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Dr Kaukab Siddique | Editor-in-Chief Sha'ban 18, 1432/ July 30, 2010 # 30


Verse of the Week

"Announce to the hypocrites that they shall have a painful chastisement: Those who take the unbelievers for guardians rather than believers. Do they seek honor from them? Then surely all honor is for Allah.
And indeed He has revealed to you in the book that when you hear Allah's communications disbelieved in and mocked at, do no sit with them until they enter into some other discourse; surely then you would be like them; surely Allah will gather together the hypocrites and the unbelievers all in hell." Holy Qur'an 4:138-140

Submitted by Sis. Abigail


Obituary for South Africa's distinguished Imam Ragheim by his brother in Toronto. Please scroll to end.



First part of a historic interview with with Sis. Karima, Imam Jamil al-Amin's wife: A gem among America's Islamic women. See below.


Our Christian friend Mark Glenn [in Idaho] has done it again. It's a revealing parable about an Israeli Jews' kindness to Palestinians. Please scroll all the way down. Enjoy!


Pro-Israeli Christians in Kerala, India, are weaving a web of deceit to entrap the prosperous Muslims in the area. Please scroll way down for the response by the Popular Front, an Indian Muslim organization.


Israeli Soldiers Kick and Drag a Young Woman
Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qpe6shl5XMA

At a protest demonstration on May 14, 2010, at Nabi Saleh in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Israeli troops kick a young woman as she is dragged on the ground. Israeli troops also fire tear gas canisters and live rouunds at Palestinian villagers. Demonstrators were protesting the illegal seizure by Zionist "settlers" of agricultural land and the uprooting of hundreds of Palestinian-owned olive trees. Runtime: 5:56 mins.


Somali Islamic Leader Challenges Non-Muslim Militaries

Mogadishu, July 29: Sheikh Ali Dhere said that Uganda's plans to send more troops to help the puppet regime in Mogadishu will not help the anti-Islam forces. These troops fire artillery at civilians but are weak in battle, the al-Shabab leader said. Here are quotes from him.
"If you send your youth (AU troops), they are going to meet the same deadly fate," cautioned the clergyman.Sheikh Ali Dhere accused the troops serving Amisom of annihilating the Muslim Somali people.
He added that further increase in numbers (of AU troops) will only worsen the plight of the people here."They always say that they are here for peacekeeping," said the spokesman. "All they are doing is shelling the people."


Pakistan: Changing Situation
Islam is seen as too Strong: Britain, USA, India Preparing Something Big: Islamic Students Going to Waziristan

July 28: The US Congress sent a $60 billion war funding bill to President Obama.

July 28: The new British Prime Minister Cameron, known for his extreme right wing and racist views, visited India with the biggest delegation in their history. He made a $700 million military deal with India, including 57 Hawk jets. He claimed that Pakistan is "exporting" terrorism.

July 27: There are US troops already in Pakistan. Congressman Kucinich [D] and Ron Paul [R] tried to get a resolution passed to withdraw US troops from Pakistan. The resolution failed miserably. [Several hundred US troops are training Pakistanis.]

New Trend observers say that Islam is too strong in Pakistan for the US, UK, Israel and India to accept.
A sea change is sweeping younger Pakistanis looking to Islam for a strong response to the enemies of Pakistan. There are reports that large numbers of students from Karachi have gone to North Waziristan to join al-Qaida. The reports are correct according to New Trend sources. Such a huge support for al-Qaida means young Pakistanis realize aggression is coming soon. Here is how it appeared in Asia Times. [Excerpt, only for info.]

Pakistani students prefer guns to books
By Syed Saleem Shahzad

ISLAMABAD - Several hundred students in the southern port city of Karachi have left the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT), Pakistan's largest student union, to join al-Qaeda training camps in the North Waziristan tribal area on the border with Afghanistan, Asia Times Online has learned.

The IJT is an offshoot of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), the country's premier Islamic party.

"This is true. They now have their own camp in North Waziristan and it is purely the work of the late Dr Arshad Waheed that such a huge number of people are joining here," Usman Punjabi, a militant leader, told Asia Times Online on the telephone.

Waheed was a renowned kidney specialist who was president of the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association, an offshoot of the JI. He and his brother Dr Akmal Waheed, a cardiovascular physician, were arrested in 2004 after an attack on a military motorcade in Karachi in 2004. They were charged with facilitating members of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jundallah.

The brothers were later released and relocated to South Waziristan, where Arshad Waheed was killed in a drone attack in 2008. He was the first Pakistani al-Qaeda sympathizer to be featured by al-Qaeda's media wing al-Sahab in a long documentary, in which he was called a role model.........................



Jamaat al-Muslimeen [News] [three items]
jamaat almuslimeeninternational.org
Non-Violent Resistance
P.O. Box 10881
Baltimore, MD 21234

Jamaat al-Muslimeen's National Shoora Calls for Christian-Muslim Unity Against Zionism.
Islam is an Uphill Struggle to free the Slaves and Empower the Downtrodden.


A mini shoora of Jamaat al-Muslimeen was held in Greensboro, North Carolina, on July 24, 2010. The program was organized by Imam Badi Ali and his local team. Prayers were held on time and the local Muslim community donated quantities of delicious middle eastern food. Imam Badi Ali is deeply involved in helping the new arrivals in the Muslim community as well as in the development of good neighborly relations with non-Muslims.

Dr. Abdulalim Shabazz, [DrAAS.info] Professor and Endowed Chair in Mathematics from Grambling State University, Louisiana, addressed the meeting for more than an hour. He connected Zionism with racism. He traced Zionist influences in America both theoretically and anecdotally and noticed that throughout US history Jewish Zionist impact on society has been the undertow of White supremacist ideas. He pointed out the role of Jews in the slave trade as well as connections between the KKK and Zionism.

Dr. Shabazz related incidents from his own life at America's top universities where the friendly Jew/gentile was the "good cop" to the "bad cop" of the openly white supremacist. Both sides considered him a "radical."
The solution to America's and the world's problems is Islam, Dr. Shabazz said. He narrated the story of his pilgrimage to Makkah in 1977, followed later by his years as a professor in Makkah, teaching mathematics at Umm Al Qura University.
In America Dr. Shabazz is famous as a "revolutionary mathematician." Among his students are numerous PhDs in mathematics and mathematics education."

Dr. Kaukab Siddique, Associate Professor of English & Mass Communication at Lincoln University, recited Sura al-Balad [chapter 90 of the Qur'an] and applied it to the struggle against Zionism in America. He said that Islamic efforts to liberate America from Zionism are an uphill task [al-aqaba]. The Zionists have taken control of America by its jugular. Americans have been enslaved through mass culture, the media, trivialization of women, and the glorification of war. Our task is to free the slave [rakaba]. Americans are being humiliated by the transfer of vast funds to Wall Street and Israel and militaries occupying Iraq and Afghanistan.
Dr. Siddique said :Americans see Israelis-Jews as victims because of the appropriation of the World War II narrative by Zionists. Most Americans, he said, do not know that the Jewish holocaust was part of the horrors of the World War in which everyone, including millions of Germans, suffered tremendously. Americans have been led to believe that "holocaust" was an event by itself. We must bring Muslims to study the World War and help non-Muslims to understand it. The message of sura al-Balad today is that the global "city" in which we live should be liberated from the oppressors. Our role is to help people understand the worldwide menace of Zionism and to break its hold.


July 24: Resolutions for Worldwide Publicity, inshallah.
National Islamic Shoora of Jamaat al-Muslimeen calls for Practical moves against Zionism.
Thanks Again to Turkey.

  1. We urge Muslims and non-Muslims to unite against zionism.


  2. Efforts must be made to explain zionism to the American people and the international community, and to confront it.


  3. We urge all people of conscience to volunteer to work creatively, especially in their area of expertise, to help people understand zionism.


  4. We urge people of conscience everywhere to pray for an end to the siege of Gaza, and an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people.


  5. Zionism is a form of racism, and it is our duty to help people to understand this fact.


  6. The boycott movement launched by JAMI {Jamaat al-Muslimeen International] and other groups is a peaceful and useful tool to confront zionism. Lists of corporations to be targeted should be updated and activists should remain vigilant on changing zionist investments in occupied Palestine.


  7. We call on all occupation forces to withdraw from all occupied lands, especially Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Kashmir, Palestine, Pakistan and Chechnya.


  8. We extend our hand to our Christian brothers and sisters to work against the Israeli occupation.


  9. We thank the Turkish government for its actions on behalf of the people of Gaza, and we extend our solidarity to the Turkish people.


Outreach
Jamaat al-Muslimeen Literature Given to 160 Muslims after Juma' in Silver Spring, Maryland
Contribution by Islamic woman

In Silver Spring, Maryland, after Juma' on July 23, 2010, an eight page JAM document was given to 160 Muslims from various countries.
It included information on military operations in Jamaica, update on 5 US Muslims handed over by CAIR to the FBI, info on Qadiani ["ahmeddi"] suppport for military operations against Islamic villages in Swat and South Waziristan, support for Lynne Stewart and report on battles in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The sister who organized the distribution got good support from some of the Muslims who received the literature.
[20,000 Jamaicans flee to the US every year.]


New Trend Exclusive

An Interview with Karima El-Amin (Part 1 of 2)
By Nadrat Siddique

The Fourth of July is my birthday. Each year, I seek an activity which expounds on Frederick Douglass' renowned musing "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July" and my social consciousness as a Muslim. This Fourth, I visited Atlanta to run the Peachtree 10K race, the nation's largest 10K (it boasts 50,000 participants) and to interview Karima El-Amin, wife of Imam Jamil El-Amin (formerly H. Rap Brown).

Imam Jamil El-Amin is one of America's foremost political prisoners, currently being held at the infamous high security prison in Florence, Colorado. I felt his case had received a degree of exposure, at least by independent Islamic media, but that far less was known about his wife and partner in the struggle, an activist in her own right.

Karima El-Amin graciously granted me an interview at short notice, even though it meant according me her scant leisure time (the holiday was one of those rare occasions on which she closed her law office). I was to meet her soon after my race. When I called to confirm the details of our meeting, she expressed concern for my condition. Was I too tired and dehydrated after the race, being unaccustomed to Atlanta weather? And did I require more time to rest before our meeting? I was reminded of Imam Jamil, whose self-less concern for his visitors to the prison—even while he himself was being subjected to daily humiliation at the hands of prison guards—was fabled. And—she insisted she would drive to my hotel so that I would not have to attempt to navigate unfamiliar territory. We agreed to hold the interview in my hotel room.

She entered the room, a slender, bespectacled woman, with quiet manner and majestic bearing, dressed modestly in light green hijab. But, as she began to speak, I realized this was easily the most eloquent, self-confident, and politically aware Muslim woman I'd encountered. She was clearly very seeped in Islamic faith; indeed, it may have been what allowed her (and hence her family) to survive the incredible trials they'd experienced; yet she was not ostentatious with her Arabic, nor haughty or judgmental of me or others.

Q: How did you meet Imam Jamil, and what attracted you to him initially?

