An Arab's point of view of the AA pilot's speech...

[saudi_777]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jun-05-02 AT 07:38PM (EDT)[/font][p]Hi fellow flightsimmers,

I guess that quite a bunch of you have read what the AA pilot said in his speech, and I want to express my personal thoughts on the matter...

Since I'm a Muslim, of which I'm very proud of, I hope you believe what I'll write and notify it to any other fellow Americans, be they family or friends.

Sep. 11th was just another regular Tuesday afternoon here in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia... Our cousin was staying over, we just had a very nice lunch and I was waiting for both my cousin & sister to get off the PC because I wanted to check my hotmail, the latest files uploaded to Flightsim.com & Avsim, etc... I was laying there in bed thinking about school when my older brother called me in an excited matter to the TV: "Hey Asim, come see the TV quick!!" I immediately thought from his voice that there was a new movie preview on CNN or something, because that's what he usually called me to the TV for. I walked casually to the living room and I heard that it was news from CNN... Breaking News? What could it be?...

I looked at our big TV set and for a moment I couldn't register what was happening... Smoke coming out of TWO large sky scrapers... Yeah, this is New York... And those are... The twin towers of Manhatten. I quickly looked at the unbelievable headline below: "two planes crash into world trade center towers". Was I dreaming? I didn't know that my brother had the amazing chance of actually watching that United 767-200 crash into the other tower before I got there, live. I watched the replays in total silence. This could not be happening... What's happening to humanity? Why did it come to this level of cold-blooded murdur of innocents? All these thoughts were running around my head and I thought about the burning jet fuel which poured from the floors which the planes impacted to the floors below... Why did they have to die this way?

And then, the unthinkable happened... I was there, sitting watching CNN live on air, watching the twin towers of New York fall like sand castles, and I don't need to describe the feeling. You all already know.

What Osama Bin Laden and the groups he is connected to did not only to the USA, but to the world, is give a very deformed & horrible view of Islam. He justified his hatred towards Americans by saying that "They are the definite lending hand to Israel, and are helping the Israelis in there occupying of Israel". Even if we do see that the USA seems to be more cooperative with Israel then it is with Palestine, does this mean that the American society is doing this? NO! The American government & lobbys are all that have to do with the Mideast problem. The American society just watches the news and lives like anyone of us does, a normal family life which concentrates on family & work.

Osama Bin Laden thinks that every American supports Israel financially, not just politically.

And so when we saw that he was too much trouble in our country we exiled him out of here and removed the Saudi nationality from him. I think that even before this happened to him he fought with the Afghans in Afghanistan against the Soviets. So he returned to Afghanistan with his all-new plans and "along came a spider"...

Many people were fooled by him saying that he was making a "holy war" and they believed everything he said about the USA and so Osama easily gathered his henchmen to do his evil deeds. Note that HE never goes and blows himself up. You get my drift? And he goes on making a "holy war" and WE'RE NOT AT WAR WITH THE AMERICANS FOR GOD'S SAKE!!!! It's also worth noting that Jihad is the exact Islamic equavelant of the Christian crusades. These people think of themselves as "modern jihadests" when they have no respect for human life and ignored the Quran's warnings about bloodshed. Osama used the Islamic image for his evil terrorism and he made his "soldiers" believe that suicide & murder of non-muslims is totally alright. This is NOT ISLAM. Islam totally respects any innocent human being, no matter what race or religion he or she belongs to. Islam totally forbids suicide of any form, and absolutely forbids killing any innocent human being, no matter what race, religion or color. As far as I know, the huge majority of Muslims & Arabs clearly know that the 9/11 attacks were against God's orders. If you watched an episode of ABC's 20/20 which focused on my country, you'll immediately notice this from the people that Barbara Walters interviewed. This is why what the Palestineans bombers are doing is wrong. They're killing themselves and innocent human beings. Aside of the bombers, however, I do believe that Palestineans have the right to defend themselves inside their Palestinean territory because their country doesn't have full civil rights since Israel doesn't give the right to their military to have warfare and ammunition. And whenever a bomber strikes, the Israeli military shoots, ironically, at Palestinean police stations and buildings because "they aren't doing a good job of stopping the bombers". And they literally destroyed the small city of Jenin, because the Israelis say that there are some bomber groups residing in areas of Jenin. They shot missiles from IAF F-16s & Apaches right into buildings & apartments along with all the innocents inside them. And the world just watches. All of this being done by Israel & he calls Israel "the ONLY civilized nation in the entire Middle-East". Well that's the funniest joke I heard all day.

