Boycott Israel [IslamCity] Muddled thinking on Darfur
Muddled thinking on Darfur Conor Foley April 16, 2007 11:00 AM http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/conor_foley/2007/04/no_tony_blair_this_is_not_abou.html There are two strange features in the debate about the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. The first is the tendency of supporters of intervention to exaggerate its scale and the second is the frequency with which Iraq and Israel pop up in the discussion. I had been puzzled by this until I read Adam LeBor's book Complicity with Evil, the UN in the age of modern genocide. The main focus of this is on the genocide in Srebrenica and how it could have occurred in the middle of Europe in the 1990s. It is an interesting account, but contains several rather curious omissions and points of interpretation. Most notably, it argues that the UN's failure to demilitarise the town should be considered a victory and fails to make the obvious connection between the indictment of its Bosniac commander for war crimes and the fury with which the victorious Serbs eventually fell upon its population. The book draws numerous comparisons between the Holocaust in Nazi Germany and the subsequent genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda. It also, tangentially - since it is not related to the book's subject matter - attacks the UN for criticising Israel's human rights violations. The central narrative is very clear: persecuted people cannot rely on the international community to save themselves from annihilation. The west will talk but not act, and its high-minded criticisms of those who must fight against their neighbours for survival are just hypocritical cant. LeBor also claims that 400,000 people have died in Darfur, which is higher than figures cited by most other observers. Last week I asked him where he had got the figure from. He told me that he had taken the UN estimate from two years previously and doubled it. In fact this is not quite true. What he actually did was quote a now-defunct US-based lobby group, the Coalition for International Justice, who published a report in April 2005, which it based on interviews with refugees in Chad, and a statistical extrapolation similar to the one used by the Lancet study which concluded that around 650,000 people had died since the US invasion of Iraq. The figure may well be accurate, but the politics of the discussion are revealing. Darfur has become a major issue in US domestic politics mainly due to the lobbying of a group of human rights and religious organisations. The Coalition for International Justice had been instrumental in persuading the US government to declare that the situation in Darfur amounted to genocide although this was not supported by a UN Commission of Inquiry, which published its own report in February 2005. For LeBor, and others such as Peter Tatchell, Nick Cohen and Glenn Reynolds, the UN's failure to pronounce that Darfur is a genocide is another example of its failure to uphold human rights. LeBor implies the commission was leaned on. Tatchell says it was just down to racism. One cannot help wonder whether the global indifference to the slaughter in Darfur has anything to do with the fact that the victims are black, he says. What everyone agrees is that the majority of deaths have been from malnutrition and disease, rather than direct violence, yet last week when I queried an assertion that 400,000 black African Muslims had been slaughtered by the Sudanese government and Janjaweed militia, a blogger at Harry's Place accused me of genocide denial and belittling mass murder. You almost make me ashamed of my Irish origins, he concluded. Were this confined to debates in cyberspace it would not be so serious. Unfortunately, it also seems to have become a hallmark of Tony Blair's foreign policy. A couple of weeks ago sources in Downing Street let it be known that Blair was pushing the UN security council to authorise military strikes against the Sudanese air force to enforce a no-fly zone over Darfur. The proposal has been widely derided by military experts and a Ministry of Defence official was quick to insist that there are absolutely no plans for any UK military action at all in Sudan or the Darfur region of Sudan, yet a senior Blair aide restated that the UK might be prepared to act unilaterally if its plans did not receive UN approval. The prime minister believes in a values-driven foreign policy and believes you have to evenly apply those values to have any credibility. He sees Darfur as a test of the international community's commitment to its own values. The only point that I can see to this type of spin, gesture and make-believe is that it is intended to make Blair seem tougher than the UN. International Development Secretary, Hilary Benn, who has played an active part in the attempts to find a negotiated solution to the Darfur crisis, has very pointedly distanced himself from this type
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] William Kate: Excluding Catholics narrows his choice
