NTM 1243 | NewTrendMag.org

NewTrendMag.org News # 1243 [ Click on NEWS for back issues ][ OUR BOOKS ]

Dr Kaukab Siddique | Editor-in-Chief

Shawwal 6,1429/ October 6, 2008, #52

A rare interview with the spokesman of the Pakistani Taliban: Amazing and explicit. Please scroll way down.

Press Release: Jamaat al-Muslimeen National Islamic Shoora member Imam Badi Ali urges Muslims to be warned and wake up:
W.D. Muhammad Divided the Muslims, Supported Israel and all the Enemies of Islam:
We must Learn from this Tragic Fact that Agents have Infiltrated the Ummah

While W.D. Muhammad was alive New Trend repeatedly criticized his anti-Islam activities. He refused to correct himself and refused to answer. Instead his blind followers attacked New Trend and acted as if they were shocked that New Trend questioned their "imam."

Then on his death, all the Muslim supporters of the government banded together for his funeral and hailed him as almost a saint and a man of God [or G-d as they put it Jewish style]. If New Trend had not challenged this hypocritical activity, W.D. would have become forever the symbol of Islam.

W.D. Muhammad IGNORED the Islamic movements around the world, all the way from Hizbullah and Hamas to Jamaate Islami and FIS. Instead he was close to Arab dictators and despots.

During his last 33 years, W.D. Muhammad made constant efforts to support the governments, U.S. and overseas, and benefited from them. Look at the incomplete list of his anti-Islam activities:

Supported the arrival of American troops in Saudi Arabia.
Supported the American assault on Iraq. Said that he would send his own son to fight against Iraq.
During the decade of sanctions and embargo on Iraq, he had made friendly visits to the White House. While Muslims were dying in big numbers of sanction-related starvation, he was having iftar in the White House.
He supported the life sentence imposed by a zionist judge on the Blind Shaikh Dr. Umar 'Abdel Rahman. His editor [of Muslim Journal] was shocked and for the only time ever asked the "imam" about it. W.D.'s reply: Sometimes even holy men do evil deeds and Dr. Umar's being scholar and Hafiz of Qur'an does not exempt him.
Supported Bush and put his photo on his paper's front page.
Refused to question Imam Jamil al-Amin's arrest. Did not utter a single word of sympathy, and refused to ask for an impartial inquiry into the arrest of Imam Jamil..
[Later, when Imam Jamil was strip searched and abused in prison, W.D. refused to say EVEN ONE WORD critical of the government although the entire Muslim community was devastated by the humiliation.]
He visited the Pope and was honored by the Pope after the Pope recognized Israel.
He repeatedly visited Israel and supported the anti-Islam Palestinian groups opposing Hamas.
He gave recognition to Israel as a "fact of life" and called for a "solution" based on Israeli acceptance of a puppet Palestinian "state."
He was deeply involved with American Jews supporting Israel. There were big business ventures which need to be uncovered.
He condemned the 9.11 attacks but refused to condemn the bombing of Afghanistan in which tens of thousands of Afghans were killed in 2001.
The entire Muslim world was shocked by the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq [2003] but W.D. remained silent.
Throughout the years of resistance in Iraq, from 2003 to his death in 2008, he remained silent about the suffering of the Iraqi people [about a million civilians killed by the U.S.]
Refused to support the Black movement for reparations.
Ignored Black opponents of the regime, Black Panthers and MOVE and others, who are in prison on ridiculously long prison terms.
Agreed with the Bush regime that the Haitians arrested in Florida were terrorists, even BEFORE their trial began.
He was used by the regime to neutralize the influence of Min. Farrakhan. His followers carried out systematic propaganda against Farrakhan even when Farrakhan tried hard to make peace with W.D.
The trick was to give the impression that W.D.'s Islam is the "real" "sunni" "orthodox" Islam while Farrakhan is doing "shirk." It was very well done although Min. Farrakhan again and again held conferences to affirm the fact that he is a true believer in Islam. Even when Ulama from around the Muslim world affirmed that Farrakhan is an authentic Muslm, W.D.'s group did not stop its whispering campaign.
In moments of weakness [surrounded by his followers] such as in his "farewell" speech, W.D. revealed that he had been working for the U.S. State Department. [His blind followers did not dare say a word even then.]
The State Department appreciated what he had done and gave him a citation full of praise which he published in his Muslim Journal.
He was completely silent about the death and destruction in Somalia brought by U.S.-backed forces.
He bought the Zionist story about Darfur and sent a group to "invetstigate." Fortunately some on that team were not too sure of the story.
He wanted to start a MAZHAB of his own, to bring about an AMERICAN ISLAM. He declared openly [which New Trend published] that there can be Messengers AFTER Muhammad, pbuh.
He encouraged racism and held separate gatherings of African-Americans away from other Muslims.
He can best be described as "Uncle Tom" always trying to please the power base of America.
The massive tragedy of GAZA, where Israel has cooped up the entire population in a concentration camp type situation, did not attract W.D.'s compassion although even non-Muslims were shocked and protested.

