Category Archives: News & Events
ISIS: The Trial of the so called Caliphate of ‘Iraaq – Sheikh ‘Abdul Muhsin Al ‘Abbaad
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
All praise is due to Allaah and may the peace and blessings be upon whom there is no Prophet after him, our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and his companions, as to what proceeds.
Some years ago in ‘Iraaq a group that called itself the Islamic State of ‘Iraaq and Shaam1 has emerged and they have become known by four letters (داعش).2 And those who have taken its leadership, as those who have followed news about them mention, are many whose names are Abu so and so or Abu so and so the son of so and so, appellations which are ascribed to a particular country or tribe as is the state of those unknown who hide behind appellations and ascriptions3. And after some time passed with the war which occurred between the Syrian government and those who oppose them, groups of these fighters came who didn’t oppose the government. Rather, they fought Ahlus Sunnah (Sunnis) who were opposed to the government and slew them. And it has become widespread that they slay those who they wish to slay by using knives which is from the most loathsome and offensive ways in killing human beings4.
Houthis supported in their massive attack on Ahlus Sunnah in Kitaaf by Yemeni Military Soldiers & Government Weapons
Update 25 Safr 1435h: houthis supported in their massive attack on Ahlus Sunnah in Kitaaf by Yemeni Military Soldiers and Government Weapons
Today started just like the last 80 days: sniper fire, occasional heavy artillery, etc. Another committee made an attempt to enter Dammaaj today and they were refused entry by the houthis. Apparently the committee wanted to bring the ICRC in with them and the houthis denied them as usual.
In the attack on the main Masjid after the Jum’ah prayer yesterday, two children were hurt from the cannon artillery fired by the houthis. As well an elderly man was shot by sniper fire.
In another story, one of the houthi members in Sa’dah stabbed his mother to death and critically injured his sister. The altercation occurred yesterday when his mother refused to give her son (the houthi) her sheep when he demanded. The houthi wanted to sell the sheep to give the money in charity to the houthi cause in regret that he didn’t participate in the war on Dammaaj. Link to article in Arabic
Last night’s attack in Kitaaf consisted of 8 state of the art tanks or more, rockets, a number of cannons and a large number of soldiers. Sheikh Jameel and the students had to abandon the Masjid due to the intensity of the attack. Kitaaf is another institute of Ahlus Sunnah in Sa’dah like Dammaaj. There are daily lessons and a number of students who live near the Masjid (the institute). Sheikh Jameel As-Suluwi is the head teacher in the Kitaaf institute. Thousands of Muslims have gathered there to attempt to lift the siege and stop the heinous acts of terrorism from the houthis on the inhabitants of Dammaaj. There are claims that there are political figures who benefit from keeping this atrocity going (article link). Allah the most High says:
Consider not that Allah is unaware of that which the Dhaalimoon (polytheists, wrong doers, oppressors) do, but He gives them respite up to a Day when the eyes will stare in horror. {14:042}
EXCLUSIVE: BSF personnel ripped off Quran; Reality of Ramban
THIS IS THE DESCRIPTION OF AN EYEWITNESS WHO WITNESSED THE INDIAN ARMY AND POLICE KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE IN KASHMIR.
Ramban Realty
BSF personnel picked up Quran and ripped them off and threw them under their feet. With their boots on they created havoc inside the Quranic School late night at 10:45 pm. The caretaker of the school was reading Quran when he was beaten up and mercilessly dragged outside. Then when the news reached the people they could not tolerate this, it was painful to even hear it. People gathered to protest against this highhandedness of BSF which is in the area to protect the railway lines. It was shocking that they started to fire indiscriminately at the crowds of people without any consideration. The public had assembled and there was sloganeering going on and it was not tolerable for Muslims, but there was no violent instigation or anything from people’s side. After sloganeering, they sat down peacefully outside of the BSF camp, and then they started firing at the people. The police was present in huge numbers, we were terrified to see their numbers and they are equally responsible for the blood bath. The police knew from the beginning that the locals want the BSF sitting in those quarters guarding the railway lines must leave the area. If they have done this to our Holy Quran, we (locals) will never let them stay in our area. Police responded to us by saying that ‘BSF has left the area’. This happened before some of the people wanted to go to the BSF quarters to check if they really have left and in retaliation the BSF opened fire indiscriminately on them and then on all of the others.
