Arian's blog

Isreal, a strategic burden on US?

nobody@vox.com(Arian) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 21:35:38 +0100

What future for the "Greater Land of Israel"?

Six decades after its founding, Israel has grown into one of the world's top 20 industrial states, with GNP (General National Product) superior to all its neighbours combined.

IN DEPTH


	Settlements in pictures: Facts & figures
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With an estimated 200 nuclear warheads, and one of the most advanced air forces in the world, Israel promotes itself as the Middle East's most powerful military and one of the world's five leading arms exporters.

Priding itself on being a Western-type democracy; Israel has always sought close relations with empires and superpowers, underlining its estrangement within its own region.

Thanks to decades of preferential treatment by Western superpowers, Israel has had its cake and eaten it too. It has occupied, annexed and exploited Palestinian and Arab lands with impunity, and at the same time received over $100bn as the West's foremost ally in the Middle East. Israel's control over the Occupied Territories has radicalised its own society and identity as much as it has deformed that of the Palestinians. And yet, despite all, Israel's borders remain undrawn, its capital unrecognised, its Jewishness unaccepted, and its security in question.

Today, after two failed wars in Lebanon and Gaza and a deadlocked peace process, Israel's moment of truth has come ...

A radical right-wing coalition government in Israel is determined to press ahead with the expansion of settlements in East Jerusalem and Palestinian territories occupied in 1967.

Palestinians refuse to accept anything less than a total freeze on all settlements but they are divided on the best way forward - diplomacy or resistance.

The all-powerful US is powerless. Since the election of Barack Obama, the US president, and Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, relations have become stifled.

Is Israel still a strategic asset? Was it ever? Or is it a strategic burden? Obama staked his presidency on a breakthrough, but his efforts have stumbled at the first hurdle.

The United Nations continue to issue toothless resolutions with no impact on the ground. Is it left to the European Union to make the running with yet another vague overture?

The diplomatic vacuum leads to more unilateral policies and a radicalisation of both sides that could escalate the conflict even further. So how can the international community end an illegal occupation that has lasted for four decades? Is a two state solution still possible, or one state or no state!

This episode of Empire airs from Wednesday, December 23, at the following times GMT: Wednesday: 1900; Thursday: 0300, 1400; Friday: 0600.

http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/empire/2009/12/2009122284925717630.html

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On Swiss Minaret Ban

nobody@vox.com(Arian) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 19:30:22 +0100

By Shaykh Abdallah Bin Bayyah

On November 29, 2009, a majority of Swiss voters approved a proposed referendum to ban the construction of minarets in their nation. The following is a translation from Arabic of an address and commentary on the matter by Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah, president of The Global Center for Renewal and Guidance, and vice-president of the European Union of Muslim Scholars.
In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful,
Praise be to God and blessings and peace be upon our master, the Messenger of God
On both religious and humanistic grounds, we are grieved by the decision of the Swiss people to prohibit the construction of minarets for mosques in the independent nation of Switzerland.
We perceive in this decision a new obstruction on the road to coexistence and integration between the various ethnic and religious segments in this country, which is, in the minds and hearts of many Muslims and others, an exemplary model of harmonious coexistence that transcends the stereotypes that some people hold of others.
We also perceive a failed hope—in the most progressive of democracies which is studied in universities and seen as the best practitioner of democracy in the world in the area of constitutional practices—for such a democracy to issue an undemocratic and unconstitutional decision.
We say undemocratic because democracy represents a system of equal opportunity and equality for all, and [this decision represents] the devaluation of ethnicity, color, and religion in its interaction with its citizens. And it is unconstitutional because the constitution supports these concepts—and makes them a standard for cooperation.
Switzerland used to represent all of that. And perhaps, it still does. That is, at least, our hope and desire.
In light of that, we will address messages to four constituencies:
One is to the Swiss people, the owners of the deep-rooted history in resolving ethnic and linguistic disputes. Our hope is that they will commit to introspection. For a wise man once said, “Turning back to truth is better than continuing one’s march into falsehood.” Similarly, we hope they will make a different decision that ennobles and increases the nation’s human capital in the future and not plunge them into backwardness; a decision that appropriately mirrors their history and serves their true interests, not one that is born of emotion and racism.
The second message is for the Swiss government. We offer gratitude for its notable stance in expressing its opposition to the extremist points of view and for inviting us to utilize the appropriate constitutional and legal means to appeal this decision.
Our third message is directed to Europe. Thanks to all of those who continue to cling to the principles of morality and humanity and those who defend human rights in the simplest of its expressions, and especially the European Union, the Vatican, and other commissions. And special thanks go to the Swiss clergy.
We call on those organizations and peoples to challenge the views that have begun to surface in Europe from fanatical right-wing parties that are striving to ignite violent conflict and popularize historical resentment; [to challenge] things that do not support the success of dialogue and the dousing of the fires of tension in the world, a world that has no need for more fires.
And we call on those of goodwill to create a space for tolerance, accord, and coexistence. Construction is not happening only in Europe; it is happening throughout the globe. We are calling on all people of sound minds and wisdom to not content themselves with timid calls [to right action]. They should, instead, be more active and engaged.
The fourth message is to the Muslims of Switzerland especially, and to those of Europe in general. We offer our blessing in observing your maturity, wakefulness, and prudence. And we invite you to represent the values of your great religion: perseverance, tolerance, and forgiveness. “Yet if anyone is patient and forgives, that is determination that will resolve affairs.” [Qur’an, 42:43]
Therefore, alerting one’s brothers and sisters to [the following] principles appears to be a necessity in both particular and general circumstances:
There should be a rational and wise increase in public relations activities which support humanistic principles and the rights of citizenship.
There should be legal initiatives that support the principles of fairness and the constitution.
There should be political and popular campaigns that seek the support of all citizens as well as various human rights and religious organizations.
There should be a distancing of one’s self from falling victim to agitation in any form and on focusing one’s energies on the judicial process, while reminding the Swiss people that the flag of Switzerland bears the most Christian symbol: the Cross. The flag flies in the lands of the Islamic world and the Muslims find no discomfort upon seeing it. Muslims also love [Swiss] chocolate and the fascinating Swiss landscape, but such a landscape would be even more beautiful if it had a few minarets. Minarets do not symbolize any treacherous intent. They symbolize nothing more than turning one’s self to the Creator, the Majestic and Sublime.
This is an opportunity to manifest the values of tolerance and human fraternity in Islam. Islam is the religion of peace. And our Lord, Majestic and Sublime, is Peace (Al-Salam). And He invites us to the Abode of Peace (Dar al-Salam). So we are not to lose hope that the human heart of the citizens will be awakened; history relates a number of examples of abhorrence transformed into affection. Once in European history the Catholics found themselves agitated over the presence of the Protestants, so they oppressed them. Both denominations thereafter were agitated over the Jews. And today the turn of the Muslims has come. However, the just loving nature of the human being will gain the upper hand. For, our Lord, Majestic and Sublime, allows for us to be optimistic, as He says, “Perhaps God may establish friendship between you and those of them you regard as enemies: and God is able; and God is most forgiving, most merciful.” [Qur’an, 60:7]
He also says, “For good and evil are not equal: promote what is better, and then one between you and whom there was enmity will be as friend, a relative.” [Qur’an, 41:34]
Likewise our advice to you is to reply consistently with what is more attractive in word and deed, advancing proof in the most beautiful fashion, and with affection in place of rancor.
May peace and God’s mercy be upon you.

