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Dr Kaukab Siddique | Editor-in-Chief Jamada al-Thani 11,1429/ June 15, 2008, #34

For important war news, please scroll down. Also for imp. interview on Red Mosque tragedy

Jamaat al-Muslimeen [News] [5 items only]
P.O. Box 10881
Baltimore, MD

Great News: America's Top Activist Attorney Endorses Jamaat's International Conference

Lynne Stewart, America's great fighter for justice and peace has endorsed [June 14] Jamaat al-Muslimeen's International Islamic Conference for Peace and Awareness [August 16].
Ms. Stewart [or Sis. Lynne as we call her] sacrificed her career and her resources to fight for the rights of the Blind Shaikh, Dr. Omar 'Abdel Rahman.
To donate and register for the Conference, see www.JAm4PEACE.org and talk to Br. Aziz.

DVDs of three of America's Greatest Muslims now Available: First ten requests will be sent Free of Charge [Taped at our Shoora on May 24]

Sis. Karen English documents the businesses which support Zionism. A powerful but calm presentation. This is the most peaceful way of defeating Israel. BOYCOTT!

Imam Warith Deen Umar introduces his groundbreaking book, JEWS for SALAAM. Peace track for Jews and Muslims to stop fighting.

Dr. Abdulalim Shabazz, educationist and philosopher of Jamaat al-Muslimeen and of the oppressed people of the world. An unforgettable explanation of RACE. Education of the poor and the deprived without taking away their dignity and identity is possible, he says.

$20 each from: Jamaat al-Muslimeen, P.O. Box 10881, Baltimore, MD 21234.

Dr. Abdulalim Shabazz in Arusha, Tanzania for African Summit

The five-day summit June 2-6 brought together over 3,000 participants from Africa and African renaissance activists in the Diaspora.
The Leon H. Sullivan Summit is held every other year in an African country, principally to nurture the African renaissance philosophy and initiatives seeking to build bridges through partnerships in trade and investments.

Dr. Abdulalim Shabazz has attended several of these summits and is much sought after owing to his fame as Distinguished Professor of Mathematics and an extraordinary teacher of the pedagogy of the oppressed.

Outreach: Islamic Society of Washington Area [ISWA]

June 13, 2008: A Jamaat al-Muslimeen document, 8 pages long, was given to 59 Muslims after Juma' salat along with an invitation letter to support the historic International Islamic Conference for Peace and awareness coming up on August 16, inshallah.

The document included reports on the war going on in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as Denmark's military alliance with Bush. The major items were Dr.Siddique's article on Maulana Maudoodi, Jeff Archer's report on Obama and "Muslim Brotherhood's" misuse of khutbas for fund raising.

We thank a sister who talked to the Imam of ISWA to let us distribute the publicity material about the Conference and its endorsers.

Profiles of 2 Distinguished Christian Presenters at International Islamic Peace and Awareness Conference; August 16, inshallah

Charles E. Carlson, is a former businessman and a Baptist Deacon, who served twice in the US military, and who with five friends co-founded We Hold These Truths in April 1996. Its purpose was to defend our rights claimed in the Declaration of Independence, noting that these rights are God given and apply to all men. Mr. Carlson observed that we now live in a War Based Economy which is anathema to these rights, and that Christian Zionists are the largest voting block of war enablers. Knowingly or ignorantly, they help target Islam for serial wars, first in Palestine, then Iraq in 1991, and are an obstacle to peace.

Strait Gate Ministries was started shortly after Day 911 to identity and intervene between Christian Zionist leaders and their misguided congregations. To do this Carlson made a study of how followers of Christ are misled by Christian Zionists. He and associated have led Vigils for Peace with Justice at some 65 churches, including those of Billy Graham, the late Jerry Falwell, John McArthur, Promise Keepers, and the Southern Baptist Convention John Hagee's Night To Honor Israel (5 times). The next Vigil will be in Columbus Ohio in July.

