Muslims Wake Up!

Muslims Wake Up!

Shariffa Carlo

I have noticed a disheartening trend among our teachers of Islam. Too many are trying to "make the deen easier" by watering it down. This can range from the "sheikh" who, when I became Muslim, told me it was halal to take a loan with interest because my education was a necessity to the "teacher" who uses the weak narration:

"We have returned from the lesser jihad to embark on the greater jihad." They said: "What is the greater jihad?" He said: "The jihad of the heart, or the jihad against one's ego." to the "Imams" who stood by silently while mujahideen in Afghanistan were making tawaf at the graves.

In all these cases, if they have done even the most rudimentary research in these areas, they would have to know that they were stating incorrect information about Islam, which amounts to lying against Allah and His messenger. Yet, they felt, for whatever reason, that by minimizing the importance of the concepts, the questioner would not hate Islam and would be a better Muslim. This puzzles me. How can one be a better Muslim when one is committing haram acts and considering them halal?

For the first, we know that necessity in Islam is defined as life and death - and only as much as is necessary to sustain life. For instance. I am in jail. I am given pork to eat and alcohol to drink. I am starving and if I do not eat or drink I will die. In this case, it becomes halal for me to eat and drink what will sustain me -- keep me from death.

This becomes not only halal but fard upon me. Now, let's analyze: I would not have died if I had not gone to school that semester. It would not have been life-threatening for me to wait until I had saved enough money. Yet, the "sheikh", probably under the fear that telling me it was haram would have taken away from Islam, tried to "ease" me into Islam by telling me it was O.K. The danger here was greater. He did not realize that what he did was indeed more dangerous. He taught me that the rules in Islam are very flexible, like the Christianity I had just left. I now believed that I could interpret them to suit my needs.

Under this understanding, anyone can use interest for anything he/she "thinks" is necessary. So, when I thought it was necessary to own a car - or I could not get to work, I took a loan. It also made me understand that all the credit cards I had were O.K. cause I needed them. The reality was that I did not need the car, I could have taken a bus; I did not need the cards, I could have been patient, I did not need anything because my life was never in danger, but I had been taught that necessity in Islam was defined by what I considered necessary. This led me to inadvertently commit many sins that put me "at war" with Allah.

Allah says:

O you who believe! Be careful of (your duty to) Allah and relinquish what remains (due) from usury, if you are believers. But if you do (it) not, then be apprised of war from Allah and His Messenger; and if you repent, then you shall have your capital; neither shall you make (the debtor) suffer loss, nor shall you be made to suffer loss. 2:278-79

How did this help me be a better Muslim?

The second issue, is an apology for the Islamic concept of Jihad. This has successfully served to "keep us in place." The Muslim who is only concerned about Jihad of the self, sits idly by while Muslims are being exterminated, calling his congressman or holding protests, thinking he is accomplishing something instead of getting his lazy rear off his chair, going out to the lands of jihad, and risking his life and property for the sake of Allah. Allah says,

Not equal are those believers who sit (at home) and receive no hurt, and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah with their goods and their persons. Allah hath granted a grade higher to those who strive and fight with their goods and persons than to those who sit (at home). Unto all (in Faith) Hath Allah promised good: But those who strive and fight Hath He distinguished above those who sit (at home) by a special reward,- 4:95

Also, the Prophet said

"When you deal with interest, and hold fast to the tail of the cow, and become contented with agriculture, and you leave Jihad in the Way of Allaah, Allaah will permit your humiliation and will not lift it from you until you return to your deen." (Sahih: Taken from a speech by Al Albaani: www.ucl.ac.uk/~uczxisl/jihad.htm)

This so-called hadith about jihad of the self being the greater jihad can be easily exposed. Sheikh Al Albaani declared it weak as did Al Hafiz ibn Hajar al-Asqalani in the Tasdid al-Qaws. Al Hafiz Al Iraqi said in the Takhrij Ahadith al-Ahya': 'Al Bayhaqi transmitted it with a weak chain of narrators on the authority of Jabir, and Al Khatib transmitted it in his history on the authority of Jabir.'"

Anyone who is even an elementary student of Islam, must know this or can find it. No one who seriously cares about his deen will narrate something unless he knows it is sahih. Because even the ordinary Muslim on the street knows that narrating against the Prophet what he did not say will gain him a seat in the hellfire. The Prophet said: "...And whoever tells a lie on me intentionally, will surely take his place in the (Hell) Fire." Sahih Bukhari: Volume 4, Book 56, Number 667.

So why would someone teach such a concept? It waters down our deen and makes us like the Prophet warned that we would be as the Prophet warned:

"The nations summon each other upon you as you call guests to eat from a plate of food", they said , "will we be few in number on that day O Messenger of Allaah?" He said, "no rather you will be many on that day, but you will be like the foam on the ocean. And Allaah will remove the fear in the hearts of your enemies and place in your hearts al-wahn". They said, "what is al-wahn O Messenger of Allaah?" He said, "love of this world and hatred of death."' (Sahih: Taken from a speech by Al AlBaani: www.ucl.ac.uk/~uczxisl/jihad.htm).

So, how does lessening the importance of Jihad make us better Muslims? It seems to me, it makes us weak and vulnerable.

The last example are the "Imams" who stood by silently while the mujahideen were making tawaf at the graves. When questioned about this, they said that they did say anything because the people were ignorant, and teching them this would cause fitnah and remove them from Islam. This floored me. I mean -- HELLO-- IS ANYONE HOME UP THERE???? Isn't this shirk??? Does not this act take them from Islam??? Where are our priorities? Here are our mujahids, the fighters for the sake of Allah, making tawaf to graves. What is left?

On a lesser level, our "scholars" are constantly trying to make things easier on us, telling us its ok to wear a headpiece with pants and call it hijab, saying it is O.K. to shave or trim the beard, saying it is acceptable to go to that social gathering at work even though alcohol is being served because we will lose our jobs if we don't, saying it is O.K. to sell alcohol or pork as long as we do not touch it or consume it, saying it is O.K. to take a house loan because we need to establish a base in this country, saying it is O.K to have a credit card cause we need it in case we want to rent a car or in the case of an emergency...the list is endless.

As Muslims we have to stop expecting out teachers, scholars, Imams etc... to spoon feed us what we want to hear. We have to make them tell us the truth. There are so many true scholars available to us. We still have the Quraan, the authentic hadiths, the understandings of the companions and our greatest scholars.

Why do we ignore this great body of evidence and insist on following the unsupported opinions of those who would have Islam be little more than a poor imitation of Christianity -- a religion of amilu without amilu. A religion of belief without action. Pick up the Quraan. How often do you see the word aminu - belief, without amilu beside it? Why is it that anytime someone calls to the truth -- showing the evidences, we call him a wahabi, a salafi, an extremist??? They are quoting the words of Allah and the words of His beloved prophet, and we are saying, "I think..."," I feel...", "But our deen is not hard...." What would we say to the Prophet himself? What horrible names would we call him because his words do not match our desires or our warped perceptions of right and wrong?

Lets WAKE UP!

Brothers and sisters, it is time to wake up. Allah did not put us here to get that illusive degree, that classy car, that great house, that beautiful wife, that perfect husband, those great kids. These are all distraction from the true goal. "O ye who believe! Let not your wealth nor your children distract you from remembrance of Allah. Those who do so, they are the losers." (63:9) We are here to worship Allah. This life is not supposed to be easy or perfect. This life is our prison, if we are true believers.

We are supposed to be building an escape tunnel with our deeds and our faith. Instead we are asleep in front of the TV, smelling of nachos and fear while scenes of our brothers' and sisters' extermination flash across the screen.

Islam is not easy. It is not hard. It is a religion that takes effort, commitment and belief. We have a great reward but also we have a great responsibility. What will we say to Allah when He questions us about our life in this world? What will we say to Allah when He questions us about our brothers and sisters in Kosovo, Somalia, Sudan, Kashmir, Palestine, Bosnia, Algeria, Ethiopia, Lebanon, India etc..... What will we say when He questions us about our credit cards, our school loans our houses and even masjids built from riba? What will we say when He questions us about the ignorant among us that we failed to teach because we thought it would make him/her hate Islam or think it was too hard? What will we say when Allah asks us about the deeds that supported our beliefs? What will we say????

I leave you with the following hadith which emphasizes the obstacles Allah placed in our way:

Narrated Abu Hurayrah: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: When Allah created Paradise, He said to Gabriel: Go and look at it. He went and looked at it, then came and said: O my Lord! By Thy might, no one who hears of it will fail to enter it. He then surrounded it with disagreeable things, and said: Go and look at it, Gabriel. He went and looked at it, then came and said: O my Lord! By Thy might, I am afraid that no one will enter it. When Allah created Hell, He said: Go and look at it, Gabriel.

He went and looked at it, then came and said: O my Lord! By Thy might, no one who hears of it will enter it. He then surrounded it with desirable things and said: Go and look at it, Gabriel. He went, looked at it, then came and said: O my Lord! By Thy might and power, I am afraid that no one will remain who does not enter it. Sunan Abu Dawud: Book 40, Number 4726.

Ya Allah! Wake up the Muslims! Ya Allah! Wake up the Muslims! Ya Allah! Wake up the Muslims! Ameen.

Source: http://www.islamicawakening.com/viewarticle.php?articleID=317&

The Fiqh us-Seerah Epilogue

The Fiqh us-Seerah Epilogue


Shaykh Muhammad al-GhazaliFiqh us-Seerah (Understanding the Life of the Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam) © IIPH 1997

A few days had not passed since the prophet's (sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam) death when Islam became entangled in a fierce struggle with paganism, which suddenly came back to life, and Christianity, which controlled the north of the peninsula, prevented anyone from entering Islam and stopped its spread by force. The desert had not seen the like of these violent battles during the lifetime of the prophet himself. The battlefields were wielder, the costs more and the losses greater.

But the men whom the prophet had brought up with knowledge of the Truth and sacrifice for it were sincere in their actions to Allah and bore the heavy burdens that were thrust upon their shoulders as gallant heroes.

They broke the backbone of paganism in the peninsula, squeezed out its lifeblood and destroyed it forever. They routed the Romans at the borders where the latter had spread their arrogance. Then they returned to Medina not to relax but to spread out in the then populated world in a systematic order and by inspiration from a foolproof law. Within a few years Islam had filled land and sea, ear and eye.

Now after fourteen centuries have elapsed since that glorious era. Islam is no more ruling its Ummah, not to speak of steering the world to a land worth mentioning or to goodness worthy of thanks. The other religions are living on the brink of death, the existing civilizations do not allow religion to take hold of their reins. Paganism in India and the Far East as well as other places still has a great sway over the major part of the lives and behaviour of the masses.

Judaism is segregating its flock from the world in order to implant in their hearts hatred for mankind and to sweep away the greatest benefits for Israel by playing upon the split within the rants of the Muslim ranks. Christianity is like a creeping vine in the equator: it depends for its survival on the adoption of the prevalent philosophies and support of the ruling regimes in order to guarantee life (and what a life!) for its primary tenets of Trinity and vicarious sacrifice.

The Muslims have been stained with the pollutions of deviations and adherence to shells and rituals. The vices of weakness and ignorance have relegated them to a condition similar to what the Jews and Christians had been in during the era of prophethood and the rightly guided caliphs. Only an insignificant minority of them remains up to today fighting Jahiliyah and holding fast to the Truth.

If there is hope in the fact that Islam has remained preserved from the theoretical point of view in its two major sources, the Qur'an and the Sunnah, then this preserved knowledge can never make action superfluous. Nevertheless, it is to be noted that those who do correct work for Islam are encountering severe opposition from various other fronts and I mean the fronts which have opposed its spread since the time of its inception fourteen centuries ago and have never cooled off for one day in their enmity towards it.

Someone may ask whether the world today is in need of Islam. Our answer to that is if the world is in need of knowing Allah and preparation to meet Him and give an account for what was done in this earthly life them it must have Islam. Material advancement cannot substitute one bit for adherence of these great realities. One may say: but there are people who do not believe in any god or in the Hereafter and there are others who believe in these things but different to what Islam teaches so let the people follow their own beliefs.

Our answer to this is: let the people believe what they will but the blind do not have the right to dig out the eye of the one who sees or strangle him because he sees what they do not! They must leave him to walk with the guidance of his eyes and they must leave him also to describe what he sees or expects on his way. Whoever whishes to follow him without being forced has the right to go with him otherwise he should leave him alone and not put obstacles in his path. This is all that Islam asks for.

The mischief-makers hate Islam because it is the Truth with a voice which defends itself and proclaims whatever it contains and refuses to hide or keep silent. This characteristic of Islam, the characteristic of enforcing the Truth and decrying falsehood, has annoyed its adversaries and made them fabricate accusations against it. Thus, if it refuses to compromise it is the attacker and if it refuses to die under the plots of its enemies it is being spread by force!

This is the secret of the tale which is told that Islam was spread by the sword, though Islam only unsheathed the sword in order to save itself from the danger of the mob and the brigands. Had it been left without intrigues, it would never have lifted a knife and would have contended itself with the use of the tongue in place of the sword.

Yes, in this respect it is very firm. What else could be expected of it when it has to confront enemies who are spurred on by the haughtiness and prejudice of long centuries as well as erring ways which hide behind thick jungles of men and arms? Had it not been for this firmness, Islam's moral and scientific principles would not have remained intact to this day. Those religions before it which had weakened were dragged by their enemies in a hideous manner from their roots and have never been able to return safely to them. As for Islam, today you find it, if not in its adherents, then at least in its book.

You may think that you have studied the life of Muhammad by following his history from birth to death but this is a grave mistake. You will never really understand the Sirah unless you study the noble Qur'an and the purified Sunnah. The amount that you derive from these will tell the strength of your connection with the prophet of Islam, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam.
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Source: http://www.islaam.com/Article.aspx?id=422

How Do We Confront the Efforts of the Enemies of Islaam

How Do We Confront the Efforts of the Enemies of Islaam

Shaykh `Abdul `Aziz ibn Baz

Words of Advice regarding Da`wah © 1998 al-Hidaayah

The leaders and the scholars should exert efforts to enlighten and direct the population of Muslims and combat the efforts of the enemies of Islaam, by retaliating with their own efforts.

The Muslim Ummah is an Ummah that has been entrusted with this religion and has the responsibility of conveying it. If we are careful to arm our boys and girls in Islamic societies, with knowledge, understanding and comprehension of Islamic Jurisprudence and accustom them to apply these things from a small age, then we will not fear, by the permission of Allaah, the Most High, as long as they continue to holding onto the deen of Allaah, glorifying it, following its laws, and fighting that which contradicts it. And indeed their enemies will fear them.

Allaah, the Most High, says in the Qur’aan,

O you who believe! If you help Allaah, He will help you and make your foothold firm. [47:7]

If you remain patient and become al-Muttaqoon (pious) not the least harm will their cunning to do you. Surely Allah surrounds all that they do. [3:120]

There are many verses in the Qur’aan which convey this message. The most important factor for us in fighting against the efforts of our enemies is raising and preparing a generation that knows the reality of Islaam. This can be achieved through guidance, taking care of the house and family, the method of educating them, the media and improvement of the society.

In addition to this is the role of steering and guiding which needs to be taken by the Muslim leadership, persevering in beneficial work and continually reminding the people that which will benefit them and make the belief within them grow and flourish.

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Source: http://www.islaam.com/Article.aspx?id=286

How Can We Confront Intellectual Attack

How Can We Confront Intellectual Attack

Shaykh `Abdul `Aziz ibn Baz

Words of Advice Regarding Da`wah © 1998 Al-Hidaayah

We must confront the intellectual onslaught represented in the radio, books, newspapers, magazines and writings which the Muslim communities in our present time have been afflicted with. The Muslim male and female spend most of their time with such, despite the fact that they contain deadly poison and misleading propagation most of the time. Therefore confronting this is a very important issue if we want to protect Islaam and the Islamic culture from its conspiracies and evil.

The da`ees and the defenders of Islaam must devote their time in writing beneficial researches, articles, periodicals and give da`wah. They should respond to different types of cultural attack and expose its defects and clarify its falseness. The enemies have gathered now and are preparing all their efforts and abilities to establish different organizations and various ways to scheme and plot against the Muslims and deceive them.

Therefore we must counter attack these enemies. We must refute and disapprove of their networks, expose them, and present Islaam as a faith, belief, legal system and a social and moral system. This should be done in a way that will make the people learn it, through good methods suitable for the age, and with wisdom and good admonition, arguing in a way that is best. We should use all the methods of the media, according to the resources available and our ability.

The deen of Islaam is a complete deen, which contains all good. It is the source of happiness for all mankind, and helps us in achieving righteous prosperity, sound progression, security, tranquillity and a noble life and victory in this life and in the Hereafter.
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Source: http://www.islaam.com/Article.aspx?id=288

Priorities of Islamic Activities in the West

Priorities of Islamic Activities in the West

Shaykh `Abdul Rahman `Abdul Khaliq

Priorities of Islamic Activities in the West © Dar Ihyaa at-Turath

Muslim minorities in the West need urgent help to preserve their identity, religion and their very existence. To achieve this, Muslims must:

1 -- Re-establish unity in this nation all over the world. Muslims must be loyal to other Muslims and disloyal to all Kuffar. This unity must be implemented by deed and not only by tongue.

2 -- Affirm the basic belief that Muslims are members of the best nation ever that was introduced to humanity. Affirm the correct Islamic beliefs that will make Muslims feel pride in their religion and feel the sweetness of Iman in their hearts.

This can be accomplished by teaching the correct belief end knowing the ways of the Kuffar, to avoid them. Muslims must feel the great bounty of Allah that He guided them to the correct religion. Religion must be understood and believed in. Muslims must study Christian beliefs. The struggle between Islam and Christianity will last till the end of time. Muslims must also preserve the Islamic code of dress, Islamic foods and marry Muslim women and, if they wish, only pure and good Christian women.

3 -- Arabic must be the first language for all Muslims again. Learning Arabic during childhood and giving it its due place in the religion is a must. Arabic is a necessity of Islam that must be preserved.

4 -- Muslims must Perform Da'wah (propagate Islam) wherever they me be, (Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining righteousness and forbidding evil. And it is those who are the successful.) [3: 104].Religion must be held to be the reason behind our existence,

(And I (Allah) created not the Jinn and mankind except they should worship Me (Alone).) [51:56].

5 -- Ahlu As-Sunnah Wa Al-Jama'ah and the way and understanding of the companions are what Muslims should call for. Muslims should warn of all misguided groups and define the one righteous group. To fight against misguided groups and off-shoot sects is a necessity. This means that Muslims will fight against all five major misguided groups who have corrupt beliefs: Al-Khawarij, Shiites, Al-Jahmiyah, Al-Qadariyah and Al-Murji'ah.

6 -- Muslims of the West must be united in every matter. They must call to Islam and preserve their loyalty to Muslims and be disloyal to the disbelievers. Arabic must be their first language. Muslims should seek to socialize with, marry from and meet other Muslims in lectures, mosques, universities, picnics and general activities. Muslims must not be isolated from other Muslims.

7 -- Muslims must be concerned with Islamic education for their children from primary to secondary education.Muslims must establish Islamic schools that will preserve and teach Islam to their children in their first years. The first years of life are what will shape the beliefs and ways of later years.

8 -- Muslims must seek to preserve Muslim presence in Eastern Europe and strengthen this presence. Muslims in Albania and Bosnia must be provided with material help so they can defend themselves. Muslims must also help Muslims of Eastern Europe using all means possible. Also, Muslims everywhere must seek to protect the religious, educational and social rights of Muslim minorities in the West. Muslims of the West must not be prevented from practicing and propagating Islam, the true religion.

9 -- A higher authority for the benefit of Muslim immigrants must be established to protect the rights of Muslim minorities. This authority will coordinate between all Islamic organizations that operate in the West. Coordination will benefit and organize the activities of Islamic organizations and will provide them with vital and firsthand information about needs and the situation of Muslim minorities.

10 -- Establish committees composed of Muslim scholars that will teach the religion to Muslim immigrants and solve their problems according to the Qur’an and the Sunnah. These committees will have firsthand knowledge of the situation of Muslims and provide answers to their problems. These solutions will seek to preserve the religion, identity and existence of Muslim immigrants.

11 -- Establish a sound economic system that will benefit Muslim immigrants in the West. This economic system will provide an honorable life and financial independence for Muslims. This is better than the way that many Muslims of the West live, by seeking the help of the Kafir government or engaging in usury, prostitution, gambling or dishonorable acts.

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Source: http://www.islaam.com/Article.aspx?id=188

Islamic Revival Closing the Century

Islamic Revival Closing the Century

Dr. Abdullah Hakim Quick

From a Khutbah Reproduced In The Message Magazine [Audio lecture available in our audio section]

According to a report issued by The International Center for Population Studies, an affiliate of Al-Azhar University of Cairo, Egypt: Muslims are 23 per cent of the earth's population. Contrary to popular belief, there are over 170 million Muslims in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country.

There are over 70 million Muslims in China and over 54 million in the former Soviet States. The majority of Muslims, the study said are youth and children. Children below five years old represent 43 per cent of the Muslim world! By the year 2020 CE, our population will be expected to reach 2.5 billion, Insha Allah. In Canada, startling statistical data has been released. One in three children born in Canadian hospitals today is from a Muslim family! What does this mean to us?

The future is bright for Muslims if we make the right choices today. We are blessed with amazing riches in the Muslim world. Over 40 per cent of the mineral wealth of the planet lies under Muslim countries. We have thousands of doctors, engineers, scientists and intellectuals. We spend billions in technology, especially for the military.

But we still are humiliated and destroyed. We cannot wake up in the morning and forget Kashmir, Palestine, Bosnia, Chechnya, Algeria, Sudan, Kurdistan, Somalia and other parts of our Ummah. Almighty Allah has revealed at the end of Surah al-Hashr: O you who believe, have the consciousness of Allah and let every soul look to what it has put forward for tomorrow and fear Allah. Surely Allah is well aware of all that you do. And be not as those who forgot Allah, so He made them forget themselves. Surely they are wrongdoers.

Nisayn (forgetfulness) is a state of mind. When the person forgets Allah, they are in a dangerous position. The path of Islam is clear, but who will take hold of Islam? Who will stand up and be true, sincere Muslims? Allah has also revealed in Surah Al-Balad: Did I not make for Man two eyes, a tongue and two lips? And did I not guide him to two Paths?

Tribalism will lead us to destruction. Divisions based on color, organization, schools of Islamic jurisprudence, will decimate our ranks. We need a new Islamic World order. People who put the Qur'an and the Sunnah above all things. We need people who do not see color or focus on language, do not scandalize other believers and struggle with each other for power, who are part of our society, but not controlled by un-Islamic culture, who do not resort to Unbelievers to judge between them in their courts, people who are not afraid to speak openly but do not attack individuals without just cause.

If we do not change our ways and return to the path of Islam, Allah has made a promise: In Surah al-Ma`idah, verse 54, He says: O you who believe. If any from among you turn back from his religion, soon Allah will produce a people whom He will love and they will love Him.

They will be humble with the Believers and mighty against the Unbelievers. They will struggle in the path of Allah and not be afraid of the blame of those who find fault. That is grace of Allah which He gives to whom He pleases and Allah encompasses all and has knowledge of all things.
I say this and I ask Allah to forgive me and you and all of the Muslims from every sin. Turn to Allah in repentance for surely He isthe Oft Forgiving and the Most Merciful.

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Source: http://www.islaam.com/Article.aspx?id=113

Changing the present and dreaming the future

Changing the present and dreaming the future

Tuesday 31 October 2006, by Tariq Ramadan

I want to share with you some ideas about the future.

I will start with some introductory remarks. It is my perception that we have continued the process of interfaith dialogue among ourselves without taking into account the reality of our present world. Our world has changed tremendously, especially during the last 10 years. We are going from one crisis to another; social crises, civilization crises and cultural crises and we have to deal with all these crises.

In the present time we are perceived as naïve, simplistic, far from the world. This is my perception and of others around me. I think that it is our responsibility, if we are true before God, true before our conscience, to come to a realistic and true commitment.

As we represent the faiths of the people, we have to deal with this reality and we have to face up to our responsibilities when we are dealing with these crises. If we are speaking about hopes we have to start by being realistic and face up to the responsibility. If we want something to happen, we should try and change not only the way we are dealing with each other but also the way we are dealing with the world we are living in.

When we speak about hopes and dreams, there is the Prophet’s peace upon all of them, who are dreaming the future and transforming the present. It should not be the other way around. By dreaming the present you are not helping me to deal with my problems. Therefore, dream the future, change the present and this is the way we have to deal with our values, with our teachings.

If I as a Muslim man, try to share my views with fellow citizens of Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu or indigenous spiritual traditions, I and others like me are very often perceived as naïve people, dreamers, far from reality. Is this true? If many perceive us like that, elementary psychology is telling us that we have to ask ourselves if there is any truth in this perception. I think there is.

Our discourse is sometimes far removed from the reality of people’s lives. We speak about love but as soon as we seek to promote love in this world, it becomes difficult. To love is difficult. We speak about peace, but to get peace, inner peace and collective peace, that is difficult. We speak about the importance of family. But people want concrete answers on how to build a family in this world today, within this reality of social crises and psychological crises. We are living in a world where we need to give answers.

My prayer and my hope are for us to be humble, more realistic and more committed to giving answers on how to get peace. Let us not only talk about peace but also tell people how to get there. Let us speak with people how to move closer towards the realm of love, with dreams of the future, as one family of humankind. As Muslims we regard man and woman to be brothers and sisters. Yet, it is difficult to be sisters and brothers. It is difficult for me to be your brother. It will be difficult, if you would dare asking me to forgive you. To understand why you are doing what you are doing today is difficult.

