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20 Thw al-Hijjah 1436 A.H.- October 4, 2015 Issue # 92, Newsletter #1622



Hadith of the Week

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Allah the Almighty said:

قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يُؤْذِين¦ي ابْنُ آدَمَ يَسُبُّ الدَّهْر¤ وَأَنَا الدَّهْر¥ بِيَدِي الْأَمْر¥ أُقَلِّب¥ اللَّيْل¤ وَالنَّه¤ارَ

Allah the Exalted said: The son of Adam abuses me. He curses time and I am time, for in my hand are the night and day.
Source: Sahih Bukhari 4549, Grade: Muttafaqun Alayhi




 Web Statistics

Our Web Site Breaks its own Record.

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KASHMIR

Kashmiri Women Appreciate Pakistani PM's Speech in the UN: India Bigotry is the Issue.
From Habib Yousafzai, Toronto, Kashmiri Diaspora.

ASSALAM-O-ALAIKUM!

Nahida Nasreen the general secretary Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DeM) while welcoming Nawaz Sharif's speech in United Nations General Assembly said, "It is of historical importance and has encouraged and boosted the morale of oppressed inhabitants of Maqbooza Kashmir. However, it needs a follow up in the shape of enhanced efforts by high commissioners of the country all over the world." "Pakistan PM exhibited courage by saying it on the stage of UNGA that is has failed to fulfill the responsibility of solving the long pending Maqbooza Kashmir issue. He was realistic enough to say that the Maqbooza Kashmir issue is a responsibility of UNGA which has to get it resolved as per the aspirations and the wishes of the people of the state," Nahida said.

World leaders must tell India that it will never be granted the permanent membership of the UN Security Council because of its serious human Rights violations in the occupied territory and against other minorities such as Christians, Sikhs and Muslims living all over India . If India is allowed a seat on the UN SC, why not Pakistan who has vehemently fought against terrorism and has an active role in the international peace keeping sphere?

What of Turkey, South Africa, Brazil? There must be greater emphasis on a nation as an international citizen and its conduct of human rights, especially those in its domestic sphere. How can a nation which has ignored Resolutions by the UN, committed mass violations become one of its leaders?

Recently Muhammad Akhlaq was killed by extremist Hindus under the suspicion that he has eaten beef. This is an appalling state of affairs where a man, living a supposed secular state is killed over the eating of meat product.
Is this secularism, is this Democracy?

It is also a known fact that Dukhtaran-e-Milat chief Syeda Aasiya Andrabi has been re-arrested to suppress her stand against the oppressions of the government. It is in the interest of the innocents of Kashmir that it must quit its occupation and handover Maqbooza Kashmir to its rightful owner: Pakistan.




Two Corrections

 Oops
  1. New Trend could not find an authentic link for the the Qur;an fragments allegedly found in America from the centuries before Columbus.

    The report has been deleted from both our web site and our face book time line.
    Thanks go to the readers who caught this error.

  2. Also, the scholar on hadith who was criticized in New Trend was Brown, not Bowen.





Please print out this lettter, sign and date it. Send it to:
New Trend, PO Box 84,
Oxford, Pa. 19363.
We'll give it to Masoud's mother. Send as many as you can.


Office of the Pardon Attorney
145 N Street, N.E. Suite 5E.508,
Washington, D.C. 20530

Dear Mr. President:
Masoud Ahmad Khan, registration No. 46810-083, has been unjustly incarcerated now for eleven years. He was sentenced to life in prison and then his sentence was enhanced to add "without parole" because he refused to testify against others.

I feel Masoud is innocent of any crime against the United States. This is a wrong that must be rectified. No proof was offered that he had committed a crime against the United States or its people; the charge was for a possible conspiracy that never happened. He was initially charged as conspiring against India/Kashmir and the Neutrality Act was applied. This charge was later dropped. He travelled legally to Pakistan to attend court hearings regarding his late father's estate and returned back to his family in the U.S. before such travel was declared illegal in late December 2001.

I was shocked by the sentencing and still remember Judge Brinkema's apologetic comment after sentencing that she "feels that this sentence is very harsh but the sentencing laws handicapped her from giving a much lesser sentence to Masoud."

Masoud has no history of violence or crimes. He was well known in our community as a person of integrity; a loving husband, father, brother and son and a loyal citizen of the United States.

I ask for your mercy and compassion for a favorable consideration of his petition for executive clemency or commutation of sentence and allow Masoud to be returned home to his mother, siblings and son from whom he has been separated these past 11 years".

Sincerely,




AhmedAbdelSattar.org

FreeZiyadYaghi.info

FreeMasoudKhan.net





 Letters

Pakistan Army: America's Agent.

The military operation is a result of General Musharraf's decision to join the American war on terror. Peace and tranquility will reign if Pakistan Army stops receiving US Military aid and thereby saying NO TO AMERICA and YES TO PAKISTAN. US drone strikes taking place with the consent of the Army should also stop. The drone strikes which cause civilian casualties and destroy houses create enmity against the Army for not stopping the drone attacks

Shaikh Mohommed
[England]




 Obituary

Dr. Jawaid Iqbal Passes Away. [Born 1924] Brilliant son of globally famous Islamic thinker Allama Iqbal.

Inna lillahe wa inna alaihi rajeoon. [We come from Allah and unto Him we return.]

Dr. Jawaid Iqbal passed away on October 2.

We have here his last interview with the reputed Pakistani journalist Orya Maqbool Jan where he discusses the importance of ijtihad [informed but independent Islamic thinking] versus taqleed [conformity with established schools of thought]. His father was one of the greatest independent thinkers in the 20th century.

