Bismillah [IslamCity] US removes its nuclear arms from Britain
US removes its nuclear arms from Britain · Exit of 110 gravity bombs ends 54-year presence · Change happened secretly over years, say scientists Julian Borger, diplomatic editor The US has removed its nuclear weapons from Britain, ending a contentious presence spanning more than half a century, a report will say today. According to the study by the Federation of American Scientists, the last 110 American nuclear weapons on UK soil were withdrawn from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk on the orders of President George Bush. The report's author, Hans Kristensen, one of the leading experts on Washington's nuclear arsenal, said the move had happened in the past few years, but had only come to light yesterday. He described the withdrawal of the B-61 freefall, or gravity, bombs as part of a general strategic shift since the end of the cold war. The northern front is not very relevant any more for these deployments. The US nuclear posture is almost entirely focused on the southern region, in Incirlik [in Turkey] and Aviano [in Italy]. Movements of the US arsenal are shrouded in secrecy. Kristensen said the first signs the bombs had left Lakenheath emerged in a US airforce document dated January 2007 on nuclear inspections. The document lists inspections of US nuclear sites, but above an annexe listing emergency drills carried out at the sites, it notes not applicable to Lakenheath. Kristensen's report is posted today at fas.org/blog/ssp. He says the removal of bombs from Lakenheath follows the withdrawal of nuclear weapons from Greece in 2001, and that removal of such weapons from two Nato countries in less than a decade undercuts the argument for continuing deployment in other European countries.The removal from Britain would reduce the US arsenal in Europe to about 250. Once officially declared, it could defuse current tensions with Moscow and possibly trigger matching cuts in the Russian stockpile. Kristensen said last night: It's so puzzling why Nato goes about the reduction in total secrecy. Keeping this secret completely undercuts our foreign policy interests. The FAS was founded in 1945 by former scientists on the Manhattan Project, which produced the first atomic bomb, as a means of spreading information about the dangers posed by the new weapons. Paul Ingram, the executive director of the British American Security Information Council, said last night: This is a win-win situation for Nato and disarmament, and for rapprochement with Russia. Nato's future and the transatlantic alliance is tied up with operations in Afghanistan far more than with ageing freefall bombs that have no military relevance. Greg Mello, the head of a nuclear watchdog the Los Alamos Study Group said: The nuclear weapons themselves don't serve any military purpose. They are mostly about cementing a political bond that ties Europe interests to US interests. The FAS study is being published a few days after Kristensen published a leaked US air force internal report saying that most European bases where US nuclear weapons were stored had inadequate security. The report, which was ordered after the US air force lost track of six nuclear cruise missiles last August, found that support buildings, fencing, lighting and security systems were in need of repair. In some cases, conscripts with less than nine months' experience were being used to guard the nuclear weapons. Elsewhere private security guards were used. The report recommends that the US nuclear arsenal in Europe be consolidated to reduce vulnerabilities. That would involve the withdrawal of significant numbers of US nuclear weapons. The Guardian, Thursday June 26, 2008 __ Not happy with your email address?. Get the one you really want - millions of new email addresses available now at Yahoo! http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/ymail/new.html
Bismillah [IslamCity] On 7th Grade School Text Book
On 7th Grade School Text Book Actually I was thinking that the present public outrage against the social studies book for 7th standard was unnecessary. However, after reading the page no. 24th of the book, I changed my mind. A translation of the said page is given below: All this don’t affect me Which religious group gets most affected by the different problems mentioned below? a) Price Rise b) Drought (Shortage of Drinking water) c) Infectious Diseases d) Earthquake My finding:……. The child is advised to write their findings on the above question! Other than simply provoking the sentiments of mostly religious people of the state, what message this question convey? Remember, you are asking this nasty question to the students of the most secular state of India! Sure, political parties are fishing from the filthy water for political gain. But why to create a situation for them to do this? This, combined with other ‘objectionable’ contents, the various religious groups finds it as a deliberate attempt to inject Marxian / atheist ideology through the text books. Postscript: replace the word “religious group” with “political party” (select answer from: Congress, Marist, IUML, BJP) or with “non-religious group” and try to give ‘my findings…….’