Carlson's presentation covers observations from his lone fact-finding visit to Gaza in 2002, the source of Christian Zionists' error, how we can best influence them for peace.

www.crescentandcross.org     Director: Mark Glenn's words follow

The forces of evil in the world, always intent upon destroying the order as set for by the creator, have pitted the Christian and Muslim peoples against each other under the age-old guise of divide and conquer. According to this agenda, once the two peoples have exhausted each other (or completely wiped each other out) no measurable resistence to this evil agenda, whether it be called Zionism or Jewish supremacism--will exist. It is imperative, for the sake of all humanity that the Christian and Muslim people recognize that a powerful, fanatical third party devoted solely to Jewish interests have created this 'clash of civilizations' when indeed none should exist. Christians and Muslims have every reason to live peaceably amongst each other, not the least of which is due to the fact that they share a common enemy, namely Israel. It s the goal of the Crescent and Cross Solidarity Movement to make these truths known and in the process to defang the beast and hurl him back into his cage.

Justice Delayed is Justice Denied: Supreme Court Decision a Mockery of Human Values: After 7 Years of Torture and Desecration, a cruel joke
by Kaukab Siddique, Ph.D

June 12, 2008: The U.S. Supreme Court decreed that "detainees" in Guantanamo Bay can now be allowed to challenge their detention in U.S. civil courts. How the detainees will be able to do this is anyone's guess; probably attorneys will take it on themselves to fight the cases of specific detainees. During these 7 years of shame, gradually it became clear that almost all the detainees in Guantanamo have nothing to do with armed resistance [terrorism] to the U.S. Most of them were sold to the U.S. by the Musharraf regime in exchange for bounty.

The detainees have, by and large, been subjected to sophisticated forms of torture which left them hopeless and broken. Many of them them attempted suicide; some actually died in these attempts. Others went on hunger strike in the hope of getting their dire condition known to the outside world. In a slow, destructive, process which undermined all the decencies of humanity, American bureaucracies decided to let go scores of prisoners after it became clear that they had nothing to reveal. Thus the news came out about the situation in the camps and the innocence of most prisoners.

The prisoners are devout Muslims; hence Islam in general and the Qur'an in particular became the target of the U.S. government in its attempts to demoralize, break and de-lsamize the prisoners. Chaplain Yee, an American Muslim, in his book For God and Country, has painstakingly documented the vicious efforts to desecrate the Qur'an to break the prisoners. [Alhamdulillah, it had the opposite effect. The prisoners were willing to sacrifice everything to keep the Qur'an sacred. Their faith, in dire circumstances and in conditions of utter helplessness, bears witness to the victory of Islam in our times.

In all these years, the Supreme Court did nothing. Tragedy after tragedy gave a bad name to America all over the world, yet the court did not budge. No nation in the world has subjected prisoners to such inhumanity. Chaplain Yee explains one procedure: if a detainee protested, an entire team of well trained American thugs would descend on him, reduce him to helplessness and leave him trussed up for days like a chicken. Yee wanted to stop the desecration of the Qur'an but he then was himself targeted by the general in command of the camp and his entire career was ruined.

After 7 years comes this Supreme Court decision to let Islamic prisoners be tried in civil courts [for what?]. Whether that will happen before Bush leaves or even in the next couple of eyars is not clear.
American justice is a joke and a fraud.
Even this "victory" for justice was by a margin of 5 to 4. Thus 4 of the judges claimed that the Bush administration is doing fine and there is no need for trials in court. Bush said of the verdict that he does not agree with it [but will reluctantly accept it]. Thus the U.S. almost lost the right of Habeas Corpus on which the Rule of Law is based.

Khalid Shaikh Muhammad and 3 others with him have been tortured over SIX YEARS again and again and made to confess to all kinds of things. It's the kind of situation in which the victim says more or less: Tell me what you want me to sign. Yes, I did it. The nineteen who hit the symbols of America's power on 9.11 went to their Creator. Now to blame Khalid Shaikh Muhammad and to promote him to the "Mastermind of 9.11" makes a travesty of the ongoing war.

Should enemy combatants be tried as criminals? Even the much maligned Hitler did not do it. At one time, he wanted to execute American airmen for machine gunning German civilians on the ground but then decided that Germany must stick to international law. Here we are bombing Iraqi and Afghan cities and villages, killing tens of thousands of civilians, and then trying fighters from the other side as "terrorists." Whom are we trying to fool?