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Chomsky says Israel, 'US military base'

nobody@vox.com(Arian) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:43:38 +0100

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Noam Chomsky talks to Press TV during a phone interview

Renowned American sociopolitical analyst Noam Chomsky says Israel functions as Washington's main weapons storage base in the Middle East.

"Israel is essentially a US military base, the US positions weapons there, that's a very close military and intelligence tie," the Jewish academic told Press TV on Wednesday while explaining the complexity of relations between Washington and Tel Aviv.

Commenting on the weapons that Israel received from the US before launching its 2007-2008 offensive in the Gaza Strip, Chomsky said that the exchange of weapons between the two sides was not surprising.

"[Israel] is receiving weapons constantly. In fact, weapons were sent during the invasion of Gaza. They tried to send them, they were supposed to send them from Greece, and Greece refused to ship them," he said.

"When pentagon was asked about this, they responded (I think correctly) that the weapons were not being sent for the Gaza invasion which was underway with the US weapons of course; rather, the US was positioning weapons in Israel," he added.

The professor, who was taking part in an interview with Press TV after delivering a speech at Boston University, said that although Israel had influence over the US foreign policy, it still had to act within the boundaries of what Washington allowed.

"Take for example Israeli threats against Iran or US threats for that matter, in which if anybody cares it is a violation of the UN charter,” said Chomsky.

"Last summer in 2008, right in the middle of the presidential election… Israeli lobbyists tried very hard to push through a resolution in congress calling for a blockade on Iran which essentially would have been an act of war.

"They were rounding up quite lot of senators… and all of a sudden the effort terminated, presumably what happened is the White House… wanted to have a word with them, so they pulled back, that happens over and over, Israel can not go beyond what the US permits," he added.

During his address at Boston University, the recognized professor also warned of the threat that the US and Israel posed to the world and said people may have more to fear from the two than those that Washington tries to associate with terrorism.

"[The US and Israel] consistently and regularly… resort to force and the threat of force… carry out aggression regularly and repeatedly… invade other countries, occupy other countries, [and] invoke terror and violence," he said.

Chomsky also pointed out that the US government and its media had spread exaggerated reports about Iran's nuclear program.

"There has been a massive propaganda campaign that demonizes Iran, that portrays it as a major threat to world peace that has been going on for the past three years," he said.

MJ/AKM

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=113360&sectionid=3510203

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CLIMATE SOS

nobody@vox.com(Arian) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 23:40:11 +0100

Climate change: Minority report By Peter Taylor

By Peter Taylor

Some climatologists believe current rises in temperatures and melting icebergs are part of of the Earth's natural cycles, and not induced by man-made devices [EPA]

Concern over global warming has spawned such a highly charged and polarised political movement, that real science has become sidelined in favour of sound-bites and simple messages. The real science is not as 'settled' as some politicians would have us believe.

There is a significant minority of climate scientists who look at the data and conclude that we are dealing with natural cycles that are peaking just as they have done on a regular basis over centuries.

in depth

These scientists are heavily outnumbered by the proliferation of computer specialists who have created their own virtual planet – people trained in maths and physics who may never have handled an ice-core, tree-ring apparatus, sediments or stalagmites and all of the proxy indicators of past temperature cycles.

In my view, the UN secretariat has marginalised their careful assessment and warnings about natural cycles in favour of alarming future projections generated by the computer model.

These real climate scientists know that the last major warm period was a 1,000 years ago when the Vikings grew crops in Greenland – their graves are still solid in the permafrost.

In between then and now, Europe and China experienced a Little Ice Age – with widespread famine.

Reading the fine print

Taylor says satellite data debunks theories that climate change is unnatural

There is so much spin that you have to read the small print of the UN reports where they admit to not understanding natural cycles and what drives them.

Behind the scenes they acknowledge cycles are at work and contribute to the warming and that it is only from the model that they derive the dominance of carbon dioxide.

But the model does not easily simulate the poorly understood cycles. Satellites do a better job and having spent three years studying the data I conclude global warming is real but at least 80 per cent natural cycle and 20 per cent human emissions.

My conclusions are supported by recent climate shifts that run counter to model predictions. From the data on cycles I could predict that after 2007, when Arctic summer ice reached a record low, it would start to recover.

In 2008, it came back by 10 per cent. The majority expected it to continue its decline to ice-free status by 2015. In 2009, it grew by another 10 per cent.

Little Ice Age

The models beloved of the majority also predicted that the high-level winds, known as the jet-stream, would shift north as the globe warmed.

The jet-stream directs wet weather from the Atlantic and in 2007 they shifted south, bringing widespread flooding to Western Europe.

I have seen a minority report in Nasa's archives which shows that the jet-stream shifts south as the magnetic field of the sun falls and this was characteristic of the Little Ice Age.

In 2007, the sun's magnetic field fell to an all time low and this repeated through 2008 and 2009, as did the floods.

Many solar scientists point to a link between this magnetic field and climate on Earth and when the field is low, the Earth cools.

During the low in the 17th century the Thames in London froze every winter for 50 years and summers were a washout.

Chinese and Russian scientists have better knowledge of these cycles, because the cold periods induce widespread famine – and some of them see all the signs of a new Little Ice Age.

Perhaps that's why their governments' sovereign funds are buying huge tracts of productive land in the tropics – for food.

You may ask – if this is real science, how can the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ignore it and claim the warming is caused by carbon dioxide.

Global spin?

Taylor says scientists may have manipulated data on emissions [AFP]

In fact, the scientists only agreed the warming is "very likely not due to known natural causes acting alone" – and that is spun by the policy-makers and the world's media.

The not-known natural causes are subject to high-level research programmes because real scientists know they exist and are powerful. And no real climate scientist ever said natural causes are acting alone.

Up until the recent 'climate-gate' scandal, I accepted that the objective data could be trusted.

But it now appears scientists upon whom the UN relies were busy manipulating the data to produce a warmer globe and to eradicate what they call 'lips' (i.e. cycles) that they cannot explain.

To compound matters, they then sought to undermine the Freedom of Information Act and delete their records in advance of requests for the data.

The issue of causation is crucial. The poorest people are already at risk whether the globe warms or cools.

We need action on the real and immediate threats facing human support systems from unavoidable natural climate change – but less than one per cent of resources devoted to climate are spent on adaptation, the rest goes on what will be ineffective attempts to 'stop climate chaos'.

Peter Taylor is an ecologist and author of 'Chill: a reassessment of global warming theory'.

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/climatesos/2009/12/2009124191343603151.html

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The Space Age and the Future of Islam

nobody@vox.com(Arian) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 11:18:00 +0100

Yahiya Emerick

I had to do it. I'm a science fiction fan and it's been a while since I've seen a good sci-fi flick. Yes, I dragged my wife to the theater and saw a recently released spaceship/action movie. When I viewed the previews of giant insects and battling space marines, I thought for sure I'd like it. But I was definitely unprepared for the visual assault. The special effects were pounding my senses and I felt uncomfortable. I don't recommend taking your children to see most movies these days, for in addition to the gratuitous violence, they almost always throw in unexpected and unnecessary nude scenes. I closed my eyes and was quite annoyed because they normally don't put such filth in science fiction movies. I was raised on Star Wars and other innocent productions. (Society's standards just keep getting more polluted, don't they?)

In my time I've read quite a lot of novels dealing with science fiction, space colonization, aliens, conquering the galaxy, etc... But it never really quite hit me, until seeing this movie, that we as Muslims had better pay attention to more than just what's here on earth.

It's funny, really, when you think about it. Islam is the most suppressed ideology on earth. There is not one single country that is based solely on standard Islamic teachings. There is no society that reflects even a hint of the Islamic ethos and no culture which promotes Islam as a viable way of life, independent of ignorant local customs.