Bismillah [IslamCity] Do You Dislike Jihad? Muslim...Massacres
Bismillah Hir Rahmaan Nir Raheem Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatuallahi wa barakatuhu *2:216. Jihâd is ordained for you (Muslims) though you dislike it, and it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allâh knows but you do not know. * *Palestine Massacre http://www.youtube.com/user/tarekpalestine Afghanistan Massacre http://www.youtube.com/user/truthseeker911* ***Iraq occupation http://www.youtube.com/user/3rdID8487* *Issues of Suffering Ummah* *http://www.youtube.com/user/IslamicEmpire* Gujrat Massacrehttp://www.youtube.com/user/Waqasgr8 * http://www.youtube.com/user/IslamicEmpire* -- *Surah Isra 17 verse 80 Say: O my Lord! let my entry be by the Gate of Truth and Honor and likewise my exit by the Gate of Truth and Honor; and grant me from Thy Presence an authority to aid (me). Ameen Transliteration :Wa qur rabbi adkhilni mudkhala sidqiw wa akhrijni mukhraja sidqiw wa-j'al li mil ladunka sulta_nan nasira_(n). Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 2482 Narrated by AbuHurayrah (May Allah be pleased with him) Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) used to say, O Allah, grant me benefit in what Thou hast taught me, teach me what will benefit me, and increase my knowledge. Praise be to Allah in all circumstances. I seek refuge in Allah from the state of those who go to Hell. Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying this is a tradition whose isnad is gharib. Ameen *
Bismillah [IslamCity] Mosque demolished for not supporting Olympics.htm
Mosque demolished for not supporting Olympics You Are Here: FrontPage World News Tuesday, June 24, 2008 - Web posted at 10:55:22 GMT Mosque demolished for not supporting Olympics BEIJING - Chinese authorities in the restive far western region of Xinjiang have demolished a mosque for refusing to put up signs in support of the Beijing Olympics to held next month, an exiled group said yesterday. The mosque was in Kalpin county near Aksu city in Xinjiang's rugged southwest, the World Uyghur Congress said. The office of the spokesman of the Xinjiang government said it had no immediate comment, while telephone calls to the county government went unanswered. China is forcing mosques in East Turkistan to publicise the Beijing Olympics to get the Uyghur people to support the Games, but this has been resisted by the Uighurs, World Uyghur Congress spokesman Dilxat Raxit said in an e-mailed statement. Beijing says al Qaeda is working with militants in Xinjiang to use terror to establish an independent state called East Turkistan. Oil-rich Xinjiang is home to eight million Turkic-speaking Uyghurs, many of whom resent the growing economic and cultural influence of the Han Chinese. Dilxat Raxit added that the Uyghurs who renovated the mosque in 1998, were accused of illegally renovating the structure, carrying out illegal religious activities and illegally storing copies of the Muslim holy book the Koran. All the Korans in the mosque have been seized by the government and dozens of people detained and tortured, he said. The Olympic torch relay passed through Xinjiang last week under tight security, with all but carefully vetted residents banned from watching on the streets and tight controls over foreign media covering the event. Nampa-Reuters World News . Summary . Headlines . Forums . Email this story . Printer friendly top.gifworld_news_2001.gifnamibian.gifbottom.gifsite.gifpathdiv.gifarrow.gif
Bismillah [IslamCity] The Money Laundering Operation at the Heart of the Democratic Party
Article link: http://mparent-1.livejournal.com/648749.html The Money Laundering Operation at the Heart of the Democratic Party Jun. 26th, 2008 at 9:20 AM Wed Jun 25, 2008 by Matt Stoller Every week or two I read another article in Roll Call, the Hill or the Politico on the increasing clout of the Blue Dog caucus. Today's came out in Roll Call, titled 'Blue Dogs' Bite Gets Stronger'. Anna Palmer's article opens with the sentence, Blue Dogs get ready: The ranks of obsequious lobbyists looking to curry favor - and contribute to your war chest - is set to explode. The article also dubs Blue Dogs 'pro-business' and 'fiscally conservative'. Since the 2006 elections, the Blue Dog political action committee has become one of the fastest growing, and is among the largest in Democratic leadership. Already it has nearly doubled its fundraising this cycle from the $1.2 million raised in 2006. This cycle, through the end of May, it had raised more than $2.2 million, according to CQ MoneyLine. That puts it nearly on a par with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's (D-Md.) AMERIPAC, which as of the end of April had raised more than $2.2 million. We've always been fairly successful with fundraising, even when we were in the minority, said Vickie Walling, chief of staff to Tennessee Rep. John Tanner, a founding member of the group. Going on to the FEC site lets you see the truth about the Blue Dog PAC - 85% of its money - $1.95M - comes from conservative corporate interests. The list is pretty standard. Walmart, Verizon, ATT, Charter, Comcast, US Chamber of Commerce, Raytheon, Boeing, etc. And Steny Hoyer's PAC - AmeriPAC - isn't much better. Roughly 65% of his money comes from PACs, most of them similar to the ones flooding the coffers of Blue Dogs - Raytheon, ATT, Boeing, etc. --MORE-- Tags: blue dogs, crime, democrats, elections 2008, money Article link: http://mparent-1.livejournal.com/648749.html MARC PARENT, mparent, mparent, ccnwon CRIMES AND CORRUPTIONS OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER NEWS http://mparent-1.livejournal.com/ http://www.wakeupfromyourslumber.com/blog/38 __ Yahoo! Canada Toolbar: Search from anywhere on the web, and bookmark your favourite sites. Download it now at http://ca.toolbar.yahoo.com.
