Edited and expanded on 27th April, 2015
I have to continue updating and correcting the information (and editing the writing tumbles) I am getting here so please bear with me as I do so. I note that
tweeps spell this city
Salamiyah
As an Ismaili, follower of
His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan, I, as do all
Ismailis, have a responsibility to address issues that affect me and my community, which is spread around the world.
Ismailis are no different from any other community. We have our great achievements and we also have our problems. Some of these problems are concealed and are, more often than not, addressed internally. The
Banias do that, probably better than Ismailis do. They appear to be more united. Ismailis have been likened to individualists (you come alone and you die and move on to the next world. Alone.).
The
Americans settle their problems politically and secretly within their parties and class groupings across party, and the
Zionist Israelis do the same^1. They even did that when they conspired to take a bite out of what was once a peaceful country, which set off the biggest threat to world peace in history. The
Kikuyus do it to great advantage, and have maintained strong influence as a tribe over the Kenyan nation, thankfully, to some extent, a good influence.
Imperialism and redefining the use of land to suit the purpose of the invader - colonisation - is a learned skill and the outcome depends on the original intention but that is not quite where this exercise in writing should be tempted to go as much as it would like to. Suffice it to say that the Islamic State group seem not willing to reconsider the basis of their invasive
policies which they do not perceive as atrocities (this link may upset or offend). and a lot of thinking people (and IS's heroes were all thinking people) fear the deeper reasons why IS appears to be manipulated by larger forces that are intent on defabricating our histories in the region. Salamiyah is a HISTORICAL CITY. It's treasures are in the memories of the people who live there. If America allows or, indeed, ENABLES, Islamic State to devastate Salamiyah and similar symbols of world history then there could be an agenda, like the agenda that was manipulated by Ben Gurion in the USA^1, that makes the people of Islamic State components of a psychological resentment machine, a rogue that enables the larger powers to accomplish their will of demasculating the entire area to take control over the land. IS is no larger than 300,000.-. A combined force that understands clearly why it would be going there could easily overwhelm them. But it is not happening.
But it is not happening.
But it is not happening.
But it is not happening.
Please, somebody, Obama? Putin? Harper? Khamenei? Can you unite?
Would you make it happen?
Can you unite and bring about peace and save our precious peace-making histories?
Or are you saying, "You Ismailis think you are smart - go do it yourself - Unite! Let us see you do that first? Then we'll think about it!!"
And why is it not happening? I wish what I wrote in the paragraph above ("Imperialism...") was rubbish and the problem of the creation of IS were still inexplicable.
Everybody is attempting to sort their own internal problems out and grow, if for different reasons. The Ismailis have a leader who is practical but also, like the Prophet of Islam, his ancestor, though a hardcore realist, a man of faith who could be characterised for expedient expansionist reasons as a romantic idealist - simply because he is a man who loves and strives for peace.
Peace! That is all we Ismailis want.
Peace! That is all we want.
Peace! That is all.
Peace?
What Ismailis do not have - though they are governed by a highly sophisticated constitution - is political backing (like the groups above), not even in places like Salamiyah, as we shall see. Political power is something which highly aggressive definable groups enjoy. Perhaps we could call them alpha-groups. They sort their internal problems with the specific aim of exploiting opportunities on the outside and profiteering from them collectively, so, it is in the interest of the collective to work out their problems internally.
SALAMIYAH
LOOOOOOONG STORY, my friends. This is a small city in SYRIA that has a history that goes as far back as the time of the inception of the faith of Islam. It is a city full of history, architectural originality that is in rhythm with its people, and much more.
Salamiyah is mostly populated by peace-loving people who are of both Shi'a and Sunni persuasion. The majority are, like me, followers of the Aga Khan. Salamiyah is suffering from multiple troubles. One is that they are being attacked by the ISIS type of groups and another is that they are being annihilated through slow torture caused by radioactive waste dumping from (?Europe and) America, so it seems.
I need more information on this and my going is slow. Forget chemical weapons for the moment. Who can find evidence of this so that it can be published and then word spread through the social media, please?