On the contrary, in every country that happens to have a lot of people with Muslim names in it, the national government will do everything in its power to suppress any hint of Islamicity in the people or in politics, even to the point of mass executions, torture and all-out war. (Think of Turkey, Algeria, Syria, Tajikistan, China, etc...)

The only place where Islam, and I mean real Muslims- not those crazy terrorists masquerading as Muslims- can operate freely is in America, Canada and England. Everywhere else, including France and the rest of the world, they're harassed, arrested, denied rights and suppressed. It's pretty sad when you realize that the only thing real Muslims want is peace and justice and obedience to God, while everyone else in the world wants the opposite.

So what direction is the world going in now? Muslims are marginalized completely. Some Muslims get so frustrated with their lack of success in spreading the Islamic lifestyle that they become clandestine rebels in their home countries and fancy themselves an underground "liberation" movement. But they often become deluded and can't pick their agendas well, thus, based on a few short-sighted individuals, the media all over the world can shout about the world-wide "Islamic threat." The unbelievers (and the hypocrites in our ranks) join together and convince the gullible masses that Islam is bad and so the focus of the world must be containment of the "Islamic menace."

The world powers that be have succeeded pretty well. But in lumping all people with Muslim names into one bunch, the world has done a great dis- service. Most of the people with Muslim-sounding names in the world, who are involved in "terrorism," are people acting from political, not spiritual motives and they don't have the support of the Muslim masses anywhere in the world.

Based on published reports and studies, the average Palestinian or Lebanese person doesn't really care about an "Islamic" state. They want Israel out of their lands. (I have enough friends from both ethnic groups who have confirmed this.) The average Pakistani militant or Afghan warlord, likewise, cares little about the ethics of Islam, they have some political, personal or nationalistic agenda to pursue. If it's convenient to use well-known religious phrases and slogans from one's own culture, so be it. Even the Jews fly their, "Star of David" flag but most of them don't follow Prophet David's religion very well.

What the world hasn't realized is that there is a silent majority of Muslims who want an Islamic state that has nothing to do with bombs, repression, censorship, oppression, chauvinism or violence. The Islamic state we envision is actually not too much different from the modern American legal, social and political expression. Among the few differences would be that the basis of the legal code would be derived from the Qur'an, rather than from simple majority rule. After all, it was the opinion of the majority that allowed slavery and oppression of women in this country. (A good presentation of an Islamic government at work can be found in the book, "Al Ahkam as Sultaniyyah" by Abul Hasan al Mawardi. It's in English!)

There would be elected leaders, representatives, an independent judiciary, a tax agency, non-interest based banks, theaters, shopping malls, suburbs, etc... The Qur'an and example of the Prophet would be the basis of cultural and social norms and if you've ever really looked at them, they're very lenient, understanding and beneficial. In addition, laws that forbid indecency would be enforced. And what's so bad about that? In America today, the law books are filled with anti-indecency laws, they just haven't been enforced in a few decades. Look at the social devastation that that has wrought!

The Islamic government would simply enforce the laws that even American courts are supposed to. That's all we want: a government based on eternal principles as revealed by our Creator and a stable and peaceful commonwealth. Those who use Islamic symbols or names, but then do deeds of violence against civilians, are no better than calling the KKK or the Nazis good Christians. We Muslims know the difference between genuine religious seekers and hypocrites, so why is the world so unwilling to recognize that too? Well, we haven't been doing our job of spreading Islamic information very well so I guess this is the situation we deserve.

But while the world has been busy suppressing Muslims, regardless of whether they're "good" or "bad," what else has it been up to? It seems clear that the global trend is towards a more unified and closely linked world, both in political and economic terms as well as in social terms. There seems to be a mono-culture forming all over the place! Whether you're in Botswana, Brazil or Belgium, you drink soda-pop, wear jeans, listen to popular music, surf the net, eat burgers and pizza and wear shirts that say, "DKNY".

Nations are making trade links with each other, establishing free trade zones that cover whole hemispheres and even mutual defense pacts and large alliances. NATO will probably grow to encompass all of North America, all of Europe and Russia, too, within twenty years or so.

Gee, when I read that Libya and Egypt wanted to make a North African trading bloc, I thought, big deal! A bunch of dictators wanting to link their sorry backward economies. But it'll fail like the pan-Arab nation ideas failed in the Fifties and Sixties. It will fail because the leaders of Muslim nations are not interested in the improvement of the lives of their people. After all, the leaders killed and plotted their way to power in the first place and continue to work against the people to maintain their god-like power even now. The armies in Muslim countries don't defend their people from outside enemies, the armies defend themselves, and the dictator who pays them, against their own people! How can you expect benevolent and beneficial actions from them?

Now, back to the main point: A lot has been promoted in the past few years that has resulted in what recent space/action movies such as, "Starship Troopers," "Armageddon," "Deep Impact," and "Alien Resurrection" represent. The setting for the background of "Starship Troopers," for example, is that there will one day be a single world government and that earth will establish many colonies throughout the galaxy. Men and women are completely equal to the point where they even take showers together- in the same locker rooms- and there is no sexual harassment. Everyone in the world speaks English and lives a secular, American-style lifestyle.

The action part of the movie revolves around the idea that a race of giant insects from a far away planet are at war with human civilization. The earth government decides to go on the offensive and the rest of the movie is filled with scenes of tough marines landing on alien "bug" planets and doing battle with giant beetles, soldier bugs and "brain" bugs.

If you put the action and aliens aside for a moment, think about the vision of the future that is presented. The world is united in a benevolent system that is similar to a secular, Western democracy. Everyone has a similar culture based on elements of modern Western culture. Unrestricted sex is the norm and there is no talk of whether morals and values are important. Everyone drinks and everyone is just a good citizen who can live their lives as physically self-fulfilling as possible. And don't forget, people have colonized the stars and taken this way of life with them.

In this vision of the future, there is no Islam, there are no Muslims and a person's values are quite up to themselves. Religion and spirituality are as marginalized and non-existent as they are in current Western society.

Indeed, you can see the beginnings of similar forces taking shape right now. The international space station, humanity's first step to permanent space colonization is scheduled to be built starting next year. America, Japan, Russia and other secular powers are taking the first steps to permanent human colonization of the stars. Meanwhile, back here on earth, the forces arrayed to crush spirituality and allegiance to God have succeeded in destroying Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Shintoism. Those traditions have bowed their heads and become relegated to quaint ceremonies and occasional nationalist sloganeering.

The only real challenge left, Islam, is being suppressed everywhere and unIslamic cultural influences have corrupted almost all the young people in every Muslim country. The Western world has established its hegemony and control over the world's resources, finances, culture and technological direction. China and its "communism" is the only wild card left in the world and there is likely to be conformity there as well, eventually.

What kind of world are we coming into? Even though millions of people convert to Islam every year, millions more, from the Muslim world, are lulled into secularism and become opponents of things related to Islam. Sometimes I almost feel that it seems like a few Westerners are becoming Muslims while most "Muslims" are becoming kaffirs. Interesting thought. But back to the main issue.

Where are Muslims in this coming new world and new frontier of space? Oh sure, a "Muslim" Saudi Prince went up in the space shuttle. Big deal. He didn't design it, his country didn't launch it and he was just a token presence. Anyway, what is so Islamic about a "Prince" coming from a "kingdom"?

Oh, Kazakhstan has the Russian spaceport on its soil, you say? Well, as if Kazakhstan is an Islamic or even a Muslim place! Half the population or more is Russian, the Russian government controls the spaceport and almost all of the so-called Muslims who make up the rest of the country are illiterate in Islam. They live like non-Muslims in their attitudes just like most people from Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey or wherever. There is no Islamic purpose being served there.