Let us hope that we are committed and that we are trying to change the world.

But while we are promoting this interfaith dialogue let us take into account that our world has changed. We are dealing with ignorance, with people not knowing each other, and today we are dealing with something more vicious and perverse than all that: a new ideology of fear. Fear is promoted everywhere: wherever you go, to the south or the north, to Muslim, Christian or Hindu communities, everywhere you will see and feel the same the same: fear.

We are not secure and we do not feel secure. In the United States, there is a great deal of fear after 9/11. In Israel, Palestine, India and other parts in the world, everywhere is fear. It is not only a state of mind, which we are witnessing. It is also used by politicians and by religious people, people of faith. If we are true and understand the meaning of faith, we will have to deal with fear. Then we can begin to understand that we live in a world where emotions are promoted and emotions have nothing to do with spirituality, in fact they are its opposite.

Emotions are superficial reactions. Not superficial in a bad way, but the first reaction surfacing when something happens. Spirituality is something different. It is about effort, about something that you experience deep in your heart. Spirituality is the way to master your emotions, not to be or to submit yourself to your own emotions. It is of vital importance to talk about our spiritual teachings. What do they tell us of mastering emotions?

Why is it so important to go beyond our emotions? Because they put us in a position where we perceive ‘us’ versus ‘ them’ and where we have to defend our identity. That mindset is perverse, it is vicious in the world that we are living in to see each other as separate, always protecting myself from you and you protecting yourself from me. It makes dialogue quite impossible.

Today we are living with virtual wars, we are scared and we do not know how to deal with this. At the local level this ideology of fear is nurturing and is nurtured by suspicions. In which way do we trust each other? At a conference it may be easy to trust each other, but in our daily life it is different. How can we transmit this mutual trust at the local level, at the grassroots level? This is the commitment, this is the challenge, to create spaces of mutual trust, to move away from this globalized fear, to return to our own traditions and plan to contribute something concrete.

This is my hope: first to reconcile us with the complexity of the world around us and to make it clear that to have a spiritual heart and to nurture a spiritual heart, you need to build a critical mind. Spirituality has nothing to do with naivety. Spirituality has nothing to do with just dreaming. It has to do with a critical mind enabling us to make an effort, a spiritual effort to take a distance from our emotions and to try and understand the world. It means to learn to listen and it is not easy to listen when you are emotional. Very often people are speaking about Muslims saying that we do not listen. We listen suspecting you to say what we want you to say and so we do not listen to the words said.

This is happening daily, this is concrete life. We have a complex heart, living in a complex world. To learn to listen is not just dreaming about being together, it means to get to know each other more and to promote something which is very simple.

Let us be committed to reconcile us to this world with complexity and not make simplistic statements about love and peace and family. Such statements are far from the people, so people will listen to us from very far. This is when we think that we are a minority.

We are promoting majority values, majority teachings, majority feelings, but we are far, and we speak alone and as a minority. Why? It is not because people are far from the content of what we say. It is because we are far from their lives. That is a totally different thing.

If we move closer to the complexities of daily life, it is my hope that all that we are doing is a road to the civil society at the social level. Let us work together so that our ethical input becomes visible, our understanding of the ethical imparity before God to say something about social issues.

How should we promote ethics in our society? Let us take education as an example. Is it our sole ambition to add one hour on religion in our school systems? Is that all we desire? Should we not see the importance of ethics in a more global, integrated multi-disciplinary way?

I am convinced we must promote ethics in every discipline. To be satisfied with only one additional hour per week will again mean disconnecting ethics from reality. It will not convince students of our deep commitment towards creation.

To promote ethics in every discipline makes visible our deep concern about education, social justice, discrimination and gender issues. It is promoting a new, deep femininity and it is more than a struggle for rights. It is a struggle for being. We must engage in the world showing that we are committed to understand and promote majority values.

People who want to change the world are challenged by two biased feelings: that they are a minority and that they are victims. If we are true to our religious traditions we have to get rid of those feelings. We are not victims and we are not a minority.

If we are true before God, we will understand that this is a challenge. We have to be the subject of our history, subjects of our own lives and not victims of the lives of others.

Let us change this mindset and reconcile us with complexity. This is the way to connect with other people.

Let me conclude with two final remarks:

Firstly, we have to be accountable when attending international interfaith meetings. If we engage in dialogue only at conferences, then we are not living up to our spiritual commitment. We must be committed to go back to our communities and share what we have learned and put our words into actions.

Secondly, we must invest in trusting each other. Mutual trust is possible.

I was in Sarajevo a few weeks ago and there, ten years after the war, an Eastern European was asking a Western European: “Let me ask you one thing: After what happened and us being Muslims, how could I trust you?”

This question of trust is essential. How are we committed to promote this mutual trust? We must network at the local level, understanding this global strategy and ideology of fear, and we must create spaces for mutual trust.

When we do that, we are changing the present and dreaming the future.

SOURCE : Lecture given in Geneva in June 2005 during the conference organised by the World Council of Churches : "A Critical Moment in Interreligious Dialogue"
"Changing the Present, Dreaming the Future" edited by Hans Ucko
Website : http://www.wcc-coe.org/

Fear for the Muslim World

Fear for the Muslim World

Salmaan ibn Fahd al-'Awdah

Article ID: 1113 925 Reads

We find that some Muslims, especially those who are enthusiastic about their religion, exhibit excessive fear for the future of Islam and the Muslims. Their fear is extreme and debilitating, not a reasonable fear that inspires productive work, cooperation, and research, but a distorted fear that fosters listlessness and despair.

Such people typically feel that reform is hopeless and that nothing remains for them but to wait for the end of it all.This fear has caused many people to retreat into an ideological stance that we can describe as a “doctorine of waiting”. These people pin all their hopes on the emergence of the Mahdî who will come into the world or on the descent of Jesus (peace be upon him) from the heavens.

Now, we as Muslims truly believe that Jesus (peace be upon him) will indeed return to Earth, descending from the heavens. We also believe that the Mahdî will appear among the Muslims. However, Allah has not prescribed for us to await these people or anyone else for that matter. By contrast, Allah calls upon us to act – to perform righteous deeds, to call others to the truth, to enjoin what is right, to forbid what is wrong, to conduct ourselves in a proper manner, to worship Him, and to build up our community.

This is what Allah wants us to do. We are not supposed to sit around and wait, incapacitated by fear and despair.Allah has not informed us as to the day and the year in which the Mahdî or Jesus (peace be upon him) will arrive. What He has detailed to us in a clear and indisputable manner are the duties that we have mentioned above. The Qur’ân and Sunnah are both quite clear about these matters.Inordinate fear and worry make a person incapable of productive action.

However, there is another unwholesome symptom of fear that can surface in some people; it is an exaggerated sense of personal responsibility for Islam. While some people succumb to their fear and become as invalids, others are propelled by their fear into a distorted feeling of personal liability until they feel that they are personally accountable for the religion in its entirety and that its protection and preservation is their individual duty.

This feeling makes a person feel that he must act as the guardian of the faith and its followers. He feels it is his duty to carry out a personal mandate over Islamic work and Islamic workers. This is an unhealthy state of mind, causing the person to act in an unnatural manner. Such a person typically brings harm to others, because he overburdens them and deals with them in an unbalanced way.This behavior comes as a consequence of confused priorities. The person so affected loses the ability to put things into proper perspective, so he tends to become obsessive about certain issues.

There is a type of excessive fear called a phobia. It is an irrational fear that is detached from reality. A phobia is different from anxiety, since a phobia is an unbalanced fear of something that exists in the world, whereas an anxiety disorder is an irrational fear of the future.The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to seek refuge with Allah from “anxiety and affliction”. He prayed to Allah to protect him from “anxiety”, from being afflicted with an unjustifiable fear of the future.

Such anxiety makes a person afraid when he wants to get married. It makes him anxious when he is about to graduate from school, worrying about whether or not he is going to find work. It makes him afraid to travel.As for a phobia, it is connected to the present day. It is the “affliction” that the Prophet (peace be upon him) also used to seek refuge from in his supplications to Allah.A person can become afflicted and beset by irrational fear, his chest constricted by his distorted view of the world around him.

In this way, many Westerners fear Islam. This fear can frequently be found manifested in the Western media and in what is taught in Western educational institutions. It is referred to as “Islamophobia”.Islam is indeed the true religion. As a faith, it is strong, robust, and able to stand up for itself. However, the reality of the Muslim world gives the West no occasion to fear it so crazily. The fear the West has for Islam is indeed a phobia, a sick and misplaced fear.

The cultivation of this fear may be the result of deliberate efforts from some sectors seeking to create an “enemy” for the West to further their own agendas, in the same way that Communism used to be the enemy.We can often describe the Muslim fear of the West as a phobia as well. Islam, as we have said, is a strong, enduring, and robust religion.

Allah ensures us that He shall protect it. He says: “Indeed, it is We who have sent down the reminder and surely it is We who shall be its protectors.” [Sûrah al-Hijr: 9]

Allah has not bequeathed the responsibility of preserving the faith upon any of His creatures. Allah speaks about the death of His Prophet (peace be upon him) and addresses the Prophet’s Companions, saying: “Muhammad is naught but a Messenger. Many were the Messengers who passed away before him. So if he were to die or be slain, would you turn on your heels? Whoever turns on his heels will not harm Allah in the least And Allah shall reward those who are grateful.” [Sûrah آl `Imrân: 144]

The religion of Islam is protected by Allah. The Muslim community shall exist until the arrival of the Hour. The Law of Islam shall endure with Allah’s permission. Allah says: “He is the one who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to make it manifest over all religions, though the polytheists may detest it.” [Sûrah al-Tawbah: 33]

Allah also says: “Sufficient is Allah as a witness.” [Sûrah al-Fath: 28]Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) has informed us about the last days of the Muslim community and the goodness and the blessings that they will possess, and how Allah will establish them on Earth with His help at the hands of their valiant people, their leaders, and their scholars.Yes, the West does cause us harm, but Allah assures us: “They do you no harm save a trifling annoyance.” [Sûrah آl `Imrân: 111]

If we have fear of the West, we should keep that fear within reasonable limits. Our fear should not be so feeble as to make us lose vigilance and become easy prey to those who wish to do us harm. At the same time, we should not become victims of our fear, unable to distinguish what harms us from what benefits us. We should not sink into a sense of helplessness and despair.As I have mentioned, anxiety can be a deadly form of fear.

Our anxieties have a tendency to perpetuate themselves, giving us no rest from worry. We can preoccupy our minds with them every moment of the day without ever arriving at any solutions to our problems. In this way, we tax ourselves to no avail.Some of the tribe of Banû Umayyah were asked: “Where were you on the day your kinsman `Uthmân was murdered?”They replied: “Our anger at his murder kept us too busy to mourn.”This is something we should reflect upon.

We should say to ourselves and our brethren in faith: “Our concern for what is happening to Islam and the Muslims is keeping us too busy to mourn.” If we succumb to lamentation and tears, this will not help us in the least. What will help us is for us to engage in positive and productive work, if only to a small extent. To light the smallest of lights is far better than cursing the darkness a thousand times

Courtesy www.islamtoday.net/english

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Source: http://www.as-sahwah.com/viewarticle.php?articleID=1113&

Hot Times in North America

Hot Times in North America

Dr. Abdullah Hakim Quick

The Message - Canada June/July 1997

All praises to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. Surely the best reward is for those who have taqwa and surely there is no animosity except for the oppressor. I bear witness that Allah is one and has no partners, and I bear witness that Muhammad ibn Abdullah is his servant and Last Messenger.

May Allah send blessings and peace to Muhammad, his Family, his Companions and all those who call to his way and establish the Sunnah until the Day of Judgment. As to what follows:

Oh you who believe, Allah Almighty has revealed the Qur'an to humanity through His chosen Apostle Muhammad. It was a clear message that spoke directly to the needs of the Muslims fourteen hundred years ago and will remain relevant until the final Hour. Allah has said, "Oh you who believe, fear Allah in the way He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims and hold fast to the Rope of Allah and be not divided." (3:102)

The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was the living expression of the Qur'an, for not only was he blessed with the ability to express profound meaning in a few words, but he was guided to embody the Divine law in his life. His words still exactly describe our condition. The Prophet (pbuh) was reported to have said, "The main reasons why people will enter Paradise are the Consciousness of Allah (Taqwa-Allah) and good character, and the main reasons why people will enter the Hell Fire are the mouth and the private parts." (Tirmidhi)

Oh you who believe, the summer heat has finally come to the whole of North America. In the Northern countries, summer has historically brought increased activity, heightened emotions and extreme behavior. Most of the wars, revolutions and major riots in North America took place in the warm weather. In cities where winter forces people to cover their bodies, the summer brings out a perverted sense of freedom (freedom to do wrong). In Ontario, laws are being passed to allow women to walk the streets "topless." Already, bizarre displays of nakedness have appeared throughout the society.

Summer in Toronto, and many big cities of the West, has also exposed a new level of Christian propaganda and assault. I was shocked when I returned from East Africa in May to find Muslim families in a desperate struggle to save their children from leaving their homes and their faith! In Kenya, the Pope and the forces of Christianity vowed last year to change Africa into a Christian continent by the year 2000 CE.

Crosses with red fluorescent lighting are being raised on the skyline of Mombasa, Kenya and other traditionally Islamic cities. In Mirti (Northeastern Kenya), Muslim youth are being called to a Christian worship center called "Makkah Center," which is shaped like a masjid, five times a day. In Mauritania and Somalia, teenagers are given visas and scholarships to America while families are being introduced to the West through free satellite dishes and promises of a paradise on earth.

Unemployment, lack of opportunity, drugs, and confusion in the Muslim community over minor issues are driving generations of Islam to a state of despair and rebellion. But now the attack is coming openly in the West, the lands of so-called democracy and freedom of religion. Muslim children are being taught to question and rebel against all forms of authority and morality. Homosexuality and sexual promiscuity is sadly increasing among Muslims.

The traditions concerning homosexuality are frightening. The Prophet (pbuh) said,"Verily, I fear for my Ummah, more than anything else, the deeds of the people of Lut (pbuh), homosexuality." (Abu Dawood, Al-Tirmithi: Sahih). He also said, "If homosexuality abounds, Allah will raise His hand from the Creation. He (Allah) will not care about where they will be destroyed." (At-Tabarani)

So, we need to be aware of the actions that Allah curses and how to avoid them. The Sahabah would always look to themselves in time of calamity. They would try to find out which "Sunnah" they had abandoned or which error they had not corrected. Allah says, "Surely Allah will not change the condition of a people till they change that which is within themselues."(13:11) Muslims should recognize the blessings they have just by being exposed to Qur'an and Sunnah in these times. We need to stop blaming others and start taking responsibility for our present state.

The enemies of Islam are studying hard and trying to understand what makes an Islamic society and civilization develop. The secular world is in crisis for their godless science and morality has resulted in massive pollution and the advent of new seemingly incurable virusues.

Allah tells us, "Verily we have sent amongst every people a Messenger with the command to worship Allah and avoid evil and false gods. Of the people were some whom Allah guided and some who were inevitably lost so travel in the earth and see what was the end of those who denied truth." (16: 36) Islam is not a new way of life. It is the essence of the early religion of the First Nations people of America and the earliest inhabitants of Africa. It is the very law of the Creator that all creation submit to.

The Sun and Moon in their orbits, the ants and bees in their nests; all follow the natural way of Allah.

Let us never forget that Shaitan has promised Allah to tempt us till the Day of Judgment. His call is open but his tricks are deceiving. Allah says, "Verily that is the Shaitan who puts fear into the hearts of his friends and helpers, so fear him not but fear Me, if you are truly Believers," (3:175)

Allah also reminds us, "The Shaitan threatens you with poverty and commands you to sexual immorality, but Allah promises you forgiveness and bounties. And Allah is all encompassing and has knowledge of all affairs. (2:268) Take these few moments and the life that Allah has given you and forgive your fellow Muslim. Join ranks with all of the People of the "Qiblah" and take Islam as a complete way of live.

Let us spend time with out children and provide alternative recreation and sports. Islamic education has become a must, not an added blessing. The Islamic state has to be first established at home before we can take it to the world.

And what about internal change and interpersonal relations. I leave you with a rarely discussed authentic tradition of our Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). All ibn Abi Talib (ra) was reported to have said, "When I took possession of the weapons of Allah's Messenger, I found in the hilt of his sword a parchment saying, Keep relations with those who cut you off, do good to those who treat you badly and speak the truth-even if it is against yourself." (Jami' al-Jawami)

May Allah send His choicest blessings and peace to our beloved Prophet Muhammad, his family and all of his Companions. And May He not lead us astray after He has guided us aright. Surely Allah is Oft-forgiving and Most Merciful.
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Source: http://www.islaam.com/Article.aspx?id=190

The Future Is For Islam

The Future Is For Islam

Shaykh Muhammad Qutb

From "Cultural Crisis", an English summary of the author's book "Hal Nahnu Muslimun" done by Umm Muhammad © 1995 Abul Qasim Publishing House

The Islamic community had been left in ruins. It had been weakened and divided into small nations. The seeds of internal conflict had been planed and nurtured. Every effort had been made to draw society far away from the essence of religion, keeping people in ignorance and luring them with worldly incentives. Attempts to reform within an Islamic framework are still being suppressed. Religious practicing Muslims have become outcasts in their own society.

And yet it was the will of Allah, the Almighty, that this religion would survive - not only survive, but make a comeback. For at the same time that Islam is no longer "fashionable" in Muslim countries, people in the West itself are beginning to discover the truths of Islam which Muslims have neglected. And those who have not yet discovered Islam have at least noticed the great spiritual famine that has taken hold of western culture. They are now seeing before them the failure of the new freedom to bring satisfaction to the human soul.

Mankind, in general, is in a state of worry, anxiety and despair. Before him is the failure of present political, social and economic systems to realize justice or to bring peace of mind to the human race. Man longs to believe in a purpose behind existence. He is finally beginning to understand the real need for a belief in God, for nothing else can take place - not a belief of mere words and rituals or of spiritual disciplines that neglect human needs, but a religion which includes every aspect of humanity: the mind, the body and the soul. And there is only one religion on earth that includes and satisfies all of these... Islam.

In spite of the obvious difficulties which appear to us now, the obstacles will lessen as more and more people seek an improvement and turn back to reason and to God. And this time, when men awaken and search, they will find Islam.

How long will this take? It is not important. The reward for those who work towards that end is guaranteed by Him who created the heavens and the earth, and the result is in His hands. By the will Allah, Islam has survived its darkest hour. And by His will, it can again spread its light to every corner of the earth.

"And Allah will give victory to those who support Him. Certainly is Allah exalted in strength and in power." [Surah al-Hajj 22:30]
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Source: http://www.islaam.com/Article.aspx?id=317

State of the Ummah

State of the Ummah

Shaykh Muhammad al-Ghazali

From "A Thematic Commentary of the Qur'an", Vol 1. (Surahs 1-9) - Verse 4:45 © 1997 IIIT

In this surah (an-Nisaa'), Muslims are given a pledge that Allah will be on their side in this confrontation and will favor them with victory.

It states: "Sufficient is Allah as an ally and sufficient is Allah to bring victory" (4:45). However, this divine intervention and support are not granted to those who sit and wait, nor are they ever won by those who neglect the duty of preparing their own defenses and making the plans necessary to achieve victory. We read in Shaikh Rashid Rida's commentary on the Qur'an, al Manar:

Allah Almighty does not alter the established laws of social change in favor of Muslims, Jews or Christians. These laws apply equally even to those select few, the Prophets. At the battle of Uhud, Muhammad (sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam) himself suffered physical injuries to the head, had a tooth broken and fell into a ditch, owing to negligence by his troops and shortcomings in preparing for war.

How long, then, could Muslims continue arrogantly claiming identification with Islam, while discarding its teachings and refusing to abide by its laws or heed its warnings? Can Muslims not see how the tables have been turned against them? As other nations have armed themselves with science and hard work, and come to sweep over most of the Muslim lands and dominate their people...

Muslims are in need of turning back to the Book of Allah, the Qur'an, and fully appreciating the laws of civilization and social change which He has laid down. They must cast aside all calls to abandon Islam or do away with the guidance that Allah has placed in their hands. They must break away from all superstitions and wake up to Allah's eternal justicy, and realize that their glory and dignity have been undermined only aas a result of their own negligence and deviation.

Although today new and far more threatening social and moral diseases have infilitrated the fabric and body of the Muslim Ummah, the Shaikh's diagnosis remains basically valid.

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Source: http://www.islaam.com/Article.aspx?id=315

The Future of Islam in the U.S.A

The Future of Islam in the U.S.A.




Dr. Ja`far Sheikh Idris

The collapse of Communism has automatically created a new world order in which the USA has emerged as the sole super power, and in which all concerned, including the USA are trying to find their appropriate place and suitable role.
One of the big challenges that this new order has posed for both the West, and especially the US on one side, and the Muslim world and Muslims living in the West on the other side, is the future relationship between Islam and the West.

This future depends of course on how each of these parties views itself and views the other party in relation to itself.

One such view characterizes the West as being essentially Judaeo-Christian, secular, capitalist and democratic; it cannot therefore coexist with a people whose way of life is Islamic, whose government is thus theocratic and hence undemocratic, and whose economic system is certainly not capitalist, a people who aim at nothing less than the destruction of Western civilization and the re-establishment of the Islamic Empire.

But this, goes the argument, is what Muslim fundamentalists are, and since their fundamentalist movement is on the rise, we have to consider Islam to be the new villain, the new enemy, and thus brace ourselves up to curb its onward advance, before it sweeps the Muslim world and exploit its resources to destroy Western civilization. Promoters of this view call for intolerance even regarding those Muslims living in the West.

The call for a return to Islam as a complete way of life continues to gain momentum, and garner adherents, while the advocates of secularism are clearly fighting a losing battle.

And so, if that picture of Islam and the West is a true one, there would be legitimate cause for alarm on the part of the West. But fortunately, it is not.

A good understanding of Islam and of the West is bound, in my opinion, to foster good relations between the two. It is the task of those Muslims and non-Muslims who have this good understanding, to cooperate in disseminating it among people in the West as well as in the Muslim world, so that it becomes part of public opinion in these two parts of the globe, and so that it may influence policy makers, and leaders in those regions.

There is no denying the fact that differences, even on matters of principle and vital issues, do exist between adherents of Islam, and adherents of other ideologies in the West. But Islam is not a religion of the East, nor are those ideologies endemic to the West.

If Islam originated in the so-called East, so did Christianity and Judaism. If the West found no difficulty in accepting the latter two, it should find no problem with accepting Islam, especially in view of the fact that Christianity and Judaism were originally meant to be local religions, while Islam was, from the start declared to be a universal religion.

What is it in Christianity or Judaism that makes them more Western? Why should the West accept a religion which says that Jesus is the son of God, and shun one which says that he is a prophet of God? Why should the West feel comfortable with a religion which claims to be for a special people, and shun the one which says that it is for mankind at large? Is there anything in the West which necessitates this choice? No! And that is why increasing numbers of Westerners are coming to the fold of Islam without losing their Western identity, whether it be American, British, French or any other.

And if there are Christians and Jews in the East, why can't there be Muslims in the West?

And why should the West be identified with secularism? This identification is, in my opinion, unfair to the West, whether it comes from Muslims or from the Westerners themselves. This is because secularism in its extreme form, the form which it took in the former communist countries, was rejected by people in Western Europe and the U.S., and is now universally condemned.

The secularism that is prevailing in the West is, to varying degrees, a somewhat moderate one, in which there is place for religion. But not everyone in the West, and specially the U.S., is happy even with this moderate form. There are many who feel that secularism, instead of being a state of neutrality among religions, is itself increasingly becoming a religion in its own right, and an intolerant one at that. They attribute many of the signs of moral decline to this dwindling role of religion.

The equation of the secular with the Western, is also unfair because there is much in the West that is far more important, and of universal value than secularism.

Now we come to the question of democracy. Western states are no doubt democratic. But is Islam really undemocratic? This depends on what one takes to be the most important characteristics of a democratic state.

If by democracy is meant rule of law, human rights, choice of rulers, then these are inseparably part of the religion of Islam. No ideology, secular or religious, lays greater emphasis on the importance of the principle of the rule of law than Islam. Justice, the Qur'an tells us, is to be administered irrespective of our feelings towards people, "Be just, even if it is against your next of kin.", and "Let not your hatred of some people induce you to be unjust. Be just. That is nearer to piety."

The same applies to human rights, the rights of life, of ownership, of expression, of movement, etc., within the Islamic Law.

Choice of heads of state is explicitly stated by Umar, the second Caliph after the Prophet, to be a right of the people.

So, if these principles are what we mean when we talk about democracy, then Islam advocates democracy. But if by democracy is meant all the democratic institutions that happen to be in place now in the West, or if it is meant that the legal system of any state which claims to be democratic must be a copy of the American or British, or French legal system, then Islam is surely not democratic.

I am sure that if Islam is properly explained to people in the West, then many of them would come to its fold, and many others would be influenced by many of its teachings, even if they did not embrace it.

I therefore consider it the duty of Muslims living in this country, whether they be natives or immigrants, to do their best to present Islam to their fellow Americans, laying more emphasis on the fundamentals of the faith, and on moral values.

No book gives a more complete and perfect account of the Creator and the way He should be served than the Qur'an. Other religious and philosophical descriptions and conceptions of the Creator and of people's relations to Him, do not at all compare with the Qur'anic account. I am therefore positive that many people will recognize this Qur'anic account of the Creator as the most appropriate, once they come to know it.

