Knowledge Jihad

Back to the Concrete Jungle

My family got back from Kota Kinabalu last night. We had a pleasant trip and are fully relaxed. Now it's back to the rat race. Will be posting some pics but first some Mat Salleh Observations and notes.

1. East Malaysians are more friendly than Peninsularites (totally made up word but cool nonetheless)

2. It's amazing that the accents are so so different.

3. I spoke more Bahasa in East M'sia because there was less pressure. Since they looked at my wife funny with her Peninsular accent, I knew they wouldn't be expecting too much from the white guy.

4. Customer service in East M'sia is better than KL. Seriously, I never thought it would be so. Ok, so this is a blanket statement  but it's true at least at the place I stayed. Magellan Sutera Harbour.

5. We bought too much Ikan Masin. You name it, we bought it. Could barely pack it in to one box to get it home.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri

(image stolen from chicsinred)

The last two days have been spent getting ready for Aidilfitri on Sunday. Yesterday, I paid my zakat fitrah before Friday prayers. Also, I picked up my baju. As I was driving around the somewhat empty streets of KL, I realized I'm glad that my family doesn't "balik kampung". I'm sure the lemang and rendang taste better in the kampung but I will give up all of that to be in a city where no one is on the streets.

It's eerie how quiet it is during the Raya holiday. Being a city boy, I enjoy the couple of days when no one is around (except for a few Mat Salleh's here and there). It's almost like you own the city.

Anyway, will be posting sporadically for the next week. On Monday, my family and I are going to KK for a little R and R. Maybe I'll post some pics.

Al-Fatihah

Yasser Arafat has died. Whether you loved him or hated him, he put the Palestinian issue on the map in front of the world. For that, the Palestinians will always appreciate him. Let's hope that the new Palestinian leaders will continue the struggle and bring much needed peace to the region.

Full Seige in Fallujah

The reaper has arrived just in time for Eid. You knew something was about to happen when Allawi declared a 60 day state of emergency. Last night, it arrived. Death in the form of the US and British Military. A hospital and two bridges across the Euphrates has been seized.

Battle Lines Being Drawn

Via Daily Times, Beijing opposes US efforts to refer Iran to the UN Security Council. Mr. Bush, forget about your cabinet's call for China to free float their currency. You've got bigger problems now.

Bring on the Reaper

It was just a matter of time. Via CNN, Iraqi PM Allawi just declared a state of emergency for Iraq for 60 days (as of 21:15 Malaysian time). Kind of blows the American and right wingers assessment that MOST of Iraq is safe and secure doesn't it?

Go Down Fighting

Ahhh. That's more like it.

For the past 5 days, it's been like someone has died. Democratic blogs started to point fingers, the whole LEFT of the blogosphere was crying foul but not really giving facts.

Leave it to Daily Kos to break out of the slumber. He takes the media and the right to task for proclaiming the recent election as a MANDATE for GWB. Three Words.

Fifty

Six

Million

Couldn't Say It Better.

Regarding Yasser Arafat and his condition, I could never be as eloquent as avari-nameh. Please see the post here.

In light of the above link, I would like to bring your attention to an article by Ha'aretz. Apparently, the Israelis will not let Arafat be buried in Jerusalem near the Al Aqsa Mosque.

"Palestinians and Israelis drew battle lines Friday over the future burial site of the stricken Yasser Arafat, as Israel rejected out of hand a declaration by the chief Palestinian Islamic cleric, who said Arafat had voiced the desire to be buried close to the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem."

How do Christians Reconcile?

Being raised in a Christian home and now a Muslim, I've had this on my mind for some time. That is the dichotomies that Christians seem to live under. As we all know, Jesus is the cornerstone of the Christian religion. In fact, Christians believe that you cannot be saved unless you accept Jesus as your personal saviour. Now if Jesus is the cornerstone of your religion and is to be your personal saviour, shouldn't you follow Jesus' teachings. Christians have a popular phrase to help them through decisions in their daily lives. What Would Jesus Do? If you ever get caught in a situation where you aren't sure what you should do, you can always fall back on what your personal saviour would've done. I have no problem with this phrase. Where the dichotomy arises is that most Christians don't follow it. Do you think Jesus would've given a speech on the need to attack Afghanistan and Iraq after 9/11? As an ex-Christian I'm going to go out on a limb and say no. When you bring this conflict up with Christians, their argument will be that the Old Testament says an eye for an eye. But unlearned Christians fail to remember that what supposedly sets them apart from the other Abrahamic traditions are that they have the New Testament (New Covenant). Take a quick look at the Old and New Testament and you will see that almost every step of the way, these two books are at odds with one another. Secondly, if it is true that the OT carries as much weight and influence as the NT, then why do so many Christians choose not to follow many of the OT teachings? The biggest example of this is the Halal or Kosher (Take your pick) dietary laws. These are explicit and unwavering throughout the OT. Christians will point to the account of Peter in Acts. In short, Peter had a vision of all kinds of quadrapeds (dogs, cats, etc.) then he heard a voice that roughly said Rise and Eat. Christians take this to mean that their are no foods that are unclean. However, there are serious Christian scholars who rebut this argument all together. They say that the above passage was intended to mean that all men are clean. Jews and Gentiles alike. Whatever the above passage was intended to do does not matter to my argument. My argument is to ask if Christians see the problem when jumping back from the OT to the NT when justifying their actions. After all, Christians see the OT as Moses Covenant or Old Covenant and these rules expired when Jesus was sacrificed. His sacrificed ushered in the New Covenant.

For Christians, which Covenant do you live by? Or are you free to choose according to the situation?

Yasser Arafat Dead?

According to a reporter at the Bush Press Conference, Yasser Arafat has died. This cannot be confirmed. There are conflicting reports. It is for sure that he is in critical condition. It seems the enigmatic leader of the Palestinians is still an enigma even in critical condition.

I am worried what will become of the leadership of the Palestinians. For sure, there will be a power struggle and a vacuum.