Dear Muslims, is it a surprise that Zionist Jews and their Rabbis are mourning W.D. Muhammad along with Muslims who support the anti-Islam American power base?
How successfully the governmental agencies have done their work! Wake up! Muslims of America: check out your leaders:

What are their sources of income?
Do they follow Qur'an and Sunnah or their own egos?
What are their positions on the 27 points given above?

Do you think W.D.'s group could be infiltrated and yours won't be?

Here is what a self-styled leader, Abdul Malik Mujahid of Chicago, owner of Sound Vision business, had to say about W.D Muhammad. Mujahid is the Muslim representative [of Pakistani origin] in Obama's Democratic National Committee [DNC] which supports Israel:

"First and foremost, I offer my heartfelt condolences to Imam W.D. Mohammed's family. Second, my condolences go out to our Ummah. With his passing, our community has lost a courageous and inspired leader and a truly humble servant of God. Imam W.D. Mohammed brought the largest number of people to Islam in America.
I have very fond memories of him.
He was my brother in faith, my neighbor and my leader. Despite the difference in age, knowledge and stature, he would always treat me as his friend. Since he loved business and he loved Sound Vision as well, he became a dealer of Sound Vision's products and would sell our videos and other material himself, thus giving us an important rubber stamp of approval. He would regularly promote and encourage others and businesses.
His mentoring reached the highest level when, in 1997, he asked me to deliver the keynote speech at his convention in New Jersey. When I arrived there from Chicago, he had four people escort me in a protective circle to the program. Although Imam W.D. Mohammed was a great leader, he would always do things to honor others. I felt honored and humbled by this reception. "

For more Jamaat al-Muslimeen news, please scroll down.

Censorship Through Arrest
Historian Arrested by British at German Request at Airport [on plane] for Thought Crime: Police Support for Jewish version of History
A historian wanted in Germany for alleged Holocaust denial has been remanded in custody in Britain after his extradition hearing was adjourned. Dr Gerald Toben, 64, was arrested by British police at Heathrow Airport on October 1 under an EU arrest warrant issued by the German authorities. The warrant accuses the Australian of publishing material "of an anti-Semitic and/or revisionist nature" online. A bail hearing is scheduled to take place on Friday, Oct. 10. It will be followed by a full hearing on Oct. 17. Dr Toben is accused of posting information online between 2000 and 2004 that denied, approved of or played down the mass murder of Jews by the Nazis. [BBC report] NT comment: Dr. Toben 63 years after World War II ended is arrested for questioning the Zionist-Jewish version of history. Germany claims to be a democratic country but is totally at the mercy of Israel and International Jewry. Few Muslims know that Germany is second ONLY to the U.S. in supply of funds and weapons to the terrorist entity known as Israel. The Israelis have milked Germany of billions of dollars on the basis of the holocaust myth which cannot be analyzed or questioned or discussed without severe consequences.

Our America: Two items from our media monitor
What do Joe Biden and Sarah Palin Agree on "100?" Love of Israel and hatred of Sudan [Re:Darfur]

The October 2 Vice Presidential debate in St. Louis, Missouri went in favor of Republican Sarah Palin. Democrat Joe Biden seemed tired, cocky and even bored. Palin took him by surprise. She seemed to have been computerized by her handlers and was chock full of statistics, facts and anecdotes. Biden tried flashing his "I am better than you" grin but gradually became tense, exasperated and irritated. She won hands down and remained fresh, calm and energetic throughout.

She is the kind of naive person who will take dictation from "Israel firsters" like Joseph Lieberman and other Zionists..
In spite of numerous technical disagreements on a variety of issues, the two were as ONE on issues dicated by the American Jewish power structure. Biden declared: "We both love Israel" 100% and Sarah Palin heartily agreed. Both are for war in Afghanistan and Pakistan which is being fueled by the Zionists and their fellow travelers.