Muslims have no space technology, we don't even have any Islamic state here on earth to begin with! Even if Malaysia sent a rocket into space tomorrow, what of it? Malaysia isn't patterned after an Islamic system either. Even the Prime Minister's own daughter goes on television defending the "right" of women to wear bikinis! (See Impact International, Oct, Nov 97.)

Within fifty years, the non-Muslims, mostly of Western heritage, will have not only permanent space stations, but also moon colonies, Martian colonies and perhaps one day, self-sustained colonies on every stable moon in our solar system.

Where will the Muslims be and what will be our position? Will we still be a suppressed movement in the world. Will frustrated people with Muslim sounding names still be planting bombs to achieve political goals in their tiny, backward countries? Will "Muslim" nations still be ruled by the same old kind of small-minded bullies and dictators that we have now, just with new names? Will the armies in "Muslim" countries still have as their primary goal to "protect" themselves against the people?

I know that there are quite a few Muslims who suffer from the same disease that afflicts fundamentalist Christians. That disease is thinking that the end of the world and the Day of Judgment is going to happen tomorrow. I know it can happen anytime and that it is "near" but the Prophet said it was "near" over a thousand years ago! It must be remembered that "near" on Allah's time- scale can mean a long time in earth years. Consequently, Muslims don't think about the future or about where we will be three hundred years from now.

Who cares about whatever "golden achievements" our ancestors made five hundred years ago! The past is dead! This is our present and future! Today, we don't live Islam, we don't make a government based on Islam, in fact, we live worse than the non-Muslims in our desire for wealth, glitter and illusions of power and glory. We don't make progress and we label "ethnic achievements" as progress when they do no service to Islam.

Who cares if Malaysia or Iran or Indonesia or Pakistan has high technology! Those countries don't do any good for the Islam of the Prophet Muhammad! The leaders are corrupt, the systems are unIslamic and the economies are riddled with Riba, corruption and inefficiency. Who cares if this or that Arab nation has a big army and powerful weapons. The government is bad, the leader is a crook and the weapons are usually turned against the people to insure the power of the corrupt elite. Do you see what I'm getting at?

The Blessed Prophet once predicted this situation when he said, "You will be ruled (one day) by men who will kill the Sunnah, violate the orders of Islam and delay the time of Prayer." A man named Ibn Mas'ud asked, "What should we do then?" The Prophet replied, "Don't you know what to do? Whoever disobeys Allah must not be obeyed." (Ibn Majah, Ahmad).

The strength of Islam is to be measured by the standard of Islam: the following of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Who is following it? Where is it being implemented? What has been built that will promote those teachings? Where is an identifiable community living by the Islamic ethos? Since those objectives are not being achieved anywhere in the world, Muslims are making no progress and are completely unprepared for the future with all its globalization, space exploration and challenges.

To reiterate, it doesn't matter if some ethnic group or another is advanced. Who cares if the Arabs, Pakistanis, Turks or Malays have booming, technologically advanced countries? It doesn't serve Islam if those people are not molding their lives, cultures, finances and political systems according to the Qur'an and Sunnah.

There are some good steps here and there, such as the growth in Islamic banking, the rededication to Iman among many and the building of Masjids again in places where they were closed. But these things are merely band-aids on a patient that is having a massive seizure and hemorrhage!

What good even is the making of millions of converts in the West if their own, isolated children will be susceptible to the unIslamic influences of non- Muslim culture which will assault them at every turn. The children of converts most often go back to being the non-Muslims their parents were before converting! (I've taught for ten years the children of "born Muslims" and converts and can attest to this fact.) Muslims don't even make communities here in the West- where they are allowed to and no one will try to stop them!

Something has to give. Something has to be done. I know the problem seems pretty big. What can you or I do about it? Only Allah knows the future. Here's how I envision events. The "Muslim" movements in most of the "Muslim" world are being run and operated by unsophisticated, uneducated people. They may have degrees and PhD's, but they grew up in under developed nations where running water might have been a miracle. They were raised on a mixture of Islam, culturalism, superstitions and simplistic ideas.

Now before you get mad and write angry letters, hear me out. I know of Muslim leaders, who have a lot of power, and who I've met, who believe that it's okay to kill a girl if she "brings shame" on the family. I know a big Imam who believes you have to say Surahs in a new home to drive away the Jinns before you can live in it. I heard a speech by a big Sheikh in which he spoke of Islam as a tree that is fed by flying body parts, running blood and death. (His imagery was so disgusting and gruesome that I couldn't listen anymore.)

I've heard countless big Maulanas expound on the need to seclude women in the home, and even in the recent Qur'an translation being touted by the Salafees, the tafsir (translator's commentary) says that women are not allowed to go to the Masjid and that the face veil (niqab) is required of women. But the sayings of the Prophet tell a different story! So who do you believe?

I know of "Muslim" groups who oppose the formation of battered women's shelters saying that women should stay in abusive relationships no matter what. And then they throw fifty thousand "Fatwas" in your face. (But the Qur'an says that a woman can divorce and leave her husband if she fears cruelty from him! See 4:128) Again, cultural, ethnic Muslims interpret Islam by their backward, cultural standards.

The Taliban, who claim to be totally "Islamic" do the most unIslamic things: they forbid women to work or even to go to school. They beat people with sticks to reprimand them, and, oh, by the way, quite a few heroin growers operate out of their territory. Even before them, the so-called "Mujahideen" of Afghanistan were financing their war against the Soviets with drug-profits. After the Soviets left, the "Mujahideen" have killed more of each other than the Soviets ever did. So where is the example of Islamic enlightenment there?

The Jamati Islami in Pakistan is discredited from too much political game- playing, the secretive Ikhwan is known to be oriented only towards particularly Arab political concerns. (Even their front organizations in America and Canada focus completely on the Middle east and/or Arab culture and concerns.) Moreover, the usual approach to Qur'anic "studies" in most "Muslim" countries is to beat the students with a stick! Is that Islamic enlightenment?

Even worse, in the West, in most Masjids, the boards of directors are usually made up of people who compete with each other in displaying wealth. Hardly an Islamic thing to do. (By the way, according to the Qur'an: 9:107-108, even hypocrites can build a Masjid! A believer is not supposed to go there, either.)

What does it mean when a "scholar" says that having a king is Halal or when an "Islamic" organization is funded by kings and others? What about the so- called "Islamic" movements who have as their objectives merely freeing a bit of land from someone else? Those are political ideas that are not done for Allah. The Blessed Prophet once remarked that if someone associates anything with their deed besides Allah, then Allah will reject the whole thing. So a group may say "Allahu Akbar", but if they're desire is based on the boundaries of their little nation, then they may be in trouble in the next life. Rather, a true "Islamic" movement doesn't stop at the border. It moves on until there is justice, peace and obedience to Allah either over the entire world or until they die- either way they win.

All those "Islamic" movements are inward looking, locally centered and usually ethnically based. The few true believers among them can literally be caught up in the tide. But it's the true believers who must be the leaders! (See Qur'an 3:139)

So if I've made myself clear, we see that there are few movements, groups or "scholars" which operate solely by Qur'an and Sunnah and solely for the sake of Allah in the "Muslim" world. There are too many cultural ideas, too many shifting political goals and too many emotions. (Oh, did I mention, many of these movements publicly allow wife-beating to their followers with "fatwas" saying it's halal. But they're wrong of course.)

