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Dr Kaukab Siddique | Editor-in-Chief Safar 7, 1433/January 1, 2012 # 1

An imam from Ivory Coast is doing exemplary work in Harlem, New York. Please scroll to end.

Jamaate Islami Keeping up the Pressure in Pakistan.
On December 28, Syed Munawar Hasan, JI Ameer, addressed large gatherings in the sensitive Frontier towns of Karak [south west of Kohat] and Laki Marwat [north east of Bannu]. On December 29, he spoke to a mass gathering in Bannu. He was strongly anti-imperialist and anti-NATO. He stressed peaceful change through elections but noted that elections in a corrupt system only help the corrupt. He emphasized that the suffering of Pakistani masses has reached a point where revolution may occur naturally before new elections can be held.
[JI's leader in Sindh, Asadullah Bhutto, met Baluch leaders and assured them that justice will be done by the Islamic movement and "disappeared" Baluch activists must be returned by the regime.]

For extremely important news from Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Nigeria and Somalia, please scroll down.

An invitation to join the non-violent struggle for Islam in America.

From Jamaat al-Muslimeen's Ameer Kaukab Siddique
To: JAM Shoora leaders and Supporters Across the Country
During 2012 [1433 Hijri], let's break our own records for activism.

Our Concepts:
1. No to oppression, exploitation and tyranny.
2. Support the rights of women.
3. Support the rights of children.
4. Support the rights of prisoners.
5. Oppose cruelty to animals.
6. Authority belongs to Allah Alone. [The Qur'an]

Activist Agenda:
6. Help the movements against environmental pollution and toxic industrialism-militarism.
5. Urge the release of ALL political prisoners.
6. Oppose occupation of Muslim lands by Israel, NATO, India, the US, Russia and China.
7. Condemn and delegitimize Israel.
8. Boycott businesses which support Israel.
9. Zionism is racism: Down with Zionism
10. Educate Americans about the re-colonization of Africa and how to stop it.

Our Constituency:
11. Ten Million Muslims in America.
12. African Americans
13. Latinos/Latinas
14. Native Americans.
15. Americans opposed to Israel, Zionism and Jewish control of American media, politics, economics.

Our Resources:
16. Allah Almighty [through the Qur'an]
17. Muhammad, peace be on him, through the hadith.
18. Our sense of decency, support for Rule of Law and analytical ability.

First Act of Terror on American Soil.

December 29, 1890: one of the first acts of terror on American soil was committed at Wounded Knee, in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. The 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment opened fire on a group of 350 Lakota Indians gathered at Wounded Knee, killing approximately 300 of them. Most of these were women and children. All had been disarmed by the U.S. Army prior to their murder.

- Nadrat Siddique

December 31: At the White House, Representatives of Activist Groups Rallied Against War

"Blessed are the Peacemakers" by ©Bill Hughes
Among the 42 activists against the war, there was only one Muslim: Nadrat Siddique from Jamaat al-Muslimeen.

Our America
Somali-Americans Rally in Minneapolis, Minnesota Against Bank Stoppage
[Kenyan and Ethiopian troops invading Somalia].

The bank used by Somali Americans to transmit funds to their families in Somalia has stopped all remittances to that country. The Shabab are fighting for an Islamic State in Somalia, not fighting America. However, they are considered terrorists by the US.
The demonstrators chanted that their families would starve. Keith Ellison showed up to show support but he considers Israel legitimate and Somalis can't get much beyond words from him.

Two Somali women are leading the movement in support of sending remittances to Somalia. The bank is silent.

Meanwhile, the Kenyan army, linked to the US is continuing to advance into Somalia.
On December 31, Ethiopian troops moved into Somalia but suffered heavy losses at the hands of the mujahedine in the border town of Beledweyne. The Ethiopians then opened artillery fire on the civilian population. The Shabab, to save the civilians, withdrew to just outside the town.

An Invitation to think: January 1, 2012.
Spotlights from Imam Badi Ali, National Shoora Leader, Jamaat al-Muslimeen, North Carolina

Wisdom about Brotherhood

Spotlight #1: When choosing friends for brotherhood, ask yourself what is the purpose. Does it include worship of Allah?

Spotlight #2: Brothers should express love for brothers in words and actions. Sisters for sisters.

Spotlight #3: Brotherhood is like fruit. We like all the fruit but we choose one, the best, for ourselves.

Spotlight #4: Happiness is Sharing.

Spotlight #5: Make general inquiries about your chosen brother's family. Show interest in his family.