I met him July 31, 1967. I remember that day because it was the first day I had a job. I had just graduated from the State University of Oswego. I was there four years. I majored in English with the aim of teaching K - 9th grades.

Imam Jamil walked into the job. He was staying with my supervisor. The job was on 135th Street, in Harlem. It was with Job Corps. I thought I'd keep the job a while.

The Imam walked in. At the time, he had a cadre of bodyguards. He was meeting Minister Farrakhan, so he asked the supervisor "See if she'll go to lunch with us." I was the only female at a big table of only brothers. I remember it was a big, big table, and we got back to the job at 5 PM.

That evening, Nina Simone was performing. She had invited Imam Jamil. In later years, he kept in touch with her. She autographed a photo for him that night, which I still have.

Q: Tell me about yourself and your background.

A. My grandmother and mother were Canadian. In 1929, my grandmother brought my mother, her sister, and one of her brothers to the U.S. after divorcing my grandfather. They were deported, and then returned. Then, in 1938, my grandmother went before a judge to ask for her citizenship. In 1942, while my grandmother was living in Los Angeles, Immigration denied her case. By 1942, my mother's sister had married. Her husband was in the entertainment business, and his father wrote "Dark Town Strutters Ball." She was a little activist and traveled broadly.

My mother lived in the building where La Guardia, Duke Ellington, and other musicians lived on Fifth Avenue in New York. My father was from the U.S. (from Virginia), and was in the navy. He and my mother married in 1942, and I was born years later in New York.

We moved to Riverton, built and owned by Metropolitan Life Assurance, in Harlem on Fifth Avenue. It was built mainly for African Americans so that we would not reside in the company's other private developments built for Europeans. In fact, my mother and father were considering being part of a class action suit to challenge the discriminatory practices of the company. Nevertheless, my parents moved to Riverton where I went to school in Harlem. and my mother was involved in the PTA.

My mother was involved in the PTA fighting zoning issues, and that was the first time the FBI came to the house. They thought the communists must be behind this, and we thought they were going to take our mother away.

My mother is from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. We would go back and forth to Canada to visit our grandfather, our aunts and uncles, and cousins. My father didn't want to tell a fib, so when they asked him is everyone in the car a U.S. citizen, he would just nod his head.

We're actually the descendents of runaway slaves. My sister and cousins are being tested to determine where we are from, but so far Spain, Portugal, and Europe are coming up, and not Africa. So, my family members still are exploring further testing.

My mother, after 30 years of being a housewife, went for a job with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Thurgood Marshall was the head of it. He wanted her to be in charge of payroll. To do this, she had to be bonded. Thurgood Marshall sponsored my mother to this end. I became the baby sitter for Thurgood Marshall and various African American judges and attorneys of the Legal Defense Fund.

I remember that my mother would tell my friends to put their dresses on so we could go to the Apollo. During the intermission, she had us walk around with buckets to collect money for whichever case was being fought in the South at the time.

Q: What led to your personal involvement in the Black Liberation struggle?

In college, I got involved with Friends of SNCC. That should have told me I'd wind up with the chair of SNCC.

I graduated in June and met Imam Jamil in July. My sister and her husband got arrested. They were with RAM (Revolutionary Action Movement). This was the first case in which middle class African Americans were involved in supporting the Black Liberation struggle.

RAM is mentioned in the original COINTELPRO papers along with SNCC, Stokely, H. Rap Brown, etc. My husband went to a rally for RAM before I met him.
By August 1967, the FBI had contacted me. They said, "You know your sister was framed. If you help us, we'll clear her." I told them I knew she'd be cleared because she was framed. The FBI wanted me to work for them to provide reports on Imam Jamil.

My parents were very involved with the community. We were a close knit family. I had a non-traumatic childhood (other than the fact that I was almost electrocuted). We did not go without anything. We traveled a lot. My father helped form an organization for African American city workers in transit.

My first trip to the South was in 1959 when a girlfriend of mine invited me to travel with her to visit her relatives. One day, we went shopping to look at earrings. I went to hand money to one of the workers, and she threw the money on the floor. Later, I was trying to buy a hotdog, and they would not sell it to me, because the hotdog stand was "Whites Only." Up in New York, we protested White Castle (fast food establishment).

My mother was very proper. When my husband's book came out, she would not say the name of the book, because it was called Die Nigger Die.

The FBI hounded my parents. They went to my father's job repeatedly. Despite this, my parents continued to be very supportive. I came from very smart, compassionate parents. They both died young (at age 51). One day, we went to the grocery store. When we came out, we found our car had a flat tire. We said, "Oh FBI."

Not long after, my father stopped at a gas station to fix a flat tire. He collapsed and died. Imam Jamil's mother died the week after that. Then, my mother went into the hospital. They discovered an aneurism on the right side of her brain. Then, they located another on the left, and she died two months later, in June. Then, in October, Imam Jamil was shot and went to the same hospital where my mother died. In fact, he was in the room next to where my mother spent two months before she died. All this happened in one year. We just didn't have time for grieving.
(To be continued)


Letter: Criticism of New Trend's July 16 issue on Red Mosque-Jamia Hafsa Anniversary

There were not even 50 dead or injured and you say hundreds. They also killed police and military personal including a colonel and a captain. Mention that also. Was it their business to stockpile the mosque with weapons, grenades and other war like material. Is it allowed in Islam?
[Re: Qur'an and Hadith.] THEY DID NOT DEFEND ANY OF THESE. THEY WERE THE ONES WHO STARTED THE FIGHT BY ATTACKING POLICE, KILLING A COUPLE OF THEM AND BREAKING DOORS AND WINDOW PANES OF PUBLIC BUILDING. WHEN REQESTED BY AUTHORITIES TO VACATE THE PLACE THEY REFUSED.
[Re: US-Israeli Support.] PAKISTAN WAS NOT BACKED BY AMERICA IN THIS EPISODE. IT IS UNTHINKABLE THAT ISRAEL COULD HAVE BACKED MUSHARRAF IN THIS EPISODE.