*Prince William and Kate Middleton: Excluding Catholics narrows his choice.* By Mary Kenny - Common People: No one knows why Prince William and Kate Middleton have split up. But that hasn't stopped a frenzy of speculation, most of it focused on Kate's middle-class family - particularly her mother, a gum-chewing former flight attendant. - Royals will have to modernise if bachelor prince is ever to wed. - Marry young: matrimony is wasted on the old. - Prince William's love life pales against the long princely tradition of indiscretions with actresses, prostitutes and other men's wives - Indeed, if it is the young Prince's own view that 24 is too young to be married, then I would suggest this may be a mistake. IT CAME as something of a surprise, as well as a disappointment in many quarters, that there is to be no Royal marriage between Prince William and Miss Kate Middleton. Last Christmas, the London media had taken it as read that Kate was the one destined to be the next Princess of Wales: why, she had been living with William in a cohabitation situation. And, far from outraging protocol and decorum, she had been invited to Balmoral at Christmas to be part of the family. Wedding memorabilia featuring William and Kate in advance of the expected nuptials was all ready to be released on the market. But it is not to be. One way or the other it seems they have decided to call the whole thing off: and it seems it was William's decision. The breakup has attracted a huge media focus - particularly in America where it made headline news all day yesterday. Well, the future of dynasties can hang on the choice, or rejection, of a spouse. And yet, it probably isn't a good idea for William to remain a bachelor for too long. As the great constitutionalist Bagheot pointed out, young princes are apt to get into trouble if left too much to their own devices: they are widely flattered and have many opportunities to get into scrapes. On a level of ordinary psychology, too, young men who have lost their mother early often feel the need to marry young and construct their own family life. It is at this juncture, surely, that it must be compelling to suggest a revision of the Royal Marriage Act of 1700 which forbids the heir to the British throne to marry a Roman Catholic. He may marry a Muslim, a Jew, a Buddhist or a Hindu: he may marry a practitioner of witchcraft. But he may not wed a Roman Catholic, and anyone in line to the British throne who does so, or becomes a Catholic (such as Lord Nicholas Windsor, the Duke of Kent's son) must renounce all connection with succession. The reason why this prohibition on Catholics exists is historic: the Stuart dynasty, who were replaced by the Hanovers, were Catholic, and the ban on Papists was drawn up partly to stop the Stuarts from reclaiming the throne. The British monarchy was thus established as a Protestant institution, and the monarch must take an oath to uphold and defend the Reformed faith at the coronation. This is all understandable, from a historical point of view; but I would suggest it has contributed to William's problems. The range of individuals that a Crown Prince may marry is, by definition, somewhat narrow. And excluding all Roman Catholics narrows it down even more. It might, for example, be quite sensible for William to marry someone from a similar background to his own. It is always, in general, better to marry someone with whom you have something in common. And it's likely a young woman from a similar background might be more robust about handling the goldfish effect - of living in the public eye. A similar background means someone from another royal family. But the rules of the game, as they stand, automatically exclude any Catholic princesses floating around Europe. The Belgian, Luxembourgeois, Spanish and Monagasque royals are a potential source of such candidates who might have made a match for William. A Protestant princess would be ideal, but apart from Madeleine of Sweden, aged 23, these are somewhat thin on the ground, since the Nordics have produced more boys than girls in William's generation. Kate Middleton came from a very respectable family, but there are claims, now, that her mother, Carole, was ambitiously forcing the pace of the relationship, and would do anything to keep it in place. It seems to me that William should marry, while he is young enough to approach it with optimism and fortitude. His father obviously waited too long, and was already set in his ways by his 30s. William is not, after all, just another young man who may do as he pleases, but someone with a future constitutional responsibility. Yet who knows? William and Kate may get back together again when this episode is all over. It often happens that young lovers find, after a separation, that their hearts yearn for each other still. But one thing we can count on: while he remains a bachelor, Prince William will continue to be at the centre of enormous public and
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] Pakistan political report--Syed Munawar Hasan'saddress
Syed Munawar Hasan address to workshop Lahore, April 15: Secretary General Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Syed Munawar Hasan has termed General Pervez Musharraf the most unpopular ruler in history of Pakistan. Demanding his resignation the JI leader said people's hatred against the uniformed president is on continuous rise because fundamental rights of the masses are seriously compromised by his regime. He was addressing Jamaat-e-Islami workers' training workshop here at Mansoorah on Sunday. Workers from across Pakistan attended the workshop which is regular feature of the party's training wing. Syed Munawar Hasan was of the view that an individual in the military uniform has hijacked the resources of Pakistan at gunpoint. Syed Munawar Hasan said the unconstitutional rule of General Musharraf and subsequent exercise of power in arbitrary manner has made the country fun in the comity of nations. The JI leader took strong exception to the treatment meted out to non-functional chief justice by calling him to camp office by President Pervez Musharraf. This has landed the country in very critical situation as the looming large judicial crisis is taking a heavy toll of our national life. He believed the lawyers' movement for the restoration of independence and dignity of judiciary. Stressing the need for greater unity in ranks of political parties, Syed Munawar Hasan said the military dictator would face humiliating defeat provided all the shades of political spectrum join hands together. The lawyers' unprecedented unity and masses full support for their drive has baffled the rulers in Islamabad. They are resorting to raids and arrest of political workers to overpower their failure touching new heights every day. Such dictatorial measures mock his tall claim