It is also the duty of Muslims in the West to cooperate with non Muslims in promoting any form of good, and fighting any form of evil, especially drugs. We should remember that the goal of our religion, and indeed of all authentic Divine messages, is to increase good and diminish evil in the world.

I urge you to remember that our primary aim is to guide and reform, and not to destroy. Urging Muslims to spread the faith, the Prophet said, "By God, if through you God guides a single person, then that is better for you than the best of worldly wealth." May God help us and guide us to the right path.

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Source: http://www.islaam.com/Article.aspx?id=526

Blood on a Wheelchair - Ahmed Yassin - The Man Who Revived a Nation

Blood on a Wheelchair
Ahmed Yassin - The Man Who Revived a Nation
By Kareem M. Kame l Researcher - International Relations

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25/03/2004

“The West demands from us that we stop the resistance. Instead of asking the occupiers to leave our land, they ask us to surrender to the occupier… The peace that reinforces occupation, settlements, and the exiling of the Palestinian people, is not really peace.”1 - Sheikh Ahmed Yassin

“Yassin’s martyrdom is a new beginning for the resistance, jihad, and Intifada and will have repercussions and consequences far more dangerous than this usurper entity [Israel] has so far seen.”2 - Hassan Nasrallah, Hizbullah Secretary General

Sheikh Ahmed’s assassination was met with Palestinian vows of revenge.

Throughout history, wars, revolutions and peace treaties were always regarded as major harbingers of social and political change. An often overlooked force for transformation has been political assassination. In many cases where influential leaders or figureheads were assassinated, a cascade of interrelated consequences and events usually occurred, far exceeding the expectations of those who committed the assassination itself. In this respect, one must note how the 1914 assassination of the heir to the Habsburg throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, by nationalist Serbs set in motion a series of unstoppable events that resulted in World War I - a tragic conflict in which millions died.

For millions of Muslims, the assassination of Hamas leader and founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin represents a watershed event, perhaps signaling a turning point in the Arab-Israeli struggle and in the overall Western-Muslim conflict that has recently taken on global proportions with the US’ declared “war on terrorism.” It is worthy to note that even some Israeli officers referred to the event as a transformative one, equivalent in its importance to Sharon’s visit to the al-Aqsa mosque which sparked the current Intifada in September 2000.3

Perhaps the most telling account of Yassin’s martyrdom and its possible repercussions came from an editorial in the International Herald Tribune, which read: “The assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, a figure whose symbolic stature on both sides of the Arab-Israeli conflict far surpassed the actual potential of his paralyzed, feeble body, is certain to become one of those pivotal events around which passions and hatreds coalesce… Sheikh Yassin was already an icon in the Arab world, now he is a martyr.”4

Yassin seared into the Palestinian consciousness that death to harm an occupier is glorious.5

Israel’s assassination of Sheikh Yassin was met with Palestinian vows of revenge. Senior Hamas leader Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi suggested: “The battle is open and war between us and them is open. They are the killers of prophets and today they killed an Islamic symbol.” Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, part of the Fatah organization, called for “war, war, war on the sons of Zion. An eye for an eye. There will be a response within hours, God willing.”6 Tens of thousands of Palestinians, fist raised in anger, chanted: “By blood, by sword, we sacrifice for you!” as they mourned the death of the enigmatic Palestinian leader, killed by Israeli missiles in a predawn airstrike as he returned home from prayers in a nearby mosque.

Arab television channels replaced scheduled programs with live coverage of Yassin’s funeral. Mourners among a crowd of 200,000 reached out to touch the flag-draped coffin in the biggest turnout in Gaza since Arafat’s triumphant homecoming in 1994 after interim peace deals with Israel. A few hours later, a statement published on an Islamist website purporting to be from al-Qaeda urged retaliation against the US and its allies for Israel’s assassination of Ahmed Yassin.7 However, the swiftest military response to Israel’s crime came from Hizbullah, whose fighters fired rockets and mortar shells at Israeli military outposts in the occupied Cheb’aa Farms on the Lebanese-Israeli border. Near Tel Aviv, a Palestinian man attacked three Israelis with an axe, causing minor injuries. Other scattered outbreaks of violence left at least five Palestinians dead and caused dozens of injuries as protesters clashed with Israeli troops.

Israel’s extra-judicial killing of a frail quadriplegic as he left a mosque in the early hours of the day was no doubt the ugliest expression of state terrorism, the act of a mafia rather than a state governed by responsible leaders educated in civilized international norms. However, this was not an unexpected move by the bloodthirsty government of Ariel Sharon, given regional and international silence at Israel’s daily atrocities in the Palestinian territories. The heavy-handed US military presence in the Middle East and the mild response of Arab governments to Israeli carnage most certainly gave Sharon the “green light” to proceed with his trail of terror.

The Bush administration’s first response came from National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, who refused to condemn the killing, instead rationalizing it by pointing to Yassin’s “terror” connection, suggesting that the US had not set any “red lines” for Sharon’s behavior.8 After all, the US was already aware that Israel wanted to eliminate Sheikh Yassin from the simple fact that it had already tried and failed to assassinate him last year.

Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi now controls Hamas in Gaza.

Interestingly, the timing of the attack came just weeks after Sharon announced his intention to implement a disengagement plan in which Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza. In fact, a team of top Israeli officials, including Sharon’s Chief of Staff Dov Weisglass and national security chief Giora Eiland, was headed to Washington to discuss the withdrawal plan with American officials.

The recent strike against Hamas’ leader was supposedly intended to prevent a situation where Hamas can claim that Israel is withdrawing from Gaza under pressure from the organization, just as Hizbullah had claimed after Israel’s unconditional withdrawal from Lebanon in May 2000. In this regard, Yassin’s assassination can be seen as part of an Israeli “offensive” before its expected disengagement.

Following Yassin’s assassination, Israeli security sources declared that Israel will try to kill the entire leadership of Hamas, irrespective of further attacks by the militant group. Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz declared Hamas a “strategic enemy of Israel,” and an Israeli ministry spokesman added that “it is very important to weaken Hamas in view of the application of the separation plan.”9

More importantly though, there was a sense of Israeli confidence that Washington would not oppose the operation since both it and Pakistan are in the midst of an extensive military campaign on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border to capture al-Qaeda leaders. Sharon may have believed that if the Americans can kill, arrest and torture hundreds of Islamists and send them overseas to cages in Guantanamo Bay, they would definitely not object to the assassination of a single man in Gaza. Indeed, the assassination of Sheikh Yassin was reminiscent of the US assassination of an alleged al-Qaeda lieutenant in Yemen by a missile launched from a CIA drone in November 2002, exhibiting the same disregard for the norms of international behavior.

Yassin - The Man and the Message

Perhaps one of the most influential leaders in the history of the Palestinian resistance movement, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was an exceptional ideologue, motivator, strategist, and inspiration for thousands of Palestinians yearning for independence. The frail and ailing Yassin, although himself the picture of physical powerlessness, probably did more than any other figure to sear into the consciousness of young Palestinians the notion that death sought in order to inflict harm upon a hated occupier is glorious.10

Since his early days, the Hamas leader was the inspiration behind both the 1987 and 2000 uprisings, refusing to accept the pessimists’ objections to what they felt was a road to collective suicide. Yassin always asserted that since the Palestinians were fighting from a much weaker position, they must be prepared to accept much greater losses. In his mosque sermons and teachings, Yassin repeatedly portrayed suicide attacks as a divinely inspired means for the helplessly oppressed to strike at a powerful oppressor. The elderly sheikh insisted that Israel is a militaristic garrison state which had blurred the line between civilians and soldiers, explaining that Hamas did not exclusively target Israeli “civilians,” except in direct retaliation for the death of Palestinian civilians. He saw this as a necessary tactic to “show the Israelis they could not get away without a price for killing our people.”11

Yassin asserted that the Palestinians must be prepared to accept great losses.

The current Intifada, which erupted in September 2000, represented the ultimate vindication of Yassin’s thinking. Islamist, nationalist and secular Palestinian movements scrambled to follow Hamas’ suicide bombing strategy, with every movement boasting of its martyrs and of its willingness to sacrifice its sons for the larger goal of national liberation. For mainstream Palestinians, “martyrdom” remained the ultimate goal - a concept repeatedly invoked at every Palestinian mass rally and in videotaped messages left behind by suicide bombers.12

Born in 1936 in Majdal near the coastal town of Askalan, in what was then Palestine under the British mandate, Sheikh Yassin’s political views were forged at a time of humiliation and defeat for the Palestinians.13 Father to eleven children, the elderly sheikh belongs to one of many families expelled from their homes by invading Israeli forces during the first Arab-Israeli conflict of 1948. After a childhood accident left him a quadriplegic, he devoted his early life to Islamic scholarship and studied at al-Azhar University in Cairo, the birthplace of the Muslim Brotherhood. It was there that he developed the belief that Palestine is Islamic land “consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgment Day,” and that no Arab or Muslim leader has the right to give up any part of this territory.

Back in Gaza, Yassin founded his own movement, al-Mujama al-Islami, in the 1970s and began to recruit young activists. The Iranian Revolution of 1979, the rising tide of Islamism throughout the Muslim world, and the presence of the exiled secular Fatah leadership in Tunisia allowed Yassin to set up a more radical Islamic movement - Majd al-Mujahideen.

Yassin was arrested for the first time in 1984 for the illegal possession of weapons and explosives, but released a year later, after which he worked to create Hamas, the name of which is an acronym for “the Islamic Resistance Movement.”14 In 1989, Sheikh Yassin was arrested by the Israelis and sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly ordering the killing of Palestinians who had collaborated with the Israeli army. He was eventually released in 1997, in exchange for two Israeli agents arrested in Jordan during an attempt to assassinate another Hamas leader, Khaled Meshaal.

Hamas was able to build support by offering material help through the charitable funding of schools, clinics and hospitals that provide free services to families in distress.

New Hamas head Khaled Meshaal has already survived an Israeli assassination attempt.

Since its inception in December 1987, Hamas has carried out the majority of attacks against Israeli targets, becoming the Zionist state’s most lethal enemy. Hamas does not recognize Israel’s right to exist, and its long-term aim is to establish an Islamic state on pre-1948 borders. Sheikh Yassin was a staunch opponent of the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords between Israel and the Palestinians, repeatedly declaring his movement’s opposition to all Western peace initiatives which do not restore the Palestinians’ full rights.

Despite his attempts to maintain good relations with the Palestinian Authority (PA), there were several attempts by the PA to restrict his activities. In December 2001, one man died in clashes with Palestinian police after Sheikh Yassin was placed under house arrest. Shooting erupted again in June 2002 when Palestinian police surrounded his house. In September 2003, the Israeli army attempted to kill Sheikh Yassin while he was at the house of a Hamas colleague in Gaza.

The Living Martyr - Consequences & Prospects

Perhaps the most immediate consequence of Sheikh Yassin’s assassination was the outpour of anger throughout the Islamic World and the revival of street protests in many Arab and Islamic capitals. The assassination took place only a few days after international protests commemorating the first anniversary of the beginning of the US campaign against Iraq. This ultimately added more anti-US and anti-Israeli sentiment to popular rage at the continued US occupation of Iraq. Interestingly, even in Iraq, where the US is relentlessly trying to establish a pro-US government and win the hearts and minds of the public, thousands of Iraqis took to the streets deploring the US and Israel for the assassination of Sheikh Yassin.

Yassin’s assassination is likely to lead to the further radicalization of Hamas.

Iraqi outrage over Yassin’s killing was not only confined to the “Sunni Triangle” that has nurtured the insurgency against the US and its allies. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the Shi’ite spiritual leader and the single most influential person in Iraq, called on Muslims to unite against Israel, while the more militant Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr offered the Palestinians “moral and physical support.”15 In an already tense transition process, the extent to which the US is viewed as complicit in an Israeli action that has enraged Iraqis will not make the task of US soldiers and officials there any easier.

Domestically, the immediate consequence of the assassination would be the increase in the strength and influence of Hamas in the Palestinian street, and an equal increase in popular disillusionment with the PA after it appeared incapable or unwilling to protect resistance leaders despite its numerous security organizations and international connections. As a result, the PA would find it increasingly difficult to act against Hamas - actions like collecting weapons, arresting militants, or preventing the firing of Qassam rockets, will be politically dangerous for the PA.16

Another possible consequence of the assassination would be that Hamas, lacking a clear cut leadership, would gradually split into more radical factions, as happened to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt after Nasser’s execution of Sayyid Qutb. Those factions usually create their own ideologies and mode of operation that is usually more radical than, and independent of, their parent organization.

Mainstream Palestinian movements have so far avoided any public alignment with al-Qaeda. However, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi announced that Hamas had opened a special account with Israel, calling the assassination of Yassin a declaration of war on Islam.17 Al-Rantissi’s threats could materialize if several leading cadres of the Hamas movement decide to align themselves with al-Qaeda’s global objectives and strike at Israeli, Jewish, or American targets overseas.

In any case, the most certain result of Yassin’s assassination would be the radicalization of Hamas and the sidelining of moderates within the movement. One also has to remember that Israel’s assassination of Ismail Abu Shanab in Summer 2003- the most pragmatic of all Hamas leaders - severely restricted the moderate line within Hamas. The most recent manifestation of the movement’s radicalization was the choice of Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi - perceived as the most radical of all Hamas leaders and one who refuses any form of compromise with Israel - as the new leader of the movement in the Gaza Strip.

Conclusions

The assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin no doubt represents a turning point in the history of the Arab-Israeli struggle and in the larger global conflict between the West and the Muslim world. The occupation of Muslim lands, the support for “friendly tyrants,” and now, the systematic cold-blooded killing of Muslim icons of resistance, will definitely fuel the cause of radicals in the Middle East and silence any possible voices of moderation.

For millions of Muslims, Sheikh Yassin was, and always will be, a symbol of resistance, piety, and self-sacrifice. Interestingly, his legacy of resistance and steadfastness had a ripple-effect throughout the Islamic world that far surpassed his frail figure. Perhaps his assassination was the wake-up call needed for many Muslims to rise from their present slumber. One only has to remember how the assassination of Sheikh Abdullah Azzam in Peshawar, Pakistan in 1989, led to the radicalization of Arab-Afghans and the establishment of al-Qaeda. Indeed, living martyrs usually come back to haunt their oppressors.

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Kareem M. Kamel is an Egyptian freelance writer based in Cairo, Egypt. He has an MA in International Relations and is specialized in security studies, decision- making, nuclear politics, Middle East politics and the politics of Islam. He is currently assistant to the Political Science Department at the American University in Cairo.

1- Faisal Bodi, “My Meeting with Sheikh Yasin,” Al-Jazeera (English) March 22, 2004
2- Hussein Dakroub, “Hezbollah Guerillas Attack Border Area,” Associated Press March 22, 2004
3- Amos Harel, “Hit May Mean ‘Low Intensity’ Conflict is Over,” Ha’aretz March 23, 2004
4- “A Death in Gaza,” International Herald Tribune March 23, 2004
5- Laura King, “Yassin Instilled the Passion for Glory of Martyrdom,” Los Angeles Times March 22, 2003
6- Andrew Roche, “Yassin Killing Provokes Muslim Fury, US Disavowal,” Reuters March 23, 2004
7- “Al-Qaeda Vows Revenge,” Al-Jazeera (English) March 22, 2004
8- Tony Karon, “How Israel’s Hamas Killing Affects the US,” Time.com March 23rd, 2004
9- “New Strike on Hamas by Israel is Expected,” International Herald Tribune March 23, 2004
10- Laura King, “Yassin Instilled the Passion for Glory of Martyrdom,” Los Angeles Times March 22, 2003
11- Faisal Bodi, “My Meeting with Sheikh Yasin,” Al-Jazeera (English) March 22, 2004
12- Laura King, “Yassin Instilled the Passion for Glory of Martyrdom,” Los Angeles Times March 22, 2003
13- “Sheikh Yassin: Spiritual Figurehead,” BBC News
14- “Frail Foe of Israel,” Al-Jazeera (English) September 6, 2003.
15- Tony Karon, “How Israel’s Hamas Killing Affects the US,” Time.com March 23rd, 2004.
16- Ze’ev Schiff, “No Withdrawal Under Fire,” Ha’aretz March 23, 2004.
17- Zvi Bar’el, “Now Hamas Could Align with al-Qaeda,” Ha’aretz March 23, 2004.

Source: http://www.islamonline.net/English/Views/2004/03/article05.shtml

Hijab in European Countries

Hijab in European Countries

Rarely has a topic caused as much heated debate and as many divided opinions as the Law Against Ostentatious Religious Symbols that was passed by the French Parliament earlier this year.

Reactions to the law from other European countries have been equally passionate and have reflected all colors of the political spectrum. Furthermore, in most European countries the law has sparked heavy domestic debate around the desirability of a similar law.

The question is, to what extent is France really an exception in Europe? With the following survey of the situation in different European countries, we wish to shed some light on this issue and re-iterate the need for continued struggle against all forms of discrimination.

Poland Britain Ireland Italy Norway Sweden Denmark Austria Luxembourg Germany Spain Holland Turkey

Poland

“How is it possible that France, which is considered the country of human rights and modern democracy, can practice such a flagrant form of discrimination?” This was the reaction of the Polish people regarding the issue of the hijab, as described in the Warsaw daily Gazeta Wyborcza. This opinion may be disqualified by the importance of the Catholic Church in Poland. Still, this did not prevent the rest of the European neighbors from being totally astonished about the heated debate in France. To some Poles, resorting to the law to prohibit girls from wearing hijab even seems incongruous.

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Britain

For the two million Muslims of Indo-Pakistani origins in Great Britain (3.4 percent of the population) and other religious minorities (Sikhs and Jews), wearing the hijab, turban, or yarmulke in school is not forbidden. The department of education has declared that the rule covering the school uniforms or the wearing of religious symbols is the sole responsibility of each school principal.

This can lead to ambiguous situations and in sporadic cases to the prohibition of the hijab. Therefore the Commission for Equality among Races considers the action taken by Luton school in which hijab was forbidden “an implied act of racism.” Due to the commission’s declaration, the school decided to revoke its previous stand on the wearing of hijab in school.

To understand the difference between the British and French views, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Mike O’Brien, recently declared that, unlike France, Britain is not going to ban the wearing of religious symbols or the hijab in its schools. According to Mr. O’Brien, France has taken this step as a consequence of its own historic experiences and culture, while Britain, on the other hand, does not view integration as a synonym for assimilation. British identity is made up of different nations and cultures; these differences contribute to the strength of the British people.

The Metropolitan Police Force allows its police officers to wear a uniform that conforms to their beliefs. Consequently, Muslim women working in the police force can wear scarves and uniforms with long skirts; in hospitals the Islamic dress is permitted if a request is forwarded in advance.
In the year 2000 the British government published a guide stipulating that Muslim women can be photographed with hijab for their passports. The only restriction is that the face of the person in question should be totally uncovered. The official departments issuing passports were instructed not to refuse photos in which the applicant is wearing a religious head cover.
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Ireland

Similar to the stance in Great Britain, regulations concerning the dress code or the wearing of religious symbols fall under the sole responsibility of the school principal. The Irish constitution and several laws forbid discrimination, including religious discrimination. In addition, Irish labor laws forbid any kind of discrimination on the ground of religious affiliation.
Many cases of hijab interdiction were reported in schools, but each time the problem was rapidly resolved due to the intervention of the Equality Authority, which promptly advised the school that it was breaching the laws.

In the police force a new department was founded specializing in racial and inter-cultural aspects. The Irish police authorized the wearing of the hijab with the uniform in order to encourage Muslim women to join the police force. Contrary to the British police, who authorized the wearing of the hijab after the explicit demand of Muslim women, the Irish police took the initiative. As a result of this action, the Irish police won the prize for innovation awarded by the European Union, an award worth 30,000 euros.

The last two incidences in which women were refused a passport because of wearing hijab were swiftly settled in favor of the women after the interference of the Inter-Cultural Office of the Justice Department.

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Italy

For the 800,000 Muslims in Italy (1.4 percent of the population), the question of hijab is not on the agenda, and very few incidences forbidding the wearing of hijab in schools have been reported. Three years ago Muslim women in the city of Turin demonstrated against a regulation that prohibited them from wearing hijab in their residency card photo. In order to avoid further tensions in the country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a circular stating that it was permissible for the Muslim women to wear hijab in their photos, similar to the ruling applied to the Catholic nuns.
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Norway

In 2004 a furniture store fired a Muslim woman because she refused to take off her hijab at work. The store was forced to go back on its decision and to re-employ the woman in question. The management argued that the hijab was against the dress regulations of the establishment, which prohibits its employees to wear hats or any sort of headdress, but the mediator for sex equality insisted that it was not the store’s right to ban the headdress unless it constituted a danger for the wearer.

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Sweden

In Sweden, which has the largest number of Muslims in the Nordic European countries, little action was taken against the hijab. In 2003 two girls were dismissed from the school of Gutenberg because they wore a burqa (traditional Afghan dress that covers the entire face) which was against school regulations. This whole problem could have been averted because the girls had already accepted to take off their burqa during the exams.

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Denmark

In Denmark both students and teachers have the right to wear the Islamic hijab in the Danish schools and universities.

In the working sector, we can cite the example of one of the biggest chains of distributors in Denmark, FDB and Dansk Supermarkets, who announced that they would not employ Muslim women in the controlling department or in any visible section of the stores. They argued that the hijab was neither hygienic nor compatible with the establishment’s uniforms. The minister of labor thought that this decision was discriminatory.

In 2000 a Muslim woman was not accepted as a trainee because of her hijab. The woman argued that she wore the hijab out of her religious conviction. The court of Odense judged in favor of the woman and ordered the store to pay her 10,000 coronas as compensation.

After this decision, many enterprises fashioned uniforms taking the hijab into consideration. Macdonald’s, Toms chocolate factory, and the co-op Denmark companies were among these enterprises. The Ministry of Defense also designed a uniform compatible with the hijab, the turban, and the yarmulke.

The Minister for Immigration and Integration Bertel Haader declared, “I am not the minister of hijab, what interest me is the integration of the people in the country and not their clothes.” Pointing to the fact that wearing the hijab is a right and a personal freedom of choice, he added that “if we are to forbid the hijab in school we should also abolish Christmas holidays, and Jewish symbols. We do not have such a restrictive mentality. We are trying to encourage Muslim women to participate in the work force, and forbidding the hijab will lead to the creation of a second class citizen to the isolation of Muslim women from society. We will not accept such a decision.”
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Austria

Since 1912 Islam and Christianity have been recognized as the official religions of the country; there is no problem regarding students and teachers wearing hijab in Austrian schools.

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Luxembourg

In Luxembourg very few girls wear the hijab at school. The issue was raised in 2003 when two girls from Sub-Saharan Africa wore hijab; the minister of education proclaimed that it was permissible to wear a “discreet” type of hijab.

Many teachers revolted against this ruling and wrote letters to their deputies in parliament to incite them to act against hijab. The social opposition party agreed to launch an orientation debate on hijab. Before this incidence two other cases were known which did not cause any difficulties. However, in the case of teachers, the minister of education was opposed to them wearing hijab.

The use of hijab in a photo for identity cards and passports still remains a public issue; some institutions accept photos with hijab while others refuse.
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Germany

In Germany there are 3.2 million Muslims (3.8 percent of the population), most of whom are of Turkish or Kurdish origin. The question of hijab for students is not a problem in the German schools. But when the teachers are concerned there is active debate on the question. The various states each legislate its own laws concerning the question of hijab. Certain states, among them Bavaria, legislated against the hijab but permit the wearing of religious Christians signs (nuns’ veils) and yarmulkes. Muslims see this as discriminatory and legal actions have been pursued.

It is out of the question to treat the cross and the hijab on the same level, said Cardinal Karl Lehman, who supervises the Episcopal conference. Cardinal Ratzinger, Head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and close advisor to Pope John Paul II, stated officially during the New Year Mass, “I will not forbid a Muslim woman to wear the hijab, but I will not in the least permit anyone to forbid the cross as a symbol of public reconciliation.”

These contradictions are due to the ambiguities in the religious laws in Germany. The fundamental law of 1949 adopted an article of the Weimar constitution of 1919, which does not clearly separate the state from the church, contenting itself with affirming that “there is no State Church” and guaranteeing “equal treatment for each religion.” The preamble of the current constitution states that it was written “with the conscience and responsibility of the German people in front of God and men.” It is a fact that nuns can teach in public schools wearing their habit, crosses are authorized in classrooms, and religious classes are listed among the courses offered. In addition, the state collects from its 55 million Christians taxes that are funneled to the churches.

Chancellor Schröder in his speech did not mention God; therefore, he could claim before Christmas that Germany “was not [a] secular [state] but has become one”, impregnated with “Judeo-Christian religion. … The scarf is not permitted to be worn by public employees, including teachers. But I cannot forbid a young girl from going to go to school wearing her scarf.”

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Spain

Spain’s 300,000 Muslims (0.7 percent of the population) can wear hijab in private as well as in public. Only Madrid experienced a serious conflict two years ago when the administration of the private Juan Herrera School opposed the wearing of hijab in the classroom by a 13-year-old Moroccan girl; her parents simply transferred her to a public school. Minister of Education Pillar Castillo estimated late December 2003 in the daily El Pais that even if the displayed religious signs in schools are not “appropriate” they, nevertheless, should not be “forbidden.” If the government is adopting such a reserved attitude, explains the daily, it’s because most of the golden crosses have been removed from public educational institutions and especially because school councils enjoy sufficient autonomy to make their own decisions regarding the subject.
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Holland

The 300,000 Muslims in Holland (1.9 percent of the population) still enjoy a generally tolerant atmosphere. The law forbids all religious discrimination, and the hijab is present in public schools.
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Turkey

Turkey is the only Muslim country that has experienced a radical process of secularization. It is also one of the rare states in the world that has added secularization in its constitutional texts. Article 2 of the Constitution of 1982 declares that “the Republic of Turkey is a democratic state, secular and socialist, respecting human rights with the spirit of social peace, national solidarity and justice, conforming to the nationalism of Ataturk.” The law forbids the wearing of hijab in schools, in universities, and in public offices. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Prime Minister M. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which came to power in November 2002, took into consideration the secular heritage of Kemal Ataturk.

The University of Istanbul denied a student, Leyla Sahlin, to pass her examinations in the Faculty of Medicine because she was wearing hijab. In the eyes of the European Court of Justice, Turkey has not violated Article 9 on the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. And considering the circular presented to it by Leyla claiming “the interference of the state in her right to practice her religion,” the court nevertheless maintained that this “interference has its roots in the Turkish laws” and accepted that “the issue of contention pursued essentially legitimate purposes; that of the protection of the rights and freedom of the ‘others’ and the protection of order.” The European Court of Human Rights saw that “the necessity of the ruling was based on two principles that reinforce and compliment each other; secularization and equality.”
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References:

Dominique Vidal, “Exception Française,” Le Monde Diplomatique, February 2004.
“Le Port du Foulard,” in http://www.islam.lu/, August 2004.

Source: http://www.islamonline.net/English/In_Depth/hijab_campaign/articles/01.shtml

A Paradigm Shift: America As a Proxy

A Paradigm Shift: America As a Proxy
By Ramzy Baroud
Journalist


Demonstrators call on Congress to impeach U.S. President Bush and to end the war in Iraq as thousands of anti-war protesters march around the U.S. Capitol, January 27, 2007. (Reuters Photo)Brimming conflicts in the Middle East are often orchestrated using proxies from afar, the least risky method to fight and win a war.

Despite its geopolitical fragmentation, the Middle East is loosely united insofar as any major event in one of its various policies can effortlessly be felt throughout the region.

In Lebanon
Thus, it's also no wonder that Lebanon, for example, served as a hub for the invariable interests of neighboring countries; the outcome of any Lebanese clash — be it political as today's, or external or internal wars — would directly affect the image and the political positioning of this country or that. It was not just Israel and the United States that labored to penetrate and further fragment the Lebanese society, but the intelligence of various Arab countries, Iran, etc. Lebanon has been a stage for the most intense proxy wars for decades.

In Palestine
"We have no doubt that Damascus would dump us the moment we are of no use, but we have no other option but to play along." — A Hamas Leader
Palestinians have often been used and, in some cases, have posed themselves to play the role of the proxy force. The intent, in some cases, was personal interests; in others, the lack of physical platform that would allow them to organize.

In the two most notable experiences in which they tried to exert control over their host domains — the cases of Jordan in the 1970s and Lebanon in the 1970s and 80s —, the cost was so horrendous and lead to unexpected bloodshed. After Arafat's forced exit from Beirut in 1982, Palestinians were forced once again to exchange the physical space they obtained, with overt allegiance to various regimes.

Arafat mastered the art like no other Palestinian leader. The supporters of the Oslo Accords argued that the agreement's key success was freeing the Palestinian political will from pandering to their host countries for survival, which proved untrue. A Hamas leader in Syria recently told me, off the record, during a telephone interview, "We have no doubt that Damascus would dump us the moment we are of no use, but we have no other option but to play along."

Proxy politics is strategically significant for it helps take the battle to someone else's physical space, create distractions, and circumvent internal crises. Both Israel and Iran, despite the colossal chasm that separates their political and military intents, are currently involved in such a maneuver.

And In Iraq
Proxy politics is strategically significant, for it helps take the battle to someone else's physical space.

President Ahmadinejad, backed by or directed by the instrumental forces in his country — Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Supreme National Security Council —, is well-acquainted with the fact that if Iraq is subdued by US forces, it will be Iran's turn to bear the brunt of the US's obtrusive imperial designs, cheered on, if not largely facilitated by Israel's neoconservative allies in Washington, D.C.

Accordingly, Iran is fully involved in trying to shape a political milieu in Iraq that will keep the Americans at bay. This is not to suggest that it is Iran, as opposed to the unwarranted American invasion, that engenders the chaos in Iraq; however, Iran, like other Middle Eastern countries involved in Iraq, wishes to manage and manipulate the outcome to suit its own interests. From Iran's point of view, this action makes perfect sense.

While Iran's prime objective is to discourage an American military assault against it, Israel seeks regional hegemony, where it is left with "moderate" neighbors. According to this vision, conceived and promoted publicly by Israeli leaders and their friends in Washington D.C. and emphasized to the point of boredom by every relevant US official at every possible opportunity, the Iranian "threat" must be eradicated at any cost.

Israel's fears of Iran are not nuclear in essence. What worries Israel is that Iran is militarily strong, politically cohesive, and economically viable, enough to allow Iran the opportunity to challenge Israel at every turn. The Israelis, as their country's history illustrates, simply despise such contenders. Israel's attempt to disseminate Jamal Abdul Nasser's national regime in 1956, only eight years after the establishment of the Israeli state is a poignant example.

America, the Israeli Proxy
Proxy relationships are part and parcel of the Middle East political posture.
Yet a paradigm shift has occurred since the US invasion of Iraq four years ago. While the US was the major power that often orchestrated proxy wars through its clandestine tactics, as it did in Central America and various parts of Asia, Israel is now adopting a similar scheme. In most instances in the past, Israel managed to sway US administrations to behave according to the misleading mantra: "What's good for Israel is good for America." But a clash of interests here is unavoidable; while Israel's heart is set on a war against Iran, it is becoming elementary knowledge that a war against Iran would bode irrevocable disasters for the US. Prolonged political hostility with Iran is equally dangerous, for it will further complicate the American task in Iraq.

But Israel is still cheering for war. Former director of the Mossad Uzi Arad tells the British Guardian that "a military strike may be easier than you think." He outlines what targets to be bombed, including not just nuclear, but security and economic centers. "Iran is much more vulnerable than people realize," he states casually. Arad, like most Israeli officials, want war, even if such a war would complicate America's regional involvement and cost it irreplaceable human lives, notwithstanding the prospected large number of dead Iranians. However, it would matter little to Israel; for a chaotic Iran, like a chaotic Iraq, is just another opportunity to be exploited and another "threat" to be checked off Israel's security list.

Indeed, proxy relationships are part and parcel of the Middle East political posture, and even arrogant superpowers can themselves be exploited, wittingly or not.


http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1176271727405&pagename=Zone-English-Muslim_Affairs%2FMAELayout

The Muslims of France

The Muslims of France
By Halima Columbo
Freelance Writer — UK

The biggest problem facing the Muslims is in the social conditions in which they live.To someone not in France, the relationship between France and its Muslims appears contradictory. France has the largest Muslim minority in Europe, and yet no precise figures are available to accurately measure its population because the French laws on laïcité preclude the measuring of religious identity. It is a country that reports some of the most favorable views of Muslims in Europe, according to the European Report on Muslims in the European Union, Discrimination and Islamophobia, yet it is also a country that banned the headscarf in schools in 2005 and that saw serious riots in run-down suburbs where many Muslims live.

Historic Presence of Muslims in France

Muslims first came to France in the first half of the eighth century, when the Umayyads swept up from Andalus (Arabic name given to Muslim-governed parts of the Iberian Peninsula from 711 to 1492) and took Narbonne and ruled it for 40 years. Defeats at Toulouse and Poitier checked their advance in what has been described as a turning point in history that preserved the Christian European culture in France.

Muslim presence remained strong in France until 759 in Narbonne, when Pepin drove the Muslims south of the Pyrenees. Muslim forces also held the coastal village of La Garde Frenet for a 100 years until 990. Moreover, Arabic-Andalusian culture continued to migrate northwards for centuries into southern France to enrich the culture of the Languedoc (a former province in the south of France, now continued in the modern-day regions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées) with its troubadours and courtly love and its love of refined living — and what are the French famous for today, if not good food, good living, and l'amour?

Immigration

France has experienced high immigration, especially since the Second World War. A quarter of French people have at least one parent born outside France. Even so, France has the strongest sense of national identity in Europe. The Muslim population, starting from small origins in 1945, has expanded rapidly. In the last decade, it has nearly doubled and is now estimated to be around six million, mainly because of a birth rate that is double that of the national average. In Lille, a quarter of school children are now Muslim.

As regards the point of origin, French Muslims come mainly from North Africa, especially from the former French colony Algeria. There are also African, Turkish, and Middle Eastern populations of Muslims. In addition, there are a small number of Asian Muslims and of French reverts such as football manager Bruno Metsu and football player Nicholas Anelka (who changed his name to Abdul-Salam Bilal). The Muslims of France are diverse, with differing levels of practice and belief. However, it appears that French Muslims are more likely to identify themselves as Muslim than in the past, when they may have identified themselves as Arab. For example, Zidane, the footballer, is widely described as a "non-practising Muslim" (Guardian).

The Headscarf Debate

The rapid emergence of a sizeable Muslim population within France has led some people to question whether the French way of life is in danger, or from the opposite perspective, whether Muslims will ever be accepted as truly "French," and whether it is possible to have a "French Islam." It is providing a challenge to the Republican ideals enshrined in Article 1 of the French Constitution, which states that "La France est une République, unie, indivisible, laïque et sociale." The headscarf debate and the 2005 urban riots that forced the declaration of a state of emergency serve to highlight that France is rent with deep social divisions that appear to fall along religious lines.

In 2005, the French government banned the wearing of the headscarf in schools. Dismissing the argument that it was a religious obligation for Muslim women, the government argued that it was a religious symbol and, as such, inappropriate for a public setting. The vast majority of French people supported the ban, and although opposition to it was vocal, it was not opposed by a large number of people. In fact, it was conceded by a number of the leaders of the Muslim organizations in France. French Muslims are generally supportive of laïcité, seeing in it protection of freedom of thought and religion.

Social Conditions

In 2005, the French government banned the wearing of the headscarf in schools.Th e biggest problem facing the Muslims does not relate to the practice of their religion but to the social conditions in which they live. The Muslims of France are heavily concentrated in certain areas, in the Pas de Calais, the Ile de France, Lyons, Provence Cote d'Azure, and Rhone-Alps, in suburbs described as "ghettos" with poor housing and schooling, high unemployment rates, and widespread racism.

A study by the Sorbonne found that a standard CV with a Muslim name was five times less likely to elicit an interview that the same CV with a non-Muslim name, and the study concluded that racial profiling was widespread among employers at degree level.The daily experience of being treated as a second-class citizen underlay the 2005 urban riots when property was attacked and there were violent confrontations with police in areas across France with large Muslim populations.

Therefore, some commentators tried to label these as a "Muslim problem." This is dismissed by Tariq Ramadan, the Swiss-born intellectual and writer on Islam and Muslims in the West, who is currently a senior research fellow at St. Anthony's College, Oxford. In commentating on the riots, he stated that such labeling was a most unhelpful approach, nothing more than a scare-mongering tactic to avoid dealing with the real issue, which is the social problem.

It is not that the Muslims disagree with Republican values but that they want these values applied to them. The inequality in social conditions is reflected also in the political and cultural landscape. Muslims are massively underrepresented politically, with no Muslim members of Parliament, a situation that was described by Zair Kedadouche — a former government adviser, member of the High Council on Integration, and author of La France et les Beurs — after the last presidential election as equivalent to the US in the early 1960s.

Kedadouche has also criticized the media for ignoring the existence of the non-French minorities in their programming. More recently, Farah Nayeri, a Europe correspondent for Bloomberg News, argued that France is recognizing the need to change and that there is a new wave of books, films, and cartoons aimed at integrating Muslims into the cultural mainstream, such as the film Mauvais fois, a comedy about a relationship between a French Jew and a French Muslim.

Political Participation

Recent years have also seen the rise in a number of associations and advocacy organizations trying to encourage political participation and to campaign against racism and inequality. The government got involved, with the formation in 2002 of the French Council of the Muslim Faith with the agreement of the three main Muslim organizations in France.

The council is intended to remove administrative obstacles to the building of mosques and to encourage the education of imams in France. In 2006, the Avicenne Institute in Lille was opened as a college for the training of French imams. In a major departure from laïcité, it is expected to receive state funding next year.

The Muslims of France face four main concerns. The most urgent and perhaps most difficult to achieve in a country undergoing economic reform, is equal treatment in the job market, education, and social services. Another concern is that as a sizeable minority within France, Muslims merit representation politically and culturally.

The third and fourth concerns are related to French Muslims themselves rather than the government or society. They themselves are responsible for developing their identity as French Muslims to show how Islam may manifest itself in France and to continue to develop the institutions to meet their religious needs.
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Halima Columbo embraced Islam in 1990. After obtaining a bachelor's degree in philosophy, politics, and economics from Oxford University, she worked as a researcher in local community and economic development, with a particular interest in holistically interpreting and managing social change. She can be reached at European Muslims mail.

Source:http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1170514820779&pagename=Zone-English-Euro_Muslims%2FEMELayout

Malaysia's Anwar: Resolved to Return

Malaysia's Anwar: Resolved to Return

IslamOnline Exclusive Interview

By Hany Ramadan

Staff Writer - IslamOnline.net

Anwar Ibrahim stressed that he is dedicated to his agenda of political reform. (A photo published on his website AnwarIbrahim.com)

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was minister of finance and deputy prime minister of Malaysia under Mahathir Mohamad in the 1990s. Highly respected for his principled stance against corruption and his skillful management of the Malaysian economy during the turbulent period of its financial crisis, Dr. Anwar is also viewed as one of the forefathers of the Asian Renaissance.
Throughout his political career, Dr. Anwar has stressed the need for internal reforms.

He articulated his views regarding reform in Malaysia in his book Managing Change. The book included some views that departed from those of then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, and sowed the seeds that eventually led to their final confrontation.

He was imprisoned in 1999 over corruption and sodomy charges that he strongly denied as politically plotted. In September 2004, The Malaysian Federal Court overturned the sodomy charge and ordered Anwar’s release from prison, but refused to lift the corruption conviction.

He is currently the honorary president of the London-based international organization Accountability that promotes responsible business practices of civil society and public institutions.

IslamOnline.net's Hany Ramadan recently conducted this exclusive e-mail interview with Dr. Anwar Ibrahim.

IslamOnline.net (IOL): What are your ambitions after nearly 10 years of absence? Do you think you still have the opportunity to come back to power? And what's the first thing you would do if you were elected prime minister one day?

Anwar: I returned recently to Malaysia after a brief stint teaching overseas because I remain dedicated to my homeland and committed to an agenda that will place my country as a highly respected nation throughout the Muslim world.

News reports of Malaysian government officials implicated in scandals ranging from bribery to murder deeply sadden me. I travel around the country and see rural communities suffering from a lack of basic resources such as water and electricity. This is regression, not progress. Instead of taking steps to redress these problems permanently, the Malaysian government has chosen to ignore the plight of the common man, focusing on building mega-cities and gargantuan buildings.

The combination of inflation and rising unemployment has created fissures in the nation's delicate communal balance that will grow wider unless there is some relief to the hardships people face. It is deeply troubling that some Malaysian politicians are now resorting to race-based politics to solidify their position at the expense of the delicate racial harmony that the people truly wish to support.

The next prime minister must meet the challenges at which previous ones have balked. Anything less will cast Malaysia further down the slippery slope on which it is currently situated. The elements for change are present in society. The Malaysian people are more than ready to unite across ethnic lines and work towards a common future to build a prosperous nation. After 50 years of independence, the people of Malaysia are more than ready for true parliamentary democracy.


IOL: You are now coming back vehemently to politics and are planning to run for the coming general elections, but do not you expect an early call to elections that aims to prevent you from running in light of a legal bar suspending your political participation until April, 2008?

Anwar: The government has made no public statements about early elections, but we have seen many signals pointing to elections taking place as early as the summer of 2007. Given the declining performance of key economic indicators and the momentum gained by opposition groups in the first half of 2007, the ruling clique is likely to view early polls as a critical step in curbing the rising influence and credibility of the opposition movement.

Irrespective of the government's decision, my resolve to continue as a leader in the opposition remains steadfast. As regards the so-called legal bar to my running for office, I will continue to challenge it through the appropriate channels, but it must be pointed out that the source of this legal impediment is the prison term that I had served on a conviction which has been condemned worldwide. So, morally, I am not obliged to obey such a ruling.

We have a number of strong candidates prepared to stand for elections in districts around the country, and the legal bar does not, however, prevent me from campaigning actively for the members of my party and supporting the reform agenda even if the unjust ban against my direct participation persists.

IOL: As an adviser to the People's Justice Party in Malaysia, what is your program and your agenda of political reform as the de facto opposition leader of the country?

Anwar: We are committed to the reform agenda in Malaysia, which first and foremost is working to establish a truly democratic political process in the nation. Malaysia has grown weak in the hands of an authoritarian system that stifles free media, neuters the judiciary, and threatens dissident voices with heavy fines, harassment, and imprisonment.

We propose a clean break and offer a government that genuinely works for the people and not for relatives and cronies; not a government that is completely insensitive to the needs of the people, and worst of all, not one that actually works against the people. To do that, we must ensure the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, governance and accountability of all those in power, be they politicians, civil servants, or business people.

Our reform agenda also calls for free and fair elections in every sense of the word, the full guarantee of constitutional freedoms and human rights, and a just and equitable socio-economic system.

The New Economic Policy (NEP) represents one of the greatest impediments to our nation's growth and development. The issue at the core is not affirmative action per se, but a system of government-sanctioned corruption by which the friends and cronies of ministers, politicians, and influential businessmen are able to steal billions of dollars of public funds. The rationale of the NEP when it was formulated 30 years ago was sound, indeed, but in the light of such gross abuses by those in power, continuing to support such a policy is not only unwise but plainly detrimental for the nation.

As it is, Malaysia's economic competitiveness vis-à-vis its neighbors in Southeast Asia has plummeted, as can be seen in the decline in the level of the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flowing into the country. The NEP has taken its toll on the Malaysian psyche. To hang on to it is to hang on to crutches. Affirmative action based on race is good politics for those who want to cling to power, particularly the ruling clique when they know that that is also the surest way for them to amass their wealth, but it bleeds the nation and continues to be a thorn in the side of inter-ethnic relations.

We are, after all, a very diverse nation. Poverty is color blind. The NEP, rather than working to eradicate it, is actually making the poor poorer not only for the Bumiputera (Malays) but now also the marginalized sections of ethnic Indians and Chinese.

What we need is a new economic blueprint that among other things aims towards redressing socio-economic imbalances regardless of race, taking into account the suffering and marginalization of all groups. We also need to reestablish Malaysia's stature in the regional and international community as an attractive nation in which to invest.

IOL: What reforms did you achieve when you were deputy prime minister while other people were calling on your government for reforms?

Anwar: As a minister I was firm in my efforts to bring about reform from within. The situation we face in Malaysia today is far worse than it was even just 10 years ago when I was still in government. That being said, the roots of the system of corruption and cronyism did not just appear overnight, of course, but were already firmly in place when I joined the government. I took steps whenever possible to push the system forwards to greater accountability and transparency.

The Anti-Corruption Act passed in 1997 when I was acting prime minister was perhaps the most far-reaching law that had been passed to hold public officials to account for corruption and abuse of power. Even then too, I had noted the festering corruption of the judiciary and had raised my concerns with the prime minister.

When the Air Molek judicial scandal unfolded, I took the initiative to table copies of the judgment to my cabinet colleagues to put forward the point that there were still judges with the highest integrity in our judiciary and such judges must be protected from further molestation by their corrupt administrative heads.

On the political front, I had actively worked towards greater openness and tolerance for dissenting views by personally setting the example of maintaining personal relationships with leaders of opposition parties and encouraging continuous dialogues. It was also part of my reform agenda then to foster inter-ethnic and inter-religious engagement as a way of promoting greater harmony among the communities. Many will recall the series of Islam and Confucianism seminars organized during my tenure as well as the Iqbal and Tagore forums.

On the socio-economic front, I was instrumental in initiating a comprehensive program to narrow the gap between the haves and the have-nots. I also promoted public-private partnerships to providing low-cost housing for the poor in new housing estates. I issued directives, whenever it was within my power, to government departments to ensure fair and equitable distribution of aid and benefits for the needy. As finance minister, I instructed the Central Bank to implement a program to ensure accessibility of credit for small and medium enterprises and to make available easy financing for low-cost housing.

I was consistently calling for greater civilizational and religious dialogue within the Muslim world and between East and West, which I believe Malaysia can play a unique role in promoting due to its multiracial, multiethnic demographic makeup.

IOL: What do you think of Malaysia's "Islam Hadhari"? And is it unique to Malaysia or can be exported to other Muslim countries?

Anwar: Malaysia, as a result of its wealth relative to some other Muslim countries, is often viewed as an example worthy of emulation in other parts of the Muslim world. I do agree that much had been accomplished in the past three decades prior to the slide that we have been seeing for the last seven years or so. But when we talk about exporting aspects of today's Malaysia, I must offer a dose of reality to our brothers throughout the Muslim world.

There are aspects of Islam Hadhari that have generated great interest as representing a successful application of Islamic principles to the modern world. It should be stated, however, that the government has coined the phrase Islam Hadhari without living up to the principles stated therein. After more than three years in power, rampant corruption by the ruling elite persists. The judiciary and the media are compromised at the expense of the interests of the common man. Minority groups are oppressed in a country with millions of non-Muslim citizens. Does this reflect the ideals of a modern "Islamic" system?

We must look at the results of particular policies and not be hypnotized by the empty slogans of those who promote them. When it comes to applying Islamic principles to governance, all Muslim countries are subject to the same standards of ensuring the rule of law, combating the cancer of corruption, securing the rights of the individual, and ensuring a system of checks and balances on the institutions of government.

IOL: How do you see the Islamic movement in Malaysia right now, and what are the challenges it has? And how should the Islamic groups in Malaysia work with the other ethnic minorities in the Malaysian society?

Anwar: Our Islamic movement is seen as being still very tradition bound, ethnocentric, and culturally inward looking. This, I must add, is also the stereotypical view of most Islamic movements in the world whether in Muslim or non-Muslim countries. But of course this is hardly a fair view in as much as a lot of the perception is clouded by Islamophobia in all its varying manifestations depending on where you're coming from.

Malaysia's future lies in a political philosophy that accepts constitutional provisions guaranteeing basic human rights, the freedom of conscience, sanctity of human life, the fair treatment of minority communities, the inviolability of the media, and the independence of the judiciary. As we are a multi-religious and multi-ethnic society, any vision for the nation that marginalizes groups on the basis of their religious beliefs will fail.

One must not fall into the trap of looking merely at the label. To my mind, a truly Islamic party, by whatever name called, is one which advances the maqasid (main objectives) of Islam, which if looked at holistically must include those provisions enumerated above in respect of fundamental liberties. If it holds fast to these constitutional guarantees, I have no doubt that such a party can play a key role in promoting political, social, and economic reform and will have no problem working closely with other groups in the society.

IOL: What are the pre-requisites the Islamic economy needs to gain momentum in today's world? How can Malaysia help other Muslim countries make use of its know-how in this regard?

Anwar: We must go back to first principles again. An Islamic economy by definition is one that is based on the Maqasid (Main Objectives) of Islam. Apart from wealth generation, social justice is paramount. Now, we can't begin to talk about attaining the higher objectives while we lack the basic infrastructure to propel ourselves to self-sufficiency let alone to greater competitiveness.

So that must be the area to be fortified first. Investment in human capital is absolutely essential and this has to start from the bottom. Hence, quality schooling for all must be made available and this must lead all the way to world class universities.

Muslim countries are endowed with natural resources but historically that seems to be more of a curse than a blessing. There is some parallel here with some of the African countries too and I believe the root cause is greed and corruption of course. So the development of intellectual infrastructure must be in tandem with the evolution of good governance. Don't forget too there will be the usual argument that democracy can wait while the economy gets ready but if we buy this line of reasoning we may never get to see democracy for many of the Muslim countries at all.

IOL: Some economists talk about a unified Islamic currency that, if created, would strengthen the economy of the Muslim world laden with huge natural resources, What do you think as an international economist?

Anwar: I agree in principle that resource-rich areas of the Muslim world ought to play a role in uplifting areas that are stricken with poverty and underdevelopment. The recent announcement of a US$1 billion fund to support education in the Middle East is a step in the right direction.

A unified currency regime may create opportunities for economic integration in the Muslim world as we have seen take place in other regions, and this may in turn lead to increases in national output. However, if we consider the challenges faced by the European Union in devising such a regime, we see that in the Muslim world there is far greater diversity and discrepancy in GDP, output, and styles of government across borders to make such a regime feasible in the short term.

An Islamic currency will bear few fruits for people who utilize it unless the system of governance and the mechanisms that monitor and oversee the financial strategies of individual nations are reformed and subject to the highest levels of public disclosure, transparency, and accountability. A more effective investment of our resources therefore would be to implement sound reforms in these areas and to begin to foster greater regional economic integration.

IOL: Do you think there is a missing tie between Malaysia and the Arab world? What are your recommendations for future cooperation? What message would you like to send to the leaders of the Muslim and Arab world?

Anwar: The future of these two regions has and will continue to be tied closely together for important geopolitical and social reasons. The rapidly growing economies in Asia will continue to look westward to meet long-term demands for energy.

Energy-rich economies in the Middle East and particularly in the Gulf will seek to diversify and expand into high-growth markets throughout Asia. They will also be attractive to Asian corporations with an interest in collaborating on the massive infrastructure development taking place throughout the Middle East and into parts of North and Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Islamic Finance sector presents an area where Malaysia carries particular expertise that is highly valued in the economies of the Middle East. In Malaysia, Islamic banking assets already make up over 10 percent of all banking assets within the country — well ahead of many countries in the Middle East. As the market for Shari`ah-compliant investment opportunities grows, Malaysia can play a key role in leading the way towards expanding the scope of Shari`ah-compliant financial products and developing robust institutions to ensure the transparency and reliability of these new financial markets.
***
Hany Ramadan is assistant editor and staff writer for the Muslim Affairs section of IslamOnline.net. He holds a bachelor's degree in linguistics and translation, and a pre-MA degree in linguistics from Cairo University. He is now working for a master's degree in discourse analysis, with a special focus on the language of news stories and political analyses. Click here to reach him.

Source:http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1181062463744&pagename=Zone-English-Muslim_Affairs%2FMAELayout

Australia’s September 11th

Australia’s September 11th

The Future of Australian-Islamic South Asian Relations

By Thomas J. Haidon

The recent attack in Bali has incurred a catastrophic human toll on its victims and has had the effect of further destabilizing an already politically and culturally untenable relationship between Australia and the Islamic world (primarily South East Asia).

In the aftermath of the attack, which took the lives of approximately one hundred Australian nationals, one cannot help recount images of the result of the attacks of September 11th. To Australia, the Bali attacks were its own equivalent of September 11th. At the critical stage following the attack, Australia is in a state of mourning. While it mourns however, Australia is calculating and measuring a response commensurate with its losses.

Since the attack, Australia and other western powers have placed significant pressure on the Indonesian government to weed out Islamic fundamentalists that support terrorism. However, questions remain as to the future of Australia's relationship with Islamic South Asia. Is Australia slowly following the path of the United States and becoming the "America" of the Southern Hemisphere? Could the military relationship between the United States and Australia potentially shift the primary focus of the "war on terror" to Islamic South Asia? A preliminary answer to these questions is yes. Alternatively, is the price of appeasing the antagonists of the "war on terror" more than Indonesia and Islamic South Asia can bear?

Australia's relationship with Indonesia has a troubled history. Indonesia strongly opposed Australia's part in the international peace keeping mission that took place in East Timor in 1999, which it viewed primarily as a matter of domestic concern. Since the resolution of that conflict, both Australia and Indonesia have attempted to mend their political relationship.

The two countries hit a deadlock in August 2001 when both refused to accept 433 boat people rescued from a sinking Indonesian ferry headed towards Australia. Furthermore, Indonesia's handling of Australia-bound Middle Eastern asylum-seekers that set sail from the archipelago remained a thorny issue between the two nations. Immigration and the handling (or mishandling) of refugees remains a major point of contention, and will likely be widened now with the recent attacks in Bali.

The attacks of September 11th created an ambience of distrust between Indonesia and Australia. On October 11, 2001 the Australian Department of the Parliamentary Services released a paper to legislators entitled: "Indonesia and Transnational Terrorism." The document served as a quasi-intelligence report that discussed Islamic fundamentalism in Indonesia. While the document said: "the vast majority of Indonesian Muslims practice a moderate form of the religion," the focus of the paper was the threat that Indonesian Islamic organizations pose.1

Levels of mistrust between the two countries, developed further as both nations began to work together to formulate a bilateral agreement on counter-terrorism, which was tentatively reached in March of 2002. The Bali attacks, to a great extent, may dishevel the fragile economic and diplomatic frameworks established since East Timor, which became strained further after September 11th.

The ANZUS Treaty: Will Australia be the "America" of the Southern Hemisphere?

Since September 11th, Australia has been posing a significant threat to the political stability of Islamic South Asia. In the aftermath of September 11th, Australia invoked the ANZUS treaty or the "Security Treaty Between Australia, New Zealand, and the United States of America." This treaty was signed in 1951 by all three parties. However, recently, New Zealand unofficially withdrew itself from the treaty during the 1980's, following a disagreement with the United States in which New Zealand refused to allow the United States access for nuclear frigates (allowing access would have violated long established New Zealand policies). ANZUS creates obligations upon the United States and Australia to defend the other from attacks. In part, ANZUS states in Article V:

For the purpose of Article IV, an armed attack on any of the Parties is deemed to include an armed attack on the metropolitan territory of any of the Parties, or on the island territories under its jurisdiction in the Pacific or on its armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific.2

The term "armed attack" in Article V is not an exacting definition. Within the meaning of the treaty, Australia or the United States could make an argument that an attack on a party's nationals in a foreign country constitutes an "armed attack" for the purposes of ANZUS. Theoretically, the United States and Australia, could possibly justify retaliation against Islamic groups in Indonesia through this interpretation.

However, at present, there is a minimal danger of this occurring. Nonetheless, the danger is self-evident. If an attack takes place on Australian soil, and the source comes from an Islamic South Asian group, then perhaps a real danger exists of Australia and the United States retaliating pursuant to ANZUS. Conversely, if the United States is faced by an "armed attack" from an Islamic South Asian group, under the above interpretation, Australia could act as the long arm of the United States.

Australia will likely base and pledge its support for United States unilateralist action against Iraq based on ANZUS. To lend support to the previous interpretational argument, Iraq has not committed an "armed attack" against the United States, nor has it posed an "imminent" threat to the United States. Yet, Australia will likely assist the United States militarily, pursuant to ANZUS.

This shows a dangerous propensity. If Australia will act militarily to vindicate the interests of its ANZUS counterpart, than certainly it will not hesitate to enlist the "assistance" of the United States to commence its own "war on terror" in Islamic South Asia. If and when further attacks continue against Australia and/or Australian nationals, the ANZUS treaty may be the tool that both Australia and the United States implement. In a recent address President Bush noted:

I told the Prime Minister of Australia and I told Prime Minister Blair this morning that I'm absolutely determined to continue to lead the coalition. They recognize the need for us to continue to work together. And it's a sad day for a lot of people around the world… but it also is a day in which we've got to realize that we've got a long way to go to make the world more secure and more peaceful.

The failure of the United States to examine the root causes of September 11th holds deep implications that have not yet been fully realized. Australia is at a similar crossroads. Will Australia address the hard, painful questions that the United States summarily ignored after its tragedy? Surely a justification for the attacks in Bali cannot be proffered. But when examined in its context the issue becomes clearer. Why target Australians? A complex response is because Australia has chosen to not only align itself with the United States, but also to staunchly support military action directed at Muslim nations. According to a recent report: "But far from uniting the nation behind the war on terrorism, Howard has drawn immediate rebuke. Many Australian commentators are now saying that the Bali bomb attack was Australia's price for allying itself with America in the first place - that dead Australian teenagers are payback for the Afghan campaign and the moves to attack Iraq."3 Phil Adams, a journalist for The Australian, asserted:

I'd tried to remind Australia that rushing to America's colours was, as demonstrated in Vietnam, a health hazard. Before we signed up for the war against terror, wherever that might lead us, I thought it important to remember that the US has been the most trigger-happy of nations. With a long history of bellicosity and a culture of violence. It is now my sad duty to say...I told you so.4

Australia's invocation of ANZUS, and affirmation to support the American "war on terror" will only lead to future acts of terror against Australia and/or its nationals. Unqualified support for the "war on terror" will further marginalize the Islamic culture and society of South Asia, and create a climate that is ripe for terrorism.

Australia and the United States are on similar paths, and share similar interests in international security. One can only expect a more fortified relationship between the superpower of the northern hemisphere and the superpower of the southern hemisphere. Domestically speaking, in both nations, a cultural divide exists between Muslims and non-Muslims. The events of September 11th, simultaneously in both nations, created an even further divide. The attacks on Bali could place this relationship in a level of untenability.

In the immediate days following the Bali attacks, according to the report, an Islamic school was attacked and vandalized along with the family home of the local Imam. According to a recent BBC report:

There are some Australians who have never been comfortable with Muslims in Australia. Sydney Daily Telegraph, expressed feelings that a sizeable number of Australians seem to share: "It's about time we woke up to the fact that the problem of world terrorism today lies firmly rooted in Islam," the letter read. The uncomfortable fact is that racism lurks just below the surface in Australia. For some, the Bali attack is all the justification they need to give vent to their prejudice.5

Muslims in Australia face a credible threat and danger of a backlash from their fellow countrymen. The Australian Muslim predicament is analogous to the American Muslim predicament faced in the aftermath of September 11th. In the immediate days and weeks following September 11th, American Muslims, Islamic schools and Mosques became the popular target of hate crimes, perpetrated by non-Muslims. Islamic communities in both nations have found themselves in the harrowing position of themselves mourning the attacks and being blamed simultaneously for those attacks.

Indonesia's Response to the Bali Attacks

Indonesia's response to the attacks in Bali was swift. Within days, President Megawati made an executive decree that put anti-terror legislation in place. The decree is retroactive, meaning that it applies to the attacks in Bali. Pursuant to the decree, anyone who commits an "act of terror" will be executed by a firing squad. Furthermore the decree allows authorities to suspend habeas corpus for up to six months for those merely suspected of conducting "acts of terror."6 Many in the West had been quick to criticize Indonesia for "sitting on anti-terror legislation" following September 11th.

However, a response to that criticism is that Indonesia was wary of passing legislation that could incur possible infractions of civil rights and civil liberties. Achieving democracy in Indonesia after President Suharto has been a tumultuous process and an uneasy transition. Anti-terror legislation, prior to the attacks in Bali, could be seen by many Indonesians as a partial return to the autocracy of the Suharto regime that paralyzed peaceful and moderate Islamic practice. Despite this however, some Muslim organizations in Indonesia have pledged their qualified support to the Indonesian government. One of the largest of such groups, Muhhamdiyha, had this to say: "The Muhammadiyah can understand the need for such regulations, so that our security personnel, from the police or the intelligence, will have a legal umbrella to act against terrorism."7

From the outset, Indonesia has taken strong measures, contrary to Western criticism, to control the fringe element of Islamic militancy. These strong measures have come at a price, however. The first price will be paid by Indonesians whose lives could fundamentally be altered because of the anti-terror legislation, which could limit religious freedom of members of the world's largest Muslim nation. The second price will be paid by the Indonesian government, which will be seen by many Indonesians after the enacting of these measures as the "long arm" of Australia and the United States.

Is this price too much? Yes. The price will be too much for Indonesian Muslims to bear. If Indonesian Muslims are confronted once again with autocracy and foreign intervention, the political spectrum of Indonesian Muslims will change from left to moderate to right to far right where the seeds of terrorism lurk.

Australia and Indonesia (as well as Islamic South Asia) are at a dangerous crossroads. Australia is in a state of mourning, and has thus far taken a relatively measured approach toward Indonesia and Islamic South Asia. However if further attacks occur from the fringe element, Australia and the United States will likely shift the "war on terror" towards the region, thus creating a further cultural and political divide.

Indonesia is in the un-enviable position of facing imperialist threats from the United States and Australia as well as the possibility of a significant domestic backlash if it returns to the autocratic policies of Suharto. The effect of such pressure and legislation will only shift the moderate political dynamic that is so strong in Indonesia towards a far right ideology that is consistent with terrorism.

**************

Thomas J. Haidon is an American attorney and activist residing in Wellington, New Zealand. He received a Jurisdoctorate (J.D.) with a certificate of international law from the University at Buffalo School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Niagara University. He has studied at the American University in Cairo and Birzeit University, Palestine. He is currently pursuing an L.L.M. in international law. You can reach him at thaidon@justice.com

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1- Wilson, Chris. “Indonesia and Transnational Terrorism,” Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Group (a pdf file)
2- “Security Treaty Between the United States, New Zealand and Australia“ (a pdf file)
3- Appleton, Josie. “Backlash over Bali“ October 17, 2002.
4- Adams, Phillip. “Empire’s Always Right,” The Weekend Australian.
5- Hughes, Dominic “Sydney’s Muslims Fear Revenge Attacks,” BBC Online.
6- McDowell, Patrick. “Indonesia Issues Anti-Terror Decree,” Associated Press.
7- “Indonesia’s Muslims Back Terror Law,” BBC Online.

Source: http://www.islamonline.net/english/views/2002/10/article12.shtml

Nigeria Has Tried!

Nigeria Has Tried!

Nigerians Elect New President

By Abiose Adelaja

Journalist — Nigeria

An elections worker takes ballots out of their box outside the Independent National Electoral Commission office in Nassarawa area of Kano, April 22, 2007. (Reuters Photo)

Things have been static for the Muslim world's political life for decades, change is slow and not that apparent; however, there comes an example that might give some hope. Nigeria has been undemocratically ruled for many years, and it started to go into the democratic process recently. To be fair, such infant democratic experience is not to be measured with the same scale that the world measures the democratic process in the developed world. Yet, Nigeria has tried!

Despite uncertainties and large scale criticisms about the shortcomings of the presidential and National Assembly polls, Africa's most populous nation and one of the world's happiest has elected a new president.

This will result in the first civilian-to-civilian transition after a fairly stable, eight years of democratic governance, since Nigeria's 47 years of independence.

Criticisms Trail Poll Results

A country like Nigeria with its hetero-ethnicity and complexity has tried.
Nigeria's Electoral Commission, on April 23, announced presidential candidate, Alhaji Umar Musa Yar'Adua, of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the 2007 election, with over 24 million votes. Next among the 24 contestants is a former military ruler, retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari with six million votes (All Nigerian People's Party), while the Action Congress flag bearer, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, came distant third with over two million votes. This announcement has generated reactions from local and international observers, legal practitioners, as well as from opposition parties who declared that the election was neither free nor fair.

Atiku, who is from the opposition and also is the country's vice president, said in an interview that he would not accept any results. "How can anyone be declared a winner, whether myself or any other aspirant, when voting didn't occur in rural areas where 70 percent of the population lives?"

"What the electoral commission is doing is creating something symbolic in state capitals and urban centers so as to give the impression that the election was held," he said.

In a similar reaction, domestic observers under the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) described the election as so flawed that it should be cancelled and held again. Human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Gani Fawehinmi said in an interview that the election was seriously manipulated with massive irregularities. "I don't know where they got 24 million votes from. The ballot papers were not serially numbered; in most part of the states, most Nigerians were not allowed to vote; thus depriving them of their fundamental human rights. It is mild to say that it was flawed. It was more than flawed," he said.

In the wake of all this, the chief electoral officer, Professor Maurice Iwu of the electoral commission called Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has congratulated Nigeria on a successful election. "The fact that this is the first time in the history of Nigeria that one democratically elected government that had spent two terms is succeeded by another, makes it eventful," he said in a national address.

"It marks a watershed in political history of the nation." He admitted that the elections were far from perfect, but compared to previous elections, it was free, fair and, credible.

"The fact that we could hold an election in spite of its imperfections and huge challenges, shows the tremendous love God had for us."

Pre-Calculated Election?

"No human arrangement is perfect." — Nigeria's outgoing president
Compared to the April 14, gubernatorial and State Assembly elections, fewer Nigerians went out on April 21 to vote. There were no long queues of enthusiastic voters waiting to exercise their franchise. Political analysts have given reasons for this voters' apathy as the people's loss of confidence in the electoral body. One of the 25 presidential candidates, Rev. Chris Okotie of the Fresh Party and a clergyman, said that the reason for the low turnout is because Nigerians feel their vote will not count.

"Nigerians are not bothering themselves because they feel that the election results are already pre-calculated," Okotie said.

However, the country's electoral body refutes such claims. Iwu said at a press conference, that it is usual for local elections to attract more people than national elections. "It is a historical fact, all over the world, that local elections attract more people because whoever is elected has direct bearing on the people more than [the] presidential [post]."

Among the complaints trailing INEC's preparations are the absence of some partys' name and logo on the ballot paper, lack of serial numbers on the ballot paper, and the rescheduling of the senatorial election in six states of the country. Shortage of ballot papers and late arrival in many parts disenfranchised millions of voters from exercising their civic rights.

For most Nigerians, Yar'Adua's victory is no surprise.
Though there were cases of rigging in some states, under-aged voting, and ballot box snatching, it was not as rampant as the gubernatorial and State of Assembly elections.

Meanwhile, as both foreign observer missions and Nigerians expressed their unhappiness about what they call INEC's shoddy preparation, the chairman has rated the process as a success. "If I were to rate the performance in the election, I will say we scored 80 percent," he said addressing a press conference.

According to him, a country like Nigeria with its hetero-ethnicity and complexity has tried.

"At first, everyone thought we could not hold a free and fair election, but we did. We printed 65 million ballot papers in three days, there is no country that can do that," he said.

Nigeria's president Olusegun Obasanjo, in his address a day before the election, called upon all citizens to cooperate with INEC, admitting that the April 21's election was not devoid of shortcomings as pointed out, but that no human arrangement is perfect.

Behold Nigeria's President-Elect

Alhaji Umar Musa Yar ‘Adua, hails from Katsina State, northern Nigeria. He was born in 1951 into a Muslim family, and he belongs to one of Nigeria's three major tribes, Hausa. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in chemistry from the Ahamdu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State. He was appointed a lecturer at Kaduna State College of Arts, Science and Technology in 1976. He was a senior lecturer and head of Department of Science and Mathematics at Katsina Polytechnic. His political career began when he was elected member in the Consistency Assembly, representing Katsina in 1988. He had held various political positions in now-defunct political parties. He is the present outgoing governor of Katsina State, where he had served two terms totaling eight years.

Few hours after being named winner of the 2007 presidential polls, Yar'Adua addressed a world press conference at the federal capital territory, Abuja, expressing his acceptance and willingness to serve the giant of Africa, Nigeria.

"I wish to express my gratitude to all Nigerians and I do solemnly pledge that I shall discharge all my duties to the utmost of my ability," he stated.

Challenges for New President

Some believe Nigeria is too large to be one nation.
For most Nigerians, Yar'Adua's victory is no surprise.

Investigations from both lettered and unlettered persons indicated that he was going to succeed Obasanjo. Before Yar'Adua was nominated, speculations were averse that Obasanjo was going to nominate one of the governors from the south-south region of Nigeria. But their hopes were dashed when, the president, chose Yar'Adua. Some thought Yar'Adua was chosen as a compensation for his late brother, General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, a political activist who suffered and was killed in prison in democratic struggle.

Obasanjo in his diplomacy, match made him with the deputy governor of Bayelsa State (one of Nigeria's oil-rich states) in the south-south region. This is also believed to be a compensation for the clamoring of the people of this region. Throughout Nigeria's history, presidency has never swung to the people of this region. Power has remained in the hands of the Northerners and, on few occasion, the South-Westerners. Yet, over three-quarters of Nigeria's oil, which is her wealth, is from this region. Several calls for resources control and for the presidency to shift to this region have fallen on deaf ears, but the nomination of Yar'Adua brings them closer to their answer.

The unrest in the Niger Delta (the country's oil-rich region), that has led to abduction of oil expatriates, is one challenge the outgoing administration has been grappling with, with little success. The president-elect reacting to a question during his inaugural speech said that he hopes to solve this problem by working with the stakeholders.

"I hope to address the issues holistically, through the overall development plan for the region in conjunction with stakeholders."

The outgoing administration has shunned countless calls for a sovereign national conference, early in its administration time. The conference is meant to restructure the three major tribes — Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba — by dividing the wealth of the land so that each can attain autonomy. The callers, who are members of the civil society believe that Nigeria is too large to be one nation. But Obasanjo has been firm on his one-nation thrust. Though the call for the conference has been silenced, it is still a time bomb waiting to explode, which forces the incoming government to sit tight on this.

Despite the fact that the country is the 6th largest oil producer in the world, its refineries are bad such that it has to export crude oil and import the refined one.
Power outage, unemployment, and fuel crisis are recurrent problems in the Obasanjo administration.

Power supply is a basic amenity that every citizen should enjoy. If they cannot afford three square meals, then at least if there is electricity, business ideas can boom. In recent times, Nigerians have been telling a tale of woe as regards power supply. Investors spend so much on fuel to run generators, because of a lack of electricity supply. It makes life harder for most citizens. This is one thing that Nigerians will be forever grateful for. Yar'Adua is laden with enormous task of solving mass youth unemployment, endemic in the country.

Nigeria has witnessed several fuel crisis due to hikes in prices of petroleum products on a near yearly basis, during the outgoing administration. Despite the fact that the country is the 6th largest oil producer in the world, its refineries are bad such that it has to export crude oil and import the refined one. This makes fuel very costly. The cost of fuel is the major cause of inflation, devaluation of the country's currency —the naira — and hardships experienced all over the land. This is going to be a key challenge for the government of Yar'Adua, and solving this problem will endear him to all Nigerians.

Provision of good federal highways is yet another demand of the masses. Transporters who cannot afford air travel waste several person-hours on the road because of bad roads. Yet the federal budget allocates huge sums of money for the reparation of these roads.

From the looks of things, Yar'Adua since being the first Nigerian president from the academia, is expected to resolve the recalcitrant strikes between the university lecturer and the federal government. Health care in Nigeria is still very poor in spite of several reform programs by the outgoing government.

The state of decay is why Nigeria ranks lowest on most health indices. Nigeria is the third largest country with the population of HIV-positive persons; it has the second largest maternal mortality rate in the world, the fourth largest infant mortality, and its life expectancy is between 45-46 years for both men and women.

Obasanjo in Yar'Adua's Clothing

Godfatherism in Nigeria's politics has bred bad blood in past administrations.
Most likely, Yar'Adua might continue in Obasanjo's anti-corruption fight, which made him the enemy of many citizens, including his deputy.

Based on the controversies surrounding the election results, Yar'Adua will prove himself whether he can take Nigeria to the promised land or not. However, observers fear that with the rate at which Nigerians are going about their democracy, the nation may be turned into a one-party state, as there are no parties as strong as the PDP. Though Kayode Esuola, a lecturer of political science at the University of Lagos, condemns the irregularities of the election, he said it is a good foundation for democracy in that there are more political parties now than there were before.

"We have about 50 political parties. The more parties we have, the more it gives room for democracy."

Another fear expressed is that the next leadership will be Obasanjo in Yar'Adua's clothing. Godfatherism in Nigeria's politics has bred bad blood in past administrations. It is hoped that this will not be the case with Yar'Adua and Obasanjo. Though Yar'Adua has a calm mien, he is found to be very independent-minded.

Lastly, as the countdown towards Yar'Adua's official swearing in on May 29, 2007, to be president of the 140-million-citizen country, Nigerians truly hope for a peaceful transition and more matured democracy in future.

Abiose Adelaja is a journalist based in Lagos and is working for the National Daily Newspaper. Though she holds a bachelor's degree in microbiology, Adelaja is quite passionate about societal and civil issues as well as politics in development. She is a member of the World Federation of Science Journalists and has also won some awards in health (HIV/AIDS, in particular) reporting and benefited from journalism fellowships.

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Source:http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1177155940980&pagename=Zone-English-Muslim_Affairs%2FMAELayout

Al-Aqsa Intifada: Heroic Struggle in Unheroic Times

Al-Aqsa Intifada: Heroic Struggle in Unheroic Times
By Kareem M. Kamel
Researcher – International Relations

19/10/2003

“I remembered some of those Muslims in that film, their families burnt by American-made bombs and weapons. They talked about how no one would help them but God. Theology vs. technology, the suicide bomber against the nuclear power. Now we have learnt what this means.”[1] – Robert Fisk, The Independent

“Palestinians learned from the first Intifadah that military might alone is incapable of determining the overall balance of power. Armed with nothing but faith and stones, they saw the Israeli military machine crumble before their eyes.”[2] – Dr. Azzam Tamimi, Director of the Institute of Islamic Political Thought in London

Certain events in history lead to multiple strategic, political, social, economic and conceptual changes that are not limited to a certain locality or region, but have far reaching international consequences. Throughout history, revolutions or uprisings that involved popular movements seeking independence and/or justice became especially significant as harbingers of change.

As the al-Aqsa Intifada in Palestine enters its fourth year, one cannot but note the epic sacrifices that the Palestinian people have made over a period of 36 months, during which they were subjected to mass murder, assassination, torture, arrest, detention, house demolitions, curfews, daily humiliation at check points and the brutal practices of an Israeli occupation that is both funded and supported by the world’s sole superpower.

Since the current Intifada began in September 2000, Israeli forces killed more than 2,618 Palestinians, and 41,000 were injured, including 7,000 children.[3] Latest statistics also suggest that at least 437 houses were demolished[4] and over 12,000 Palestinians made homeless as a result of Israel’s punitive operations. Additionally, hundreds of medical facilities were destroyed by Israeli military attacks and routine incursions into Palestinian towns and villages.[5] Sources suggest that just during the first few months of the al-Aqsa Intifada, the average Palestinian household income fell by almost 50%, unemployment rose to 38%, and the percentage of families living below the poverty line rose to 64%.[6]

The world has not learned that peace initiatives that seek to reward the aggressor at the expense of the victim do not work.

Nevertheless, the Palestinians demonstrated their resilience amidst great odds, and managed to proceed with their national agenda despite multiple regional and international interventions aimed at quelling their uprising or presenting peace plans with the avowed goal of reviving the “peace process.” The world does not seem to have learned that peace initiatives that seek to reward the aggressor at the expense of the victim do not work.