Bismillah [IslamCity] Pak-US Relation: Pentagon treads softly as tensions rise - FT
Pak-US Relation: Pentagon treads softly as tensions rise By Daniel Dombey and Demetri Sevastopulo US military commanders were quick to tout General Ashfaq Kiyani as his own man after he replaced Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistani president, as the country's army chief of staff last November. The Pentagon hoped Gen Kiyani would develop a counter-insurgency force to help tackle Taliban and al-Qaeda extremists operating along the border with Afghan-istan. But their relationship has run into trouble just as the US prepares to send a handful of trainers for the force to Pakistan this summer. The biggest concern in the US is the Pakistani government's negotiations with tribal leaders in areas along the border, which Washington says act as safe havens for Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters. Those tensions heightened in the wake of a US airstrike this month which Islamabad says killed 11 Pakistani troops in an area bordering Afghanistan. The US has not confirmed if the strike killed the Pakistani soldiers, adding that its actions were directed against Taliban attacking Afghanistan from Pakistan. The Pakistani government and military must negotiate the difficult fact that Pakistanis favour negotiations with both al-Qaeda and Pakistani extremists. A recent poll by Terror Free Tomorrow, a Washington-based group, found that 50 per cent of Pakistanis believed their government should negotiate with al-Qaeda, while 70 per cent opposed US military action against both al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The alleged killing of Pakistani troops in the US airstrike has not made that situation any easier. Gen Kiyani was already treading a difficult path. Much as the US military has struggled to adapt to a new counter-insurgency mission in Iraq, Gen Kiyani must accomplish the difficult task of weaning his military off its preoccupation with India. Aware that too much overt support could lead to charges that Gen Kiyani is too pliant to US demands, American officers have toned down their praise. The Pentagon has also played down concerns about the tribal peace deals to avoid complicating life for Gen Kiyani, who must balance his relationship with the new civilian government. My sense is if we tried to get in the middle of those politics we'd be wielding a sledgehammer inside of a surgery room, one senior US military official said. Another reason the Pentagon has been less critical is that it is not clear who is pushing the peace deals. Some Pakistanis stress that the deals were in the works before the new government took office in February. General Dan McNeill, who has just returned from commanding Nato forces in Afghanistan, says Gen Kiyani showed no interest in peace deals when they met shortly after he took over as Pakistan's army chief. The suggestion from him was that they were looking for some help to get their force trained to be a good counter-insurgency force. I don't recall the term or the expression [peace deal] coming up, Gen McNeill said. But others have suggested that Gen Kiyani has since realised that military action in itself will not be sufficient to clamp down on extremism in the lawless border regions. Gen McNeill has also been less reluctant than other US military officers to criticise the peace deals and call on Pakistan to act more strongly against the extremists, who he says pose a domestic threat to Pakistan. The tensions on the border were on show again recently when Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, threatened to send troops into Pakistan to deal with the insurgents. But Husain Haqqani, the new Pakistani ambassador to Washington, says Islamabad has made a political decision that we want to improve the co-ordination with Afghanistan, Pakistan and coalition forces in the border areas. Additional reporting by Daniel Dombey Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008 Published: June 26 2008 03:00 | Last updated: June 26 2008 03:00 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a40b922a-4317-11dd-81d0-779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1 __ Not happy with your email address?. Get the one you really want - millions of new email addresses available now at Yahoo! http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/ymail/new.html
Bismillah [IslamCity] The Top Misconceptions About Islam
http://www.daily.pk/general/generalnews/67-generalnews/4903-the-top-misconceptions-about-islam.html Dear Sir, You may read it. The Top Misconceptions About Islam Wednesday, 25 June 2008 11:52 www.daily.pk Muslims are violent, terrorists, and extremists! This is the biggest misconception in Islam, no doubt resulting from the constant stereotyping and bashing the media gives Islam. When a gunman attacks a mosque in the name of Judaism, a Catholic IRA guerrilla sets off a bomb in an urban area, or Serbian Orthodox militiamen rape and kill innocent Muslim civilians, these acts are not used to stereotype an entire faith. Never are these acts attributed to the religion of the perpetrators. Yet how many times have we heard the words 'Islamic, Muslim fundamentalist. etc.' linked with violence. Politics in so called “Muslim countries may or may not have any Islamic basis. Often dictators and politicians will use the name of Islam for their own purposes. One should remember to go to the source of Islam and separate what the true religion of Islam says from what is portrayed in the media. Islam literally means 'submission to God' and is derived from a root word meaning 'peace'. Islam may seem exotic or even extreme in the modern world. Perhaps this is because religion doesn’t dominate everyday life in the West, whereas Islam is considered a 'way of life' for Muslims and they make no division between secular and sacred in their lives. Like Christianity, Islam permits fighting in self-defense, in defense of religion, or on the part of those who have been expelled