to promote tolerance and democracy in the country. Central Information Department JAMAAT-E-ISLAMI PAKISTAN Mansoorah, Multan Road, Lahore (Pakistan) Ph. :+92-42-541 9520-4, Fax : +92-42-543 7950 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] URL: www.jamaat.org Lahore, April 15: Secretary General Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Syed Munawar Hasan has termed General Pervez Musharraf the most unpopular ruler in history of Pakistan. Demanding his resignation the JI leader said people's hatred against the uniformed president is on continuous rise because fundamental rights of the masses are seriously compromised by his regime. He was addressing Jamaat-e-Islami workers' training workshop here at Mansoorah on Sunday. Workers from across Pakistan attended the workshop which is regular feature of the party's training wing. Syed Munawar Hasan was of the view that an individual in the military uniform has hijacked the resources of Pakistan at gunpoint. Syed Munawar Hasan said the unconstitutional rule of General Musharraf and subsequent exercise of power in arbitrary manner has made the country fun in the comity of nations. The JI leader took strong exception to the treatment meted out to non-functional chief justice by calling him to camp office by President Pervez Musharraf. This has landed the country in very critical situation as the looming large judicial crisis is taking a heavy toll of our national life. He believed the lawyers' movement for the restoration of independence and dignity of judiciary. Stressing the need for greater unity in ranks of political parties, Syed Munawar Hasan said the military dictator would face humiliating defeat provided all the shades of political spectrum join hands together. The lawyers' unprecedented unity and masses full support for their drive has baffled the rulers in Islamabad. They are resorting to raids and arrest of political workers to overpower their failure touching new heights every day. Such dictatorial measures mock his tall claim to promote tolerance and democracy in the country. Central Information Department JAMAAT-E-ISLAMI PAKISTAN Ph. :+92-42-541 9520-4, Fax : +92-42-543 7950 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] URL: www.jamaat.org
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] HIJAAB IN THE LIGHT OF QURAN AND HADITH
QUESTION: I would like to know about Hijab in the light of Qur'an Hadith as how our Muslim women should cover their body? Some people are saying that covering of face is not necessary and also not prescribed through our religion and thus only body can be covered. What are the opinions of most prominent Islamic scholars or four Imams? ANSWER: Is it necessary for a woman to cover her face in the presence of strangers (who are not her designated Mahaarim) according to Shariáh? This question is answered in this article in the context of the claim that the veil or Niqaab is primarily 'a social requirement and custom according to the environment and custom, and according to the environment and customs of a particular country.' In endeavouring to answer the question, we will confine ourselves to a brief examination of the relevant Qurãnic verses. Surah An-Nur, Verses 30 and 31 'And Say to the believing women to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts) and not to show off their adornment except only that which is apparent (like both eyes for necessity to see the way, or outer palms of hands or one eye or dress like veil, gloves, head-cover, apron), and to draw their veils all over Juyubihinna (i.e. their bodies, faces, necks and bossoms) and not to reveal their adornment except to their husbands, or their fathers, or their husband's fathers, or their sons, or their husband's sons, or their brothers or their brother's sons, or their sister's sons, or their (Muslim women) (i.e. sisters in Islam), or the (female) slaves whom their right hands possess, or old male servants who lack vigour, or small children who have no sense of feminine sex. And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And all of you beg Allah to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful' It is apparent that upon a plain reading the purpose of the verse is to eradicate promiscuity, fornication and adultery and all the preliminary steps that lead directly to the commission of such shameful acts. The references to 'lowering their gaze', 'drawing their veils over their bosoms' and 'striking their feet to draw attention' indicate that all acts or omissions which in the ordinary course leads directly to sexual promiscuity and FITNAH are forbidden. In order to totally eradicate sexual promiscuity and FITNAH, the verse goes on to say that a woman is not permitted to display her beauty and charms except in degrees to her husband, father and the other classes of person specified in the verse. The exempt class would constitute the MAHAARIM, and any other would qualify as strangers or GHAIR MAHRAM. The principle fixed by the verse is, therefore that a woman cannot display her beauty to any male person other than the persons exempted by the verse. It goes without saying that the face is the focal-point of a woman's beauty, and the main source of attraction. Hence, the face of a woman cannot be displayed or shown to a stranger in normal circumstances whether in public or private according to the general principle fixed by the verse as stated above. She is permitted to display her beauty to the exempt class (the MAHAARIM) for obvious reasons of close contact, and because of the considerably lesser danger of sexual promiscuity and FITNAH within that class. (Zamakhshari) The Shariáh, however, is practical, dynamic and takes into account the real situations of life. A woman may in the case of genuine need be forced to expose her face in the presence of strangers. For example, when she appears in court to give witness, etc. It is against this background that the preceding portion of the verse 