Back to the main subject... I very much respect the Christians, and I also very much respect airline pilots from around the world, and I must say that this particular man is a racist idiot. I do not want to be rude, but he insulted my religion and my race if you pay special attention to some things he said in his speech. For example...

"I want you to go back to your desert sandpit where women are
treated like rats and dogs and children are sold like cattle. I want you to take
your religion, your friends, and your family back to your Islamic
extremists, and stay there!"
He called my country and the Gulf countrys, sophisticated, modern, proud and civilized, a Desert Sandpit. He called the proud country which I was born in and grew up in and continue to live in, in happiness, a Desert Sandpit. It's as if he payed a visit to my country and saw how women & children are being treated. Let me just say that women here are equally as repected as women are in the USA. They live happy family lives as daughters and then wives, they have full education and jobs and they can go to shopping malls & buy whatever they want. They aren't being mistreated in anyway. And slavery is banned in this country and he says "and children are sold like cattle". He is very disrespectful and speaks blindly all because of his anger about what a few individuals from a race did to his country. How could I be posting this internet forum post, and flying non-stop from here to the USA if I live in a Desert Sandpit?!

"Do you and your fellow Muslims hate us because our women proudly show their
faces in public rather than cover up like a shameful whore?"
TO WHAT RIGHT does he compare OUR proud Muslim women to shameful whores? You know who shameful whores are? Shameful Whores are like Pamela Anderson Lee who sell nude pictures of themselves for money. A Shameful whore is any girl or woman that thinks in her opinion that sex outside of marriage is morally and religiously alright. Shameful whores are those seriously shameful prostitutes, real whores, who are tracked down by police in New York and other citys where whores are found. Shameful whores are those european women who lay topless in beaches and pools. They don't have pride, they don't feel pride, and they don't think that they're insulting there feminine pride. THOSE ARE SHAMEFUL WHORES! And of all the people to call SHAMEFUL WHORES, he calls our proud, clean Muslim women, women who never have sex outside of marritual life, women who don't walk around beaches in an almost-nude state, SHAMEFUL WHORES!!!! God curse him for that. It's OK for your women to show their faces in public, because it's your culture. In our culture, we're not like the Taliban. Women do this because this is a habit that women are fond of here, out of respect for Islam. In fact, in Islam, the important thing for women to do in public is wear good, covering clothes (not short sleeved clothes, etc.) and cover their heads & hair, not their faces. To make this short, it's OK for Muslim women to show their faces in public as long as they wear polite clothes and cover their heads in a cloth; women also cover their faces here as a habit while others don't. So what SIMILARITY is there between a polite Muslim woman & a SHAMEFUL WHORE?! NONE!!!! Conclusion: This guy's a first-class racist+idiot.

And I still think that a lot of people think that Allah is something other than the Jews' and the Christians' God. Well, folks, Allah is the Arabic name for the very same God of the Torah and the Bible, yet some people have come up with cruel lies saying that Allah is a "moongod" of sorts. Don't believe them. If you don't believe a Muslim saying this, then who do you believe?

Also, Mr. Pete Stepanoff, I'm not angry at you but I have to say something: If you visit Saudi Arabia or any of the Gulf countrys, you'll notice all of these:

"1.Having a highly developed society and culture.
2.Showing evidence of moral and intellectual advancement; humane, ethical, and reasonable.
3.Marked by refinement in taste and manners; cultured; polished."