Once we realize the hard facts, we can be liberated from illusions and false ideas which will only corrupt us. After all, among Muslim activists in North America, there is also an element of the sicknesses of the wider Muslim world. For example, there is veiled racism among most of the "Islamic" movements in the West. What else can you say when there are Arab, Black, Indian or Pakistani exclusive organizations? No one prevents them from mixing and they usually have branches in most major cities where the other groups operate as well. Culturalism and ethnic exclusiveness are quite pervasive! (I've seen too much of it first hand and I'm sure you have too.)

Now what about change? What can we do that can realistically turn the tide in the favor of true Islam? Firstly, I envision Muslims going on an information offensive on the outside, while conducting a purification campaign on the inside. Outside, we will get serious about teaching Islam. After all, it's one of our main missions in life. Don't focus only on your job or kids or financial goals, because that's not why you're mainly here.

You're here to find Allah before you die and there's not much time left. After you've found Allah then you can take care of your family, job and goals in an Islamically good way. But most of us go in reverse. We try to get rich and have big families first and then we become spiritual when we're old. But by then, our money won't matter much anymore and our kids have become non- Muslims. Quite a strange paradox. I would rather take care of the spiritual part first and then all along I can be doing the other things.

I envision a da'wah headquarters in every state and urban area. A building with dozens of workers whose job it is to organize da'wah programs in the Masjids, communities and especially among the non-Muslims. It will be staffed by dedicated people who are organized into different departments, who design flyers, book speakers, follow up on contacts, design campaigns, visit churches, operate soup kitchens, offer counseling, have housing bureaus, women's shelters and coordinate the activities of Masjids.

The workers will be hired based on their qualifications for this sort of job, not because they happen to have a Muslim name and just got off the plane and need a job. They will be well paid at a living wage and will have job security and a professional, pleasant working environment. The operation will be funded by a waqf set up by all the communities which will provide a permanent income. Not through endless donation, because that dries up and becomes subject to outside pressure. Rather, a gas station or apartment building will be bought and given in trust to the Da'wah center to which all profits will go, forever. (Such an enterprise could provide job search services to needy converts or poor Muslims.)

I could write for hours about how it would be structured and operated and the types of activities it would perform, but why don't you use your imagination? Every major Christian organization has "da'wah" centers in every major and minor urban center all over the world. They are funded by trusts funded by big businesses. Shouldn't we do that? I'm convinced half the country would become Muslim in a few years if the effort was done right. Then all the colonists being sent to the moon base in fifty years would be Muslims!

I also envision internal purification of the community. Forget about the "Muslim" world. Forget about it. It's lost for the time being. There will be nothing but turmoil there for years to come. Our locally available resources are stretched so thin. We want to see Islam grow but our own house is not in order. Until we spend the money here, supporting the establishment of permanent Islam in North America, we'll never make any progress.

We also must live together. What do you think will happen if you're the only Muslim household on the block? Are you really that stupid? You will lose your descendants away from Islam if you don't live with other (believing) Muslims, period. Only then can we begin to practice the community life that we often brag about. Let's stop theorizing and start practicing. If you've had bad experiences around other "Muslims" it's because all of us have forgotten how to live as Muslims in a community. Some of us have never had that opportunity to begin with and so the theories remain big talk.

And don't form communities based on ethnic groups, because if you do, you'll fail in the long run. A Muslim community must be based on Islamic teachings. Everyone is welcome and everyone is a part of the brotherhood. If you have racist feelings, confront them by living around the (Muslim) people you looked down on. Then your racist feelings should soften and eventually disappear. I've visited and had extensive contacts with budding Islamic communities in North America and I tell you it is possible, for I've seen it happening here and there. It must happen in more places!

Muslims can gain control of local town councils, enact laws that are in line with Islam, enforce laws against pornography, etc., and set the curriculum in the local public schools. The Orthodox Jews and Catholic Italians have done this in countless places, especially in New York. Many other ethnic and religious groups are doing it too. Muslims must give up the "every man for himself" attitude and make the sacrifices.

A simple goal for every Muslim family could be to make sure that they live within walking distance of a Masjid. That's a start. If you find a Masjid that is run by hypocrites or culturally oriented people who have no spirit to promote the Islamic lifestyle, (and there are many), then either join with like-minded people and establish a real Masjid or move to a place that has a dynamic, friendly and family-oriented Masjid. Many cities and suburbs have multiple Masjids so your search shouldn't be too difficult.

What if there are few real believers around you and moving far is not an option- and even worse, what if the only Masjid in town is built on hypocrisy? Brothers and sisters! Bypass the whole thing. You can run study groups, classes, counseling, family outings, Salat and other activities right from your own homes! An entire network of good families and professional services can be united completely outside the domain of the hypocrite/backward cultural people.

People will know who is real and they will flock to your orbit. Then you may be able to establish a Masjid and school based on Taqwa. Remember, the Blessed Prophet and the believers had to go thirteen years without a proper Masjid in Mecca! You can do it too if you network like they did. Even the Jum'uah can be instituted in someone's basement or home if there is no Masjid nearby or a corrupt one.

My brothers and sisters, I want to see Islam- not "ethnic or cultural" Muslims- but Islam, survive, strengthen and prosper in the coming centuries. Not because I want "my team" to win, but because Islam is the salvation of humanity. It's the reason why we're alive and it's the only thing that our Creator will care that we picked up in this world. It's the only thing that takes an ordinary person and transforms them into the best of Allah's creation. May you live with faith and open your eyes and orient yourselves towards the task ahead. Amin.

http://www.jannah.org/articles/spaceage.html

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An Epic from the Epoch of Qur'an and Epical Deeds

nobody@vox.com(Arian) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:30:48 +0100

Abdullah BIN MUBARAK

I was on my journey to Hajj. Travelling through the lands of Iraq and Syria, I came across an old woman all on her own. I greeted her and she answered me with the verse, “Peace! is the word from the Lord All-Compassionate” (Ya Sin 36:58). “What are you doing here?” I asked her. She replied, “Whomever God leads astray there is no one to guide him; and He leaves them wandering blindly in their rebellion.” (A’raf 7:186).

I realized that she was lost. Asked where she was travelling to, she answered me with the verse, “All-Glorified is He Who took His servant for a journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque the environs of which We have blessed, so that We might show him some of Our signs.

Surely He is the One Who hears and sees” (Isra’ 17:1). I realized that she had fulfilled her duty of Hajj in the previous group and now was travelling to Quds (Jerusalem).

“How long have you been lost?” I asked her. “For three nights” (Maryam 19:10) was her Qur’anic rejoinder. I offered her food. She replied with, “Observe the Fast until night sets in” (Baqarah 2:187). “Yes, but we are not in the month of Ramadan,” said I. “Whoever does a good work voluntarily, surely God is All-Responsive to thankfulness, All-Knowing” (Baqarah 2:158) was her response. “It is permissible to break fast on a journey,” I informed her.

“Yet better it is for him who volunteers greater good, and that you should fast (when you are able to) is better for you, if you but knew (the worth of fasting)” (Baqarah 2:184) she responded.

I asked her why she did not converse in the way I conversed. “Not a word does he/she utter but there is a watcher by him/her, ever-present,” (Qaf 50:18) recited she. I put a question to her: “Where do you belong?”

“Do not follow that of which you have no knowledge, and refrain from groundless assertions and conjectures. Surely the hearing, the sight, and the heart – each of these is subject to questioning about it” (Isra’ 17:35) was her Qur’anic response. “I sinned; please forgive me,” I pleaded. “No reproach this day shall be on you. May God forgive you; indeed, He is the Most Merciful of the merciful” (Yusuf 12:92) said she.