The Supreme Court forgot that it's too late for these enactments. The cup of human misery has overflowed. The Qur'an was thrown into the toilet in Guantanamo Bay by well-trained American troops. Will they ever be punished. Instead Muslim prisoners, instead of being released, will now have the luxury of being tried in civilian courts, the same civilian courts which have sentenced decent American citizens who never hurt anyone, like Ahmed Abdel Sattar and Masoud Khan, to ridiculously long prison sentences.

Eyewitness Accounts of Routine Police Terrorism
Daily Racism on Baltimore's MTA: People's Tribunal Needed
By Nadrat Siddique

Ask virtually any Black person in the U.S., and he or she will tell you the police abuse Black people with impunity. Acts of police brutality are largely unreported for a variety of reasons, ranging from fear of reprisal and lack of faith in the System, to illiteracy and lack of awareness of legal options. Except within the Black community, the issue is rarely acknowledged or discussed. The notion that 9/11 was the first act of terrorism on U.S. soil is indicative of such tunnel vision. Centuries of lynchings, executions, rapes, and pseudo-scientific experimentation on Black people are somehow excluded from the rubric of terrorist acts on American soil.

I've discussed the issue of police brutality with a broad spectrum of Blacks and Whites. The difference in reaction is stark, and strictly divided along racial lines.

The reaction of Black people is formulated through first hand experience. Nothing brings home reality quicker than being at the end of a police baton or stun gun. And judging from the number of Black men spreadeagled outside Jaguars and Lexuses in police stops, class offers little protection.

The reaction of Whites generally falls in one of four categories:

1. Don't you realize the predicament the poor cop is in? He doesn't know which suspect has a gun, and which one doesn't. If you were in that situation, you'd probably shoot first and ask questions later, too.
2. You deride them now, but I'll bet you'd call them in an instant if someone breaks into your house.
3. Oh, they pulled him over, searched his car, and held him for three hours? It happened to me too.
4. He's in jail/dead/etc.? He must have done it.

I'm not evidently Black, and am generally exempt from police harassment. As a Muslim, however, I feel strongly that I must speak out on this issue for three reasons:

1. Everyone living in the U.S. has profited from forced Black labor. We owe a debt to Black people. At the very least, we must oppose police brutality against the very people without whom this country's very infrastructure would not exist.

2. To remain silent against the racist power structure is to acquiesce--indeed profit from--that power structure.

3. The Qur'an commands opposition to injustice. And racism (with all its economic implications) is the leading form of injustice in the U.S.

Only the most blatant acts of police terror--such as those involving Amadou Diallo, Abner Louima, or Sean Bell--garner corporate media attention, and that too, usually after massive public outcry. But terrorism of the U.S. Black population occurs daily, and at many levels. Some are immediately life-threatening, such as the dragging of James Byrd, Jr., behind a pickup truck in Jasper, Texas, or the deliberate ramming of Black suspects with police cruisers in South Carolina. Others are not immediately life-threatening, but rather confer long-range mental and physical health problems on the victims.

Take for example, the case of a close friend, who is Black. He was accosted by MTA police on the Baltimore light rail enroute to work. The events as he related them:

Between commuting by public transportation and time spent at work, he is away from home at least 14 hours a day. Since he is very strapped for time, he occasionally pays bills via cell phone during his long commute. Recently, he boarded the train, sat down, and was paying a utility bill, when three hulking MTA cops approached him. My friend is 5'4," slender and slight, with a very quiet manner. He does not engage in illegal or threatening behaviors in public. The approach by three cops seemed grossly misplaced.

They demanded to see my friend's boarding pass (checking of boarding passes is standard procedure on light rail, but generally conducted by a regular MTA employee). He took a few seconds too long to hang up the cell and produce it, so they verbally assaulted him.

He challenged their rudeness. They removed him from the train without warning. Then, they wrote him a citation for "disorderly conduct". Since he was forced to miss his train and had to wait for a later one, he was late for work--a very serious matter, since he is the only breadwinner for his family, and could be suspended or fired for tardiness. And he was saddled with the added burden of going to court to contest the bogus citation.