ZemTV.com/2015/10/03/mutbadil-3rd-october-2015




RUSSIA

 Russia

Russian parliament unanimously approves use of troops in Syria . Numerous Russians have Joined Islamic State.
[Courtesy Citizens for Legitimate Government, CLG]| 30 Sept 2015 |

The upper chamber of the Russian parliament has unanimously given a formal consent to President Putin to use the nation's military in Syria to fight terrorism at a request from the Syrian President Bashar Assad. Consent was necessary for deployment of troops for foreign combat missions under the Russian constitution.

The request for use of force was sent by the president after considering the large number of Russian citizens, who went to join terrorist groups fighting in Syria, head of the presidential administration Sergey Ivanov told media.




 Upcoming Events

The National Islamic Shoora of Jamaat al-Muslimeen will Meet, Inshallah [Authorized by Imam Badi, Sis. Ashira, Br. Solano, Br. Kaukab, Br. Abu Talib, and Adviser Sheikh Shamim Siddiqi.]

This is like our Board Meeting or Central Committee Meeting.
What will be discussed?
  1. How to free Palestine?

  2. How to stop the Oppression of Women?

  3. How to deal with American politics from Islamic viewpoint. Outreach #2

  4. How to oppose US and Russian occupation and bombing of Muslim countries?

  5. How to support Muslim Political prisoners?

  6. How to help children in Africa?





War News

 Snippets

Syria:

Major bombing campaign by Russia: Also bombing by Assad, US, France, Australia.
Islamic Forces unmoved: ISIS advancing in Deir el-Zor and Hasakeh. Nusra in Latakia.

Russia opened the assault on Islamic forces in Syria on September 30.By the end of October 4, the Russians had bombed al-Nusra in Idlib, Free Syrian Army near Homs and Hama and ISIS in Raqqa and east of Homs.

More than 20 mujahideen were killed along with 37 civilians in al-Nusra areas and 40 in ISIS areas. ISIS blew up an Assad military transport west of Palmyra killing two Shiite officers and 4 troops. ISIS also attacked regime forces in Deir ez-Zor and advanced towards its air base. ISIS also advanced against YPG Communists in the north east near Te Abyad.

Al-Nusra firmly entrenched in Lattakia. Assad joined Russia's air assault as did western air forces.




Afghanistan:
Great Taliban Victory
On September 28
several hundred Taliban mujahideen attacked Kunduz, a key city in northern ASfghanistan.

On September 29
Kabul regime forces counterattacked supported by US air strikes.

On September 30
by nightfall Kabul troops re-captured Kunduz. US airt strikes and US Special forces helped them

On October 1
Taliban counter attacked . Heavy fighting with US Special forces and Kabul troops,

On October 2
Taliban re-took half of Kunduz. Heavy fighting in the city.

October 3
House to house fighting. Taliban retained half of Kunduz. 7000 Kabul troops attacked with US air support but could not re-take Kunduz.

October 4
[Latest.] Taliban have taken all of Kunduz. Hundreds of Kabul troops dead; bodies littering the streets. Scores of Taliban also killed in hand to hand fighting..

Taliban flag raised.





Hadith Studies

Dr Kaukab Siddique | Editor-in-Chief

Anti-Hadith Polemic: A look at the claim that the Prophet, pbuh, Forbade the Narration of Hadith
by Kaukab Siddique

One of the basic points the munkireen (rejectors) of Hadith make is that the Prophet (pbuh) himself had forbidden the writing of Hadith. They even quote the Prophet (pbuh) on this and those who don't know are very impressed.
Now note the following points:
  1. If the rejectors' view of the Qur'an was right (that it has everything in it, even the details), they would have been able to bring a verse from the Qur'an which would say: Hadith of the Prophet is not needed when you have the Qur'an.

    They cannot bring such a verse.

    So what do they do? They bring a hadith to support their view!

  2. It is a sign of their dishonesty that they do not quote the whole hadith. Here is the complete Hadith. I have italicized the part the rejectors quote:

    From Sahih Muslim: "Abu Sa'eed Khudri narrates from the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him: Do not write anything from me and whoever has written anything from me other than the Qur'an should erase it, and narrate hadith verbally from me: there is no harm in that (in Arabic WA HADATHU 'UNNI WA LA HARAJ), and whoever deliberately tells a lie about me should make his place in hellfire."


Would it be wrong to assume that the rejecters have made a place for themselves in hellfire by falsifying these words of the Prophet (pbuh) by quoting only half the hadith.

Entire books have been written on this subject by the scholars of Islam. (One easily available in Urdu is IBN MAJA AUR 'ILM-e-HADITH by Muhammad Abdur Rasheed Naumani. I read this about 20 years back.)

The Prophet (pbuh) and later Abu Bakr (ra) did not want the words of the Qur'an and the words of the Hadith to get mixed up with each other. Hence the WRITING ONLY of Hadith was stopped. Remember that the reciters of the Qur'an and the narrators of the Hadith were the same people, the companions of the Prophet (Allah be pleased with them). In the early stages, the danger of the two writings getting mixed up was very real.

Even then the ban on writing was not complete. There are numerous narrations which indicate that when a companion (sahabi) expressed difficulty in remembering the Hadith, the Prophet (pbuh) not only allowed him but encouraged him to write it down. Thus many Hadith continued to be written though memorization was the general rule in those early days.