I was one of the people headingtowards the BSF bunker outside the quarter and the BSF personnel started to shoot at me, I ducked down and the person behind me received a bullet in his abdomen. As much as I could see,there were four BSF men outside and a wholecontingent inside the barracks. The local police did not do anything, they looked on while we were being beaten and killed.
IW: Did anyone try and help with the causalities?
NA: We were a procession of around 5000 people and then we ourselves helped lifting up the injured and the dead bodies.No one came to our help. Sham-u-din Giri, who is a local leader, gave us his own car to rescue many of us. His personal car actually worked as our ambulance and even water and amenities carrier. The local construction company helped usby sending their ambulances but local police did absolutely nothing at all. I saw with my own eyes the DC said to the BSF,“Kill them! There is no problemas many of them die, it doesn’t matter.” Nine people were killed and their bodies are piled at the police station and around forty people are injured. The DC is from outside Kashmir and he started this killing and the SP, I heard said that it is not his mistake, it is the mistake of our Minister from that area, also an MLA and he has given an green signal to him for killing the people.
IW: Now they say about the compensation?
NA: Do you think we are mad people, who takes compensation for protecting Allah’s word, those who died today they are Shaheed(martyrs), why should I take money for that? Iam thinking my wound gets stitched up, I willagain flock to the same place and protest. CanI tolerate something like this? And the book you grow up with, you see being trampled upon, what will you do in that case
#YOUNG_KASHMIRI
Rohingya Muslims: The most persecuted minorities said by UN
Five Reasons Why No One Cares About the Rohingya
If you paid especially close attention to the news these past few weeks, you might have caught some fleeting mention of the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar.
Considering how little the American media, and to only a slightly lesser extent their international counterparts, have covered this latest outbreak of violence between Buddhist nationalists and minority Rohingya Muslims, you are squarely in the majority if you have no idea that dozens have been butchered and hundreds have attempted (unsuccessfully) to flee their homeland.
All while the world remains silent.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. The days of mass expulsion and unchecked, government backed aggression was assumed to be a relic of a bygone era. With citizen journalism filling the few gaps overlooked by a 24-hour news cycle, how has the plight of the Rohingya Muslims been largely ignored?
1) Location, Location, Location
For better or worse, the Middle East is an area of the world that garners, even during “normal” times, plenty of coverage and commentary. When extraordinary events occur in the region, they innately draw the world’s eyes and ears – and news cameras. The same can hardly be said for Southeast Asia. Even with China’s ascendancy on the world stage, Americans simply don’t care about Asia. In fact, the vast majority of Americans probably couldn’t spot Myanmar on a map, given the trouble they have even pointing out nations they’re at war with.
What’s more, we can’t even decide what to call the country. Among the few news reports that have acknowledged the crisis, “Burma” and “Myanmar” were used interchangeably. Given all the media items vying for our scarce time, this added bit of confusion likely undercut whatever traction the story might have otherwise had.
2) No Rohingya Mona Eltahawy
As the ongoing – though, hopefully, close to concluding – crisis in Syria evidences, social media cannot in itself solve all the world’s ills. Facebook is not in the business of feeding the hungry and Twitter does not topple dictators. In an age of ever decreasing attention spans, however, these tools expand a story’s global mindshare. The more people “like” and “retweet” news of a tragedy, the higher the chances that something will be done about it.
In the case of the Rohingya, there hasn’t been anything near the critical mass that the Arab Spring garnered. Part of the reason, as mentioned, is a general dearth of interest in this part of the globe. Just as important, perhaps, is the lack of a Rohingya representative, a Western media darling that, like Mona Eltahawy did with Egypt, presents the crisis in terms that an American audience can understand and sympathize with. In essence, if your not seeing it in your Facebook newsfeed or Twitter stream, don’t expect to see it on your nightly news.
3) No Land to Call Their Own
One’s mobility, identity and, more importantly, access to rights is fundamentally linked to their national affiliation. As there is hardly a patch of land or water on the globe not claimed by some sovereign nation, the notion of a landless people seems like it should be an anachronism in the modern world. If only that was the case.
