Sunday, February 25, 2007

Anti-Women violence down

ISLAMABAD — Mukhtar Mai, a gang rape victim, believes that violence and discrimination against women in the Muslim world are on the down swing, denying any link between the tradition-motivated practices and the Muslim faith.

"For the last four years, I have been associated with women and organizations dealing with such issues, and I have observed that such incidents are on the decline," Mai told IslamOnline.net in a recent interview.

"The only difference is media. Earlier, these incidents, which were much higher in numbers, had gone unreported."

Mai, 36, was gang raped in 2002 on the orders of the council of tribal elders from her Meerwala village in Pakistan's southern Punjab province.

The tribal elders ordered the gang rape as a punishment after her younger brother allegedly had had illicit relations with a woman from a rival tribe.

Mai, who is currently running two schools for girls and one for boys in her district, contends that incidents of rape and other kind of violence in Pakistan, and other Muslim countries for that matter, are declining ostensibly.

"I don’t agree with those who argue that women are under the thumb in Muslim countries," Mai told IslamOnline.net in a recent interview in Doha.

"If there are excesses with women, then it is everywhere in the world. Only Muslim countries cannot be blamed for that."

Islam

Mai was motivated by her nightmarish experience to help others.

"I was meant to be so shamed that I would commit suicide, but instead I found the courage to overcome the disgrace and refused to remain silent," she said defiantly.

At one point she contemplated suicide, but her belief in Allah helped her and granted her courage to raise and fight for other women.

"Several (rape) victims have left the country, and I could have done the same. But I thought they didn’t have enough faith in their religion.

"I didn’t leave my country because it would have tarnished the image of my religion. I want to tell the world that I was not victimized on the basis of any religious tent but on the basis of so-called tribal traditions," Mai stressed.

"I have opted to fight for both myself and the women facing injustice and discrimination in the name of tribal traditions and customs, which have nothing to do with Islam."

Mai believes that unless the Islamic laws are implemented, excesses with women can never be wiped out.

"Islam, in fact, gives more rights to women. It’s just the wrong interpretation of Muslims themselves which creates the problems," she insisted.

"This is a very simple religion. What we need is only to implement and follow its tenets.

"If we implement its laws in our societies, violence and discrimination against women will automatically be eliminated. And even if such incidents happen after that, there will be prompt justice," said Mai.

"I am a Muslim and I trust in Allah. And I want to tell Muslims that just follow your religion, your problems will automatically bee resolved."

IslamOnline.net

World Chechnya Day

By Fahad Ansari

"On February 23, 1944 we were hurriedly put onto the "studebaker" trucks, taken to the railway station and there loaded into freezing-cold rail-wagons. We were beset by pestilence almost the moment we left. The people were dying of starvation and hypothermia. The relatives of the deceased were hiding the corpses of their beloved and dear ones in the hope of burying them properly upon arrival at our final destination. But at every station the soldiers would check the wagons; any dead bodies that were found would be thrown onto the railway embankment.”

“When we finally arrived in Kyrgyzstan, even those who were supposed to collect us and take us onward were afraid to approach us. In the weeks that followed, we were made to live in former stables and on stock farms. Instead of beds, we were given half-frozen bales of hay. Five members of my family died that year. My brother and I were the only ones who survived.”

These are the heart-breaking words of Samart Dudayeva who at the age of 7, was deported by Stalin, along with the entire Chechen and Ingush population, to Siberia and Central Asia. The year was 1944. The date was 23 February. Traditionally celebrated in Russia as Red Army Day, in Chechnya it is remembered as a day of mourning. For on the 25th anniversary of Red Army Day, efforts were made to annihilate a whole nation and an entire people. On that grim day, almost 500,000 people were forcibly transported from their homeland, over half of whom never survived, dying of starvation, cold, illness and disease.

Within days an entire people had been erased from the land of their ancestors. Overnight Chechnya and Ingushetia were emptied of their native inhabitants, and every reference to Chechnya was removed from official maps, records and encyclopaedias. Cartographers, historians and lexicographers were told subsequently to delete any reference to the Chechens from maps, textbooks and encyclopaedias. Chechen gravestones were broken up and used in the construction of pavements in Grozny. Beginning in 1944, there was no longer a nation by that name: It had no past, no present, no future.Today is the 63rd anniversary of those genocidal deportations. But the collective suffering of the Chechen people has not ceased. 23 February 1944 was only a landmark in its history of agony stretching as far back as the 17th Century when the first invaders arrived in the region. Their epic struggle against foreign occupation has continued right up until today as has the anguish which often accompanies such struggles.