Every companion of the Prophet, including 'Umar and Ali (Allah be pleased with them), depended on the Prophet's interpretation, explanation and implementation of the Qur'an (what we call Hadith of the Prophet). Every teaching of the Qur'an was elaborated by the Sahaba on the basis of the Prophet's Hadith. Thus those who attack the Hadith are attacking the entire history of Islam. They are trying to destroy the credibility of the Sahaba, who also are the transmitters of the Qur'an, and thus these munkireen do the work of the Jews to uproot Islam.

HOW THEY HAVE MISUNDERSTOOD THE QUR'AN: Munkireen (rejecters) have based their whole theory on the idea that Prophet Muhammad's task was ONLY TO DELIVER THE QUR'AN.

One such person named ....................., or someone who hides behind that name, quotes the last part of 24:54 thus: "The sole duty of the messenger is to deliver." This is a clear distortion of the Qur'an if you look at the Arabic original and the context of the verse.

The words "illa balagh al-Mubeen" (only to preach or proclaim clearly) can in no way be translated as "only ... to deliver."

How do we know that? From the Qur'an itself. In several verses the Qur'an emphasizes the Prophet's mission to proclaim and preach the message clearly and unambiguously so that people can make their choice between acceptance or rejection. Islam cannot be imposed on anyone. The Qur'an was brought to the people by the Prophet. He presented it very honestly and clearly to them. Those who accepted, he organized them into a community which became the model for all future Islamic movements.

For instance 16:82, follows evidence of Allah's creativity. The Prophet is then told" "But if they turn away, thy duty is only to preach the Clear Message." Thus after he has brought them the Qur'an, it's up to them to accept or turn away. He cannot put faith in their hearts.

Even when verses on laws about intoxicants and gambling are revealed, the Qur'an brings out the same idea of the responsibility of the audience to make choices, and they will be judged accordingly in the Hereafter. Here is a verse immediately after the ban on intoxicants and gambling: "Obey Allah, and obey the messenger, and beware if you do turn back, know you that it is our messenger's duty to proclaim the message in the clearest manner (al balagh al-mubeen in Arabic)" (5:92)

Thus to claim that because the messenger's duty was to proclaim the message clearly, he had no other duty is absurd for anyone who has read the Qur'an. The life, words, actions of the Prophet were interpretations of the Qur'an. After 5:92, it was his task to remove intoxicants anf gambling and his actions come to us through the Hadith.

Allah sent the Qur'an with the messenger and together they fulfill the final message of Allah. In fact, the Prophet (pbuh) comes first and through him and his sahaba comes the Qur'an.

There is no way the Qur'an can be understood without the Prophet's Hadith. That is one reason why the Jews and other orientalists remain KUFFAR although they have become experts in Qur'anic terminolgy: they do not and cannot accept the Prophet (pbuh) because the Prophet's understanding of the Qur'an brings the Islamic revolution.

Now let's go back to 24:54 and see how the rejecters have totally distorted the Qur'an. (In other words, here I am going from comparison with other verses to the context of the specific verse the rejecter used.) I will quote 24:54, 55, 56 to bring out the totality of the message:

Say:"Obey Allah and obey the Messenger: but if ye turn away, he is only responsible for the duty placed on him and you for that placed on you. If you obey him, you shall be on the right guidance. The Messenger's duty is only to proclaim the clear message." Allah has promised to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land inheritance of power, as he granted it to those before them; that He will establish in authority their way of life - the one which He has chosen for them; and that He will change their state, after the fear in which they lived, to one of security and peace: They will worship Me (alone) and not associate anything with Me. If any do reject faith after this, they are wicked indeed. So establish prayer and give zakat and OBEY THE MESSENGER that you may receive mercy."
(emphasis added)

Thus these verses are in fact prophesying the victory of Islam, under the Prophet and the Sahaba and whenever Muslims follow authentic Islam. The last verse which I have emphasized mentions obedience to the Prophet thus shattering the theory that Allah and His messenger only mean Allah! Does the Prophet here also means Allah! (astaghfirullah)

After the message has been proclaimed, the righteous who accept it are being promised Caliphate (layastakhlifannahum fil Ard in Arabic)

So there goes the theory that the Prophet (pbuh) was only sent to "deliver" the message and that's it.

I don't know what these MUNKIREEN make of the verses about Jihad in the Qur'an. If his task was only to deliver the message, what about Jihad? Is this another Qadiani attempt to abrogate Jihad?

Dear readers, our westernized elites (that is all of us) have been given a severe case of inferiority complex by the power and glitter of the west. Some of us fall so low that we start insulting great Muslims like hazrat Abu Huraira and Imam Bukhari. (Actually through this process such people like the munkireen are used by the Jews to attack the very basis of Islam.) A nation which does not respect its scholars and elders soon becomes a nation of slaves.




DEADLY HISTORY

Usman, r.a. [ibn Affan]: Beloved Companion of he Prophet, pbuh. Murder Most Foul and the Rise Of Shiism.
by Kaukab Siddique, PhD

Zulhijja 18 is the anniversary of the martyrdom of Usman, r.a., the third rightly guided Caliph of Islam.

Considering the elevated status of Usman, r.a., in Islam many Muslims don't understand how he could be murdered in broad daylight.