The issue of statelessness is all too familiar to Muslims who have for generations witnessed the suffering of Palestinians under Israeli occupation. Yet, in some ways, the Rohingya do not even enjoy the modicum of civil rights afforded to the Palestinians. Since the approximately 800,000 Rohingya living in Myanmar are denied citizenship status by the military government, their land is routinely confiscated, their children are denied any education beyond what they internally receive within the community, adults are denied the opportunity to look for work outside their village, and they can’t even marry without getting authorization to do so. As David Camroux, a top commentator on Islam in Asia, succinctly put it: “The Rohingya are the Roma of Asia, nobody respects their human rights.”
4) Getting in the way of “Democracy”
Oftentimes – though, certainly, not always – the West will rally to the aid of oppressed peoples if their oppressor fits the “bad guy” mold. The interventions in Rwanda, Bosnia and Somalia, for example, allowed Western powers to construct a narrative of “good” versus “evil.” When the roles are not so neat, when, for instance, the oppressor is a “necessary evil,” then NATO, the UN, et al. get far more gun shy – witness the past half century of Middle East policy. Just imagine the inertia, then, when the “bad guy” is being billed as the “good guy.”
Prior to this recent outbreak of violence, Myanmar was drawing positive headlines for its “democratic transition.” Over the past year, President Thein Sein has made strides towards greater openness and representation in his country, garnering praise from the international community and audiences with top dignitaries from America and Europe. Within this new democratic paradigm, however, it seems there’s no room for the Rohingya.
Top officials and activists in Myanmar have either tacitly or explicitly – more often, the later – shown their disdain for the Rohingya. No less a figure than the president himself openly said the Rohingya are not welcome in his country. Following this declaration, exiled Burmese democracy activists in Japan voiced their support of the president’s stance. Perhaps most appalling, however, is the cowardly silence of Myanmar’s celebrated Nobel Peace laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, as her country continues its policy of ethnic cleansing.
5) Follow the Money
Shockingly, the world’s economic superpowers don’t appear to be supportive of Myanmar’s “democratic transition” out of reverence for the ideals of freedom and liberty. They would likely be much less enthusiastic about the country’s newfound openness if it wasn’t for its vast, largely untapped natural resources. Multi-national and sovereign backed corporations are jockeying left and right for a piece of what could be the next big growth story in Asia (the Economist Intelligence Unit estimates an 85% chance for growth to rise 75-100% in the next eight years).
With such heady prospects, it is no surprise that Hilary Clinton’s recent visit with Thein Sein, which came two days after the US eased sanctions on Myanmar, was centered on business and long-term investment opportunities rather than ongoing human rights abuses. To be fair, Clinton did bring up the plight of the Rohingya, calling them “internally displaced persons” in an affront to President Sein’s call for the UN to resettle the Rohingya outside Myanmar’s borders, but the issue was dropped just as quickly at it was raised. We can’t have a few thousand ill-treated Asians get in the way of Corporate America’s potential windfall, after all.
It has been a few weeks now since the violence in Myanmar reached its peak. Nonetheless, Amnesty International reports that Rohingya Muslims continue to be targeted by the majority Buddhist population in the region. The Rohingya’s status is becoming much more precarious with each passing day. How to resolve this matter is debatable, but the first step is for the global community to acknowledge there is a problem. What we certainly cannot do is sit idly by and expect the Burmese government to handle this matter “internally.” If you think that such acquiescence would bring about anything short of genocide, you simply haven’t been paying attention.
Sadly, you’re not alone.
EXCLUSIVE: Burmese security forces tortured Rohingya Muslim women
Teenage victim describes how at least 13 women were raped overnight in Arakan state, which has been focus of ethnic riots
Women all belong to the Muslim Rohingya minority
Over 90,000 Rohingya refugees have been displaced due to violence between Muslim Rohingya and Rakhine Buddhists in Burma, and many are seeking help in Bangladesh. Video from June 2012. Link to video: Rohingya refugees leave Burma to seek help in Bangladesh
At least 13 women, including teenagers, have been subjected to prolonged rape by Burmese security forces in a remote village in the western state of Arakan. Human rights groups have warned that the incident threatens to trigger further violence in a region where several waves of ethno-religious rioting since June last year have killed more than 1,000 people.
