We love ourselves too often and need reach out much more often. It is a social responsibility and it effects the environment also.
Hamas's attack on 7 October triggered the war with Israel Hamas's attack on 7 October triggered the war with Israel © EPA The most prominent Islamic scholar in Gaza has issued a rare, powerful fatwa condemning Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the devastating war in the Palestinian territory. Professor Dr Salman al-Dayah, a former dean of the Faculty of Sharia and Law at the Hamas-affiliated Islamic University of Gaza, is one of the region’s most respected religious authorities, so his legal opinion carries significant weight among Gaza’s two million population, which is predominantly Sunni Muslim. Neiman Marcus Cashmere Collection Cashmere Basic Turtleneck Top, Black, Women's, S, Sweaters Cashmere Sweaters Neiman Marcus Neiman Marcus Cashmere Collection Cashmere Basic Turtleneck Top, Black, Women's, S, Sweaters Cashmere Sweaters Ad A fatwa is a non-binding Islamic legal ruling from a respected religious scholar usually based on the Quran or the Sunnah - the sayings and practices of the Prophet Muhammad. Dr Dayah’s fatwa, which was published in a detailed six-page document, criticises Hamas for what he calls “violating Islamic principles governing jihad”. Jihad means “struggle” in Arabic and in Islam it can be a personal struggle for spiritual improvement or a military struggle against unbelievers. Dr Dayah adds: “If the pillars, causes, or conditions of jihad are not met, it must be avoided in order to avoid destroying people’s lives. This is something that is easy to guess for our country’s politicians, so the attack must have been avoided.” For Hamas, the fatwa represents an embarrassing and potentially damaging critique, particularly as the group often justifies its attacks on Israel through religious arguments to garner support from Arab and Muslim communities. 7 Things Not to Do When Selecting a Financial Advisor SmartAsset 7 Things Not to Do When Selecting a Financial Advisor Ad The 7 October attack saw hundreds of Hamas gunmen from Gaza invade southern Israel. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage. Israel responded by launching a military campaign to destroy Hamas, during which more than 43,400 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Israel Gaza war: History of the conflict explained What is Hamas and why is it fighting with Israel in Gaza? Dr Dayah argues that the significant civilian casualties in Gaza, together with the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure and humanitarian disaster that have followed the 7 October attack, means that it was in direct contradiction to the teachings of Islam. Hamas, he says, has failed in its obligations of “keeping fighters away from the homes of defenceless [Palestinian] civilians and their shelters, and providing security and safety as much as possible in the various aspects of life... security, economic, health, and education, and saving enough supplies for them.” Neiman Marcus Cashmere Collection Cashmere Basic Turtleneck Top, Black, Women's, S, Sweaters Cashmere Sweaters Neiman Marcus Neiman Marcus Cashmere Collection Cashmere Basic Turtleneck Top, Black, Women's, S, Sweaters Cashmere Sweaters Ad Dr Dayah points to Quranic verses and the Sunnah that set strict conditions for the conduct of jihad, including the necessity of avoiding actions that provoke an excessive and disproportionate response by an opponent. His fatwa highlights that, according to Islamic law, a military raid should not trigger a response that exceeds the intended benefits of the action. He also stresses that Muslim leaders are obligated to ensure the safety and well-being of non-combatants, including by providing food, medicine, and refuge to those not involved in the fighting. “Human life is more precious to God than Mecca,” Dr Dayah states. His opposition to the 7 October attack is especially significant given his deep influence in Gaza, where he is seen as a key religious figure and a vocal critic of Islamist movements, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. His moderate Salafist beliefs place him in direct opposition to Hamas’s approach to armed resistance and its ties to Shia-ruled Iran. Salafists are fundamentalists who seek to adhere the example of the Prophet Muhammad and the first generations who followed him. Dr Dayah has consistently argued for the establishment of an Islamic caliphate that adheres strictly to Islamic law, rather than the political party-based systems that Hamas and other groups advocate. “Our role model is the Prophet Muhammad, who founded a nation and did not establish political parties that divide the nation. Therefore, parties in Islam are forbidden,” he said in a sermon he gave at a mosque several years ago. He has also condemned extremism, opposing jihadist groups like Islamic State and al-Qaeda, and has used all of his platforms to issue fatwas on various social and political issues, ranging from commercial transactions, social disputes over marriage and divorce, to the conduct of political violence. The fatwa adds to the growing internal debate within Gaza and the broader Arab world over the moral and legal implications of Hamas’s actions, and it is likely to fuel further divisions within Palestinian society regarding the use of armed resistance in the ongoing conflict with Israel. Sheikh Ashraf Ahmed, one of Dr Dayah’s students who was forced to leave his house in Gaza City last year and flee to the south of Gaza with his wife and nine children, told the BBC: “Our scholar [Dr Dayah] refused to leave his home in northern Gaza despite the fears of Israeli air strikes. He chose to fulfil his religious duty by issuing his legal opinion on the attack”. Ahmed described the fatwa as the most powerful legal judgment of a historical moment. “It’s a deeply well researched document, reflecting Dayah’s commitment to Islamic jurisprudence,” he said.