I offered to let her ride on my camel so as to deliver her swiftly to her convoy. “Whatever good you do, surely God has full knowledge of it” (Baqarah 2:215) she thanked me. I brought my camel and as she was about to mount on the animal, she said, “Tell the believing men that they should restrain their gaze” (Nur 24:30).

I cast my eyes down. Just as she was about to climb on the camel, the animal shied and moved forward, and her clothing was torn a little. “Whatever affliction befalls you, it is because of what your hands have earned,” (Shura 42:30) she murmured. “Be patient, let me hold the camel!” said I. Reciting the verse, “We made Solomon understand the case more clearly. We granted each of them sound, wise judgment and knowledge” (Anbiya 21:79) she said, implying that I was more successful at controlling the camel.

She mounted the camel and recited the verses, “So that you sit secure on their backs, (and), then remember and reflect on the favor of your Lord when you settle securely on them, and say: All-Glorified is He Who has subjugated this to our use. We were never capable (of accomplishing this by ourselves). And surely, to our Lord we are indeed bound to return’” (Zukhruf 13–14).

“Come on!” said I, so as to urge the camel on. “Be modest in your bearing, and subdue your voice. For certain, the most repugnant of voices is the braying of donkeys,” (Luqman 31:19) she warned me. While walking, I began to recite poetry. “Recite from the Qur’an what is easy for you!” (Muzzammil 73:20) was her advice. “But reciting poetry is not forbidden in Islam!” I protested. “He grants the Wisdom to whomever He wills, and whoever is granted the Wisdom has indeed been granted much good. Yet none except people of discernment reflect and are mindful” (Baqarah; 269) was her reply.

We travelled for a long while; later I asked her whether she was married. “O you who believe! Do not ask about things which, if made manifest to you, would give you trouble” (Maidah 5:101) she snapped back. Soon, we caught up with her convoy, and I asked her, “Do you know anybody in the caravan?” “Wealth and children are an adornment of the present, worldly life!” (Kahf 18:46) said she, and I realized that she had children.

I asked her their names. “God accepted Ibrahim as a friend; spoke to Musa; O Yahya! Hold fast to the Book!” (Nisa 4:125, 164; Maryam 19:12) was the answer. I called towards the caravan, “O Ibrahim, O Musa, O Yahya!” Three saintly-faced youths quickly appeared. She gave them money, reciting the verse, “Send one of you to the city with this coin of yours: let him see what food is most pure there (and so lawful), and bring a supply from it. But let him behave with utmost care and guarded courtesy,” (Kahf 18:19).

When her children brought the food, she recited the verse, “Eat and drink to your hearts’ content for all that you sent ahead in advance in days past” (Haqqah 69:24).

I told her children that if they would not tell me the reason why their mother talked in that way, I would not touch even the smallest part of the food. ‘Our mother,’ they said, ‘for fear that she might blurt out some foul words that would call down God’s wrath, has been speaking through the Holy Qur’an for the last forty years.’”

Abdullah bin Mubarak (d. 797 AH) was an important figure from the second generation after the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

Suat Erguvan is the Academic Coordinator of the Rumi Forum, Islamabad.

http://www.fountainmagazine.com/article.php?ARTICLEID=1077

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In fear of 'Eurabia'?

nobody@vox.com(Arian) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:11:43 +0100

By Mark LeVine

FOCUS: OPINION

The posters encouraging people to vote for the ban, showed a niqab-wearing Muslim woman [EPA]

The images were clearly intended to get out the vote, and judging by the 57 per cent "yes" vote to ban the construction of minarets in Switzerland on Sunday, they worked all too well.

They included the depiction of minarets piercing through the Swiss flag; minarets on top of the flag, with a menacing, niqab-wearing Muslim woman in the foreground.

One could be forgiven for imagining that the Muslims were at the gates of Vienna, or even Lucerne, threatening to overrun Christian Europe. And of course, for the proponents of the ban, that is precisely the situation Europe faces today.

For centuries, the peoples of Europe have defined their continental identity against the threat of Islam. So much so that it is hard to imagine a European identity that does not have Islam as its foil.

There are, of course, good historical reasons for this.

From the eighth century Europe was in fact surrounded by Muslims to the East and South, who ruled much of the Eastern continent for the next millennium.

Of course, except in the wildest dreams of jihadists, Europe will not be taken down by Muslim swords today. But for right-wing fear mongers, the contemporary Muslim threat is just as nefarious, only the weapon is different.

The ultimate 'other'

That Muslim woman in the now infamous poster is not just the ultimate 'other' - totally impenetrable to the Western gaze in a social space where topless women are de rigeur on billboards, magazines, TV commercials and the beach - but, the niqab or burka-wearing Muslim woman is believed to stand for all Muslim women, who, it is assumed, possess little or no control over their own bodies.

And because of this, she is as dangerous as the H1N1 virus currently scaring people across the continent. Underneath her niqab lies a human bomb - not a suicide vest, but a baby; lots of babies, if you believe the hype.

All these Muslims babies threaten to transform the fundamental identity of Europe as a "Western," "modern," "secular-yet-Christian" space - the very antithesis of what most Europeans imagine Muslims to be.

In some sense, of course, the return of a robust Muslim presence in Europe would be a return to history, to a time when a good share of Europe was Muslim. But that is a history few Europeans hearken to. In fact, Europe's first post-Cold War conflict, in the Balkans, was driven in good measure by just this fear.

Beneath the fear, however, lies that undeniable reality that the combination in Europe of very low indigenous (meaning white and Christian) birth rates and increasing immigration of Muslims with higher birth rates means that the percentage of Muslims will continue to grow.

They will not, however, become a majority in Europe under any conceivable scenario in the coming decades.

In fact, the actual demographic trends show a decline in birth rates by Muslim women as they become settled into Europe, which corresponds to the declining birth rates across the Muslim world (many of whose governments have initiated aggressive family planning programmes).

Indeed, as Muslim women live in Europe, learn the languages, get educated and join the workforce, they become more "European" - or more accurately, like women globally, who, if they have the resources and freedom to control their reproduction, choose to have smaller families.

Of course, if they are marginalised and, along with their male counterparts, not given sufficient chance to become a functioning part of their new societies, this process will happen more slowly, if at all, creating a self-fulfilling cycle of recrimination and disintegration.

From Europe to 'Eurabia'?

Either way, it is clear that Europe is going to become more Muslim in the coming decades. The question is whether in the process it will become more Islamic - that is, publicly religious and impacted by Muslim religious symbols and practices - and which version of Islam will define the emerging European Islam.

Will it be a "Euro-Islam" that respects core liberal values of tolerance, openness and respect for the rule of law, or a "Ghetto Islam" that produces subcultures that are largely isolated and hostile to the European self-image (one which, it must be remembered, largely excludes Muslims in the first place)?

The fear mongers behind the rising tide of Islamophobia in Europe argue that the continent is on the way to becoming "Eurabia" - that is, taken over by a Muslim tide and losing its core Europeanness in the process.

It is hard to know how many Europeans buy into this argument. But, while it is rarely a good idea to generalise, the majority would likely prefer Muslims to assimilate into their host societies, to shed the outward appearances of difference, and not integrate - a process that inevitably changes the host culture as well, as it takes on elements of the newer arrival and, inevitably, loses some of its traditions in the process.

Picture-postcard Europe

It is not surprising that in Switzerland the focus would be on minarets.

More than most countries, Switzerland defines itself by its visual aesthetic. It is the picture postcard of Europe, with nothing out of place, the quintessential European destination.

