in the Middle East and Turkey. According to the United Nations, 5,000 females are murdered every year (“Murder in the Family,” Fox News, July 26, 2008). The perpetrators usually get off scot free or with a light sentence. Islamic apologists pretend that honor killings are “cultural” rather than a product of Islam, but Jihad Watch reports that in 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down ON ISLAMIC GROUNDS a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings, and Al-Jazeera reported that “Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values” (“Muslim Ran Down Daughter,” Jihad Watch, Oct. 22, 2009).

Honor killings are on the rise in the United States.

The first documented case was in November 1989, when Zein Isa, a Palestinian terrorist living in St. Louis, murdered his 16-year-old daughter, Tina, for having a boyfriend, going to a school dance, and applying to work at Wendy’s restaurant. Her mother held her down while her father plunged a 9-inch knife into her chest 13 times, the mother shouting “Shut up!” in response to the girl’s pleas for help (Ellen Harris, Guarding the Secrets: Palestinian Terrorism and a Father’s Murder of His Too-American Daughter, 1995).

In April 2004, Ismail Peltek of Rochester, New York, murdered his wife and fractured the skulls of his daughters because he was “concerned that my family’s honor was taken” (Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, April 24, 2004).

In January 2008, teenage sisters Amina and Sarah Said were shot to death in Irving, Texas, by their father, Yaser Abdel Said. Their great aunt, Gail Gartrell, told reporters, “This was an honor killing” (“Honor Killing in Texas,” Human Events, Jan. 8, 2008). The mother says that Yaser killed them because they were dating non-Muslim boys (“Honor Killing Dad Secretly Taped Girls,” Fox News, Aug. 6, 2010). Yaser Said vanished the night of the murders.

In July 2008, Chaudhry Rashid strangled his daughter to death in Jonesboro, Georgia, “to restore the family’s honor” after she wanted to end her arranged marriage.

That same month, in upper state New York, 22-year-old Waheed Mohammad attempted to murder his sister for wearing western clothing. He explained the stabbing by saying that she was “a bad Muslim girl” (“An American Honor Killing,” New York Post, July 23, 2008).

In February 2009, Muzzammil Hassan beheaded his wife, Aasiya, in upstate New York after she filed for divorce. Phyllis Chesler, author of “Are Honor Killings Simply Domestic Violence,” said, “The fierce and gruesome nature of this murder signals it’s an honor killing” (“Beheading Appears to Be Honor Killing, Experts Say,” Fox News, Feb. 17, 2009).

In October 2009, police in Peoria, Arizona, reported that Faleh Hassan Almaleki ran over his daughter because she was becoming too “westernized” (“Police: Strict Iraqi Father Ran Daughter Down,” myfoxphoenix.com, Oct. 22, 2009). Noor, the twenty-year-old woman, was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries and died a couple of weeks later. It had all of the appearances of an “honor killing.”

Recent honor killings in other Western nations include the following:

In August 2010, a Turkish man beat his 20-year-old daughter, Gulsum Semin, to death with a club in Germany. The assistant in the terrible deed was the girl’s own twin brother (“Honour Killing: Father Beat Daughter in Face with Club,” Sydney Morning Herald, Aug. 8, 2010). The young woman had recently had an abortion.

In 2009, Mohammad Shafia was charged with murdering his three teenage daughters (Zainab, Sahari, and Geeti) and his first wife, Rona, in Montreal, Canada. Also charged was Mohammad’s son. The women were found in a car submerged in a canal. Rona’s brother and sister have testified that it was an honor killing (“More on the Canadian Honor Killings,” Atlas Shrugged, July 24, 2009).

In 2008 in Australia, a Muslim man, assisted by his three brothers, shot his daughter to death. They first shot Pela Atroshi twice in the back in an upstairs room. Her mother and sister helped her down the stairs to the lower level, but the men pursued and while the severely wounded girl pled for her life her youngest uncle shot her in the head (“Honor Killing in Australia,” Jihad Watch, April 2008).