In some ways, Usman, r.a., was the greatest sahabi [companion] of the Prophet, pbuh. Look at this list:

  1. He compiled the Qur'an all Muslims read nowadays from fragments and memories of the entire Islamic community.

  2. He made the hijra [migration for the sake of Allah] twice. Hijra is second only to jihad in the Islamic value levels.

  3. He married first one daughter of the Prophet, pbuh, Ruqayya, r.a., and then the second, Umm kulthum, r.a., Both died of poor health conditions but he remained loyal to them to the end. The Prophet, pbuh, said if he had another daughter, he would have told her to marry Usman, r.a. [Fatima, r.a., was already married to Ali, r.a.]

  4. At Hudaibiya, when it appeared that the kafirs had killed or captured Usman, r.a., the Prophet, pbuh, took the oath from all the Companions to stand fast unto death. With his one hand, he took the oath for himself and with the other on behalf of Usman, r.a.

  5. He bought for the entire Muslim community, water well in Madina which was essential to its survival.

  6. In a time of drought and hunger, he paid for and brought in the longest camel caravan of food supplies in Arab history.

  7. He was very wealthy but he spent almost his wealth for Islam and kept very little for himself

  8. During his Caliphate, jihad against oppressive powers spread far and wide.. In one historic battle, the united navies of Europe were destroyed. The commander of his fleet was Muawiyyah, r.a.

  9. He was known for his modesty and decency and is responsible for the realization of the Quranic idea that males must show modesty first, and women second.


The question then arises, how could Usman, r.a., be martyred so brutally in the center of Madinah, with the Qur'an he had compiled in his hands?

My study of the original original hadith and history books, such as biographical hadith books like those of Ibn Sa'ad and ad-Dahabi, or detailed histories like those of Tabari and Ibn Kathir, agree on the following causes and their tragic result: [None of these were written during the Ummayad era and they are the ones which also are the sources for the tragedy of Kerbala.]

  1. As the Islamic armies toppled established kingdoms and despotisms, numbers of prisoners and freed slaves and oppressed women became part of the Islamic commonweath. There were few restrictions on them and they could move freely in the Islamic realm and even into Madina. Readers might remember that Umar, r.a., the second righteous Caliph, was murdered by a Persian captive.

  2. As the stupendous victories of Islam became common news, jealousy seized many Muslims who saw that late comers into Islam, like Muawiyya, r.a., had outclassed many the of earliest converts.

  3. Tribal rivalries also spread. Usman, r.a.was not as strict as Umar, r.a., and as some of his governors made mistakes, the fuel for finger pointing and fault finding came to the fore.

  4. These three groups, the captives, the jealous Arabs and the tribal rivals, coalesced, and a coalition was formed to remove Usman, r.a.,,from the Caliphate.

  5. Rumor mongering was a major tool of the opponents of the Caliph. The Companions of the Prophet, pbuh, were in the habit of free speech and open criticism of each other. [Readers might remember that even Abu Bakr, r.a., and Umar, r.a., often differed.] They never thought that their differing views and criticisms of the Caliph would be used by the enemies of Islam.

  6. The most effective rumor was that Ayesha, r.a., the beloved wife of the Prophet, pbuh, , had condemned Usman, r.a. By the time Ayesha, r.a.,found out what was being said in her name and spoke out against it, Usman, r.a., was under physical. attack.

  7. The assailants planned their move with great care. They waited till many of the sahaba, r.a., were on the far away front lines of Jihad hundreds of miles from Madina. Many others, including Ayesha, r.a., had gone for Hajj.

  8. Suddenly, the enemies of the Caliph poured into Madina and were the biggest force there. They besieged the Caliph in his home, cutting off food and water. They demanded that Usman, r.a,, admit his "crimes," and resign or face physical removal.

  9. Several hundred people of Madina came to defend Usman, r.a. The sons of Ali, r.a., Hasan and Husain, and the sons of Talha, r.a., and Zubair, r.a.,. stood with drawn swords to stop the mutineers from entering the Caliph's humble abode.

  10. Usman, pbuh, came into the mosque of the Prophet, pbuh, and addressed the rebels and answered all their charges and claims against him. As he pointed out that even if the charges were true, they would not be enough for the removal of the Caliph.

    They would not retreat and started demanding his resignation or his head. Suddenly the sons of Ali, r.a., and others disappeared from guarding the doorway. Ali, r.a., said he had warned Usman, r.a., that unless he repented, he, Ali, r.a., would no longer be able to stop the rebels.

  11. Many ordinary Muslims wanted to defend the Caliph, because attacking a righteous Caliph is a capital offense deserving death. Usman, r.a., told them not to fight on his behalf . He did not want any Muslim blood to be shed on his behalf, he said.

    Even to the end, people could not believe that those with Muslim names would actually kill the beloved Companion of the Prophet, pbuh.

  12. Finally the rebels violated the Islamic law about the sanctity of the home. They jumped over the wall and attacked the Caliph while he was reading the Qur'an completely at peace with Allah. As their swords descended on him, his wife, put up her hands to save him. Her fingers were cut off.

  13. Among the murderers were the adopted son of Ali plus the commander of Ali's party and army.


The murderers then proclaimed Ali as the new Caliph. He repeated again and again that he was not involved in the murder of Usman, r.a. He said he was reluctant to accept the Caliphate but then he accepted it.

This was how Shiism began.
After her recovery, Nailah appealed to Muawiyyah, r,a., who was in Damascus, for justice to avenge the murder.. She hanged her cut off fingers in the doorway of the mosque in Damascus thus calling for justice.

When Ayesha, r.a., learned of the murder most foul, she not only rebutted all the rumors attributed to her but set out to punish the murderers.

Thus began the fratricidal conflict among Muslims which ended when Hasan, the son of Ali, r.a., accepted Muawiyya, r.a., as Caliph in 41 Hijri.