My friend said what he'd experienced was not at all unusual. Poor and working class Black people riding Baltimore's light rail are routinely accosted by cops. He'd witnessed an incident involving an elderly Black woman with dreadlocks. Probably hungry after a hard day's work and facing a long commute on the slow moving train, she committed the mortal sin of eating a piece of bread on the light rail (eating on the train is technically prohibited by MTA rules). "MTA police jacked her up," said my friend. "They put her in a choke hold, and put her off the train."

He relayed another such incident involving a young Black woman with her child. She was quietly sitting on the train, talking to her mate on her cell, when she was accosted by two MTA cops. It was not clear what "crime" she'd committed. MTA police demanded her ID, frisked and verbally assaulted her--all in front of her child. Then, the cops forcefully removed her and the child from the train. When her mate arrived at the scene, the cops threatened to arrest him, too.

By contrast, the Whites who board the same light rail in Hunt Valley, Falls Road, or other affluent Baltimore suburbs enroute to their plush offices in downtown Baltimore, or to BWI Airport encounter no such police harassment. White and Asian tourists traveling by light rail for an afternoon of frolicking around Baltimore's sordidly gentrified Inner Harbor are untouched by racist cops. The rich, White drunks overflowing light rail trains leaving Camden Yards (stadium site) following a baseball game (whose tickets are so expensive as to be unaffordable to most of Baltimore's Black majority) are not harassed. Frequently, their fares are not even checked, nor is their public drunkenness.

Indeed police harassment appears reserved for Baltimore's poor Blacks, who often spend hours trying to get to work on the city's highly inefficient mass transit, to earn slave wages which they dutifully turn over to bloodsucking slumlords. All of this occurs in a majority Black city. I watch both sides of it from where I sit at work, and it makes me sick to the stomach. A People's Tribunal--to record and eventually try everyday acts of police terror against the U.S. Black population--is needed.

War News: Compiled by New Trend's Media Monitor
Afghanistan: Audacious Taliban Attack Breaks Open Prison, Releasing 1200 Inmates

June 14, 2008: Three Taliban fighters attacked the main gate of the biggest prison run by Karzai's men in Kandahar. During the fighting, a martyrdom operator drove his vehicle packed with dynamite into the back of the prison, smashing a large hole into it through which the prisoners escaped. According to the BBC, the explosion was so powerful that it was heard three kilometers away.

Karzai's relative, Wali Karzai, in charge of the prison, confirmed that more than 1200 prisoners escaped. Of these 390 were Taliban fighters.
Fifteen of Karzai's security guards in the front of the prison were killed in the fighting. The mujahideen retreated without loss.

British troops under Taliban Attack
Helmand province

June 9, 2008: In southwestern Afghanistan a martyrdom operator hit a British armored column killing 3 British troops.
June 12: In a conventional Taliban attack [automatic rifles only] 2 British soldiers, the elite of the Brit army, were killed and one wounded. Reports say that the Brits broke and ran. However, MSNBC reported only the casualties in both attacks.

Heavy U.S. and Taliban Losses in Latest Battles
June 14: A Taliban attack, very unusual so far north, killed 4 U.S. troops in Farah province. [U.S. media admitted this one but not the earlier one: see below]

June 13: A martyrdom operator hit a NATO convoy in Nangarhar province 35 km from the Pakistani border post at Torkhum. Two military vehicles of NATO blew up in the attack killing 13 U.S. and 3 Karzai troops. Another 20 Karzais were wounded. Taliban spokesman identified the martyr as Ibrahim and noted that he was from Kunar province.

U.S. forces caught Taliban out in the open in successful air attacks. In the first U.S. air attack 19 Taliban were killed in the Tarinkot area of Kandahar province. In the second successful air attack, 12 Taliban and 2 women were killed in bombing raids in the Zurmat district of Paktika province.

Rally against U.S. desecration of the Qur'an:

In Kunar province, more than 200 Afghan villagers protested all day against the alleged desecration of the Qur'an by U.S. troops in the nearby U.S. military post. The U.S. denies it.

