My JIHAD, a true story

Synopsis

Aukai Collins grew up hard: abandoned, surviving in the streets and running with thugs. While serving time, he converted to Islam, and went to fight with the Muslims who were targeted for genocide in Chechnya and Bosnia.

This led him to Usama bin Laden's training camps in Afghanistan. As terrorist attacks on civilians around the world intensified, Aukai was asked to lead a mission that included hostage taking and the killing of civilians -- something he would not do.

Disillusioned by those who used Islam for their own ends or to attack innocents, Aukai offered his services to the FBI and CIA as a counter-terrorist operative, even getting close to one of the leaders of the September 11 attacks. Yet his greatest strength -- providing insight into the problems surrounding the U.S. government's fight against something it doesn't understand -- was ignored by inept members of the American intelligence community.

My Jihad is an insider's story about the greatest threat to world peace and stability in modern times, told by an unforgettable true-life warrior who has walked the walk, fought the fights, and lived to tell about it.

I read this book (My Jihad) about 3 years ago. This book takes a very good look into the true meaning of 'jihad'. It has awesome descriptions of frontline battles from the man that was there in the face of danger.

Any men (also women), especially American, should read this if they want to understand 'jihad' in its true state (something many Muslims and non-Muslims probably do not understand). The book is very entertaining and easy to read, but sometimes slows pace around many different characters and places.

First comment on Meniti Maut, a Malay novel that will rock the nation!

This comment is not mine, just copy from another blog. Read on!

After reading the novel, I can't help but smile. There was an eagerness to discuss the recently read novel with someone. Being the only one beside me in the family that has read the novel to the finish; I discussed with my mother on the novel.

Meniti Maut is finally completed from cover to cover. I received my autographed copy from my father a few days back, and finished reading it the day after. Quite an accomplishment I can say, with all other things that I have to do; I can still finish the adventure. The novel itself is a page turner. I was immersed in a world not quite different with my surrounding, and the realness of it might be one of the factors that I can't put down the novel.

Lucky I have to put it down, because I have classes to attend and food to eat.

I remembered last semester break, Abah was still struggling to finish that story. For Abah, the story was already perfect, but since the editors did not quite happy with how many pages that novel had, Abah still had to add something in. Along the way to UTP to pick up my little brother for the semester break, Abah told me the what the story is all about. True I had already known the flow, and the general idea on the story, (I also know the ending already at that time) but I can still enjoy the novel.

I do not want to make a review on Meniti Maut, since the novel is not yet out, (I might not make a review even after you already received your copy in the next KL International Book Fair, LOL) but I think it is enough to say a few sentences to describe how delicious it was.

I saw a scene where Jet Li is fighting with people inside a bar.
I saw a scene where James Bond was trudging through a crowd of tourists.
I saw a scene where a surveillance truck is parked near a bank just like the movie "The Inside Man"
I even saw a scene where Monkey D. Luffy pick up his strawhat and puts it back on his head!

However, given my limited imagination, I can state many Hollywood movies resemblances (plus one anime), but not of local movies. But the novel managed to bring local cultures to life. Also of local administration. If before we can see movies putting together their CIAs and FBIs to solve cases, the novel picture how the local administration handles critical situations we usually see in the movies (Hollywood again).

But, I was not satisfied at the ending. Because I knew it already before reading it!

~Its my pleasure not to reveal many things so that you can enjoy every page of the book!

And of course! Congratulations, Abah! For completing another marathon run! (Original entry at http://hilmannordin.blogspot.com)

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Hamas: A Beginner's Guide at Malaysiakini

The United States calls Hamas a terrorist organisation. Yet Hamas swept to victory in the 2006 Palestinian elections. Why did Hamas win? This one-stop guide to Hamas tells you everything you need to know.

The author, a leading Al-Jazeera journalist and Cambridge-based scholar, analyses Hamas's history and its agenda. This book covers all the key issues, including Hamas's attitudes to Israel and the PLO, religious beliefs, suicide bombings and its programme of grassroots social work within Palestine.

The reality of Hamas's victory means that the West will now have to engage with it more seriously if there is to be peace in the Middle East. This book provides the first essential step towards a better understanding of the challenges and surprises that the future may hod.