I've been living here for 17 years since I was born here and I see things that are even better then what is described in the dictionary. And if there are any imperfections that you see, then not Saudi Arabia, the USA, or any country is perfect. There are small imperfections even in the most modern countries. Please don't compare what's happening in the holy land to the Gulf area.

And I have to say that the large majority of the Saudi Arabian Airlines pilots are Saudi Arabian-Muslims, who have rational and caring minds that look forward to coming back to their familys in their country from their flights. They are the pilots who fly the Saudi Arabian Airlines 747-400s from Riyadh & Jeddah to New York, Washington & Orlando. They also fly 777-200ERs, MD-90s, MD-11Fs, 747-300/200F/100B/SPs, and A300-600s. They don't have the evil & cruel minds of the 9/11 terrorists. And many American citizens who come to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj or business fly between the USA & Saudi Arabia by Saudi Arabian Airlines. Please don't judge a race of people by the actions of a few of them.

This is a message from a fellow flightsimmer who hopes to have a better understanding from his fellow flightsimmers on Islam. And Mr. Brandon Williams, I absolutely don't think that "The AA pilot's speech deserves a standing ovation. Well said." He deserves a bloody piece of dog crap thrown into his face.

And Mr. Tailboom, you said: "People in Saudi Arabia are told the Jews use the blood of chidren in passover. That was reported by CNN. Where does civilized fit in there?"
Well where does civilized fit in what the AA pilot said:"where women are treated like rats and dogs and children are sold like cattle"? You see, just the same as some people here are saying pure, false crap out of hatred, others in America told this pure, false crap "where women are treated like rats and dogs and children are sold like cattle" to this man, out of hatred. It's the exact same thing.

How would YOU feel if your country is called a Desert Sandpit? How would YOU feel if your country's proud women are called Shameful Whores? I'll leave that to you.

Best Regards,

Asim Daffa
VP, Fleet - Senior First Officer
www.sv-virtual.com

[Aloha717200]

Asim,

I deeply apologize for making my statement so generic. I didnt mean he deserved applause for bashing muslims, I meant he deserved applause for bashing terrorists, that's all. I never meant any offense by my comment and I truly apologize for any misunderstanding.

There are a lot of idiots around the world who do believe that all muslims, all people of middle east origin, are bad. And that's just not right. As an America, I feel no hatred at all towards people of middle east descent. I even have a friend at school who is of middle east descent (I'm not sure exactly where he's from, I never ask) and he's the most decent human being around.

As I was reading through your post I felt a growing urge to tell you how great your people and you are, then I saw my name and felt horrible for allowing someone to think that I felt hatred or racism towards people of the middle east. Again, I'm very sorry, I never meant it that way.

We hate terrorists for claiming innocent lives, you hate terrorists from claiming innocent lives. I'm just glad that there are middle eastern people who are sharing their views online and in public, so that people understand that muslims are not bad people, they are not the threat, it's extremists and terrorists that are the real enemy, and people should know that.

About Allah, you are right on, most people believe it is a separate god, at least around here, when it truly is the same god as the christians. I consider myself a middle of the road kind of person, I don't belong to any one religion, yet I do believe in god and the afterlife. I don't believe that any one religion is completely wrong, nor is any one religion completely right. All have truth in them. I believe in a god that has many names, a god who is full of mana, do not all religions believe this? I see no point to religious wars when we all know deep down that our beliefs are not all that different. We are taught different things, but the foundations are the same. Kindness to your fellow man, and open heart, and living your life being the best person that you can be are fundamentals of almost every religion on earth, except extremist religions.

It is for this reason that I do not believe in Hell. It simply cant exist, at least in my mind, because no human being is completely evil, everyone, even Osama himself, has a small bit of good inside, and believe the wrongs we do in this life time are paid for in this lifetime. We die once our debt has been paid.

What religion is this? The one in my heart. I've been a member of many religions in my lifetime, and I've found truth in each, and now I believe what I want, and what sounds right to me. So, since I am not of a normal religious belief, does that make me wrong? Does that mean that I will never join my family in havaiki after I die? Will I never meet my creator?

