This is a really rushed post so forgive me:
Last year, Elie Wiesel traveled to Auschwitz with Oprah Winfrey, a visit which was broadcast as part of The Oprah Winfrey Show on May 24, 2006.
This week, Oprah accepted Wiesel’s invitation to come to the land “where the major war against terror is currently taking place”. Winfrey was honored by the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity for her advocacy of humanitarian issues. In her acceptance speech, Oprah said she sympathized with the suffering of the people of Israel. Does that include all the people living there? Does that include all the people who once lived there?
When I heard about her proposed trip I wanted to gather more details about her current position on the crisis in the holy land. In surfing the net I found nothing about it in the mainstream news. Perhaps there is a fear of an extreme reaction from the Muslims.
How will we react? Will we express outrage that she should show solidarity with the Israelis and turn her back on the suffering Palestinians. If so, how would such a reaction further our cause?
Will we send emails to Oprah en masse, in an effort to “educate” her about the plight of the Palestinians Christians and Muslims?
I am not a fan of Oprah at all but I do recognize the position she holds. She reaches the homes of millions, not just in the
What is our position as Muslims in this situation, before she leaves for the holy land?What will each of us do?
2 comments:
Salam, i do watch Oprah whenevr I can but I realised as well (after her support for one gay author, supposedly a Muslim, who wrote a blsphemous book abt Islam, cannot remember her name now) that Oprah do not really understand or sympathise with Islam. I'm not surprised if she goes to Israel,but I think it will be a mistake for her to show support for Israel's cause alone, without showing undertsnading or show some sympathies for Palestinians. This is because she has quite a big following from the Muslim women viewers. So maybe if we can write to her and make her know abt this, she may be more aware and careful in her actions.
Aha, our sister in Singapore has alerted me to the fact that Friends of Palestine has posted an online petition. In part it states: "“We hope you re-consider the basis for your visit. … Be objective and ask yourself, who is oppressed? Who is terrorized? In short, Oprah, we hope that you seek truth.”
check out the petition at: http://www.petitiononline.com/104707/petition.html
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