'they should not display their beauty and charms except what must ordinarily appear unavoidable' falls into proper perspective. The words 'Illaa maa dhahara min'haa' are in context an exception to the general rule, and cover those cases of genuine need and necessity when a woman is forced to expose her face in the presence of a stranger. That is how the great commentators of the Noble Qurãn have interpreted the verse. Take the following two examples, 'Women must not display any part of their beauty and charms to strangers except what cannot possibly be concealed.' (Ibn Katheer) 'Why is the woman permitted to display her external beauty and charms? Because to conceal that would cause her inconvinience. A woman is forced to deal in commodities with her own hands. She is compelled by genuine need to expose her face especially at the times of giving evidence, litigating in court and marriage. She is compelled to walk the streets and expose her feet, especially poor women. This is the meaning of 'illaa maa dhahara min'haa' that is 'except what the situations of ordinary life compel her to expose'. (Zamakhshari) A further point is the interpretation of 'illaa maa dhahara min'haa' has been highlighted by the well known scholar, Moulana Ashraf Ali
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] Fw: A Final Solution Of Rohingya Problem Is Needed-editorial of Asia Post
A Final Solution Of Rohingya Problem Is Needed UNB Has reported that Foreign Affairs Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury has said this government will address the problem of Rohingya refugees in earnest with a view to resolving the crisis. The foreign adviser said this while he was speaking to the media following a meeting with Pia Prytz Phiri, representative of the UN High Commission for Refugees. We discussed how bilaterally the UNHR can work together with the government to meet these concerns, Pia Phiri observed while speaking to the media. We feel that it is necessary to solve this long standing problem of Rohingya refugees finally. This issue is continuing since the later part of nineteen seventies, for the last 30 years. The domestic situation in Myanmar has forced these refugees to Bangladesh, a few times they came in floods and in other times they came in trickles. The lasting solution is restoration of democracy and human rights in Myanmar. The leader of the opposition, who is also a noble laureate, is in house arrest for the last 15 years. Without restoration of democracy the problems of minorities in Myanmar can not be solved as their history has shown. The UN and major powers should try to solve the problem seriously. Bangladesh as a neighbor can offer a helping hand in this regard.( editorial of Asia Post,Dhaka,17.4.07)
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] HONESTY HAS A NAME: HELENA INDEPENDENT RECORD
HONESTY HAS A NAME: HELENA INDEPENDENT RECORD Assalamu aleikum. Of all the media in the United States, the only one with honesty to clearly mark yesterday's Virginia Tech slaughter as an act of terror is the Helena Independent Record of Montana. News editors usually retitle articles that are sent them by the major news services. While reprinting the Associated Press article by Adam Geller (below) the editor of the Helena Independent Record retitled the article as Terror has a name: Cho Seung-Hui. So far, of all the thousands of corporate news outlets this is the only editor with the gumption to characterize the situation as it really is. --- - cartoon: Virginia Tech rampage (by Latuff) http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2007/04/17/virginiatechrampage.jpg - Terror has a name: Cho Seung-Hui By ADAM GELLER Associated Press via Helena Independent Record April 17, 2007 http://www.helenair.com/articles/2007/04/17/national_top/000ashoot.txt BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) - A Virginia Tech senior from South Korea was behind the massacre of at least 30 people locked inside a campus building in the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history, the university said Tuesday. Ballistics tests also show that one of the guns inside that building was used in another shooting two hours earlier, at a dorm, Virginia State Police said. Police identified the shooter as Cho Seung-Hui, 23, a senior from South Korea who was in the English department at Virginia Tech and lived on campus. It's certainly reasonable to assume that Cho was the shooter in both cases, but authorities haven't made the link for sure, said Col. Steve Flaherty, superintendent of the Virginia State Police. A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the information had not been announced, said Cho was carrying a backpack that contained receipts for a March purchase of a Glock 9 mm pistol. http://www.helenair.com/articles/2007/04/17/national_top/000ashoot.txt
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] National Appeal....Good News...Baitul Salaam
As Salaamu Alaikum, We want to first thank all of you who have given over the years. Your generosity has meant a lot. We have had our challenges however we are continuing to serve our community and the general public. We are very close to receiving funds from public sources and just need to keep our doors open through the summer in order to receive these funds. Visit _www.baitulsalaam.net_ (http://www.baitulsalaam.net) for all updates and to view our financial reports. We are now on a campaign to build our support base from approximately 267 to 400 as quickly as possible, insh'Allah. If 400 people nationwide would give $10 per month ($2.50 per week) our doors can remain open to serve our sisters and children who find themselves temporarily displaced. Can we count on you? Send all donations to: Baitul Salaam Network, Inc. PO Box 11041 Atlanta, GA 30310 ma salaam Sr. Hadayai Majeed Administrator Baitul Salaam Network, Inc. ** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] I know exactly how Diana died.