forcibly from their homes. It lays down strict rules of combat which include prohibitions against harming civilians and against destroying crops, trees and livestock. NOWHERE DOES ISLAM ENJOIN THE KILLING OF INNOCENTS... The Qur’an says: Fight in the cause of God against those who fight you, but do not transgress limits. God does not love transgressors. (Qur’an 2:190) If they seek peace, then seek you peace. And trust in God for He is the One that heareth and knoweth all things. (Qur’an 8:61) War, therefore, is the last resort, and is subject to the rigorous conditions laid down by the sacred law. The term 'jihad' literally means 'struggle'. Muslims believe that there are two kinds of jihad. The other 'jihad' is the inner struggle of the soul which everyone wages against egotistic desires for the sake of attaining inner peace. Islam oppresses women. The image of the typical Muslim woman wearing the veil and forced to stay home and forbidden to drive is all too common in most peoples’ thoughts. Although some Muslim countries may have laws that oppress women, this should not be seen as coming from Islam. Many of these countries do not rule by any kind of Shari'ah (Islamic law) and introduce their own cultural standpoints on the issue of gender equity. Islam on the other hand gives men and women different roles and equity between the two is laid down in the Qur’an and the example of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Islam sees a woman, whether single or married, as an individual in her own right, with the right to own and dispose of her property and earnings. A marriage gift is given by the groom to the bride for her own personal use, and she keeps her own family name rather than taking her husband's. Both men and women are expected to dress in a way which is modest and dignified. The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said: The most perfect in faith amongst believers is he who is best in manner and kindest to his wife. Violence of any kind towards women and forcing them against their will for anything is not allowed. A Muslim marriage is a simple, legal agreement in which either partner is free to include conditions. Marriage customs thus vary widely from country to country. Divorce is not common, although it is acceptable as a last resort. According to Islam, a Muslim girl cannot be forced to marry against her will: her parents simply suggest young men they think may be suitable. Muslims worship a different God Allah is simply the Arabic word for God. Allah for Muslims is the greatest and most inclusive of the Names of God, it is an Arabic word of rich meaning, denoting the one and only God and ascribing no partners to Him. It is exactly the same word which the Jews, in Hebrew, use for God (eloh), the word which Jesus Christ used in Aramaic when he prayed to God. God has an identical name in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; Allah is the same God worshiped by Muslims, Christians and Jews. Muslims believe that Allah's sovereignty is to be acknowledged in worship and in the pledge to obey His teaching and commandments, conveyed through His messengers and prophets who were sent at various times and in many places throughout history. Islam was spread by the sword and is intolerant of other faiths Many social studies textbooks for students show the image of an Arab horseman carrying a sword in
Bismillah [IslamCity] Somalia: Ethiopians butcher 2 Somali Federal Government Officers and USA's revenge
'Ethiopians butcher 2 Somali officers' Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:57:37 Ethiopian soldiers in Somalia Two high-ranking Somali government officers have been slain by Ethiopian soldiers having withheld cooperation with the troops, reports say. A Press TV correspondent reported that the bodies of the two were found near Manas military base which is close to the southwestern town of Baidoa. The two were reportedly done away with after they failed to cooperate with the Ethiopians. 35 of the government soldiers, meanwhile, managed to escape the base, while hundreds of them remain under the Ethiopians' supervision there. The Ethiopian soldiers, who in alliance with Somali, Ugandan and Kenyan troops try curbing the violence in the war-battered country have been given hard time by Somali's spiraling insurgency. HN/RA Former Somali leader blames Ethiopian troops of “Massacre” Submitted by wararka on Wed, 06/25/2008 - 11:35. In a news conference he held in Egyptian capital Cairo former Somali president Abdi Qasim Salad Hassan has acknowledged that the Ethiopian troops in Somalia have committed war crimes against Somali civilians. “They made Somalis in the country those killed. Fled, and jailed “He said. He added that they “Ethiopians” conducted supplementary killings for reprisal of 1977s Somalia-Ethiopia’s war as he put it. He also accused the United States government of revenging Somali people from their armed resistance they ousted US troops from country 1995. “US supports Ethiopian troops in Somalia to get revenge Somalis from SNA’s guerilla led by late General Mohamed Farah Aideed those driven American troops out from Somalia on 1995 by force” Abdi Qasim said in the news conference. He also revealed that the Ethiopian troops killed in Somalia up to 2000 people and forced for displacement over 2m others. “Excluding those were killed and displaced the rest are in severe undernourishment” he said. He praised Egyptian government of coping with the influx of Somali refugees including student were offered for at no cost schooling and safe haven. Abdi qasim was the president of the former TNG government has been given the mandate for three years during the conference in Neighboring Djibouti in which the government was supposed to restore the rule of law back to Somalia and prepare a multiparty system for the election of a government, but has failed to extend its influence throughout the country. His government controlled parts of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, with