In June 2007, a British court found Mahmod Mahmod guilty of murdering his 20-year-old daughter Banaz. She was strangled with a boot lace, stuffed into a suitcase, and buried in a garden. The killing stemmed from her father’s hatred of her Western ways and non-approved boyfriend. An uncle assisted in the murder. Her life had been threatened since her teenage years. Once she ran away from home, but she agreed to come back after her father sent an audio tape warning that he would kill her sisters and mother if she did not return. More than 100 homicides are under investigation as potential honor killings in Britain (“British Court Finds Muslim Father Guilty,” Fox News, June 11, 2007).

Because of an upsurge in Islamic murders in India, the nation’s Home Minister proposed in August 2010 a new law “to provide specific, severe penalties to curb honor killings” (“India Proposes New Law,” Yahoo, Aug. 5, 2010). A study found that as many as 900 honor killings are committed each year in the three northern Indian states of Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh.

The Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organization says, “We’re seeing an increase around the world, due in part to the rise in Islamic fundamentalism.”

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Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service, an e-mail listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians.

WHO IS A NORTHERNER?

In 2006 Rev. Father, Matthew Hassan Kukah delivered a paper to the Northern Senators' Forum. He made some very revealing remarks about the identity of a 'Northerner." In view of the recent PDP zoning debate and the stand of some "Northern" States, I feel that portions of Kukah's speech merit revisiting. Below is an excerpt from that speech.

"... But notwithstanding these claims, and assuming that we concede to these emotions, how shall we know when this power comes to the North? How shall we recognize the Northerner? Is it by the fact that he or she is indigenous to the geographical space that used to be called Northern Nigeria before 1967? Or are there other hidden credentials?

"I make this observation because although we claim that the North is a region (though it ceased to exist in 1967!), we are summoned to respond to the call of the North on the grounds that our unity defies boundaries of geopolitics. But, to my brothers and sisters who are Muslims, I wish to ask a few questions which I need you to think over as opposed to giving me answers. Assuming that power does return to the North, if the new Presidential candidate is called John, Thomas, Sarah or Felix, would you be ready to embrace him or her as a Northerner? I am asking this question because from my personal experience, this North seems to be more concerned with religion and not geography. Two examples will elucidate my case. Let me use very recent examples even though I do know that most of us here will be familiar with many similar stories in times past. When Senator Isaiah Balat was made a Minister in 1999 and the North was crying of marginalization, it was pointed out that Senator Balat was one of the Northerners in the administration. Some Northern politicians said openly that Senator Balat was a Christian not a Northerner! Similarly, in 2005, when I was appointed Secretary of the defunct National Political Reform Conference, NPRC, one of your newspapers mounted a campaign of calumny against my appointment. My credentials were not being questioned. What was being questioned was the fact that in their jaundiced view, I was a Christian and not a Muslim! These so called defenders of the North heaved a sigh of relief when a Muslim from the South was appointed to serve as a Co-Secretary with me. They were prepared to overlook the fact that the President had actually sent them someone from his own state. As long as it was a Muslim, nothing else mattered to these strange Northerners. Are these the Northerners I am supposed to join forces with simply because it has become expedient for their questionable interests?"

PRESIDENT JONATHAN'S RESPONSE

Since President Goodluck Jonathan has a page on Facebook, I decided to acquaint him with the recurring crises in Jos. I demanded for the abrogation of Decree 41 of 1991 through which IBB created Jos-North LGA. The opinions of the Afizere, Anaguta, Berom, Igbo, Yoruba, Urhobo and others, all large communities resident in Jos, were not considered by IBB's AFRC. I was pleasantly surprised when Pres. GEJ replied me. Below is his reply verbatim. However, it is obvious that our President is out of touch with the reality of our problem. Nobody wants to kick another person from any part of Nigeria. But some people have made themselves obnoxious and a pain to other Nigerians. This group has caused trouble in all parts of the country, from Shagamu to Calabar, from Ibadan to Yola, from Sokoto to Jos. I promised Mr. President that I will represent the problem to him using different words. Read on:

"I read your complaints about the Settler/Indigene dichotomy and many of you are calling for a constitutional amendment to solve this issue, however, the truth is that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has already abrogated that dichotomy for the simple reason that it does not recognise any difference between the two sets of people. If there is a difference as some insist, it is only in their minds and we must as Nigerians begin the peaceful processes of rebuilding the foundations of our citizenship. As far as our present Constitution is concerned, ALL Nigerian citizens are indigenes of any part of Nigeria. And our history is replete with a demonstration of this fact. For example the Great Zik of Africa won an election in Ibadan. Malam Umaru Altine was the first elected Mayor of Enugu and Felix Okonkwo (known as Okonkwo 'Kano') was a member of the Northern Nigeria House of chiefs. Since there is precedent for it in the past, we have to remove the glass ceiling in our minds that still believes in the Settler/Indigene dichotomy. Under the Nigerian Constitution, there is absolutely nothing stopping any Nigerian citizen who has taken residency in a state, town or ward from participating in the governance processes of that State, Town or Ward including contesting elections if the individual fulfils the constitutional requirements of residency and tax payment. If Nigerian immigrants can win City Council elections in the U.S, mayoral elections in Ireland and most recently Parliamentary seats in the British House of Commons, it should certainly be possible for a Nigerian with ancestral origins from Sokoto to win an election in Port Harcourt and vice versa. As I said, the Nigerian Constitution permits it, there are precedents for it and the only thing we have to do is to give effect to our constitutional rights which speak to our unity and our collective aspirations for peaceful co-existence and greatness."

AVATAR: A RACIST MOVIE

I wish to share the following with you. It comes from Dr. Ibram Rogers' blog: progressivecorner.wordpress.com

Avatar: Most Racist Movie of All Time

April 27, 2010 by Dr. Ibram H. Rogers

Na'vi purposefully depicted with braids (Source: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk)

After watching Avatar for the first time this past weekend on DVD, I must say that it is the most racist Hollywood movie of all time.

This is not an over-reaction. This is not an over-statement. This is not my passion speaking. The movie that is billing itself as the best of all-time is in fact the best—in terms of racism. Birth of a Nation has nothing on Avatar.

Avatar, like The Blind Side, is a White Savior Flick. And of all of the racist plots that have long dominated Hollywood films, the most racist and treacherous plot is undoubtedly the White Savior Flick. There are two glaring reasons for this. First, these movies do not just echo racism’s central ideological position—that Whites are superior—but it takes another paternalistic step to intimate that since Whites are superior, non-Whites are dependent on Whites for their livelihood. Second, since many of these White Savior Flicks are either based on true stories and/or the White Saviors are depicted as the good guys, the racism goes down pleasantly and easy in our consciousness.

In other words, the best drugs are those that provide a powerful high and are easy to consume. In comparison, to a repulsive film like Birth of a Nation in which the racism is like a shot of heroine, White Savior flicks go down painless, like pills of ecstasy. Since it goes down easy and people walk away happy, more people are willing to watch it, more people are unwilling to challenge and repel the racism.

So if the White Savior Flick is the most racist plot saturating Hollywood films, then Avatar is by far the worst of all the White Savior Flicks. Think about the plot of Avatar in racial terms. A white male is the central character. In comparison to his brother with a Ph.D., he is an outcast of White society. He is the worst of White society. He is at the bottom of the hierarchy in White society and his inability to walk symbolizes this. Do not be fooled about his disability. You must see it in figurative terms as a fundamental part of his character. He is disabled not just physically in White society, but generally. Said differently, he is “disabled Whiteness.”