Spotlight #6: Recognize and praise the virtues of your brother or sister.

Spotlight #7: Find an excuse, do not accuse, your brother for his mistakes. Explain and, if possible, justify, his actions.

Spotlight #8: Be real! Do not expect perfection from the imperfection which is humanity.

Spotlight #9: Words hurt and wound but they do not kill. Learn to forgive!

Spotlight #10: Listen to the tone of your brother's voice. Tonal messages lead to understanding. Do not contradict the tone. Recognize the emphasis and respond accordingly.

Spotlight #11: Observe body language and then respond.

Spotlight #12: No one gets a headache while comforting others! By comforting others, you comfort yourself.

Spotlight #13: The brother in faith is like your mirror. [Hadith.] You can see your own love, honesty, patience in his eyes and face [or its opposite].

Spotlight #14: Ask for advice in matters in which he considers himself an expert.

Spotlight #15: Advice is a gift and so is trust. Giving and receiving are both wonderful.

Spotlight #16: Accept apologies QUICKLY. Admit errors without argument.

Spotlight #17: To be a brother, BE ONE! Be reliable. Be yourself as you would want your brother to be.


Brief Reference to Dr. Kaukab Siddique's Holiday Activities:
After giving the Juma' khutba in Greensboro, North Carolina [December 23, reported in New Trend December 26], Dr. Siddique spoke to a youth group about Media Targeting of Young People [High Point, NC] and then to a local Muslim community about the problems faced by Muslim FAMILIES in America.
In between he performed a wedding of a Pakistani with a new sister of European descent where Pakistani family members were present. The Pakistani families were pleasantly surprised to know the rights of the wife because wedding sermons in Pakistan are usually given in a language which Pakistanis don't understand.
He spoke about the Qur'an and how to give Da'wah to Americans, to a new converts group in Durham, NC, led by Sis. Amatullah. This is an African American community.
Then on December 30, Dr. Siddique attended Juma' at an Islamic Center in Charleston, South Carolina and spoke to local community leaders about their internal, organizational problems.

Sis Amatullah [Durham, NC] has sent the following notes about the keynote speech made by Imam Adly [from Egypt] and her own observations:

Organization of Converts To Islam. Input Needed for a DVD.
Our website is: www.darularqammca.org
Imam Muhammad Adly talked about the importance of the Darul Arqam Muslim Converts Association of Durham, its planned work of educating the Muslims and it's need for others to help with this work. He mentioned that there are at least 5 scholars in North and South Carolina. The question was asked of him Who are they? Where are they?
What is their contact information? also what are their names and field? and also are they willing to help in this project? He suggested that Sis. Amatullah come to the Jan.21, 2012 meeting in Charlotte NC of the CIC (Imams of the area) and ask that question.Imam Adly also spoke about people working for the "Sake of Allah (subanahu wa ta'ala)" and the need for people to come forth to volunteer.
Sis. Amatullah thinks more emphasis needs to be put on the importance of Muslims knowing Islam.Today it seems as though non-Muslims know more about Islam than the Muslims! Plus, the Muslims seem to be asleep.The sister says, she has put out a request for Muslims in any area to help Darul Arqam Muslim Converts Association of Durham and the Carolinas.
One does not have to live in Durham or North Carolina or the Carolinas to help us. We need lawyers, computer savvy people who can build a data base, secretaries, those knowledgeable about Islam, Muslims knowledgeable in any area and in any place. We also need other Muslim Converts who came to Islam thru other than WD Muhammad group and Nation of Islam group for the DVD.
We need to show a wide range of Muslims. They can make a short Video and send it to:
PO Box 15102 Durham NC 27704 and we can put it into the DVD

US Gives F 16s, Abram tanks, Artillery, APCs, Ammo to Shi'ite Regime in Bagdad.
[From New York Times]

Weapons Sales to Iraq Move Ahead Despite U.S. Worries By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and ERIC SCHMITT
Published: December 28, 2011
"BAGHDAD — The Obama administration is moving ahead with the sale of nearly $11 billion worth of arms and training for the Iraqi military despite concerns that Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki is seeking to consolidate authority, create a one-party Shiite-dominated state and abandon the American-backed power-sharing government.The military aid, including advanced fighter jets and battle tanks, is meant to help the Iraqi government protect its borders and rebuild a military that before the 1991 Persian Gulf war was one of the largest in the world; it was disbanded in 2003 after the United States invasion.
The program to arm the military is being led by the United States Embassy here, which through its Office of Security Cooperation serves as a broker between the Iraqi government and defense contractors like Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. Among the big-ticket items being sold to Iraq are F-16 fighter jets, M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks, cannons and armored personnel carriers. The Iraqis have also received body armor, helmets, ammunition trailers and sport utility vehicles, which critics say can be used by domestic security services to help Mr. Maliki consolidate power."
[NT comment: Al-Maliki visited President Obama on the eve of the US withdrawal from Iraq. The US obviously trusts the Shi'ites of Iraq. There seems to be a sopisticated link between Iran and the US through al-Maliki.]

