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Dr Kaukab Siddique | Editor-in-Chief Ramadan 29, 1428. October 12, 2007. #79

Jamaat al-Muslimeen, P.O. Box 10881, Baltimore, MD 21234 [2 items]

Press Release
Jamaat al-Muslimeen Condemns Bombing of Civilians by Pakistan Air Force and U.S. Air Force

Pakistani media report that during the night of October 9-10, Pakistani jet fighters hit civilians who oppose the Pakistani regime. In the following day 60 civilians, including 17 women and 20 children, were buried by villagers following their deaths at the "hands" of the Pakistan air force in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan. An entire village was wiped out at General Musharraf's orders.
Following the air attacks, General Kayani, the general appointed by Musharraf as his successor, used heavy artillery on the villages killing another 20 civilians.

October 11. The U.S. admitted killing scores of Iraqi women and children in a bombing raid by the USAF ostensibly aimed at al-Qaida mujahideen.

We condemn this wanton and cold-blooded slaughter of civilians and call on the Muslim world to join us in this condemnation.

Our analysts say that behind these high tech murders lies the theory that children can be killed if their relatives are seen as "terrorists" by the U.S. and its rented Pakistani army. We note that no children were killed in the 9.11 attacks in the business hub of the U.S. in New York and on the Pentagon.

Crescent was not Sighted Anywhere in America on October 11, 2007

Jamaat al-Muslimeen observers across the country say that the crescent was not sighted anywhere. Most significant is the effort by Jamaat Shoora member Br. Sulayman Solano who lives in Brownsville, Texas, the southernmost point in the country. The following is Jamaat's comment on those who shamelessly announced Eid for Friday.

In Maryland, the horizon was heavily overcast and crescent sighting was out of the question. Unfortunately individuals who want to control and mislead the Muslim ummah made irresponsible claims that Eid is on Friday. They refused to disclose where the crescent was sighted. This dictatorial attitude expressed by individuals in charge of Masjid Rahma and its affiliates indicates a total lack of taqwa and a blatant attempt to control and mislead Muslims.

Middle eastern nationalism and Saudi control is playing an important role in these Eid claims by Masjid Rahma etc. Some others think that imposition of Eid means unity! These unity people are honest but mistaken.
Muslims will inshallah have to learn that in Eid, as in all matters, the Sunnah of Muhammad, pbuh, is all that matters. These fake leaders will be answerable on the Day of Judgment..

Islamic Leader's Open Letter on the Issue of Eid and Crescent Observation

As-salaamu `alaykum. This is an OPEN LETTER to All.

Thank you Imam Haroun for sending me this "Discourse" by Dr. Zulifqar Ali Shah. In response:

I invite everyone to visit: http://www.islamicmoon.com

This is the website for Shaykh Omar Afzal's Committee for Crescent Observation and (inshaa'Allah) we shall be guided by this Committee, as we have for many years, because this is what he does! Year end and year out. Allah, The All-Knowing, instructs us to go to "those who know."

On the evening of tomorrow, Friday, October 12th, 2007 everyone should be looking for the Hilal. If the Hilal is sighted by reliable witnesses, then the Eid will be on Saturday. If it is not sighted, then the Eid will be on Sunday, and we shall fast on Saturday, October 13th.

We can stay informed by routinely visiting http://www.IslamicMoon.com or by telephoning Dr. Afzal directly at 1-607-277-6706 where he has a recording, which provides information on Hilal Sightings and the beginning (1st day) of the Islamic Month of Shawwal (Eid ul-Fitr).

Please read Dr. Afzal's articles on this website and I am sure they will make many, many matters very clear concerning the importance of sighting the Hilal. For example: Can there be more than one First of Ramadan (or any other Islamic Month)? ..........YES!!!

Also: Let me remind everyone reading this message that during the time of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) there were great mathematicians, many existed throughout Africa & Asia, which accounts for the great edifices these peoples erected for thousands of years. The Jews of Arabia followed a "calculated" calendar!

Upon migrating to Madinah, our Great Benefactor, Muhammad, sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam, came into direct contact with the Jews, their Lunar Calendar, and their ways, on a daily basis. Yet, concerning the Islamic Calendar, Allah, The All-Knowing One, instructs us to visually sight the new crescent moon! Rasulallah, SAW, and his Companions, radi Allahu `anhum, explained, in great detail, how to do this.

To not follow Allah's and His Prophet's instructions, in this matter, is tantamount to believing that because we wear wristwatches, that those before us did not know how to tell time! It is an audacious statement that our knowledge is modern and superior to that of Allah and His Messenger, SAW! Na`oothu billaah.

We shall not be guided by Dr. Zulifqar Ali Shah and his "Astrological Calculation" conclusions.

As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah.

Amir Abdallah Yasin

[If there is any American leader following the spirit of Jesus, pbuh, it is Carter. Read this. He is speaking as the Qur'an urges Muslims to speak- Editor]

America Tortures Prisoners, Carter Says

Calls Vice President Cheney 'Disaster for Our Country'

AP

Posted: 2007-10-11 07:39:19

WASHINGTON (Oct. 11) -- The U.S. tortures prisoners in violation of international law, former President Jimmy Carter said Wednesday, adding that President Bush makes up his own definition of torture.

Former President Jimmy Carter told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday that the U.S. tortures prisoners captured in the war on terror. "I don't think it. I know it," Carter said.

"Our country for the first time in my life time has abandoned the basic principle of human rights," Carter said on CNN. "We've said that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to those people in Abu Ghraib prison and Guantanamo, and we've said we can torture prisoners and deprive them of an accusation of a crime."