Our America

 Our America

Oregon

School Shooter Wanted to Dominate and Rule: Media Glorify these Savages.
by Sis. Aisha [Jamaat al-Muslimeen]

New York City - Another campus shooting! Christopher Sean Harper-Mercer, 26 years old, took the lives of 16 people, including his own life on the Umpqua Community College in Oregon. In his movie, "Bowling for Columbine", film maker Michael Moore questioned why these massacres occurred in America so often. He pointed out that there are many countries with gun-toting citizens and shootings like these do not occur.

Just as gun advocates have said, "Guns don't kill people. People kill people." If Americans only had access to rocks or cyanide, cold-blooded murders would still be an issue. These murderous events occur as a way for some disenfranchised individual(s) to feel powerful. Even before this shooting took place, Mercer gave an envelope to a male student for him to give to authorities. Then, he told the male student to go in the corner of the room because that day was his lucky day since Mercer decided to spare him his life. What power trippin'!

Then, after all of the carnage and hearing the police sirens draw near, Mercer took his own life. The ultimate empowering move for one whose actions point him toward Hell-fire!

Many Americans have issues respecting others. It starts at the top with the American government. America has never respected sovereign leadership, from the arrest of Panama's Manuel Noriega for selling drugs, the murders of Iraq's Saddam Hussein and Libya's Mommar Qadaffi, and the stealing of 2,500 acres from the Apache and Navajo People just because a goldmine was recently discovered on sovereign Native American land. I can go on for quite awhile. The attitude is, "Yeah, we did it now, what are you going to do about it?"

Lets not forget the media's role in all of this, as well. In the 1930s, the American government, who routinely worked with mobsters, pleaded with Hollywood to stop creating gangster movies that glorified the gangster life style because American children were emulating it. I guess, it fell on deaf ears especially, since so many of today's rappers use mafia names for their stage name. Gotti and Capone are the most common names used.

These gangster films allow us to understand the American Way of doing things: Dominate and rule! The news media is just as guilty when they give serial killers nicknames and then, Hollywood creates a movie about them! On his social media page, Christopher Mercer noted, after the shooting of two Virginia reporters on television, that "the more people you kill, the more you're in the limelight." Keith Hunter Jesperson (a.k.a. the Happy Face Killer) went out and killed seven more women when he became upset that someone else got the credit for his previous murders!

Some of these people confess just for the purpose of being idolized for their work.

I can go on about the American sociopathic thinker and his need to use fear and oppression of others to feel powerful but, the media is the real culprit in these circumstances. They glorify these savages. These murderers don't even care if they are dead or alive when they receive this media glorification! They just know they will go down in history as, unfortunately, one of many mass murderers.

(source: MSN.com via The Associated Press)




War News

 War News

ISIS and Women.

Why are Western Women Joining the Mujahideen?
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi al-Quraishi al-Hussaini Urged Women to Join.
By Warren Richey, Staff writer October 1, 2015

[The Christian Science Monitor has published a report on why western women are joining ISIS. It's the usual western attempt to depict ISIS as a cult. However for the first time we get quotes of what the Islamic women themselves say. We have kept these and deleted the rest...Editor New Trend]
A growing group of young women are rejecting the luxuries and freedoms of Western life - and the mainstream Islamic faith of their parents - to serve the Islamic State group as wives, mothers, and online recruiters.

 ISIS and Women

Try not to get attached ... to people'

In August, a group of women claiming to be living in the Islamic State posted a blog of "20 Lessons We've Learned After Hijrah [migrating to the caliphate]."

Photo: Hoda Muthana, seated in the foreground, participates in a broadcasting class at Hoover High School in Hoover, Ala., on Aug. 18, 2011. In November 2014, Muthana left for Syria, tricking her parents by saying she was on a school trip. Within a month, she was married. By March, she was a widow.

One, identified as Mother S, advised young women contemplating the journey to "try not to get attached too much to people." It is better to form a permanent bond with Allah, Mother S advised, that way "if you were to lose everyone around you, which you most likely will, then it won't feel like the end of the world."

Some of the advice was empowering. "Being here has taught me to reconnect with the fitrah [inherent nature] as women, wives, mothers, and even daughters to our families," Mother U wrote.

"Being in a non-Muslim society contaminates your mind whether it be with a sexualized view of women or feminist ideals of how women should and shouldn't be, whether we think it has affected us or not," she added.
Another writer advised: "Make sure your trip is for Allah's sake and only His. Not marriage, or money, or so that you may be praised as brave or pious, or for a change of routine and adventure."

The writer added, "May Allah protect us from all such things."

The topic of shoes even came up during an online exchange. An anonymous writer asked if women have to wear black shoes with their black head-to-toe veils? "No you don't HAVE to wear black shoes," the writer was advised, "but its preferred for your hayaa's sake to wear dark coloured shoes that won't attract any type of attention." (Hayaa is a concept of religious modesty.)

Of the 4,500 foreign fighters estimated to have joined the Islamic State group by early 2015, some 550 were women from Western countries. Experts say the number is likely significantly higher now.

Germany estimates that 100 of the 700 Germans who have traveled to Syria in recent years are women. Officials in Britain estimate that more than 100 female nationals have gone. Roughly 10 percent of the 250 Americans who have attempted to travel to Syria are women, according to the FBI. Only a handful of American women have actually gotten there.

