Al Qaeda leader’s poem in Calicut varsity(Kerala) syllabus

[Skallagrim]

A terrorist is a terrorist . Is there any guarantee that he will not return back to terrorism ??

There is no need to give any attention or publicity to him neither for his work .

The irony is many of us would never know of this 'Poems from Guantanamo' if this controversy didn't arise.

 

[SirHatesALot]

yes there there were many good books written by criminals but not terrorists, or do you think there is no difference ?
once again I would repeat, even books written by terrorists can be read and appreciated, but that's a personal choice and freedom, when you include something like that in a syllabus you are denying the freedom to reject a book because of the author's background of being a terrorist.don't I have a right to not to study a poem and avoid the situation of describing a POV of a terrorist.

And there can't be two answers for many questions.

who are they which the poet is describing as faithless ?why ?

why is the poet is in chain ?
what's the meaning of " our enemies in below lines ?
"You have colluded with our enemies and you cruelly guard us."
Are we going to accept a suspected terrorist's version and his thoughts about the " faithless enemy " also as the right answer for the question ?
since he escaped from prison before any court can sentence any verdict against him, he is the perfect man to be portrayed as a victim since terrorist sympathizers can conveniently counter argue that he is not convicted so technically innocent.
aren't we going to create more and more terrorist apologists with this kind of syllabus?

OK i agree it should not have been included in syllabus.

 

[Agnostic_Indian]

i think including the poem in syllabus was wrong.................................
but regarding the poem, if you forget the poets background i think you wont find anything offensive in the poem
it just portrays the feelings of a soldier who is imprisoned by his enemy

first point -a terrorist can't get the respect of a soldier.
second point - his poem is not something like a hate speech or law quality work, but it essentially reflects his background, and his thoughts about a faithless enemy,his perception of his own innocence, etc.Every terrorist in the world thinks the same, nobody thinks he is doing any wrong when he is killing people in the name of Jhad. he is also the same but that doesn't mean that he is right, guilty feeling comes comes from one's on inner sense of ethics and morals,terrorists got a different kind of beliefs, perception, ethics and morals, and according to hat what they are doing is the right thing.

 

[Skallagrim]

Humiliated in the Shackles When I heard pigeons cooing in the trees, Hot tears covered my face. When the lark chirped, my thoughts composed A message for my son. Mohammad, I am afflicted. In my despair, I have no one but Allah for comfort. The oppressors are playing with me, As they move freely around the world. They ask me to spy on my countrymen, Claiming it would be a good deed. They offer me money and land, And freedom to go where I please. Their temptations seize My attention like lightning in the sky. But their gift is an empty snake, Carrying hypocrisy in its mouth like venom, They have monuments to liberty And freedom of opinion, which is well and good. But I explained to them that Architecture is not justice. America, you ride on the backs of orphans, And terrorize them daily. Bush, beware. The world recognizes an arrogant liar. To Allah I direct my grievance and my tears. I am homesick and oppressed. Mohammad, do not forget me. Support the cause of your father, a God- fearing man. I was humiliated in the shackles. How can I now compose verses? How can I now write? After the shackles and the nights and the suffering and the tears, How can I write poetry? My soul is like a roiling sea, stirred by anguish, Violent with passion. I am a captive, but the crimes are my captors'. I am overwhelmed with apprehension. Lord, unite me with my son Mohammad. Lord, grant success to the righteous. -- Sami al Haj Copyright © University of Iowa Press.
The Prison Poets Of Guantanamo Find a Publisher - WSJ.com

 

[J dud]

first point -a terrorist can't get the respect of a soldier.
second point - his poem is not something like a hate speech or law quality work, but it essentially reflects his background, and his thoughts about a faithless enemy,his perception of his own innocence, etc.Every terrorist in the world thinks the same, nobody thinks he is doing any wrong when he is killing people in the name of Jhad. he is also the same but that doesn't mean that he is right, guilty feeling comes comes from one's on inner sense of ethics and morals,terrorists got a different kind of beliefs, perception, ethics and morals, and according to hat what they are doing is the right thing.

i said "if you forget the poets background i think you wont find anything offensive"

judge the poem by its merits not by the poets background
so the poet's religion, beliefs, perception, ethics should not be be contributing factor for judging his poem

 

[Agnostic_Indian]

i said "if you forget the poets background i think you wont find anything offensive"

judge the poem by its merits not by the poets background
so the poet's religion, beliefs, perception, ethics should not be be contributing factor for judging his poem

may be possible, but still IMO it's difficult because if you forget about his background then the words like "faithless , our enemies , mention of Cuba, etc" would become meaningless and so will be the poem itself. I am not a fan of poem's may be people who read and enjoy poem's can explain how one can detach this particular poem in which the poet is talking about himself and his imprisonment , can be detached from the context and enjoyed ?

if it was convicted terrorist's book,poem (either hanged to death or someone who has changed his life and doing good things after serving the jail terms) which talks about a complete fictional subject or about his own life and his coming back to mainstream which gives a good message to thousands of youngsters who are on the verge of falling into terrorism, then may be I would have supported it because then there is a clear answer about the author " He is a convicted terrorist " no if and but's there, if we are studying a complete fiction then students don't have to deal with the authors perceptions and feeling of innocence and if students are studying a life based book then it comes(it must ) with a good message from someone who traveled though the path of terrorism, find it wrong and rejected it, and gives a good message. only problem remains is the students right to reject a book written by a terrorist.There is no uncertainty about he being innocent or guilty, there is no need to study and explain the author's version of faithless enemy or his perception of his own innocence etc.