The current war began in 1999 after Russia invaded Chechnya following a series of mysterious apartment block bombings within Russia. Although fingers have always been pointed at the Chechens for these attacks, a growing volume of evidence is steadily emerging indicating that the bombings were actually the work of the Russian Security Services, the FSB. Most recently, these claims have been made by former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko, John Hopkins University and Hoover Institute scholar David Satter, and Russian lawmaker, Sergei Yushenkov, who allege that the bombings were perpetrated by the FSB to create a pretext to invade Chechnya and bring the then head of the FSB, Vladimir Putin, to power. The bitter truth is that Russia’s pride was still hurting after being forced to withdraw from Chechnya in 1996 after encountering ferocious resistance from guerrilla fighters.

Since 1994, over a quarter of a million people have been killed in Chechnya. Leading human rights organisations have reported thousands of disappearances with uncounted cases of extrajudicial killings, rape and torture by Russian forces. These crimes are now increasingly being committed by the inhumane death squads of the pro-Moscow puppet Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov. It is these militias that are feared most by the civilians of Chechnya.

Researchers from the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights recently found that although some victims and their relatives were willing to elaborate on the violation of their rights by federal servicemen, they were far more reluctant to talk about the crimes of the “Kadyrovtsi,” lowering their voice to a whisper and trying to avoid any concrete facts. The human rights abuses have increased to such an extent that Human Rights Watch recently described them as “crimes against humanity.”

Russia has gone to great lengths to ensure that the world remains oblivious to the humanitarian catastrophe in Chechnya, cracking down on any criticism and brutally suppressing any dissent from within. Many have laid the blame for the shocking assassinations of courageous journalist Anna Politskovkaya and former FSB agent Alexander Litvinenko at the door of the Kremlin. In the same week that the world commemorated Holocaust Memorial Day last month, the Kremlin won a legal battle to shut down the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, a human rights NGO that had been active in exposing and reporting on allegations of torture, kidnapping, and murder in Chechnya. The closure came on the heels of the suspension of the Russian Justice Initiative; a legal group which has successfully helped Chechen victims of human rights abuses bring their cases before the European Court of Human Rights.

Yet, not a word of condemnation is uttered by the leaders of the world who are content to appease Russia while the Chechen genocide continues. Last month, Medecins Sans Frontieres stated that Chechnya was one of the ten most under-reported humanitarian stories of 2006. In fact, the only time any attention is given to the region is where acts of terrorism are committed by Chechens against Russian civilians. Attacks such as the Moscow theatre siege and Beslan hostage crisis, while they must be condemned in the strongest terms, do not exist in a vacuum but are a tragic result of Russia’s brutal war. The horrific events at Beslan are only a snapshot of daily life for the typical Chechen child. But in today’s world, the blood of some children is more sacred than others.

In January 2004, 60 years after the Chechen deportations took place, the conscience of Europe finally awoke and the European Parliament recognized the deportations as ‘genocide’. With the current genocide continuing unabated, must we wait another 60 years for that conscience to re-awaken?World Chechnya Day (23 February) is intended to commemorate the dignity and resilience of a people who, against all odds, refused to be erased from existence. For more information about events commemorating World Chechnya Day, please visit http://www.worldchechnyaday.org/

SOURCE: Openminds

Saturday, February 24, 2007

double standards...again

Free the Egyptian blogger! But...

"It's nice to see everyone raising their voices to protest the sentencing of Egyptian blogger Abdel Karim Nabeel to four years in prison. International criticism of escalating Egyptian repression can only be good, whether the criticism is official or NGO or public. I add my voice to those who call for a revisiting of the verdict and for his release from prison.

"At the same time, I can't help but note that Nabeel is far from the only political activist in Egyptian jails right now. The Egyptian regime is engaging in an unprecedented crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood. Hundreds of its members have been arrested and referred to the notorious state security courts, their businesses closed down and their bank accounts frozen, without even a trace of due process. Some Muslim Brothers are even bloggers, if that's what it takes to get people to care. Because not many people seem to.

"This selective outrage, where Westerners care about one anti-Islamist blogger but can't be bothered about equally arbitrary and illiberal repression of hundreds of Islamists, only reinforces general skepticism that this isn't really about freedom, human rights, or democracy."

Marc Lynch at Abu Aardvark, 22 February 2007

& Here

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Bangladesh State of Emergency: Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer believes diplomatic missions made it happen.