Reporting and analysis by our Pakistani observers
Pakistan: U.S. Attack, killing Pak troops, was Meant to Divert Attention from Long March on Islamabad

New Trend has received three versions of the U.S. attack on Pakistan in which 11 Pakistani troops, including a major, were killed, along with 8 Pakistani Taliban. These versions are from the U.S. media picking up from the Pentagon, Pakistani government and military, and Pakistani Taliban speaking to Pak media. New Trend is thus able to put together this report which is short but comprehensive:

On the night of June 10-11, Karzai regime troops [known as the Afghan National Army or ANA] backed by U.S. Special Forces, entered Pakistan in the Mohmand Agency's Chopara and Gorapanza areas. They were met by a ferocious Taliban counterattack which drove them back. One of the ANA's helicopters was shot down by the Taliban and 7 ANA troops captured. At least 20 ANA were killed. The ANA wanted t set up a post WITHIN Pakistani territory and this attempt was foiled.

At this setback, American air forces backing the ANA let loose the most modern weaponry. It was aimed at Pakistani paramilitary positions and blew them apart. At least 11 Pakistani troops were killed. The Pentagon issued footage of the bombing which was shown by the BBC. New Trend saw the video. It shows a HUGE explosion, at least several football fields wide. The 40 Pakistani paramilitary troops in the second post are reported as missing and were probably killed but the Pakistani military is ignoring this aspect of the news.

CNN reported that two F-15s and a B1 bomber were used in the attack on Pakistan. Five thousand pounds of bombs [in the form of a stream of 500 pound bombs were dropped.

New Trend's analysis shows that Pakistan seems to have deliberately sacrificed its paramilitary troops to divert attention from the countrywide march on Islamabad by the people of Pakistan. This analysis is supported by the fact that for the first time, the Pakistani military directly issued a condemnation of the U.S. attack. The language used was stark and has never been used against the U.S. The Pak military said that the attack was not only "totally unprovoked" but also "cowardly." The Pakistani government took the stance that it might have to re-think its cooperation with the U.S. [thus creating the false impression that Pak now has an INDEPENDENT democratic government].

However, this impression was fake. The Pakistani ambassador in Washington, Hussain Haqqani, told the U.S. that the attack would not change Pak-U.S. strategic relationship of military cooperation against "terrorism." Haqqani said that mutual recrimination can only harm the unified vision of the two regimes: to fight "terrorism." [Read Islam for "terrorism."]

The two regimes, having successfully conveyed to the Pakistani people rallying against the U.S.-installed regime in Islamabad that Pakistan is under U.S. attack, then took the easy way out: There will be a joint investigation to find out who was at fault.
[This may be a case of poetic justice. The initial U.S. report said that Pakistani troops were helping U.S. troops track the Taliban. When the Taliban entered the poorly marked Pakistani border, the U.S. carried out air attack which killed the Pakistani allies of the U.S.]

Long March changing Pakistan's Direction
Pakistan re-Making Itself: 100,000 Gather in Islamabad, call for Rule of law, Removal of Musharraf

June 14: More than one hundred thousand people have gathered in Islamabad from all over the country. They are led by lawyers who had been holding daily protests in their local areas. The participants in the long march received ovations from large crowds in every city they passed through. The biggest caravans came from Lahore, led by lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan, a folk hero now, and JI leader Qazi Hussain Ahmed from Peshawar. The most arduous journeys were of those who traveled from Karachi through Multan to Islamabad.

The long march has the support of Jamaate Islami, Justice Party of Imran Khan and Muslim League of Nawaz Sharif as well as trade unions and professional groups of a great variety. Their star and hope for the future is Iftikhar Choudhury, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court whose dismissal by General Musharraf led to a national outcry.

On June 13, as the first 50,000 people arrived in Islamabad in caravans, they were joined by thousands of supporters of Lal Masjid, men and women, who were chanting Teri Masjid, Meri Masjid, Lal Masjid, Lal Masjid. Also active participants, led by Sis. Amina Masood, are the groups of relatives of Islamic people "disappeared" by General Musharraf's forces during years of oppression when he tried to help the U.S. take over Pakistan.