*OK, OK, I'll come clean: I know exactly how Diana died.* By Boris Johnson Boris Johnson is British MP for Henley What joy, what rapture unforeseen! In a decision of almost complete insanity the Court of Appeal has decided that the inquest into the deaths of Diana and Dodi must be held with a jury, and the celebrations are under way. For legions of fat-cat lawyers, it's going to be a binge of expense accounts and refreshers. For the interpreters, the taxi drivers, the hoteliers who will help to look after the dozens of witnesses who will be flown over from Paris, it's going to be more lucrative than anything since Londonderry held the Savile inquiry. For the journalists, there will be yards of simply eye-popping copy. There will be sex, death, Nazis, the secret service, the clash of civilisations between Islam and the West - and there will be royals, royals, royals! And there, in the middle of it all, will be Mo Fayed, the brooding Pharaoh of Alexandria. With his Tourette's-style profanities and his rib-tickling denunciations of Nazi Prince Philip, he's going to be the biggest thing to sell newspapers since - well, since Diana. Trebles all round, boys! Is there a loser? Well yes, my friends, we are all losers - and not just as taxpayers. In granting Fayed both an inquest and a jury, we have made British justice look like a rich man's toy. However sympathetic we may be to Mr Fayed for the loss of his son, we must surely accept that no ordinary citizen could expect to secure an inquest into a 10-year-old open-and-shut case of drink driving. As the appeal court judges made pathetically clear, they are bowing to pressure from Fayed and giving credence to his absurd fantasies. It is very rare for a jury to be empanelled for an inquest. It happens in only three per cent of cases. It happens when there is evidence - evidence - that the death occurred in police custody, or at the hands of some other emanation of the state. Is there any such evidence in this case? Gah. Almost 10 years ago, Diana, Princess of Wales and her then boyfriend died in a tragic car accident. Their chauffeur, Henri Paul, had more than twice the British limit of alcohol in his bloodstream. He was going much too fast. Neither Dodi nor Diana was wearing a seatbelt. C'est tout, as the French authorities rapidly concluded. Since then, Mohamed Fayed has deployed all his energy and cash to prove that there was a conspiracy, and in some ways he is like so many other sad victims of bereavement. Not only is he unable to come to terms with his loss; he is tormented with the unmentionable thought that he is himself partly at fault. It was his organisation, his Ritz chauffeur, that proved so disastrously inadequate. Fayed is very human and unexceptional in his refusal to face this, his utter determination to cast the blame elsewhere. What makes him different is his wealth, his ability to promote these mad obsessions through the judicial system. It is scarcely credible that an inquest was opened in 2003, given that the facts were so clearly established. But we live in an increasingly mushy-minded age, in which the rights of victims' families are held to be ever more sacred. It is in furtherance of those rights that inquests are increasingly concerned with apportioning blame - even when no good whatever can come from the exercise - and one way or another it is usually possible to claim that blame lies with the state. It was by repeating this central claim, demented though it patently is, that Fayed was able to justify his call for an inquest; and it was by harping on the same point that he has now secured a jury - with all the ghastly showboating that involves. His lawyer, Michael Mansfield QC, has already demanded that the proceedings be held in Westminster Central Hall, so as to accommodate the thousands of Diana-worshippers who will want to attend. The coroner, Lady Justice Butler-Sloss, deserves a medal for at first telling Fayed there was no need for a jury, since she could see no evidence whatever of any state involvement in the death of his son. In this world of bogus sentimentality, she is a model of real compassion and common sense; and it makes one weep to read the ruling of the three judges who overturned her. They say it is important that the wishes of the Fayed family (i.e. Mo) should be taken into account. Why? Would the wishes of any of us be taken into account if we spun a cock-and-bull story about the death of a relative, and alleged that MI6 and Nazi Prince Philip were involved? Lord Stevens has just spent £3.6 million and 800 pages proving that Fayed's claims are baloney. So why did the appeal court yield? Because in a spineless way they seem to believe that public opinion demands it, and that without a jury, Lady Justice Butler-Sloss would be accused of some kind of establishment cover-up. What feeble reasoning. Yes, there are millions of mutton-headed readers of tabloid tripe, and, yes, they have been conditioned to
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] HARD TO BRING SAFETY HOME, STILL USA WANT TO SECURE THE WORLD!!!
UNSAFE AMERICA, HARD TO BRING SAFETY AND SECURITY IN HOME - AND USA WANT TO BRING SAFETY IN IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, SOMALIA, PALESTINE, KASHMIR, RUSSIA AND CHINA. WHO IS FOOLING WHO? Gunman kills 31 at US university The campus has now been closed and students evacuated Scene of shootings A gunman has gone on the rampage at the campus of Virginia Tech university in Virginia, US, killing at least 31 people and injuring another 10. Police say there were two separate shooting incidents - at West Ambler Johnston Hall, a student dormitory, and Norris Hall, an engineering building. Police say they believe there was one gunman and that he is dead. After the deadliest shooting at a US school, President George W Bush said the US was shocked and saddened. Schools should be places of safety and sanctuary and learning. When that sanctuary is violated, the impact is felt in every American classroom and every American community, he added. The state university in the town of Blacksburg is home to 26,000 students. Click here to see a map of Virginia Tech campus The shooter shot the door twice at chest level, which resulted in two holes in the door, one of which hit the podium in the front of the classroom Nikolas Macko, student Shooter tried the door E-mail witness accounts Virginia Tech police chief Wendell Flinchum said that emergency services had received a call at 0715 (1215 GMT) alerting them to a multiple shooting at West Ambler