While there is evidence that the number of Western men traveling to Syria from Europe and the US is continuing at a steady plateau, by contrast the number of Western women headed to Syria has grown exponentially within the past year, researchers say.

With the declaration of the caliphate last year, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi called for doctors, imams, engineers, and other professionals to travel to occupied Syria and help establish a formal state. Equally important was his general call for young women to join the cause.

'Jihadi girl-power'

They aren't just fulfilling what they see as a religious duty. Their motives also reflect a counterculture revolt among Muslim women and girls who refuse to live as second-class citizens in the west, researchers say. For them, it is suddenly both dangerous and cool to be a particular kind of Muslim. And that attraction can be irresistible, researchers say.

"We do see a snowball effect," Saltman says. "It is almost like a subculture punk movement. It is secretive. It is empowering. It is against tradition and norms. So you can see a bit of youth counterculture involved in this."

In testimony in Congress in July, Shasha Havlicek, the founder of ISD, said the US must attempt to undermine the allure of what she called "Brand Caliphate," and its propagation via social media.

"Messaging is fluent, colloquial, and turns local grievances into an international call to arms," Ms. Havlicek said. The social media aspect of the IS recruitment effort opens what had been a male-dominated world to females. Women who have joined IS are fluent users of social media and ready and available to help others seeking guidance and reassurance on their path to the Islamic State group.

The bonds that are forged in daily online communications can be both empowering and liberating for young Muslim women. "A jihadi girl-power subculture has emerged on social media networks, clearly rooted in western culture while simultaneously rejecting it," Havlicek told Congress.

She cited the example of an Islamic State message on social media designed to appeal to Western teens. It was a play on a well-known cosmetics advertisement. It features a photograph of a completely veiled woman holding a book. The caption reads: "COVERed GIRL... because I'm worth it."

"The Caliphate offers adventure, belonging and sisterhood, romance, spiritual fulfillment and a tangible role in idealistic utopia-building," Havlicek testified. "Very few youth sub-cultures or movements can claim to offer so much."
Most of those who make the journey to Syria are unmarried and often travel in pairs or small groups. They are guided across the Turkish-Syrian border and housed in women-only hostels. Housing and food is provided free-of-charge, and they are given an allowance.

As women, their movements are sharply restricted within in the Islamic State. Their passports and other travel documents are confiscated. And they must ask permission to leave the confines of the home, and may do so only with a chaperone, even after they are married.

Since most of the Western women do not speak Arabic, their activities are further restricted based on linguistics. "The Germans hang out with the German speakers, the English speakers hang out together, and they don't necessarily mingle or create strong friendships with the locals because if they don't speak the same language they actually have very little to talk about," Saltman says.

All women are barred from participating in combat. But that doesn't mean many wouldn't be willing to fight, if called upon.




War News: Kunduz [With thanks to Br. Quidwai
Doctors Without Borders leaves Kunduz after 'inexcusable' air strike.
Group withdraws from embattled city, a day after an apparent US raid that the UN said could amount to a war crime.

International medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Sunday it has withdrawn staff from the embattled Afghan city of Kunduz, a day after an apparent United States bombing raid on its hospital that the United Nations said could amount to a war crime.

MSF said on Sunday that 22 people were killed, including 12 staffers and 10 patients. The group added that some victims burned to death in their beds as the bombardment continued for more than an hour, even after U.S. and Afghan authorities were informed the hospital had been hit.

It is the only medical facility in the northeastern region of Afghanistan that can deal with major war injuries. Its closure, even temporarily, could have a devastating impact on local civilians.

"The MSF hospital is not functional anymore. All critical patients have been referred to other health facilities and no MSF staff are working in our hospital," Kate Stegeman, a spokeswoman for the charity, told Agence France-Presse. "I can't confirm at this stage whether our Kunduz trauma center will reopen or not."

The air raid came five days after Taliban fighters seized control of the strategic northern city of Kunduz, in their most spectacular victory since being toppled from power by a U.S.-led coalition in 2001.

The medical charity condemned the bombings as "abhorrent and a grave violation of international law," demanding answers from U.S.-led NATO forces in Afghanistan.

It said Afghan and coalition troops were fully aware of the exact location of the hospital, having been given GPS coordinates of a facility that had been providing care for four years.

It added that despite frantic calls to military officials in Kabul and Washington, the main building housing the intensive care unit and emergency rooms was "repeatedly, very precisely" hit almost every 15 minutes for more than an hour.

Afghan officials said helicopter gunships returned fire from Taliban fighters who were hiding in the facility.

Stegeman said there were no insurgents in the facility at the time of the bombing. Associated Press video footage of the burned out compound in the east of Kunduz shows automatic weapons, including rifles and at least one machine gun, on windowsills.

MSF said some 105 patients and their caregivers, as well as more than 80 international and local MSF staff, were in the hospital at the time of the bombing.

"The bombs hit and then we heard the plane circle round," said Heman Nagarathnam, MSF's head of programs in northern Afghanistan. "There was a pause, and then more bombs hit. Those people that could had moved quickly to the building's two bunkers to seek safety. But patients who were unable to escape burned to death as they lay in their beds."

Twelve staff members and at least seven patients, among them three children, were killed, while 37 people were injured.

On Saturday President Barack Obama offered his "deepest condolences" for what he called a "tragic incident."

"The Department of Defense has launched a full investigation, and we will await the results of that inquiry before making a definitive judgment as to the circumstances of this tragedy," Obama said.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has said a joint investigation is underway with U.S. Forces.

NATO earlier conceded U.S. forces may have been behind the bombing, after its forces launched a strike that they said was intended to target militants.

