The following is an audio talk by Imam Ali Syed Abul Hassan (rh), May Allah (swt) grant him Jannatul firdous. He was an example of true 'Alim who stood up and spoke the truth to the face of the ruler. He was the Imam of Masjid as-Sahabah in Khartoum, he accounted General Omar al-Bashir, the ruler of Sudan to his face when he visited the Masjid and was imprisoned for two years for that. He was the spokesman of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Sudan.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Views on the News - 5/12/08
Italy floats proposal to ban the building of new mosques
On 3/12/08 a proposal by the anti-immigration party of Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni for a moratorium on the building of new mosques amid terrorism fears in Italy sparked outrage among Muslim leaders. The Northern League, the main ally of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, suggested the ban. “Mosques are springing up like mushrooms, and mayors can do nothing about it because there is no law,” said Roberto Cota, the head of the Northern League’s group in the Chamber of Deputies. Even the Vatican took the side of the government in a carefully worded statement. “On the one hand we need to recognise the legitimacy of the place of worship that is the seat of an authentic spiritual presence,” said the Vatican’s “culture minister” Gianfranco Ravasi. “But if it becomes something else, indeed civil society has the right to intervene and check,” he told reporters. The Vatican’s statement comes days after the Vatican thanked Muslim scholars who participated in the interfaith dialogue.
Berlusconi’s People of Freedoms party allied with the Northern League won the general elections in April 2008, largely on a security platform. They enjoy comfortable majorities in both houses of parliament and it is expected that the proposal would be passed. Italy is home to some 1.2 million Muslims and counts 258 mosques and 628 Islamic associations, according to the Italian press.
Europe and America are destroying the free market
The very fact that the US government is entertaining a $34bn rescue package for its automobile industry is a clear admission that the free market is not worth protecting anymore. Over the past year or so the US has spent trillions of dollars nationalizing banks and is now contemplating the bail out of other industries. Not to be outdone by his US counterparts, on 4/12/2008 Sarkozy pledged his belief in the free market and then announced a €26bn state aid package for French car industry. Lamenting at the Americans Sarkozy said,” If our American friends do more for their own industry, I won't let the French automobile industry be disadvantaged compared to its competitors.” Europe and America have successfully killed off freedom and democracy and now they are slaughtering the free market. Who said that Islamic terrorism was the biggest threat to Western civilization.
NATO forces relied on Black Magic to ward off the Taleban
Beaten, broken and demoralised an officer of the British army turned to black magic to protect commander of the NATO forces general Richards from the Taleban. British officer Daniel James said,” I actually did black magic for General Richards praying to God to protect him from the Taliban.” He also said he did Tarot card readings for other personnel at the Allied HQ in Kabul to predict the future. The Muslim armies do not need to seek the help of false deities to overcome the enemy or to find out about the future. In their preparation and combat they implore Allah’s help for success, and in return they are either given victory or martyrdom. Clearly, the Muslim armies have the best of this dunya and the hereafter.
UN derided by the Muslim world
On 3/12/2008 a poll conducted in the Muslim world discovered there is a strong perception that the UN is dominated by the US and there is dissatisfaction with its performance on several fronts, particularly in dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The findings are from a WorldPublicOpinion.org survey in Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Iran, Indonesia, the Palestinian Territories and Azerbaijan. Muslims in Nigeria (50 per cent of the general population) were also polled. The polls conducted by western agencies would make a far better read if they start asking questions like Do you believe that the Muslim world should return to the rule of Khilafah and be governed by the shariah? Unless the complete picture is given, such polls will always convey a biased impression which favours western powers.
US report declares Pakistan the epicentre WMD terrorism
The White House said on 3/12/2008 that it agreed with a bipartisan congressional commission’s report that Pakistan sat closest to the intersection of nuclear weapons and terrorism. “I have no reason to disagree with it,” said White House Press Secretary Dana Perino when asked if the White House agreed with the report. The bipartisan Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism reported that if there was a WMD attack on the United States, it would originate in Pakistan. The commission also briefed President Bush and Vice President-elect Joe Biden, senior congressional leaders and warned them “it is more likely than not that a weapon of mass destruction will be used in a terrorist attack somewhere in the world by the end of 2013”. How much more proof does Pakistan’s establishment need in order to comprehend that America’s next target is Pakistan? It is about time that the establishment in partnership with the people of Pakistan re-establish the Khilafah and oust America’s presence from the region before it is too late.
5/12/2008
On 3/12/08 a proposal by the anti-immigration party of Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni for a moratorium on the building of new mosques amid terrorism fears in Italy sparked outrage among Muslim leaders. The Northern League, the main ally of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, suggested the ban. “Mosques are springing up like mushrooms, and mayors can do nothing about it because there is no law,” said Roberto Cota, the head of the Northern League’s group in the Chamber of Deputies. Even the Vatican took the side of the government in a carefully worded statement. “On the one hand we need to recognise the legitimacy of the place of worship that is the seat of an authentic spiritual presence,” said the Vatican’s “culture minister” Gianfranco Ravasi. “But if it becomes something else, indeed civil society has the right to intervene and check,” he told reporters. The Vatican’s statement comes days after the Vatican thanked Muslim scholars who participated in the interfaith dialogue.
Berlusconi’s People of Freedoms party allied with the Northern League won the general elections in April 2008, largely on a security platform. They enjoy comfortable majorities in both houses of parliament and it is expected that the proposal would be passed. Italy is home to some 1.2 million Muslims and counts 258 mosques and 628 Islamic associations, according to the Italian press.
Europe and America are destroying the free market
The very fact that the US government is entertaining a $34bn rescue package for its automobile industry is a clear admission that the free market is not worth protecting anymore. Over the past year or so the US has spent trillions of dollars nationalizing banks and is now contemplating the bail out of other industries. Not to be outdone by his US counterparts, on 4/12/2008 Sarkozy pledged his belief in the free market and then announced a €26bn state aid package for French car industry. Lamenting at the Americans Sarkozy said,” If our American friends do more for their own industry, I won't let the French automobile industry be disadvantaged compared to its competitors.” Europe and America have successfully killed off freedom and democracy and now they are slaughtering the free market. Who said that Islamic terrorism was the biggest threat to Western civilization.
NATO forces relied on Black Magic to ward off the Taleban
Beaten, broken and demoralised an officer of the British army turned to black magic to protect commander of the NATO forces general Richards from the Taleban. British officer Daniel James said,” I actually did black magic for General Richards praying to God to protect him from the Taliban.” He also said he did Tarot card readings for other personnel at the Allied HQ in Kabul to predict the future. The Muslim armies do not need to seek the help of false deities to overcome the enemy or to find out about the future. In their preparation and combat they implore Allah’s help for success, and in return they are either given victory or martyrdom. Clearly, the Muslim armies have the best of this dunya and the hereafter.
UN derided by the Muslim world
On 3/12/2008 a poll conducted in the Muslim world discovered there is a strong perception that the UN is dominated by the US and there is dissatisfaction with its performance on several fronts, particularly in dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The findings are from a WorldPublicOpinion.org survey in Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Iran, Indonesia, the Palestinian Territories and Azerbaijan. Muslims in Nigeria (50 per cent of the general population) were also polled. The polls conducted by western agencies would make a far better read if they start asking questions like Do you believe that the Muslim world should return to the rule of Khilafah and be governed by the shariah? Unless the complete picture is given, such polls will always convey a biased impression which favours western powers.
US report declares Pakistan the epicentre WMD terrorism
The White House said on 3/12/2008 that it agreed with a bipartisan congressional commission’s report that Pakistan sat closest to the intersection of nuclear weapons and terrorism. “I have no reason to disagree with it,” said White House Press Secretary Dana Perino when asked if the White House agreed with the report. The bipartisan Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism reported that if there was a WMD attack on the United States, it would originate in Pakistan. The commission also briefed President Bush and Vice President-elect Joe Biden, senior congressional leaders and warned them “it is more likely than not that a weapon of mass destruction will be used in a terrorist attack somewhere in the world by the end of 2013”. How much more proof does Pakistan’s establishment need in order to comprehend that America’s next target is Pakistan? It is about time that the establishment in partnership with the people of Pakistan re-establish the Khilafah and oust America’s presence from the region before it is too late.
5/12/2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
How to view the attack on Mumbai?
The following is the transcript of a circle delivered on this topic:
Allah (swt) says in the Qur’an: "O you who believe! If a fasiq (liar – evil person) brings you a news, verify it, lest you harm some people in ignorance and afterward repent of what you did” [TMQ 49:6]
Bearing this Ayah of the Quran in mind Muslim must not accept any news reporting’s blindly. So how do we view the dramatic siege of India’s financial capital Mumbai, where over 190 people were killed and more than 250 people injured, where gunmen took over two of the most prominent landmarks of Mumbai, The Taj Mahal Palace hotel and the Trident-Oberoi and many sporadic shootings also took place in different locations around the city. Some foreign nationals were also amongst those killed. This is the issue that everyone is talking about, we need to therefore understand the issue and have a correct perspective on it:
First it is not clear who were behind the recent siege. As with any crime people should not lay the blame on anyone without clear evidence. Unfortunately it is a common practice today especially by the media to point the finger and blame without clear proof, trial by media should not be accepted. The media is accusing Muslim groups and Pakistan to be behind the blast. The Prophet (saw) said: “A believer is not bitten from the same hole twice”.
There are many things to consider:
The timing of the incident needs to be looked at and we need to consider the events before this and who is going to benefit from this
There have been a series of blasts before this in various places around the country such as in Mumbai previously and more recently in Delhi, Jaipur, Bangalore, Surat, Ahmedabad and Malegoan.
There is clear evidence to suggest that many of these were undertaken by right wing Hindutva forces with links to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Bajarang Dal – who are tied to the Bharti Janta Party (BJP). Due to the upcoming elections in May next year, it was obvious that Congress and BJP would vie for power and use tactics against each other. It is being reported that BJP was to end up third after Congress and BSP in the elections. If BJP were to do so badly in Delhi elections, they would have to write off their hopes for a come-back in next Lok Sabha elections. It is well known that the BJP have previously used violence such as the Gujarat massacre and the Godhra issue for vote bank politics. The exposure by the ATS caused a huge embarrassment for the BJP, with elections around the corner this could have caused major damage for it. The newspapers for the first time had headlines such as Hindu Terrorism! And were using this term. Congress utilized this issue trying to emphasise its secular image.
Recently the Anti-Terror task force (ATS) and its chief Hemant Karkare had exposed links between right wing Hindu groups and the Malegoan and Samjauta express blasts, something which was designed in a manner to pin blame on Muslims. The chief had exposed the involvement of the mode of operations of various radical Hindu groups and despite severe political pressure- including threats to blow up his house and kill him. The timings and method of the Bombay attack certainly served to distract the media glare from the Hindu fascist groups.
Senior officers in the military were involved in these. Malegaon bomb blast case Lt Col P S Purohit was also directly involved with 2007’s twin Samjhauta Express blasts that killed 68 people and injured 50, Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra Police told a Nashik Court. ATS alleged that Purohit is a recruit of Swami Amritanand Dwivedi alias Dayanand Pandey who they claim masterminded the Malegaon blast. The ATS says that Purohit organised RDX for that terror attack too.
Purohit has admitted that he met Sadhvi Pragya Thakur — the other key accused in the blast case — through the Swami. Pragya Singh Thakur (38), is a ‘sadhvi’ (woman monk), was a popular leader of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the BJP. According to ATS chief Hemant Karkare, the motorcycle in which the bomb was planted was traced to her. Narco-analysis on Purohit has revealed that he had been tasked by Army Intelligence to gather information on student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). The right wing Hindu groups and the BJP leader had been holding demonstrations in support of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur the co-accused.
Now coming to the recent attack in Mumbai – there are certain key factors we must look at such as why was ATS chief Hemant Karkare targeted and killed? He was instrumental in exposing the anti-Muslim forces? Why would Muslims target him?
Also the ports are highly guarded, how did attackers come in and bring so many weapons, ammunition, equipment, etc? One of the photos of the attackers shows him wearing a Rakhi (hindu wristband). It is reported that within minutes of the event unfolding they discovered a boat in which these people had landed, and even found a passport and mobile SIM of Pakistani origin, just like in 9/11!
Although it is feasible that Muslims undertook the actual attack, we have to realize that many militant groups are easy to infiltrate and motivate as they rely heavily on money – other forces can direct them for specific actions. This is what is most likely happened in 911 in America, where it is so clear that the US allowed that to happened in order to project US foreign policy. Even many non-Muslim thinkers have exposed the whole issue, many websites by non-Muslims are there highlighting this. It is well known that a group to whom George Bush belongs to called PNAC (Project for the New American Century) had been lobbying Clinton to invade Iraq since 1998 and they said on their website that America needs a catastrophic event like Pearl Harbour to project American foreign policy.
We have to appreciate that it is feasible for political factions in this country utilize issues to win elections. It is well known the BJP had been calling for the Interior Minister Shivraj Patil’s resignation since the earlier blasts, but after the Batla house episode in Delhi, where evidence points that it was fabricated to save Patil’s position. This time he has been forced to resign.
We have to understand the wider politics at play, Congress and BJP are 2 sides of the same coin but are backed by different powers. It is well known that Congress historically since the time of Nehru has allegiance to the British and they even directly attacked the BJP for being pro-American. The Congress Party openly stated its disdain for the relationship between the BJP and USA. In its election manifesto under ‘Security, Defence and Foreign policy, The Congress Agenda’ it states:
“Of equal concern has been the BJP/NDA Government’s policies towards the USA. They have been charcterised by a lack of transparency. Till this day, the country has never been taken into confidence about the outcome of several rounds of discussions which Shri Jaswant Singh as Minister of External Affairs had with Mr. Strobe Talbott, Deputy Secretary of State of the USA. Sadly, a great country like India has been reduced to having a subordinate relationship with the USA where the USA takes India for granted. This is the result of the BJP/NDA Government’s willingness to adjust the US priorities and policies without giving due attention to India’s own vital foreign policy and national security interests. The declaration of Pakistan as a non-NATO ally by the USA recently exposed the BJP’s claim of a “paradigm shift” in Indo-US relations. This declaration caught the Government of India by surprise. The subsequent protests by the Government of India have been very weak and have lacked credibility and conviction. The BJP/NDA Government has failed to take the country into confidence about the national security implications of the new tie-up between Pakistan and the USA. It has also failed to dispel the widely-held fears that India has accepted the mediator role for the USA in Indo-Pakistan relations.”
Islam condemns violence against civilians
It should be clear that Islam condemns the killing of innocent civilians wherever they may be whether in Bombay, London or Madrid. Islam prohibits the targeting of civilians even during legitimate wars. This is established by clear evidences in the Islamic texts:
Ahmad narrated from Safwan bin ‘Asal who said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) sent us in an expedition and said: “Travel in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight those who do not believe in Allah. Do not mutilate, deceive or kill a child.”
Al-Bukhari narrated from ibn Umar who said: “A woman was found killed in some of the battles of the Messenger of Allah (saw), so the Messenger of Allah (saw) prohibited the killing of women and children.”
Ahmad narrated from Al-Aswad bin Sar’i who said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “What is wrong with the people whose killing exceeded today until they killed children? A man said: O Messenger of Allah (saw) they are merely the children of polytheists. He said: Verily the best of you are the children of polytheists.”
Abu Dawud narrated from Anas that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “Go forth in the name of Allah, with Allah and in the creed (millah) of the Messenger of Allah. Do not kill a perishing (fani) old man (shaykh), a child or a woman and do not betray. Gather together your booties and be righteous as Allah loves the righteous.”
Ahmad and Abu Dawud narrated from Rabah bin Rabi’ that he left together with the Messenger of Allah (SAW) in a battle which was fought with Khalid bin Walid at its front. Rabah and the Sahabah of the Messenger of Allah (saw) passed by a woman killed in what the front (group) had struck. They stopped to look at her and were astounded by her beauty, until the Messenger of Allah (saw) met them upon his mount so they made a place for her. The Messenger of Allah (saw) stopped over her and said: “This is not one to fight. Go meet Khalid and say to him: Do not kill children nor the hireling.” So the hadith made the reason for the prohibition of killing her as long as she does not fight.
Why do they label it Islamic terrorism?
When the IRA committed terrorist acts in the past, people didn’t blame the Bible and label them as Christian terrorists or when the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) commit terrorism today, people don’t blame Hinduism and call them Hindu terrorists.
There are so many contradictions.
They use issues such as this in order to further curtail the expression of Islam especially the political aspects, they blur the lines between what they call extremism and terrorism.
Allah (swt) says: “They wish to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths….” [TMQ 9:32]
State Terrorism leads to individual terrorism
What is terrorism? Violence against civilians to achieve political goals. Therefore the USA, Europe, Israel, India etc are the biggest terrorists in the world!
The causes behind acts of violence against innocent people on a wide scale in the world need to be scrutinised in an honest manner. Some of the questions that need to be asked are: What are the factors causing violence against innocents by states, groups and individuals? How do countries and their policies contribute towards this? Does occupation and state oppression lead to a backlash?
We admit that some actions of terrorism are committed by Muslims, however we need to identify the real cause of terrorism. The true cause of individual terrorism is state terrorism. E.g. Imagine if your house was destroyed and your father killed, your sister raped – how do you think you will act? We cannot expect everyone will be restricted by the rules of the Shariah, some of them will go beyond the Shariah and may undertake violent acts. So who is to blame? It is the state terrorism of Israel, America and other nations that causes individual actions.
The killing of all innocent people should be remembered and should be condemned including the civilians being killed as we speak in Gaza and Lebanon by the Israeli state, the 1 million people killed in Iraq due to current occupation, Afghanistan, Gujarat, Kashmir and all other places.
Even Muslims who live under oppression should realise that we must not react in a manner that contradicts the rules of Islam. It is not legitimate for even the oppressed to kill innocent people. They must speak out against the oppression and work against it according to the shariah method. Our emotions must be brought in line with Islam. The Prophet (saw) said in a well known narration, “No one of you is a true believer until his emotions are in line with what I have brought.”
We must also take heed from the words of our beloved Prophet (saw):
Hazzam bin Hakeem narrated from his uncle from the Messenger of Allah (saw) who said: “You are in a time of many jurisprudents (fuqaha), few speakers, many who give and few who ask; so action in this time is better than knowledge. There will soon come a time of few jurisprudents, many speakers, many who beg and few who give; so knowledge in this time is better than action.”
Do not succumb to fear
The Prophet (saw) has told us in a hadith: “Let not the fear of people stop you from speaking the truth when you see or witness something. Verily, speaking the truth or reminding about a great matter will not draw death closer or deprive someone from his provision (rizq).” [Reported by Ahmad]
Bearing this Ayah of the Quran in mind Muslim must not accept any news reporting’s blindly. So how do we view the dramatic siege of India’s financial capital Mumbai, where over 190 people were killed and more than 250 people injured, where gunmen took over two of the most prominent landmarks of Mumbai, The Taj Mahal Palace hotel and the Trident-Oberoi and many sporadic shootings also took place in different locations around the city. Some foreign nationals were also amongst those killed. This is the issue that everyone is talking about, we need to therefore understand the issue and have a correct perspective on it:
First it is not clear who were behind the recent siege. As with any crime people should not lay the blame on anyone without clear evidence. Unfortunately it is a common practice today especially by the media to point the finger and blame without clear proof, trial by media should not be accepted. The media is accusing Muslim groups and Pakistan to be behind the blast. The Prophet (saw) said: “A believer is not bitten from the same hole twice”.
There are many things to consider:
The timing of the incident needs to be looked at and we need to consider the events before this and who is going to benefit from this
There have been a series of blasts before this in various places around the country such as in Mumbai previously and more recently in Delhi, Jaipur, Bangalore, Surat, Ahmedabad and Malegoan.
There is clear evidence to suggest that many of these were undertaken by right wing Hindutva forces with links to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Bajarang Dal – who are tied to the Bharti Janta Party (BJP). Due to the upcoming elections in May next year, it was obvious that Congress and BJP would vie for power and use tactics against each other. It is being reported that BJP was to end up third after Congress and BSP in the elections. If BJP were to do so badly in Delhi elections, they would have to write off their hopes for a come-back in next Lok Sabha elections. It is well known that the BJP have previously used violence such as the Gujarat massacre and the Godhra issue for vote bank politics. The exposure by the ATS caused a huge embarrassment for the BJP, with elections around the corner this could have caused major damage for it. The newspapers for the first time had headlines such as Hindu Terrorism! And were using this term. Congress utilized this issue trying to emphasise its secular image.
Recently the Anti-Terror task force (ATS) and its chief Hemant Karkare had exposed links between right wing Hindu groups and the Malegoan and Samjauta express blasts, something which was designed in a manner to pin blame on Muslims. The chief had exposed the involvement of the mode of operations of various radical Hindu groups and despite severe political pressure- including threats to blow up his house and kill him. The timings and method of the Bombay attack certainly served to distract the media glare from the Hindu fascist groups.
Senior officers in the military were involved in these. Malegaon bomb blast case Lt Col P S Purohit was also directly involved with 2007’s twin Samjhauta Express blasts that killed 68 people and injured 50, Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra Police told a Nashik Court. ATS alleged that Purohit is a recruit of Swami Amritanand Dwivedi alias Dayanand Pandey who they claim masterminded the Malegaon blast. The ATS says that Purohit organised RDX for that terror attack too.
Purohit has admitted that he met Sadhvi Pragya Thakur — the other key accused in the blast case — through the Swami. Pragya Singh Thakur (38), is a ‘sadhvi’ (woman monk), was a popular leader of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the BJP. According to ATS chief Hemant Karkare, the motorcycle in which the bomb was planted was traced to her. Narco-analysis on Purohit has revealed that he had been tasked by Army Intelligence to gather information on student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). The right wing Hindu groups and the BJP leader had been holding demonstrations in support of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur the co-accused.
Now coming to the recent attack in Mumbai – there are certain key factors we must look at such as why was ATS chief Hemant Karkare targeted and killed? He was instrumental in exposing the anti-Muslim forces? Why would Muslims target him?
Also the ports are highly guarded, how did attackers come in and bring so many weapons, ammunition, equipment, etc? One of the photos of the attackers shows him wearing a Rakhi (hindu wristband). It is reported that within minutes of the event unfolding they discovered a boat in which these people had landed, and even found a passport and mobile SIM of Pakistani origin, just like in 9/11!
Although it is feasible that Muslims undertook the actual attack, we have to realize that many militant groups are easy to infiltrate and motivate as they rely heavily on money – other forces can direct them for specific actions. This is what is most likely happened in 911 in America, where it is so clear that the US allowed that to happened in order to project US foreign policy. Even many non-Muslim thinkers have exposed the whole issue, many websites by non-Muslims are there highlighting this. It is well known that a group to whom George Bush belongs to called PNAC (Project for the New American Century) had been lobbying Clinton to invade Iraq since 1998 and they said on their website that America needs a catastrophic event like Pearl Harbour to project American foreign policy.
We have to appreciate that it is feasible for political factions in this country utilize issues to win elections. It is well known the BJP had been calling for the Interior Minister Shivraj Patil’s resignation since the earlier blasts, but after the Batla house episode in Delhi, where evidence points that it was fabricated to save Patil’s position. This time he has been forced to resign.
We have to understand the wider politics at play, Congress and BJP are 2 sides of the same coin but are backed by different powers. It is well known that Congress historically since the time of Nehru has allegiance to the British and they even directly attacked the BJP for being pro-American. The Congress Party openly stated its disdain for the relationship between the BJP and USA. In its election manifesto under ‘Security, Defence and Foreign policy, The Congress Agenda’ it states:
“Of equal concern has been the BJP/NDA Government’s policies towards the USA. They have been charcterised by a lack of transparency. Till this day, the country has never been taken into confidence about the outcome of several rounds of discussions which Shri Jaswant Singh as Minister of External Affairs had with Mr. Strobe Talbott, Deputy Secretary of State of the USA. Sadly, a great country like India has been reduced to having a subordinate relationship with the USA where the USA takes India for granted. This is the result of the BJP/NDA Government’s willingness to adjust the US priorities and policies without giving due attention to India’s own vital foreign policy and national security interests. The declaration of Pakistan as a non-NATO ally by the USA recently exposed the BJP’s claim of a “paradigm shift” in Indo-US relations. This declaration caught the Government of India by surprise. The subsequent protests by the Government of India have been very weak and have lacked credibility and conviction. The BJP/NDA Government has failed to take the country into confidence about the national security implications of the new tie-up between Pakistan and the USA. It has also failed to dispel the widely-held fears that India has accepted the mediator role for the USA in Indo-Pakistan relations.”
Islam condemns violence against civilians
It should be clear that Islam condemns the killing of innocent civilians wherever they may be whether in Bombay, London or Madrid. Islam prohibits the targeting of civilians even during legitimate wars. This is established by clear evidences in the Islamic texts:
Ahmad narrated from Safwan bin ‘Asal who said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) sent us in an expedition and said: “Travel in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight those who do not believe in Allah. Do not mutilate, deceive or kill a child.”
Al-Bukhari narrated from ibn Umar who said: “A woman was found killed in some of the battles of the Messenger of Allah (saw), so the Messenger of Allah (saw) prohibited the killing of women and children.”
Ahmad narrated from Al-Aswad bin Sar’i who said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “What is wrong with the people whose killing exceeded today until they killed children? A man said: O Messenger of Allah (saw) they are merely the children of polytheists. He said: Verily the best of you are the children of polytheists.”
Abu Dawud narrated from Anas that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “Go forth in the name of Allah, with Allah and in the creed (millah) of the Messenger of Allah. Do not kill a perishing (fani) old man (shaykh), a child or a woman and do not betray. Gather together your booties and be righteous as Allah loves the righteous.”
Ahmad and Abu Dawud narrated from Rabah bin Rabi’ that he left together with the Messenger of Allah (SAW) in a battle which was fought with Khalid bin Walid at its front. Rabah and the Sahabah of the Messenger of Allah (saw) passed by a woman killed in what the front (group) had struck. They stopped to look at her and were astounded by her beauty, until the Messenger of Allah (saw) met them upon his mount so they made a place for her. The Messenger of Allah (saw) stopped over her and said: “This is not one to fight. Go meet Khalid and say to him: Do not kill children nor the hireling.” So the hadith made the reason for the prohibition of killing her as long as she does not fight.
Why do they label it Islamic terrorism?
When the IRA committed terrorist acts in the past, people didn’t blame the Bible and label them as Christian terrorists or when the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) commit terrorism today, people don’t blame Hinduism and call them Hindu terrorists.
There are so many contradictions.
They use issues such as this in order to further curtail the expression of Islam especially the political aspects, they blur the lines between what they call extremism and terrorism.
Allah (swt) says: “They wish to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths….” [TMQ 9:32]
State Terrorism leads to individual terrorism
What is terrorism? Violence against civilians to achieve political goals. Therefore the USA, Europe, Israel, India etc are the biggest terrorists in the world!
The causes behind acts of violence against innocent people on a wide scale in the world need to be scrutinised in an honest manner. Some of the questions that need to be asked are: What are the factors causing violence against innocents by states, groups and individuals? How do countries and their policies contribute towards this? Does occupation and state oppression lead to a backlash?
We admit that some actions of terrorism are committed by Muslims, however we need to identify the real cause of terrorism. The true cause of individual terrorism is state terrorism. E.g. Imagine if your house was destroyed and your father killed, your sister raped – how do you think you will act? We cannot expect everyone will be restricted by the rules of the Shariah, some of them will go beyond the Shariah and may undertake violent acts. So who is to blame? It is the state terrorism of Israel, America and other nations that causes individual actions.
The killing of all innocent people should be remembered and should be condemned including the civilians being killed as we speak in Gaza and Lebanon by the Israeli state, the 1 million people killed in Iraq due to current occupation, Afghanistan, Gujarat, Kashmir and all other places.
Even Muslims who live under oppression should realise that we must not react in a manner that contradicts the rules of Islam. It is not legitimate for even the oppressed to kill innocent people. They must speak out against the oppression and work against it according to the shariah method. Our emotions must be brought in line with Islam. The Prophet (saw) said in a well known narration, “No one of you is a true believer until his emotions are in line with what I have brought.”
We must also take heed from the words of our beloved Prophet (saw):
Hazzam bin Hakeem narrated from his uncle from the Messenger of Allah (saw) who said: “You are in a time of many jurisprudents (fuqaha), few speakers, many who give and few who ask; so action in this time is better than knowledge. There will soon come a time of few jurisprudents, many speakers, many who beg and few who give; so knowledge in this time is better than action.”
Do not succumb to fear
The Prophet (saw) has told us in a hadith: “Let not the fear of people stop you from speaking the truth when you see or witness something. Verily, speaking the truth or reminding about a great matter will not draw death closer or deprive someone from his provision (rizq).” [Reported by Ahmad]
Eid Khutba - Please circulate
The following is a powerful Khutba that has been prepared to be delivered this Eid al-Adha. Please print it and circulate it to the Khatibs and Imams before Eid Salah. The link to the Urdu version will be uploaded soon.
لبيك اللهم ونحن دون أميـر لبيك اللهم ونحن بلا خلافة
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, though we are without our ruler.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, though we are without the Khilafah.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ، لَبَّيْكَ لا شَرِيكَ لَكَ لَبَّيْكَ، إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ وَالنِّعْمَةَ لَكَ وَالْمُلْكَ، لا شَرِيكَ لَكَ .
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, Oh Allah! You have no partner,
All praise is only to you, all favours are from You and only You are The Owner of all, You have no partner.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَكَيْفَ لا نُلَبِّيْ, وَقَدْ لَبَّىْ قَبْلَنا الْحَجَرُ وَالشَّجَرُ وَالتُّرابُ وَكُلُّ مَنْ سَمِعَ إِبْراهِيمَ مُنادِياً لِلْحَجِّ فَكانَ عَلَيْهِ الآذانُ وَعَلَيْكَ الْبَلاغُ .
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, and how can it be other wise when even the mountains, the trees and sands have already responded to your call. Whoever has heard the call of Syeddina Ibrahim (a.s) calling for Hajj, it becomes incumbent upon him to carry the call forward and You Oh Allah, has only to order us!
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ مُجْتَمِعِينَ عَلَىْ صَعِيدٍ واحِدٍ تَتَجَلَّىْ وَحْدَتُنا فِيْ شَعائِرِنا وَمَشاعِرِنا وَحالِنا وَآلامِنا وَلكِنْ فَرَّقَنا حُكّامُنا.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, We have all gathered at the same level and our unity is manifest in our Arkan al Hajj, our oneness is reflected in our common plight, and our unity is demonstrated in our identical sorrows! We are only separated by our rulers!
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَنَحْنُ جُمُوعٌ مُتَفَرِّقَةٌ تَتَجَمَّعُ فِيْ الْحَجِّ وَتَتَفَرَّقُ بَعْدَهُ تَحْتَ دُوَيْلاتٍ ما أَنْزَلَ اللهُ بِها مِنْ سُلْطانٍ تَتَصارَعُ بَيْنَها أَكْثَرَ مِمّا تُواجِهُ عَدُوَّها.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, Oh Allah! We are a gathering of different people united in the Hajj and will again be forced to separate in small countries and sheikhdoms which You Oh Allah! Have not ordained. Though we are one, yet we are forced to return to such countries who fight mostly among themselves rather than fighting their common enemy!
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ دُونَ أَمِيرٍ يُؤَمَّرُ عَلَيْنا أَوْ خَلِيفَةٍ يَرْعَىْ شُؤُونَنا . لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ أَتَيْناكَ مُلَبِّينَ لأَداءِ فَرِيضَةِ الْحَجِّ وَلكِنّا لَمْ نُؤَدِّ بَعْدُ تاجَ الْفُرُوضِ وَالسُّلْطانُ لازالَ لِغَيْرِ الإِسْلامِ.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, and we are without a ruler who should lead us and we are without a Khaleefah who could take care of our affairs!
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ نَلْبِسُ مَلابِسَ الإِحْرامِ, مُتَذَكِّرِينَ الْكَفَنَ وَالْمَوْتَ, نَطُوفُ حَوْلَ الْكَعْبَةِ مُتَذَكِّرِينَ, أَنَّ عَلَيْنا أَنْ نَدُورَ مَعَ الإِسْلامِ حَيْثُ دارَ, ذلِكَ أَنَّ الْقُرْآنَ وَالسُّلْطانَ قَدِ افْتَرَقا .
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, while we are wearing the Ahram; we are reminded of the Kafan and our death. While we are circumambulating round the Ka’bah, and we realise that we have to actually do so with the land as Dar al Islam, but this is because the Quran and ruling have become separated!
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَنَحْنُ أَشْباهُ أُمَّةٍ, بَعْدَ أَنْ كُنّا خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ, خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنّاسِ فَقَدْ وُلِّيَ عَلَيْنا رُوَيْبِضاتٌ مُتَآمِرُونَ عَلَىْ الإِسْلامِ وَأَهْلِهِ .
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, we are now merely a reflection of the Ummah, an Ummah which was the best of nations, which You had raised for the betterment of all humanity and now we are ruled over by beasts who have subjugated Islam & Muslims.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَنَحْنُ مُنْشَغِلُونَ بِهُمُومِنا نَشْكُو إِلَيْكَ ضَعْفَ قُوَّتِنا وَما نَزَلَ بِنا مِنْ مَآسٍ وَنَكَباتٍ.لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَحالُنا لَمْ يَخْتَلِفْ عَنِ الْعامِ الْماضِيْ بَلِ ازْدادَ ذُلاًّ وَهَواناً.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, and we are overwhelmed by our distresses & sorrows and we only complain to you about our weakness and the tragedies and disasters that have befallen over us. Oh Allah! We are at Your service, and our predicament is no better than what it was a year ago, our humiliation has only worsened and we are weaker.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَلا زالَتْ فِلَسْطِينُ وَالْعِراقُ وكشمير وافغانستان مُحْتَلَّيْنِ مِنْ قِبَلِ مَنْ لا يَرْقُبُ فِيْ اللهِ إِلاًّ وَلا ذِمَّةً .
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, while Palestine, Iraq, Kashmir and Afghanistan remain occupied by those neither regard ties of kinship nor honour their pledged commitments.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَلازالَ الرُّوَيْبِضاتُ يَعْتَبِرُونَ مُشْكِلَةَ الشِّيشانِ بَلْ وُكَلَّ الْمَشاكِلِ الَّتِيْ تُواجِهُها الأُمَّةُ عَلَىْ أَنَّها شَأْنٌ داخِلِيٌّ.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, but our rulers look upon the conflict of Chechnya and every other problem faced by the Ummah as their own internal problem and not that of the Ummah as a whole.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَقَدْ غُزِيْنا فِيْ عُقْرِ دارِنا وَقَدِ اغْتُصِبَتْ نِساؤُنا وَقُتِلَتْ رِجالُنا وَيُتِّمَتْ أَطْفالُنا وَانْتُهِكَتْ حُرُماتُنا عَلَىْ مَرْأَىْ وَمَسْمَعِ حُكّامِنا .
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, whole we are fighting in the heart of our lands, our women are usurped, our men are butchered, our children are turned into orphans and our sanctities are trampled upon and violated, and yet our rulers look upon all this and not only remain unmoved but entertain our very killers!
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَقُلُوبُنا كَسِيرَة,ٌ وَأَيْدِينا قَصِيرَة,ٌ وَدُمُوعُنا غَزيرة, نَسْأَلُكَ أَنْ تَكْشِفَ ما بِنا مِنْ عَذابٍ وَظُلْمٍ وَهَوانٍ.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, our hearts are broken, our tears are flowing like a stream, our strengths are weak, and we ask You to relieve us of this humiliation, persecution and torture.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَلَمْ نَعُدْ أُمَّةً واحِدَةً تُطِيعُ إِماماً واحِداً فِيْ ظِلِّ إِمامٍ واحِدٍ بَلْ شِرْذِمَةٌ وَغُثاءٌ كَغُثاءِ السَّيْلِ.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, though we are not united as one Ummah under one Imam and obeying one Imam rather we are splintered and wayward like the trash flowing on the shores of the seas.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ مارِّينَ بِمَدِينَةِ حَبِيبِكَ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّىْ اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ نُواةِ الدَّوْلَةِ الإِسْلامِيَّةِ الأُولَىْ بَلَدِ أَنْصارِ رَسُولِ اللهِ أَبْناءِ النُّقَباءِ الَّذِينَ عاهَدُواْ اللهَ وَرَسُولَهُ عَلَىْ الطّاعَةِ وَأَداءِ الأَمانَةِ .
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, we have walked past Madeenah, the city of Your beloved Prophet (saw), which was the heart of the First Islamic State and was the place of the Ansar, the pioneers who gave their pledge to You and Your Prophet (saw) to obey and be trustworthy.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَأُمَّةُ حَبِيبِكَ مُحَمَّدٍ بِأَمَسِّ الْْحاجَةِ لِمَنْ يَنْصُرُها وَيُبايِعُها عَلَىْ الصَّبْرِ وَالثَّباتِ لِيُزِيحُواْ طاغُوتَ أَمْرِيكا وَأَعْوانِها لِيَتَوَلَّىْ أُمُورَ الأُمَّةِ خِيارُها مَنْ لا يَخافُ فِيْ اللهِ لَوْمَةَ لائِمٍ.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, and the Ummah of Your Prophet (saw) is in dire need of who will protect it and to pledge their bai’ah for patience and steadfastness in order to expel the Taghoot of America and its allies and will take charge of the affairs of the Ummah and protect its interests. Such an Ameer, who will not stoop before the enemy and will not be afraid of the blame of the blamers.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَنَحْنُ مَحْكُومُونَ بِحُكّامٍ غَيْرِ شَرْعِيِّينَ يَقْضُونَ لأَنْفُسِهِمْ ما لا يَقْضُونَ لَنا نَصَّبُواْ أَنْفُسَهُمْ عَلَيْنا وَجَرَّعُونا غُصَصَ الذُّلِّ وَجَعَلُونا أَدْنَىْ الأُمَمِ.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, we are subjugated to the illegitimate rulers who apportion to themselves what they do not apportion to us and who have foisted themselves over us and have led us to this level of humiliation and made us the most dishonoured of people.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَنَحْنُ مَحْرُومُونَ مِنْ خَلِيفَةٍ يَسُوسُنا بِالْحَقِّ وَيَحْكُمُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَيُبَلِّغُنا مَبالِغَ الْعِزِّ بِالْجِهادِ.لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ مُصَلِّينَ مُسَلِّمِينَ عَلَىْ خَيْرِ الأَنامِ واقِفِينَ أَمامَ قَبْرِهِ وَالدَّمْعُ يَسِيلُ خَجَلاً وَهَيْبَةً وَإِكْباراً.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, we are deprived of a Khaleefah who would manage our affairs as they should be, a Khaleefah who would provide us with justice and lead us to jihad so we could again occupy a position of honour & prestige. Oh Allah! We are at Your service, we offer our prayers as Muslims and render our respects at the grave of the Prophet (saw) while our eyes are full of tears because we are ashamed and overwhelmed.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَقَدْ تُرِكَ الأَمْرُ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَالنَّهْيُ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ لا بَلْ أُمِرَ بِالْمُنْكَرِ وَنُهِيَ عَنِ الْمَعْرُوفِ.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, but not only ordering the Ma’ruf and preventing the Munkar has been abandoned, rather we are ordered for the Munkar and prevented from the Ma’ruf.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَكانَ ما أَخْبَرَ بِهِ حَبِيبِيْ وَمُهْجَةُ قَلْبِيْ مُحَمَّدٌ صَلَّىْ اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَدْ وُلِّيَ عَلَيْنا شِرارُنا حَمَلُواْ لَنا سِياطاً كَأَذْنابِ الْبَقَرِ قَذَفُواْ فِيْ النّارِ مَنْ أَطاعَهُمْ وَجَلَدُواْ وَقَتَلُواْ وَشَرَّدُواْ مَنْ خالَفَهُمْ .
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, what ever the Prophet (saw) informed us is the lifeblood of our souls. The worst of our people have been mounted over us as our rulers who lead us by their lashes like herds of cows, who ever follows them, he is lead to the doors of hell, and whoever defies them is lashed and killed.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَقَدْ تَداعَتْ عَلَيْنا الأُمَمُ تَداعِيَ الأَكَلَةِ إِلَىْ قَصْعَتِها ذلِكَ أَنّا أَيْتامٌ دُعِينا عَلَىْ مَوائِدِ اللِّئامِ .
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, the nations of the world feed over us like easy morsels of food, this is because we are no better than orphans.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَمَلايِينٌ تَنْتَظِرُ تَلْبِيَةَ النِّداءِ وَلَمْ يَمْنَعْها مِنَ التَّلْبِيَةِ الْمالُ وَالْوَلَدُ بَلْ مَنَعَهُمْ حُدُودٌ وَحَواجِزٌ وَصَدُّ طُغاةٍ جَبابِرَةٍ تَحَكَّمُواْ بِالرِّقابِ وَالْعِبادِ .
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, millions are waiting for the call of jihad, and we are not prevented by a shortage of either the willing youth or wealth, rather we are prevented by the borders and barriers imposed by the menace of Taghoot who have subjugated us.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَقَدْ شُتِمَ نَبِيُّنا وَلَمْ نُحَرِّكْ ساكِناً بَلِ اسْتَقْبَلْنا مَنْ شَتَمَهُ فِيْ آخِرِ مَعْقِلٍ لِلدَّوْلَةِ الإِسْلامِيَّةِ دُونَ خَجَلٍ مِنَ اللهِ أَوِ الْعِبادِ لا بَلْ وَدَعَوْناهُ لِلصَّلاةِ فِيْ جَوامِعِنا .
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, our Prophet (saw) has been abused and vilified, yet we are silent, we are not only unmoved, but without any sense of shame, we have welcomed the abusers in the very hearts of the Islamic lands and allowed them in our mosques!
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَلا يَزالُ فِينا فِئَةٌ لِلْحَقِّ عامِلِينَ لِرَبِّهِمْ عابِدِينَ يَصِلُونَ اللَّيْلَ بِالنَّهارِ لإِعْزازِ دِينِكَ وَالتَّضْحِيَةِ فِيْ سَبِيلِكَ وَإِعادَةِ الْحُكْمِ بِما أَنْزَلْتَ وَأَمَرْتَ .
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, Al Hamdu lillah, we still have a group of people who are committed to truth and Haqq, who are working for You, who pray day & night in order to restore honour & prestige to Your deen and to sacrifice themselves in Your path so that the entire world is again ruled by what You have revealed and ordered.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ ساعِينَ فِيْ رِضاكَ مُتَوَكِّلِينَ عَلَيْكَ واثِقِينَ بِجَمِيلِ وَعْدِكَ وَقُرْبِ نَصْرِكَ.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, we are exerting all our efforts to gain Your pleasure, we rely only upon You and we fully believe in Your promise of help shortly.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ واقِفِينَ أَمامَ بابِكَ مُحْتَمِينَ بِجَنابِكَ مُوْقِنِينَ أَنَّكَ لا تَرُدُّ دَعْوَةَ عَبْدٍ دَعاكَ سائِلِينَكَ اللَّهُمَّ أَنْ تَفُكَّ عَنّا هذا الْعِقالَ وَتُرِيحَنا مِنْ حُكّامِنا.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, We stand at the doors of Your decisive & Unquestionable superiority, with the hope that You will not turn Your servants away. We pray to You to relieve us from the clutches of our treacherous rulers.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَنَحْنُ عَلَىْ يَقِينٍ أَنَّ وَعْدَكَ حَقٌّ وَبُشْرَى نَبِيِّكَ حَقٌّ وَالْخِلافَةُ آتِيَةٌ لا رَيْبَ فِيها وَأَنَّ النَّصْرَ بِيَدِكَ تُؤْتِيهِ مَتَىْ تَشاءُ لِمَنْ تَشاءُ.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, we are fully convinced that Your promise is true and the glad tidings of Your Prophet (saw) is true as well, and that the Khilafah is undoubtedly on its way, and that assistance and protection is only in Your hand for whomever You wish and whenever You want.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ، لَبَّيْكَ لا شَرِيكَ لَكَ لَبَّيْكَ، إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ وَالنِّعْمَةَ لَكَ وَالْمُلْكَ، لا شَرِيكَ لَكَ.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, Oh Allah! You have no partner,
All praise is only to you, all favours are from You and only You are The Owner of all, You have no partner.
لبيك اللهم ونحن دون أميـر لبيك اللهم ونحن بلا خلافة
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, though we are without our ruler.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, though we are without the Khilafah.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ، لَبَّيْكَ لا شَرِيكَ لَكَ لَبَّيْكَ، إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ وَالنِّعْمَةَ لَكَ وَالْمُلْكَ، لا شَرِيكَ لَكَ .
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, Oh Allah! You have no partner,
All praise is only to you, all favours are from You and only You are The Owner of all, You have no partner.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَكَيْفَ لا نُلَبِّيْ, وَقَدْ لَبَّىْ قَبْلَنا الْحَجَرُ وَالشَّجَرُ وَالتُّرابُ وَكُلُّ مَنْ سَمِعَ إِبْراهِيمَ مُنادِياً لِلْحَجِّ فَكانَ عَلَيْهِ الآذانُ وَعَلَيْكَ الْبَلاغُ .
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, and how can it be other wise when even the mountains, the trees and sands have already responded to your call. Whoever has heard the call of Syeddina Ibrahim (a.s) calling for Hajj, it becomes incumbent upon him to carry the call forward and You Oh Allah, has only to order us!
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ مُجْتَمِعِينَ عَلَىْ صَعِيدٍ واحِدٍ تَتَجَلَّىْ وَحْدَتُنا فِيْ شَعائِرِنا وَمَشاعِرِنا وَحالِنا وَآلامِنا وَلكِنْ فَرَّقَنا حُكّامُنا.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, We have all gathered at the same level and our unity is manifest in our Arkan al Hajj, our oneness is reflected in our common plight, and our unity is demonstrated in our identical sorrows! We are only separated by our rulers!
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَنَحْنُ جُمُوعٌ مُتَفَرِّقَةٌ تَتَجَمَّعُ فِيْ الْحَجِّ وَتَتَفَرَّقُ بَعْدَهُ تَحْتَ دُوَيْلاتٍ ما أَنْزَلَ اللهُ بِها مِنْ سُلْطانٍ تَتَصارَعُ بَيْنَها أَكْثَرَ مِمّا تُواجِهُ عَدُوَّها.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, Oh Allah! We are a gathering of different people united in the Hajj and will again be forced to separate in small countries and sheikhdoms which You Oh Allah! Have not ordained. Though we are one, yet we are forced to return to such countries who fight mostly among themselves rather than fighting their common enemy!
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ دُونَ أَمِيرٍ يُؤَمَّرُ عَلَيْنا أَوْ خَلِيفَةٍ يَرْعَىْ شُؤُونَنا . لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ أَتَيْناكَ مُلَبِّينَ لأَداءِ فَرِيضَةِ الْحَجِّ وَلكِنّا لَمْ نُؤَدِّ بَعْدُ تاجَ الْفُرُوضِ وَالسُّلْطانُ لازالَ لِغَيْرِ الإِسْلامِ.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, and we are without a ruler who should lead us and we are without a Khaleefah who could take care of our affairs!
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ نَلْبِسُ مَلابِسَ الإِحْرامِ, مُتَذَكِّرِينَ الْكَفَنَ وَالْمَوْتَ, نَطُوفُ حَوْلَ الْكَعْبَةِ مُتَذَكِّرِينَ, أَنَّ عَلَيْنا أَنْ نَدُورَ مَعَ الإِسْلامِ حَيْثُ دارَ, ذلِكَ أَنَّ الْقُرْآنَ وَالسُّلْطانَ قَدِ افْتَرَقا .
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, while we are wearing the Ahram; we are reminded of the Kafan and our death. While we are circumambulating round the Ka’bah, and we realise that we have to actually do so with the land as Dar al Islam, but this is because the Quran and ruling have become separated!
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَنَحْنُ أَشْباهُ أُمَّةٍ, بَعْدَ أَنْ كُنّا خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ, خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنّاسِ فَقَدْ وُلِّيَ عَلَيْنا رُوَيْبِضاتٌ مُتَآمِرُونَ عَلَىْ الإِسْلامِ وَأَهْلِهِ .
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, we are now merely a reflection of the Ummah, an Ummah which was the best of nations, which You had raised for the betterment of all humanity and now we are ruled over by beasts who have subjugated Islam & Muslims.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَنَحْنُ مُنْشَغِلُونَ بِهُمُومِنا نَشْكُو إِلَيْكَ ضَعْفَ قُوَّتِنا وَما نَزَلَ بِنا مِنْ مَآسٍ وَنَكَباتٍ.لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَحالُنا لَمْ يَخْتَلِفْ عَنِ الْعامِ الْماضِيْ بَلِ ازْدادَ ذُلاًّ وَهَواناً.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, and we are overwhelmed by our distresses & sorrows and we only complain to you about our weakness and the tragedies and disasters that have befallen over us. Oh Allah! We are at Your service, and our predicament is no better than what it was a year ago, our humiliation has only worsened and we are weaker.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَلا زالَتْ فِلَسْطِينُ وَالْعِراقُ وكشمير وافغانستان مُحْتَلَّيْنِ مِنْ قِبَلِ مَنْ لا يَرْقُبُ فِيْ اللهِ إِلاًّ وَلا ذِمَّةً .
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, while Palestine, Iraq, Kashmir and Afghanistan remain occupied by those neither regard ties of kinship nor honour their pledged commitments.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَلازالَ الرُّوَيْبِضاتُ يَعْتَبِرُونَ مُشْكِلَةَ الشِّيشانِ بَلْ وُكَلَّ الْمَشاكِلِ الَّتِيْ تُواجِهُها الأُمَّةُ عَلَىْ أَنَّها شَأْنٌ داخِلِيٌّ.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, but our rulers look upon the conflict of Chechnya and every other problem faced by the Ummah as their own internal problem and not that of the Ummah as a whole.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَقَدْ غُزِيْنا فِيْ عُقْرِ دارِنا وَقَدِ اغْتُصِبَتْ نِساؤُنا وَقُتِلَتْ رِجالُنا وَيُتِّمَتْ أَطْفالُنا وَانْتُهِكَتْ حُرُماتُنا عَلَىْ مَرْأَىْ وَمَسْمَعِ حُكّامِنا .
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, whole we are fighting in the heart of our lands, our women are usurped, our men are butchered, our children are turned into orphans and our sanctities are trampled upon and violated, and yet our rulers look upon all this and not only remain unmoved but entertain our very killers!
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَقُلُوبُنا كَسِيرَة,ٌ وَأَيْدِينا قَصِيرَة,ٌ وَدُمُوعُنا غَزيرة, نَسْأَلُكَ أَنْ تَكْشِفَ ما بِنا مِنْ عَذابٍ وَظُلْمٍ وَهَوانٍ.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, our hearts are broken, our tears are flowing like a stream, our strengths are weak, and we ask You to relieve us of this humiliation, persecution and torture.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَلَمْ نَعُدْ أُمَّةً واحِدَةً تُطِيعُ إِماماً واحِداً فِيْ ظِلِّ إِمامٍ واحِدٍ بَلْ شِرْذِمَةٌ وَغُثاءٌ كَغُثاءِ السَّيْلِ.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, though we are not united as one Ummah under one Imam and obeying one Imam rather we are splintered and wayward like the trash flowing on the shores of the seas.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ مارِّينَ بِمَدِينَةِ حَبِيبِكَ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّىْ اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ نُواةِ الدَّوْلَةِ الإِسْلامِيَّةِ الأُولَىْ بَلَدِ أَنْصارِ رَسُولِ اللهِ أَبْناءِ النُّقَباءِ الَّذِينَ عاهَدُواْ اللهَ وَرَسُولَهُ عَلَىْ الطّاعَةِ وَأَداءِ الأَمانَةِ .
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, we have walked past Madeenah, the city of Your beloved Prophet (saw), which was the heart of the First Islamic State and was the place of the Ansar, the pioneers who gave their pledge to You and Your Prophet (saw) to obey and be trustworthy.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَأُمَّةُ حَبِيبِكَ مُحَمَّدٍ بِأَمَسِّ الْْحاجَةِ لِمَنْ يَنْصُرُها وَيُبايِعُها عَلَىْ الصَّبْرِ وَالثَّباتِ لِيُزِيحُواْ طاغُوتَ أَمْرِيكا وَأَعْوانِها لِيَتَوَلَّىْ أُمُورَ الأُمَّةِ خِيارُها مَنْ لا يَخافُ فِيْ اللهِ لَوْمَةَ لائِمٍ.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, and the Ummah of Your Prophet (saw) is in dire need of who will protect it and to pledge their bai’ah for patience and steadfastness in order to expel the Taghoot of America and its allies and will take charge of the affairs of the Ummah and protect its interests. Such an Ameer, who will not stoop before the enemy and will not be afraid of the blame of the blamers.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَنَحْنُ مَحْكُومُونَ بِحُكّامٍ غَيْرِ شَرْعِيِّينَ يَقْضُونَ لأَنْفُسِهِمْ ما لا يَقْضُونَ لَنا نَصَّبُواْ أَنْفُسَهُمْ عَلَيْنا وَجَرَّعُونا غُصَصَ الذُّلِّ وَجَعَلُونا أَدْنَىْ الأُمَمِ.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, we are subjugated to the illegitimate rulers who apportion to themselves what they do not apportion to us and who have foisted themselves over us and have led us to this level of humiliation and made us the most dishonoured of people.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَنَحْنُ مَحْرُومُونَ مِنْ خَلِيفَةٍ يَسُوسُنا بِالْحَقِّ وَيَحْكُمُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَيُبَلِّغُنا مَبالِغَ الْعِزِّ بِالْجِهادِ.لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ مُصَلِّينَ مُسَلِّمِينَ عَلَىْ خَيْرِ الأَنامِ واقِفِينَ أَمامَ قَبْرِهِ وَالدَّمْعُ يَسِيلُ خَجَلاً وَهَيْبَةً وَإِكْباراً.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, we are deprived of a Khaleefah who would manage our affairs as they should be, a Khaleefah who would provide us with justice and lead us to jihad so we could again occupy a position of honour & prestige. Oh Allah! We are at Your service, we offer our prayers as Muslims and render our respects at the grave of the Prophet (saw) while our eyes are full of tears because we are ashamed and overwhelmed.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَقَدْ تُرِكَ الأَمْرُ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَالنَّهْيُ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ لا بَلْ أُمِرَ بِالْمُنْكَرِ وَنُهِيَ عَنِ الْمَعْرُوفِ.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, but not only ordering the Ma’ruf and preventing the Munkar has been abandoned, rather we are ordered for the Munkar and prevented from the Ma’ruf.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَكانَ ما أَخْبَرَ بِهِ حَبِيبِيْ وَمُهْجَةُ قَلْبِيْ مُحَمَّدٌ صَلَّىْ اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَدْ وُلِّيَ عَلَيْنا شِرارُنا حَمَلُواْ لَنا سِياطاً كَأَذْنابِ الْبَقَرِ قَذَفُواْ فِيْ النّارِ مَنْ أَطاعَهُمْ وَجَلَدُواْ وَقَتَلُواْ وَشَرَّدُواْ مَنْ خالَفَهُمْ .
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, what ever the Prophet (saw) informed us is the lifeblood of our souls. The worst of our people have been mounted over us as our rulers who lead us by their lashes like herds of cows, who ever follows them, he is lead to the doors of hell, and whoever defies them is lashed and killed.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَقَدْ تَداعَتْ عَلَيْنا الأُمَمُ تَداعِيَ الأَكَلَةِ إِلَىْ قَصْعَتِها ذلِكَ أَنّا أَيْتامٌ دُعِينا عَلَىْ مَوائِدِ اللِّئامِ .
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, the nations of the world feed over us like easy morsels of food, this is because we are no better than orphans.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَمَلايِينٌ تَنْتَظِرُ تَلْبِيَةَ النِّداءِ وَلَمْ يَمْنَعْها مِنَ التَّلْبِيَةِ الْمالُ وَالْوَلَدُ بَلْ مَنَعَهُمْ حُدُودٌ وَحَواجِزٌ وَصَدُّ طُغاةٍ جَبابِرَةٍ تَحَكَّمُواْ بِالرِّقابِ وَالْعِبادِ .
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, millions are waiting for the call of jihad, and we are not prevented by a shortage of either the willing youth or wealth, rather we are prevented by the borders and barriers imposed by the menace of Taghoot who have subjugated us.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَقَدْ شُتِمَ نَبِيُّنا وَلَمْ نُحَرِّكْ ساكِناً بَلِ اسْتَقْبَلْنا مَنْ شَتَمَهُ فِيْ آخِرِ مَعْقِلٍ لِلدَّوْلَةِ الإِسْلامِيَّةِ دُونَ خَجَلٍ مِنَ اللهِ أَوِ الْعِبادِ لا بَلْ وَدَعَوْناهُ لِلصَّلاةِ فِيْ جَوامِعِنا .
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, our Prophet (saw) has been abused and vilified, yet we are silent, we are not only unmoved, but without any sense of shame, we have welcomed the abusers in the very hearts of the Islamic lands and allowed them in our mosques!
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَلا يَزالُ فِينا فِئَةٌ لِلْحَقِّ عامِلِينَ لِرَبِّهِمْ عابِدِينَ يَصِلُونَ اللَّيْلَ بِالنَّهارِ لإِعْزازِ دِينِكَ وَالتَّضْحِيَةِ فِيْ سَبِيلِكَ وَإِعادَةِ الْحُكْمِ بِما أَنْزَلْتَ وَأَمَرْتَ .
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, Al Hamdu lillah, we still have a group of people who are committed to truth and Haqq, who are working for You, who pray day & night in order to restore honour & prestige to Your deen and to sacrifice themselves in Your path so that the entire world is again ruled by what You have revealed and ordered.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ ساعِينَ فِيْ رِضاكَ مُتَوَكِّلِينَ عَلَيْكَ واثِقِينَ بِجَمِيلِ وَعْدِكَ وَقُرْبِ نَصْرِكَ.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, we are exerting all our efforts to gain Your pleasure, we rely only upon You and we fully believe in Your promise of help shortly.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ واقِفِينَ أَمامَ بابِكَ مُحْتَمِينَ بِجَنابِكَ مُوْقِنِينَ أَنَّكَ لا تَرُدُّ دَعْوَةَ عَبْدٍ دَعاكَ سائِلِينَكَ اللَّهُمَّ أَنْ تَفُكَّ عَنّا هذا الْعِقالَ وَتُرِيحَنا مِنْ حُكّامِنا.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, We stand at the doors of Your decisive & Unquestionable superiority, with the hope that You will not turn Your servants away. We pray to You to relieve us from the clutches of our treacherous rulers.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَنَحْنُ عَلَىْ يَقِينٍ أَنَّ وَعْدَكَ حَقٌّ وَبُشْرَى نَبِيِّكَ حَقٌّ وَالْخِلافَةُ آتِيَةٌ لا رَيْبَ فِيها وَأَنَّ النَّصْرَ بِيَدِكَ تُؤْتِيهِ مَتَىْ تَشاءُ لِمَنْ تَشاءُ.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, we are fully convinced that Your promise is true and the glad tidings of Your Prophet (saw) is true as well, and that the Khilafah is undoubtedly on its way, and that assistance and protection is only in Your hand for whomever You wish and whenever You want.
لبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ، لَبَّيْكَ لا شَرِيكَ لَكَ لَبَّيْكَ، إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ وَالنِّعْمَةَ لَكَ وَالْمُلْكَ، لا شَرِيكَ لَكَ.
Oh Allah! We are at Your service, Oh Allah! You have no partner,
All praise is only to you, all favours are from You and only You are The Owner of all, You have no partner.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Article 15, Explanation of the Draft Constitution of the Khilafah
The following is from the draft english translation of the Arabic book مقدمة الدستور
أو الأسباب الموجبة له (Introduction to the constitution and the evidences that make it obligatory) published by Hizb ut-Tahrir 1382 Hijri (1963 CE). Please refer to the original Arabic for accurate meanings. Please note some of the adopted opinions of the Hizb have changed since the time the book was published so any of the adopted literature published after this book which contradicts what is mentioned in this book abrogates those specific points.
أو الأسباب الموجبة له (Introduction to the constitution and the evidences that make it obligatory) published by Hizb ut-Tahrir 1382 Hijri (1963 CE). Please refer to the original Arabic for accurate meanings. Please note some of the adopted opinions of the Hizb have changed since the time the book was published so any of the adopted literature published after this book which contradicts what is mentioned in this book abrogates those specific points.
Article No. 15 - The means to Haram is forbidden if it were established with the least amount of doubt that it would lead to Haram. If it were merely feared that it would lead to Haram, it would not be Haram.
Explanation and evidences:
The evidence of this article is reflected in Allah (swt)’s saying: [6 -108] "Do nor revile those who call upon other than Allah lest they out of spite revile Allah in their ignorance." T.M.Q. insulting the Kuffar is Mubah, and Allah (swt) has insulted them in the Qur'an. However, if this insult were to lead to the Kuffar insulting Allah (swt), it would become Haram. This is so because insulting Allah (swt) is forbidden. This is how the Shari'ah principle has been deduced, that is: “The means to Haram is forbidden.” However, this means becomes Haram if it led inevitably to Haram. In other words, if such a means were to lead, with the least amount of doubt, to Haram, and if this Haram has been established by Shari'ah, it would become Haram. Therefore, if the means did not lead to Haram, i.e. if it were only feared that it might lead to Haram, such as the outing of a woman without a face cover, where it is feared that it might cause Fitna, the means in this case would not be Haram, because the mere fear that it might lead to Haram is not sufficient to warrant a prohibition. This is the evidence of this article.
Another similar principle to this one is the following principle: “If one specific item of a Mubah thing leads to harm, that particular item becomes Haram and the thing remains Mubah.” This is reflected in what Bukhari reported on the authority of Nafi’ who said that Abdullah Ibnu Omar informed him: “People came with the Messenger of Allah (saw) to the land of Thamud Al-Hijr; so they took water from its well and made dough with it. The Messenger of Allah (saw) ordered them to spill the water and to give the dough to the animals; he then ordered them to take water from the well which the she camel used to drink from.” In another narration, the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “Do not drink anything from its water and do not used that water to make ablution for Salat, whatever dough that you prepared, give to the animals and do not eat anything from it. None of you should go out at night unless he has a companion with him.” Drinking water is Mubah, but that particular water, that is the water of Thamud, has been made prohibited by the Messenger of Allah (saw) because it led to harm; however, water in general remained Mubah. Also, it is Mubah for a person to go out at night without a companion, but the Messenger of Allah (saw) prohibited anyone form among that army, in that particular night and at that particular place, from going out because it led to harm; apart from this, going out at night without a companion remained Mubah. This serves as evidence that a particular item of the Mubah thing becomes Haram if it led to harm, and the thing in general remains Mubah.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Articles on Hajj
As we are now within the blessed month of Zull-Hajj the following are some useful articles related to Hajj:
The Magnitude of Hajj
Lessons from the story of Ibrahim (as)
Lessons from Hajj
The Magnitude of Hajj
Lessons from the story of Ibrahim (as)
Lessons from Hajj
Views on the News - 28/11/08
Latin America: Russia Bolsters ties with Venezuela
Taking advantage of America’s waning influence in Latin America, leaders of Russia and Venezuela vowed closer cooperation to establish a “multi-polar” world. The pledge came ahead of planned Russian Naval exercises with Venezuela. Speaking about the closer military cooperation Russian President Medvedev said, “is not a market relationship or aimed at any other state but is based on partnership ... It should strengthen multi-polarity in the world including in South America and Latin America...We will develop our military cooperation.” Hugo Chavez the leader of Venezuela expressed harsher words about US hegemony. “We should fight to make a world of catastrophes caused by hegemony and unilateralism a thing of the past,” said Chavez, going on to denounce what he called the “dictatorship of the dollar” and announcing efforts to move away from dollar transactions in trade with Russia. On the commercial front the two countries inked an agreement on atomic energy and also signed an agreement on cooperation in the fossil fuel sector, aimed at stepping up existing exploration projects in Venezuela by companies such as Gazprom. The agreements are an unequivocal reminder that Russia is carefully manoeuvring itself in the region to offset NATO’s expansion eastward and American presence in the Black Sea.
Europe: In an unprecedented move China cancels its summit with EU
On 26/11/2008 China announced that it was to postpone a summit with the EU - planned for 1 December - because of European contacts with the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. EU diplomats say China has been angered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy's plans to meet the Dalai Lama. France holds the EU's rotating presidency. Mr Sarkozy has said he will meet the Dalai Lama in Poland on 6 December. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said "we oppose any foreign leaders having any contact with the Dalai". The Chinese government has previously said Mr Sarkozy risks losing "hard-won" gains in ties with Beijing if he meets the Dalai Lama. This is the first time that the Chinese government has taken the unprecedented step of cancelling a summit meeting with the EU. The move is a growing sign of a confident China that is increasingly willing to put its national interests ahead of its commercial interests. In this case, Beijing regards Tibet an integral part of China and has eschewed any attempts by the West to suggest otherwise.
Middle East: Jewish state of terror
Gaza’s complete suffocation has already resulted in a human catastrophe not witnessed before even during the times of war. What kind of government in the 21st century can deny another people basic human rights— that is, the right to food, water, shelter, security and dignity? What kind of government imposes draconian sanctions on another people for electing a government not to its liking? What kind of government seals a heavily populated territory of 1.5 million people so that no person can enter or leave without permission, fishermen cannot fish in their own waters, and world food aid cannot be delivered to the starving population? What kind of government shuts off fuel, water and electricity and then rains down on the people, bombs and artillery fire? The brutal state Israel of course! And yet, government after government in Israel continues to demand recognition and accolades as a first world democracy superior to all others. Worse still, the world has acquiesced and has welcomed every Israeli administration into its fold as a favoured guest. The rulers of the Muslim world are by far the biggest culprits. Without their economic support, phoney wars and peace overtures the Jewish state would cease to exist.
Middle East: Dubai goes from Boom to Bust
On 24/11/2008 nervous property investors were told that the Government of the United Arab Emirates would stand behind Dubai's obligations. Dubai’s debt stands at $80 billion or $40,000 per person. To dispel the concerns of investors, a deal was done to bail out two struggling mortgage banks that dominate the city-state's overheated property market. Amlak Finance and Tamweel were folded into a shadowy government institution out of which emerged a new entity, Emirates Development Bank. Dubai and other oil rich gulf states were supposed to be rich, floating on a magic carpet of hydrocarbons. The oil is still there, but everyone is learning that the Gulf's economies are as connected to the global financial system. Across the region markets are falling in nations awash with petrodollars. This is not surprising as the capitalist economic system dominants the gulf countries with some dressing of Islamic finance. 2009 is going to be a tough year for the region as Western demands for dollars places heavy pressure on GCC countries to sacrifice their economies in preference for western economies.
South Asia: India again points the finger at Pakistan over the Mumbai attacks
On 27/11/2008 the Indian Prime Minister in collusion with the Indian media squarely held Pakistan responsible for the attacks that left 130 people dead and over 350 injured. However, pointing fingers at Pakistan does very little to masquerade the growing influence of secessionist and militant movements that routinely blame Indian governments for oppressing their people. Apart from the well known Kashmiri militants, India is beset with armed militant movements struggling for greater rights. Some of the notable ones are United Liberation Front of Asom, National Democratic Front of Bodoland, People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak, National Liberation Front of Tripura, Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council, Bru National Liberation Front, Arunachal Dragon Force, Khalistan Liberation Force etc. Added to the secessionist movements are a myriad of Hindu militant movements that seek to cleanse India of Muslims and Christians. To put it another way, India is a country teetering on the brink of dissolution. Given this reality, it is insidious for any Pakistani leader to give concessions to a belligerent India that regards Pakistan as a reneged province of mother India. Last week, Pakistani President Asif Zardari broke with tradition and delighted India with no nuclear first strike policy. His predecessor Musharraf broke another taboo by officially abandoning the Kashmiri people. Pandering to Indian demands will never allow the Pakistani establishment to overcome the nexus of American-Indian-Israeli cooperation.
28/11/2008
Taking advantage of America’s waning influence in Latin America, leaders of Russia and Venezuela vowed closer cooperation to establish a “multi-polar” world. The pledge came ahead of planned Russian Naval exercises with Venezuela. Speaking about the closer military cooperation Russian President Medvedev said, “is not a market relationship or aimed at any other state but is based on partnership ... It should strengthen multi-polarity in the world including in South America and Latin America...We will develop our military cooperation.” Hugo Chavez the leader of Venezuela expressed harsher words about US hegemony. “We should fight to make a world of catastrophes caused by hegemony and unilateralism a thing of the past,” said Chavez, going on to denounce what he called the “dictatorship of the dollar” and announcing efforts to move away from dollar transactions in trade with Russia. On the commercial front the two countries inked an agreement on atomic energy and also signed an agreement on cooperation in the fossil fuel sector, aimed at stepping up existing exploration projects in Venezuela by companies such as Gazprom. The agreements are an unequivocal reminder that Russia is carefully manoeuvring itself in the region to offset NATO’s expansion eastward and American presence in the Black Sea.
Europe: In an unprecedented move China cancels its summit with EU
On 26/11/2008 China announced that it was to postpone a summit with the EU - planned for 1 December - because of European contacts with the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. EU diplomats say China has been angered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy's plans to meet the Dalai Lama. France holds the EU's rotating presidency. Mr Sarkozy has said he will meet the Dalai Lama in Poland on 6 December. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said "we oppose any foreign leaders having any contact with the Dalai". The Chinese government has previously said Mr Sarkozy risks losing "hard-won" gains in ties with Beijing if he meets the Dalai Lama. This is the first time that the Chinese government has taken the unprecedented step of cancelling a summit meeting with the EU. The move is a growing sign of a confident China that is increasingly willing to put its national interests ahead of its commercial interests. In this case, Beijing regards Tibet an integral part of China and has eschewed any attempts by the West to suggest otherwise.
Middle East: Jewish state of terror
Gaza’s complete suffocation has already resulted in a human catastrophe not witnessed before even during the times of war. What kind of government in the 21st century can deny another people basic human rights— that is, the right to food, water, shelter, security and dignity? What kind of government imposes draconian sanctions on another people for electing a government not to its liking? What kind of government seals a heavily populated territory of 1.5 million people so that no person can enter or leave without permission, fishermen cannot fish in their own waters, and world food aid cannot be delivered to the starving population? What kind of government shuts off fuel, water and electricity and then rains down on the people, bombs and artillery fire? The brutal state Israel of course! And yet, government after government in Israel continues to demand recognition and accolades as a first world democracy superior to all others. Worse still, the world has acquiesced and has welcomed every Israeli administration into its fold as a favoured guest. The rulers of the Muslim world are by far the biggest culprits. Without their economic support, phoney wars and peace overtures the Jewish state would cease to exist.
Middle East: Dubai goes from Boom to Bust
On 24/11/2008 nervous property investors were told that the Government of the United Arab Emirates would stand behind Dubai's obligations. Dubai’s debt stands at $80 billion or $40,000 per person. To dispel the concerns of investors, a deal was done to bail out two struggling mortgage banks that dominate the city-state's overheated property market. Amlak Finance and Tamweel were folded into a shadowy government institution out of which emerged a new entity, Emirates Development Bank. Dubai and other oil rich gulf states were supposed to be rich, floating on a magic carpet of hydrocarbons. The oil is still there, but everyone is learning that the Gulf's economies are as connected to the global financial system. Across the region markets are falling in nations awash with petrodollars. This is not surprising as the capitalist economic system dominants the gulf countries with some dressing of Islamic finance. 2009 is going to be a tough year for the region as Western demands for dollars places heavy pressure on GCC countries to sacrifice their economies in preference for western economies.
South Asia: India again points the finger at Pakistan over the Mumbai attacks
On 27/11/2008 the Indian Prime Minister in collusion with the Indian media squarely held Pakistan responsible for the attacks that left 130 people dead and over 350 injured. However, pointing fingers at Pakistan does very little to masquerade the growing influence of secessionist and militant movements that routinely blame Indian governments for oppressing their people. Apart from the well known Kashmiri militants, India is beset with armed militant movements struggling for greater rights. Some of the notable ones are United Liberation Front of Asom, National Democratic Front of Bodoland, People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak, National Liberation Front of Tripura, Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council, Bru National Liberation Front, Arunachal Dragon Force, Khalistan Liberation Force etc. Added to the secessionist movements are a myriad of Hindu militant movements that seek to cleanse India of Muslims and Christians. To put it another way, India is a country teetering on the brink of dissolution. Given this reality, it is insidious for any Pakistani leader to give concessions to a belligerent India that regards Pakistan as a reneged province of mother India. Last week, Pakistani President Asif Zardari broke with tradition and delighted India with no nuclear first strike policy. His predecessor Musharraf broke another taboo by officially abandoning the Kashmiri people. Pandering to Indian demands will never allow the Pakistani establishment to overcome the nexus of American-Indian-Israeli cooperation.
28/11/2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Analysis on G20 Summit
The following is a translation from Arabic.
1. From 14 to 15 of November the Group of Twenty (G20) met to discuss a variety of issues pertaining to the healthy of the world economy. Before elaborating on what was discussed and concluded, it is important to comprehend some background information.
2. The Global Financial System (GFS) unleashed a series of financial crisis in Mexico (1994-95), Asia (1997-98), Russia (1998), and Argentina (1999). It was in the aftermath of these crises that The G20 (more formally known as the Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors) was formally established at the G7 Finance Ministers' meeting on September 26, 1999. The inaugural meeting took place on December 15-16, 1999 in Berlin.
3. G20 is a group that consists of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 economies. This includes 19 of the world's largest national economies, plus the European Union (EU). Collectively, the G20 economies comprise 85% of global gross national product, 80% of world trade (including EU intra-trade) and two-thirds of the world population. Full membership of the G20 includes Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the US and the EU. In addition, to the financial ministers of these countries, the leaders of the World Bank (WB), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Trade Organization (WTO) also attend G20 meetings.
4. The mandate of G20 is to protect the GFS and the economies of the major Western powers by strengthening the international financial architecture and providing opportunities for dialogue on national policies, international co-operation, and international financial institutions. G20 works with emerging economies through the IMF, WB and WTO to ensure that these economies are well integrated in the GFS.
5. The Washington meeting was called at the behest of European leaders including France's President Nicholas Sarkozy and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Europe’s leaders have been incensed at the way America allowed the credit crises to spread across the globe. For instance, the US manipulated oil, food and commodity prices to shore up the dollar. Subsequently, the cost of production and inflation soared in Europe; the European Central Bank (ECB) had little choice but to raise interest rates to tackle inflation. As a direct consequence of this policy the EU’s economy started to contract and investors switched from Euros to the Dollars. Investors felt that America’s low interest rates and economic growth was a more favorable investment as compared to the EU. Hence the value of the Euro plummeted and the EU’s economy started to tilt towards recession. Faced with poor growth the ECB was forced to slash interest rates. This further aggravated the value of the euro in comparison to the dollar. Amidst this, Sarkozy and Brown, later to be joined by Merkel and other EU leaders pressed Bush for an international summit to discuss the crisis. Associated Press reported on 5 October, that following an emergency meeting, four members of the G8 - Britain, France, Germany and Italy - “called for an international conference "as soon as possible" to consider sweeping reforms of the global finance system.” At an emergency meeting of the Eurogroup on 12 October, 2008, Prime Minister Gordon Brown presented a proposal to deal with the financial crisis. During a press conference at the 2 day EU summit in Brussels on 15-16 October 2008, European Commission chief Manuel Barosso said there will only be “a global agreement if Europe has a leadership role.” French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Commission President Jose Manual Baroso visited President George Bush at Camp David on 18 October, 2008. Mr Sakozy said “We have a mandate from the 27 members of the European Union to come here and say first and foremost that this is a worldwide crisis and, therefore, we must find a worldwide solution”. Mr Baroso stated: “The international financial system - its basic principles and regulations and its institutions need reform. We need a new global financial order...This is why Europe wants the calling of an international summit as soon as possible to launch an effective world response to world crisis.” On 21 October, 2008 President Sarkozy told the European Parliament that “Europe must be the standard bearer for the idea of reforming world capitalism.” José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the Spanish Prime Minister said, “The EU must take over the leadership of change because that is what it has long been calling for while the US was not favorable…. There has to be regulation and limits to everything to do with incentives and rewards.”
6. EU leaders believe that the cause of the global financial crisis was inadequate regulation of the financial sector, especially in the US. In other words the real culprit behind the global financial crisis in their view is American capitalism. Europe’s leaders would like to see more coordinated action to revive the world economy, both by more interest cuts and more spending by governments to bring countries out of recession. They hope that the meeting will agree a blueprint for future reform, including changes to the international organizations charged with regulating the world economy, such as the International IMF and WB.
Against this backdrop, Bush finally agreed to convene an international summit in Washington from November 14 to November 15.
But From the outset the meeting of the G20 was not going to produce anything substantive, apart from agreement on lofty goals and general principles. These were mentioned in a fact sheet issued by the Whitehouse after the summit.
Goals
1. Reached a common understanding of the root causes of the global crisis
2. Reviewed actions countries have taken and will take to address the immediate crisis and strengthen growth
3. Agreed on common principles for reforming our financial markets
4. Launched an action plan to implement those principles and asked ministers to develop further specific recommendations that will be reviewed by leaders at a subsequent summit
5. Reaffirmed their commitment to free market principles
Principles
1. Strengthening transparency and accountability by enhancing required disclosure on complex financial products;
2. Enhancing sound regulation by ensuring strong oversight of credit rating agencies; prudent risk management;
3. Promoting integrity in financial markets by preventing market manipulation and fraud, helping avoid conflicts of interest
4. Reinforcing international cooperation by making national laws and regulations more consistent and encouraging regulators to enhance their coordination and cooperation across all segments of financial markets
5. Reforming international financial institutions (IFIs) by modernizing their governance and membership
The reason for a lack of consensus on detail solutions amongst EU, US and UK leaders at the summit is as follows:-
First, President George Bush does not possess the domestic clout or international legitimacy to carry out a comprehensive reform of the GFS. Besides, Bush is a lame duck president and leaders of many countries are waiting for president elect Obama to take office before seriously considering all the proposals on the table. Hence that is why George Bush launched a passionate defense of the free market on the eve of the summit, as he aimed to deflect European criticism about American capitalism. “While reforms in the financial sector are essential, the long-term solution to today's problems is sustained economic growth,” he told an audience in New York. "And the surest path to that growth is free markets and free people.” So the best George Bush could do was get consensus agreement on the free market (see goal nos. 5) which he did. The rest is left to his successor Obama to pursue.
Second, prior to the G20 meeting, some EU leaders had urged a complete rethink of the Bretton Woods agreement in 1944 that created the post-war system of fixed exchange rates and established the IMF and the World Bank. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said “Bretton Woods II” should bring about “genuine, all-encompassing reform of the international financial system”. On October 13, 2008, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said world leaders must meet to agree to a new economic system. “We must have a new Bretton Woods, building a new international financial architecture for the years ahead.”
However, Brown's approach is quite different than the original Bretton Woods System. Britain wants to carry on emphasizing the continuation of globalization and free trade and is opposed to a return to fixed exchange rates. Sarkozy disagrees with Brown and argues that the "Anglo-Saxon" model of unrestrained markets has failed. He is supported by Italian Economics Minister Giulio Tremonti has said that Italy will use its 2009 G7 chairmanship to push for a "New Bretton Woods.
Europe’s view is diametrically opposed to America’s view on Bretton Woods, as America does not want to cede control of IMF, WB and WTO. Moreover, America possesses very little appetite to abandon the world of floating exchange rates, as it has given Wall Street complete reign over the world markets. Britain is keen to pursue free trade but is looking to acquire greater control over the international financial institutions and also wants America to regulate its corporate masters who have hitherto escaped punishment.
Because of these two factors the G20 could only agree on goals and principles. This was acknowledged by several leaders, as being the first step in the reform GFS. Future meetings of the G20 and other forums will decide what will become of the GFS.
19 Zull-qedaa 1429
17-Nov-2008
1. From 14 to 15 of November the Group of Twenty (G20) met to discuss a variety of issues pertaining to the healthy of the world economy. Before elaborating on what was discussed and concluded, it is important to comprehend some background information.
2. The Global Financial System (GFS) unleashed a series of financial crisis in Mexico (1994-95), Asia (1997-98), Russia (1998), and Argentina (1999). It was in the aftermath of these crises that The G20 (more formally known as the Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors) was formally established at the G7 Finance Ministers' meeting on September 26, 1999. The inaugural meeting took place on December 15-16, 1999 in Berlin.
3. G20 is a group that consists of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 economies. This includes 19 of the world's largest national economies, plus the European Union (EU). Collectively, the G20 economies comprise 85% of global gross national product, 80% of world trade (including EU intra-trade) and two-thirds of the world population. Full membership of the G20 includes Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the US and the EU. In addition, to the financial ministers of these countries, the leaders of the World Bank (WB), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Trade Organization (WTO) also attend G20 meetings.
4. The mandate of G20 is to protect the GFS and the economies of the major Western powers by strengthening the international financial architecture and providing opportunities for dialogue on national policies, international co-operation, and international financial institutions. G20 works with emerging economies through the IMF, WB and WTO to ensure that these economies are well integrated in the GFS.
5. The Washington meeting was called at the behest of European leaders including France's President Nicholas Sarkozy and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Europe’s leaders have been incensed at the way America allowed the credit crises to spread across the globe. For instance, the US manipulated oil, food and commodity prices to shore up the dollar. Subsequently, the cost of production and inflation soared in Europe; the European Central Bank (ECB) had little choice but to raise interest rates to tackle inflation. As a direct consequence of this policy the EU’s economy started to contract and investors switched from Euros to the Dollars. Investors felt that America’s low interest rates and economic growth was a more favorable investment as compared to the EU. Hence the value of the Euro plummeted and the EU’s economy started to tilt towards recession. Faced with poor growth the ECB was forced to slash interest rates. This further aggravated the value of the euro in comparison to the dollar. Amidst this, Sarkozy and Brown, later to be joined by Merkel and other EU leaders pressed Bush for an international summit to discuss the crisis. Associated Press reported on 5 October, that following an emergency meeting, four members of the G8 - Britain, France, Germany and Italy - “called for an international conference "as soon as possible" to consider sweeping reforms of the global finance system.” At an emergency meeting of the Eurogroup on 12 October, 2008, Prime Minister Gordon Brown presented a proposal to deal with the financial crisis. During a press conference at the 2 day EU summit in Brussels on 15-16 October 2008, European Commission chief Manuel Barosso said there will only be “a global agreement if Europe has a leadership role.” French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Commission President Jose Manual Baroso visited President George Bush at Camp David on 18 October, 2008. Mr Sakozy said “We have a mandate from the 27 members of the European Union to come here and say first and foremost that this is a worldwide crisis and, therefore, we must find a worldwide solution”. Mr Baroso stated: “The international financial system - its basic principles and regulations and its institutions need reform. We need a new global financial order...This is why Europe wants the calling of an international summit as soon as possible to launch an effective world response to world crisis.” On 21 October, 2008 President Sarkozy told the European Parliament that “Europe must be the standard bearer for the idea of reforming world capitalism.” José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the Spanish Prime Minister said, “The EU must take over the leadership of change because that is what it has long been calling for while the US was not favorable…. There has to be regulation and limits to everything to do with incentives and rewards.”
6. EU leaders believe that the cause of the global financial crisis was inadequate regulation of the financial sector, especially in the US. In other words the real culprit behind the global financial crisis in their view is American capitalism. Europe’s leaders would like to see more coordinated action to revive the world economy, both by more interest cuts and more spending by governments to bring countries out of recession. They hope that the meeting will agree a blueprint for future reform, including changes to the international organizations charged with regulating the world economy, such as the International IMF and WB.
Against this backdrop, Bush finally agreed to convene an international summit in Washington from November 14 to November 15.
But From the outset the meeting of the G20 was not going to produce anything substantive, apart from agreement on lofty goals and general principles. These were mentioned in a fact sheet issued by the Whitehouse after the summit.
Goals
1. Reached a common understanding of the root causes of the global crisis
2. Reviewed actions countries have taken and will take to address the immediate crisis and strengthen growth
3. Agreed on common principles for reforming our financial markets
4. Launched an action plan to implement those principles and asked ministers to develop further specific recommendations that will be reviewed by leaders at a subsequent summit
5. Reaffirmed their commitment to free market principles
Principles
1. Strengthening transparency and accountability by enhancing required disclosure on complex financial products;
2. Enhancing sound regulation by ensuring strong oversight of credit rating agencies; prudent risk management;
3. Promoting integrity in financial markets by preventing market manipulation and fraud, helping avoid conflicts of interest
4. Reinforcing international cooperation by making national laws and regulations more consistent and encouraging regulators to enhance their coordination and cooperation across all segments of financial markets
5. Reforming international financial institutions (IFIs) by modernizing their governance and membership
The reason for a lack of consensus on detail solutions amongst EU, US and UK leaders at the summit is as follows:-
First, President George Bush does not possess the domestic clout or international legitimacy to carry out a comprehensive reform of the GFS. Besides, Bush is a lame duck president and leaders of many countries are waiting for president elect Obama to take office before seriously considering all the proposals on the table. Hence that is why George Bush launched a passionate defense of the free market on the eve of the summit, as he aimed to deflect European criticism about American capitalism. “While reforms in the financial sector are essential, the long-term solution to today's problems is sustained economic growth,” he told an audience in New York. "And the surest path to that growth is free markets and free people.” So the best George Bush could do was get consensus agreement on the free market (see goal nos. 5) which he did. The rest is left to his successor Obama to pursue.
Second, prior to the G20 meeting, some EU leaders had urged a complete rethink of the Bretton Woods agreement in 1944 that created the post-war system of fixed exchange rates and established the IMF and the World Bank. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said “Bretton Woods II” should bring about “genuine, all-encompassing reform of the international financial system”. On October 13, 2008, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said world leaders must meet to agree to a new economic system. “We must have a new Bretton Woods, building a new international financial architecture for the years ahead.”
However, Brown's approach is quite different than the original Bretton Woods System. Britain wants to carry on emphasizing the continuation of globalization and free trade and is opposed to a return to fixed exchange rates. Sarkozy disagrees with Brown and argues that the "Anglo-Saxon" model of unrestrained markets has failed. He is supported by Italian Economics Minister Giulio Tremonti has said that Italy will use its 2009 G7 chairmanship to push for a "New Bretton Woods.
Europe’s view is diametrically opposed to America’s view on Bretton Woods, as America does not want to cede control of IMF, WB and WTO. Moreover, America possesses very little appetite to abandon the world of floating exchange rates, as it has given Wall Street complete reign over the world markets. Britain is keen to pursue free trade but is looking to acquire greater control over the international financial institutions and also wants America to regulate its corporate masters who have hitherto escaped punishment.
Because of these two factors the G20 could only agree on goals and principles. This was acknowledged by several leaders, as being the first step in the reform GFS. Future meetings of the G20 and other forums will decide what will become of the GFS.
19 Zull-qedaa 1429
17-Nov-2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Analysis: Conflict in Congo
The following is a translation from Arabic.
There is no doubt that the rebel leader in the Eastern Congo General Laurent Nkunda is backed by neighbouring Rwanda since he is a descendent of the same Tutsi tribe that rules over Rwanda. The British newspaper Guardian reports that Nkunda had joined Rwanda’s National Patriotic Front (RPF) led by the current president Paul Kagame during the 1994 war time massacres.
The visits of the British & French foreign ministers to Rwanda immediately after their Congo visits confirms Rwanda’s involvement in supporting Nkunda, though Rwanda still denies it.
It must be remembered that Rwanda is a pro-American state eversince the Tutsi tribe took over the reigns of power after having expelled the Hutu tribe which was previously supported by France.
The current president of Congo, Joseph Kabila hired the Hutu tribesmen to resist the Rwandan backed Tutsis and this provided Rwanda the justification to to intervene under the excuse that the Hutu tribe is attempting to strike from Eastern Congo to stage a comeback to power in Rwanda. This explains the statement of Nkunda who refused to send a European force to the Eastern Congo, he said: “When the aim of this force is to consolidate the hold of Rwabdab rebels of Hutu tribes, then we will not agree to it.” His statement decries the Europeans for their support to Congo and the tribe of Hutu against the Tutsis and Rwanda.
The British and French governments have hinted sending European troops to Congo to prevent Nkunda from sweeping over Congolese territories especially since he has threatened to march over the capital Kinshasa if the government of Joseph Kabila refused to negotiate with him.
Meanwhile Kabila still refuses to negotiate with Nkunda and insists upon implanting the peace accord which was signed in Nairobi last year between Congo and Rwanda. He does not want to bestow recognition on the rebels movement and insists on dealing with Rwanda itself. Therefore it is not strange that the British Foreign Minister states: “the European Union would send troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo as a last resort if there is a need to reinforce the UN (MONUC) troops presently deployed there and the peace initiatives fail.”
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and his British counterpart David Miliband during their visit to Congo and Rwanda, focused on the need to implement the Nairobi Accord and sending armed forces in case of an attack by the rebels led by Nkunda on Congo.
All the statements from the Europeans on the current crisis were flavoured to reflect the worsening humanitarian crisis, in the joint statement issued by Miliband and Kouchner they spole of their conviction that the war must some to an end and the local residents’ living conditions must improve. This was a reference to the 1994 massacres which resulted in the death of 800,000 people belonging to the Tutsi & Hutu tribes of Rwanda.
As for the American policy, it clearly backs Rwanda in its stand on the Hutu rebels in the eastern Congo and does not necessarily support sending of European troops. The US is content with the helpless UN troops deployed in the region to protect the civilian residents. The American deputy secretary of state for African affairs Jendayi E. Frazer said that she favours the idea of “reinforcing the UN troops in Congo.”
Such quick moves by the British and French in dealing with this crisis and their foreign ministers calling for imedeate action indicates that the situation Congo has indeed become genuinely grim and dangerous for Europeeans to maintain their stronghold in the region and requires immediate action to defend their influence.
The eastern flank of Congo comprises three countries that are aligned to the US: Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi and are ruled by the Tutsi tribesmen backed by America since 1994 C.E. together these three states have built a formidable fortress of American influence in the heart of the African continent. Thus the rebels are able to launch their attacks on Congo from this region and uproot British and French influence there.
What has further aggravated the situation for the Europeans is that America is harnessing China
to resist European stronghold. It has observed that Chinese presence is evidently increasing in the areas where the US enjoys influence, especially like in Sudan etc.. including the areas east of Congo where the Rwandan backed rebels have their control. Tom Cargill, Director of the African Programmme at the Chatham House in England said: “Nkunda aides experienced in public relations are saying that the West is suspicious of the Chinese intentions. We can certainly thwart the efforts of our opponents by asserting that we deal with the Chinese on behalf of the Congolese people.” The Guardian newspaper reported that China largest deal in Africa is estimated at 5 billion dollars which is for mineral mining in exchange for infrastructure building projects.
To conclude, the central African nations are preparing opposition forces to overthrow Joseph Kabila in future and in turn bring Congo, the largest nation in Africa in terms of land area, under American influence with help of economic assistance from China. At the same time, Britain and France are doing whatever they, politically and militarily, can to prevent that. Meanwhile the conflict continues unabated between the two sides where Congo is seeking help from the southern African countries loyal to Britain such as Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa while Rwanda is being helped by the pro-US countries such as Uganda and Burundi in order to strengthen the Tutsi rebels.
6th Dhi Qaidah, 1429 A.H
4th November, 2009 C.E
There is no doubt that the rebel leader in the Eastern Congo General Laurent Nkunda is backed by neighbouring Rwanda since he is a descendent of the same Tutsi tribe that rules over Rwanda. The British newspaper Guardian reports that Nkunda had joined Rwanda’s National Patriotic Front (RPF) led by the current president Paul Kagame during the 1994 war time massacres.
The visits of the British & French foreign ministers to Rwanda immediately after their Congo visits confirms Rwanda’s involvement in supporting Nkunda, though Rwanda still denies it.
It must be remembered that Rwanda is a pro-American state eversince the Tutsi tribe took over the reigns of power after having expelled the Hutu tribe which was previously supported by France.
The current president of Congo, Joseph Kabila hired the Hutu tribesmen to resist the Rwandan backed Tutsis and this provided Rwanda the justification to to intervene under the excuse that the Hutu tribe is attempting to strike from Eastern Congo to stage a comeback to power in Rwanda. This explains the statement of Nkunda who refused to send a European force to the Eastern Congo, he said: “When the aim of this force is to consolidate the hold of Rwabdab rebels of Hutu tribes, then we will not agree to it.” His statement decries the Europeans for their support to Congo and the tribe of Hutu against the Tutsis and Rwanda.
The British and French governments have hinted sending European troops to Congo to prevent Nkunda from sweeping over Congolese territories especially since he has threatened to march over the capital Kinshasa if the government of Joseph Kabila refused to negotiate with him.
Meanwhile Kabila still refuses to negotiate with Nkunda and insists upon implanting the peace accord which was signed in Nairobi last year between Congo and Rwanda. He does not want to bestow recognition on the rebels movement and insists on dealing with Rwanda itself. Therefore it is not strange that the British Foreign Minister states: “the European Union would send troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo as a last resort if there is a need to reinforce the UN (MONUC) troops presently deployed there and the peace initiatives fail.”
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and his British counterpart David Miliband during their visit to Congo and Rwanda, focused on the need to implement the Nairobi Accord and sending armed forces in case of an attack by the rebels led by Nkunda on Congo.
All the statements from the Europeans on the current crisis were flavoured to reflect the worsening humanitarian crisis, in the joint statement issued by Miliband and Kouchner they spole of their conviction that the war must some to an end and the local residents’ living conditions must improve. This was a reference to the 1994 massacres which resulted in the death of 800,000 people belonging to the Tutsi & Hutu tribes of Rwanda.
As for the American policy, it clearly backs Rwanda in its stand on the Hutu rebels in the eastern Congo and does not necessarily support sending of European troops. The US is content with the helpless UN troops deployed in the region to protect the civilian residents. The American deputy secretary of state for African affairs Jendayi E. Frazer said that she favours the idea of “reinforcing the UN troops in Congo.”
Such quick moves by the British and French in dealing with this crisis and their foreign ministers calling for imedeate action indicates that the situation Congo has indeed become genuinely grim and dangerous for Europeeans to maintain their stronghold in the region and requires immediate action to defend their influence.
The eastern flank of Congo comprises three countries that are aligned to the US: Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi and are ruled by the Tutsi tribesmen backed by America since 1994 C.E. together these three states have built a formidable fortress of American influence in the heart of the African continent. Thus the rebels are able to launch their attacks on Congo from this region and uproot British and French influence there.
What has further aggravated the situation for the Europeans is that America is harnessing China
to resist European stronghold. It has observed that Chinese presence is evidently increasing in the areas where the US enjoys influence, especially like in Sudan etc.. including the areas east of Congo where the Rwandan backed rebels have their control. Tom Cargill, Director of the African Programmme at the Chatham House in England said: “Nkunda aides experienced in public relations are saying that the West is suspicious of the Chinese intentions. We can certainly thwart the efforts of our opponents by asserting that we deal with the Chinese on behalf of the Congolese people.” The Guardian newspaper reported that China largest deal in Africa is estimated at 5 billion dollars which is for mineral mining in exchange for infrastructure building projects.
To conclude, the central African nations are preparing opposition forces to overthrow Joseph Kabila in future and in turn bring Congo, the largest nation in Africa in terms of land area, under American influence with help of economic assistance from China. At the same time, Britain and France are doing whatever they, politically and militarily, can to prevent that. Meanwhile the conflict continues unabated between the two sides where Congo is seeking help from the southern African countries loyal to Britain such as Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa while Rwanda is being helped by the pro-US countries such as Uganda and Burundi in order to strengthen the Tutsi rebels.
6th Dhi Qaidah, 1429 A.H
4th November, 2009 C.E
Views on the news - 20/11/08
Britain ’s launches secularised Islamic awareness week
On 16/11/2008 leading British politicians, dignitaries, and community leaders joined in an “Islamic Awareness Week”. The campaign launched in the House of Commons aims to further promote communication and connectivity. The theme this year is “Celebrating the Best of Britain’s Shared Values.” Dr. Zahoor Qurashi, President of The Islamic Society of Britain said,” We feel that our role is more important than ever before for us to actually talk about a face of Islam which we understand to be the true face of Islam, which talks about tolerance and peace and patience and working with the wider society, with Muslims and non-Muslims, to promote values which are common.” Dr. Zahoor also discussed the importance of interfaith dialogue. Muslims in Britain should be proud of their Islamic ideology and should not be so apologetic. Rather than promoting Islam in the context of British secular values, Muslims must take the lead in exposing the fallacies of western liberalism and presenting Islam as the only alternative ideology.
Egypt continues to fuel the Israeli aggression against Palestinians
In the backdrop of Israeli aggression against the Palestinians, a court in Egypt has ordered the government to suspend gas exports to Israel . But it is very unlikely that the government will heed the warning. In fact Israel 's infrastructure ministry boldly said it had "no doubt" the gas deal remained valid. Israeli optimism is not surprising since both Israel and Egypt are working in tandem to boycott Gaza and starve the Palestinians to death
Russia pretends it cares about Muslims
On 18/11/2008 the Moscow Prosecutor's Office warned the Russian-language edition of the Newsweek magazine against vilification of Muslims. The magazine published two stories that were deemed by the prosecutor to be insulting Muslims. The Prosecutor’s office also stated that one of the articles included one of the 2005 Danish cartoons. It is ironic that Russia is concerned about offending its 20 million Muslims, but pays scant regard to destruction and slaughter of Muslims in Chechnya . Russia ’s support to dictators who routinely oppress Muslims and fight political Islam in Central Asia blights its sympathetic stance. In fact Russia ’s duplicity towards Muslims is akin to the double standards practiced by other major powers; their collective aim is to prevent their respective Muslim populations from expressing outrage at the repression of Muslims abroad.
Uzbekistan needs the Khilafah and not Malaysia ’s Hadhara
Uzbekistan is keen to adopt the Islam Hadhari concept pioneered by Malaysia, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. He said this was conveyed to him by Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov in private talks during his official visit here. “Both Malaysia and Uzbekistan are fully aware that at the international level, Islam promotes peace and friendship not only between Muslims but Muslims and non-Muslims as well. At the domestic or national level, Islam Hadhari promotes good governance as well as economic and social progress,” he said during a joint press conference with Karimov at the latter’s official residence. Malaysia ’s so called Islam Hadhari concept has only served to entrench corrupt governance and economic chaos. Malaysia ’s psuedo Islam Hadhari is not only unfit for Malaysians, but all Muslim countries including Uzbekistan .
Pakistan aids crusader forces in attacking targets on its soil
On 16/11/2008 the Pakistan military helped the western forces based in Afghanistan attack a position in Pakistan used by militants after an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) post was hit by two rockets fired allegedly by militants from inside Pakistan. According to a spokesman for ISAF, militants pounded an ISAF base in Paktika, leading to the coordinated artillery strike into Pakistan . The ISAF statement is just tip of the iceberg as far as complicity with America stands. Since Ramadan, the Pakistani civilian and military leadership has unashamedly aided and abetted American attacks on FATA, but has publicly denied any knowledge. Now the crusaders are becoming more and more vocal about the Pakistan ’s clandestine support, as America wants the Pakistani people to fully embrace America ’s war against Islam.
20/11/2008
On 16/11/2008 leading British politicians, dignitaries, and community leaders joined in an “Islamic Awareness Week”. The campaign launched in the House of Commons aims to further promote communication and connectivity. The theme this year is “Celebrating the Best of Britain’s Shared Values.” Dr. Zahoor Qurashi, President of The Islamic Society of Britain said,” We feel that our role is more important than ever before for us to actually talk about a face of Islam which we understand to be the true face of Islam, which talks about tolerance and peace and patience and working with the wider society, with Muslims and non-Muslims, to promote values which are common.” Dr. Zahoor also discussed the importance of interfaith dialogue. Muslims in Britain should be proud of their Islamic ideology and should not be so apologetic. Rather than promoting Islam in the context of British secular values, Muslims must take the lead in exposing the fallacies of western liberalism and presenting Islam as the only alternative ideology.
Egypt continues to fuel the Israeli aggression against Palestinians
In the backdrop of Israeli aggression against the Palestinians, a court in Egypt has ordered the government to suspend gas exports to Israel . But it is very unlikely that the government will heed the warning. In fact Israel 's infrastructure ministry boldly said it had "no doubt" the gas deal remained valid. Israeli optimism is not surprising since both Israel and Egypt are working in tandem to boycott Gaza and starve the Palestinians to death
Russia pretends it cares about Muslims
On 18/11/2008 the Moscow Prosecutor's Office warned the Russian-language edition of the Newsweek magazine against vilification of Muslims. The magazine published two stories that were deemed by the prosecutor to be insulting Muslims. The Prosecutor’s office also stated that one of the articles included one of the 2005 Danish cartoons. It is ironic that Russia is concerned about offending its 20 million Muslims, but pays scant regard to destruction and slaughter of Muslims in Chechnya . Russia ’s support to dictators who routinely oppress Muslims and fight political Islam in Central Asia blights its sympathetic stance. In fact Russia ’s duplicity towards Muslims is akin to the double standards practiced by other major powers; their collective aim is to prevent their respective Muslim populations from expressing outrage at the repression of Muslims abroad.
Uzbekistan needs the Khilafah and not Malaysia ’s Hadhara
Uzbekistan is keen to adopt the Islam Hadhari concept pioneered by Malaysia, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. He said this was conveyed to him by Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov in private talks during his official visit here. “Both Malaysia and Uzbekistan are fully aware that at the international level, Islam promotes peace and friendship not only between Muslims but Muslims and non-Muslims as well. At the domestic or national level, Islam Hadhari promotes good governance as well as economic and social progress,” he said during a joint press conference with Karimov at the latter’s official residence. Malaysia ’s so called Islam Hadhari concept has only served to entrench corrupt governance and economic chaos. Malaysia ’s psuedo Islam Hadhari is not only unfit for Malaysians, but all Muslim countries including Uzbekistan .
Pakistan aids crusader forces in attacking targets on its soil
On 16/11/2008 the Pakistan military helped the western forces based in Afghanistan attack a position in Pakistan used by militants after an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) post was hit by two rockets fired allegedly by militants from inside Pakistan. According to a spokesman for ISAF, militants pounded an ISAF base in Paktika, leading to the coordinated artillery strike into Pakistan . The ISAF statement is just tip of the iceberg as far as complicity with America stands. Since Ramadan, the Pakistani civilian and military leadership has unashamedly aided and abetted American attacks on FATA, but has publicly denied any knowledge. Now the crusaders are becoming more and more vocal about the Pakistan ’s clandestine support, as America wants the Pakistani people to fully embrace America ’s war against Islam.
20/11/2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Virtual Economy - Root Cause: Analysis of The Current Financial Crisis
In a statement made to a congressional committee on April 3, 2008, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bernanke said that “if Bear Stearns had been allowed to fail, it would have led to a “chaotic unwinding” of Bearn Stearns investments held by individuals and other financial institutions. Moreover, the adverse impact of a default would not have been confined to the financial system but would have been felt broadly in the real economy through its effects on asset values and credit availability”[1]. In an article published by Newsweek, October 11, 2008, Daniel Gross writes [3]: “Back in 2002, Apple’s stock was trading far below the level of cash on its books, ascribing a value of zero to its brands and products, compared with several billion at the height of the boom”. Both statements refer to the existence of two views of the economy: a real economy which is reflected by the level of cash on corporate books, and an inflated, exaggerated view which is reflected in the current stock values of the market. The second view of the economy will be referred to as a virtual economy in this article. Virtual economy, in this context, differs from what is being called virtual economy commerce [2], where customers trade in a virtual imaginary product with certain specifications and an imaginary value. However, this will not be the subject of this study.
The second type of virtual economy (VE) is the one that is important and is strongly related to the failure of the financial capitalist system as is being witnessed today. VE allows the economy to appear much larger than its real size. This economy is based on the assumption that the real money will not be tapped into and therefore, it is possible to deal with an assumed larger (virtual) value for the money. A good example of this scenario is the case with Donald Trump. He ran projects worth billions of dollars, while being more than 50 million dollars in debt. He was about to file for personal bankruptcy in 1989 when he was pressed to pay some of his debts.
A parallel concept to virtual economy exists in computer systems, where the concept of virtual memory is used. Virtual memory is a special type of organisation which allows the memory in the system to appear much larger than the real size of the memory. With this type of organisation, it is possible to execute program applications which require much larger memory than the system actually has. Virtual memory organisation in computer systems remains a smart way of running applications. However, there are some cases where an application may break the limits of virtual memory and cause the system to thrash, i.e. to fail. This happens when an application insists on using more than the size of real memory instantly, at one given time.
In a similar manner, virtual economy (organisation) provides two views of the economy. One is the real value of commodities and services in a given economy which corresponds to the real economic growth and production. The second view of the economy represents the imaginary value of stock prices and the accumulation of interest (usury) in the banks. A virtual economy system, similar to a virtual memory systems, is bound to crash (thrash) at any point when the instant demand for finance at any given time exceeds the real value of the real economy. The current financial crisis in the US and the world at large is a striking example of a virtual economy crashing (or thrashing).
The phenomenon of a virtual economy, where the money in transactions appears much larger than the real money, began to surface at the level of state economies at the end of the 19th century when financial markets began to take shape in New York. This phenomenon grew to be an integral part of capitalist economies, especially in the US and in Europe due to three major reasons, namely: stock markets, interest based economy, and the removal of gold as a basis for the monetary systems. At the political front, the cold war between the capitalist and socialist camps in the 2nd half of the 20th century further strengthened the virtual economies in the west. We will examine these three factors in some detail in the next few sections.
1. Stock Markets and the Virtual Economy
Stock market activities at the start of the 20th century created a new phenomenon in the economy, where the wealth associated with stock values grew at a much higher rate than the wealth associated with the real economy. When the stock market collapsed in New York in 1929, economists attributed the crash to the great difference between the inflated values of stocks and the values of the real assets of the economy.
The Economist magazine reported on 2/11/1929 that “there is warrant for hoping that the deflation of the exaggerated balloon of American stock values will be for the good of the world.” To understand this aspect it has been found that the prices of financial market increased during the preceding period from 1925 to 1929 by 120%, while economic growth for the same period did not exceed 17%. And when the market collapsed, it lost over 93% from its value, which means that the market returned to its real value which was obviously much lower than what the stock market indicated. The same scenario repeated itself in 1987 when the market collapsed again, and as observers again noted financial market had been grossly inflated compared with the real size of the economy, such that the difference between the virtual economy and the real economy was more than 200%. And by the end of the twentieth century the virtual economy was again three times the size of the real market value and this scenario came to be known as the Internet (or DOT COM) Bubble.
The result is that the nominal values of stocks do not reflect the reality of economic production. It is possible to increase the value of the shares of a given company without any real increase in production or profit achieved by that company; this was the case with Amazon, where its stock value exceeded $300 at a time when the company had not achieved any profits. Enron is another example, where the rising value of their stock was based on false information about fictitious profits.
These kind of financial activities, transactions and dealings create two faces for the economy: a real face linked to the economic growth and production which indicates the real strength of the economy. And an imaginary side, that reflects the image seen and observed by the local and global community. When the difference between the two sides is small, there does not appear to be a serious problem in the economy. When the difference, however, is vast as is the case now, in 1987 and in 1929 it is dangerous and may lead to devastating consequences for many years, as happened with the Asian Tiger economies in the late 1990’s.
The capitalist countries are aware of the magnitude of the problem, and its seriousness, and keep developing plans and alternatives to prevent or delay an inevitable devastating collapse, to mitigate the effects of the collapse, or to exit quickly in case a collapse happens. A good example of such plans is the recent bail out of the Bear Stern Bank, which almost collapsed after the drastic decline of its stock prices. (The most recent bailout of more than a trillion dollars in US and Europe occurred few months after this article was written).
The direct cause of a stock market collapse is the attempt made by some investors to transfer what they own from fictitious money to real money. As an example, let’s assume that the real money is 10% of the total virtual money. This means the amount that can be turned into real money, is no more than 10% of total capital, and the rest is equal to none. So when the owners of the shares notice that a major investor started selling his possessions (to convert them to real money), they panic and start selling their possessions hoping to cash in some real money before the collapse. Then a collapse takes place and brings everything to the foundation (real money).
Let’s work through the example more thoroughly. Assume that there are 1000 shares in a company. Also, assume that each share is worth $100. So the total stock value of the company is $100,000. For the sake of argument, assume that the real value of the company is $10,000. In other words, the real value of the company is 10% of the virtual value. Now assume that a major investor sells 50 stocks at $100 and cashes $5000. If the rest of the share holders start selling their shares hoping to get real money from the company, they will be able to get no more than $5000 at best, which translates into $5 per share. Now if one more person was able to sell 50 shares at say $50 and cashes $2500, then the rest of the crowd will have to share the remaining $2500 at $2.5 a share. Eventually when all $10,000 are gone, the share will go to zero. This is how the stock values of Enron and Martha Stewart companies collapsed.
The danger of the virtual economy is that it creates a state of delusion in the economy, which can deceive senior economists and politicians, and drives them to undertake projects larger than their real wealth. There could be a temporary positive effect from this delusion, especially when competing with others for large projects. America has benefited greatly while in a conflict with the Soviet Union during the cold war era, where the Soviet Union used real money to finance its projects, and America used the virtual economy for its own projects. But when a state is exposed to a financial or political crisis larger than the size of its real economy, the illusion may push the state into a losing gamble. The current wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and the devastating effects of hurricanes in the US must have contributed to the recent financial crisis in the west. Some countries may sometimes intentionally create real crisis for other countries that depend on the virtual economy, in an attempt to push them to the limits of their real economies. Note also that a sudden collapse of the virtual economy brings the economy to levels much lower than the real value of the economy.
2- The Usury and the Virtual economy
The objective of the financial policy in the capitalist economy, as stated by the bylaws of the Federal Reserve Bank in the USA, is to maintain the highest return on production and labor and to sustain price stability. This objective will be achieved through a mechanism that controls the value of usury (interest rate). During a recession in the economy, the state reduces the value of usury in order to encourage borrowing and increase the demands on goods and services. Conversely, the value of usury would be increased to curb inflation. The point here is to recognize the importance of usury for the capitalist economy as the most important tool to control the ups and downs of the economy. This explains the wide spread of financial institutions that offer loans to individuals, companies, institutions and even governments themselves.
Within this usury based economy, the money flows in two directions. In one direction, the money flows from the investors towards the bank in a form of deposit payments. The other direction is from the banks to the investors in a form of loan payments. Except for cases where the inflation rate is higher than the interest rate during the repayment period, the amount of money going towards the bank is steadily more than the amount of money going towards the investors. If the real money is the money which the investors deal with to increase production and to maintain price stability as required by the fiscal policy, this money will certainly be less than the money that accumulates in the banks. This is the main reason for the difference between the real money and the virtual money. And there are two cases that lead to this phenomenon.
The first case is when the bank performs the lending process. Let’s assume that the bank provided a loan of 100 million dollars with 5% usury for 1 year. Let’s assume also that the inflation during this period was 2%, the real interest rate becomes 3%. Now presume as well that the borrowed money (100 million) was spent on profitable projects and the total profit was 2%. Now the total value to be paid back to the bank = 103 million dollars, while the real money which is the sum of the initial money and the profit is equal to $102 million. This means that (1) $million accumulates in the bank account which does not correspond to actual value in reality. This surplus is the usury which is described in the Qur’an (That, which ye lay out by usury for increase through the property of (other) people, will have no increase with Allah). Note that the biggest borrowers in the world are governments which borrow money to pay for their operations and not for profit production. Consequently, the accumulated pure usury will be much higher than the ratio of (1%) in the above example. That is why usury money can reach during a specific period of time hundreds of billions of dollars and up to twice the amount of real money. It is worthwhile to know that the real economic growth rate in the US was no more than 3.5% during the last (30) years, while the actual interest rate was more than (8%). This means that virtual money over (30) years was (135%) of the actual value of money. So if the actual value of the US economy was 5 trillion dollars, the value of usury excess of the true value will be $6.75 trillion dollars. This makes the virtual money value (11.75) trillion dollars.
The second case that leads to an increase in the virtual money is when investors deposit their money in the banks for investment in usury. If investors deposit in the bank (100) million with (5%) interest after taking into account inflation, and for a period of (10) years. The value of the money invested becomes (150) million. For the bank not to lose money, it in turn invests the (100) million. Let’s say the bank gains (7%) by investing its money ($ 170 million); if (5%) of that investment was part of productive investment by the bank and the rest was pure usury, we will have (20) million usurious money which has no real value in reality. The reality is that most banks do not invest their money in production processes, but rather by investing in other banks and by recycling the loans to other borrowers. This makes the virtual money increase repeatedly and multiple times.
Either way, the resultant quantity of the money accumulated in the banks is much more than the quantity of the initial real money that represents the (real) production. However, what encourages and motivates the continuation of the increase in virtual money is the absence of the urgent need to withdraw large amount of funds from many banks at once. When one of these banks gets exposed to pressure from investors and depositors to withdraw amounts of money (Run On The Bank) that exceed the amount of the real money, the bank soon collapses for the lack of ability to meet customer needs, as happened with the Bank of Boston in the early eighties of the last century. If the Government does not intervene to save the bank and back it up by its funds, a collapse of the bank becomes imminent. When the problem becomes severe and has the potential of affecting several financial institutions, the big countries such as the US begin to print and pump money that could match the amount of the virtual money. This leads to massive inflation, decline in prices and weak production and may lead to a huge financial disaster. Sometimes a disaster may occur by withdrawing large amounts of investors’ money at the same time from the banks (similar to the real estate and credit crisis in the US – this occurred few months after writing this article).
3- Breaking away from the Gold Standard
The virtual economy would have not become a genuine trend, if the main currency (i.e. Dollar) remained linked to the gold standard as per the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1944. The agreement established a clear base of exchange into gold within a fluctuation rate of not more than (1%); it also set the bases on how to convert currencies into gold. The existence of such a law can not permit any State economy to appear much larger than its real size. That would cost its stockpile of gold to deplete. There will not be sufficient gold to match the fictitious numbers of the virtual economy. But when the US turned against the Bretton Woods Agreement (in the early 1970’s) and broke the link between the dollar and the gold standard, it freed its economy from the rein of the market prices without any restrictions. The US was not satisfied with breaking the linkage between the dollar and the gold, but it also broke the link between the value of its currency and the economy. It made it possible for money to grow more rapidly and at much higher rates than the growth of the economy. It was this separation between money and gold on one hand, and between money and economic growth on the other that enabled the existence of the virtual economy and its tendency to grow at an alarming rate. (Recently the Prime Minister of Britain Gordon Brown called for the reconstruction of the Bretton Woods agreement – Report on Business.com Oct. 14-2008)”
4- Conclusions
Is the presence of a virtual economy a matter of strength or weakness for the State? There is no doubt that the presence of a virtual economy leads to the emergence of the state as a powerful state with an ability to maneuver, threaten and impact other countries. A virtual economy and strength may allow one country to destroy the economies of other countries especially if those countries rely on a real economy or have less ability than the attacking state. America is still using the virtual economy to influence Europe, Japan, China and others. However, the virtual economy is like an Achilles’ heel for these States. While it appears as a point of strength, it also could be a potential point of destruction for the state. When a state is exposed to real crisis, whether caused by disasters or wars, the crisis would drain up what is equivalent of the real economy of that State which in turn may lead to the bankruptcy of the State economy.
Today, the major capitalist countries in Europe and the US have built their enormous economies on the basis of the virtual economy. Most importantly, these countries cannot go back to rebuilding a more realistic economy. The financial politics are based on usury and exorbitant wealth, and the steady increase of the money has become the only goal of their economic and financial policies. And from here we cannot imagine rebuilding the economy in the capitalist countries to become closer to reality, and therefore they will remain vulnerable to destruction and collapse. And Allah SWT says: “Those who devour usury will not stand except as stands one whom the Evil One by his touch hath driven to madness. That is because they say: “Trade is like usury,” but Allah hath permitted trade and forbidden usury. Those who after receiving direction from their Lord, desist, shall be pardoned for the past; their case is for Allah (to judge); but those who repeat (the offence) are Companions of the Fire; they will abide therein (forever). “(Quran
Chapter 2; verse 275)
Dr. Mohammad Malkawi, USA
1. Bernanke Defends Bear Stearns Rescue, http://newsok.com/bernanke-defends-bear-stearns-rescue/article/3224837
2. http://virtual-economy
3. Daniel Gross, NEWSWEEK; Oct 11, 2008
Article 14, Explanation of the Draft Constitution of the Khilafah
The following is from the draft english translation of the Arabic book مقدمة الدستور
أو الأسباب الموجبة له (Introduction to the constitution and the evidences that make it obligatory) published by Hizb ut-Tahrir 1382 Hijri (1963 CE). Please refer to the original Arabic for accurate meanings. Please note some of the adopted opinions of the Hizb have changed since the time the book was published so any of the adopted literature published after this book which contradicts what is mentioned in this book abrogates those specific points.
أو الأسباب الموجبة له (Introduction to the constitution and the evidences that make it obligatory) published by Hizb ut-Tahrir 1382 Hijri (1963 CE). Please refer to the original Arabic for accurate meanings. Please note some of the adopted opinions of the Hizb have changed since the time the book was published so any of the adopted literature published after this book which contradicts what is mentioned in this book abrogates those specific points.
Article 14: The principle in actions is the abidance by the Shari'ah rule. Hence, no action should be undertaken unless its rule is known. The principle in things is Ibaha (permissibility) as long as there is no evidence stipulating prohibition.
Explanation and evidences:
The Muslim is commanded to conduct his actions according to the Shari'ah rules. Allah (swt) says: [4-65] "No by your God, they shall not have true belief until they make you judge in all disputes between them, and find in their souls no resistance against your decision, but accept it with the fullest conviction." T.M.Q.
He (swt) also says: [59-7] "Whatever the Messenger brought you take it and whatever he forbids you abstain from it and fear Allah." T.M.Q.
Therefore, the Muslim should in principle abide by the Shari'ah rules. Besides the Shari'ah principle states: “No rule before the advent of Shari'ah.” In other words, no matter should be given any rule whatsoever before the advent of the rule of Allah pertaining this matter. Hence, before the advent of Allah’s rule, no matter should be given any rule. This means that it should not be given the rule of Ibaha, for the Ibaha is a Shari'ah rule that must be established through the address of the Legislator; otherwise it cannot be considered a Shari'ah rule. This is so because the Shari'ah rule is: “The address of the Legislator related to the actions of the servants.” Therefore, anything that has not been mentioned in the address of the Legislator cannot be considered a Shari'ah rule. Therefore, Ibaha is not the non advent of a prohibition, it is rather the advent of a Shari'ah evidence stipulating the Mubah; i.e. the advent of the choice to either undertake or abstain from the Legislator. Therefore, the origin is the abidance by the address of the Legislator, not the Ibaha; because the rule of Ibaha itself requires a confirmation from the address of the Legislator. This principle is general, it includes the actions and the things. If a Muslim wanted to perform any action, it would be incumbent upon him to abide by the rule of Allah (swt) pertaining that action; thus, he must search for that rule until he recognises it and abides by it. This is what the verses and the Ahadith have indicated in letter and in spirit. Therefore, it is forbidden for a Muslim to undertake any action or to act towards anything in contradiction to the Shari'ah rule; he should rather abide by the Shari'ah rule in every action he undertakes and in every matter. After Allah (swt) revealed: [5-3] "Today, I have perfected your Deen for you, completed my favour upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your Deen." T.M.Q.
and after He (swt) revealed: [16-89] "And We have sent down to you the Book explaining everything." T.M.Q., not one single action, nor one single thing has been left with no outlining of the evidence for its rule by Allah (swt); and it is forbidden for anyone, having perceived these two verses, to claim that some actions and some things or some situations are devoid of the Shari'ah rule, meaning that Shari'ah has completely ignored it, thus it failed to designate an evidence or a sign to draw the attention of the obligated to the presence of this Shari'ah rule, i.e. the presence of a Illah that leads the obligated to the rule; is it Wajib, or Mandub, or Haram, or Makruh or Mubah? Such a claim is considered a slander against Shari'ah. Therefore, it is forbidden for anyone to claim that such and such action is Mubah because no Shari'ah rule related to it has been mentioned; consequently the principle is Ibaha if no Shari'ah rule has been mentioned. It is forbidden to claim this because every action and every thing has its evidence in Shari'ah; thus one must search for the rule of Allah pertaining the action or the thing to take it and apply it as oppose to making it Mubah under the pretext that there is no evidence for it.
However, since the Shari'ah rule is the address of the Legislator related to the actions of the servants, the address has therefore come to deal with the action of the servant not to deal with the thing; this address has also come to deal with the thing in relation to the action of the servant; thus the address is originally directed at the action of the servant and the thing has come as an appendant to the action of the servant, whether the address has come to the action without any mention of the thing whatsoever, such as Allah (swt) saying: [2-60] "Eat and drink" T.M.Q., or it has come to the thing without any mention of the action whatsoever, such as Allah (swt) saying: [5-3] "Dead meat, blood and the flesh of the swine has been made forbidden to you." T.M.Q. The rule of prohibition in these three things is in fact in relation to the action of the servant in terms of eating, buying, selling and hiring and other. Therefore, the Shari'ah rule deals with the action of the servant, whether this were a rule for the action or a rule for the thing. This is why one should in principle abide by the rule, because the address is related to the action of the servant.
However, by scrutinising the elaborate evidences of the Shari'ah rules, it becomes clear that within the texts which have come as evidences of the rules, the state of the text that acts as an evidence for the action is different to the state of the text that act as evidence for the thing, in terms of the manner in which the address is directed. In the text related to the action, the address is directed to the action alone, regardless of whether the thing is mentioned or not. For instance, Allah (swt) says [5-3] "Dead meat, blood and the flesh of the swine has been made forbidden to you." T.M.Q.
Allah (swt) says: [2-275] "And Allah has made trade lawful and He has forbidden usury." T.M.Q.
Allah (swt) says: [9-123] "Fight the Kuffar who gird you about and let them find firmness and know that Allah is with those who fear Him." T.M.Q.
Allah (swt) says: [65-7] "Let the man of means spend according to his means." T.M.Q.
Allah (swt) says: [2-283] "Let the trustee discharge his trust and let him fear Allah his God ." Allah (swt) says: [2-60] "Eat and drink." T.M.Q.
Also, Bukhari extracted on the authority of Hakim Ibnu Hizam ® who said: “The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “The buyer and the vendor reserve the right to change their minds provided they do not separate.” Ibnu Maja reported on the authority of Abdullah Ibnu Omar who said: “The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “Do give the employee his wage before his sweat dries.” Abu Dawood also reported on the authority of Abu Hurayrah who said: “The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “Jihad is obligatory upon you with every Amir, whether he were just or tyrant.” In all of these texts, the address has been directed at the action, and the thing has not been mentioned. For instance also, Allah (swt) says: [35-12] "Yet from each kind you eat tender flesh." T.M.Q.
Allah (swt) says: [16-14] "It is He Who has made the sea so that you may eat thereof tender flesh." T.M.Q.
Allah (swt) says: [36-35] "So that they may enjoy its fruits." T.M.Q.
The address in here is also directed at the action, although the thing has been mentioned. Similar to this is the address related directly to the action of the servant. This state is different to the state of the text related to the thing, where the address is directed exclusively towards the thing, regardless of whether the action was mentioned alongside it or not. For instance Allah (swt) says: [5- 3] "Dead meat has been made forbidden to you." T.M.Q.
Allah (swt) also says: [2-173] "He has forbidden to you dead meat, blood and the flesh of the swine." T.M.Q.
Allah (swt) also says: [23-18] "And We have sent down water from the sky." T.M.Q.
Allah (swt) also says: [21-30] "And We have made from water everything that is living." T.M.Q.
Also, the saying of the Messenger of Allah (saw) pertaining the sea water: “Its water is pure and its dead flesh is Halal.” Here the address is directed at the thing without the mention of the action.
For instance, Allah (swt) says: [5-90] "O you who have believed, truly intoxicants, gambling, dedication of stones and divination of arrows are an abomination of Satan’s handiwork. Avoid such things that you may prosper." T.M.Q.
Allah (swt) says: [56-68] "Did you see the water that you drink." T.M.Q.
Allah (swt) says: [56-71] "Did you see the fire that you kindle." T.M.Q.
Allah (swt) says: [16-67] "And from the fruit of the date palm and the vine you get out wholesome drink and food." T.M.Q.
Allah (swt) says: [16-66] "And truly in cattle will you find an instructive sign from what is within their bodies between excretions and blood We produce for your drink milk pure and agreeable to those who drink it." T.M.Q.
The address in all of these texts is directed at the thing, though the action has been mentioned. Such an address is related to the thing; thus it is an outlining of a rule pertaining a thing. However, the rule’s relation to the thing is reflected in the fact that it outlines the rule of the thing vis-à-vis the action of the servant, not vis-à-vis the thing detached from the action of the servant, for it is inconceivable for a thing to have a rule unless it is related to the servant. Therefore, the difference in the state of the text becomes clear with regard to the manner in which the address is targeted.
This difference indicates that although the Shari'ah rule is the address of the Legislator related to the actions of the servants, some rules specific to things have however come to outline the rule of these things in an unrestricted manner, even though their rule was in relation to the servant as oppose to being isolated from the servant. This indication outlines to us through scrutiny that the rules of things have come by way of general evidence, which in turn has come to outline the evidence of the actions, and that whatever came specifically to things is in fact an exception from the general rule which had come as evidence for them through the evidence of the actions. This is so because scrutiny has revealed that the Shari'ah text, in which the address was directly targeted at the action, has come in general terms; thus all the things related to it would be Mubah because the request to perform or the option was general, encompassing all that which is Mubah vis-à-vis this request and the prohibition of something requires a text. For instance, Allah (swt) says: [2-29] "It is He Who created for you everything that is on Earth." T.M.Q. This means that the things which Allah (swt) created for us on earth are Mubah.
Allah (swt) also says: [2-275] "And Allah has permitted trade and forbidden usury." T.M.Q. This means that Allah (swt) has made the buying and selling of all things Mubah; thus the Ibaha of selling any of these things does not require an evidence, because the general evidence comprises everything; hence, the prohibition of selling something, such as alcohol for instance requires an evidence. Also, Allah (swt) says: [2 -168] "Eat of what is on Earth lawful and good." T.M.Q. This means that eating everything is Halal; thus the eating of a specific thing does not require an evidence to make it Halal, because the general evidence has made it Halal. As for the prohibition of eating something, such as dead meat for instance, this requires an evidence.
Allah (swt) says: [7-31] "Eat and drink but do not waste by excess." T.M.Q. This means that the drinking of everything is Mubah; thus the drinking of a specific thing does not require an evidence to make it Mubah, because the general evidence has made it Mubah. However, the prohibition of drinking a specific thing, such as intoxicants for instance, this requires an evidence. Similar to this, actions such as talking, walking, playing, smelling, inhaling, looking and other actions which man performs, the general evidences permitted everything related to them; thus the Ibaha of anything does not require an evidence, but the prohibition of anything related to these actions does require an evidence to make it forbidden.
Therefore, the evidences brought by the texts and targeted at the actions, have outlined the rule of things in a general and unrestricted manner; thus they do not require other texts to outline their rules. Therefore, the advent of specific texts related to things, once the general rule of these things had been outlined, serves as evidence stipulating that these specific rules have come to exclude the rule of these things from the general rule. Hence, the Shari'ah texts have come to outline the Shari'ah rule pertaining things, denoting that they are Mubah; hence, they are Mubah unless there exists a text to prohibit them. Hence the Shari'ah principle “The things are in principle Mubah.” These are the evidences of this article.
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