Ghulam Yusuf [Pakistan]


How do we know of US-Israeli Role in Red Mosque-Jamia Hafsa Tragedy?
Please do not write in capital letters. Here is our reply.

Editorial response: General Musharraf was working for Pakistan's recognition of Israel. He openly visited major Jewish-Zionist groups in USA in September 2005. Here is what a top Jewish leader had to say. [See Arab News, Sept. 19, 2005.]

"He was incredibly well received, and all the leadership of American Jewry was there — it was a very impressive gathering of American Jewish leadership," said David Twersky, director of the AJC Council for World Jewry, the sponsor for the event."

[AJC is the organization which tried to remove me from my job because I wanted an open debate on the holocaust story.]

After he destroyed Jamia Hafsa and the Red mosque, Musharraf was hailed by the Jews. USA was worried that even secular Pakistanis were turning against Musharraf because of his attacks on the Judiciary, but American Zionist-Jews were extremely happy with him. The transfer of the army from Musharraf to Kayani was controlled by USA. Both are America's men and Israel's men. One cannot be America's man without being Israel's man. Israel controls America. Here is a quote from the leading Jewish magazine Forward, November 11, 2007:

"With the blessing of Washington, Jack Rosen, chairman of the American Jewish Congress's Council for World Jewry, traveled halfway across the globe for a face-to-face meeting with Musharraf, who he had hailed two years ago as a courageous leader and driving force in Jewish-Muslim dialogue.

Rosen made the trip to Islamabad after consulting with the State Department and key members of Congress. In addition to Musharraf, he met with General Ashfaq Kiyani, the deputy chief of staff who is expected to take over from Musharraf as head of the army, as well as ministers and intelligence officials."

As for casualties in the Red Mosque and Jamia Hafsa, the martyrs were in the thousands. Hundreds is a cautious estimate. Among them were many young women. Eye witnesses saw bodies of young women dumped like trash by the "security forces." Artillery was used and the smoke of destruction could be seen from miles away. Ask people in Islamabad.

Muslims have the right to defend their mosques. The dastardly army of General Musharraf, cowards that they are under Kayani too, had no right to attack a mosque and a women's seminary. Musharraf had already demolished a number of mosques before Abdur Rasheed Ghazi [shaheed] and the Muslim women decided to stop the sacrilege through civil disobedience.
Musharraf did not consult Parliament or any civilian authorities. It was ENTIRELY done by orders from USA and Israel.

The Islamic people did not harm anyone. The takeover of the library was not violent. The courts have now heard the charges brought by Musharraf. They were all fake and were dropped.

Pakistani troops threw copies of the Qur'an and Hadith all over the floors of Jamia Hafsa.

Pakistanis need to wake up. Nothing happens, of any importance, in Pakistan without approval by the USA and Israel. What made you think such a huge tragedy could be enacted in the capital city without US-Israeli support and okay?
Notice that the ENTIRE Zionist media simply did not report the attack by Mushharraf on the Red Mosque, as if it never happened. A Christian Science Monitor Pakistan-related reporter told me that she had no idea what had happened in Islamabad! [That is America's best newspaper.]


For details on the Red Mosque-Jamia Hafsa tragedy, see my book Return to Pakistan: Media Perspectives on Bush's Iraq & Afghanistan Wars.


Hadith Studies
Does Islam Teach the Wife to Obey the Husband?

Q & A
Does Islam say that the Wife Should Obey the Husband? Why are Marriages under Stress?

Several readers have pointed to Saudi-linked lists which are propagating the claim that according to Islam, the wife should Obey the husband. The Saudi-influenced scholars are saying that if a wife leaves the house for any reason, she must ask her husband's permission. They say that even the woman's voice is "awrah" and should not be heard. If she travels, she must be accampanied by her husband or a male relative. What do the Qur'an and the Hadith really say?

Answer by Br. Kaukab Siddique: We must realize that according to the Qur'an, authority belongs to ALLAH ALONE. [1] Any attempt to give authority to any human being is SHIRK, which is the only sin Allah does not forgive.
The Qur'an is a progressive revelation which went through stages of development of the Muslim woman and the Muslim male. In the final analysis, male-female relations in Islam are based on TAQWA [Fear of Allah, God-conscious behavior], not on gender. [2]
In the FINAL revelation about men and women, the Qur'an proclaimed without ambiguity that the believing men and women are EACH OTHER'S protecting friends and guardians, not the woman under the domain of the male. [3]

The Qur'an proclaimed the EQUALITY of men and women even in such an advanced, complex and cooperative venture as jihad.[4]

Allah Almighty categorically places women TOGETHER in ALL aspects of Islamic endeavor, without the slightest shade of inferiority for women. [5]

The Prophet Muhammad, pbuh, took an oath of allegiance from women which covered their entire existence but does not include obedience to the husband. [6]
In the earliest stage of the Muslim community in Madinah, Muslim men were given the authority to discipline their wives in cases of sexual misconduct [without causing any significant hurt], but this was taken away at the next stage when in cases of alleged sexual misconduct, all that a man could do was to swear that he was telling the truth. If the wife took a similar oath, the marriage would be dissolved. [7] Most apologist Muslims focus on this early development in Islam and ignore the rest of the Qur'an.