Never mind that Swiss Muslims are among the least conservative in Europe and that the call to prayer is already banned in Switzerland; the presence of more minarets would call out to the Swiss, saying: "We are here and we're not going anywhere. And we're not just going to assimilate to your culture. We intend to keep core parts of ours as well."

There are just four minarets in Switzerland
at present [EPA]

Thus the referendum slogans calling for a halt to the "Islamisation of Switzerland". The minaret, as a highly visible sign of Islam's presence, becomes a "spearhead" of that Islamisation, "the symbol of political-societal power claim of Islam" as the website of the Swiss People's Party (SVP), the party behind the vote, describes it.

Never mind that most of the claims by the minaret ban's backers about Islam and the demographic threat are inaccurate. Islam, in their view, cannot exist without asserting unique claims to social and ultimately political power, which is why it is an existential threat by its very presence.

Muslims cannot just be; they have to convert others, and the voice of the muezzin "proclaiming down from the minaret" is the most powerful manifestation of this. Or so the backers of the minaret ban imagine.

Even Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, Switzerland's justice minister, admitted that the result "reflects fears among the population of Islamic fundamentalist tendencies," as if one cannot be Islamic without being fundamentalist.

This is the underlying problem in the debate over minarets, hijabs, or yet more troubling, attempts by European Muslims to establish separate courts and laws aligned with their interpretation of sharia to cover personal status issues.

At best, it says Muslims are willing to integrate, not assimilate into European society.

Comparisons to anti-Semitism

In the aftermath of Sunday's vote, many commentators, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, are comparing Islamophobia in Europe today to the anti-Semitism that plagued the continent in the first half of the 20th century.

While understandable, such comparisons miss the fundamental difference between the position of Jews in Europe then and Muslims in Europe today.

Jews had lived in Europe for centuries and, despite anti-Jewish sentiments among huge swaths of Europe's population, were very much a part of their societies' cultures, economies, and increasingly politics.

Indeed, in Germany it was precisely the increasing full participation of Jews in so many parts of national life that made them such an existential threat.

They were Europe's most intimate 'other', inside the very fabric of European identity and increasingly, impossible to tell from "real" Europeans.

As such they became a lethal virus that, in the Nazi logic, had to be eradicated to restore the purity of the race.

The situation for Muslims today is very different.

Muslims are still relatively new to most European societies; at most a couple of generations old. As one Fox news report put it after a riot in Muslim neighbourhoods of the Swedish town of Malmö, they are "outsiders who are already inside" European societies.

What is worrying is that as a new generation of European Muslims come of age and move deeper inside European culture, economies and politics, the fears and prejudices against them will surely grow, especially if, as in Germany of the 1930s, the economic situation continues to deteriorate.

Mass violence against Muslims comparable to that visited against Jews is unimaginable. But as Muslims become, welcomed or not, part of the European fabric, the prejudices against them could begin to take on some of the form of the anti-Semitism that plagued pre-war Europe.

The larger picture

Ultimately, the vote to ban minarets, like other anti-Islamic legislation, is a symptom of a larger problem within contemporary European societies.

It is not just that Europeans are increasingly inhospitable to Muslims and other immigrants. These sentiments reflect the fraying of the social fabric of Europe more broadly, particularly of countries that have had strong recent traditions of social solidarity and welfare.

The larger implications have not been touched on in most of the commentary and reporting in the multi-lingual Swiss media, or the European press more broadly.

Instead, papers such as the German language Neue Zürcher Zeitung, described the vote as a revolt of "the people over the elites" and emphasised the need for rulers to "listen to the people" (a terminology which, in German at least, has alarming historical connotations).

The French language Le Temps questioned: "How can you dialogue when you're crushed by the weight of stereotypes?"

The answer is that people are increasingly scared that their social safety nets are fraying and that life is inexorably going to become harder. And they want quick solutions, not long and complicated dialogues.

And herein lies the real problem underlying the vote. It is not merely about Islam. It is also about the solidification of neo-liberalism economically and conservatism politically across the continent, and ultimately, about globalisation more broadly.

Those in favour of the ban argued minarets represented the Islamification of Europe [AFP]

Together, the political, economic and social dynamics are creating a situation in which governments are less able to deliver the high level of services that post-war Europeans have gotten used to, at the moment that ideologically, people are increasingly unwilling to look out for their fellow citizens' welfare as they did previously - when, of course, they also happened to look, speak and act much more like them.

Sweden, where I'm currently living, has long had one of Europe's most generous welfare states, which is coming under severe strain just as the Muslim population is growing rapidly.

But as a priest who works with immigrants pointed out to me, the unwillingness of Swedes in the wealthy town of Vellinge (to cite one example), to allow a home for child war refugees from Muslim countries in their town owes not merely to a fear or loathing against Muslims.

In the "new" and increasingly inegalitarian Sweden, the emerging wealthy class living comfortably in low tax areas like Vellinge are equally unwilling to pay high taxes to support their fellow Swedes.

Of course, it is much easier to blame it on the Muslims and to continue to push them away even as they find their way inside Europe.

But if history is any guide, Europeans will start out blaming the 'inside other' for their problems, but it will not be too long before their anger, and violence, turns on each other.

Mark LeVine is currently visiting professor at the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies at Lund University, Sweden.

His most recent books include Impossible Peace: Israel/Palestine Since 1989 (Zed Books, 2009) and Reapproaching Borders: New Perspectives on the Study of Israel-Palestine (Rowman Littlefield, 2008).

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/12/20091229223658221.html

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Iran linked to Al-Qaeda, Has WMD & Training Suicide Pilots!

nobody@vox.com(Arian) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:28:46 +0100

FOX ATTACKS: Iran

COURTESY RUPERT MURDOCH'S FOX NEWS

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Honoring Our Parents

nobody@vox.com(Arian) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:56:41 +0100

by Fatih HARPCI

Our parents are the people who provide the most care for us in this world. Unfortunately, most of us often fail to show them the respect they deserve. There are many days set aside in societies to honor and appreciate parents; Father’s Day and Mother’s Day to name just two. Such days appear to be more an effort to make up for duties neglected. In Monotheistic religions—when they are practiced—respecting, honoring and appreciating parents is not something that should be just one day a year, but rather on each and every day. In Islam, parents’ rights are the most venerable rights after those of God. There are many verses in the Qur’an urging Muslims to treat their parents with utmost kindness, to be grateful for the care they have provided, to obey them, and to care for them when they grow old.

Now (among the good deeds), We have enjoined on human is the best treatment towards his parents. His mother bore him in pain, and in pain did she give him birth. The bearing of him and suckling of him (until weaned) is thirty months, When he has finally reached his full manhood and reached forty years of age, he says: “My Lord! Arouse me that I may be thankful for all Your favors (life, health, sustenance, faith, and submission, and more) that You have bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I may do good, righteous deeds with which You will be pleased, and grant me righteous offspring (so that they treat me righteously, as I treat my parents). I have turned to You, and I am one of those who have submitted to You.”

Those are they from whom We will accept (their good deeds in a manner to reward them in accordance with) the best of what they ever did, and whose evil deeds We will overlook, (and include them) among the companions of Paradise. This is a true promise which they have been given (here in the world). (Ahqaf 46:15-16)

One point that should be emphasized here is that while both parents are given importance, the mother ranks before the father in Islam as far as their children are concerned. Prophet Muhammad said: “Paradise lies under the feet of the mother.” However, fathers are never ignored: “The contentment of the father is the door to paradise.”