As Palestinians celebrated the third anniversary of their uprising, militants from all political factions vowed to continue the uprising until victory is achieved.[7] However, many challenges lie ahead. The Palestinian leadership is in obvious disarray, and an emergency government, led by the same clichéd Oslo principles, was recently announced.

The Palestinians find themselves still locked up in their towns and villages, and Palestinian and Arab leaders continue to follow their narrow interests and their ad-hoc policymaking. The Israeli government continues its colonialist designs for the West Bank and Gaza amidst a deafening international silence, and its security fence threatens to cut off 210,000 Palestinians from social services and create a new generation of internally displaced people.[8] In addition, an Israeli air raid on a Syrian outpost near Damascus threatens to spill the conflict over into neighboring states.

The Roots of Palestinian Rage – Why Rebel?

The uprising that began in September 2000 was sparked by Sharon’s provocative visit to al-Haram al-Sharif. More importantly however, the uprising came after a decade of simmering Palestinian anger at the Oslo peace process and the failure of peace initiatives to deliver tangible benefits to the Palestinian people.

For more than a decade, Palestinians have been calling for the creation of a state on only 22% of historic Palestine in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which Israel occupied during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. During the Camp David Summit in 2000, then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak reportedly offered the Palestinians 95% of the West Bank and Gaza, the removal of isolated settlements, and a vague form of religious sovereignty over parts of Jerusalem as part of a final status deal with the Palestinians.

The Barak Plan, hailed by the international media as a “generous offer rejected by an intransigent Palestinian leadership,” was in fact nothing more than another deceptive initiative rather than a just final settlement. The plan did not indicate how a territorially contiguous Palestinian state was to emerge, nor did it ensure Palestinian sovereignty over borders and water sources. Moreover, it ensured Israel’s military authority over much of the West Bank and ignored the right of return of millions of Palestinian refugees.[9]

In this regard, the Intifada is the ultimate manifestation of Palestinian popular will and determination for the freedom of the Palestinian people, and for their quest for an end to Israel’s colonial presence in their territories. It also represents the popular rejection of the Oslo process that was used as a cover for continued appropriation and confiscation of Palestinian lands for more colonial settlements.[10]

In fact, between 1994 and 2000, the Israeli settler population doubled, and nearly 250 miles of bypass roads were built on confiscated Arab lands. The Oslo agreements, which were to be implemented in phases, made no mention of occupation and postponed negotiations over the most contentious issues, including borders, refugees, Jerusalem and settlements, until the final stage.

Moreover, they failed to address the fundamental power imbalance between Israel, a regional hegemon, and the Palestinians, a stateless, occupied population.[11] In addition, the absence of an effective enforcement mechanism or a clear end goal allowed Israel – the more powerful party – to continue a policy of territorial expansion, leaving the Palestinians living in isolated, scattered islets or “Bantustans,” with little recourse to any international body which would be in a position to address their grievances.

The Intifada can also be seen as a popular message of rejection, not only to Israeli practices, but to the Palestinian Authority (PA) as well – the architect of Oslo. In fact, during the Oslo decade, the PA worked towards the establishment of another Middle Eastern police state with US and Israeli support. Even throughout the Intifada, Palestinian policemen shot down their own people with live ammunition when Palestinians rallied in the thousands to support Osama bin Laden and denounce the US attacks on Afghanistan.

Arafat, fearing he would lose the sympathy of President George W. Bush, ordered a crackdown that killed three Palestinians and injured 50 more in clashes.[12] The corruption, cronyism and lack of consideration for the rule of law are magnified by the number of security forces that exist inside Palestine – a PA policeman for every 60 Palestinians.[13] As the late Edward Said rightly noted, “As for the Oslo ‘peace process’ that began in 1993, it has simply re-packaged the occupation, offering a token 18% of the lands seized in 1967 to the corrupt Vichy-like Authority of Arafat, whose mandate has essentially been to police and tax his people on Israel’s behalf.”[14]

The Intifada – Changes and Prospects

Fear ceased to be the sole prerogative of the Palestinians; a “balance of terror” emerged.
The al-Aqsa Intifada led to many strategic and conceptual changes in the anatomy of warfare between Arabs and Israelis. One of the major successes of the Intifada has been to deconstruct one of the major pillars of the Zionist project in Palestine – namely, the Zionist assertion that Israel is a safe haven for international Jewry.

In this regard, one must note that Israel’s military strategy had always been to export fear into neighboring countries, and the Israeli military always made sure that the battleground for any Arab-Israeli conflict would be outside the borders of Israel. This was exemplified by the Arab-Israeli wars of 1956, 1967, 1973 and 1982, all of which took place on Arab territory. On the other hand, all the military operations during the Intifada took place within the borders of Israel, with many Palestinian bombings and guerilla operations taking place inside Israeli towns, cities and settlements.[15]

Hence, fear ceased to be the sole prerogative of the Palestinians, and an elusive “balance of terror” emerged between the Palestinians and Israelis, despite the massive imbalance of aggregate power between both sides.

The result of this phenomenon was described by veteran Israeli peace activist Uri Avnery, who argued that the Intifada was slowly but surely demoralizing the whole of Israeli society, destroying the tourism industry, and more importantly, beginning a trend of reverse migration, where Jewish emigration not immigration becomes the norm.[16] After all, the Israeli economy has entered its third year of recession in which its tourism losses have reached $9 billion, and 11% of the total Israeli workforce is unemployed.[17]

Sharon had hoped that a combination of military, economic, and diplomatic pressure would lower Palestinian expectations and impose an unbearable cost on the Palestinian rebellion. Instead, the exact opposite happened, and the Intifada’s resilience illustrated that Sharon’s hard-line tactics failed to bring Israel the security he promised, despite unequivocal US support for his position, the European Union’s freezing of assets owned by Hamas and other resistance groups, and multiple official Arab attempts to bring an end to the Intifada which had inflamed the Arab streets for months.

Another related change occurred within Palestinian society itself due to the al-Aqsa Intifada. The uprising led to a power shift in favor of Islamists in the West Bank and Gaza, as more Palestinians became disillusioned with the PA’s corruption and its peacemaking strategy. Inevitably, this lent legitimacy to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, due to their decade-long opposition to the peace process, their lack of corruption, their network of schools, clinics, orphanages, and their financial support of many impoverished Palestinians.[18]

Statistics compiled recently by pollsters from the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center show that 82.7% of Palestinians believe that the PA is corrupt and lacks the will to reform. In addition, the rise of a new Fatah military wing under the name of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (comprised mainly of the younger Fatah generation) and their resistance strategy (as opposed to the PA’s peacemaking strategy) gave more credibility to the Islamist option of resistance in Palestinian eyes. Despite a sudden upsurge in Arafat’s popularity after Israeli threats on his life, he will continue to find it difficult to face the militants who now seem to control the Palestinian street.

Conclusions

The Palestinians have perfected the deployment of the human bomb, against which Israel has no defense.

There is no doubt that the current Palestinian uprising is unprecedented in terms of the nature of the confrontation itself and the massive imbalance of power between the parties to the conflict. There is a glaring difference between Israel’s state-of-the-art high-tech, multi-billion dollar army, and the cash-starved, lightly armed Palestinians.[19]

Since the 1970s, Israel has been receiving around $3 billion a year in aid from the US, in addition to the billions of dollars raised from a variety of foreign Jewish and non-Jewish institutions to sustain the Israeli war machine. More importantly, there is no historical precedent to Israel’s use of F-16 fighter jets, Apache helicopter gunships, and heavy artillery to target a virtually defenseless population with no state or standing army.

Despite that, the Palestinians have managed to narrow the military gap through the use of reasonably effective asymmetric warfare tactics; guerilla attacks, drive-by shootings, and rocket and mortar attacks on both settlers and soldiers. But more importantly, the Palestinians have perfected the deployment of the human bomb, against which Israel has no defense.[20] The result has been the death of over 800 Israelis – one Israeli killed for every three Palestinians, as opposed to the one to ten ratio of previous confrontations.[21]

Given the lack of both a viable mechanism for peace and an honest broker to intervene in the escalating spiral of violence, all signs indicate that the Intifada will continue for several years. The Bush roadmap seems to be drifting swiftly into the burgeoning archive of failed peace proposals, and no one expects the US to intervene meaningfully during an election year. Once again, the Palestinians have no other option but to resist and engage Israel in a long-term war of attrition.
___________________________________________________________________

Kareem M. Kamel is an Egyptian freelance writer based in Cairo, Egypt. He has an MA in International Relations and is specialized in security studies, decision- making, nuclear politics, Middle East politics and the politics of Islam. He is currently assistant to the Political Science Department at the American University in Cairo.

[1] Robert Fisk, “The Awesome Cruelty of a Doomed People,” Zmag
[2] Azzam Tamimi, “From Intifada to Intifada,” Al-Jazeera (English) September 28th, 2003
[3] “Palestine Fact Sheets,” The Palestine Monitor
[4] Jim Lobe, “On the Third Anniversary of Intifada, 3000 Israelis, Palestinians Dead,” One World US September 29th, 2003
[5] “Palestine Fact Sheets,” The Palestine Monitor
[6] Roshan Muhammed Saleh, “David Versus Goliath?” Al-Jazeera (English) October 2nd, 2003
[7] “Palestinians mark al-Aqsa Intifada,” Al-Jazeera (English) September 28th, 2003
[8] Tom Regan, “UN Security Report Condemns Israeli Security Fence As ‘Illegal’,” Christian Science Monitor October 1st, 2003
[9] Shaheen Chughtai, “Origins of the Intifada,” Al-Jazeera (English) September 27th, 2003
[10] Nizar Sakhnini, “The Need for a New Strategy in Fighting the Racist Colonial Project in Palestine.” May 10th, 2002
[11] Catherine Cook, “Ten Years After Oslo,” MERIP Reports September 24th, 2003
[12] “Clash of Palestinians, Police Turns Fatal,” The Arizona Republic October 9, 2001 : A7
[13] Raji Sourani, “Human Rights Work Since Oslo: A Two-Dimensional Approach,” Palestine Center September 25th, 2000
[14] Edward Said, “The Desertion of Arafat,” New Left Review September/October 2001
[15] Mohamed Abdel Aty, “Israeli Society and the Influence of the Intifada in its Third Year,” Al-Jazeera (Arabic) September 29th, 2003
[16] “Rage Against the War Machine,” The Socialist Review September 2001
[17] Mahmoud Abdel Ghafar, “The Intifada Defeats Israel Economically,” Al-Jazeera (Arabic) September 9th, 2003
[18] Zeina Khodr, “Intifada Swings Power Towards Islamists,” Al-Jazeera (English) September 27th, 2003
[19] Roshan Muhammed Saleh, “David Versus Goliath?” Al-Jazeera (English) October 2nd, 2003
[20] Gal Luft, “The Palestinian H-Bomb: Terror’s Winning Strategy,” Foreign Affairs Vol. 84 (July/August 2002)
[21] Roshan Muhammed Saleh, “David Versus Goliath?” Al-Jazeera (English) October 2nd, 2003

Source: http://www.islamonline.net/English/Views/2003/10/article05.shtml

The Bright Side of the Cartoon Conflict

The Bright Side of the Cartoon Conflict
By Dr. `Ali ibn `Umar Badahdah*
16/02/2006

I am not exaggerating when I say that no one would have expected that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would have become a celebrity all over the world.

He became the main topic in the news and the center of discourse. Ordinary people and intellectuals have become preoccupied with the campaign for and against the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The event also has had an impact on the attitudes of governments.

The events have taken place as follows:

1. There has been strong condemnation of ridiculing the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) which can be seen in khutbahs, as well as in print and online publications.

2. New Web sites and special pages on the Internet have been specially launched to cover the events and facilitate ways of protest against the anti-Prophet cartoons and addressing the Danish and Norwegian authorities in particular, and the Muslim, European, and international bodies in general.

3. The pro-Prophet campaign has made a wide-scale call for people to boycott Danish products. Practical and effective steps have been taken.

4. Mass media has also shown great interest in covering the events in bulletins, programs, and interviews.

5. There has also been wide-scale popular interest in the event shown in ordinary conversations, mobile phone text messages, personal e-mails, and signs on walls and cars.

6. There were some positive official reactions when some governments met ambassadors of the countries that had published the insulting cartoons of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to convey to them the official condemnation of the cartoons. Many Muslim countries have also prevented the publishing and broadcasting of some Danish cultural programs and activities as a sign of protest against the publication of the cartoons.

7. The events have been the subject of ideological discussions within the framework of dialogue of civilizations and respect of creeds and religious sanctities as essentials of basic human rights.

8. Muslims of all occupations and professions, as well as students and children, expressed condemnation of the publications of the cartoons.

9. Muslims have shown great willingness to volunteer their time, effort, and money, according to their ability, in order to contribute to the defense of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

10. People have followed up with interest on the reactions and counter-reactions to the economic boycott of Danish products, as well as the legal actions that have been taken.
In fact, this is one of the first times when Muslims have had to face such an event in modern times. The events have influenced Muslims' emotions and attitudes so much, and have caused them to contemplate the great status of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in Islam and their hearts.

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the Prophet of Truth; Allah Almighty refers to him as he who [bringeth the truth and believeth therein] (Az-Zumar 39:33).

He (peace and blessings be upon him) is also the Prophet of Mercy as Almighty Allah describes him by saying [We sent thee not save as a mercy for the peoples] (Al-Anbiyaa' 21:107).

He (peace and blessings be upon him) is the Prophet of Intercession [as he will intercede with Almighty Allah on the Day of Judgment].
He (peace and blessings be upon him) is also the Prophet of the "station of praise and glory," as Almighty Allah has addressed him saying [and pray in the small watches of the morning: (it would be) an additional prayer (or spiritual profit) for thee: soon will thy Lord raise thee to a Station of Praise and Glory] (Al-Israa' 17:79).

He (peace and blessings be upon him) was reported to have said, "I will be the first to be resurrected from the grave and the preeminent among the descendants of Adam on the Day of Resurrection. I will also be the first intercessor and the first whose intercession will be accepted (by Allah on the day of Judgment)" (Muslim).

He (peace and blessings be upon him) was chosen by Almighty Allah to be the Seal of the Prophets. Muslims' faith in Allah will not be accepted unless it is joined with the belief in Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Likewise, Muslims' faith will only be true if they truly love the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), hold him in high esteem, and sincerely follow in his footsteps.

The great love shown by Muslims nowadays for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) brings to mind the profound affection the Prophet's Companions would bear him. One of the Muslims' enemies at the Prophet's time, `Urwa ibn Mas`ud Ath-Thaqfi, was reported to have said to his people , "O people! By Allah, I have been to the kings and to the emperors of Persia and the Byzantine empire and to the Negus of Abyssinia, yet I have never seen any of them respected by his courtiers as much as Muhammad is respected by his Companions.

By Allah, if he spat, the spittle would fall in the hand of one of them, who would rub it on his face and skin; if he ordered them, they would carry out his order immediately; if he performed ablution, they would struggle to take the remaining water of his ablution; and when they spoke, they would lower their voices and would not look at his face constantly out of respect" (Al-Bukhari).

The Companions, moreover, were quite willing to sacrifice their lives for the Prophet's sake. For example, in the Battle of Uhud, Abu Talha (may Allah be pleased with him) shielded the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with his body and said, "May my chest be sacrificed for yours, O Allah's Messenger!" The Companions would never allow the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) to be belittled or underestimated in any way.

Following in these footsteps, Muslims nowadays sincerely defend the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and will not accept anyone belittling his character. In essence, the campaign against the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has shown great impact on Muslims' spiritual and worldly lives.

The campaign has had a spiritual impact on Muslims lives:

1. The campaign has brought out the great and deep love Muslims have for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

2. Muslims have shown praiseworthy enthusiasm in their defense of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

3. The unity of Muslims has manifested itself when Muslims are faced with the serious issue of defending the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) who was the best of humankind.

4. Muslims' morale has been raised, especially because they have found that they are able to react in the interest of the cause of defending the Prophet, and this gives them enthusiasm to remove any hindrance or shortcoming.

5. Muslims have realized the importance of the role of religion in their lives and that they should make it the basis of their lives.

6. Muslims have bitterly realized what it means to have their religion and sanctities insulted and comparing this to parallel cases such as the Zionist occupation of Palestine, the American invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan and other examples of aggressions against Muslims.

7. The campaign against the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has also focused on the issue of taking non-Muslims for friends or for enemies and the importance of understanding this issue in light of the aggressions practiced against Muslims in different parts of the world.

8. Muslims have learned also to give priority to the spirit of giving and sacrifice over succumbing to their worldly desires.

The campaign has had a practical worldly impact on people's lives:

1. The boycott of Danish products has brought out the significance of the role of the economy in defending the interests of Muslim nations.

2. The importance of economic independence has asserted itself, especially in the fields of food products and medicine. In fact, Muslims should adopt and apply the slogan (We should eat from what we plant and wear the clothes we make ourselves.)

3. Arab and Muslim countries have realized the importance establishing economic cooperation among themselves. They are taking serious steps, especially because many of the countries have large populations and are rich in natural resources.

4. Mass media in all its forms has played a positive role in dealing with the event and has proved that it can have an effective impact. Ahmad Abu Zayd, a well-known writer, discussed the recent events, saying, "It is these serious issues that form our youths' awareness and motivate them to pay attention to the issues of Arab and Muslim nations, away from the superficial handling on the part of most satellite channels. These channels purposefully focus on the lives of celebrities, such as singers and athletes, so that our youth, both male and female, become preoccupied with the minute details of the lives of those people. At the same time, the least that can be said about celebrities is that they have never constructively contributed to real progress of their communities" (Al-Hayah Jan. 4, 2006).

5. One Muslim country has withdrawn its ambassador from Denmark and has condemned the campaign against the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) through its cabinet and Shura (Consultative) Council. To this effect, this country has set a good example of using politics in defending the sanctities of Muslim nations and preserving their identity. Popular attitudes are being representing by the official actions of the country.

Based on the above, we can see that the campaign against the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has shown us that Muslim nations can use economics, politics, and the media in the right direction to achieve their interests and to preserve their identity. The campaign has shown the extent of love Muslims have for the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) and the importance of working hand in hand for the good of Islam. We should do our best to cherish and preserve these good results and to do our best so that we can build upon them and guarantee their continuity and legitimacy.

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British Muslims Proud Integrationists

British Muslims Proud Integrationists

By Hadi Yahmid, IOL Correspondent

LONDON, April 16, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – Despite the fallout from the 7/7 attacks on London's underground by four British Muslims, the sizable Muslim minority in Britain still feels luckier compared to fellow Muslims across Europe thanks to the successful integrationist policy of the government.
"The status of British Muslims in society is the most distinguished in comparison with other Muslim minorities in Europe and the entire West," Ahmad Al-Dubayan, the director of the Regents Park Mosque in central London told IslamOnline.net.

He said British Muslims are more represented in the lower and upper houses of parliament than any Muslim minority in Europe.

"True that France has the largest Muslim minority in Europe (some six million people), but British Muslims (some 1.8 million) are well-represented in the House of Lords and the House of Commons, and matchlessly assume high-profile posts in the government," Al-Dubayan added.

Four out of the 50 Muslim candidates fielded by major parties won in last May's parliamentary elections, what was seen by analysts as a considerable victory helping the minority play a key role in the country's political landscape.

Mohammad Sarwar and Khalid Mahmood were re-elected, while Sadiq Khan and Shahid Malik became the parliament's new Muslim faces.

Multi-Culturalism

The Islamic Bank of Britain stand as proof of London's multi-cultural mosaic.
Al-Dubayan said Britain is based on multi-culturalism, giving Muslims and other minorities much more freedom.

One cannot hardly spot a hijab-clad Muslim woman or a turbaned Sikh at the tickets counter in Britain's largest and most famous Waterloo railway station or Heathrow airport, says IOL correspondent.

And at the station's historical and breathtaking Victory Arch, one can listen to the tuneful Easter songs by a church choir.

The Regents Park Mosque and the Islamic Bank of Britain in Edgware Road also stand as proof of London's multi-cultural mosaic.

Last year, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) Sir Iqbal Sacranie joined a star-studded array of public figures led by Prime Minister Tony Blair in presenting London's successful bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games.

MCB spokesman Inayat Bunglawala was also picked by the government after the July attacks as part of a taskforce of public figures to address the roots of terrorism.

Islamic Arts

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone has decided to host Europe's biggest exhibition of modern-day Islam, IslamExpo, this summer in the splendid Alexandra Palace, London’s most stylish and versatile venue for exhibitions, conferences, hospitality and private celebrations.

"IslamExpo will be held at London's most spectacular venue for conferences for four days to shed light on the artistic and cultural faces of Islam," the exhibition's supervisor, Somiya Abdel Salam, told IOL.

"Our message is that Islam can contribute to the integration process with its arts," she said.

An ICM survey found in February that 91 percent of British Muslims are "loyal" to Britain and 80 percent still want to live in and accept Western society.

The poll showed that that 99 percent of British Muslims believed the July 7 bombers were "wrong" to carry out the atrocity.

British Muslim leaders have, however, joined forces with senior politicians and rights activists in opposing the recently adopted amendments to the anti-terror bill, which made the vaguely "glorification" of terrorism a crime and curbed personal freedoms.

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Source: http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2006-04/16/article04.shtml

UK Muslim Top 100 Honored

UK Muslim Top 100 Honored
IslamOnline.net & Newspapers

CAIRO — A galaxy of 100 British Muslim dignitaries were awarded Saturday, February 10, for their valuable contributions to the social, cultural and economic well-being of Britain.

"We wanted to highlight the positive contributions made by British Muslims to society," Sultan Choudhury, a spokesman for the Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB) which sponsored the Muslim Power 100 list, told The Independent.

The list included a variety of British Muslims from all walks of life in the European country.
Leading among those honored were singer Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, actor Art Malik, politician Imran Khan and boxer Amir Khan.

The list also included Harrods boss Mohamed al Fayed, Labour member Lord Patel, Sun reporter Anila Baig and Independent columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown.

Excellence awards were also given to nine guests, including Dr Hany El Banna, founder of Islamic Relief, and Haifa Fahoum Al Kaylani, chair of the Arab International Women's Forum.
"Not only does this list recognize exceptional achievements, but it also illustrates the opportunities for success available for Muslims in Britain," said Choudhury.

The list included 22 company chiefs, including Sir Gulam Noon, whose curry empire is worth around £55m.

The Muslim minority contributes over £31bn to the British economy each year.

The Muslim Power 100 list was compiled from some 6,000 nominations.

It was judged by a 16-strong panel including Sir Iqbal Sacranie, the former secretary general of the umbrella group Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), Lord Bhatia and Dr Ghayassuddin Siddiqui of the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain.

Integrated

The IBB said that the list of Muslim figures was "more important than ever to recognize contribution of Muslims".

Choudhury said the Muslim contributions "are in complete contrast with media connotations that somehow Muslims are linked to terrorism, are not as educated, or are segregating themselves."

"The opposite is true - we are integrating and contributing across a wide range of fields," he added.

Lord Patel – Britain's first Asian peer – agreed.

He said the list "can only help improve perceptions of Muslims in Britain".

Journalist Rageh Omaah, also on the list, said the move could help change stereotypes of the Muslim minority.

"Anything that helps to remind people that there's a mainstream British Muslim community that has no problem being proud to be British and Muslim is a good thing," he told The Independent.

British Muslims, estimated at some 1.8 million, have been in the eye of storm since the 7/7 attacks, which killed 56 people, including the four Muslim bombers.

The Policy Exchange think-tank said in a report on January 29 that British officials must stop treating Muslims as a monolith with special needs that are different to the rest of the population.
It said the government should treat Muslims as citizens rather than a homogenous group singled out for a sensitive and special treatment.

A UK study also said last month that the Western media and film industry were perpetuating Islamophobia and prejudice by demonizing Muslims and Arabs as violent, dangerous and threatening people.

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Source: http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1170877892179&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout

Dutch MPs to decide on burqa ban

Dutch MPs to decide on burqa ban

The Dutch government will announce over the next few weeks whether it will make it a crime to wear traditional Islamic dress which covers the face apart from the eyes.

The Dutch parliament has already voted in favour of a proposal to ban the burqa outside the home, and some in the government have thrown their weight behind it.

There are only about 50 women in all of the Netherlands who do cover up entirely - but soon they could be breaking the law. Dutch MP Geert Wilders is the man who first suggested the idea of a ban.

“It’s a medieval symbol, a symbol against women,” he says.
“We don’t want women to be ashamed to show who they are. Even if you have decided yourself to do that, you should not do it in Holland, because we want you to be integrated, assimilated into Dutch society. If people cannot see who you are, or see one inch of your body or your face, I believe this is not the way to integrate into our society.”
‘Identifiable’

I interviewed Mr Wilders inside parliament after several security checks. Two tough bodyguards stood close by throughout. This country, once the epitome of easy-going liberalism, is edgier, less tolerant these days.

Mr Wilders’ name was included on a list of “infidels, who deserved to be slaughtered”, which was found pinned to the body of filmmaker Theo Van Gogh.

Van Gogh was murdered two years ago for making the film about women and Islam called “Submission”. It starts with a shot of a woman’s face covered by a burqa. Slowly the camera shows that, from the neck downwards, she’s naked but for a thin veil.

Mr Wilders has explicitly linked his wish for a burqa ban with terrorism.

“We have problems with a growing minority of Muslims who tend to have sympathy with the Islamo-fascistic concept of radical Islam,” says Mr Wilders.

“That’s also a reason why everybody should be identifiable when they walk on the street or go to a pub or go into a restaurant or whatsoever.”