"The strike may have resulted in collateral damage to a nearby medical facility. This incident is under investigation," a statement said.

The incident has renewed concerns about the use of U.S. air strikes in Afghanistan, a deeply contentious issue in the 14-year campaign against Taliban insurgents.

U.N. rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein called for a full and transparent probe, noting: "An air strike on a hospital may amount to a war crime. This event is utterly tragic, inexcusable and possibly even criminal."

MSF's withdrawal comes as Kunduz grapples with a humanitarian crisis, with thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire between government forces and insurgents. At least 60 people are known to have died and 400 to have been wounded in the past week's fighting.

"Such attacks against health workers and facilities undermine the capacity of humanitarian organizations to assist the Afghan people at a time when they most urgently need it," the International Committee of the Red Cross said.

The deputy head of the Afghan National Disaster Management Authority, Aslam Sayas, said he was aware of the growing needs of people trapped inside the city. "We are waiting for the security situation to improve to give us an opportunity to reach those needy people," he said.

Saad Mukhar, the Kunduz provincial public health director, estimates that more than 70 people have been killed and more than 500 wounded in the city since the fighting began.

"I'm afraid that if this situation continues, we will not be able to help our patients because right now we are facing a serious, drastic shortage of medicine," he said.




SAUDI ARABIA

 Mina Stampede

How did Mina Stampede happen - Who is Responsible for it - Saudi Arabia or Africans or Iranians or God or No One..?
by Dr. Ajmal

769 Haj piligrims died in the Mina Stampede, and the preceding week around 107 died in the Crane Crash in Mecca - tragedies which have marred the recent history of uneventful Haj. This year is considered to be one of the worst in the last 25 years of Haj history. The toll is to expected to raise as hundreds more are critically injured

Being an Emergency Medicine Physician & one of the 20 odd Managers of Indian Medical Centers in Saudi Arabia deputed by Govt of India in 2008 to treat Indian Haj Pilgrims I have some fond memories as well as earnest observations to share, hopefully giving a better picture for those interested to understand. Our honest efforts are to do some "fact finding" and "medically research" the causes, that lead to these tragic incidents and not to belittle the good work the Saudis and thousands of volunteers, put in to make Haj the world's best largest peaceful gathering.

 Mina Stampede

Mina Stampede
Mina is a large scenic place, with rows and rows of tents, the beauty of which is simply mesmerizing. Right beneath the beauty lies the dark facts. All men are equal before Lord, wearing the same unstitched cloth - is sadly and unfortunately - not True. An overview of Mina geographically is essential to comprehend it.

As you stand over the bridge you will notice (below) the expanse of Mina from Jamarat to Muzdaliffah, so much so the tents are now inside muzdalifah. On the mountain top you see the palaces of the royal family, from where they do their rituals, going by a separate route to Jamarat.

 Mina Stampede

Then there are multistory large grey colored buildings, making you think what is an apartment doing in a tent city? These are building reserved for the ultra-rich Muslims shelling out thousands of dollars per night. Even in the tents there are huge differences. The tents near the Jamarat have better facilities and usually booked for dignitaries and the farther the tents from Jamarat the poorer the accommodation.

With the disparities openly seen, is it wrong to ask - do those who buy better resources and get better benefits, ever faced such tragedies? Has Stampede ever happened in areas involving richer tents..??

Why is Mina Prone for Stampedes while the new Jamarat area avoided it? Mass Gathering Medicine - involves an interesting concept called Fluid Dynamics or Crowd Flow.
It is keeping these dynamics in mind, Gensler, World's biggest Architectural firm, designed the Jamarat at the request of SaudiArabia. Look at the Pictures below, how the design itself of Y shape, wide pillars, curved oval "0" shapes - ease the process, compared to stagnation of the previous model. Even if there is a push the only way out is to exit to the next Jamarat. There is adequate space in between, so much so people can even come in cars to fulfill the stoning ritual!

 Mina Stampede

Those who have been to Jamarat will also notice that at the edges are police stationed on high raised platforms, watching from above. And if there is anyone tripping, they almost jump down from top to disperse it, then and there.
Structural Flaws in Mina
Compare this to Mina, which is badly designed death trap - in times of disasters. It has "H" and "T" intersections, which are best avoided in such crowded places. It is exactly at one of the T intersections that the stampede occurred. There is absolutely no way anyone can escape if stuck in the connecting T or H.

The side walls are fenced and tall, meaning the only way to escape is to climb on someone and go over the fence. Which is exactly what the people tried do, some throwing their children to the safety of nearby roof tops.

Unlike Jamaraat Mina roads are not covered. So those who fall down, die an agonizing death in 40C blistering heat. Medically the time taken for death due to Stampede (Compression Asphyxia) is around 4-8 minutes.

With the current Mina design, it is absolutely impossible for any help or ambulance, to come through the congested roads within 10 Minutes to site. Reaching the spot from the Mina Hospital would easily take 15-25 minutes or even more. There are no raised platform alongside the roads to pick up tripped people, nor do those trapped have any outlet to escape. The only option is to stamp on one another to reach the top, or die. Eventually the staff can only come and pick up the bodies later, with skin blistered and peeled. People are destined to die if there is a stampede in the current setup.