Seeds of Hate: SUBSCRIBE Log In Show Search Advertisement California UCLA students and faculty raise alarm on antisemitic and anti-Palestinian hate amid ongoing protests Pro-Israel protesters near a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA Pro-Israel protesters gather by the pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA on April 25. (Ringo Chiu / For The Times) By Jaweed Kaleem Staff Writer Follow Oct. 23, 2024 3 AM PT Share 59 A survey by the UCLA Task Force to Combat Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias found antisemitism has gotten worse since Oct. 7, 2023. An earlier report by the Task Force on Anti-Palestinian, Anti-Muslim, and Anti-Arab Racism decried suppression of pro-Palestinian speech. Tensions continue to roil UCLA amid new protests, lawsuits and strict protest rules. To one group, UCLA has become a hotbed of antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias, a campus led by an administration that has not taken enough action to address pro-Palestinian demonstrations that violate university rules and veer into anti-Jewish tropes and slogans. To another, the university has become a site of repression against Muslim, Arab and Palestinian American voices, with excessive security patrols and strict free expression rules that clamp down on pro-Palestinian protesters and their demands that the university divest from ties to Israel’s military. More than a year after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the nation’s retaliatory war in Gaza ignited campus protests — and nearly six months since a violent mob stormed a UCLA pro-Palestinian encampment — dueling university task forces and divided students and faculty have painted contrasting pictures of the Westwood campus still reeling from its tumultuous spring. ADVERTISING UCLA’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias this week publicly released a 93-page report submitted to the university’s interim Chancellor Darnell Hunt describing “broad-based perceptions of antisemitic and anti-Israeli bias on campus” that have increased over the last year. In a survey of hundreds of students, faculty and staff members, it found sizable numbers have considered leaving for degrees or jobs elsewhere, saying they experienced hostility from peers because of their Jewish, Israeli or pro-Israel identities or otherwise have felt abandoned on campus. The report cited more than 100 Jews or Israeli Americans at UCLA who said they were attacked or threatened in the last year for their identity, and several instances of chalked or spray-painted displays of swastikas on buildings, in classrooms or on campus sidewalks since Oct. 7, 2023. Advertisement In several cases, the report cited disrespectful uses of the Star of David, such as a chalking of the symbol on campus property with the star accompanied by the words “step here.” The star is a Jewish symbol that appears prominently on the Israeli flag and the emblem of the Israel Defense Forces. The report also cited messages explicitly targeting Israelis, such as a sign during a campus protest that said “Israelis are native 2 hell.” The publication followed two reports — in April and June — from the UCLA Task Force on Anti-Palestinian, Anti-Muslim, and Anti-Arab Racism that decried a campus that’s “less safe than ever” for those groups and criticized “increased harassment, violence, and targeting” of them. A third report is in the works. Thumbnail from UCLA protest California Pro-Israel counterprotesters attack pro-Palestinian camp at UCLA; violence continues for hours May 1, 2024 Both tasks forces were commissioned last fall and winter in response to complaints over hate incidents, protests and a breakdown in campus relations on opposing sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. UCLA made international headlines for the April 30 melee at a pro-Palestinian encampment when agitators attacked protesters as understaffed police stood by for hours waiting for reinforcements. On May 2, police made more than 200 arrests and dismantled the camp. Advertisement The groups’ calls for changes, from policing to free speech issues, are not binding, and come as the university grapples with another season of protest and debate over what constitutes hate speech. Ongoing lawsuits, protests and restrictions On Tuesday, a group of pro-Palestinian students and faculty filed a lawsuit in state court, alleging that the university violated their free speech rights when it cleared the spring encampment and wrongly subjected them to disciplinary measures over protesting. In the suit, two professors and students who were part of the encampment alleged UCLA “unlawfully caused the arrests of students and faculty engaged in nonviolent protest.” The protesters, represented by the ACLU of Southern California, have asked the court to force UCLA police to no longer declare “unlawful assembly” when demonstrations violate only university policy — reserving the order to acts of violence or if demonstrators appear to be breaking criminal laws. The suit alleges that UCLA has shut down encampments this year using an incorrect interpretation of California penal code over unlawful assembly. Plaintiffs also want UCLA to expunge “any arrest or discipline records” related to their involvement in the encampment. In August, a federal judge in a separate case ordered UCLA to ensure equal access to Jewish students, three of whom alleged that the university enabled encampment protesters to block Jews from parts of campus. Irvine, CA - May 15: Pro-Palestine demonstrators face off with multiple police agencies forming a containment line, and arrest protesters as they break up the pro-Palestine encampment at UCI in Irvine Wednesday, May 15, 2024. A protest at UC Irvine regarding the war in Palestine has turned violent, prompting calls for police and a warning to students and educators on campus. Protesters have surrounded the physical sciences lecture hall, which has been closed off. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) California Zero tolerance at UC campuses in new order banning encampments, masking, blocking paths Aug. 19, 2024 The legal actions come as UCLA and the UC system have made major changes in how they deal with protests. The University of California has declared a system-wide zero-tolerance for encampments and banned the use of masks to conceal identity while breaking the law. A new UCLA safety chief is overhauling procedures. And the vast majority of campus is now off-limits to unpermitted protests as more private security guards patrol. Still, task force members on both sides said more needs to be done. Last spring, “campus leadership repeatedly failed to enforce its own rules,” said Richard Steinberg, a UCLA law professor and member of the antisemitism task force. “A central question this year is whether that will change — whether campus leadership will enforce the rules and the law, and discipline those who violate them. So far this year, campus leadership’s rule enforcement pattern is not encouraging.” As an example, he pointed to a pro-Palestinian march on the Oct. 7 anniversary that took place in unpermitted zones, but did not result in citations or arrests of students or staff who violated UCLA policies. In a previous interview with The Times, Rick Braziel, UCLA’s chief safety officer, declined to say why there was no action in response to the Oct. 7 protest. He said no arrests were made because there was not significant disruption to campus operations, which is what triggers an unlawful-assembly declaration and the threat of citation. Los Angeles, CA - October 07: A pro Palestine rally at UCLA on the one-year anniversary of Hamas' Oct. 7th attack on Israel on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024 in Los Angeles, CA. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) California For Subscribers Intense UCLA policing draws scrutiny as security chief speaks out on handling protests Oct. 11, 2024 Events unfolded differently beginning Monday morning, when pro-Palestinian Jewish and non-Jewish students erected a tent-like Sukkah structure to observe the Jewish holiday of Sukkot in an off-limits central campus court. Campus officials told the group to end its protest, but the demonstration grew throughout the day and a few tents popped up. Later, an unidentified group tore apart the Sukkah, police issued a dispersal order, and activists voluntarily left the site in the late evening. Findings on antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias The report Steinberg helped compile asked 428 UCLA community members who are Jewish, Israeli or both about anti-Jewish incidents or sentiments, the spring encampment, and if they viewed the campus as getting better or worse for Jews. Respondents included faculty, lecturers, staff and administrators as well as students at every level. It found that 84% believed that antisemitism had “worsened or significantly worsened” since Oct. 7, 2023. About 70% said the spring encampment was “a source of antisemitism,” and about 40% said they experienced antisemitic discrimination in their time at UCLA. Forty-one percent said they thought of leaving UCLA due to antisemitism or anti-Israeli bias— a view that was most common among faculty. Respondents were contacted via Jewish campus organizations, including the Jewish Faculty Resilience Group, Chabad, Hillel, Jewish Voice for Peace, and the Jewish Muslim Alliance. Students for Justice in Palestine, a group that includes Jews, was not asked to participate. The task force said it reached out to Zionist, non-Zionist and anti-Zionist Jews. It asked respondents about antisemitism but did not define the term. The words “Zionist” or “Zionism” also did not appear in the survey. The report did not estimate the total population of Jewish and Israeli American community members at UCLA. But authors said it represented among the most detailed picture of Jewish views on campus. Study of anti-Palestinian, anti-Muslim and anti-Arab racism Members of a UCLA’s Task Force on Anti-Palestinian, Anti-Muslim, and Anti-Arab Racism and the Faculty for