Ground zero

The ongoing furore over the so-called Ground Zero Mosque shows no sign of abating after weeks of noisy controversy. In a sense, it has become a litmus test of America’s cherished freedom of worship, as well as its tolerance of other people and other faiths.


The project is expected to cost around $100 million, and many think the bulk of the money will come from Saudi Arabia, even though the source of the funds has not been made public yet. If this is indeed so, this would be a slap in the face of Americans as “nine of the jihadis in the Twin Towers calamity were Saudis”. Saudis have been funding mosques and madressahs around the world, in addition to paying for chairs for Islamic studies at major universities. Many of these have been used to project the country’s official Wahabi version of Islam that has fuelled the rising tide of extremism and jihadi fervour. Why the $100 million can’t be put to use to help others who actually needs the funding like in Pakistan instead? This is especially relevant in the context of the floods that are devastating much of Pakistan today.

Now the question is about reciprocity: if the Saudis can aggressively spread their ideology abroad, why can’t other beliefs build their places of worship in Saudi Arabia? 

Currently, it is illegal to build a church, synagogue or temple in that country. Even importing copies of the Bible or the Torah is forbidden. Granted, Saudi Arabia is not an example of tolerance and freedom of worship. In fact, it is one of the most benighted societies on the planet where the royal family rules with an iron hand in partnership with the clergy. Nevertheless, every time the government or individual members of the ruling House of Saud wish to fund a religious centre abroad, they should be asked to open up their country to other faiths.

Edited version of Mr. Irfan Husain ‘s article published in Dawn

Superbug

Medical tourism may not be safe in India because the ‘superbug’ possibly originated in India suggested a British  publication and further went on naming notoriously  “New Delhi metallo-blactamase (NDM-1). The growth in the flow of patients from the developed to the low cost developing world for medical treatment has consistently worried the medical fraternity in the West.  In order to slowdown the  patients flow the west came up with the story which  sponsored by  European Union,  The Wellcome Trust, and drugmaker Wyeth  who markets the superbug antibiotic Tygacil  (tigecycline) .

Such antibiotic resistant bacteria have been reported everywhere in the world, including in the UK, the US and the entire developed world for decades. The NDM-1, for instance, has even been detected in Canada, Australia, The Netherlands and Sweden.   So why India to be blamed. Similarly   genesis of MRSA is in the West . So was  West was blamed for a disease that affects the entire world.

Rather than creating controversies around the origin of the bacteria, it is better to focus on the lack of interest among pharma companies to develop superdrugs for such superbugs.

Real resource of Afganistan

The news that one to two trillion-dollar worth of minerals lie buried under the dusty and dreary soil of Afghanistan has made waves across the world. Eager resource extractors are eyeing Afghanistan with renewed interest. Iron, copper, cobalt, gold and lithium are among the many minerals that are said to lie embedded in Afghan soil. Geologists have known this for a long time and China has already put in place plans to dig up and carry away billions of dollars worth of copper.


Interestingly, so far it is the United States and western powers that have spent money providing security in Afghanistan, while it is the Chinese who have got their hands on Afghan copper. Perhaps that is the payoff to China for its implicit support to US occupation of Afghanistan. One must not put the cart before the horse. Afghanistan’s untapped wealth can only be put to good use, in the interests of the Afghan people, when peace and security return to this unfortunate land. Afghans have been denied peace and security not only by enemies within the country but enemies outside, especially Pakistan.
The world needs to invest in the well-being and educational and economic empowerment of Afgans so that they can tap into their own wealth. India is contributing in this regard and India’s investment in education, health, roads and railways in Afghanistan will help it tap its own human resources.
Unless the Afghan people are empowered, the discovery of natural resources can only be a curse, not a blessing.

BS