A lost people
In the past few months, Houthi rebels invaded Sana’a with no resistance, where most of the army left their bases and left all kinds of weapons for the rebels to take (‘Yemen faces power vacuum after president quits,’ Gulf News, January 24). Two days ago, the cabinet resigned followed by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi on January 22. In a matter of hours, Yemen became leaderless. The south of Yemen threatened separation and the accusations started flying between the public for who was really behind all of this. It seems that former President Ali Abdullah Saleh and Iran are taking most of the blame. The GCC countries condemn the coup and announced their full support for President Hadi.
All of the above is being repeated in the news and social media, but they are forgetting about the Yemeni as individuals who are confused more than ever. This will be clear to those who have been observing up close the Yemeni culture. In Yemen there are no armed forces to take over and restore the power of the country and no political leader to follow who is respected by everyone.
All that has been left with the Yemeni is a terrible conflict where each person has to choose: tribal and blood ties, political parties or religious sectarianism. In the meantime the common Yemeni is wondering, “To where and with whom?”
From Mr Mohammad Al Hajeri
Al Ain
Obey police officers
When apprehended by the police, just follow the instructions of police officer (‘Man fatally shot by police in US,’ Gulf News, January 23). In the scenario, all the officer wanted was to see the man’s hands, but instead he pushed the door and stepped out of the vehicle. This to me shows an offensive move, which makes the police feel threatened, especially if the person had a gun. I would probably do the same if I were in their shoes.
From Mr Jose Forth
UAE
Website comment
Hypocritical
Why is the West trying to save a person who has been tried by Islamic Sharia of the country he belongs (‘Riyadh to postpone flogging of blogger again’, Gulf News, January 23)? Is it because he has allegedly insulted Islam and now they are making a hero out of him for that? What is Amnesty International doing to save millions of innocent lives in Palestine, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. The truth is that the West does not bother to save millions of Muslims while crying out for a single person who went against his religion. It just seems like hypocrisy to the extreme!
From Mr Khaled
Dubai
Website comment
Need to deal with electricity
It is ghastly to note the electricity power cut off complication in India. The electricity demand has been increasing by seven to nine per cent each year with the increasing population. The government must be adjured immediately to take appropriate measures to deal with the predicament in the best possible manner. In today’s world of digitalisation and advancement in technology spreading its roots everywhere, living without internet and other electrical appliances is a very big deal indeed. In this situation, renewable yet economically-viable forms of energy could come in handy. This energy-crisis is very much prevalent and widespread in India, even when it comes to big cities and metropolitan areas.
From Mr Manav Nirad
UAE
Parking dilemma
It was announced that the used-car showroom near my home in Sharjah will be shifted to a new place. These rumours have been flying around for a very long time and nothing was happening, but the other day again there was great news that it is going to happen.
Oh, what a sigh of relief! Residents of the area have been struggling and battling for proper parking in their residential area, at least near their buildings, but it was a great pain to find a proper parking and even if they park their vehicles on the sandy open areas, one can see that you are gifted with a ticket fine from the Municipal authorities or the used car showroom people used to dent or damage the car, so that you will never try to park in the same place. Also, one more question arises: if these showrooms are moved and the area becomes a hassle-free area for the residents, will the landlords increase the rent?
From Mr Prasad Warrier
Sharjah
Tolerate all religions
The French are at it again by publishing a new cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad [PBUH]. This is an act of religious intolerance. Perhaps they should go back into history and study the life’s history of the third president of the United States, President Thomas Jefferson, who once said: “I never will, by any word or act, bow to the shrine of intolerance or admit a right of inquiry into the religious opinions of others.”
Governments should tackle increased religious intolerance by promoting discussion both within religious groups and by ensuring that women and political leaders are involved in the talks. Freedom of religion is the mother of all human rights and all human rights are universal and interconnected.
France’s reluctance to tolerate religious sensitivity is disturbing. The resurgence of this kind of thinking poses a profound threat to liberal societies, which are based on ideas of liberty and equality. This form of faith bashing is a serious concern.
The challenge facing the politics and religions of mankind are to contemplate, with hearts filled with the spirit of compassion and desire for truth, the plight of humanity. We need to ask ourselves whether we cannot, in humility and before God, submerge our differences in a great spirit of mutual forbearance that will enable them to work together for the advancement of religious understanding and political stability.
From Mr Farouk Araie
Johannesburg, South Africa
The American Sniper is hurtful
I recently watched the movie, ‘American Sniper’ that is based on the true life story of Chris Kyle, a US Navy Seal. The film portrays the realisms of a war-torn, abandoned Iraqi city named Fallujah. It provides a detailed insight into the harsh realities of a city that is under constant attack and airstrikes.
I found it to be highly offensive towards Muslims. The scenes showing the sniper shooting dead a woman along with her child and killing several others dubbed as the militants were not very pleasant to witness. The dialogues used to refer to Muslims in the movie are derogatory and abusive. Though the film is well-received by the audiences, I feel it is hurtful to the sentiments of Muslims across the globe.
I was appalled to see how the navy personnel mistreated Muslim families in Iraq and barged into their houses as shown in the film. It was upsetting to see how every individual in the city was suspected to be a threat to the US army, women and children included.
If this is what was documented in the movie, I cannot imagine the actual series of events that must have unfolded in Iraq.
While the film is a tribute to the deceased Navy officer and his patriotism for his country, the hatred towards Arab Muslims is clearly evident in the script.
From Ms Fatima Suhail
Sharjah
Cleaning up the board
It is definitely a landmark knockout verdict by the Supreme Court in India. Kudos to the Supreme Court judges for its much awaited verdict pronouncing Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President in exile.
Barring Narayanaswami Srinivasan from contesting the board elections until he clears himself of commercial interests in the game was a welcome move. More than this, it is heartening that the Supreme Court has forced the BCCI to come under the ambit of the Right to Information Act, which they have been dodging for long. Though past leaders claimed that they were keen to weed out cronies and clean the board, all of them were party in bringing in rule 6.2.4 of the BCCI constitution, mainly to accommodate Srinivasan of Chennai Super Kings. Now all of them talk like saints. Anyway, we are happy that the Supreme Court, like in the case of many scams, have taken steps to clean the board and we hope to see better administration by players of the past and improve the game of Cricket.
From Mr N. Mahadevan
Dubai
Smoking near petrol stations
I have been noticing of late that often when I go to refuel at petrol stations that at the point of exit, people park their cars and smoke while waiting for someone. The other day in Mirdif, I saw a biker lighting his cigarette there. I mean, it’s a rational to think how risky it is do so, and even a small light could result in a major disaster in and around the area. Also the cafeterias in the stations sometimes have chairs kept outside if someone wants to smoke while snacking. Isn’t that too risky as well?
I request the authorities to track down such activities as they can be really risky and taking precautions is always better.
From Mr Haresh
UAE
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