Johnston Hall. He said that two hours later there was a second report of shooting, this time at Norris Hall. Eyewitnesses locked down inside the university buildings have been using the internet to try to glean information about what is happening and many have emailed the BBC News website. Nikolas Macko was in a mathematics class in Norris Hall when they heard a series of loud bangs in the hallway which prompted a female student sitting near the door to move to close it. WORST US SCHOOLS SHOOTINGS 1 August 1966 - Sniper Charles Whitman kills 14 people and injures dozens at University of Texas 20 April 1999 - Two teenagers at Columbine High School, Colorado, kill 13 before killing themselves 21 March 2005 - A teenager on an Indian reservation in Red Lake, Minnesota, kills nine In pictures: Virginia shootings Timeline: US school shootings She peeked out into the hallway, and saw the shooter, so she immediately closed the door. Three other students moved a table that was in front of the room - it seats approximately 40 students at capacity - and barricaded it against the door. A few seconds later, the shooter tried to open the door, but my classmates kept it well shut, as they held the table against it from floor level. The shooter shot the door twice at chest level, which resulted in two holes in the door, one of which hit the podium in the front of the class room and the other continued out the window. At this point he reloaded, shot the door again - this shot did not penetrate - and moved on to the other classrooms, Mr Macko added. A fleet of ambulances has ferried the injured to nearby hospitals. However, rescue efforts were
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] OPEN LETTER TO MEDIA HYPOCRITES FROM ISLAMIC COMMUNITY NET
OPEN LETTER TO MEDIA HYPOCRITES FROM ISLAMIC COMMUNITY NET Assalamu aleikum. Local Virginia news media: gunman Associated Press: gunman Reuters: gunman AFP: shooter Fox: shooter Dajjal Bush: horrified at shooting These are the terms dajjal Bush and his corporate media hacks are deploying for the maniac (or maniacs, there is some suggestion that at least two are involved) who today massacred at least 22 students at Virginia Tech University - and wounded at least 20 more. Search through all the articles below and you will find one term that is definitely missing: TERRORIST. And even though the TERRORIST massacred over twenty people in a bloody college massacre of historic proportion, he won't actually be called a TERRORIST - not unless and until he (or they) turns out [may Allah (S.W.T.) forbid it] to be a Muslim. In that latter case, of course, he (or they) will THEN be called a TERRORIST. Because according to the supine corporate media that subserves the regime of dajjal Bush, we Muslims are the only TERRORISTS. No one else is, no matter how many they massacre, no matter how horrific the circumstances. Now, it's true that most TERRORISTS don't strike at college campuses. So, here's a clue to the corporate media hypocrites from Islamic Community Net about where to find TERRORISTS: http://www.patandkat.com/pat/weblog/images/suspected-terrorist-button.jpg Please note that 5 articles follow: *22 dead in VT shootings (Virginia Daily Press hypocrites) *Gunman Kills 21 at Virginia Tech (Associated Press hypocrites) *At least 20 killed in Virginia Tech shooting: official (Reuters hypocrites) *Shooting on US campus leaves multiple victims (AFP hypocrites) *Police: At Least 21 Dead After Virginia Tech University Shooting (Fox hypocrites) --- (1) 22 dead in VT shootings VIDEO: Gunman dead after shootings at Ambler Johnston, Norris Hall BY MIKE HOLTZCLAW (757) 928-6479 April 16, 2007 http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-sou--virginiatechshoo0416apr16,0,97940.story?coll=dp-widget-news At least 22 Virginia Tech students are dead and many others have been injured in a pair of campus shootings this morning. Initial reports said there was only one fatality, but at a noon news conference campus officials announced that there were more than 20, and more than two dozen others injured. At the news conference, the officials also said the gunman himself was dead, though earlier reports had him in police custody. In TV news reports, witnesses described the gunman as a young Asian man. At least one local student, Denbigh Baptist graduate Matt Webster, was among those shot. According to family friends, Webster was shot in the arm while attending a class. The extent of his injuries was not known, but they are reportedly not life-threatening. The assaults took place in the West Amblin Johnston Hall dormitory and the Norris Hall classroom building. None of the victims or suspects has been identified by police. Police have one shooter in custody, and as part of routine police procedure they continue to search for a second shooter, the university said in a written statement. The first shooting occurred at West Ambler Johnston Hall, a co-ed dormitory with 895 students. The second shooting was at Norris Hall a short time later. Steve Mehr, a Virginia Tech freshman from Tabb High School, said he knew something was wrong before he heard about the shooting. I was walking home from my 9 o'clock class and hearing sirens everywhere, he said. I had no idea what it was about, but people were running to their dorms and the buildings were locked down, so you had to have your key card to get in If that's happening, you know something's going on. Mehr described the campus as being in a very hectic state. He said he has a friend on the fourth floor of West Ambler Johnston Hall, where the first shooting took place. As he spoke by phone from his fifth-floor dorm room in Pritchard Hall, he looked out the window and described heavily armed police officers on the grounds. At one point, he said he heard gunfire -- a lot of gunfire -- but he later said the officers appeared to be checking the area. Brenden Hill of Newport News, who graduated from Virginia Tech in December and still lives just off campus, was still waiting for more information on the shootings, which prompted university officials to lock down the campus. The weather has been so bad out here that I don't know if a lot of students were out in the first place, Hill said. The weird thing is that we've had some bomb threats the last couple of weeks, and everybody is a little frustrated with the Blacksburg Police Department. The campus police is usually pretty good about getting information out to us, but there's very limited information being distributed on this thing today. On Friday, a bomb threat on campus forced the cancellation of classes in three buildings, and earlier this month the Torgerson Hall dormitory was evacuated after a bomb threat. Hill, a football