Once more, our observers say, Pakistan has shown that it has the will to live as an Islamic country and to renew itself even after the greatest tragedies.

Letter:
Prostrating to the Jewish Power Elite: Three Puppets Assure Israel of their Unconditional Loyalty: McCain, Hillary, Obama at AIPAC.

I do not think that McCain, Hillary, Obama wanted to be the puppets or obedient servants of the Zionists. But they had no choice because they found themselves fully controlled by the Zionist lobby. Things may change in favor of the victims. Americans are now learning about the truth, thanks to the internet and the increasing sympathy of Westerners for the Palestinian victims. I believe, American politicians know the truth but they are not strong enough and know how to take stand for the truth and justice. As President Carter rightly said, without being the puppets of the Zionists, the AIPAC, none of the candidates will be able to accomplish their political goal, even if they win, will soon loose. Zionism is their god of power.
Muslims on the other hand are the people of no plan and no commitment, with some exception; even the millions who are living a lavish life in America are doing very little, at least for now. They are good in pretending being righteous, but on false premises. They also are good in fighting against and condemning each other for reasons and no reasons. They need to change and take the issue of Zionist occupation seriously and pursue it scientifically: collectively and pragmatically with a proactive attitude towards the Americans following the Islamic principle of ‘dispelling evil with virtue and by using a best/better means/method. Then, Muslims will be able to influence the American politics and help America rise up from the position of moral degradation to the status of dignity and honor. They need to be rescued from being under the mercy of the Zionist lobby because, as it is now, the Americans themselves are not capable of earning that freedom. They need an Islamic alternative of Zionist lobby. There are other factors as well.
They are the believers in social Darwinism. Moreover, they are coming out of a tradition of colonialism that inspired them with exploitation, expropriation, and extermination of the weak. They have no remorse in that, at least I don't see that in most of them, if not all. They need moral help, help from Islam and Muslims. If it was not for the Zionists lobby today, probably, America would be a good ally of Muslim world, because their forefathers had been, Jefferson, Washington and others. It was America of the past who put the image of Prophet Muhammad,s, along with others, on the chamber of US Supreme Court, a symbol of respect and honor. Why not the cause of his ummah? Now the hands of American politicians are tight, unfortunately, by the Zionist power. They need to be rescued and must be by Muslims and Islam.
Muslims need to be organized, sophisticated and objective oriented in their thinking and attitudes towards the target people: the Americans. I believe, the American people, especially the politicians, will start thinking rationally, fairly, and justly when Muslims will be able to influence them. Look at President Carter. He had known the truth before as he knows it now, but he could not speak the truth when he was dependent on the mercy of Zionism, although he was different from other US president when he was in office. He speaks now. Muslims needs to work to create few more President Carter in America, at least to begin with, in support of the madhlumeen.

Haider Bhuiyan
Georgia.

4,000 killed in Lal Masjid Op' [Courtesy the Post, Peshawar]
Ex-MNA says 2,500 missing people in agencies' custody | US persuading Taliban to make truce
Kaswar Klasra

KOHAT: About 4,000 people, mostly students, were killed in the Lal Masjid operation, Javed Ibrahim Paracha, a former MNA from Kohat, claimed Sunday.

He also said the United States, perturbed by huge monetary and human losses, has made several attempts to convince Taliban leaders to cease fire in Afghanistan. In an exclusive interview with The Post, Paracha claimed that Americans had asked him in 2005 to mediate a truce in Afghanistan. However, the Taliban vowed to continue fighting US-led coalition forces.

Revealing shocking details about his meeting with a US delegation led by then US ambassador to Pakistan, Paracha said an FBI team intercepted him on the Peshawar High Courts premises in mid October 2005 and forcibly took him to a five-start hotel in Islamabad. Paracha said the US ambassador asked him to persuade the Taliban leaders in Afghanistan to ceasefire. "The US delegation which included senior FBI officials gave me lucrative offers for mediating peace," he added.

After a meeting of about three hours, FBI officials dropped me home, Paracha said.