Series of Attacks by al-Qaida-in-Iraq: There was a spate of attacks in Baghdad on December 22 which killed 60 people and injured 105. Al-Qaida has taken responsibility, according to a US monitoring source which looks at al-Q web sites.. These appeared to be attacks on civilian administration linked to al-Maliki Shi'as. Then there were attacks in the Fallujah area and Dujail [30 miles north of Bagdad] which left 6 Maliki troops dead and 16 wounded, this time by human bombers, A Sunni parliamentarian protected by the US has taken refuge in the Kurdish region after accusations by al-Maliki, A rep of Muqtada al-Sadr has called for an end to parliament. [Reports from Reuters.]

Defeated Yemeni Dictator Could be Brought to the US.
The US is reported to be about to invite the Yemeni dictatorr Saleh to come to the US for medical treatment. [Dec.27. 2011]
[Source for both items below: Yemen Online.]

Yemenis rally, denounce killings of protesters demanding the expulsion of U.S. Ambassador

26/12/2011- YemenOnline
Yemenis are rallying to express their anger over the latest deaths of protesters and to demand the resignation of the country's vice president for failing to bring the killers to justice. They also call to the expulsion of U.S. Ambassador from Yemen because of his declaration who accused the march that it was aimed to causing chaos and violence.Tens of thousands marched Sunday in the capital Sanaa past the office of Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, denouncing him as a "tool in the hands'' of outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The march took place as Hadi was meeting with U.S. Ambassador Gerald Feierstein.A statement from Hadi's office said they discussed Yemen's crisis and that Hadi appealed for calm.

Growing Control by al-Qaida in Southern and Eastern Yemen
26/12/2011
Ongoing battles between Al-Qaeda suspects and Yemen's army near the restive southern city of Zinjibar killed five soldiers and two Al-Qaeda suspects, military and medical sources said on Monday.
"Five soldiers were killed and seven wounded in late Sunday battles" between the army and Al-Qaeda-linked militants, a military official told AFP.
The army fired artillery rounds on the militants' hideouts on Zinjibar's outskirts.
Medics confirmed the toll, adding that two of the extremists were also killed in the fighting.
The Islamist extremist network has turned 11 months of political turmoil in the country to its advantage, using the popular revolt against President Ali Abdullah Saleh to bolster its presence in southern and eastern Yemen.
Militants linked to Al-Qaeda control several regions and towns including Abyan provincial capital Zinjibar, where they clash regularly with government forces and tribal auxiliaries.
Government forces are also sometimes supported by US drone strikes in their battle against the Partisans.


Anniversary of Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan: Where History Entered a new Mode.
It's sad that today's yellow journalism--that of corporate media--entails complete exclusion of opposing viewpoints, and particularly of those the Pentagon and the White House seek to annihilate. What would happen if we woke up one day, and the Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, or CNN was actually reporting what the other side said in response to a milestone such as the Soviet invasion anniversary (in addition to the usual Pentagon-driven news blitz, off course); for example, carrying the piece below. But no, that would be too much like balanced journalism..
Afghan resistance Statement on the Occasion of the 32nd Anniversary of the former Soviet Union Inva
www.uruknet.info
December 26, 2011 - ...The sequence of the events, if observed, it becomes crystal clear that Afghanistan has never been and is never a country where the invaders can survive or be settled. Besides, the collapse of the Genghis, British Empire, and Red Empire are the living examples that the US may l...

- Nadrat Siddique


New Trend research & Media Study Military Expels 90,000 Muslims from Yobe Province [Nigeria]: Boko Haram Retaliates

December 29: Nearly 90,000 Muslims have been expelled from their homes in Yobe [norrtheastern Nigeria] following an offensive launched by the Nigerian military. The military is targeting mosques, Islamic schools and homes of imams. It amounts to genocide. The western media ignored the tragic events. Only BBC noted the figure of 90,000 refugees.
The military offensive was launched in the third week of December following indications that after Borno state, Yobe state is giving mass support to Boko Haram. Following the military offensive, military units were challenged by Boko Haram fighters. Sporadic fighting is going on. The destruction of mosques has been followed by retaliatory attacks on churches which support military action, deep down south, including in Abuja. [The church attacks made the news in the West.]