In times of insecurity and war, in long journeys, the Prophet, pbuh, ordained that a woman should travel with her husband or a male relative. This was meant to help the woman and to provide security, not to put the woman under the control of her husband. The issue of travel is used by some scholars to argue that the wife must obey the husband. There is a whole series of omissions, either dishonest or out of ignorance, carried out to use this issue. The following Hadith is quoted:

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, "It is not permissible for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to travel except with a Mahram." [Bukhari]

However, that is not the complete Hadith. Here it is with the key words in bold type: The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, "It is not permissible for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to travel for one day and night except with a Mahram." [Bukhari]

One day and night connotes a long journey. Nowadays, one can travel halfway around the world in a day and a night. This is certainly not about a woman going shopping or to meet her friends down in the city. In those days, it was dangerous and one could lose life, goods and honor to bandits on the way. There were no highways or electric lights on the sandy desert.

However, the misuse of Hadith does not end there. These scholars do not note the context and do not let anyone know that restrictions were put on males too. Here are the relevant Hadith:

The Prophet, pbuh, said: "Travel is a kind of punishment. It limits food, drink and sleep. When you have completed the requirements of travel, return quickly to your family." [Bukhari and Muslim.]

The Prophet Muhammad, pbuh, spent much of his life in Madinah in jihad. He traveled extensively for jihad and hence there are numerous hadith about travel and its rules. It's a shame for modern Muslims [such as the Saudi elites] who have never even spoken against the oppressors, let alone gone for jihad, that they should be using the words of the greatest liberator of women, Muhammad Mustafa, pbuh, to try and subjugate women.

When a man went out for a journey, his life was often in danger. Here is another Hadith on the subject which stops men from going forth alone:
The messenger of Allh, pbuh, said: "A horseman going alone is satanic. If there are two going by themselves, they are two satans. and three is the proper [recommended] caravan." [Sunan of Abu Dawood and Sunan of Nasa'i]
The messenger of Allah, pbuh, said; "If people knew what I know about the bad aspects of traveling alone, no one would travel alone at night." [Sahih Bukhari]

The Islamic solution, the Prophet, pbuh, gave was excellent but we Muslims have forgotten it. Where possible, especially where satanic forces are at work, Muslims should travel in groups, even if these are very small groups, and the traveling should be well organized:
The messenger of Allah, pbuh, said: "When three of you travel, make one of your companions the ameer." [Sunan of Abu Dawood]

We are living in times where travel conditions are being affected by the antagonistic activities of our enemies. So go forth prepared:
Someone asked the messenger of Allah: "O messenger of Allah, I have the intention of travel. Please advise me. He [the messenger, pbuh,} replied: "The fear and awareness of Allah [taqwa] should always be with you, and at every high point [in the journey] say takbeer!" [Sunan of Tirmidhi]. [8]

So, if obedience to the husband is not a part of Islam, how should the family be organized? Wouldn't there be chaos if there is no "captain" of the team? This argument ignores the Islamic principle of organization which is called SHOORA or mutual consultation leading to decision making based on discussion, consent and consensus. There is a chapter of the Qur'an titled Shoora. Allah ordains in this chapter that ALL matters of Muslim activity must be carried out by mutual consultation and consent. [9] Even the Prophet, pbuh, divinely inspired as he was, received the command to consult with the believers. [10]
Maulana Maudoodi's tafsir [commentary] on the verse of Shoora is the best among all tafsirs. Here is the key excerpt:

"...Mutual consultation [shoora] is an essential requirement of the moral character Islam wants to teach the human being. Evasion of shoora is a major immorality which islam can never permit. The Islamic way of life requires that the principle of shoora should be used in all social relationships, big or small. In domestic life, the husband and the wife should do mutual shoora and when children grow up, they too should be included in the family shoora. When matters of the entire extended family are involved, all the sane and adult family members should be involved. If an entire tribe or clan is to be affected and all of them cannot be in the shoora process, by an agreed upon method their representatives should be included in a tribal majlis. If an entire nation is involved, the leader of the nation should be chosen by the will of the people and should manage national affairs with the help of the shoora members whom the nation considers trustworthy...." [Tafhimul Qur'an, vol.4, p.509]

In Islam, the husband and the wife are each others' friends and comrades. It's not a relationship of dominance and submission. Communication and discussion are the keys to successful Islamic marriage. Attempts at dominance and control are bound to create stress and the slow deterioration of the relationship, however well it might have started.
Men often do not listen to the nuances of what the wife says. Muhammad, pbuh, did. Women communicate differently from men. The Prophet, pbuh, knew that. Let's follow his example. One won't find him , in ALL of Hadith literature, trying to suppress and subordinate 'Ayesha, r.a., or any other woman.




Textual notes: [Emphasis added.]
1. "Say: For me, I have an obvious sign from my Lord, but you reject it. What you would see hastened is not in my power. Authority belongs to Allah alone. He declares the Truth, and He is the best of Judges." [The Qur'an 6:57.]
"Men are then returned to Allah, their Protector, the Reality. Authority belongs to Him Alone. and He is the swiftest in taking account." [6:62]
[Yusuf, pbuh, said] "If not Him, ye worship nothing but names which ye have named - ye and your fathers - for which Allah has sent you no ruling: Authority is for None but Allah; He has commanded that ye worship none but Him; that is the right religion but most people understand not." [12:40]
[Jacob, pbuh, said] "O my sons! enter not all by one gate: enter ye by different gates. Not that I can benefit you against Allah! None has authority other than Allah. On Him do I put my trust, and let all that trust put their trust on Him." [12:67.]
"And He is Allah: there is no god but He! To Him be praise at the first and at the last! To Him belongs Authority and to Him shall ye all be brought back." [28:70]
[Notice that even Prophets like Jacob and Yusuf have no authority. There is no question of an ordinary person like the husband having authority.]
[Some translators use the word "command' for hukm or Authority but that is an incorrect translation. Command is 'Amr. However hukm has other uses too depending on the Qur'anic context.]