Bush, responding to an Oct. 4 report by The New York Times on secret Justice Department memorandums supporting the use of "harsh interrogation techniques," defended the techniques Friday by proclaiming: "This government does not torture people."

Carter said the interrogation methods cited by the Times, including "head-slapping, simulated drowning and frigid temperatures," constitute torture "if you use the international norms of torture as has always been honored _ certainly in the last 60 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was promulgated.

"But you can make your own definition of human rights and say we don't violate them, and you can make your own definition of torture and say we don't violate them," Carter said.

In an interview that aired Wednesday on BBC, Carter ripped Vice President Dick Cheney as "a militant who avoided any service of his own in the military."

Carter went on to say Cheney has been "a disaster for our country. I think he's been overly persuasive on President George Bush."

Cheney spokeswoman Megan Mitchell declined to speak to Carter's allegations.

"We're not going to engage in this kind of rhetoric," she said.

In the CNN interview, the Democratic former president disparaged the field of Republican presidential candidates.

"They all seem to be outdoing each other in who wants to go to war first with Iran, who wants to keep Guantanamo open longer and expand its capacity - things of that kind," Carter said.

He said he also disagreed with positions taken by Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, who have declined to promise to withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq over the following four years if elected president next year.

New Book
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Expanding upon his highly successful book, The Power of Israel in the United States (now available in translation in Japanese, Indonesian, German, Italian and Arabic), Petras reviews how financial capital dominates the US economy, and sets the parameters for political debate on the US role in the world economy and its implementation.

Questions of war and peace in the Middle East, however, are set not by oil interests or by finance capital, but by the Israel-Zionist power configuration, which exerts tremendous leverage over Congress, the mass media and the executive branch. This conflict of interests within the US ruling elite has led to a mounting schism. In pushing the US to engage in the disastrous Iraq war and promoting a further potentially catastrophic assault against Iran, the Zionist/militarist sector of the ruling elite has come into conflict with the interests of US finance capital, which seeks to entrench itself worldwide through the global liberalization of trade.

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Background Report
British Army Fired Two Million Rounds of Ammunition in Afghanistan but Failed to Drive Taliban out of Helmand Province. Terrain Taking Toll of Brits

Shock toll of British injured in Afghan war

· Half of frontline troops 'patched-up'

· Senior officers fear exodus

Mark Townsend, defence correspondent

Sunday August 19, 2007

The Observer

The human cost of the war in Afghanistan to British soldiers can be revealed today as figures show that almost half of frontline troops have required significant medical treatment during this summer's fighting.

In a graphic illustration of the intensity of the conflict in Helmand province, more than 700 battlefield soldiers have needed treatment since April - nearly half of the 1,500 on the front line. The figures, obtained from senior military sources, have never been released by the government, which has faced criticism that it has covered up the true extent of injuries sustained during the conflict.

The Ministry of Defence releases the number of soldiers taken to hospital, a fraction of those who require treatment on the battlefield. The new figures relate to the number of soldiers patched up and sent back to the front line and who do not appear in official casualty reports.

By contrast, US official figures take into account soldiers treated on the front line. In their figures, wounded troops include those away from the front line for 72 hours or more.

One British army official said the 700 cases include a 'handful' of officers who suffered injuries and chose to carry on fighting. The injuries include shrapnel wounds, cuts, burns, acute heat stroke and diseases such as 'DnV' - diarrhoea and vomiting that can incapacitate a man for days. Of the 700 cases, 400 combat troops were described as being so ill they were forced to 'lay down their bayonets'.

The number of soldiers requiring front-line treatment was discussed at military briefings in Helmand during intensive fighting this month and relate to the current deployment, which began in April. An army spokesman said official casualty figures between April and the start of August stood at 204, with about half stemming from the battlefield.

Military sources said the willingness of soldiers to carry on fighting while suffering was indicative of the bravery being routinely displayed.

'The courage of the soldiers has been remarkable. Many are getting patched up and just want to get on with it. Most do not want to leave their comrades,' said the source in Helmand. Last week, details were released about how 26-year-old Captain David Hicks, of the 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment, refused morphine after being mortally wounded by shrapnel so he could keep a clear head to lead his men. He later died of his injuries.

The MoD said the figures should not be confused with its published 'casualty' figures, claiming that cases treated by frontline medics often related to minor ailments and complaints that were not considered life-threatening or serious. The spokeswoman went on to say that, in serious cases, troops were not given the option to carry on fighting.

However, the number of serious injuries is rising. A spokesman for the British Limbless Ex-Service Men's Association said that 27 British soldiers had lost limbs serving in Afghanistan and Iraq during the past 12 months.

The frenetic nature of the conflict in southern Afghanistan is underlined by the fact that many young infantrymen intend to leave the army because the firefights they have survived in Helmand could never be surpassed. In terms of soldiering, the conflict has offered some of the most intense fighting for 50 years, with two million rounds of ammunition so far fired by British forces.

'You could be in the army for decades and you will never get anything like that again. Will it be bettered? I can't see it,' said one soldier. Commanders are understood to be concerned that the Helmand conflict could precipitate an exodus of combat troops who feel military life will never offer the same challenge again.

Campaigners have frequently argued that British troops are paying a higher price on the battlefield than has been made public. Casualty figures are expected to rise in the coming months as the current tour, from April to October, finishes, when regiments that have experienced the brunt of fighting push on to gain ground before they leave.

2007-10-13 Sat 03:50:11 cdt
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