The women all belong to the Muslim Rohingya minority, which has borne the brunt of fighting between Muslim and Buddhist communities. One victim, an 18-year-old girl who cannot be named for security reasons, described how a group of uniformed soldiers from Burma‘s border security unit, known locally as NaSaKa, entered her house in northern Maungdaw township shortly after midnight on 20 February.
“They took us separately to different places and tortured and raped us,” she said, referring also to her mother and younger sister, 15. The ordeal lasted until dawn, she said. “They came in and out of the house at least 15 times. They also beat my mother with a gun and dragged her outside to the road and beat her to the ground.”
According to the victim, 13 people in the village were assaulted. Chris Lewa, head of the Arakan Project, which has monitoring teams in Maungdaw township, said she had separately confirmed that at least 11 people were raped that night.
“Sexual violence by Nasaka against Rohingya women has been documented for many years,” says Matthew Smith, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, adding that prosecutions are rare for rapes committed by security forces.
Khin Ohmar, founder of the Women’s League of Burma, said that such ordeals terrorise the community. “I’ve heard of cases where rape survivors are kicked out of their village because the village head is so scared of retribution if they complain to the Burma army.”
- Rohingya Muslim women and boys cross the Naf river into Bangladesh to escape sectarian violence in Arakan state, Burma, in June 2012. Photograph: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images
She said that incidents like these happen “every time the army moves into remote areas”, and that punishment is normally just transferral to another area “where rape continues but with different women”. She thinks that the 20 February incident probably had its roots in “ethno-centric chauvinism and hatred” of the Rohingya.
Following the attacks, villagers fled into nearby forests and across the border into Bangladesh, said Lewa. The victim told the Guardian that she and the other women had received treatment at a local clinic. The extent of their injuries is unclear, although one 19-year-old woman is believed to be in a critical condition.
The protracted violence in Arakan state has left deep scars for communities on both sides. The UN estimates the number of people displaced since June to be around 120,000, the majority Rohingya.
There are fears however that the violence, which initially pitted Rohingya against Arakanese, is increasingly being demarcated along religious lines. Rioting broke out in Rangoon this week after a row over what local Buddhists claimed was the illegal construction of a mosque. The Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma news organisation also reported last week that the government had placed a ban on all Muslims leaving the Arakanese town of Thandwe, although no official statement has been made.
Buddhist and Muslim communities in Arakan state have now been segregated. In the state capital of Sittwe, all but one Muslim district was razed and emptied last year; the last remaining quarter, Aung Mingalar, whose population swelled from 5,000 to 8,000 residents after fighting broke out, is now guarded by soldiers.
Following a visit to several camps for the displaced this month, UN envoy Tomas Quintana spoke of his concern about aid distribution and freedom of movement. Despite government assurances that displaced Rohingya could eventually return to their homes, Quintana said that stakeholders in Arakan state believed “the current settlements will become permanent”.
The medical charity Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) has warned that its staff have received threats from local Arakanese when attempting to get aid to the Rohingya. “It’s just awful intimidation and threats of violence from a small but vocal group, through phone calls and on social media,” said Peter Paul de Groote, Head of Mission for MSF in Burma.
“Formal permission for access is not the main problem. A big obstacle for MSF is not having enough staff – doctors and other essential personnel are scared to work in Rakhine [Arakan] state.” He added that with monsoon season approaching, “we can expect a real humanitarian problem”.
Bangladesh Unrest: A Battle of Faith?
An OpEd by Amina Begum, a British Bangladeshi. There are multiple perspectives on this topic and these are the writer’s views, MuslimMatters does not necessarily endorse them.
Protests broke out across Bangladesh in recent weeks following the conviction of Allama Delwar Hossain Sayedee, deputy Amir of the opposition Bangladesh Jamaat-i-Islami (Jamaat) party and a hugely popular scholar of Qurʾān among Bangladeshis. Allama Sayedee was convicted by the deeply flawed Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal (ICT). He is one of several elderly religious scholars and political leaders of the Jamaat standing trial at the ICT. This includes the party’s 90-year-old retired leader, Prof Ghulam Azam, whose case follows Allama Sayedee’s.