Nizami
Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Matiur Rahman Nizami considers activities of different diplomatic missions in the last one week as the main reason for declaring the state of emergency.

"Activities of different diplomatic missions round the week and the statement of United Nations secretary general have played major role in declaring the state of emergency," he told the BBC Bangla Service yesterday.

"The role of some diplomats indicates that they still think Bangladesh as their colony," he said. "The diplomats do not seem to consider that Bangladesh is an independent and sovereign country and has a constitution," Nizami said.

Replying to a question, he said violence by some quarters has increased following the activities of the diplomats. Many diplomats communicated with KM Hasan, which made him feel embarrassed and that led to the Awami League-sponsored violence on October 28, he added. "But we did not see any influence of the diplomats on those who nurture the confrontational politics," he said.

As the BBC asked him whether Jamaat would participate in the election under the new caretaker government, he said they will take decision after examining the speech of the president and the steps he takes.

For this and more on this crisis (including a useful chronology) please click here

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Letter to Iran from israel



Click image to read it.

WOT Week: Starts 19th. SOAS




Trailer Above

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

US soldiers shooting a dog

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Imagine the headlines if this was a Muslim

Ex-BNP man 'wanted to shoot PM'
Robert Cottage
Robert Cottage feared the UK was heading for civil war
A former British National Party (BNP) candidate who held explosive chemicals in anticipation of a civil war wanted to shoot Tony Blair, a court heard.

Robert Cottage, 49, from Colne, Lancashire, pleaded guilty to possession of explosives at the start of his trial at Manchester Crown Court.

His wife said he often boasted of wanting to shoot Mr Blair and Lib Dem peer Lord Greaves, the court was told.

Mr Cottage denies conspiracy to cause an explosion.

A second man, David Jackson, 62, of Nelson, Lancashire, denies both charges under the Explosive Substances Act.

And wait......theres more

Monday, February 12, 2007

Zionist settlers abuse Christianity



Tel Rumeida is a small Palestinian neighborhood deep in the West Bank city of Hebron. Palestinian families from whom these settlers occupied lands, live directly next to these settlers and are often virtual prisoners in their homes, subject to the settlers' violent attacks and destruction of property.

Here is what they have to put up with daily.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpo6pGAy1GI

If only Christians who support these scumbags could see what these settlers really think about them.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Symbols of our Ummah today


These snowmen are as useful as the protestors who came out tonight to defend al-Aqsa but who refused to pray their maghrib salah on time (see below): they look good, have all the right gear, the kiffayahs, the hizbullah caps, try to look menacing, but when things get a little hot, they melt away into irrelevance.

Hollow Slogans will not Free al-Aqsa


The onslaught upon masjid al aqsa continues and our silence is deafening. Today a maximum of about 100 people turned up for a vigil outside 10 Downing Street to protest against the continuing violation of the 1st qibla, the 2nd masjid ever built and the 3rd holiest place in the world. Only 100!!!!! 1 in 7 people in London are Muslim but onyl a total of 100 people from around Britain showed up. May Allah reward the 5 brothers who drove all the way down from Bradford but what will the fate be of the 1.6 million Muslims who failed to take a stance?

What disgusted me even more was the vigil itself. Consisting primarily of Muslims (the lefties from the PSC, although their banner was there, failed to show up in numbers because this was an Islamic issue), one would expect a lot more, i dont know, Islamic spirit. Tiem for maghrib salah came. I approached a few different people who seemed to be in charge and was told there would be no jamaat. I asked whether an announcement would at least be made to remind the people of salah. Not interested. When we began reminding some brothers that time for salah was running out, many said they would pray qazaa at home, others said the ground was wet, others looked embarrassed but then continued to shout out heart-felt cries of "bi ruh, bi dum nafdeeq li ya Aqsa" (with our blood and our souls, we will free you oh Aqsa). The irony of it was all too bitter.

How can we expect Allah (swt)to bestow His Mercy upon us when we wilfully disobey his fundamnetal orders while believeing we are doing good deeds? Muslims came to protest the attempted destructin of the third holiest mosque in the world, yet refused to pray at the appointed times. This new lefty politics with its hollow slogans and chants seem to have become our priority over the basic difference between us and the kuffar: the prayer.

May Allah (swt) protect masjid al-Aqsa because we, the "active" Muslims of today, are lost.

"Say: "Shall we tell you of those who lose most in respect of their deeds? Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life, while they thought that they were acquiring good by their works?"" (al-Kahf:103-104)

Friday, February 09, 2007

Masjid Al Aqsa under attack



Reported by Aljazeera & BBC

Also the pathetic Egyptian Authorities prevent protesting Muslims from Praying!