When the rich & powerful can have multistorey buildings to reside, wider roads, vehicles for transport within mina, why not others? Do their Lives matter less...?? It's high time the inherent structural flaws in the design are rectified.
Paul Wertheimer, the founder of Los Angeles-based consultancy Crowd Management Strategies, discussing the ongoing carnage at Mina said, "Part of the problem was architectural — the passageways were too narrow for the crowds. They brought in experts and widened the passageways. But the problem has not been solved. It looks like a classic failure of crowd management."

Modernization of Mina vs High raise buildings in Haram
SaudiArabia not only spends billions but also earns billions in revenue through Haj. Some stats from this article will highlight the glaring errors in prioritizing the spendings in recent years, especially during the previous Saudi ruler. To Quote verbatim from the article.

 Makkah Clock Royal Tower

"Saudis spent roughly $1.2 billion on Mina after 360 pilgrims were killed in 2006. The luxury hotel suites and shopping centers at the Abraj al-Bait and Makkah Clock Royal Tower cost over $15 billion. Saudis have allocated $26.6 billion to expanding the mosque itself, announcing its intentions to increase capacity past 3 million worshipers. This policy is misguided: The Grand Mosque is not where capacity and transit of pilgrims are in desperate need of repair. Grand Mosque had never even been the site of a major disaster, despite the masses of worshipers seemingly ever-present within its walls.(excluding the crane fall which was due to high winds). The Abraj al-Bait complex and an upcoming 10,000-room mega-hotel adjacent to the Grand Mosque similarly miss the point. After repeated tragedies, that (mina) passage demanded careful planning and decisive action to prevent further injury and death."

Sectarian Politics & Iranian Propaganda
Iran which wants to be a part of investigations, having lost more than 200 piligrims, should know that the false propaganda they indulge in, need to stop. Just because they are fighting IS, they can't assume the Sunni Muslim world will support any action of theirs, good or bad. Iran has a history of playing politics at Haj showing defiant behavior even during Haj times. Their illusion of reviving the Persian empire by arming rebels in Middle East and exaggerating news, does more harm than good, not only to themselves but the Muslim Ummah at large.

If Hajj is about reviving the rituals carried out by our ancestor Prophet Ibrahim, A.S and performing it as the Prophet Muhamamd sal commanded it, then how can they indulge in sloganeering and political activism in haj which is beyond shameful?

 Mina Stampede

Moreover, there is truth in the statement [ SaudiGazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20150927257892 ] that, the mina incident happened when the Iranian pilgrims came in the opposite direction not following the original route. Many eye witness accounts support this view.

The Iranian propaganda of the Crown Prince Motorcade causing the stampede have no basis, primarily because the routes are entirely different. This has been clarified by Saudi Arabia in a press release.

Iranian claims of Saudis being incapable of managing Haj, sounds more than hollow, as Iran itself has not been able to provide protection to various important Shia Shrines themselves. It is such exaggerated & unfair criticism of SaudiArabia that Turkish President, Erdogan refuted this saying "it would be wrong to point a finger at Saudi Arabia which does its best to make the annual Haj pilgrimage possible. You have to see the glass as half full," he said, adding that each country suffers failures.

Need for Open, Independent and Honest Investigation & Dialogue

Labelling such incidents as "Acts of God" is an easy and wrong way out rather than assuming accountability and responsibility. Errors happen even after good efforts. True, but errors if not rectified they get repeated. If errors are not seen as errors but rather justified, they get entrenched.

Just as a doctor or a hospital cannot afford to refuse or mismanage a case of Heart Attack, by giving excuses that the patient was a smoker or a was having lot of meat / biryani his whole life, will these kind of excuses neglecting deficiencies, be acceptable to anyone..??

To blame large crowds, African brothers, Shias, is to shift responsibility, than make oneself accountable. Its unfair and unjust to blame crowd. No one wants to die being crushed to death or crush another fellow Muslim no matter how holy the place is.

John Seabrook, Senior Journalist who has extensively researched on Crowd disasters had written way back in 2011 that - " Crowds often take the blame for what are actually failures of planning and logistics"
[ TheAtlantic.com/international/archive/2015/09/hajj-stampede-crowd-disasters/407542 ]

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari urged King Salman "to ensure a comprehensive and thorough exercise that will identify any flaws in Hajj organisation". All nations who lost citizens, due to humanitarian reasons, have the right to take the case to be independently evaluated, to check if corruption exists in giving out hajj projects as is being alleged widely. Even the allegations of royal convey leading to the disaster, can be easily proved or disproved by releasing the video footage continuously been recorded. Were the staff at Mina adequately trained, as many eye witnesses describe that they were themselves confused at what to do? Were they BLS (Basic Life Support) certified, as is the requirement for all police or firefighters in western countries?

Eye witness accounts say, it was a combination of all the above factors that lead to this colossal death toll. There should be an open and honest investigation rather than brushing the issue aside - not only for the welfare of the Hajis but also to retain the respect and sanctity of the title Allah has bestowed on them being "Custodian of the Holy Mosques".

King Salman and his son, Crown Prince Muhammad had to inherit a difficult legacy from his predecessor and are trying hard to fix the unity of Muslims by cooperating with all including whom the previous kings fought. May Allah help them overcome the trials and spearhead a positive change in Muslim affairs not only in SaudiArabia but all over the world.

Dr.Ajmal
Passionate about Islam, politics and issues connected to the welfare of Muslims, Dr Ajmal is a Medical Practitioner and after obtaining Diploma in Islamic Banking and Finance, he started the firm WealthCity, which advices on Islamic Investments for Indian Muslims. He write through his Facebook page.
FaceBook.com/Dr.Md.Ajmal

2015-10-04 Sun 20:55:03 ct

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