Allama Sayedee’s supporters took to the streets following the announcement of what they felt to be the political conviction of an innocent man. While the tribunal was set up by the government proclaiming to seek justice for crimes committed during the 1971 War of Independence from present day Pakistan, none of the key perpetrators of attacks against the Bengalis from the Pakistan Army are in the dock. Instead the entire senior leadership of the Jamaat as well as key leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the largest opposition party, are being tried, sparking accusations that the tribunal is in fact a political show trial to weaken the opposition. Jamaat is a political party that participates in democratic processes and draws its ideology from Islamic principles. During the 1971 war they were opposed to the partition of then East Pakistan and West Pakistan. However, they maintain their opposition was political and that they did not participate in military crimes against their fellow men. Jamaat supports trials and justice for victims of the 1971 war, but insists it must be fair.
The current proceedings are anything but fair. International bodies from the UN to Human Rights Watch, have criticized the tribunal’s failure to ensure due process, impartiality, fairness and observance of standards of international law. The Economist exposed a leaked cache of correspondence that showed improper collusion between the presiding judge, government officials, prosecution and a Brussels based lawyer who is a known campaigner against the accused. This exposé led to the resignation of the chief judge, yet the tribunal merely appointed a new judge and continued undeterred. In Allama Sayedee’s case none of the three presiding judges had heard all the evidence, while a key prosecution-witness-turned-defense-witness was allegedly abducted by police at the court gates on the day he arrived to testify and has not been seen since. These are just a few examples of the extraordinary irregularities of this marred trial.
The protesters against Allama Sayedee’s conviction have been met with a violent state crackdown that has left well over a hundred dead. February 28th alone saw at least 66 people killed from live fire by security forces. Rights group, Odhikar, has since called on the Home Minister to resign, holding him responsible for what they have called “one of the most heinous killing sprees in the history of Bangladesh since independence.” Eight policemen have also been killed amidst the unrest since Feb 28.
These protests, while the bloodiest, are not the first and are an element of wider unrest that has gripped the nation. Allama Sayedee’s verdict was the third following that of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, who was tried, convicted and sentenced to death in absentia, provoking concern from both the US and UK. The second verdict was against Jamaat Assistant Secretary General, Abdul Quader Molla, who was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Molla’s case, like that of the others, was rife with irregularities, and drew protesters to the street, yet this was given little attention.
Attention was instead given to a protest that sprang in Dhaka’s Shahbag crossing, supported by the ruling Awami League government, which demanded the execution of not only Molla but all those accused, even as trials are ongoing. The government took the opportunity to swiftly alter the law, post-trial, to allow prosecutors to appeal verdicts, a move decried by Amnesty and Human Rights Watch. The Prime Minister made the unprecedented improper call to the ICT judges to pay heed to people’s sentiments when issuing verdicts. Meanwhile, defense witnesses have been too intimidated by the protests and government to appear at court, a case particularly true for defendant Prof Ghulam Azam.
Soon the Shahbag demands extended to calls for banning Jamaat-i-Islami itself, and all its institutions including banks, hospitals and media. They also began a call for secular politics, decrying the ‘threat’ of Jamaat’s Islamism, despite the fact that the Islamists garner a mere 5% at the ballot and a secular government currently sits in power.
With the ICT targeting of some of the nation’s leading Islamic scholars and political leaders, and the government-backed Shahbag calls for banning Islamically inspired politics, many have raised the question as to whether Islam itself is under attack in Bangladesh. Given the facts on the ground, it is not unreasonable to be tempted by that assessment. The current government prides itself on its commitment to secularism, and its application of this philosophy has proven extreme in spite of their pluralistic rhetoric. This regime has overseen the sustained suppression of the Islamist party Jamaat in the form of arrests, custodial torture and harassment.
Women have not been spared either; 20 female Jamaat student activists were arrested without charge and imprisoned for weeks at the end of 2012. Those detained included a five-month pregnant young lady who was denied bail with the rest and imprisoned. These women were forcibly unveiled and faced violence during questioning, including being dragged by the hair. Soon after, 13 more women, including leaders of Jamaat, were arrested at a women’s rights press conference organized in protest of the students’ detention. These events have found muted press coverage in national and international media.
Attack on Islamists aside, there appears to be a wider targeting of Islam. Visible manifestations of the Islamic faith have come under attack with pictures emerging of elderly men being yanked by their beards and accounts of other visible religiosity being a target. Changes in laws also seem to reflect targeting of Islamic principles and practice. In spite of Bangladesh’s Muslim majority, teaching of Islamic Studies, hitherto a central subject of the classroom, has been greatly reduced from state elementary school curricula and relegated to optional in high schools by this government.
