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The Edge Malaysia: 3rd KLPFF 2014 – A film festival with a cause

3rd Kuala Lumpur Palestine Film Festival 2014
6-7 Sep 2014

http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/lifestyle/305619-film-a-film-festival-with-a-cause.html

THE scene opens with men and women dressed in traditional Arabian garb,  typically associated with the Muslim faith, entering a church. They are Catholics and in the scene, they observe the order of a mass being conducted,

using Arabic bibles.

This was the first few scenes in the documentary The Stones Cry Out — one of  four films to be screened at the Kuala Lumpur Palestine Film Festival 2014 (KLPFF) to be held this weekend at Publika, Kuala Lumpur.

The scene — and the entire 50 minutes of the film — as director Yasmine Perni intended it to be, was thought­provoking, to say the least.

Speaking to the media at a press conference, Perni says she wanted to highlight the fact that for more than 60 years, the Palestinans — both the Christians and Muslims — had suffered displacement, expulsion, wars, occupation and oppression, particularly in the conflict zone of the Gaza strip.

As such, she believes, the voices of Palestinian Christians have all too often been drowned out in the turmoil of events. The Stones Cry Out, Perni adds, is their story, in their voices, from the Nakba of 1948 until today.

Told through the eyes of those who lived through the horror, the first 20 minutes of the documentary set the tone for what can be expected for the rest of the movie. Perni said that she made the film for two reasons; one was to create awareness that Christians exist in the Palestine populations.

“They (Christians) are very much a part of the fabric of Palestinian society. Very often they are forgotten.

“They live in the same villages, speak the same language and follow the same education system. They are one people, basically. And to try to divide them is counterproductive and in fact, has backfired,” Perni told journalists.

The other reason was to break stereotypes. She wanted to show Palestinians in their daily life, as opposed to the constant footage and pictures of them being viewed as poor, refugees or terrorists.

“I want to show what Palestine was before 1948. They owned houses, cars, farms and what everybody else had. The poor, downtrodden pictures that you see now are the reaction of the 66­year conflict, but that was not how they were before,” she stressed.

Perni, is just one of the four invited guests that will be in town for this weekend’s festival. The other invited guests for KLPFF 2014 are social activist, political analyst and author of The Gaza Kitchen Laila El­Haddad, Sameeha Elwan who is contributing writer to the book ‘Remember Us’, and Seba Asmaa, a photographer whose works will be on exhibit during the festival.

KLPFF will be held 11am­8.30pm on Saturday (Sept 6) and 10.30am­5pm on Sunday (Sept 7). Among the activities are cooking demos, a book launch, book reading, dance performances and of course, free screening of three other Palestinian movies. While to watch the movies are free, donations are always welcomed.

This is the third instalment of the KLPFF, organised by Viva Palestina Malaysia (VPM). To date, VPM has raised an estimated RM7.5 million to finance various medical, educational, micro­financing, and women’s projects in Gaza to provide emergency relief.

Like other years, donations to KLPFF are chanelled towards humanitarian efforts but this year, VPM decided to expand its festival to more than just film­screening. Visitors to KLPFF 2014 are encouraged to partake in efforts to help Gaza by purchasing clothes, accessories and food in the Bazaar for Gaza.

Among the main objectives of this year’s KLPFF are to create awareness of the Palestinian struggles through cinema, arts and culture, to raise funds for the purchase of medical and ambulance facilities and to fund the second phase of the Rebuilding of Gaza.

Omar which was a nominee for this year’s Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language category, will also be screened at the festival.

For more details about the event, call Shida (011­1576 6527) or Azra (016­209 4500) or log vpm.org.my

News / Announcements

Boycott, Divest from, and Sanction Israel

For the past 66 years since the creation of Israel in 1948, she has been violating the rights of the Palestinians with impunity. Israel has denied the Palestinian right to freedom and self-determination and subjected them to ethnic cleansing and systematic discrimination. And for the third time since December 2008, the world watches in horror at the genocide taking place in Gaza.

But in spite of her glaring brutal oppression of the Palestinians, Israel has hardly been rebuked, let alone held accountable for its crimes against humanity.

In 2005, Palestinian civil societies called upon the world to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel or BDS. BDS is very similar to the anti-apartheid movement of the 1980s which led to the boycott, sanction and isolation of racist, white South Africa. It ended Apartheid South Africa and so will it end Apartheid Israel.

Today BDS Israel is a global movement, spanning the US, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The global BDS campaign heralds the rise of the new super power – people power!

And contrary to popular belief, it is more than just economics. It is morally and ethically the right thing to do.

BDS is a global campaign of isolating Israel culturally, academically and economically. It sends a clear message to the Israeli government that it is a rogue state not welcome anywhere until it recognizes the Palestinians right to self-determination and fully complies with international laws.

Stephen Hawkings, the world’s most famous scientist, boycott of the Israeli president’s conference hit Israel where it hurts most, science and technology which drives its economy. Hawking’s decision threatened to open a floodgate with more and more scientists coming to regard Israel as a pariah state.

Hawking’s public refusal follows that of prominent singers, artists and writers, from Brian Eno to Mike Leigh, Alice Walker and Adrienne Rich, all of whom have publicly rejected invitations to perform in Israel.

Sixty four public figures, including 7 Nobel Peace Prize winners, published a letter in the British  Guardian newspaper calling for an international arms embargo on Israel for its “war crimes and possible crimes against humanity” in Gaza.

In an open letter to the Lancet, twenty four doctors and scientists who have worked in and known the situation of Gaza have written “on the basis of our ethics and practice, we are denouncing what we witness in the aggression of Gaza by Israel.”

More recently, the University of Malaya rolled out a petition among the nation’s academicians, staff and students to express their outrage and condemnation of the Israeli atrocities, stating “Neutrality and silence in the face of such ongoing and irrefutable barbaric crimes is not an option. The time to be silent is over and the time to speak out is now.”

BDS creates awareness and is a grim and gruesome reminder of the long and brutal occupation the Palestinians have been living under. Each time we see the brands or companies targeted by the BDS against Israel campaign, we will remember the occupation. Each time a consumer reaches out for the boycotted product, he will picture the savage killings of innocent children, women and the elderly.

Thus, anyone can be part of the BDS movement. It is a personal choice to become a conscious consumer.  It is about standing in solidarity with a people under occupation for 66 years. BDS is a personal political statement that says, “I don’t consume these products because it is morally and ethically wrong.”  It empowers consumers and reminds them that as individuals they have a choice. Similarly, any organization can endorse the BDS campaign and make the advancement of BDS part of their organization’s program and agenda.

The BDS campaign against Israel is peaceful in nature. The recent press reports of destruction of cars and premises displaying or selling the targeted products are criminal acts of vandalism and do not embrace nor demonstrate the non-violent spirit of the BDS campaign.

The BDS consumer boycott against Israel is not only about refraining from purchasing products of an Israeli company or products of international companies that are complicit in Israel’s occupation and Apartheid. It also invites one‘s active participation in the campaign. BDS is not only about “refraining from products of an Israeli company” but also about “campaigning for stores not to stock those Israeli products”. This pro-active and strategic approach has been successful in forcing supermarkets and stores across the world to terminate relations with Israeli companies or change their business policies with a government that violates the rights of an entire people.

BDS Israel is now a global movement that involves Nobel Laureates, academicians, poets, musicians, artists, award winning journalists and the lay public. It includes universities, churches, student bodies, businesses and even the government of South Africa. BDS Israel is a call to stop this bully through peaceful, non-violent means.

Boycott South Africa first conceived in the 1950s was the idea of a small group of civil society activists. It took decades but eventually almost the entire world stood united and brought an end to South Africa’s racist government.

Can we do it again?