Khaled Hroub was born in a refugee camp in Bethlehem and is one of the foremost experts on Hamas. He is currently director of the Arab Media Project at Cambridge University and hosts a book review programme for Al-Jazeera TV. He is the author of Hamas: Political Thought and Practice and writes for major Arab newspapers and academic journals.

This book is published by The Other Press (2008) and priced at RM25.00. You can buy this book at Malaysiakini’s Kinibooks, here.

Related:
Inside Hamas: The Untold Story of the Militant Islamic Movement
Book review: Cycles of violence, US media and Palestine
Islam and the problem of Israel THE TERRORIST!
From Beirut to Jerusalem and Blind Spot
Who’s the “real” George Herbert Walker Bush?

*** I provide catering services for the following; courses, trainings and seminars, product launching, PR events, birthdays, parties, family day, doa selamat, wedding, etc. Varieties of menus are available; Malay dishes, Chinese & Indian style & Western. Click here.

Book review: Cycles of violence, US media and Palestine

In a brilliant new book, Pens and Swords: How the American Mainstream Media Report the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Marda Dunsky analyzes the politics, culture and theory of coverage of the conflict in the United States.

Dunsky, a former Arab affairs reporter for The Jerusalem Post and editor at the national/foreign desk of The Chicago Tribune, examines a wide array of news reports from television and print media, focusing on the recent history of the conflict from the Camp David peace talks in the summer of 2000 to the April 2004 meeting between then US President George W. Bush and then Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

The time frame was chosen because it allows an opportunity to examine what could be a typical pattern in the conflict -- beginning with intensive negotiations between the parties, followed by an escalation of violence, and then initial efforts to renew diplomacy.

Pens and Swords argues that "mainstream reporting of the conflict itself rarely goes much beyond superficial details of failed diplomatic initiatives and intercommunal violence in the field -- leaving the American public without important contextual information about why the conflict remains so intractable."

Dunsky presents a detailed content analysis of media reports in order to demonstrate "how, time and again, the media bypass important contextual aspects of organic issues, such as the US role in the peace process, the Palestinian refugee question, and Israeli settlements."

The study is driven by the central conviction "that if Americans had a fuller contextual understanding of the key issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict via the mainstream media, they would be better equipped to challenge US Mideast policy."

Dunsky begins the analysis by examining the contradiction of the US often being portrayed as an "honest broker" in much of the reporting with the regular updates on shuttle diplomacy missions and negotiations aimed at crisis management, while in practical terms US foreign policy itself is overwhelmingly tilted toward Israel.

The US has provided more than 100 billion dollars in military and foreign aid to Israel since 1949 -- and significant diplomatic cover at the United Nations, vetoing 31 UN Security Council Resolutions critical of Israel between 1970 and 2006. However, Dunsky contends that the mainstream coverage does not account for the extent of the US bias nor does it examine how the US bias affects the trajectory of the conflict over time.

Read full article here.
Related: Islam and the problem of Israel THE TERRORIST!

Political tsunami still on course, says Lim Kit Siang – Ref Malaysiakini

The Kuala Terengganu by-election result showed that the political tsunami of the March general election last year was very much on course, said DAP Parliamentary leader, Lim Kit Siang.

"It confirms that the paradigm shift in Malaysian politics some ten months ago was no fluke but represented the in-depth political aspirations of Malaysians," said Lim who is also MP for Ipoh Timur in a statement, Sunday. (Source: Bernama)

Here I remember a book, titled “March 8, The Day Malaysia Woke Up”. The blurb reads:

March 8, 2008, Malaysians dealt a blow to the Barisan Nasional government that had held almost absolute power for 50 years by denying it the all-important two-thirds majority in Parliament and the control of five states. This book is about that historic day and the change that has come with it. It is also an expression of hope for a brighter future, with many Malaysians speaking their thoughts frankly and without fear. If you feel that March 8 was really something, this is the book to help you remember it for years to come.

Full article here, The Day Malaysia Woke Up

** You can buy the book at Malaysiakini’s Kinibooks. Click here.
Related story: TPM: Suara rakyat SUARA KERAMAT