Justice in Palestine chapter contend that pro-Palestinian protests are not antisemitic. Many pro-Palestinian activists, they point out, are Jewish. Saree Makdisi, a professor of English who is part of the task force, said criticism of Israel is too often equated with antisemitism. “It’s as if criticizing South Africa meant you were anti-white or if criticizing Saudi Arabia means you are anti-Sunni,” he said, referring to that kingdom’s dominant Islamic sect. “What we are seeing in this university is the systematic marginalization of one set of human lives and one set of constituencies — Palestinian American, Arab American, Muslim American and Palestinians in general. Not treating them on the basis of equality. Not safeguarding their access to the university in terms of free speech and their right to expression,” Makdisi said. The task force he serves on did not poll the community about anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab or anti-Muslim sentiment, but made recommendations about ways to improve the environment for them on campus. The group has called for a “thorough, independent investigation of law enforcement, the administration, and forces (internally and externally) who violently assaulted student protesters” in the spring. University of California Police officers face pro-Palestinian protesters outside Dodd Hall in the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in Los Angeles, June 10, 2024. Several protesters were arrested by UCLA police following a new attempt to set up an encampment on the University campus. (Photo by ETIENNE LAURENT / AFP) (Photo by ETIENNE LAURENT/AFP via Getty Images) California UC police seek approval for more pepper balls, sponge rounds, launchers, drones Sept. 19, 2024 The University of California has hired 21CP Solutions, a consulting group led by former police chiefs of Philadelphia, Seattle and other major cities, to analyze UCLA policing. But the task force rejects “the idea that highly paid consultants with direct ties to law enforcement can conduct a serious, critical, objective investigation.” The task force is also calling for the “rapid reduction of police and private security on campus, the elimination of the Office of Public Safety” and the dismissal of the new chief safety officer, Braziel, who was hired in response to the spring’s violence. Braziel, who is in a short-term position, has said he is hoping to make changes on campus so that “police are seen as part of the family, not an invading army,” such as by having security officers wear blue-and-gold UCLA polo shirts instead of black shirts. He acknowledged that a large and visible police presence on campus can be counter-effective and that fewer security officers could be deployed with better training. UCLA response UCLA said it had received the report on antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias, which is under review. “Interim Chancellor Hunt is appreciative of the task force’s thorough and thoughtful work on this sensitive issue during a very challenging time for our community,” a university statement said, adding that he will “determine the best ways for UCLA to strengthen our ongoing efforts to combat antisemitism and protect the well-being of the entire Bruin community.” Demonstrators rally for Israel as pro Palestine counter demonstrators surround them. California UCLA aims to rebuild trust after protests with new ‘free speech’ zones, more security, dialogue Sept. 5, 2024 A separate statement Wednesday about the Task Force on Anti-Palestinian, Anti-Muslim, and Anti-Arab Racism said Hunt has “expressed his commitment to consider their findings as the campus continues its ongoing efforts to better support an academic environment where all people feel safe, welcome, respected and able to fully express themselves.” Last month, UCLA launched a “four-point” plan to create a more welcoming campus environment for all of its more than 50,000 students, faculty and staff members. In addition to a renewed focus on community safety and changes to protest rules, it announced a speaker series on “challenging but empathetic conversations.” That includes an upcoming Nov. 13 event featuring Yasmeen Abu Fraiha, an Israeli Bedouin physician and fellow with the Middle East Initiative at Harvard’s Kennedy School. The university also plans “Speaking Across Conflicts” workshops as well as programs for student internships and teaching fellowships that focus on effective dialogue. Much of the programming will stem from the UCLA Bedari Kindness Institute and be led by David Myers, a professor of Jewish history who has focused on bridge-building. Times staff writer Teresa Watanabe contributed to this report.
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I am in need of more opinions Perhaps there is a place where I can find some The kind that sound true The kind that make me feel good...
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That is what a superman does To make the world a better place Bring laughter and fun Spread the love Show kindness and res...