Talking about Osama Bin Laden, he denied his presence in Pakistan, saying that he might be anywhere in mountains of Afghanistan. He said that the US overturned the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in 2001 but had failed to defeat them. "The US is still looking for ceasefire in Afghanistan," he added.

Paracha said Sufi Muhammad of Swat was not released as a result of a deal between the government and militants, rather he was released from central jail DI Khan in January 2008. However, his release was kept secret from the media, Paracha said. Talking about Operation Silence, Paracha said there were twelve witnesses to the Lal Masjid tragedy who would appear in the Supreme Court of Pakistan if need be.

The victims of the Lal Masjid Operation were buried in large numbers in the shrubs of federal capital. He alleged that twelve students were buried alive by mistake. "These twelve students somehow managed to come out of the graves and were secretly administered medical aid at a private hospital in Rawalpindi, Paracha said. Ten out of the twelve studetns are completing their education in different religious schools, Paracha said. However, he avoided talking about the other two students.

He said about 4,000 people were killed in Operation Silence. "We will pursue the case in the apex court," he added. Talking about the death of Colonel Haroon in the operation, Paracha alleged that the colonel was shot dead by his colleague. "We have solid proof in this regard. "The suicide attacks after July 12, 2007 were a backlash of the Lal Masjid tragedy," the former MNA said.

Look! Gentleman, Javed Paracha said, there would be no end to such attacks till the parents of those students took their revenge on those who were responsible for this tragedy, he added. Paracha said about 2,500 missing persons were in the custody of "agencies". He said even elderly people who had taken part in Jihad in Afghanistan were in prisons. Thousands of innocent people have been handed over to the United States, often for sizeable bounties; many have ended up at Guantanamo. He alleged that the intelligence agencies have been actively participating in kidnapping the people in the past.

Montreal Perspectives
By Jalaluddin S. Hussain
An Important Development in Canada: Linked to the Future of Quebec

The Bouchard-Taylor report, on the subject of Reasonable Accommodation, was finally released on May 22nd, 2008, in Montreal. The two Commissioners, sociologist Gerard Bouchard and philosopher Charles Taylor, with the help of a team of more than a dozen advisers and researchers, produced a comprehensive report.

As a background information, it may be mentioned that on February 8, 2007, Quebec Premier Jean Charest announced the establishment of the Consultation Commission on Accomodation Practices Related to Cultural Differences, in response to to public discontent concerning the subject of reasonable accommodation. The specific mandate of this Commission was:

- to take stock of accomodation practices in Quebec;

- to analyse the attendant issues, bearing in mind the experience of other societies;

- to conduct an extensive consultation on this topic;

- to formulate recommendations to the Quebec Government, to ensure that accommodation practices conform to Quebec's values, as a pluralistic, democratic and egalitarian society.

After eighteen months of wide-ranging public consultations and intensive deliberations, by the two Commissioners, 37 recommendations, were formulated. Some of them are:

- Students who wish to wear in class, such religious symbols as the Hijab, Kippah or Turban, should be able to do so;

- Educational institutions are not required to offer permanent prayer rooms. However, it is in keeping with the spirit of "adjustment" to authorize, for the purpose of prayer, the use of temporarily unoccupied rooms in the educational institutions;

- Funding should be increased for organizations that support immigrant women. Also, the province should launch a vigorous campaign to promote iinteractions between French and other migrant cultures.

- The government should try to better understand and also combat, different forms of racism, with emphasis on fighting hate crimes and and the protection of individuals, subject to multiple discrimination.

- Additional funds should be devoted for the study of interculturalism (as distinct from multiculturalism) and the dual relationship among immigrants to their culture and host-society's culture.

It is surprising, however, that even after the expenditure of more than 5 million dollars, on 17 cities live-to-TV broadcast public hearings and getting input of more than 3,500 Quebecers, the two Commissioners still concluded:

" The accommodation practices that we have seen in public institutions (in Quebec) do not represent any threat to the francophone culture..."

It is significant to note that the Commissioners espoused, in their Report, the concept of "interculturalism" instead of "multiculturalism", in the context of Quebec and also did not mention the interactions with the aboriginal peoples of Quebec. The First Nation subject was kept out of purview of the "Reasonable Accomodation" Report although one may argue, that the Aboriginals are the first settlers of this Province.