 

[Mritunjaya]

Killing of Hindu Leaders in TamilNadu/Kerala: Signs of a Malignant Social Tumor

Shocking!! 16 Hindu Organizations Leaders (Hindu Munnani and BJP) have been brutally assasinated in Tamil Nadu over a period of 18 months

I was returning from my annual Pilgrimage to Shabarimala and had just passed Salem station by Kanyakumari-Bangalore Express, when I got a SMS from a friend from Coimbatore with the shocking news that Shri V Ramesh, General Secretary of Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party has been brutally murdered by “Jihadi Goondas”

In an incident earlier this month (On July 1st) Sri S. Vellaiyappan, Tamil Nadu State Secretary of the Hindu Munnani, was hacked and bludgeoned to death in Vellore. It is not a coincidence that he recently led a protest against take over of Jalakanteswarar Temple by the Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Department.

There are 14 other incidents during the past 18 months and many more across the state border in neighbouring Kerala. If someone thinks it is my attempt to communalize so be it. But let it be known that this based on confirmed news even from the Official sources from Tamil Nadu. With signs so clearly pointing towards such forces, I have no qualms in mentioning that rogue elements in the Muslim community have systematically targeted these leaders with active connivance of local authorities in carrying out their sinister acts.

(I am not naive or retarded to believe that there are been no complicity of local authorities in these issues nor am I stupid to see these assassinations as isolated incidents of crime)

When Sri Ramesh (Popularly known as Auditor Ramesh) became the 16th person to be martyred in a state (Check below for links of various reports of other leaders Killed systematically) it did raise hackles of many and we cannot help but note with alarm, that there are some organized forces with vested interests, obviously Anti-National ones, working in a well orchestrated and determined manner. Proper impartial investigations in all probability reveal that this could well be part of “Balkanize India” program of European/ American Conversion Factories with active connivance of UPA.

What should raise our suspicions even further is that these leaders of organizations whose presence or influence is negligible in these states (It is apparently not, with benefit of hindsight) which only makes it even more baffling. Check @Emanin‘s tweet below.

Remember, Kashmir issue started off supposedly as isolated incidents till such time the malaise was so deeply set and before long ethnic cleansing happened. The separatists and terrorist had their roots firmly entrenched and is now bleeding the nation. Unflinching desire of “The Family” to hold on to powers by hook or crook, even if the country has to be dismembered ensured that Army was let loose to fight with their hands tied at their back. As some wise man said, Kerala/TN is headed Kashmir way (in the same sequence). We need to build up pressure on the Authorities to tackle this menace in all earnest and bring the culprits to book – most importantly the Masterminds. Unless we uproot the Masterminds , whoever it is, a malignant tumour would relapse. We cannot afford this and…

Reports of Assassinations & Attacks:

Senior BJP leader S Pugazhendhi (52) was hacked to death near the Nagapattinam police station while he was on his morning walk – July 11th 2012

Dr V Arvind Reddy (38), the BJP State Medical Wing Secretary and Indian Medical Association (IMA) Vellore Branch President, was murdered in front of the diabetic clinic owned by him – October 23rd 2012

K. Murugan (45), former BJP municipal councillor, was returning home for lunch when the gang hurled pipe bombs and hacked him to death in broad daylight in the Paramakudi main bazaar – March 19th 2013

55-year-old Nambu alias Kuttainambu, secretary of the Hindu Munnani’s Rameswaram unit, was found dead with injuries in the head and chest caused by a boulder – July 7th 2013

And Brutal Attacks

M R Gandhi, BJP’s state executive member, was out on his morning walk when the four youths who followed him on two motorcycles, waylaid and attacked him with sharp-edged weapons [Link]

Ananda Kumar, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) functionary & brother of Mettupalayam Municipal Chairman Sathish Kumar, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), intercepted and hacked by a gang of five or six persons near Nadur Kumarapuram – Nov 6th 2012

A bottle filled with petrol was thrown at a residential apartment complex in Ukkadam here, housing the residence of Indu Makkal Katchi (IMK) founder-president Arjun Sampath – 13th April 2013

 

[ExtraOdinary]

Depends on the individual student and how they see the author but still its pretty clear opposition to this poem is purely because of the background of the author and let me tell you there are many writings done by criminals while they are serving their term in prison and its worth a read.



That's a very sad way to look at things.

The question is not whether it's worth a read or not, sure go ahead and read it but why teach it to kids. Will it be ok if someone included some non-offensive chapter/passage from Mein Kampf in school syllabus?

 

[SirHatesALot]

The question is not whether it's worth a read or not, sure go ahead and read it but why teach it to kids. Will it be ok if someone included some non-offensive chapter/passage from Mein Kampf in school syllabus?

I already agreed it should not have been in syllabus.