The hijab has been a prominent target; the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Showkat Ali, spoke out against the veil, incredibly stating, “only those who have ugly faces use religion to cover it.” In a number of state educational institutions, headscarves have been banned, including at Rajshahi University’s Social Welfare Department, Chittagong Nursing College, and Kushtia Women’s College. The ruling party has also made moves to secularize the nation’s constitution.
More recently, the emergence of hate-speech against Islam, in particular against the Prophet Muḥammad 
and Allāh, published by numerous lead bloggers of the Shahbag protest provoked national outrage. On February 22nd a 12-member alliance of diverse Islamic groups organized a protest after Friday prayers. The state administered a fierce crackdown leaving at least four dead and a thousand injured. Media reports showed police laying siege to Baitul Mukarram mosque, the national mosque in the capital, firing continuously at it for at least an hour as worshippers and protesters took refuge inside. Follow-up protests left many more casualties; by Feb 26th 22 people had been killed by police.
On Friday, March 8th police conducted mass arrests at Baitul Mukarram of individuals they “suspected of seeking to protest in the mosque area after prayers”. Protesting has now become a crime and Mosques, particularly at Friday prayers, have become the site of state suppression. While criticism of the ruling regime leaders have warranted court summons, arrests and even torture, hate-speech against Islam has been bolstered by a regime willing to shoot those who protested it. Only recently, after much loss of life, has the state given in to public pressure and set up a committee to address this form of hate-speech.
It is not, however, only Islam that has been the target of suppression; it seems the Awami League’s extreme form of secularism extends to a wider religious intolerance. Religious minorities have suffered repeated violence and harassment under this regime. Rights group, Odhikar records numerous attacks against minorities across 2012, mostly by ruling party members, with a few cases by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and none by Jamaat. Cases by ruling party members in particular have gone unchecked, with the police appearing unwilling to prosecute such party members. The Awami League activists seem to display a culture of attacking these more vulnerable religious groups with impunity in a manner not equivalently mirrored by their political opponents.
Amidst the current unrest, minorities have suffered a spate of attacks and the ruling regime has been quick to accuse the opposition Jamaat. That, in spite of their own history of intolerance, suddenly the Awami League is claiming to champion minority rights rings hollow and opportunistic. Furthermore, in a recent well-documented and widely deplored murder of a Hindu tailor by ruling party youth, the government was quick to deny their activists’ involvement, despite photographic and video evidence, and tried to blame the opposition.
In a statement, Jamaat acting leader Moqbul Ahmed condemned the recent attacks and stated, “Jamaat has issued strict orders to its member to protect the lives and properties of minorities in light of the saying of the Prophet Muḥammad , ‘whoever harms a non-Muslim will not enter paradise.’” In response to a call from party leadership, Jamaat activists guarded minority temples to prevent further attacks.
Many, including members of the minority community, contend that opposition groups like Jamaat, in the midst of their struggle to survive sustained state onslaught, can only be further crippled by out of character attacks on minorities, thus to suggest they were involved is illogical. In fact, the government alone stands to benefit from these attacks by distracting from their state violence against civilians, and such a tactic has been employed by past dictatorial governments.
The violence in Bangladesh is taking a troubling turn as religious minorities are dragged into the milieu while the religious majority, and the Islamists in particular, are facing a sustained and brutal onslaught, forcing them into desperate positions and measures. The international community of Muslims needs to pay attention to the events taking place on the ground in Bangladesh, a nation that represents 10% of all Muslims worldwide, and call upon the Bangladesh government to show restraint and uphold an environment that is respectful of all faith groups and is politically pluralist. Muslims in the West should furthermore pressure their governments, including MPs, Congressmen and other political figures, to condemn state suppression and murder in Bangladesh, the politically charged ICT, and the growing religious intolerance of the ruling regime.