2. "O mankind! We created you from male and female and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other. Surely the noblest of you with Allah are the ones among you who are best in conduct [taqwa]. Surely Allah is All Knowing, Aware." [49:13]

3. "The believers, men and women are protectors and guardians [awliyya] of each other. They enjoin what is just and fobid what is evil: they establish prayer , give zakat regularly, and they obey Allah and His messenger. On them will Allah pour His mercy, for Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise. Allah has promised the believers, men and women, gardens under which rivers flow, to dwell therein, and beautiful mansions, in Gardens of everlasting bliss. But the greatest Bliss is the Pleasure of [acceptance by] Allah. That is the supreme felicity." [9:71-72]
[Commentators agree that these were the final verses revealed on this subject.]

4. "And their Lord has accepted of them and answered them: 'Never will I allow to be lost the efforts of any of you, be ye male or female: Ye are from each other. Those [men and women] who left their homes, or have been driven out from there or suffered injuries in My cause, or fought or been slain, - surely I will blot out from their sins and admit them into Gardens with rivers flowing beneath, - a reward from the presence of Allah, and from His Presence is the best of rewards.' " [3:195]

5. The Qur'an 33:35

6. 60:12

7. 4:34. Modernists have expended much energy on this verse, in trying to change its meaning. They forgot that the Qur'an was revealed progressively over two decades. If this progression is not taken into account, one can be involved in tahrif [distortion] of the Qur'an, a deadly sin. For instance, see the next development of the husband-wife relationship in 24:6-9, where the husband is no longer called on to discipline his wife. [Islam followed a similar progression in dealing with intoxicants, interest and jihad.]

8. For the sake of Islam, women often traveled alone, as in the first hijra to Ethiopia and the great hijra to Yathrib.
9. The Qur'an, chapter 42, verse 38.

10: 3: 159


Palestine
A Tale of Jewish Kindness
By crescentandcross

A wealthy Israeli Jew, riding in his limousine, munching down a Reuben-on-Rye and drinking a cup of Starbucks coffee saw two Palestinian men along the roadside eating grass. Disturbed, he ordered his driver to stop and he got out to investigate the matter.
He asked one man, "Why are you eating grass?"
"We don't have any money for food," the poor Palestinian man replied. "We have to eat grass."
"Well then, you can come with me to my house and I'll feed you," the Israeli Jew said.
"But sir, I have a wife and two children with me. They are over there, under that tree."
"Bring them along," the Israeli Jew replied.
Turning to the other poor Palestinian man the Israeli Jew stated, "You come with us also."
The second Palestinian man, in a pitiful voice then said, "But sir, I also have a wife and nine children with me!"
"Bring them all, as well," the Israeli Jew answered.
They all entered the car, which was no easy task, even for a car as large as the limousine.
Once underway, one of the poor fellows turned to the Jew and said, "Sir, you are too kind. Thank you for taking all of us with you."
The Jew replied, "Glad to do it. You'll love my place- the grass is almost three feet tall!"
-sent by "Eddie" from Cleveland
http://theuglytruth.podbean.com

Please check out the brand new book detailing Israel's deliberate attack on the USS LIBERTY


India
Pro-Israel Christians Weaving a Web to Entangle Muslims

What is happening in Kerala?

On 4th July 2010 a college teacher was attacked at Moovattupuzha in Ernakulum district while he was returning from the church. In the attack one of his hands were severed off and he suffered some other minor injuries. The police have arrested many people in this connection. The police stated that the accused were members of Popular Front of India. Popular Front state leadership immediately condemned the incident and clarified that it is not the organization's policy to be involved in such incidents. Popular Front also offered complete cooperation in the police investigation.

Neither Communal nor Religious

The attacked teacher is an accused in a criminal case for insulting Prophet Muhammad in most heinous manner in a question paper supplied for internal examination in his college situated in the nearby town of Thodupuzha. This town in Idukki district had seen vehement protests by various Muslim organisations in March last when the question paper incident took place. There is a suspicion that the question paper issue is a part of a major conspiracy to hurt the sentiments of Muslims and incite them. It is likely that the man was attacked because of his role in the question paper issue and definitely not because of his religion or profession. Hence this issue should not be given a communal colour.

There were certain incidents in the recent past which had hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims. In southern Kerala some Christian groups have been secretly distributing books, pamphlets and fliers which abuse the Prophet in most indecent terms. They also tell their followers that Islam is a satanic religion and they should support the Zionist state of Israel as it prepares ground for the return of Jesus Christ. They also support the US invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan and send paramedics, mercenaries and missionaries to Iraq and Afghanistan to support the invasion. They describe it as a golden opportunity to convert Muslims. It is also seen that most of the attacks on Islam and the Prophet come not from traditional Christian churches but Pentecostals and evangelicals financed by rightist Christian groups in the US. They are high pressure missionary groups who raise money on the number of people converted.

Scarf Scare

In some cases, Christian owned institutions were involved in activities which directly aimed at provoking Muslims. The Christian controlled media in particular spread the canard that Muslim students in colleges are involved in wooing high- born Christian and Hindu girls for the purpose of converting them to Islam and terrorism under an operation plan allegedly named Love Jihad. One prominent Christian priest warned that Kerala would become a Muslim state by 2050. The Jagratha Samiti which is a wing of Kerala Christians Bishop's Council issued a circular asking the Christians to be vigilant about Love Jihad; Finally the High Court had to intervene to call the bluff.