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] Toward an Adamic Education:
Toward an Adamic Education: If it has not been a fatalistic mentality of this is the way things simply are, then it has been our weak theoretical foundations, simplistic interpretation, and intemperate application of an Islamic pedagogy that has been the greatest challenge to Islamic schools in North America. The lack of a clearly articulated Islamic pedagogy and what that entails for both the purpose and practice of Islamic education within the modern West must be addressed with a sense of urgency. [...] We have chosen to adopt the term Adamic Education from Abdal Hakim Murad (T.J. Winter), as opposed to the commonly used term Islamic Education to illustrate the roots of an Islamic education and also its relevance to the greater discourse on education.Western epistemologies refer to the moment that Adam was sent from the heavens to spend the remainder of his life on earth as the great Fall. That single moment of ignorance where Adam ate from the forbidden tree and therefore earned himself the consequence of being sent to earth is understood in the Islamic epistemology as an ascent, not a fall. Islamically, Adams physical displacement from heaven to earth is understood as an ascent because spiritually he was raised from a state of ignorance to one of knowledge. Through a process of education, Adam was raised in status in becoming Allahs khalifa (vicegerent) on earth and the angels bowed to him. It is therefore this process of education and move from a state of disobedience to obedience that raised Adam in status to an Adamic state. The process of becoming educated is not a forward motion toward things unknown, rather it is a search for knowledge that will bring an individual back toward their fitra (natural state of purity). All education is a re-education a reclamation of a pure state of being again. It is a process of recognizing the magnanimity of the Creator of His Oneness (Tawheed). All forms of knowledge that bring an individual closer to that state of understanding are considered educative. There is no distinction, as Imam al- Ghazzali notes, between knowledge that is considered secular or that which is considered religious. Ahsan states in a beautiful metaphor that within Islam, all areas of knowledge are like branches of a single tree rooted in the cognition and awareness of God. Learning is for the purpose of attaining a state of being, whether that is achieved through learning about photosynthesis or prayer, the intent is the same. Learning(taallum) is a form of worship (ibaada) that proclaims an individuals slave hood(ubudiyyah) to the Creator. It is no different than fasting and prayer because all of them are processes of returning and regaining what we have lost. An Adamic Education therefore, alters the purpose of schooling entirely. It is about human transformation and not merely about the transmission of knowledge. The acquisition of knowledge as an act of worship makes learning into a sacred event. Everything about the class is treated with a sense of reverence, dignity, and austerity;utterly unlike the modern educational experience. saiyed shahbazi www.shahbazcenter.org
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] This will interest students of the Quran
Review published in The Muslim World Book Review 27:I, 2006. TAMPERING WITH THE TEXT AND MEANING OF THE QURAN. By Mahmood Y Abdullah, Leicester, UK: Academia Press, 2005. pp. 128. ISBN 0-9528889-1-2. Mahmood Y Abdullah has done a good job in drawing attention to the mischievous attempt by Rashad Khalifa in the 1980s to question on flimsy grounds the authenticity of the Quranic text and Hadith corpus. Khalifa, an Egyptian student of science, who emigrated to the US at a young age, shot into fame initially with publications on the Quran which pandered to the commoners taste and made tall claims that caught peoples fancy. The sensationalist title of this work is illustrative: The Computer Speaks: Gods Message to the World (1980). Its contents read as follows: Secret code of the Quran decoded. Meanings of the Qurans mysterious letters unveiled. Verse by verse details of the Qurans numerical code While parading his mastery over computer technology, which was new to the Muslim masses in the 1980s, he sought to employ the numerical theory, asserting that the computer establishes the miraculous nature of the Quran. This claim uses the number 19 and it multiples as the basis of his argument. By carrying out computer analysis of the numerical value of words and verses in the Quran, it is shown that these revolve around the number 19. However, in his publication, The Quran: The Final Scripture (1981) he made outrageous claim that in view of his dubious number 19 theory, the last two verses of Surah al-Tawbah are not part of the Quranic text, and hence these are later day accretions. He had the audacity to reject the entire corpus of Hadith and Sunnah. Some Muslim scholars were quick to point to the serious flaws in Khalifas approach. Special mention may be made in this context of the following critical pieces: i) Anis Ahmad, The miracle called the Quran at the mercy of Charlatans, al-Ittehad, 15/2 (April 1978); ii) Bilal Philips, The Quran Numerical Miracle: Hoax and Heresy (Riyadh, 1987) and iii) S. M. Darshs review of Philips refutation in the Muslim World Book Review 10/3, Spring 1990, pp. 22-23. Of late, new editions of Khalifas tendentious works have appeared in the USA and his work is being vigorously publicized on the internet. Mahmood Y Abdullah has therefore done an excellent job in alerting the readers, once again, to the mischief created by Khalifa. Abdullahs critique is wide-ranging and convincing. Of special value are his comments on Khalifas Hadithophobia, his garbled version of the concept of intercession and his delusion about the finality of the Prophet Muhammads Messengership. Apart from Khalifas writings, Milton Viorsts In the Shadow of the Prophet: The struggle for the Soul of Islam (New York, 1998) is also reviewed in this work, drawing attention to Viorsts misperceptions about the Quran and Sirah. Abdullah deserves credit for his pious effort. FURTHER DETAILS: http://www.human-rights-in-islam.co.uk/ - Yahoo! Mail is the world's favourite email. Don't settle for less, sign up for your freeaccount today.