BBC has revealed that in September, Boko Haram started peace talks with the Nigerian regime but its representative was executed by the military. Also, BBC hints that US counterrorism elements may be advising the Nigerian military.
The conflict began in 2009 when Nigerian Islamic leader Yusuf launched the Boko Haram movement to end all ties with the West to stop the spread of AIDS and the immorality advancing through Nigeria. The military, largely backed by the US and Israel, saw Boko Haram as a challenge to its power and sent tanks into mosques and killed large numbers of people. Yusuf was arrested, tortured and executed along with several hundred of his followers, without trial.
Since then Boko Haram has re-organized and has hit some serious blows at the Nigerian power structure and its links with the West.

[NT Editor's comment: We urge African and African American leaders to urge Nigeria to stop military attacks on Boko Haram mosques, schools and imams. Church and mosque attacks are repellant to humanity and forbidden in the Qur'an. Both sides should vow to stop these attacks. Boko Haram has the right to stop the process of westernization in Islamic cities and villages. This is self-determination, not a crime. The western cultural invasion should not be imposed on Muslims who do not want AIDS and the weekend boyfriend-girlfriend-sex-culture. "To me my way, to thee thine."]

Syria: Assad Shoots, People Rally, Every Day
Arab League, al-Qaida, Turkey, Qatar Try to Intervene

The people will not give up. Assad's Alawite troops keep shooting. There is no end to it. The death toll has risen above 5,000. Assad's propaganda says: Nothing is happening. They are a bunch of terrorists.

During December 22-24, Assad's tanks attacked villages in the north west of Syria which were harboring defectors from the Syrian army [Sunnis]. About 200 people were killed, including scores of defectors.

Then two human bombers attacked Assad's intelligence headquarters in Damascus. It was a horrific scene with 40 killed, more than 100 wounded related to the intelligence establishment. [Al-Qaida has human bombers.]
Turkey has set up a border enclave where Syrians escaping the tyrant's rage can take refuge. Others escaping into Jordan are taken care of by Qatar. Iran is siding with Assad: Another strategic blunder by Iran in a desperate attempt to ignore the Sunni majority.
Israel is not threatening Assad at all: waiting for Assad to wipe out the Islamic fighters who might one day fight Israel. [Assad has a track record of NOT fighting Israel.]

[With thanks to Br. Abu Talib, Jamaat al-Muslimeen, Brooklyn, NY]

Harlem [New York] Imam from Ivory Coast Setting Great Example for Muslims
By Nadia Sussman

Long before daylight breaks in Harlem, the imam Souleimane Konaté puts on a wide embroidered robe and wakes up his wife, Assiata, so she can pray in their one-bedroom apartment while their 9-year-old daughter Fanta sleeps.
Mr. Konaté (pronounced Ko-NAH-tay) then walks four blocks in the dark to his mosque, Masjid Aqsa, on Frederick Douglass Boulevard near 116th Street. He passes the lowered grates of shops that sell African beauty products, halal meats and bolts of bright cloth. He passes stragglers headed home from late-night carousing. At the mosque, the imam leads the first of the five daily Muslim prayers. Prayer gives a meter to each day. The rest of his work is improvisation. As the leader of a thriving African mosque, Mr. Konaté, 55, an immigrant from Ivory Coast, straddles two worlds on the same New York map. For politicians, police officers and immigrant advocates, the imam is a bridge to the city's growing African Muslim immigrant population. For recent arrivals, mostly French speakers from West Africa, he serves as translator and all-purpose guide to life in America. "I'd describe it as a religious leader at the same time as a social worker," said Mr. Konaté, a youthful-looking man with an easy smile. "A lawyer, a defender and a liaison between the community and the government of the city." One of his congregants, Ramatu Ahmed, a community activist from Ghana, likened the imam to a compass for new arrivals.

"You come to a country, where your father is not there, your mother is not there," Ms. Ahmed said. "You don't know anybody. You are like a newly born baby." Mr. Konaté's cramped office on the balcony overlooking the mosque's main prayer space is filled with boxes for donations to buy a new building, a well-used coffee pot and photographs of the imam with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg; Gov. David A. Paterson; Abdoulaye Wade, the president of Senegal; and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. From his silver-topped staff to his pointed slippers, the imam always likes to dress appropriately, but at times he leaves traditional solemnity behind.