In unity lies our strength. Do not make the mistake of doing nothing just because we think we can only do little. Just do what we can. Let us each act, each within our circle of influence to impact change. We boycott because it is morally and ethically the right thing to do. We call on you to be a part of this global movement, a part of the new super power called PEOPLE POWER. We call on you to Boycott Israel.

Dato’ Dr Musa Mohd Nordin
Chairman, Viva Palestina Malaysia

News / Announcements, Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE: BIG ISSUE OVER PORCINE TISSUE

11 June 2014 / 13 Sha’ban 1435

PRESS RELEASE: BIG ISSUE OVER PORCINE TISSUE

It looks like the porcine conundrum is making its rounds yet again. Suffice to begin the narrative by quoting a verse each  from the Quran and the Hadiths which sums up the compassionate and humane nature of Islam.

Allah SWT says in Surah Al-Hajj 22:78; “And strive for Allah with the striving due to Him. He has chosen you and has not placed upon you in the religion any difficulty.”

And an authentic tradition narrated by Aisha (RA); “If given an option between 2 actions, the Prophet (SAW) would surely choose the easier one, as long as it is not sinful.” (Bukhari & Muslim)

And we firmly believe this spirit and approach pervades the corpus of the jurisprudence of facilitation (Fiqh Taysir). And at no point it time does it blemish the belief nor practise of the faithful because the scholars have anticipated these challenges of modernity and have reiterated, “Allah will bless the believer who recognises and engages with the new world, yet remains true to his religious values.”

History will testify that the Muslim scientists dominated virtually all aspects of knowledge and research from 600 – 1700 AD. Az-Zahrawi (930-1013 AD) the father of modern surgery was pioneering new surgical instrumentations when Europe was restricted by a religious edict in 1163 AD which instructed as follows; “All forms of surgery must be stopped in all medical schools by all surgeons.”

Is it any wonder that Martin Kramer, an American Historian wrote; “Had there been Nobel Prizes in 1000, they would have gone almost exclusively to Muslims.”

Somehow, the Muslims lost it along the way but the following hadith continues to inspire Muslims to catch up on lost ground and rejuvenate their quest for leadership in the sciences; “A word of wisdom is the lost property of a Muslim. He should seize it wherever he finds it.” (Tirmidhi)

It is in this vein that the contemporary Muslim scholar, Syakh Yusuf al-Qaradhawi has said to the effect; “Two areas of human activities (muamalat) which requires cutting edge edicts (fatwa) are economics and medicine.”

Hence, it is not surprising that the many Councils of Jurisprudence, all over the  world, eg European Council of Fatwa & Research (ECFR) chaired by Syakh al-Qaradhawi,  has deliberated profusely on the many issues related to medicine and biotechnology. These Councils like the ECFR were kept informed of the latest and best practices in medicine by regular meetings with the likes of the Islamic Organisation of Medical Sciences (IOMS) based in Kuwait.

To illustrate the “cutting edge fatwas” that emanated from IOMS, the issue of human cloning is a pertinent example. In 1981, whilst deliberating on issues related to In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF), two papers were presented discussing the probability and permissibility of cloning humans. Then the science was at the level of cloning plants and marine life. Sixteen years later, Dolly the sheep was cloned in 1997 and the IOMS immediately updated their human cloning fatwa, whilst the scientific world were still bedazzled by this new science.

The issue of the use of substances of porcine origin in food and medicine is an archaic one. Nonetheless, the ECFR has comprehensively dealt with it, when deliberating the permissibility of the use of Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) which is manufactured using porcine based trypsin. This was published in their 11th Session of the ECFR held from 1-7 July 2003, in Stockholm.

The ECFR argued as follows:
a) what God forbids is the partaking of pork, and trypsin has nothing to do with pork

b) even if we admit that trypsin is forbidden, the amount used in preparing the vaccine is negligible, if one applies the rule that “when the amount of water exceed 2 qillas (343 litres)”, impurities no longer affect it”

c) supposing that trypsin is unclean, it is thoroughly filtered, that it leaves no traces whatsoever in the final vaccine

d) in case the three arguments forwarded are still insufficient, the haram (forbidden) is made permissible in cases of necessity.

