Wednesday, January 20, 2010

YES, KENYA’S MUSLIM LEADERS ARE RIGHT TO DISOWN AL AMIN KIMATHI’S VIOLENT ANTICS

·


By Jerry Okungu

January 20, 2010



Sheikh Muhdhar Shariff Khitamy and Sheikh Abu Hamza of Mombasa must be commended as true Muslims and real patriots of this country. They have talked as true spiritual leaders that this country can depend on in times of crisis. They have taken the courage to stand up and be counted among the voices of reason at a time when some misguided zealots in the name of Islam have attempted to drive this country on the brink of civil strife.

By declaring publicly that they will not condone another demo by Muslim youths following last Friday’s chaos in which one Muslim protester was killed and a policeman shot by a protester, they have proved that not all Muslims are rebels without a cause. By demanding that the Jamaican preacher be deported immediately only goes to prove that misguided characters like Al Amin Kimanthi have no role to play in a decent Islamic environment. Their Islam is opportunistic and exploitative. His kind uses any religion for selfish and personal gain. That is why they will look at every opportunity to cause chaos as long as someone is paying them for it.

If respected Muslim leaders can now come out and speak against the presence of Sheikh Faisal in Kenya especially now that they have confirmed that he had served seven years in a UK jail for hate speeches against non Muslims especially Christians and Jews then you wonder why our so called human rights lawyers are accusing the police of arresting Faisal’s promoters.

If you look at the arguments of our respected lawyers in court, you can forgive them for taking such absurd stands especially in the face of threats of terrorism in the streets of Nairobi. Such lawyers argue that the police have no powers in law to stop a demonstration. Fair enough. However, if they don’t then who will when robbers, muggers and rapists will one day organize demonstration demanding their basic rights to rob, rape and murder in the name of their organizations?

How can lawyers tell us that jailbirds such as Faisal can smuggle themselves into this country, get a few misguided sympathizers to team up with illegal Al Shabab aliens, defy authorities and organize illegal demos and the police should just turn a blind eye?

Are they telling us that Jamia Mosque should become a den of illegal Somali aliens, Al Shabab terrorists, gun-totting militants and the Kenyan police should do nothing about the Mosque simply because they happen to be Muslims?

I must repeat this for clarity. Right thinking and respected Muslim leaders have stated clearly and publicly that they will not support any Muslim activist who uses their youth for personal financial rewards to cause mayhem against fellow Kenyans. If there any young Muslims out there not listening, please know that you are on your own because your elders have spoken on behalf of many law abiding Kenyans. If you have to demonstrate, please by all means do so but do it for a cause that will appeal to many Kenyans of all religions and classes.

Please demonstrate against joblessness, hunger, starvation, rapists, robbers, corruption and even Arab nations that enslave our young girls in the North then toss them through the windows from top floors before they are flown back to Kenya with broken limbs. Please demonstrate when Al Shababs kidnap our nuns and humanitarian workers in Mandera, Marsabit and Isiolo and take them hostage for days. Please demonstrate when pirates come with dirty money and buy the entire Eastlands and most of Central Business District pushing locals out of real estate business. But for heaven’s sake give us a break. Don’t go to the streets in the name of a stranger who may never even know you!

On another note, what are the police up to? How do you go to Nakuru, arrest Somali aliens that speak no local language, English or Kiswahili then take them to court and release them of a Ks 30,000 bond? What is the guarantee that they will ever appear in that court again? What makes them not travel to Nairobi then melt into the sprawling Eastleigh Estate that has now become the larger Mogadishu? Surely an illegal alien is not the kind of person you release on bond. Immediate deportation is the answer.

In the United States of America, if Homeland Security agents nab you anywhere, you will never sleep in your bed again. You will be summarily condemned, taken to a detention camp until you are deported to your country of origin. There is nothing like human rights violation for those who break American immigration laws.

And what is the chip on the shoulder attitude of KNHRC Deputy Chairman Ali Hassan? Who is he to summon a minister for Internal Security on a security matter that has been condemned by all Kenyans?

Ali Hassan had better copy the example of his boss Mrs. Jaoko who knows when to comment on public issues. Sometimes being the self styled spokesman of an organization can water down the organizations credibility especially when more often than not such utterances are out of line, downright cheap or not in tandem with the general mood of the country.

jerryokungu@gmail.com

0 comments: