Dr Kaukab Siddique | Editor-in-Chief Shawwal 19, 1425/December 2, 2004 #117
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Scroll down for HEAVY new fighting in Fallujah censored by most of U.S. Media but reported on ticker by a few.
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NEW BOOK RECEIVED
JOY of Islam. An anthology of Praise by Hadayai Majeed, published by Author House, 2004. $13.

An excellent collection of poetry by Muslim girls and women. Very well produced. A good holiday season gift for young people. Beautiful cover design from a 7th grade student's drawing.

Order from New Trend..
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Important books, difficult to obtain in the open market:

LUCASVILLE. THE UNTOLD STORY OF A PRISON UPRISING by Staughton Lynd. , Temple University Press, 2004. $16.

Powerful account of the inner workings of America's prison system. Includes the story of Siddique Abdullah Hasan who rose from the ranks of the oppressed, America's victims, to educate himself in Islam and become an Imam.

Order from New Trend..
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HITLER'S WAR by David Irving. 985 Pages, numerous rare photographs. $50

A blockbuster of a book. In World War II, there were no angels on either side. This book is a must for those who want to understand what is going on in the world today because today's world is linked to the World War. A painful lesson in the meaning of modern Germany's ongoing support for Israel. This is a must for every good library. Although it is the only war book on based on original documents and not on secondary sources, it is being kept out of public libraries.

Order from New Trend..
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Big Improvement in 68 Year Old Muslim Woman's Case

Outreach necessary, say local Muslims
By: Daniel Bayer
Carolina Peacemaker
Originally posted 11/23/2004

Sheik Badi Ali of the Triad Islamic Center, thanked Greensboro Mayor Keith Holiday and Police Chief David Wray at a press conference last week for their "sensitivity" to the city's Muslim community following the arrest of a 68-year-old woman that resulted in her suffering a broken arm and mild heart attack, but still said the police need to review their policies in handling senior citizens and people of non-Western cultures.

"We are not here to place blame or judge, but to build bridges toward dialogue and solutions," said Ali, who quoted both the prophet Mohammad and a U.S. founding father Benjamin Franklin in his statement.

Wray, who also spoke at the press conference, said that the officer involved, R.R. Neal Jr., has been cleared of any misconduct. Wray said that police interviewed 21 witnesses and viewed a videotape from an in-store security system during their administrative investigation. All evidence has also been forwarded to the office of District Attorney Stuart Albright for review, said Wray.

According to police, Afaf Saudi was arrested and charged with resisting police officers and assaulting an employee of Wal-Mart on Battleground Avenue after she refused to leave the store when asked to by management. Saudi's son Sam Helmi, however, said his mother became upset when she found $150 missing from her purse and demanded that the store manager call the police. Though the police have not released any details of their investigation, Saudi's injuries, which also included cuts and bruises on her arms from police handcuffs, apparently occurred while officers and store personnel were attempting to remove her from the store using a wheelchair.

While praising Holiday and Wray, Badi said that the incident points out the need for better communication between different groups in the community.

"The community and its business establishments need to train their staff in how to interact with all members of our community," said Badi. "We want the police department intervention to be a last resort."

Badi also said the police should review and revise their policies to avoid injuring "the weak and elderly" in the future.
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Montreal Perspectives

By Jalaluddin S. Hussain

The biased media and Jewish organizations must apologize
Bush visit: reaction could be unpleasant!

George W. Bush, the re-elected President of USA, will be coming to the Canadian capital, Ottawa, on November 30, 2004. Hopefully, everything will go on smoothly. However, things on the ground do not seem that pleasant. From the very beginning of President Bush's first mandate, Canada has been on the wrong side of the fence. Canada was against the American invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and was for equitable balance in trade relations. The fear is that when President Bush comes to Ottawa he will be booed and heckled vociferously not only by thousands of angry demonstrators and peace marchers but also by our elected representatives when and if he will address them.

Canadian offensive against Byrd amendment

The Liberal government, at the Centre, has threatened to launch a trade offensive against Washington that could lead to duties that will double the price on a number of U.S. goods, such as newsprint, wood products and seafood. This latest Canada-U.S. row is the result of a US law deemed illegal by the World Trade Organization. According to this law, known in trade circles as the Byrd Amendment, monies collected by the US government from punitive import duties (including that from Canadian imports) are funnelled into US companies, who initiate trade complaints. In short, from WTO perspectives, this Amendment is potectionist in nature and therefore against fair international trade rules. It may be mentioned that the US payouts related to money collected from duties on Canadian goods, totalled an estimated US $ 17 million for the years between 2001 and 2003. If the two-day Bush visit removes this Canadian-USA trade anomaly, it will surely be a positive development. Also, it is important that the American President is delivered the message in clear terms that we do not share the military ambitions of USA and that we are against all illegal wars waged in the name of international terrorism and also against becoming partner in the Missile Defence Treaty being promoted by Washington.

the November 2004 issue of Alhijrah, the trilingual (Arabic/French/English) magazine of Montreal's ethnic communities has commented on "The Coren Tape" issue and has demanded apologies from Canadian news media outlets, dominated by the Zionist media conglomerate, Canwest Global. Subsequent to the airing of Michael Coren TV Show, on October 19, 2004, the Canadian news media launched a relentless and unfair attack against the Canadian Islamic Congress and its President, Dr. Elmasry. While it was widely reported that Dr. Elmasry, in his October 19, 2004, TV interview said" All Israelis over 18 were legitimate targets for the suicide bombers", the preposterous statements made by Mr. Adam Aptowitzer, the then Ontario Chairman of the Binai Brith Institute of International affairs, in the same program, was not printed. Even when the Ontario Chairman was forced to resign, he got his defence statement published in the Israel Asper's family newspapser, National Post.

The Canadian Islamic Congress rightly and strongly feels that a timely process of forgiveness and healing (Dr. Elmasry has already apologized) has to start between Canada's Muslims , Jews and other groups, who took offense after the Michael Coren affair. In view of this the Canadian Muslims demand that the Canadian Jewish Congress, B'nai Brith and the Canadian media, should offer CIC, its President, Muslim and the Canadian public in general, a sincere apology for their unfair and unbalanced treatment of both Dr. Elmasry's and Mr. Aptowitzer's remarks.
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WAR NEWS: [Compiled by our Media Monitor]

IRAQ: HEAVY New STREET FIGHTING IN FALLUJAH
U.S. Losses Now 71 Killed 525 Wounded in Islamic Stalingrad

December 1, 2004: U.S. losses for November were 133 killed in action
[Source: MSNBC].
Of these 71 were killed in Fallujah.
[Fox TV news ticker].
The 16 marines killed and 25 wounded were the result of ongoing and intense street fighting in Fallujah during the last 4 days, much after the U.S. had announced that the conquest of Fallujah had been completed.
For several days a convoy with relief supplies had been waiting outside the city, appealing to the U.S. to let the civilian population be helped. However, the U.S. has been saying that there are no civilians in Fallujah.
Then on November 29 the U.S. felt that the convoy should be let in and thus ADMITTED THAT LARGE NUMBERS OF CIVILIANS ARE TRAPPED INSIDE THE CITY.
Unfortunately the convoy could not move into the city because new fighting erupted.
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WHAT is the SIGNIFICANCE OF FALLUJAH in ISLAMIC HISTORY?

New Trend's analysts say that in some ways Fallujah is more significant than Vietnam and Stalingrad. In Vietnam, the Vietnamese had the support of two major powers, China and the USSR. They had sophisticated weaponry and secure supply lines.
In Stalingrad, both the Russians defending the city and the Germans fought very well.
However, the German supply lines were overextended and the Russians were able to mobilize huge reinforcements which finally outflanked and trapped the German army in the middle of the intense winter. The Islamic forces cannot count on any of the Arab regimes. In fact these regimes are solidly in the pocket of Uncle Sam. Iran has its own agenda and is patiently waiting for the U.S. to wipe out Islamic resistance so that a pro-Iran entity might emerge in southern Iraq led by Ali Sistani. The resistance in Fallujah, and the rest of Iraq, is poorly armed, although it is much better off than the totally defenseless Palestinians. The Iraqi mujahideen are few in numbers. No vast armies here, but they have extensive support among the masses of people. The most important aspect of the resistance is the Islamic spirit of Jihad, leavened by "foreign fighters" who are volunteers from across the Muslim world.
Fallujah has changed the Muslim view of the future. Nearly 1500 Islamic fighters held a city against 20,000 of the most powerful military force in the world. The Americans firepower has demolished the entire city but after three weeks, the Islamists are still fighting.
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AFGHANISTAN: [From our monitor of Urdu language papers.]

JALALABAD: A Major Error by the U.S.: 5,000 Call for Release of Muslim Woman

On November 27, there was a demonstration in the city of Jalalabad by hundreds of people calling for the release of an Afghan woman who had been arrested by U.S. troops in a raid on a suspected Taliban home in the countryside.
On November 28, the number of demonstrators grew significantly. Observers put the crowd conservatively at between 5,000 and 6,000. The Karzai police opened fire killing a 12 year old girl in the crowd. The crowd then marched on the police headquarters and started setting fire to police vehicles.
By that evening the woman had been released. On November 30, notables from among the people of Jalalabad met American military officers and demanded that the U.S. release Maulvi Inayatullah and his brother whom the U.S. accuse of working for the Taliban. They are from the Hizbe Islami movement led by Hikmatyar. The city notables said that Inayatullah is simply the khateeb (preacher) in a mosque. They said if being a Muslim and an Afghan means being Taliban, then we are all Taliban.
[Observers say that the developments in Jalalabad are important because this is a city which does not support the Taliban. The local culture is very complex and old. It cannot cope with the simplicity of the Taliban. However, gradually a spirit of resistance to America is emerging. The U.S. made a major error in arresting an Islamic woman who is Pashtun. The report also indicates women's quiet support for the Taliban jihad.]
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Unusual Eid Khutba [Excerpts] Given by Dr. Waheeduddin Ahmed Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The Evangelicals, the Jews and the Inept Leadership of U.S. Muslims: As Muslim World Emerges from Colonialism

Now let us take a look at the Islamic Ummah, its past, its present and the future. In talking about the past and the present, my intention is not to indulge in annual lamentation and usual diatribe; but the fact is that we cannot even attempt to shape our future without a full appreciation of the historical significance of our past and an understanding of the present situation.
The past 300-400 years of Islamic history could be divided into distinct phases. The first phase was the beginning of the decline of the Islamic civilization. Some say that it began in the 17th century, when the siege of Vienna by the Ottoman Turks failed, which gave the Europeans a respite, then allowed it to recover and then surge ahead resulting in the Industrial Revolution. Subsequently, Turkey became the Sick Man of Europe. The Islamic civilization, by now suffering from fatigue, like all civilizations do after a period of glory, soon receded into irrelevance and then morphed into morbidity.
The European maritime powers made their appearance in history with their deep-hulled ships circumventing the Horn of Africa, established mercantile connection with the Orient, which brought them knowledge and riches. Their material cultures were enormously enriched and they forged ahead in industry and technology. The will to survive as small trading parties in alien and often hostile environment inculcated in them a sense of military discipline and the need to have superior weaponry. They became a formidable military force and assumed increasing aggressiveness and arrogance.
At the beginning of the Nineteenth century, the Ottomans had lost all their European territories. Their defeat in WW1 ended the Khilafa and the colonization of Muslim lands began. Almost all the Muslim lands, from the west coast of Africa to China in the east and the steppes of Russia in the north to the Malaysian Archipelago in the south, with the questionable exception of Turkey, Arabia and Iran were under European occupation. This meant that the Muslim peoples, instead of being participants in the industrial and technological development, became its raw materials; instead of being beneficiaries of progress, they became its servants. Thus, they fell out of steps with the advancement of civilization. This is illustrated from the fact that in 1956 in Tunisia, a country with four million people, there were only 143 indigenous doctors and 41 engineers. In Morocco, a country with a population of ten million people, there were 19 Muslim and 17 Jewish Moroccan doctors and 15 Muslim and 15 Jewish Moroccan engineers. Some countries faired even less.
After the WW2 the colonial powers had decided that it was not necessary to maintain a colonial presence in these countries for commercial exploitation. They realized that there were many invisible forces, which could perform this task for them. This included the oligarchy, which emerged from the elitist upper middle class and which was carefully nurtured for the purpose. So the colonialists left, leaving a few military bases scattered in the region, which could be used when and if their interests were threatened; and so they were, when Musaddaq nationalized the oil industry in Iran and Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal in Egypt.
From then on the politics of oil has pretty much dominated the lives of the people in the Middle East. The interests of the oil consumer became paramount. The government, the culture, the economies and social relations were all subservient to the interests of the consumer, who resided in Europe and America. Now, the world consumption of oil is rising steeply each day with the rising population and the ever increasing number of motor vehicles in the Third World. To ensure the unhindered flow of oil, the constancy of the regimes deemed friendly to the West must be maintained. The nature of the regime is central to the constancy of the oil supply. If the conditions are not favorable, then there must be a regime-change. This is a kind of slavery imposed on the people of the Middle East from outside, a people imprisoned in their own homeland, with their own governments as watchdogs, no slave ships, no chains, no whips, just bondage, which is equally brutal and equally inescapable.
This is the overall historical picture my dear friends. Iraq, Iran, even Afghanistan and Palestine fit in this picture: Afghanistan, since it sits at the crossroads of different civilizations and cultures and through which, the future oil pipelines, connecting Central Asia with the rest of the world must run; and Palestine, which must be sacrificed and its flesh thrown to the dogs to keep a constant state of turmoil and instability in the Middle east as a means of nurturing the pro-west regimes.
Now, to make matters worse, a new element has entered this unwieldy equation: Christian Evangelism. Christian Evangelists are hate mongers, who make no secret of their intense hatred for Muslims and their prophet. Unlike Jews, who can be pragmatic and practical and are worthy opponents, Christian Evangelists are fanatical, uncompromising and irresponsive to reason. Their Zionism on behalf of the Israelites is unswerving and so dangerous as not to be acceptable to the Jews themselves It is either the greatest misfortune of history or prelude to a disaster of historical proportions that they have an advocate and adherent, who is now the President of the Unites States of America, a country considered to be the greatest military power on earth. It is a boon to the Evangelists that they now have another Constantine in a new Byzantium. In classical times Muslims used to divide the world into two camps: Darul Islam and Darul Harab, Darul Islam for dominions, where Muslims were in political power and Darul Harab, where they were not, but which they would wish to bring under their control. Although this was not by any means a classification based on the Qur'anic principles, it was nevertheless a de-facto classification, as Muslims were the most dominant force in the world.. Today, these terms of reference are invalid and irrelevant, since we do not have a defined domain. If anything, Darul Islam has been converted into Darul Harab and Muslims are fighting street battles in their homelands with non-Muslim invaders.
Our relationship with the land in which we live is based on the fact that we chose to come here, with apologies to those of our brothers and sisters, whose predecessors were brought here in chains. We, the immigrant Muslims came here to acquire material benefits from it. With a few exceptions, given a choice, we would chose to remain here and not return to our home countries. To us this land is not Darul Harab but Dar-al-Da'wa. We must practice our way of life and if there is any value in it, we would impart it to others Two years ago, the Muslims of America entered a period of considerable difficulty and uncertainty. It was a crisis of immeasurable proportions. We endured and God willing we shall prevail. However, if we look back we shall find that at such a crucial time when we needed a leadership with political awareness, knowledge and above all wisdom, we found it lacking. Our leadership was just not up to the task. We went through two general elections, one in 2000 and one in 2004. Our leaders acted amateurishly, childishly and often foolishly. The test of the leadership is that it should come from the grassroots. It should sense the political climate. It should be well-informed, knowledgeable and have its finger on the pulse of the nation. It should have a vision and be capable of seeing the way in darkness. Sadly, it proved that it had none of these. With the delusions of numerical strength, it was obsessed with electioneering. The lack of knowledge of our leaders was so profound that they did not even know in 2000 that the Christian Right was a constituency in America, which made or broke the presidential hopefuls, a constituency, which was at odds with our ideology and with our goals. They did not research the demographics or if they did, their figures were grossly skewed. They considered Jews to be their main and the only enemy. They ignored the sensibilities of the African-American Muslims. So, they had a rude awakening in 2004. In spite of the fact that Muslims, Jews, African-Americans, Hindus and a majority of the Hispanics were on the same side, they lost decisively to the side which, the Christian Right came out in numbers to support. The bottom line is that we do not have the numbers and will not have for at least another decade; and in polarized politics we shall lose.
Muslims should not overindulge in speculations and put all their hopes and energies in presidential politics. They should now pick up the pieces and sincerely begin the task of institutions-building. We have built plenty of mosques. Now let us start building our schools, universities, hospitals, nursing homes, research institutions and sports centers.
Lastly, let us ponder over an interesting question. Today is the First of Shawwal or is it? Or was it yesterday or will it be tomorrow? The Ulema tell us that fasting is haram on the first of Shawwal. Therefore some people in Milwaukee did not fast yesterday, although they are praying with us today, because they believed that yesterday was the first of Shawwal. I wish the same Ulema were able to tell us with equal certainty, what the date was today. This presumed uncertainty about the date of the calendar is eating at the heart of the Umma a wholesome meal and wouldn't let go.
The beginning of a lunar month is not to be astronomically determined, although it is an astronomical event for every conscious creature which inhabits the earth. The lunar calendar is the only calendar, which is based on perception and not on mathematics. Therefore, it was the basis for marking religious festivities in every creed and now every creed, save Muslims, has adjusted the calendar out of necessity. The Jews have done so, the Christians have done so and the Hindus have done so. As for us, we have a reason based on a Hadith not to do so, so at least it is believed. We must see the moon to determine the date, but it is not necessary for each one of us to see the moon. It is enough only for two people to see it. But it is not clear whether those two people should be from the same village or the same continent, or whether a country in the modern sense has any validity in religion. We are deciding all these complex questions on the basis of scant original edicts. In the meantime the question, which is mockingly persistant is that in the context of fasting being haram on the first of Shawwal, did our Ulema help the people avoid committing a haram or incite them to commit it? And if fixing the calendar is also haram, which is the lesser of two harams?
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2004-12-03 Fri 19:51ct