Political game or late awakening [Archives:2008/1134/Opinion]
Mohammed Shamsaddin
We are surprised by the Tuesday of religious awakening claimed by some Parliament members, primarily those who also work as mosque preachers and belong to the Islamist Islah Party. These people showed unprecedented enthusiasm to defend the social values as soon as a local newspaper published articles discussing various social issues, or they did so because they learned of a concert scheduled to take place in Aden City.
These conducts may not reflect a late awakening on the part of those who remained silent for a long time while their colleagues were exposing corruption cases, voicing people's demands and advocating the government to improve people's living standards.
Their being brave to slam the concert of the Syrian singer Asala Nasri and call for trying the independent MP Ahmad Saif Hashid raise numerous questions before any observer of the issue with regard to how he/she may know about the real motives or reasons behind discussing the two issues on the same day (Tuesday, February 19, 2008). It seems that offering the service to politics is given precedence over religious jealousy, particularly when we take into account that those who organized the 'disbelief' campaign against Hashid are mosque preachers playing no effective role in the political arena.
In order not to elaborate in the intents of those whom we agree or disagree with regarding any religious or political issues, I believe that, as a citizen at first and secondly as a voter, I am entitled to question our representatives at Parliament, mainly after they have taken us to issues that ban singing and talks about social issues.
Given the assumption that awakening leaders in Parliament have the good intent to behave this way, are jealous of Islam and care for protecting society from any ill-mannered press articles that are not worth-publishing, we may believe in what they say, notably as they advocated that concerts contravene the Islamic Sharia and are responsible for wasting public funds. But, such did not happen, nor is this their actual intent.
If we ignore the way these parliamentarians deal with Civil Organization for Control & Audit's reports exposing corruption, and how such a phenomenon is responsible for people's poverty and behaviors, we will achieve nothing in favor of our homeland. The political game of Tuesday's awakening can not be ignored given that the escalated media campaigns against Hashid came after the International Union of Parliamentarians was urged to investigate the series of assaults and harassments targeting the prominent MP.
Hashid has been, more than one time, exposed to inhuman assaults over discussing human rights abuses practiced by security agents against citizens. I don't know why his colleagues turn to be his real enemies instead of backing him and his paper that highlights human rights abuses. Even worse, they demanded the Parliament Presidency Board to revoke his immunity.
Source: Newsyemen.net
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