In their concluding remarks they emphasized, “The Council urges Muslim leaders and officials at Islamic Centers not to be too strict in such matters that are open to considered opinion and that bring considerable benefits to Muslim children, as long as these matters involve no conflict with any definite text.”

Such is the latitude of rationale and magnanimity of our religious scholars (fuqaha) in addressing the bigger picture of child health, child survival strategies and the advocacy of life saving vaccines.

In an even much earlier seminar in 1995, the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) of the World Health Organisation in collaboration with IOMS deliberated on “The judicially prohibited and impure substances in foodstuffs and medicines.” This was attended by 112 religious scholars and medical experts.

Amongst others, the IOMS issued the following recommendation in relation to bio-transformation (istihalah); “Transformation which means the conversion of a substance into another substance, different in characteristics, changes substances that are judicially impure, or are found in an impure environment, into pure substances, and changes substances that are prohibited into lawful and permissible substances.”

Accordingly IOMS added; “The gelatin formed as a result of the transformation of the bones, skin and tendons of a judicially impure animal, is pure and judicially permissible to eat it.”

This is essentially back to basics biochemistry, whereby the gelatin through a process of hydrolysis is broken down to a mixture of individual amino acid which is not specific to any animal species. Bovine sources of animal collagen is specifically avoided based on safety reason to prevent the risk of  Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE).

The regional director of EMRO wrote to all 22 countries and territories in the Middle East, the North Africa, the Horn of Africa and Central Asia the following instruction; “In the light of the above (fatwa); you may wish to issue a statement that includes this legal opinion, in order to relieve all Muslims in the nation, whether adults or youths, men or women, from the embarrassment they feel when taking drug gelatinous capsules and similar gelatinous capsules as vitamins…”

We have learnt and read fatwas from religious scholars in Malaysia which unlike the ECFR and IOMS etal are individual-centric, random, ill-researched and anecdotal in nature. Their lack of grasp and understanding of the new science have made them ultra-conservative, restrictive and prohibitive in their religious edicts.

The Federation of Islamic Medical Associations (FIMA), Ikram Health (IH) and the Muslim Professionals Forum (MPF)  have endeavoured to mainstream evidence based medicine (EBM) of the highest quality and which should henceforth  dictate our best clinical practices. And importantly, it is sanctioned as Shari’ah compliant by the highest authorities of jurisprudential scholarship among Muslim scholars world-wide. This excellent collaboration of the best brains in medicine and jurisprudence has lightened the burden upon the Muslim Ummah (community). It has not only truly embraced the jurisprudence of facilitation (Fiqh Taysir) but also the jurisprudence of realities & priorities (Fiqh Waqi’ah) and the jurisprudence of balance (Fiqh Wasatiyah).

All of these are undertaken in response to the call of Allah in Surah an-Nahl 16:90 which reads; “Allah commands doing justice, doing good to others…” This is primarily the end point of the Maqasid as-Shari’ah (priorities of jurisprudence), which is the transformation  towards justice and the preservation of public interest (maslahah ammah).

We urge the religious authorities to take cognisance of the invaluable heritage of medical fatwas that is before us and not attempt to reinvent the wheel. They should instead incorporate these shari’ah compliant best clinical practise into the corpus of our nation’s jurisprudence in medicine.

Issued by:
Dato’ Dr Musa Mohd Nordin FRCPCH (UK)
Chairman, Federation of Islamic Medical Associations (FIMA) Advisory Council

Dr Mohamed Fauzi Abdul Rani FRCP (UK)
Chairman, Ikram Health (IH)

Tuan Haji Yuzaidi Yusoff
Chairman, Board of Directors, Muslim Professionals Forum (MPF)