Not by coincidence certain Christian schools banned Muslim girls wearing scarf in school. During the same period a Christian missionary group published a book abusing Islam and a publishing house released a school text book with Prophet Mohammed's images. A book containing vitriol against Islam was reprinted and distributed secretly. It is likely that such unfortunate incidents had widened the gap between the two communities and created an atmosphere of mistrust among them. Such incidents are not in the interests of both the communities and also the secular fabric of Kerala.

The media, the CPM and the Christian lobby in the police are now using this incident as an excuse for no hold's barred attack not only on the Popular Front of India but everything related to Islam and Muslims in Kerala. The attack in Thodupuzha was not the first such incident in Kerala. The state has witnessed more gory attacks by organized political parties, Sangh parivar and killer gangs. CPM and RSS are in the forefront of beheadings, choppings and bomb attacks as evidenced by the State Crime Records Bureau. When such incidents take place police usually bring the culprits to book without much hullabaloo. But the current incident was blown out of proportion to blame an organization and a community. Popular Front is relentlessly attacked and Muslim community is made the target. Even the Chief Minister joined the fray accusing Popular Front of planning to make Kerala a Muslim majority state within twenty years. All these were blatant lies as the Front is not involved in missionary work.

It is ironical that both the CPM and RSS which have a long history of being actively involved in all sorts of criminal activities are speaking together against the Popular Front.

Following the incident series of raids were conducted by police in Popular Front offices and residence of its activists. There were unlawful arrests of Popular Front members, breaking into houses at midnight, closing down business and even incidents of physical and verbal harassment of women. Most of the offices and centres of the organization across the state were raided by the police but no objectionable documents or material could be found in any of the offices or centres. Even the offices of the political party SDPI and the human rights organization NCHRO were raided because they protested the police atrocities. The Ernakulam district president of NCHRO was arrested and jailed immediately after he lodged a complaint to National Human Rights Commission about the police harassment of innocent Muslims.

But the police and the communally biased segments of the media propagated that anti-national handbills, books and videos were recovered. The printed materials found at the office were either hand bills or posters related to many public campaigns conducted by the organization. The CD's were the video documentaries of various public programmes which are sold in public. Every day one political leader or the other raised concern about talibanism and the spectre of Islamic terrorism without even an iota of evidence.

Smear Campaign

In such a situation our worry is not about what is happening to Popular Front. Actually it is the Muslim community being targeted. Muslims who were poor illiterate and under-developed are now coming up in Kerala. The sections which had so far monopolized education, political power and administration are not happy with the recent Muslim advances. There are reasons to believe that the recent smear campaign against Muslims is part of a wide conspiracy aimed to divert the Muslim attention from the path of development. One of the ways to suppress a community is to suppress its dynamic sections. Popular Front of India has been in the forefront of struggles for reservation in government services and the political empowerment of the Muslims and other marginalized sections of the society. With its presence in 16 states across India, the Front has become the driving force for change in the Muslim community.

There are two possible reasons for targeting the Muslim community through Popular Front. One would be the growing communal influence in the State Government machinery including the police. CPM in spite of its tall claims of secularism is basically a Hindu party in Kerala. The communal imbalance in the administration and police force leads to discrimination and Islam phobia. Another reason is the local body elections expected in September this year and the state assembly elections next year. The ruling CPM controlled LDF does not expect to return to power and is playing a dirty political game to consolidate the Hindu and Christian communal votes. Those Muslim organizations which once supported LDF have deserted them and they do not expect any crucial support from the Muslims as happened in the previous Assembly elections.

Being an organization which has always adhered to the values of the constitution, we are worried about the transformation of a local incident to a catalyst of communal divide. This is not merely an issue about Popular Front or even the Muslim community, but it is a serious concern for the society. The secular fabric of the country is the most sacred element which binds the nation together and any attempt to destroy the secular fabric of the nation by the communal forces, political parties or the biased media should be stopped to safeguard peace and harmony.

Released in public interest by
Popular Front of India
Headquarters
No 5, 1st Main, 4th Cross, SK Garden,
Benson Town Post, Bangalore
Phone: 080 32957534
popularfrontindia.org


With thanks to Br. Shaikh Hyder in Canada.


Obituary from Canada for a distinguished South African Imam

In Loving Memory of my dear brother
Imaam Abdul Raghiem Paulsen.

By: Abdul Hamid Lachporia

"Be sure we shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss
in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil), but give glad tidings to those who patiently
persevere, who say, when afflicted with calamity":

"Inna lilla he wa inna elaihe raji oon"
"To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return."

"They are those on whom (Descend) blessings from Allah, and
Mercy, they are the one's that receive guidance."
(Surah Al-Baqara verses 155 to 157)

To the righteous soul will be said:
"O (thou) soul, in complete rest and satisfaction!
Come back thou to thy Lord -well pleased (thyself),
And well-pleasing unto Him! Enter thou, then
Among My Devotees! Yea, enter thou My Heaven."
[Surah Al Fajr verses 27 to 30]
The soul that returned unto its Creator and Sustainer on the morning of Friday July 16th, 2010 during the most wonderful and Mubarak day of Jummah in the month of Sha'baan was one which had every reason to be well-pleased and well-pleasing with its majestic achievement of a brilliant life of devoted service to Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala and to the people of Riverlea and throughout the Johannesburg area.
The soul of our beloved brother Imaam Abdul Raghiem lovingly known as Imaam Ghiem by all those who knew him, left its corporeal frame to ascend into the bliss of Divine proximity leaving behind an orphaned community of loving admirers and devoted followers in a state of profound shock, deep grief and great sadness.
Such was the majesty of his spirit and the absorbing charisma of his person that it tended to create an illusion of eternity about his physical presence: the immortal majesty of his soul had cast its shadow of permanence on his physical presence and everything that surrounded it. However, there is nothing that is permanent in this transitory realm of corporeal existence except, of course, for the reflection therein of the world of transcendence, which had found such a brilliant reflection in the soul of our dearest brother Imaam Abdul Raghiem Paulsen.