‘Freedom of choice’

Famala Aslam is a Muslim lawyer who has represented women who have stopped wearing the burqa while training as child-care assistants. She would not cover her face herself, but does wear a traditional dress and headscarf from eastern Turkey.

She showed me how that can be adapted.

“Other women are stricter; and they hide the face - you can only see the eyes,” she says. “And other women choose to wear the niqab, and they veil the face totally.”
I asked her what she would say to people who would say: “If you want to fit into the West, live here, wear a business suit; wear jeans - don’t wear what you’re wearing. Don’t wear a niqab.”
Ms Aslam says she believes that the freedom of choice and the freedom of religion is something that people need to fight for.

In the city of Maaseik, in Belgium - which lies a few hundred yards from the Dutch border - a ban on wearing the niqab is already in place. Mayor Jan Creemers said he brought it forward because old people were afraid and children cried when women started appearing in long black robes with their faces covered.

Belgium ban

Women can now be fined 150 euros (£102) if they are found to be wearing the niqab.
“There were six ladies who wore the niqab. I think two or three weeks after the council passed this law, five have dropped it,” says Mr Creemers. “One lady is still wearing it but the last step in the procedure will be that she must go to jail.”

The husband of the woman who defies the ban is being held in connection with the Madrid bombings. But the police here are not too happy with the ban. They say it has made relations with the Moroccan community worse and gives young people a reason to resent society.
Ms Aslam says if the ban becomes law in the Netherlands, some women will adopt the veil as a political statement.

“A lot of women are not fully feeling like Muslims,” she says. “But because of the public opinion, they are feeling like: ‘I have to be a Muslim’. And banning or isolating a certain group of the population is just asking for problems.”

The Dutch government will soon decide whether to ban the burqa. Perhaps it will not become illegal in this marketplace or in the street. But they are likely to ban it in public places like stations, airports and cinemas - something many Muslims will regard as provocation in a Europe increasingly uncertain of its own identity.

BBC
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Source: http://www.therevival.co.uk/?p=26

Islamic Movements

Islamic Movements

Self-Criticism and Reconsideration

By Rashid al Ghanuchi

Looking at the Islamic revival worldwide today - a revival aiming to rebuild the individual and society and recompose the nation's thought and politics based on Islam - we find it making progress. It is making victories that no other ideology is making in today's world.

The progress is not limited to the idea, because the idea itself is improving. The Islamic movement has been able to discover new areas of Islam, and the discoveries continue along the path forged by men of the last century like Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and continued by men like Hasan al-Banna and Abu Al-A'la al-Maududi. The ideas of these men gave birth to modern Islamic movements which rediscovered the Islamic basis upon which to build life. Islam is not a group of individual beliefs, rituals, or mannerisms.

It is a comprehensive way of life. Islam was around before the modern Islamic movement, but it had been thought of as a preparation for one to get to heaven, not a system to mold society.

Today Islam is progressing forcefully while secularism is falling rapidly. While Islam attracts people who are looking for justice, secularism is loosing major footholds and has lost its ability to defend itself except by violence. When you see a secular state using more and more violence, know that it is bankrupt. The secular state has lost its legitimacy.

Instead of being based on popular support, these states are based on international support and on violence. Meanwhile, Islam is progressing vertically and horizontally. Its idea deepens daily while spreading from fields such as politics and economics to art, human resource development (including women), and institution-building. Despite this remarkable progress, however, I must make some negative remarks, emphasize some shortcomings in the performance of the Islamic movement, and warn against some pitfalls, because we cannot always focus on the positive side of things.

One of the elements of repentance is reconsideration. We must reconsider our actions every day. Are we really on the truth path, or can we be described by the Qur'anic verse: "We found our forefathers doing something and here we are doing the same" (Zukhruf: 23). This verse was intended to describe the polytheists, but Muslims should learn to understand the meaning of continuous evaluation. So repentance is not something limited to our relationship to God; it includes reconsideration of the self at every step in life. This is why self-criticism is so important. The Prophet (PBUH) says, "Hold yourself accountable before you are held accountable."

It is imperative that every movement correct its performance. It should ask: is our plan fulfilled? Why were we late in fulfilling it? What can we do to avoid delays next time? If a movement has 20 members in the parliament in one election, and five in the next, shouldn't it ask why? If the state has conspired against us, why and how? Such a movement should not get angry because we ask that it re-evaluate itself. We have performed such re-evaluations in our movement, and were able to put our finger on a number of mistakes that we made in dealing with the regime in our country.

What I am proposing is a group of comments that have a lot of room for personal interpretation. Some might agree, disagree, or partially disagree.

My first comment is about the strategy of the Islamic movement in dealing with minorities. Muslim minorities are 45 percent of the entire world population of Muslims. They are a major value for Islam, and they are the pioneers of Islamic propagation. Either they help open the path or else they become extinct. Supporting these outlying regions must be a priority before extinction. Look at what happened in the Balkan region. In the days of the Ottomans, the spread of Islam was rapid. After the demise of the Caliphate, the Islamic presence there is like puddles of water where the sea has left, waiting to dry out.

The balance of international power is not on the side of these minorities. They should not have to over-extend their resources and carry the burden of Islamic governance. This is a role for the countries with a Muslim majority. If these Muslim minorities adopt the ideas of Islamic governance laid out by Sayyed Qutb and others at this point, they will have signed their own death warrant.

The role I suggest for Muslim minorities is to reinforce the Islamic presence in the countries they live in. There is a big difference between maintaining a presence and working to establish an Islamic government. The most a minority can hope for is participation in politics. In fact, their entry into the realm of politics is sometimes a major reason for the attention minorities get. So they better focus on social work. Politics is a grinding arena. The race for government is the race for wealth and influence.

Sometimes we find Muslim minorities asking for independence or a separate state. Of course this is allowed from a legal point of view, but in reality it must not be allowed. We can ask: is the quest for independence necessary? Or can we accept a lesser arrangement, like self-rule, in preparation for the return to Islam?

This goes for the Chechnyans, where the Muslim minority is demanding independence from Russia. Russia is a decaying empire; Islam can get to it in time. So why should we prevent that by splitting from it especially if independence is simply not viable and would lead to the annihilation of the Muslim minority? Also, the incessant demand for independence might damage the relationship between the Muslim world and the nation that the Muslim minority wants independence from. If the Muslim minority in China adopts the demand for independence one day, and the Muslims find an interest in allying with China against some mutual enemy, the Muslims will be faced with a major dilemma.

The Islamic nation has an interest in not picking fights with China, India, or even Yugoslavia these days. Wherever Muslim minorities can live safely, and practice their religious rites freely, independence is not necessary. In fact, the pursuit of independence could be deadly. Generally speaking, Muslim minorities are not requested to govern the countries they live in by Islam, nor to think about independence, because this will lead to their genocide and put the entire Islamic nation's interests in danger.

The second comment is about priorities. Is our priority social work or reaching power? These two items might not be mutually exclusive - Islam wants to Islamize politics and society simultaneously - but if the interests of social missionary work (da`wah) contradicts political interests, the social interests must be put before anything else. It has been proven that what is achieved socially is more permanent and better than what is achieved politically. Modern experience has taught us that things achieved through the state are quick but short-lived, because they depend on force. But what is done through social activity lasts, because it depends on persuasion. Humans do not like to be forced. The Makkans offered Muhammad (PBUH) the government but he refused it, preferring instead to establish his calling.

The Islamic movement must not have the government as its first priority. Takeover of government should not be the biggest achievement possible. A bigger achievement would be if the people would love Islam and its leaders. Our entire activity is based on the Islamic state of `Umar Ibn `Abdul `Aziz, which lasted only for two years, and the Guided Caliphate before him. Who remembers anything from the Umayyad or Abbassid caliphates? `Umar Ibn `Abdul `Aziz was a beacon because he renewed the prophetic form of government. The issue is not how long you governed, but what you did. The years of `Umar left a long-lasting effect in the hearts of Muslims for the rest of history. The most dangerous thing is for the Islamists to be loved by the people before they get to power and then hated afterward.

The third comment deals with civil society. The Islamic movement should be keen on developing and strengthening civil society even after the state is established. Even the Islamic state doesn't have control over everything under it. Government is a small part of the institutions of civil society. It is there to support and strengthen society. There must be more institutions of civil society, enough so that the people don't need the state. The Islamic movement must return power to the society through grassroots institutions. These institutions must be led by elected officials.

There shouldn't be institutions exclusively for Islamists. It's better to have nationwide institutions where everyone competes for their leadership. It is a waste of time to have a leftist student organization, an Islamic student organization, etc. The Islamic movement should not be an excuse to divide the people. All are Muslims, but the Islam of some needs a little rejuvenation. Even the idea of Islamic parties should be given up. While the word "Islamic" usually is prohibited for political reasons from being in the name of Islamic parties, that might actually be a blessing. Any party that the Islamists participate in must be an open, national party.

The fourth comment is on the current conflict between the Islamic movement and the secular state. The movement is being subjected to horrific amounts of violence and suppression. The question is: how should the movement respond to oppression by the secular state? Is state violence a justification for popular violence? There are many religious replies to this question; most do not condone violence against a government that calls itself Islamic. Pragmatically speaking, however, all of the episodes where Islamists responded violently to state violence have been negative. Popular violence, whether Islamic or otherwise, has not been able to damage any regime's standing. Leftists and Islamists have carried out violence, and it has led to nothing but disaster, as in Syria.

The Islamic movement must abide by peaceful methods. It must refuse all forms of military activity. This is the lesson we can learn from the Rafah Party in Turkey. The achievements of the Islamic movement were confiscated more than once by the military. Had the Islamists called for revolution against the army, it would have been utter stupidity and it would have been a catastrophe. Today the Islamic movement in Egypt suffers from hard times, but its leaders refuse to be misled into violence. These regimes want the Islamists to enter the fighting arena, because the government has more resources. Violence is what these regimes specialize in, and they are rather creative at it. The arena of the Islamists is thought, and that is where the rulers are bankrupt. We should not be pulled into a field where they will surely win.

The fifth comment deals with democracy. Many Islamists associate democracy with foreign intervention and non-belief. But democracy is a set of mechanisms to guarantee freedom of thought and assembly and peaceful competition for governmental authority through ballot boxes. The Islamic movement's negative attitude toward democracy is holding it back. We have no modern experience in Islamic activity that can replace democracy. The Islamization of democracy is the closest thing to implementing Shura (consultation). Those who reject this thought have not produced anything different than the one-party system of rule.

The Islamists have two examples: Iran and Sudan. Both are searching for identity, searching for a modern Islamic form of government. We have no modern example for implementing Islamic government. The uneducated think that the Islamic program is a ready-made entity: stick it on the ground and implement it. I don't see any choice before us but to adapt the democratic idea. It might even be dangerous to ignore democracy. Even more dangerous is for the Islamic movement to reach a state where either it remains in power or it dissipates. The movement's options must be open to guarantee its existence. The ones who can gain the most from democracy are the Muslims; they should be the most keen for it. They might come to power whenever free elections are held. The secularists are in the minority these days. They are the ones who have problems with democracy. They are preventing democracy in the Islamic world, because they would lose.

The Islamic mind must adjust until it sees things in their real light. America, the Zionists, and the secularists are the ones afraid of democracy in the Islamic world. So why do you, brother in Islam, share this fear with them? Why are you helping them destroy this beautiful thought?

The Islamists must realize that, despite the achievements of the Islamic movement, the balance of power is simply not in their favor. The balance is in the secularists' favor. Governance might be something the Islamic movement cannot do alone. Maybe the better option is to participate in government as long as the balance of power is what it is.

This would maintain the achievements that the movement has gained over time. Governing single-handedly would put the Islamists in the spotlight, and then isolation. Rather, they must open up to all the political forces and forge alliances with all national parties. Islam is facing the threat of Zionism. The Islamists must be looking for common ground to establish a dialogue with the national forces, even Western non-xenophobic streams of thought, to face the Zionist threat together. The Zionist threat is endangering the Islamic nation and the world, and is a threat to values, family and religion. It aims to get rid of everything good about humanity.

We must work to lessen the conflicts between the Islamic trend and other political trends in the Muslim world. May God help us.

"If anyone fears God, He will find him a way out for him that he never thought possible. If one trusts God, He will be enough for him" (Talaq: 2-3).

Such promises must remain in our souls, and in the souls of the generations to come. The sun of Islam will shine the world over.

But we must affirm the need to educate ourselves in Islam, fear God, observe the prayers, read Qur'an, and find time to feel God in our everyday lives. We must believe that, without God's presence, we cannot change any balance of power. "And God will have His way, but most people do not believe" (Yusuf: 21).

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Rashid al Ghanuchi is head of the Al-Nahda Islamic movement of Tunis and is one of the most important Islamic thinkers today. After obtaining political asylum, he has resided in Britain. He is considered one of the more pragmatic Islamic leaders and supporters of coexistence and cooperation among cultures.

source: http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1159951463906&pagename=Zone-English-Living_Shariah%2FLSELayout

An Extraordinary Message

An Extraordinary Message

By Soha El-Saman
Freelance Writer

Tariq Ramadan's latest bookIn a time when Prophet Muhammad has become the subject of news headlines generating heated debates and fiery actions and reactions around the world, deep understanding and emulation of his magnanimity and wisdom are desperately needed to extinguish the blaze.

While he is devoutly loved and revered by over a billion Muslims who can recite the details of his life and character, he remains shrouded in myth and mystery for non-Muslims. But exposure to the facts of someone's life does not necessarily mean knowing one, and reverent love can elevate someone to so high a place that distance keeps one apart from the beloved.

Tariq Ramadan's latest book, The Messenger: The Meanings of the Life of Muhammad, is a biography of the Prophet that aims to lift the shrouds of mystery for non-Muslims and bridge the distance for Muslims. Ramadan does not pretend to uncover any new details, nor does he aspire for his book to replace the multitude of biographies about the Prophet; in fact he admits that his work very much relies on the classics among them.

Unique

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What makes Ramadan's book unique is that he delves into the details of the life of the Prophet, from before birth to the hour of his death, mining for the timeless spiritual teachings and timely contemporary lessons so sorely needed in our time.In beautifully poetic and easy-to-read prose, these spiritual teachings begin in the introduction when Ramadan reminds us that loving the Prophet means constantly meditating over his life.

The teaching continues in the first chapter, "Encounter With the Sacred," with a lesson on trials and faith, doubts and trust, and being torn between two loves by retelling the story of Abraham and, through it, drawing the spiritual line and bloodline that link the two prophets.

The Prophet's Life

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In the ensuing chapters, Ramadan invites us to walk along with him in the footsteps of the Prophet as his Rab (Lord) prepares him from infancy to adulthood for the mission to come: his being orphaned young, his contemplative temperament, his trade, his marriage to a woman his senior, and his servant. All were signs and preparatory education for him and are signs and reflective teachings for us today. We are called to witness the Prophet in his most difficult times and see him as both an ordinary human and the exemplary model, guide, and leader he was and continues to be for Muslims.

We are called to witness the Prophet in his most difficult times and see him as an ordinary human.Through the Prophet's life, we are comforted by how intimately close God is and yet awed by how so transcendent He is.

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Muslims and non-Muslims alike learn how the Prophet addressed issues that over 1,400 years later remain the topics of the day: the environment, marriage and friendship, the role of women, religious and cultural pluralism, the inevitable challenges involved, apostasy, conflict resolution and war, and consultation and leadership.

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Private Meditation

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Ramadan does not sermonize about these lessons; in these moments, the reader often seems to be drawn in to join Ramadan in his private meditation on the Prophet's life. The reader pauses with him on verses from the Qur'an and the Prophet's hadiths at once translating and providing commentary on both and extracting the spiritual, moral, and ethical lessons from these textual sources and the events taking place in those moments so long ago and which are so relevant to our lives today.In intentionally short chapters, Ramadan succeeds in bringing the Prophet to life to personally probe the conscious of Muslims and non-Muslims alike and nudge them to mine deeper in their hearts and minds for the better selves they are capable of becoming.
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Soha El-Saman is headmaster and cofounder of the Honey Bee British School, she also teaches a number of classes there. El-Saman is a teacher of Arabic and Islamic studies in a number of UK mosques. She holds a postgraduate diploma in preschool education from Bracknell and Wokingham College in Bracknell, UK.

source: http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1172571463092&pagename=Zone-English-Euro_Muslims%2FEMELayout

The Future of Islam in North America

The Future of Islam in North America
The Central Importance of Education

By Mohamed Ansary
Contemporary Issues Editor — IslamOnline.net

Impact of US Policies
Muslim Organizations and Education
Muslim Media Channel
Prospects for the Future
Conclusion

This essay was inspired by a Live Dialogue held by IslamOnline.net's English Shari`ah Department, on April 18, 2007, with Sheikh Muhammad Al-Mukhtar Al-Shinqiti, a prominent Muslim scholar and director of the Islamic Center of South Plains, Lubbock, Texas, USA. The dialogue was particularly successful as the varied participants, specially users from North America, asked focused questions.

They touched on a number of quintessential issues such as the impact of US policies toward the Muslim world on Muslim minorities in United States and Canada; the activities and performances of Muslim organizations in the USA in the post-9/11 era; the small number of well-qualified Muslim scholars and motivational community leaders in the USA; the need for more Muslim media specialists and social scientists in America; and finally, the challenges and opportunities that face Islam and Muslims in North America.

Impact of US Policies

Many Muslim scholars and intellectuals see the RAND Report as a transgression of the rights of Muslims to decide on their own independent criteria for "moderation" that stems from Shari`ah.
In March 2007, the RAND Corporation, an American NGO specialized in policy studies and measuring public opinion, issued a 217-page report titled Building Moderate Muslim Networks. In this report RAND, which is closely tied to the US Air Force, set up four criteria that would be used by the US administration and other parties to assess Muslim partners and to build networks of pressure on Middle Eastern dictatorships. The criteria allegedly define "moderate" Muslim individuals and organizations in the eyes of the authors of the report. The report also devised 11 questions that could be used to measure the level of the subject's conformity to the criteria.

This was the latest attempt — to the date of the Live Dialogue — by US institutions to interfere in the affairs of the Muslim world. Since former US secretary of state Colin Powell's Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) was launched in 2002, several documents and conferences have been conducted under the title of "reform" in the Middle East. Many Muslim scholars and intellectuals see this particular attempt as a transgression of the rights of Muslims to decide on their own independent criteria for "moderation" that stems from Shari`ah (Islamic Law) guidelines.

One of the questions directed to Al-Shinqiti in the Live Dialogue went as follows: "In view of the recent RAND recipe to handle the Muslim world, do you think this will have a negative impact on Muslim minorities especially in North America? What possible changes could happen to US policy in dealing with Muslims?" Al-Shinqiti's answer ruled out any impact of that particular report on Muslim minorities in North America, although he did note that one part of the report spoke about Muslim minorities in the West as one of many tools to implement the report's strategy in building moderate networks. However, he expressed his reservations about this role as outlined in the RAND report: "I think that Muslims living in North America could play a significant role in bridging the gap between the West and the Muslim world, in a way that is more constructive than the role assigned to them in the report."

The impact of US foreign and domestic policies on the lives of Muslim minorities inside the United States continues to be a subject of lengthy discussions, debates, and writings. In 1996, long before the world awoke to the horrors of 9/11, the Clinton administration sanctioned the Secret Evidence procedure through what was called the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (American Muslim Voice).

It was more publicly known as the Secret Evidence Act. During the 2000 elections, George W. Bush said that Arab and Muslim Americans were being subjected to unfair and discriminatory practices in immigration hearings where secret evidence was used against them (Islamic Institute). How ironic! Those who establish exclusive associative ties between 9/11 and policies that may irritate the presence of Muslims in America may not have the full picture.

After all, according to Richard A. Clarke, the former head of the antiterrorism unit in the US State Department, it was President Clinton who first described terrorism as the most dangerous threat to America after the end of the Cold War (Clarke). It is well known that in American discourse back then — notwithstanding Clinton's — "terrorism" was already used almost exclusively to describe some Middle Easterners and Muslims. "Terrorism" is also always confounding by being extended to mean certain forms of resistance that are legitimate.

However, the Muslims of the United States — and to a much lesser degree, Canada — were mostly hurt by the Bush policies in the post-9/11 era. Even though many sources spoke rightly of many governmental efforts to contain the public rage against American Muslims in the aftermath of 9/11, the Bush administration introduced — when things were about to cool down — a series of laws that are considered of discriminatory nature by most Muslim organizations in the United States and Canada.

The first of these laws was the notorious US Patriot Act, which was signed into law by Bush on October 26, 2001, after passing with minimal debate in the House and Senate. The act contained several sections that would clearly be used to persecute members of the Muslim minority. Even though there were a few sections meant to restrict this act from being discriminatory against Muslims, such as Section 102 which provided for Congress's condemnation of hate crimes against Muslim and Arab Americans, many of the act's provisions breached a number of civil liberties. Section 201, for example, authorized American law enforcers to "intercept wire, oral, and electronic communications relating to computer fraud and abuse offenses." Chip Pitts wrote in The Nation:

The Patriot Act has been and will continue to be used mainly against ordinary Americans accused of crimes unrelated to terrorism, or those who disagree with government policies or happen to be immigrants or of the Muslim faith. The result is likely to be an enduring shift of power from the legislative and judicial branches to the executive branch and less privacy and liberty for all.

On March 9, 2006, Bush signed the Patriot Improvement And Reauthorization Act Of 2005, which in effect is a renewal and extension of the 2001 measure. Even though the American president had promised several times that the original act would probably be contingent and temporary, by renewal it is no longer an emergency law but a permanent act.

The reports on Islam and Muslims produced by governmental and nongovernmental think tanks inside and outside the US and Canada, serve as tools of justification for the authorities to adapt measures that harm the civil liberties in their nations. The aforementioned RAND report, for example, adapts criteria that have barely anything to do with the religion, to assess moderation among Muslim individuals and organizations. Among RAND's criteria for a "moderate" Muslim is rejecting the concept of a Muslim state, not striving for the application of a sectarian source of law (a masked phrase to avoid bluntly saying Shari`ah), and to reject hudud (Islamic criminal penalties) (RAND 66–69).

Other reports and studies by American think tanks do not bother to hide their biases against Islam and Muslims.

With regard to building moderate Muslim networks among Muslims of the diaspora and Muslims in the Islamic world, the report mentioned a number of those who fit its criteria as a base for such networks. The report picked people who resolutely denounced religion altogether in their works. Among them is Shaker Al Nabulsi, who in his Manifesto of New Arab Liberals clearly calls for subjecting "the prevailing sacred values, traditions, legislations and moral values to in-depth scrutiny" (133).

The report also mentions Kuwaiti Professor Ahmad Al Baghdadi, who says outright that he would prefer his son to study music rather than the Qur'an (134). And Irshad Manji is included as one of a list of intellectuals who "appeal to democrats and free spirits of all countries" (165). Manji is the author of The Trouble With Islam Today. A second-generation Muslim immigrant to Canada, she rejects Islam altogether in favor of secular values. She openly approves of homosexuality in her book and scorns the Qur'an for giving men twice as much as women in inheritance (Manji).

If the RAND study suggests such people as models for moderate Muslims, then most Muslims living in the world, including those who differ with Manji but, like her, reside in the West, are by the same standard extremists and terrorists just because they believe that homosexuality should be prohibited and that men and women are equal in value but different in nature and roles. Thus such reports could easily harm the image of Western Muslims by presenting a distorted belief in a way that qualifies them all as potential terrorists.

The list includes a number of Muslim-born writers who are no less controversial than Manji, including Taslima Nasreen, Salman Rushdie, and Ayyan Hirsi Ali. The authors of the report seem to be unaware that you cannot label a group of intellectuals as "moderate Muslims" when all of them clearly deny that they respect Islam as a source of morals and a frame of reference in values and legislation .

This kind of fallacious analysis is also manifest in reports by a number of other American think tanks that serve as an advisory board to American policymakers. In addition to the latest RAND initiative, a number of other reports and studies were published by American think tanks that did not bother to hide their bias against Islam and Muslims: The Muslim World After 9/11 (RAND), Choosing Victory: A Plan for Success in Iraq (American Enterprise Institute), and ISLAM: America's Trojan Horse (Cst News), among others.

Muslim Organizations and Education

Cultural and social reception serve as a foundation for future political activism
Another visitor to the Live Dialogue asked Al-Shinqiti about the evaluation of the performance of Muslim organizations in North America after 9/11. He inquired as to what these organizations could offer other than political activism and empowerment for North American Muslims. The second part of the question was quite interesting and opened a wider window. At the same time it touched on an issue that has long been left without serious deliberation: the role of Muslim media and social scientists in North America.

The sheikh answered the first part of the question by asserting that "Muslim organizations are much more active today than before September 11. They have become more aware of the cultural prejudices and negative perceptions that the media is producing every day to demonize them."

The sheikh went on to clarify that it was time political activism stepped down from the top of the lists of Muslim communities in America and Canada. He then advocated more attention and energy to pour into "academic institutions, media, and interfaith dialogue."

Politics implies some level of confrontation. But before becoming involved in such confrontation, efforts must be exhausted in building the power of conviction

Al-Shinqiti's view is very progressive. The obsession of Islamic movements both inside and outside the Muslim world with state and political activities has overshadowed many of the issues that were more original on their intellectual platform such as education, spiritual development, charity, empowerment, entrenchment of intellectual and cultural foundations.

Al-Shinqiti then brilliantly justified his position against too much politics by citing the life of Prophet Muhammad, who first established firm cultural and social foundations for 13 years in Makkah before he finally established a state. Al-Shinqiti asserted, "Cultural and social reception serve as a foundation for future political activism."