the rest of the country being under the control of various warlords. The mandate of his former transitional national government expired in August 2003 and Abdiqasim withdrew from the talks aimed at forming a new government shortly before the mandate expired. The Prime Minister of his government Hassan Abshir Farah accused him of trying to make the talks fail to extend his time in office, resulting in the prime minister's dismissal by Abdiq However, Abdiqasim pledged to step aside to make way for a constitutionally-elected leader. Abdiqasim was a candidate for the presidency of the new national unity government, but he was not among the 3 candidates who passed the 1st round of voting. He left office peacefully several days after the election. By:Abdinasir Mohamed Guled Email:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Shabelle Media Network Muslims must unite all over the World and pray for the appearance of al Mahdi (r.a.) the Saviour of mankind the descendent of Prophet Muhammed s.a.w. __ Instant Messaging, free SMS, sharing photos and more... Try the new Yahoo! Canada Messenger at http://ca.beta.messenger.yahoo.com/
Bismillah [IslamCity] Western Civilization and Destruction of Humanity-1: Gender Free Rest Rooms
Assalam O Alaikum FYI Western Civilization and Destruction of Humanity-1: Gender Free Rest Rooms JAFAR SYED 26 June, 2008 19:48:00 WESTERN civilization has sunk itself deeper in the gutter of secularism. In the name of equality, State of Colorado passed a law which will make all public accommodation - malls, restaurants, schools, small and even home businesses gender free. It ... Full story Hussain Haqani: An American Ambassador to Pakistan DR. ANWAR UL HAQUE 26 June, 2008 20:13:27 HUSSAIN Haqani seems more like an American Ambassador to Pakistan rather than Pakistan's ambassador to USA. He has fully adopted the views and interests of USA Government which is under immense Zionist slavery. For example he believes or tends or ... Full story Saying Sorry YVONNE RIDLEY 23 June, 2008 22:41:53 DOES being President of the United States mean you never have to say 'sorry'? Just how difficult is it to apologise when you are head of a global super power and you've blundered? It was a ... Full story Book Review: A Journey Interrupted: Being Indian in Pakistan MURTAZA SHIBLI 22 June, 2008 13:58:32 A Journey Interrupted: Being Indian in Pakistan by Farzana Versey [Harper Collins India; Rupees 295, Pages 279] Being Muslim in India is a very hard job. Threatened and terrorised by ... Full story Plots against the Al-Aqsa Mosque ALIA AMER 22 June, 2008 13:50:00 ISLAM, Christianity and Judaism all believe in the coming of the leader of the great and final battle whom they all call the Messiah. The Jews are looking forward to his coming, because they claim he will bring about God's ... Jawed Anwar Editor Publisherfiles.php?file=spacer.gifleft_navi_arrow.gif
Bismillah [IslamCity] miracles4ever
Indonesian Mosque Stand Through After Earth Quake and Tusnami http://miracles4ever.blogspot.com/2008/06/indonesian-mosque-stand-throu\ gh-after.html Name of Prophet Muhammad on Planet Mars http://miracles4ever.blogspot.com/2008/06/name-of-prophet-muhammad-on-p\ lanet-mars.html Allah's Name Clearly Visible Over Africa http://miracles4ever.blogspot.com/2008/06/allahs-name-clearly-visible-o\ ver-africa.html
Bismillah [IslamCity] FW: A wakeup call for Muslims in America.
*Losing My Religion- a call for help * *6/19/2008 - Social Education Family - Article Ref: IC0806-3597 ** By: Dr. Jeffrey Lang IslamiCity* - * *To the Homegrown American Sisters and Brothers* At present, our community in America, whether or not we are aware of it or acknowledge it, is engulfed in a decisive conflict, and we are taking heavy losses. Mass numbers of descendents of Muslims, converts, and spiritual seekers are forsaking the American Islamic community and many of these will inevitably abandon the religion. The confrontation is of course not military but rather is occurring on the intellectual plane. On one front our religion is being both subtly and overtly demeaned by the media. On another, anti-Islam websites are assaulting the faith with mostly discarded but now resurrected antiquated orientalist criticisms. On another, an extreme, virulent and irrational interpretation of the faith has assumed, with a good deal of outside support, center stage on the world scene. On another, most mosques in this country impose in the name of Islam, traditions and beliefs of questionable necessity that obfuscate the fundamental message of God's last revelation to humanity and that are driving individuals from the faith in droves, and that serve to confirm for too many youth of Muslim parentage and American converts the overriding negative impression of Islam that society seems to hold at large. Instead of seeing a path to spiritual growth, enlightenment and fulfillment many of these disengaged Muslims start to see a stagnant, retrogressive, patriarchal remnant of a lagging culture, mired in meaningless controversies and hollow, lifeless formalism. If this is going to be countered, it will require an immense and courageous intellectual effort, and those upon whose shoulders this challenge and duty primarily rests are the second generation and converts who have held fast to their faith despite the many challenges this has presented. It is you, the activist American Muslim youth and converts, though your numbers are small, who have been placed in a pivotal role. Through your American upbringing, you have come to fully know and understand the surrounding society, and through your love and commitment to God and your religion, in a milieu that constantly tests it, you have by nature and necessity become the crucial bridge between your faith and its future in this country. You are in the best position to rationally respond to Islam's detractors and to communicate and demonstrate to your fellow countrymen and women what it really means to be a Muslim. You think their think, talk their talk, and appreciate their confusions and concerns. You are also in the best position to reassess the vast tradition that has come down to us in the name of Islam. It is precisely because you have not been reared in a traditional Muslim culture and because you have been taught since your first day in school to search, question, critique, and analyze that you are the prime candidates to endeavor to separate religion from culture, to distinguish the essential to Islam from time and place bound interpretations. It is you who are best able to understand and communicate to the disaffected Muslim youth. This is your jihad (struggle), a jihad for minds and hearts, a jihad of intellect and reason. *So I encourage you to arm yourselves, my younger brothers and sisters, with books, and pens and personal computers, and all the other instruments of learning. And arm yourselves with knowledge of your religious tradition and the works and thoughts of its great minds of the past*. But also arm yourselves with modern techniques of critical, analytical, investigative research, so that you can better study and critique past contributions in the Islamic sciences. Learn all you can in your coursework, and especially in such fields as religious studies, history, anthropology, and linguistics. Arm yourselves also, if you have the inclination and aptitude, with advanced degrees in these areas of research so critical to the project of reappraising our community's traditions. And arm yourselves with humility, because it is vital to objectivity, and with courage and perseverance, brothers and sisters, because you will be opposed from without and within the Muslim community. *And remember to always pursue the truth, for God is the Truth, and always pray for and trust in His guidance. And so arm yourselves also with steadfast devotion to your Lord, never forgetting that to Him, and Him only, you have surrendered*-not to a tradition, or a school of thought, or a local community or culture, or scholarly legacy-and that your living, striving, sacrifice and dying, all is for Allah. *The article was excerpted from Dr. Jeffrey Lang's book entitled Losing My Religion, an in depth analysis of the current acculturation of the Muslim American identity. * *Dr. Jeffrey Lang is Professor of Mathematics at The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. He is the author
Bismillah [IslamCity] Exposed: the arms lobbyist in British Parliament
Exposed: the arms lobbyist in British Parliament 'We'll ask the questions that you can't, without your fingerprints,' he tells clients By James Macintyre A senior arms lobbyist is gaining access to ministers, MPs and peers inside Parliament using a research assistant pass allotted to a member of the House of Lords who benefits financially from one of his companies, The Independent has learnt. Robin Ashby, who is chairman of a defence consultancy firm that offers to ask questions of government on behalf of its clients without your fingerprint being evident, includes among his acquaintances the Defence Secretary, the Chancellor and the Chief Whip. Mr Ashby's firm, Bergmans, lobbies on behalf of more than a dozen large defence and aerospace companies including BAE Systems, Northern Defence Industries, UK Defence Forum, Boeing and Rolls-Royce, which has been criticised for its past links to the Burmese regime. Mr Ashby's name features on an official staff list that was published by the House of Lords for the first time last night following pressure from media outlets including The Independent. As Bergmans' key lobbyist, Mr Ashby enjoys unfettered access to the Palace of Westminster. With his pass, he can bring several colleagues or members of the public into Parliament's numerous entertainment venues, including the Lords' terrace bar overlooking the Thames where he frequently meets Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, and other ministers. Mr Ashby can also use the pass, which is allotted to Baroness Harris of Richmond, to access the House of Commons library, which offers valuable research facilities at no cost. Lady Harris is a Liberal Democrat whip and spokesman on the police and Northern Ireland. She receives a regular income from a separate company run by Mr Ashby, Great North News Service, for which the peer acts as an adviser, according to her parliamentary declaration of financial interests. Meanwhile her researcher gains access to the Palace of Westminster's corridors of power and a string of top-level ministers. As well as submitting Freedom of Information questions to government, Bergmans offers insider information about how the British Government works to a host of foreign countries including the Bahamas, Bahrain, the USA and Russia. On Bergmans' website, Mr Ashby is shown meeting, among others, Tony Blair, his former press secretary Alastair Campbell, the Chancellor Alistair Darling, the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, the Chief Whip Geoff Hoon and Mr Browne. MPs have been required to supply full information about their staff since 1985, but members of the Lords were exempt from the rule until last night. On his entry, Mr Ashby names Bergmans but describes it as a research and public affairs consultancy that campaigns to urge MPs and peers to keep manifesto promises to hold a referendum on the EU Constitution/Lisbon Treaty. He does not mention its host of defence and arms clients. Mr Ashby told The Independent that he felt iffy about whether or not he should have a pass, because there is substantial potential for misunderstanding. It is quite possible for you to make me look bad, he said. Mr Ashby said his primary reason for holding a pass was to provide security advice to Lady Harris. She told The Independent that Mr Ashby advises me from time to time but not that frequently. She added that if she wants advice, she can call on him. Lady Harris admitted that she occasionally contributed to the Great North News Service, run by Mr Ashby. She added that she takes an interest in defence matters. Mr Ashby said he compartmentalises his roles while in Parliament. I am very clear with ministers – I informally declare my interests to senior ministers, he said. He added that he did not use his pass to bring clients into Parliament and photos taken of him with ministers were taken outside the Palace of Westminster. The lobbyist said he frequently met the Defence Secretary at events on the parliamentary terrace. I see Des Browne every time we have a welcome home for troops and he says nice things about me. He appreciates what I've done, Mr Ashby said. The services offered by Bergmans – which has a specific defence subsidiary run by Mr Ashby – include: Opinion polling, focus groups, fundraising advice, governance, manifesto writing, socio-economic research, campaigning, visual images, and lobbying. But, the company's website adds, many organisations are concerned that by asking for information they may prejudice their relationship with government, especially where the departments in which they are interested are also their potential customers. Bergmans Research therefore offers a confidential FoI [Freedom of Information] service – we'll ask the questions ... that you can't, without your 'fingerprint' being evident. In the past few months we've asked and had answers to questions about planning studies, past purchasing decisions, advice to Ministers, future
Bismillah [IslamCity] World�s Leading Thinkers : A Surprising List
World’s Leading Thinkers : A Surprising List A hitherto largely unknown Turkish Islamic scholar, Fethullah Gülen, has been voted the world's top intellectual in a poll to find the leading 100 thinkers.Gülen, the author of more than 60 books, won a landslide triumph after the survey - which was organized by the British magazine, Prospect, and Foreign Policy, a US publication - attracted more than 500,000 votes. The top ten of the list are all Muslims, and includes Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, Muhammad Yunus, Abulkarim Souroush, Tariq Ramadan , Shirin Ebadi and Amr Khaled Indian noble laureate Amartya Sen came 16th in the poll . We in Bangladeh, a majority Muslim country are pleasantly surprised. The inclusion of Muhammad Yunus as a major thought leader is a right selection of the voters. However the fact that all top ten thought leaders are Muslims is a big surprise. Of course Dr Qaradawi, Tariq Ramadan and Shirin Ebadi are major thinkers and all the rest must be .The big question is why first ten are all Muslims in an open poll conducted throughout the world and where participation was free for all. We think it may indicate several things. One is that Muslims are indeed progressing in the field of thought as it was in the first five centuries of Islam when Muslim world produced many more scholars in all fields than any other nation. The second may be a decline in the area of intellectual work in the West and Europe. Though they are producing scientists they are not producing thinkers of high level like Bertrand Russell, Bernard Shaw, Sartre of the past. Something is happening in the West imperceptibly. These are of course guess work but may be close to truth
Bismillah [IslamCity] Ensuring timely justice By Khalid Durrani (Friday Feature) Courtesy:http://dawn.com/2008/06/27/ed.htm#4
June 27, 2008 Friday Jamadi-us-Sani 22, 1429 A.H. Courtesy:http://dawn.com/2008/06/27/ed.htm#4 Ensuring timely justice By Khalid Durrani AN honest and law-abiding citizen serves the people diligently. He endures severe hardships to save some money in the hope of providing post-retirement security to his family. For instance, a poor person purchases a small residential flat, gives it on rent to someone so that he could repay his loan and also use it after retirement. But the tenant occupies the flat and refuses to pay rent. The owner is advised by his friends to hire a gangster to deal with the tenant but he chooses to go to the court to seek justice. He keeps attending the court for, say, two years but fails to get relief. He gets no rent; the loan keeps piling up; he retires and is forced to vacate his official accommodation. Now he thinks he is left with only two options: either to take the law in his own hands and kill the tenant or to put an end to his own life. He is too weak to use the first option so he commits suicide and finishes his own life. Who is responsible for the loss of this innocent life and irreparable disaster to his family: the person who illegally devoured his property or the system that could not provide timely justice to the victim? The answer is obvious. Justice or ‘Adl’ as it is called in the Quran is most vital for sustenance of human society. The very basis of creating this universe is the divine plan of trial and justice. Allah sent the divine code of conduct through His Books and messengers so that human race may enjoy the blessings of nature in this world and also become entitled to the eternal life of peace and tranquillity in the world hereafter. At the same time He granted the request of Iblees (Satan) and gave him respite till the day of judgment to try misguiding man and prove his assertion that human race is ungrateful and unjust and is inferior to Iblees. According to Ayah 18, Surah Al-Aaraaf, Allah said, “Get out from this, disgraced and expelled. If any of them follow thee’, hell will I fill with you all”. On the other hand, Ayah 25 of Surah Al-Baqra promises due reward for those who follow the code of conduct. Allah expects His servants, the human race, to abide by the same principle of trial and justice in this world, to ensure peaceful sustenance of life on earth. According to the divine commandments the essentials of justice include: • Timely justice on merit for all, rich or poor, friend or foe. • No room for influence of wealth, position or recommendation (safarish). • No concealment of witness or evidence. • Enforcement of justice with an iron hand without delay. Any violation of the above essentials of justice is akin to wilful disobedience of Almighty Allah. No reason whatsoever including strikes, protests, vacations etc. can justify any delay in providing timely justice to the aggrieved party. Justice is an attribute of Allah and to stand firm for justice is to be a witness to Allah. Very serious responsibility lies on the shoulders of those servants of Allah who have been endowed with the duty of imparting justice. Any delay or partiality in providing justice to the aggrieved party amounts to betrayal of trust that Allah has imposed on the judges. Ayah 58 of Surah An-Nisa says, “Allah commands you to render back your trusts to those to whom they are due. And when you judge between man and man that you judge with justice: Verily how excellent is the teaching that He gives you! For Allah is He who hears and sees all things”. Ayah 135 of Surah An-Nisa says, “You who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witness to Allah, even as against yourselves or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lust of (your hearts) lest you swerve, and if you distort (justice), verily Allah is well acquainted with all that you do”. The Latin principle of justice is, “Let justice be done though heaven should fall”. The Islamic principle of justice is even higher. Dispensation of justice, without fear or favour, is a sacred trust and has been declared by Allah, as an essential part of piety (taqwa). Surah Al-Maidah, Ayah 1, categorically commands, “You who believe! Fulfil all obligations”. Abdullah Yusuf Ali in his commentary on this Ayah has written that this verse is so comprehensive that it forms a paragraph or a chapter by itself. The Arabic word “Uqud” (translated as obligations) implies so many things that a whole chapter of commentary can be written on it. There are divine obligations that arise from our spiritual nature and our relations to Allah. Then there are worldly obligations that govern the existence of human society. Administering justice in this world is an important obligation for ensuring the very existence of human society and is therefore even more sacred than our spiritual relationship. Ayah
Bismillah [IslamCity] mideast: saudi - Knowledge forum opens in Madinah
Knowledge forum opens in Madinah Yousuf Muhammad | Arab News Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Majed listens to Amr Al-Dabbagh at the opening session of the knowledge forum. (AN photo) MADINAH: Madinah Governor Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Majed opened an international knowledge forum here yesterday and emphasized Saudi Arabia's efforts to further enhance its investment climate and create more educational and training opportunities to its citizens. Addressing the opening session, Amr Al-Dabbagh, governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), stressed his organization's strategy to attract international investment to knowledge-based industries at Madinah's Knowledge Economic City (KEC). KEC also aims at attracting leading scientific institutions and Muslim scientists and intellectuals from different parts of the world to Madinah, he said. KEC is set to become a major driving force of the national economy. It will also create more job opportunities for Saudis, he added. Prominent scientists from across the world - including Dr. Afzal Hossain and Stein Sture from the United States, Professor Sar Sardy from Indonesia, Dr. Musa M. Nordin from Malaysia and Dr. Anis Ahmed from Pakistan - are attending the conference, entitled Noor (Light). The primary objective of the annual forum is to promote human civilization from the land of Madinah by attracting investors, scientists, scholars and pioneer institutions to the Knowledge Economic City, which is set to become an international center for knowledge, SAGIA officials said. Major topics to be discussed at the forum include high-tech innovation and creativity in the Muslim world, strategies to decrease genetic disorders, knowledge infrastructure development through engineering and information and communications technology (ICT), and bioinformatics-based investment in the Kingdom. The 24 speakers also include four women - Sabeeha Rehman, president and co-founder of the National Autism Association in New York; Dr. Naima Abdel Ghani, director of the Medical Clinic for Preventive Medicine, Immunotherapy and Anti-Aging Medicine in Florida; Arfa Khan, professor of radiology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York; and Dr. Khadijah Shamsuddin, a researcher on maternal health, child health, reproductive health and women's cancers in Malaysia. http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1section=0article=57d=23m=6y=2008 pixel.gifkf23_.jpg
Bismillah [IslamCity] [EMAIL PROTECTED] pune on Shariah-compliant investments in Indian Stocks
Invitation A Program on Shariah-compliant investments in Indian Stocks @ khondwa pune Assalamualaikum, It is a great pleasure in inviting you to an introductory program on investments in Indian Stocks in a Shariah-compliant way. Please note the following details and mark your calendar for the programs at the following locations in Khondwa Pune. Khondwa Pune Venue: C-1/8 Office, I Floor, Bramha Estate, Khondwa, Pune 411048 Date: Sunday, 29-Jun-2008 Time: 11.00 am - 1.00 pm Tel – 020-64781639, Mob – 09881851648 For more details, please contact +91-98494 73470 (Riaz) or +91-93913 98455 (Ahmed Siddiq) Hidayaa? Hidayaa endeavours to bring to you the best of Indian stocks and the trading practices which are Shariah-compliant all under one roof. Hidayaa, a novel concept of investing in stocks, is a pioneering effort of corporate member of NSE, BSE CDSL viz., Saaketa Consultants Limited having professionals with an experience of over a decade in the stock advisory and trading services. Services Hidayaa, the innovative concept offers the following stock related services · Stock trading on NSE, BSE o Trade Online o Trade on Telephone o Trade in Person · IPO (Primary Market Issue) · Stock Research Recommendations · Demat Services (Dematerialization of share certificates)