At an African Union celebration last year, the imam danced a bit, shocking some congregants. "I said, 'I'm a human being like yourself, people,' " Mr. Konaté said. "Let me enjoy myself." Immigrants seek him out for all manner of reasons: an arrest, a diagnosis of H.I.V. or a fear of being deported. His cellphone sounds at all hours — its ringtone is the Muslim call to prayer. When Cheikh Ibrahim Fall, a Senegalese immigrant, could not pay his bills after an operation for a hernia, he asked Mr. Konaté for help. Mr. Konaté persuaded officials at Harlem Hospital Center to reduce Mr. Fall's bill. When people in the neighborhood have problems, Mr. Fall said, "you got to go right there and talk to him about what he can do to help." Mr. Konaté worked with the city and others to establish a health clinic at Harlem Hospital Center set up to cater to the needs of Muslim immigrants from West Africa.

Translators who speak multiple African languages help patients leery of seeking medical care because they lack insurance or are here illegally. The clinic also accommodates patients who prefer, for religious reasons, to be seen by doctors of the same sex. Mr. Konaté said many African immigrants were unaccustomed to having access to health care. "We find out that many brothers and sisters in the community, they have AIDS but they didn't know about it," he said. Workers at the clinic now routinely ask patients if they can perform an H.I.V. test. On Fridays, Mr. Konaté delivers impassioned sermons in French, English and Arabic, combining religious messages with calls for civic and political engagement. He reminds congregants to visit the health clinic. If they get sick, he asks, who will send money home to their families? Mr. Konaté has steered clear of saying much about the controversy surrounding a proposed Islamic center and mosque near ground zero, even though it has been a dominant topic of conversation among many local Muslims. If it is ever built, however, he says he would like to preach there. "I will get myself involved to educate all New Yorkers and all Americans about the goodness and nonviolence in the Koran," Mr. Konaté said.

Africans from all over the continent have quietly transformed different corners of New York. On West 116th Street in the Little Africa of central Harlem, sentences that begin in French often flow into Wolof, Peul or Mr. Konaté's native Mandingo language. The number of African-born immigrants in New York has increased to nearly 125,000 in 2009 from 78,500 in 2000, according to census estimates, but immigrant advocates believe the number is far higher. Many African immigrants arrive from countries with long histories of military rule or police corruption and must adapt to local law enforcement practices. In the New York Police Department's 28th Precinct, in Harlem, Mr. Konaté teaches officers basic Muslim customs, like removing one's shoes in a mosque. "There's always going to be a little bit of a barrier between police officers and an immigrant community," said Deputy Inspector Rodney Harrison, the precinct's commanding officer. "He's allowed us to become much more intimate with the African community."

Mr. Konaté has also helped resolve misunderstandings of greater consequence. "In Africa, for example, if a police officer asks you to stop, you run away," he said, because to stop when accused is considered a sign of guilt. Becoming a religious leader was never part of the imam's plan. He studied Islamic law in Egypt, then communications in Saudi Arabia, where he lived for 12 years and worked as a reporter, covering West Africa for Saudi news publications. In 1992, he moved to New York, hoping to get a doctoral degree in communications. Unable to afford school, Mr. Konaté worked at McDonald's, a grocery store and several restaurants. Like many African immigrants at the time, Mr. Konaté prayed at African-American mosques in Harlem. He helped found Masjid Aqsa in 1996, so that new African immigrants could hear services in their native languages. He became the spiritual leader a few months later. Now, Masjid Aqsa has outgrown its space. About 1,200 congregants show up for Friday prayers. On Sundays, hundreds of children gather to learn the Koran. They study in two shifts, filling the mosque with the cacophony of young voices. To resolve its space needs, the congregation is working to raise $2 million to buy a larger building a few blocks away. On Mondays, the one day off he allows himself, Mr. Konaté retreats to the home of relatives in East Orange, NJ He needs to leave the city, he said, to catch up on his sleep. Still, his cell phone keeps him tethered to life across the Hudson River. "But I'm good here in New York," Mr. Konaté said. "I'm not going nowhere till I finish, my mission is complete." An imam's work is lifelong, he said. There is no such thing as a former imam.

2012-01-01 Sun 11:05:09 cst
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