If you would like to join the call for justice, please sign the following petitions:
United Kingdom – http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/46050
United States – https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/demand-fair-trials-bangladesh-opposition-leaders-and-stop-their-execution-government-exploiting/5QmwTRbf
In Britain, you can also call upon your MPs to sign the following Early Day Motion: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/business-papers/commons/early-day-motions/edm-detail1/?session=2012-13&edmnumber=1095
Photo Credit- suronin / Shutterstock.com
EXCLUSIVE: Support and Pray for Muslims in Gaza
As-salam ‘alaykum wa rehmatullaah dear muslim brothers and sisters,
May Allaah reward each and every person who wrote whatever he/she could against the Tyrant Israel and its supporters. May Allaah bless every person who informed fellow Muslims about the condition of Muslims in Gaza.
Our Muslim brothers in Gaza are being tortured and killed by the enemies of Allah. They are undergoing all sorts of torture and oppression. It is our duty to support them by all possible means including money, power, and Prayers to Allah for them. In this way, we will be acting upon the Saying of Allah,
The believers are nothing else than brothers (in Islamic religion). (Qur’aan 49:10)
You are also following the saying of Allah (Glorified be He):
Help you one another in Al-Birr and At-Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression. And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is Severe in punishment. (Qur’aan 5:2)
The Prophet (may Allah’s Peace and Blessings be upon him) also says:
A believer to another believer is like a wall of bricks supporting each other. [ Illustrating this, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) then interlaced his fingers together.] (Al-Bukhari no. 2446; Muslim no. 2585)
Also he (peace be upon him) said:
The similitude of believers in regard to mutual love, affection, and empathy is that of one body; when any limb of it aches, the whole body aches, because of sleeplessness and fever. (Al-Bukhari no. 6011; Muslim no. 2586).
Also it is authentically reported that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) enjoined the believers to stand up for the oppressed by his Saying:
A Muslim is the brother of a fellow-Muslim. He should neither commit oppression upon him nor give him up to an enemy. (Al-Bukhari no. 2442; Muslim no. 2580)
Since Allah makes it obligatory upon all Muslims to support their Muslim brothers against the enemies of Allah, our Muslim brothers in Gaza are struggling against the Zionists and others of the enemies of Allah. Therefore, it is obligatory upon Muslims to support them as much as they can.
Allah is One whom we implore to guide all Muslim rulers and individuals to do everything to stop these atrocities of tyrant Zionists, to make His religion triumphant through them, to discourage His enemies, to help Muslims support their oppressed brothers everywhere.
May Allah help our brothers in Gaza and in other countries, do whatever pleases Him. May He grant them sound understanding of Islam, unite them in doing good, make those who lead them the best among them, set their leaders right and decree their triumph over His enemies!
Allah is truly Capable of doing so.
ILoveAllaah.com Team
Saudi Grand Mufti slams anti-Islam film, calls attacks on foreign embassies un-Islamic
Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al al-Sheikh also called on governments and international bodies to criminalize insults against prophets. (Photo courtesy of Arab News)
Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti, the highest religious authority in the birthplace of Islam, on Saturday denounced attacks on diplomats and embassies as un-Islamic after deadly protests against a U.S.-made film mocking Islam’s founder.
Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al al-Sheikh also called on governments and international bodies to criminalize insults against prophets and excoriated the film that has prompted a wave of fury across the Middle East.
“It is forbidden to punish the innocent for the wicked crimes of the guilty, or to attack those who have been granted protection of their lives and property, or to expose public buildings to fire or destruction,” he said in a speech carried by state news agency SPA.
Describing the release of the crudely made short film as “miserable” and “criminal”, he added that attacks on the innocent and diplomats “are also a distortion of the Islamic religion and are not accepted by God.”
At least nine people were killed after noon prayers on Friday in demonstrations across the Middle East.
Washington sent extra troops to guard its embassies after the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans were killed in an attack on a U.S. mission in Libya on Tuesday. The violence spread to Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, Sudan, Yemen and elsewhere.
There have been no reports of anti-American demonstrations in Saudi Arabia, a key Arab ally of the United States and country that holds significant influence over the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims via its guardianship of Mecca and Medina.
Al al-Sheikh’s statement echoed the official position taken by Saudi Arabia on Thursday, condemning both the film and attacks on U.S. embassies.
Earlier on Saturday, al-Qaeda’s regional wing based in Yemen called on Muslims to kill American diplomats in Islamic countries and step up protests against the film.
Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/09/15/238217.html
Islam for Humanity 