Boycott Israel [IslamCity] Death the Destroyer of Desires
Death the Destroyer of Desires Death is not the absolute end. It is just the discontinuation of unity between the body and soul. It is a change from one state to another and a transition from this present life to that of the hereafter. The purpose of our existence is the worship of Allah as mentioned in the Book of Allah: And I [Allaah] created not the Jinns and Men except that they should worship Me [alone] Soorah az-Zariyat (51): 56 This life, which we are living, is the testing ground for which there shall be only two consequences, Paradise or Hellfire. Unfortunately more than often we disregard death, as we are so attached to this world and the love of which has been established in our hearts. Certainly, they see it as distant, but We see it as near Soorah al-Ma'arij (70): 6-7 Death only becomes a reality when a close beloved one dies. The heart feels heavy, the eyes shed tears and there is, at that moment, a present fear of death. If we were to spend even a single moment each day thinking about death, it would bring forth many concerns? The greatest being our Hereafter: He Who has created death and life, that He may test you, which of you is best in deed. Al-Mulk (67):21 So we stop and consider what we are doing with our time and where we are heading, and then realize that much of it is wasted in light talk, in laughing, in pursuing that which is not going to benefit our Hereafter.One of the Salaf said: Three characteristics are from Eemaan: Modesty, Chastity and Withholding of the tongue, not the with holding of the heart and actions. These are things which cause gain in the Hereafter and loss in this life, and what is gained in the next life is greater than what is lost in this world. [Re ported by Abdur-Razzaaq in his Musannaf from A'oon ibn 'Abdullaah] This World in comparison with the world to come is just like one of you putting his finger in the sea. Let him consider what it returns with. Saheeh Muslim (eng. trans. vol.4 p.l486 no.6843 The Prophet Muhammad (sallahu alihi wa-sallam) explained how this world is not even worth the wing of a mosquito! And how small is a mosquito, and then the wing of a mosquito- so what is the worth of the world we run after and are dearly attached to? The Messenger of Allaah (sallahu alihi wa-sallam) referred to death as 'the destroyer of desires. [Sunan at-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah Nasaai and authenticated by Sheikh al-Albanee in al-Mishkaat (1/1607)] Because when each one of us remembers the awesome reality of death and what is to follow after that, our present desires and wordy concerns seem so insignificant and futile, and the life of the Hereafter becomes our goal and we become interested in the means to attain that goal. We find that the Companions of the Prophet (sallahu alihi wa-sallam) excelled on this point and were not deluded by the amusements of this world, knowing that love for this world would injure their Paradise. Hence, they faced trials and every hardship with the knowledge that a weighty judgement was yet to come and a full compensation yet to be paid - so they had hope and fear in Allaah, without exaggerated optimism or disparity. O you who believe! What is the matter with you, that when you are asked to march forth in the cause of Allaah [ie. Jihaad] you cling heavily to the earth? Are you pleased with the life of this world rather than the Hereafter? [Soorah at-Taubah (9):38] Regarding the shaheed (martyr), the Prophet (sallahu alihi wa-sallam) said: Nobody who enters Paradise will (ever like to) return to this world, even if be were offered everything on the surface of the earth, except the martyr who will desire to return to this world and be killed ten times for the sake of the great honor that has been bestowed upon him. [Saheeh Muslim (eng. trans. vol.3 p.1045 no.4635)] Let us see how these words affected the hearts and lives of the Companions, as we reflect upon one Companion in particular, who was guaranteed Paradise, Talhah ibn 'Ubaidullaah.. Whoever wishes to look upon a martyr walking the face of the earth, then let him look upon Talhah ibn 'Ubaidullaah. [Sunan at-Tirmidhi al-Haakim. Authenticated by Shaikh al-Albaanee in his as-Saheehah ( no.126)] The Prophet (sallahu alihi wa-sallam) said to Talhah when his fingers were struck by arrows in protecting the Prophet (sallahu alihi wa-sallam) at Uhud, as he let out an exclamation of pain: If yow had said. 'In the name of Allaah', then the Angels would have raised you up while the people were looking on at you. (And in another narration he added): until they entered you into the sky. [Sunan an-Nasaai. The addition is from al-Baihaaqee. Authenticated by al-Albaanee in his as-Saheehah ( no.217)] Talhah is one who has fulfilled his term. [Sunan at-Tirmidhi and authenticated by Sheikh al-Albani in as-Saheehah (125)]. Which means that he has exhausted his allotted time in the path of