In conclusion, it must be said that in spite of some shortcomings and criticisms specially from the French separatists and religious extremists, the Bouchard-Taylor report, is an excellent blueprint for future such sociological consultations.

Maulana Maudoodi taught Political Activism and Organized Effort: Is that a Sign of Lack of Spirituality and love?
by Kaukab Siddique

Bangladeshi intellectual Shah Abdul Hannan has asked me to comment on a critical article written by Indian journalist Yogindar Sikand on the views of Maulana Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi about Maulana Maudoodi.

Maulana Nadwi, who passed away in 1999, was one of the top Muslim scholars of India. No disrespect is meant to him in answering his critique of Maudoodi. The views he expressed, now being circulated on Indian lists by Sikand, are important and relevant to the times in which we live.

Maulana Nadwi was of the view that by emphasizing political activities aimed at the creation of the Islamic state, Maulana Maudoodi distracted attention from the love and spirituality essential to Islam. Political activism became an end in itself, a sterile activity which evaded the compassion and nurturing inherent in the way of life of the Prophet, pbuh.

At first glance, it appears that Maulana Nadwi had a point. After all "Islamic State" is not even clearly delineated in the Qur'an and Hadith. Why should we always we protesting and rallying and mobilizing public opinion and organizing for political activity? Where does Islam say that such activity is required? Should we not focus on prayers and the Hereafter? Is it not sinful to make prayers only a means to political ends and, worst of all, the acquisition of political power.

I must disagree strongly with Maulana Nadwi. He simply did not understand Maulana Maudoodi and the mission of the Islamic movement. I can write about this issue because Maudoodi's work helped me to focus on the Qur'an and the Hadith and not to consider conventional religion as Islam.

The Qur'an is about struggle and the victory of the people of Allah, the downtrodden, the oppressed, over the oppressors, the worshippers of the false gods of wealth, power, military might and state power. Here are a few thinking points:

1. One of the most significant negative figures in the Qur'an is that of the Pharoah who symbolizes state authority and the secularist idea that life and death can be meted out by rulers.

2. The kalima of Islam begins with LA, the rejection of all man-made gods. Unless we go through the rejection, the affirmation will not be complete.

3. The Qur'an categorically states that ALL prophets and people calling to Allah were opposed by the rulers and chiefs. Unless these forces are challenged and defeated, the Islamic way of life cannot emerge in its entirety.

People like Abraham, Hajira, Moses, Asiya, Jesus, Mary, Muhammad, Ayesha [Allah bless them all] opposed, challenged and defeated established forces and conformist religions.
Spirituality and prayer are linked to the moral courage people have to oppose forces based on material power. Muslims are able to stand up to state power and accept shahada because of deep spirituality. The prayers are essential, five times a day, because at every step, every minute of our waking lives, we must face the devils of material power and the seductions of conformity, assimilation and compromise with oppressors.

Anyone who says Maudoodi was not spiritual does not know anything about him. For decades he suffered excruciating pain in his joints but he would not give up the regular prayers in their proper form as long as he could physically move. He made no excuses.

He was a soft spoken man but his spirit spoke with the thunder of truth. Hence all the enemies of Islam, from generals to sell out maulvies saw him as the enemy. His spirituality cannot be understood easily. He refused to ask for mercy when he was sentenced to death and was handed the clothes worn by those about to be hanged.

Dear brother, the Islamic state is inherent in the Qur'an and the authentic Hadith. In plain language it means: If Muslims are minorities in USA and India, that does not mean that we should start cooperating with the oppressors, define Islam like other "spiritual" and individualistic religions and forget about Shoora and Jam'aa.

The people of America have powerful impulses towards good. They are our natural allies. However, if we focus on the elites in power and forget the people, we will have betrayed Islam. The same holds true of India. Think about it.

My love is with the people of Bangladesh. The conflict was between the power elites of East and West Pakistan. We were fooled and used by them to treat each other as strangers. Inshallah we will meet again with the Qur'an in our hands.

2008-06-15 Sun 18:28:43 cdt
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