Commentary On a Human Rights (UDHR) Speech–Part V

Hasan A. Yahya, Ph.D

 He says: The signs [  ] are made by the writer for immediate question marks and organization. 

To our regret, freedom of expression has been abused and exploited by some for obvious political, financial and other gains. [The solution] What is needed is [ONE] practical local and international mechanisms to address acts of incitement to religious or racial hatred which constitute a dangerous threat for the preservation of peace and harmony among communities.

[I say: [In fact as if you say: if someone sees racist actions or manipulation of Muslim resources for personal interest or criticize wrong committed deeds against the public, s/he becomes a dangerous threat  for peace and harmony for the governments. This is the window wide open for criticism, I believe that most government look for alternatives, bu they miss up by lack of decision making power to solve the problems peacefully, You know of police brutality in some case when the deal with public unrest and disorder.]

[TWO] Combating ignorance and misunderstanding,

[ I say: [I wished to read more elaboration on HOW TO COMBAT those who criticize VALUES of governmental INJUSTICE, Inequality and social arrogance, well, look around to see what I mean. Such situations need full research to find solutions for anarchic behaviors committed by authority figures]

[THREE]  promoting cross-cultural dialogue and exchanges, encouraging education on cultural diversity and mutual respect are some avenues to create and sustain a viable atmosphere of peaceful coexistence.

I say: [If you do not criticize injustice, racism and inequality, HOW would you make education on cultural diversity perceptions works? while racist national policies are structured and functioned through government agencies in everyday life in almost all Muslim countries, no need for examples, because it is not a matter to win here, but to open eyes on what is going on. Good words need to be applied peacefully, no more no less. Who will do that? Good question to ask. Look around, Muslims of today are not Muslims of yesterday, they are sophisticated in all aspects of technology and knowledge, find them, employ them, for their intellectual reasoning to solve the problems of the Muslim world, to begin with is to regain dignity and people’s inspiration and dreams to live as humans. This is not a propaganda  for rebellious action, but a call for radical change of perceptions by replacing them with modern perceptions of tolerance justice, understanding the world around us. Muslims have to find new alternative, new concepts,  learn the meaning of compromise, which is widely practiced in the west, but not in their political behavior toward Muslims, because I have my position in rejecting activities concerning human rights. They have the right to hate Muslims, and we have the right  to be angry for that western perception, Muslims, in fact, are invited to make the change under human rights slogans if not democracy and secularization which has negative perception among Muslim Nations, while they practice it all over the social activities, but deny their existence. If you want example,  Read for Sheikh al-Qaradawi on the subject. He in fact made secularization as Haram in Islam, because he thought that secularization by using minds and logic to manage societies as rejecting God from people’s minds, which is not true, examples other than the cradle of secularization Europe and North America, in Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia,  and many Arab Muslim countries. [See my comments on his book on articlesbase.com.  So what is the alternative to regain dignity as human beings to replace nepotism, favoritism, and despotism, and dogmatism of neglecting logic and philosophy, if we remain to follow dogmatic principles of logic? ]

He says:

We need to strengthen our efforts on this perspective. The OIC will continue to work with other international partners such as UNESCO, Alliance of Civilizations Secretariat, Council of Europe, OSCE and EU institutions in order to foster dialogue between the West and the Muslim World and to face challenges posed by misperceptions, stereotypes and misinformation.

I say: [Why do we need the UNESCO, for? Why do we need the Alliance of Civilizations Secretariat, Council of Europe, OSCE and EU institutions for?  The answer is “in order to foster dialogue between the West and the Muslim World?”] But what if the west have the perception about Muslims and know them very well ( as perception) or have NO INTENTION TO LISTEN AND UNDERSTAND because of little support  weak powers, to accept Muslims and cherish their  Islam? Example: the Haj Atallah and the greedy neighbor tale, who denied his right in his Amana  after returning from pilgrimage, when the greedy said: If you take off your skin, by the name of God, I swear, I will not recognize you or your claim. This is the perception of Islam in the west, so my advice to Muslims, is to work for their dignity first, their unity, second, and their image perceptions to have equal opportunities to convince others to listen to their claims in mutual respect]

The speech was long, it needs more time to be read and reflected upon, Finally, He says:

Myself, as the OIC Secretary General, would like to state in all sincerity that we will do our best to uphold and defend for all, the lofty values of the Universal Declaration in cooperation with the international community.

 [ I say: This is a bold statement, But the question remains: HOW you will do it? A theory or paradigm remain a theory and paradigm, the most important is to apply theory for everyday Muslim life. Common Muslims, before the intellectuals,  know very well that points of conflict in many spots in the Muslim world-Palestine, Kashmir, Somalia, South Philippine Moro, etc., need to be resolved to regain dignity of Muslims, and without it, I believe, the situation will get worse]

Writer’s Note: I hope what I said did not offend anyone. My attempt to show my thoughts may be short, I  would elaborate on any point I made if contacted. http://www.hasanyahya.com

Hasan Yahya, is an American Arab scholar and writer, a professor of sociology, and a columnist at wfol.tv, Malaysia, and TINA International News Agency, Chicago, USA.

About The Author– Hasan Yahya is an Arab American scholar, Writer and Poet. Graduated from Michigan State University with two Ph.D degrees. He published 20 plus books and 180 plus articles on sociology, psychology, politics, poetry, IQ Test Measurement, short stories and on Arab & Islamic Ethics in both Arabic and English. His articles may be found on articlesbase.com, Shelfari, Face-book and other internet sites. Dr. Yahya resides in Michigan, USA.