I have, since my brother-in-faith, Jaddallah has been in contact with me, wanted to support the people who are severely beleaguered in that city. He is a Salamiyahin exile. I want to be able to say things about Salamayiheen and talk about the problem of ISIS through this prism, from that point of view, if that is going to be possible.
Here you will find an astonishingly sober and wise point of view supported b by the power of faith, in a poem by ELIA BADRUDIN on the Ismaili website simerg.com:
http://simerg.com/2015/04/04/a-message-to-our-beloved-ismaili-brothers-and-sisters-in-syria-our-grief-is-with-you-and-the-people-of-syria-our-prayers-are-for-peace-to-return-to-syria/#comment-487517
Please scroll down and read the poem.
We, Ismailis, are advised by our Imams to attempt to find intelligent, peaceful solutions to the problems that afflict us. I still need to learn whether ISIS are also trying to do the same. I am not sure whether the ISIS have a particular philosophy that they can clearly define that are governing
their current activities. Reports are that they are committing genocide, they treat the Charter of Human Rights with contempt (because they are resentful of the West and very angry with the racism meted out upon non-whites there), they are forcefully taking land from Iraq and Syria and they have an ambition to take over what they define as the Muslim world. Their activities raise a lot of questions for Muslims like me and they put us into some sort of a dilemma: On the one hand you are taking over what you call Muslim lands (or is it that you would take over any lands in this particular manner?) and on the other, the lands belong to people whom you have accused of not being Muslim by your definition. There are several questions related to this that cannot be addressed here.^2
To cut the story short, Salamiyah is being slowly beseiged from the West by the Al-Nusra Front; from the East and North by the IS and from underground by western radioactive trash. It is not clear where the source of this trash is but it has contaminated their water. Some people suspect that IS is in control of the holding-containers of the wastes.
Today (25th April) I am publishing an excerpt from an article in THE DAILY BEAST which I am quoting here, courtesy source Jadallah. If there is anyone that can send me more information about its authenticity, I should be grateful:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/04/22/the-pentagon-s-isis-map-is-so-wrong.html
MAP OF ISIS TAKEOVER IN SYRIA
Pentagon Map conceals ISIS Gains in Salamiyeh
"The Department of Defense marks off the Salamiyeh district, in central Syria, as ISIS-controlled.
What
it doesn’t note is that ISIS expanded into this area after the
coalition airstrikes began, and that the so-called Islamic State is
threatening the lives of the locals, who are largely Shias —a group of
Muslims that ISIS militants view as "apostates"...
“While
the Obama administration says that it is fighting ISIS in Syria, ISIS
is actually expanding into Salamiyeh… and that without [being confronted
by] a single U.S. airstrike,” said Omar Hossino, director of public
relations for the Syrian American Council, a grassroots organization
...and what is the Assad regime doing ? Why is it not protecting its
people?. “The people of Salamiyeh are under threat of genocide,
especially the Shia majority.”
Abu Ali, the pseudonym of a
resident of Salamiyeh, said in an email to The Daily Beast that ISIS
operations in the area “have intensified during the recent period in
Salamiyeh district, which indicate the expansion of this organization
and the expansion of its military operations, at a time when it is not
being shown any resistance or an appropriate response by both the
international coalition.”
^1 Search this link for the para: "As the Jewish settlement strengthened and deepened its roots in
Palestine, anxiety mounted among the Palestinian Arabs, resulting in
violent clashes between the two communities."
^2 It would be helpful to me to better understand the terms IS use in their lexicon for distinguishing right from wrong, to begin with. It would also be helpful to better understand their history. What or who generated ISIS? Why? Is it the CIA who triggerred it? A lot of thinking, believing and peaceful people are concerned about the reaction to the abuse that was perpetrated upon innocent people under draconian legislations enacted after 9/11 in various western countries. Clearly, 9/11 was the quaking point.
***
26th April, 2015
Edited and Expanded 09:12 27.04.2015