I ask this of my peers, and most of the time I am told no. Well, then why do we condemn those who believe in Islam? Are they not right in their own hearts as well? They ARE. What about Buddhists, what about Celtics, shall we condemn them as well? What about Christians. timothy mcveigh killed hundreds of people in Oklahoma city, does this mean all Christians are terrorists?

Certainly not. Then what right do we have to say that all muslims are terrorists? None. No one but God can pass a judgement like that, who are we to play God?

Thus I do not judge religions. Even on 9/11, I was shouting out kill osama bin laden, kill the terrorists. NOT "Kill the arabs"



I agree with everything you have said Asim, it is the terrorists who are wrong, it is the terrorists we should hate. Let me just say right now that as an American, I would like to shake your hand. You and the good peace-loving people of Islam do not deserve the hatred some would place upon you.


This is one post everyone should read, thank you for posting it.

Brandon Williams- the islander.

[Ihor]

Whom am I to believe?
How do I know what is true? How?
How can I tell if the Internet is all over the world.
They tell me my newspapers are free to print what they like but how do I truly know?

The fact is I don't know and have no way of telling.
What I do know is that everyone believes they are right.

Even when I was a very small child I was able to see how ridiculous it was for my kind to claim we are right they are wrong. Even as a tiny little thing the thought crossed my mind that what if I had been born over 'there' then wouldn't over there be right and here wrong? Thus I decided that we are all the same in the eyes of God. It is to Him and Him alone I must answer.

Keep things in their proper perspective, there are people who are decent and people who are not decent.
Every race creed and culture has their equal share of them.

Wonderful post Asim, to me you are as valuable as my brother who lives in Toronto, CANADA. as is of course Brandon!

[saudi_777]

Apology very much accepted, Brandon :) Brandon & Ihor, thanks for your very nice replys.

Asim

[crashking]

Nice post Asim. I hope everyone on flightsim will read it.

:-jumpy :-jumpy :-jumpy
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:-wave

[FlyerJeff]

Really good posts, both of you. We also must not forget not to stereotype people, thats what some people are doing now. They think if one Arab is bad, so are the rest. That is completely untrue. If anyone called my country a desert sandpit, I wouldnt be happy about that. Now state, thats a different story, half of its right :P. I live in Arizona, so desert is expected. Seeing the towers fall over the TV, I was like... Woah, did this happen? Is this a hoax? Oh man, all those people. Whos the idiot who did this?

Also, I think dressing up like that is pretty smart, considering the heat there. You dont sunburn easily, and if its white clothes, you can stay cool too! :)

Its things like prejudice, racisim, stereotyping, and idiots, that break things down. Try not to commit any of these yourself.

-
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[Vike]

Well said, Asim.

Adam
[font color=blue]The FS2K2 Homepage
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[Maurice_B]

Dear Asim,
while reading your passionate post I felt the same pride as when my own son, as a bright teenager like you, showed the same clear and determinate mind. Let me embrace you as I would embrace him.

I was sorry therefore to see that here and there you fell into the same trap of generalisation as the Airline Pilot did.

In the West large strata of the population do not live by religious principles, but belong to what we call "the laic society": they follow the laws of the country, live honestly, show tolerance and understanding towards other human beings. They do not regards sex outside marriage, birth control, or sunbathing topless in public as immoral or shameful.
My wife, a faithful, supportive companion and devoted mother, when we were young, and in places where it was allowed, would sunbathe topless too.

Don't you think you owe her an apology?

With love,

Maurice A. Buzzi

[dinger]

Asim, I enjoyed reading your post.

[Sonar5]

Hi Asim,

Before I reply I would like to give you an opportunity to ammend some of your statements that you posted above.

Then I will give you my Nickel's worth of my opinion.

As someone asked me yesterday on a different topic in a different thread on a different website, I am offering you a ladder from the hole you have dug. :-)

And I will keep it civilized but I do take offense at a few points that you made.

Regards,
Joe :-wave

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