(Glorified be He Who carried His servant by night from the Inviolable Place of Worship to the Far Distant Place of Worship the neighborhood whereof We have blessed, that We might show him of Our tokens! Lo! He, only He, is the Nearer, the Seer.) (Al-Israa’ 17: 1)

China Executes Uighur Activist

Image



BEIJING — China has executed Uighur Muslim activist Ismail Samed on charges of "splitting the Chinese motherland" with rights groups and his lawyer slamming his trial as politically motivated and unfair.

"When the body was transferred to us at the cemetery I saw only one bullet hole in his heart," Semed's widow, Buhejer, told the US-funded Radio Free Asia (RFA) on Friday, February 9, Reuters reported.

Semed was executed in the far-west Chinese city of Urumqi, capital of the predominantly Muslim region of Xinjiang, at 9:00 am local time Thursday, February 8.

He was deported to China from Pakistan in 2003 and was sentenced to death October 31, 2005 by the Urumqi City Intermediate People's Court for "attempting to split the motherland" and "possessing firearms and explosives," Uighur sources told the radio station.

Sources close to the case said the charges were based on the allegation that Semed was a founding member of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a Muslim Uighur movement which Beijing has branded terrorist.

China has waged a harsh campaign in recent years against Muslim separatists struggling to set up an independent "East Turkestan" in Xinjiang.

The Uighurs are a Turkish-speaking minority of eight million whose traditional homeland lies in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in north-west China.

Xinjiang has been autonomous since 1955 but continues to be the subject of crackdowns by Chinese authorities, who have been accused by rights groups of religious repression against Uighurs in the name of counter-terrorism efforts.

Beijing views Xinjiang as an invaluable asset because of its crucial strategic location near Central Asia and its large oil and gas reserves.


The rest is here

Saturday, February 03, 2007

CrackPot

I dont know whether to laugh or cry (how did these people get in power!)

The President who claims he can cure aids on Mondays

The smallest country in Africa is this morning playing host to one of the longest queues on the continent, as hundreds of people line up for miracle cures for asthma and Aids, promised by the Gambian President.

Scientists have reacted with horror to a claim by President Yahya Jammeh that he can cure asthma on Fridays and Saturdays and HIV/Aids on Mondays and Thursdays. All patients need is a referral from a doctor and the willingness to queue up at State House in the capital, Banjul.

Mr Jammeh, who has been in power since 1994, told the diplomats he has long had mystic powers but that he only recently received a "mandate" to treat large numbers of people. In his speech, he said: "The cure is a day's treatment. Within three days the person will be negative."

Mr Jammeh said he hoped the Taiwanese ambassador would spread news of the "cure" because his country has a large pharmaceuticals industry. According to rumours in Banjul, Mr Jammeh's treatment is based on seven herbs that are mentioned in the Koran.

The President has not revealed the names of the herbs, nor divulged who has bestowed the "mandate" on him, which includes specific days of the week for each treatment. "I am not doing it for money or popularity," he said. "For asthma I have to choose between Saturday and Friday. I am also not authorised to treat more than 100 people. The one on HIV/Aids cannot be mass-produced because I am restricted to 10 patients only on every Thursday and Monday." He said he may have to cancel surgeries on Thursdays if they clash with cabinet meetings.

The rest is here

Friday, February 02, 2007

Suspicion

A very interesting comment by Moazzem Begg on the Guardian Website following the recent terror raids.

His comments are not limited just to our reactions to sensational journalism by the media, but applies equally to stories we hear about our fellow Muslim brothers and sisters from third persons, i.e. rumors etc.

I remember a very learned scholar once asking serious questions about whether the Muslims of today are Islamic in the way we think. He pointed specifically to notions such as 'there is no smoke without fire'. He unequivocally declared that this is a kafir mentality. He wasn't giving takfir, but went on to explain that this is not the conduct of believing men and women, rather it is a sin.

"O you who believe! Avoid much suspicion, for some suspicions are a sin. Do not spy on one another, nor backbite one another. Would one of you love to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, you would abhor it, [so similarly, avoid backbiting]. And fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful." Qur'an, [49:12]

"He does not utter a [single] word, except that there is, with him, [an angel] ready and waiting [to record it]." Qur'an, [50:18]

Verily to Allah we Belong and to Him we return














Inna lillahi wa ina ilayhi wa rajioon

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