The reasoning is that politics implies some level of confrontation, but "before becoming involved in such confrontation, efforts must be exhausted in building the power of conviction." If Muslim NGOs in North America thought deeply along these lines and tried to focus on implementing cultural and education foundations, they would be much more successful in reaching out to their compatriots in North America, both non-Muslims and emerging third-generation Muslims.
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The next question touched to some degree on the same issue. A user complained that Muslims in the United States have built many organizations, schools, and institutions but nevertheless failed to have enough people qualified to carry through the message of Islam in a North American environment and engender change in an intelligent and capable manner. They have also spent huge sums on their grand occasions and annual conferences, yet the dearth in young qualified promoters of Islamic values persists. Al-Shinqiti initially agreed with the viewer's pessimistic remark. He said, "I attended a number of conferences, and comparing the cost incurred in holding these conferences to the results accrued from them, I felt that the results were below my expectations."

However, he suggested a clear vision to break out of this deadlock. Al-Shinqiti, who holds strong convictions about the indispensable pivotal role of academic institutions in causing the progress and success of Muslims in the West and the Muslim world, explained that the problem is Muslim organizations in North America do not invest enough in education or what he called "training and empowering talented people especially in the area of humanities."

As practical advice, he suggested that both Muslim organizations and Muslim countries help establish Islamic studies chairs in universities. They should also help to establish Muslim think tanks, English-language media, and so on. The idea is simple: In the words of Al-Shinqiti, this is better than "always complaining about the negative portrayal and stereotypes of Muslims by the American media and academicians."

The next user asked Al-Shinqiti what he should study: medicine, economics, or journalism. Al-Shinqiti's answer was decisive and revealing: "We are, al-hamdu lillah, blessed with many Muslim physicians and economists, but we are in a desperate need for Muslim journalists and political scientists."

If Campus Watch has its way, then the limits placed on academic speech by political interests in parts of the Arab world, Latin America, and Africa will have pervaded the American academy.

The issue of education that was stressed in Al-Shinqiti's answer ties into the previous point: the policies affecting the Muslim presence in North America. First of all a rise in educational levels will raise the awareness of Muslim Americans and Canadians, which will make them vigilant against all formal and informal attempts that may compromise their civil rights.

Second, the Muslim minority will be able to enter the debate and lobbying process with a much higher intellectual preparation to deconstruct the legal and cultural mechanisms that limit their contribution to the North American cultural and political scene. In fact it is quite farsighted of Al-Shinqiti to stress this issue.

Several enlightened Muslim and non-Muslim writers have lately pointed to this important issue, which has been largely neglected so far. In his latest book, Anti-Arab Racism in the USA: Where It Comes From and What It Means for Politics Today, Steven Salaita, assistant professor of English literature at the University of Wisconsin, devoted an entire chapter to the issue of the assault by neoconservative scholars on universities with strong, viable departments of Middle East studies and Islamic studies.

The assault is very fierce. Daniel Pipes, a scholar of Islamic history and a former US government appointee to the US Institute for Peace (a governmental think tank), established the Campus Watch project in 2002 to monitor anti-Israeli activity and opinions on American university campuses.

Pipes is not the only example; there is a long list of scholars and columnists in the USA and Canada today who thrive on providing academic justification for the neoconservative policies toward the Middle East, which include a wide range of sub-policies that target Muslim Westerners as well. Such scholars include prominent names such as Bernard Lewis, the colossal figure in Islamic studies and one of the oldest living classical orientalists today, as well as Martin Kramer, Professor of Near East Studies at Harvard University.

In his book, Steven Salaita examines Pipes and his anti-Arab racism:

Let us look at Pipes for a moment to see how anti-Arab racism functions. Although corporate media usually conceptualize Pipes as an important and responsible intellectual, he has sustained his career by creating an atmosphere of fear and paranoia. In 2002, Pipes launched Campus Watch, a group that monitors so called anti-Israeli activity on college campuses.

Campus Watch tracks and critiques the speech and classroom pedagogy of academics through profiles of the offending professors. Scholars on the right, center and left have criticized the enterprise, judging it a serious threat not only to free speech and civil liberties, but also to classroom conduct and the ability of students to learn in an environment free of political tension. If Campus Watch has its way, then the limits placed on academic speech by political interests in parts of the Arab world, Latin America, and Africa will have pervaded the American academy, something inimical to the stated mission of American education. (102)

As shown above, Al-Shinqiti urged the establishment of Islamic studies chairs in universities as well as launching of Muslim think tanks. Perhaps the distinguished scholar had in mind the increasing efforts by neoconservative figures to defund Middle East studies. Again, one of the main areas of struggle by Daniel Pipes is to influence American congressmen to eliminate the Title VI[1] funding of Middle East studies academic programs (Salaita, 103).

Muslim Media Channel

In Great Britain and the United States, Muslims are only 3 percent and 2.7 percent of the population, respectively. Yet British Muslims have successfully launched their own TV channel, called Islam Channel, which unites all — or most — British Muslims under one representative media body. In the USA such a step is yet to come.

There are several media outlets, including bought air time on non-Muslim TV and Bridges TV. Yet US Muslim media outlets reflect division rather than cohesion. Al-Shinqiti was asked whether the eight million Muslims in America will at any time in the near future be able to set up their own media channel, where they can speak freely and explain to their fellow citizens who they are and what they stand for.
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In his answer, Al-Shinqiti did not give a time frame but rather emphasized the need for such a channel. Pointing to the two types of power, the soft and the hard, he noted that the soft power of persuasion has been neglected for too long by contemporary Muslims. The sheikh noted that this condition caused Muslims to be exploited by others without being able to answer back.

He also stressed that the only solution to this problem is through "a powerful, credible media funded by Muslims." Moreover, he said that "Western Muslims are the most qualified for running this endeavor because of their familiarity with Western societies and languages and their high level of education."

Prospects for the Future

The last question that will be dealt with here is related to the future. A user asked the sheikh to offer an honest analysis of the challenges and opportunities facing Islam in North America, a peek into the future and what it carries for Muslims in that region, which has high potential for both many advances and many restrictions in light of the tragic events of 9/11.

In response, Al-Shinqiti spoke briefly on the history of the Islamic presence in North America as he noted that the permanent presence of Muslims in the West is still a new phenomenon. History tells us that "with long presence and positive interaction, people start to willingly accept Islam. This was the case with many countries in Africa and Asia, when Muslims migrated and settled there."

Al-Shinqiti then moved to answer the main concern of the questioner: prospects and challenges. He started discussing the challenges by highlighting a crucial psychological rift between Muslims and non-Muslims: the old legacy of enmity.

He probably meant by that the legacy of the Crusades between 1099 and 1291. Even though this was a confrontation between Europe and Islam with nothing to do with North America, which was then inhabited by Native American tribes, North America is akin to Europe culturally and religiously. It thus inevitably shares some of this vile legacy albeit in an indirect manner.

If the medieval times did not embroil the Muslim world and North America in conflict, the present definitely does. In modern times, the world witnessed economic and political expansion by the USA, especially after World War II. Many pundits believe that since the end of the Cold War in 1989, expansion quickly moved to hegemony of the global scene under the cloak of globalization.

As far as Muslims and Arabs are concerned, the image of the United States is tarnished for two main reasons:
(1) the US support of some dictatorships in the Islamic region, and
(2) its unconditional, relentless support of Israel. Both reasons have nothing to do with old history but are rather related to the recent past and contemporary politics. The sheikh explained that this state of affairs creates a conflict of perceptions regardless of the changing realities.

The future of Islam in America undoubtedly has a great impact on the future of Islam in the entire West.

The second challenge Al-Shinqiti discussed was that of Muslims' lack of familiarity with the West (especially the culture and way of thinking). This factor is highly crucial because Muslims have to decode the Western worldview to avoid confrontation with it and at the same time to defend against possible assaults from some elements that belong to it. He referred to some trends among Muslim intellectuals that encourage studying the West as an object of careful analysis in order to understand it very well and turn the tide of Orientalism. The leader of this intellectual trend is Professor Hassan Hanafi, author of An Introduction to Occidentalism.

Al-Shinqiti also spoke about what he called the "open space" in Western societies as an opportunity because, under this system, citizenship is based on geography rather than faith. Here he meant the legal principle of equality in Western societies, which grants Muslim Westerners exactly the same rights as the rest of the citizens.

However, this statement ignores that this equality was strongly undermined by the 9/11 incidents and their aftermath, more so in the USA than in Canada. It also ignores that while it is true that Western Muslims remained equal citizens in the West until 9/11, this equality was in most cases only de jure and was violated de facto. However, it is only fair to say that this would be the case with regard to minorities in any contemporary society, whether Eastern or Western. He also pointed to the already vibrant network of "convenient mass communications" that enables Muslims to convey their opinions.

Conclusion

- Overall, the Live Dialogue was truly stimulating. The topic under discussion was very timely and relevant, and so were the side issues accompanying it. The future of Islam and Muslims in North America has been at the front of political discussion for a while. The issue actually dates back to the end of the Cold War when the secretary general of NATO, among several Western statesmen, said that Islam was the "new threat." This was long before the 9/11 tragedy.

The future of Islam in America undoubtedly has a great impact on the future of Islam in the entire West. The United States has the largest Muslim population in a single Western country; in addition, it is where the attacks of 9/11 and their aftermath took place. Several side issues were also raised, such as the role of reports by think tanks (especially neoconservative ones) in exacerbating conflicts between Muslims and non-Muslims, and the need for a Muslim media channel.Al-Shinqiti was very attentive and analytical in his answers within the space and time limits of the Live Dialogue.

However, he could have touched on more challenges and opportunities while giving an analytical peek at the future. He overlooked the battle on the legal front as a challenge (see the field reports by the Council on American-Islamic Relations and other Muslim NGOs in North America). Muslims fought and continue fighting against many unfair acts, such as the Patriot act, on the grounds of unconstitutionality. Also not discussed were the challenge of racism and anti-Muslim media propaganda, among others. Perhaps Al-Shinqiti was trying to remain focused on the bright side.

One theme of his is very valuable and worth stressing over and over until Muslims inside and outside the Muslim world realize its value: Education. This particular theme is where opportunity and challenge meet. Can Muslims of North America live up to both?
Sources:

Clarke, Richard. Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror. New York: Free Press, 2004.

Hanafi, Hassan. Muqadimah Fi 'ilm Al Istighrab (An Introduction to Occidentalism). 2nd ed. Beirut: Al-Mu'assassah Al-Gami'yyah, 2000.

Islamic Institute. "Ashcroft Supported Bush Position Against Secret Evidence Act." 12 Jan. 2001. American Muslim Voice. Accessed 26 Apr. 2007.

Manji, Irshad. The Trouble With Islam Today. London: Mainstream Publishing, 2005.

Pitts, Chip. "A Constitutional Disaster." The Nation 21 Oct. 2005, online ed. Accessed 2 May 2007.

Rabasa, Angel et al. The Rand Report on Building Moderate Muslim Networks. Santa Monica, California: The Rand Center for Middle East Public Policy, 2007.

Salaita, Steven. Anti-Arab Racism in the USA : Where It Comes from and What It Means for Politics Today. London : Pluto Press, 2006.

Al-Shinqiti, Muhammad Al-Mukhtar. Live Dialogue. IslamOnline. 18 Apr. 2007.
"What is Secret Evidence." American Muslim Voice. Accessed 26 Apr. 2007.

[1]Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the Federal law that protects individuals from discrimination on the basis of their race, color, or national origin in all programs that receive Federal Financial Assistance.

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What Do We Mean By Islamic Movement?

On the Islamic Movement

Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi

What Do We Mean By Islamic Movement?

By "Islamic Movement", I mean that organized, collective work, undertaken by the people, to restore Islam to the leadership of society, and to the helm of life all walks of life.

Before being anything else, the Islamic Movement is work: persistent, industrious work, not just words to be said, speeches and lectures to be delivered, or books and articles are indeed required, they are merely parts of a movement, not the movement itself (Allah the Almighty says, Work, and Allah, His Messenger and the believers will see your work} [Surat al-Tawba: 1 05].

The Islamic Movement is a popular work performed for Allah's sake

The Islamic movement is a popular work based mainly on self-motivation and personal conviction. It is a work performed out of faith and for nothing other than the sake of Allah, in the hope of being rewarded by Him, not by humans.

The core of this self-motivation is that unrest which a Muslim feels when the Awakening visits him and he feels a turmoil deep inside him, as a result of the contradiction between his faith on the one hand and the actual state of affairs of his nation on the other. It is then that he launches himself into action, driven by his love for his religion, his devotion to Allah, His Messenger, the Quran and the Muslim Nation, and his feeling of his, and his people's, neglect of their duty.

In so doing, he is also stimulated by his keenness to discharge his duty, eliminate deficiencies, contribute to the revival of the neglected faridas [enjoined duties] of enforcing the Sharia [Islamic Law] sent down by Allah; unifying the Muslim nation around the Holy Quran; supporting Allah's friends and fighting Allah's foes; liberating Muslim territories from all aggression or non-Muslim control; reinstating the Islamic caliphate system to the leadership anew as required by Sharia, and renewing the obligation to spread the call of Islam, enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and strive in Allah's cause by deed, by word or by heart - the latter being the weakest of beliefs - so that the word of Allah may be exalted to the heights.

Inadequacy of Official Work

It is by this popular work performed solely for Allah's sake that the Islamic Movement is established. The official, or semi-official work, such as establishing boards, higher councils, associations or unions for Islamic affairs supervised by the ministries of awqaf [lit. endowments, used in a wider meaning to refer to Islamic affairs] or any other government bodies, could more or less benefit Islam and Muslims, in proportion to the intent and enthusiasm of those in charge of it, as well as to how much they place their loyalty to their religion before their loyalty to this earthly life that embraces them and embraces those who appoint them to their positions.

However, this official or semi-official work is always inadequate and deficient in many ways, as follows:

1. It revolves in the orbit of the domestic policy of the state that starts and finances it. Its very movement is dictated by that policy, and hence it does not express pure Islam or the greater Muslim nation as much as it expresses that particular state.

2. It is not based, in most cases, on men proven by work, seasoned by struggle and tested in the field, but on "appointed" men who are in the favour of the financing state and therefore seek to please it out of their ambition or out of their fear. Such men cannot, therefore, disobey the state's orders, or ask "Why", or say "No". I am speaking of the overwhelming majority here, as among the "official" workers there may exist some who do better than some "popular" workers in their loyalty to Allah, their jealousy for their religion and their endeavouring to realize this religion in a proper way.

3.It often lacks the true intent to defend Islam, and may even be aimed at a purely political gain. In most cases, this sort of work is similar to "the Mosque of Mischief" mentioned in the Quran: its superficial objective may be to serve worship and piety, but its hidden aim is to divide the believers and hinder the efforts of faithful workers.

4. It is, for all these reasons, under accusation from the masses and peoples, and deprived of their sympathy and support. Even those official "ulama" (scholars) who put themselves at the service of the state's policy - that is, speaking up of keeping silent as required - lack the confidence of the masses, who call them "the scholars of the authorities" or "the agents of the police".

For all these reasons, the official or semi-official Islamic work, so long as Muslim rule is absent, is unable to establish a true Islamic Movement. However, given its capabilities, it can render some academic and practical services and provide financial and moral support to the popular Islamic work and its institutions, especially if such official or semi-official work is headed by faithful, brave leaders.

The Movement is an Organized, collective work

Besides being a popular work done solely for Allah's sake, the Islamic Movement is an organized collective work. It is not enough for Islam's well - being that volunteering individuals should work (separately and in scattered areas, though their effort will be added to their balance on the Day of Judgment, for Allah shall not waste the effort of man or woman, and everyone shall be rewarded for his deeds according to his intention and perfection of his work. And anyone who has done an atom's weight of good shall see it)' [Surat Al-Zalzalah:7].

Individual work, under the contemporary circumstances of the Muslim Nation, will not be enough for bridging over the gap and realizing the aspired hope. Collective work is a must, and it is ordained by religion and necessitated by reality.

Religion advocates "the sense of congregating" and opposes "straying". Allah's hand is with collective effort, and he who strays shall stray into Hell. It is only the stray sheep that the wolf devours, and a prayer is not invalid if the worshipper performs it separately from the congregation or stands ahead of the rank. A believer to another believer is like one firm brickwork each part supporting the other. Cooperation in righteousness and piety is one of the faridas of religion; and the mutual teaching of truth and patience is one of the preconditions of saving oneself from loss in earthly life and the Hereafter.

The sheer state of affairs makes it inexitable for a hopefully fruitful work to be collectively done. It takes two hands to clap, and one is weak by himself, strong by his fellows. Great achievements are only made through concerted efforts, and decisive battles are won only through the unity of hands, as the Quran says: (Allah loves those who fight in His cause in battle array, as if they were a solid cemented structure) [Surat al-Saff: 4]

Collective work should be organized and based on a responsible leadership, a solid base and clear- cut perceptions that define the relationships between the leadership and the grassroots according to fundamentals of obligatory shura [consultation] and compulsory seeing obedience.

Islam recognizes no collective work that is not organized. Even collective prayer is based on organization, for Allah shall not look at the row which is not straightened; and rows are to be closed. No gap should be left in a row of worshippers for it will be filled by Satan standing shoulder to shoulder and foot to foot. It is a unit of movement and appearance as much as it is a unity of doctrine and direction "do not differ so that your hearts may not differ".

An Imam is required to oversee the alignment of the row behind him until it is straightened and closed before starting prayer, and he advises the worshippers to "be responsive to the [guiding] hands of your brothers", as the prayer in congregation requires a measure of flexiband responsiveness for harmony of the rank as a whole.

Then comes the obedience to the imam, (The imam is appointed to be followed: say "Allah Akbar" after he utters it bow when he bows; prostrate when he prostates and listen when he recites.Nobody is allowed to break the rank, or precede the imam in bowing or prostrating so that he may not introduce a wrong note into this harmony and create an irregularity in such an organized, coordinated structure. He who does that should fear that Allah will metamorphose him into a man with a donkey's head.

However, should the imam make a mistake, it is the right, even duty, of those behind him to rectify this mistake, whether it is the result of impropriety or forgetfulness, involves word or deed, or happens in recital (of the Quran) or in other fundamental parts of prayer.
Even women in the back ranks in prayer are allowed to clap their hands if the imam makes a mistake, so as to attract his attention to the mistake.

Congregational prayer is a miniaturization of the overall Islamic congregational system and of what the interrelation between the commander and the troops should be like: there is neither infallible leadership nor absolute, blind obedience.

The Movement's mission is to revive Islam

What is the mission of the Islamic Movement?

The Islamic Movement has come into existence to revive Islam and reinstate it at the helm of life once again, after removing the obstacles from its path.

The revival of Islam "is not an expression of mine: it was used by the Prophet (peace be upon him) in the sound hadith narrated by Abu-Hurayra: (Allah shall send down a man who will revive the religion of this Nation at the start of every hundred years) [Abu-Dawud & Al-Hakim].

Most of those who interpreted this hadith tended to take the word "who" to mean a specific individual who will revive the religion. They have actually tried to name such individual from among the prominent theologions and imams whose death fell near the end of a century of the hijra calendar, such as Omar ibn-Abdel-Aziz (died 101 A.H.) and Al Shafe'i (died 204 A.H.) and so on. However, they differed much on the issue of who the reviver of the third hundred years might be.

Meanwhile, some of the hadith commentators regarded the word "who" in this hadith as suitable to imply the plural just like it would be proper to imply the singular, indicating that the "reviver" could well be a group and not an individual. This is what Iban Al-Athir thought most likely in his book "Al Jam'i Lil Usul - collection of fundamentals". Al Hafez, Al Dhahabi and others supported this concept, too.

I have more to add to this: the reviver of Islam should not necessarily be a group in the sense of a number of people including so and so and so, but may be a group in the sense of a school, a movement of thought and action that works in union to revive the religion.

This is what I take to be the most likely interpretation in understanding and applying this hadith to the century [A.H.] that has just ended and the century that has just started. We pray to Allah to make our present days in this new century better than our past days, and to grant us still better days in our future.

How should the required revival be achieved?

The revival to be achieved by the Islamic Movement should I take three directions:

The first direction would be the formation of an Islamic vanguard, capable, through integration and cooperation, of leading the contemporary society with Islam without isolation or leniency, and remedying the ailments of Muslims with medicines that have been prescribed by Islam alone. This vanguard must comprise individuals whose ranks are glued by deep-rooted faith, sound learning and close ties.

The second direction would be the formation of a Muslim public opinion representing the broad popular base which stands behind Islam's protagonists, loving and supporting them after having become aware of their general objectives and confident of their faithfulness and capability, and also after having rid itself of the effects of the mud-throwing campaigns against Islam and Islam's protagonists and movements.

The third direction would be the preparation of a world, public climate that will accept the existence of the Muslim Nation when it understands the true aspects of the Islamic Message and civilization, and becomes free of the evil effects left by the fanaticism of the Medieval Ages and the lies and distortions concocted by anti-Islam campaigns. Such public opinion would tolerate the emergence of Muslim power beside other global powers, realizing that Muslims have a right to rule themselves according to their own creed since they are the majority in their own countries - as called for by the democratic principles that are so often praised and advocated - and to promote their universal humanitarian message as one of the great ideologies of the world: an ideology that has a past, a present and a future and lays claim to over one thousand million adherents in this world in which we now live.

The multitude of the Movement's fields of action, and which is more deserving

Diversification of Fields of Work

The fields of work awaiting the Islamic Movement in the coming phase are wide and expansive. The activist leaders and intellectual theorists of the Movement should make a careful scientific study of these fields. Such a study must be based on documented and confirmed statistics and data.

There is Educational Work

This field of work is important for forming human "cadres" and Islamic vanguards bringing up the aspired generation of victory, whose members will understand and believe in Islam in full, including knowledge, work, call and struggle. Members of this generation will carry the call of Islam to their Nation first and then to the rest of the world. They will be able to do that only after they commit themselves to Islam as a clear - cut perception in their minds, a deep - rooted doctrine in their hearts, a line of behaviour governing all aspects of their life, worship of Allah and dealing with other people, and a path of culture that will improve the state of affairs of the Nation and bring it together on the Word of Allah and lead the confused humanity to what is best and most proper.

There is Political Work

This kind of work would be aimed at extricating the rule from the hands of weaklings all traitors to place it in the hands of the powerful and honest who seek neither to be high and mighty on the land nor to corrupt it, who, if Allah establishes them in the land, establish prayer and give alms, enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong.

There is Social Work

This work would be aimed at remedying poverty, ignorance, disease and vice, and facing up to those suspect institutions that make social and philanthropic work a tool for altering the Nation's identity and weakening its ties with its creed.

There is Economic Work

This sort of work would contribute to the development of the community to free it from subordination and lift off its burden of usury - based loans, as a prelude to building Islamic economic institutions.

There is the Work of Struggle (Jihad)

It would be aimed at liberating Muslim land, fighting the forces that oppose the Islamic Call and the Muslim Nation, and preserving the freedom of the Muslim will and the independence of the Muslim decision.

There is Media and Propaganda Work

It would be aimed at spreading Islamic ideas and explaining the teachings of Islam in such a way that would restore their middle - course nature and comprehensiveness and eliminate all the ambiguities and lies that may mar their clarity. It should use all the types of media available, from publications to audio and visual aids.

There is Intellectual and Scientific Work

It would be aimed at correcting the perception of Islam in the minds of Muslims and non-Muslims alike, and setting right those wrong concepts and deficient fatwas (legal Islamic opinion) which have proliferated among some groups of the Islamists themselves, so as to lay down a mature, inspired understanding of the Islamic Movement. Such understanding will be based on a legal foundation derived from the texts and goals of Sharia, and it must be especially established among the elite of educated and cultured Muslims who did not actually have a chance to know Islam in a right and proper way.

Distribution of Forces Among the Fields of Work

I believe that all these fields are necessary and that none of them should be neglected or put off. What must be done is to distribute forces and capabilities among them according to what each of them needs on the one hand and what forces and capabilities we have on the other hand.The Holy Quran forbade that all of the Muslims at the Prophet's time should go to the field of jihad - and what a holy field it was! - and neglect another field that was no less sacred than the field of jihad, and might even have been more sacred at some times because it paved the way for it and reminded Muslims of it and warned them against neglecting it: it is the field of learning their religion well.

In Surat Al-Tauba [Repentance], which denounced those who held back from jihad and promised severest punishment for those who dragged their feet on the way to the battlefield, Allah the Almighty says "Nor should the believers all go forth together. If a contingent from every expedition remained behind, they could devote themselves to studies in religion and admonish their people when they return to them, so that they (may learn) to guard themselves" [122].

This is a strong call for specialization and for distribution of forces among the fields that need them.

What should be Emphasized and Given Priority?

The Islamic Movement should address several matters that. have a particular significance in the next phase in the light of the fiqh of priorities already mentioned. These matters are:

Focussing on certain concepts that have to be clarified, generalized and deepened in the intellectual field. This is what we call the "new figh .

Focussing on certain social brackets to which the Movement should spread and which the Awakening should include in the field of Muslim call.

Focussing on a certain qualitative standard in the preparation and qualification of the readerships of the future in the educationa1 field, particularly where the nurturing of faith and thought are concerned.

Focussing on the development of ideas and practices with regard to local and world political relations, so as to break the Movement's domestic isolation and external blockade and ensure its universality and flexibility in the political field.

We will deal separately with each of those four fields of work.

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Source: http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/Q_Priorities/introp1.htm#What%20Do%20We%20Mean%20By%20Islamic%20Movement?