This “disabled Whiteness” is sent to another planet called “Pandora,” which early in the movie is described as worse than “hell.” Who lives in this hell? The Na’vi reside there, an indigenous species called “natives” by the Whites. Who have been called “natives” by Whites in history? Native Americans, Africans, and Asians when Whites were colonizing those areas to secure natural resources worth tons of money, just as the Whites were colonizing Pandora to secure a valuable resource. Thus earlier on, the connection between the Na’vi and Native Americans and Africans are made. To add to that connection, the Na’vi are configured as these physically superior beings, just as African people have been conceived of in European racist thought. This physical superiority (Blacks are better athletes, dancers, and lovers) is in fact an inferiority though since it demonstrates that Black people are closer in the being chain to animals since animals are considered the most superior physical beings on Earth. In addition, central principles in Native American and African culture are attached to the Na’vi, such as the traditional African religious concept that all things exude a spiritual force and the Native American reciprocal relationship with nature.

In sum, the Na’vi are called what colonized non-Whites have been called, they are visually depicted with locs and braids as these physically imposing beings (as Whites have conceived of Africans for centuries), and they even imbrued them with elements of African and Native American culture.

Now, the central character, which again symbolizes “disabled Whiteness” is charged with learning the ways of the Na’vi. If Na’vi culture is conceptualized on the same level as White culture, then one would think that if someone is an outcast and failure in one, he would be an outcast and failure in the other, unless they provide some character trait that explains how he could lose in one and win in the other. But there was no explanatory character trait. The only primary characteristics we knew about this guy before he tried to learn Na’vi culture was that he was White, disabled, and a soldier.

So “disabled Whiteness” begins to learn the ways of the Na’vi. “Disabled Whiteness” learns the culture of the Na’vi quickly, becoming one of the most “abled” of the group. For a time, there is this constant demonstration and switch of “disabled Whiteness” or “low-quality Whiteness” becoming “high-quality Na’vi.” The racist contrast and message is mind-blowing. At the same time, the main character tries to teach the Na’vi the ways of the White man, but of course that is difficult for them to learn (aside from English). In other words, it is easy for Whites to learn non-White culture, but difficult for non-Whites to learn White culture. That positions White culture, once again, as superior.

Eventually, he mates with the daughter of the chief, who of course wants a piece of superior Whiteness. Later, he “conquers” the most vicious animal on Pandora, and when he lands and approaches the people, many are astonished and begin bowing to the power of Whiteness as if he is a God. The movie ends with “disabled Whiteness” managing to compel the God of the Na’vi to do something that God had never done before. He becomes the spiritual leader too, as the White savior saves the Na’vi from annihilation (A side note: Another racist ideas comes to the fore hear that Whites can only be defeated by the super-natural—non-White people can not defeat Whites with their intelligence without the help of their Gods). In the end, “low-quality Whiteness” becomes the “highest-quality Na’vi” on the planet. The incredible and audacious performance of White superiority in this film has no equal in Hollywood history.

Let’s think about this racist performance and message for a second. Since it is the middle of the NBA playoffs, I want to use a basketball analogy. There are two basketball teams: the Blacks and the Whites. On the Whites, there is a guy who is considered the worst player on the team. So he leaves the Whites and decides to join the Blacks. If he rapidly becomes the best player on the Blacks, then what does that say about Whites? What does that say about the Blacks? That the White team is so far superior than the Black team that the worst White player will become the best player on the Black team—or to put it in racial terms, as a college friend once told me, the worst White person in the world still thinks he or she is better than the best Black person in the world.

That situation, which is the basis of the plot in Avatar, is the pinnacle—it is the most tyrannical idea in the ideology of racism. It says that not only is the White race superior to all the other races. But the worst White person is far superior to the best people of all the other races. The trash of White society is the treasure of Black society. Only in a thoroughly racist country is the plot of Avatar even believable.

Avatar is the most racist movie of all-time.