The teachings of Jesus are no different. The Qur’an describes the miracle of baby Jesus speaking out to prove his blessed mother’s chastity; when Jesus mentions God’s blessings on him, he also emphasizes the importance of being good to one’s parents: …And (God has made me) dutiful towards my mother, and He has not made me unruly, wicked. (Maryam 19:32). Also, one of the Ten Commandments says: “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12). The word “honor” cannot only be defined as feeding parents, clothing them, and helping them get from A to B, because these are acts of charity usually reserved for homeless or poor people. “Honor” means to prize highly, show respect, glorify, or exalt.

From the very moment of conception, and as the child grows and develops it is a duty and responsibility for the parents. It is not possible to estimate the depth of attachment or compassion parents feel for their children nor to calculate the troubles or hardships they undergo as parents. For this reason, respecting the parent is not only a debt of human gratitude, it is also a religious obligation.

Those who can value their parents in the correct way and who regard them as a means for obtaining the mercy of God are the most prosperous in both worlds. Those who, in contrast, regard their parents’ existence as a burden on themselves or who become wearied of them are unfortunate people who will inevitably suffer the severest hardships in life.

The more respectful you are to your parents, the greater the respect and awe you will feel before your Creator. Those who do not feel or show respect to their parents have no fear, awe, or respect of God. However, it is a curious thing that today that it is not only those who are disrespectful to God who fail to show respect to their parents, but also those who claim that they love God. As Martin Luther expressed, we must respect and love God so that we will neither look down upon our parents or superiors, nor irritate them, but rather we will honor them, serve them, obey them, love them, and value them.

The importance of respecting parents, however, extends beyond social welfare to the very welfare of society itself, as the family is the basic unit of society. Just as a body’s health is dependent on the health of the cells, so the vigor of a nation, the body politic, is directly related to the health of the families that make it up. Families form the foundation of a society. Where there is reciprocal respect of rights and obligations within a family, the society will be healthy and strong. It is vain to look for compassion and respect in society once these have been lost.

Fethullah Gülen refers to this neglected value in the following words:

How we treat our parents can be taken as an indication of how our children will learn to treat us. Obviously, we too hope to become old. If we do not honor our parents, then in keeping with the maxim: “let the punishment fit the crime,” our children will not be dutiful towards us. If we treasure life in the Hereafter, this is an important treasure for us: let us be dutiful towards our parents and win their pleasure. However, if it is this world that we love, still let us try to please them, so that through them our life will be easy and our sustenance plentiful. If we want the mercy of the Most Merciful One, we should be merciful towards those in our house who He has entrusted to us.

There are different types of parents, but regardless of how they treat their children, they are still parents. Parents make mistakes too, but that does not decrease their value. While we are still under parental guidance we have to follow what they want, even if it goes against our heart. When we are standing on our own two feet, then we have freedom, but we still have the responsibility to respect our parents. We have to examine the situation, rather than concentrating on our own satisfaction. We have to be kind to our parents, because most of the things they do are for us. Today it is likely that parents are more neglected than in any other period throughout history, even though modern life has provided us with more and more comforts.

Said Nursi drew attention to another aspect of the issue in his Gleams:

There have been many experiences that have given me the certain conviction that, in the same way that infants are sent their sustenance in a wonderful fashion by Divine Mercy because of their impotence, flowing forth from the springs of their mothers’ breasts, so too the sustenance of the believing elderly, who have acquired innocence, is sent in the form of miraculous abundance. The part of a hadith which says, “Were it not for the elderly with their bent backs, calamities would descend on you in floods,” makes clear that a family’s source of abundance is the elderly among it, and it is the elderly who preserve the family from the visitation of calamities.

Since the weakness and powerlessness of old age are the means of attracting Divine mercy to this extent; since the wise Qur’an through the verses – Should one of them, or both, attain old age in your lifetime, do not say ‘Ugh!’ to them (as an indication of complaint or impatience), nor push them away; and always address them in gracious words. Lower to them the wing of humility out of mercy, and say: “My Lord, have mercy on them even as they cared for me in childhood (Isra 17: 23–24),” calls children, in the most wonderfully eloquent fashion, in five ways to be kind and respectful towards their elderly parents; since the religion of Islam orders respect and compassion towards the elderly; since human nature also requires respect and compassion towards the elderly we elderly people certainly enjoy, in place of the temporary physical pleasures roused by appetites of youth, substantial, continual mercy and respect from Divine grace and human innate feelings of tenderness, and the contentment of spirit that arises from such respect and compassion. This being the case, we should not wish to exchange this old age of ours for a hundred youths. I can tell you certainly that if they were to give me ten years of the Old Said’s youth, I would not give in exchange one year of the New Said’s old age. I am content with my old age, and you too should be content with yours.
(Twenty sixth Gleam, ninth hope)

Elderly believers are more deeply aware that the true abode is the eternal one, and turn to God with sincere devotion. Therefore, they present an example to the younger generations with their piety, wisdom, and tolerance. In short, even though we respect our parents for the sake of God, observing their rights and caring for them not only leads to eternal happiness in the Hereafter, but it also provides us with such an inner peace no worldly pursuit can bring. To put it in religious terminology, abiding by the divine commands results in saadat al-darayn—happiness in both abodes.

References

Adil, Furkan, Kudsi ?ki Varl?k: Anne-Baba, ?stanbul: Rehber Yay?nlar?, 2008
Gönüllü, Ömer Said, “Ebeveyn Hukuku ve ?nsan Olma,” S?z?nt?, Issue: 298.
Gülen, Fethullah, Fas?ldan Fas?la 3, ?stanbul: Nil Yay?nlar?, 1997.
Luther, Martin. Martin Luther’s Large and Small Catechism. Translated by F. Benteand W.H.T. Dan. Sioux Falls, SD: Nuvision Publications, 2007.
Nursi Said, The Gleams, “Solace for the Elderly,” New Jersey: Tughra Books, 2008.
Taiwo, Niyi. Respect: Gaining It and Sustaining It. Philadelphia, PA: Xlibris Corporation, 2007.
Unal, Ali, trans. The Qur’an with Annotated Interpretation in Modern English, New Jersey: The Light, 2006.

http://www.fountainmagazine.com/article.php?ARTICLEID=1081

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OUTFOXED: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism

nobody@vox.com(Arian) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:30:34 +0100

Outfoxed examines how media empires, led by Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, have been running a "race to the bottom" in television news. This film provides an in-depth look at Fox News and the dangers of ever-enlarging corporations taking control of the public's right to know. Read on »

The FOX Attacks! Edition DVD also includes the wildly successful FOX Attacks viral video series which continues to expose FOX News.

A message from Producer/Director Robert Greenwald, some press on Outfoxed, and a few letters we've received.

Our special video birthday wishes to FNC on its 10th birthday.

Bill O'Reilly lied about Outfoxed on Tim Russert's show. Here's our video response.

Rupert Murdoch is interviewed about Outfoxed in Doonesbury!

Get director Robert Greenwald's monthly email letter:

Make your own movie: The Outfoxed interviews are available under a Creative Commons license allowing anyone to sample them freely in their own works. Even Fox News. Read on »

Get your Outfoxed gear: t-shirts, mugs and more.

The latest FNC distortions updated 24/7 by the News Hounds:

11/15: Anita Dunn Laughs Off Being a Mao-Lover, Takes Parting Shot at Fox News by Julie
11/14: Fox News Critiques Obama's Parenting Skills by Ellen
11/14: Karl Rove Blames Obama Administration Lawyers “Who Do Not Love America” For Bush Administration’s Failure To Prosecute Khalid Shaikh Mohammed by Ellen

http://www.outfoxed.org/

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