It is said that the apple never falls far from the tree. In this case, reference is made to his honourable father, the late Hajee Agmat Paulsen who gave the better part of his life in serving Islam and the Muslim community of Riverlea. To this end Hajee Agmat was instrumental in acquiring land and the subsequent construction of the Riverlea Gabieboela Islamic Association. It is in this very same Masjid and through the guidance of Hajee Agmat that our dear Imaam Ghiem was inspired at a very young age by his father to pursue his Islamic studies in the country of the birth of our Beloved Nabee Muhammad Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam. Upon completion of his Islamic studies he returned home to serve the people of Riverlea with distinction where he has lived amongst them serving them faithfully until he was summoned home by his Glorious Creator on Friday July 16th, 2010.

Alhumdoelillah! In his person, the lamp of eternity burnt brightly and cast its radiance over the dark world of corporeal being. In truth, he was both a beacon and protector of his flock, and one of the radiant points where the world of transcendence, the world of light and glory, intersected the ephemeral world of matter. Imaam Abdul Raghiem Paulsen was the embodiment of the everlasting power of the spirit, and his dedication and life achievement bear the greatest contemporary testimony to the subjugation of the world of material inertia to the sovereignty of the world of spirit.

He put to display the great power of the spirit by his triumphant confrontation with the transitory against the eternal, of the sensual and the carnal against the spiritual, of ignorance and blindness against wisdom, of the animal and the bestial against the angelic and the human. More than anything else, it was the words of inspiration that came out of his mouth, words that shattered to pieces the idols of wrongdoing, Kufr, Dhulm and the Jahilliya way.
Today when our beloved brother Imaam Abdul Raghiem has ascended to his eternal abode in the proximity of his Exalted Creator and Sustainer, his spirit retains its eternal bond with his family, his many close friends and the entire Jamaat of Riverlea and the surrounding areas throughout the greater Johannesburg area.

Though Imaam Abdul Raghiem is not amongst us physically anymore, and no more shall we behold his noble, kindly and determined heavenly and ethereal visage, or hear his majestic voice addressing us from the Mimbar, his lofty spirit remains the élan vital and will continue to guide the future generations of our communities on the Path of Seerathal Mustaqeem, and lead their battle for demolishing the idols of wrong doing, oppression, despotism, injustice and misguidance to the Day of Judgement.

Not only in Riverlea but the entire Muslim community of Johannessburg lost a great leader, a beacon a guide and a consoler. His presence and his most loving brotherly words were the greatest inspiration to all those who came into contact with him. His constant reminder to people was that true believers are those who remain devoted to Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala under all circumstances. Allah exists no matter what befalls us and deserves to be worshipped at all times. Thus, we serve Allah with true faith at all times and pass every test - at good times, we thank our Glorious Creator and at difficult times we continue to serve Him with grateful hearts and look to the Aghirah (Hereafter) with Sabr (patience) and perseverance.

His inspiring leadership, his dedication, his great love for the people that he faithfully served for so many years, his understanding and his reassuring presence also gave a great strength to the people of Riverlea. However, if today Imaam Abdul Raghiem Paulsen is not physically amongst us anymore, we say Alhumdoelillah for we still have amongst us the eternal consolation, the Most Holy and Glorious Qur'an that declares in Surah al-Anbiyaa (21) verses 34 & 35:

"And We granted not to any human being immortality before you
(O Muhammad), then if you die, would they live forever?
Everyone is going to taste death, and We shall make a trial
Of you with evil and with good, and to Us you will be returned."

This reality must be established firmly in one's heart, the reality that life in this world is limited and has an appointed end - and this end will definitely come. Man's spirit will ascend toward Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala and immerse him in true happiness when he avoids the pitfall of neediness by severing himself from all causes and turning directly to Almighty Allah Tabaraqa Wata'ala . He will then see himself linked directly to Almighty Allah's Essence and palpably feel His infinite favour and Grace.

The righteous will die and the wicked will die. The Mujahid who fight in Jihad will die and those who sit at home will die. Those who busy themselves with correct belief will die and those who treat people as their slaves will die. The brave who reject injustice will die, and the cowards who seek to cling on to this life at any price will die. The people of great concern and lofty goals will die, and the wretched people who live only for cheap enjoyment will die.

"Allaahum maghfirli hayyinaa, wa shaahidinaa wa ghaa'ibinaa,
wa sagheerinaa wa kabeerinaa, wa dhakarinaa wa unthaanaa,
allaahumma man ahyaitahoo minnaa fa ahyihee 'alal
islaam, wa man tawaffaitahoo minna fatawaffahoo 'alal eemaan,
allaahumma laa tahrimnaa ajrahoo, walaa tudilanaa ba'dahoo."

"O Allah! Forgive our living and our dead, those of us who are present and those who are absent, our young and our old, our males and our females. O Allah! Whoever amongst us You cause to live, then cause them to live upon Islaam, and whosoever from us You cause to die cause them to die upon Imaan. O Allah! Do not forbid us the reward, and do not cause us to go astray after him."

And Almighty Allah knows best

Was Salamualaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu.

Abdul Hamid Lachporia
Toronto. Ontario. Canada

2010-08-05 Thu 18:43:09 cdt
NewTrendMag.org