The other issue on which the two puppets agreed was the Darfur situation in Sudan. The Zionists have made Darfur a test of the candidates' loyalty to Israel. The Darfur propaganda has been brought down to the Middle School level in America and every child is being told to condemn what the "Arabs" are doing in Darfur.

Sarah Palin's daughter became pregnant at 17 out of wedlock. Why were the polygamists in Texas put in detention for allegations of a similar kind while she is not questioned. Isn't that a double standard? And she brings up Prof. Ayers who did something allegedly violent when Obama was EIGHT years old. More recently Ayers and Obama were on the Board of a charitable organization, and she blames Obama for links with a "terrorist!" This kind of empty headed rhetoric makes election nothing more than a game between two Zionist groups.

The $700 billion Bailout of the Rich and the Dissolute: Barack Obama removes his Populist Mask: Congress Bribed with $150 Billion

On October 3, Congress voted a second time on the financial bailout bill of $700 billion and this time passed it. The difference was that the adjusted bill included bribes totalling $150 billion to induce those who were reluctant to support it. This is corruption at the highest level. All the pet projects of politicians were buttered with liberal handouts to ensure their vote.

There were honorable exceptions. Independent Sanders from Vermont gave in-depth breakdown of the bill and the rich and the powerful it was meant to smooth over in their capitalistic and speculative ventures which have become the mainstays of America's economy.

The bankers and financiers had plundered their way to bankruptcy and Bush was out to save them. He had a surprising ally: Barack Obama. He made personal calls to Senators and Congressmen to ensure that they would support the bailout.

The American heartland, millions of small businessmen, are furious with the bailout. Obama made soothing speeches to calm them down and assure them that "things will work out" in the future. How? is anyone's guess.

Obama is mentally with the exploiters but his speech making skills hide his proclivity. He is what is known among African Americans as a "coconut."

Jamaat al-Muslimeen [News] [Next 2 items only]
Peaceful Movement for Authentic Islam
P.O. Box 10881
Baltimore, MD 21234

Outreach: Philadelphia: 200 Receive Jamaat Literature after Juma': Saudi students object to Resistance Terminology

October 3, 2008: After Juma' salat at a mosque adjacent to the University of Pennsylvania, Jamaat al-Muslimeen's 4 - page document was given to 200 Muslims. It includes a brief report on Dr. Aafia Siddiqui's children and coverage of Amina Masood Janjua's interview with the "On with Leon" radio show. Dr. Aafia is the highly educated Islamic woman who has allegedly been tortured by U.S. special forces in Afghanistan and is now in a New York prison. Her children are American citizens and were kidnapped and locked up in Afghanistan by U.S-Pakistani-Afghan agents.

Amina Masood leads a group dedicated to the recovery of Pakistanis who disappeared under the Musharraf regime and are suspected of being in Pakistani military custody. Amina's visa was cancelled just as she was to leave on a visit to the U.S. to inform Americans of the atrocities their surrogates have committed in the U.S.

Part two of the documented highlighted Jamaat al-Muslimeen's National Islamic Shoora and the new web site of Jamaat al-Muslimeen.

The document was well received by the crowd. However a student from Saudi Arabia objected to the comment that in Muslim majority countries, Jihad is part of the pillars of faith. JAM rep told him that the Qur'an gives highest priority to Jihad when Muslim lands are occupied. The Hadith gives it the highest place next to faith. The Saudi youth had no idea what the Qur'an says. He and 4 other Saudis with him returned the document. It looks like Saudi citizens are under their regime's surveillance. This is the new generation of Saudis, with no beard or any other other manifestation of religiosity, with permed hair and American style clothes.. The objector seemed to be controlling the others. Osama's attempts to overthrow the Saudi regime have made the Saudis nervous and jumpy.

Does Islam allow you to put a million dollar dome on your masjid?
Eid Prayers on the Correct Date: Crescent was sighted on Sept. 30: Local Sighting would be more Islamic
by Kaukab Siddique, Ph.D

October 1, 2008: Fortunately there were a few masjids which did follow the correct Eid date according to the Hadith of Muhammad, pbuh. In Maryland, a large Eid gathering was held at a rented hall in Langley Park, just outside Washington, DC. The worshippers included a large number of women. The khutba was above average. The khateeb, from Guyana, urged Muslims to be aware of the social context in which they live. He called for rejection of the legalization of gambling on a big scale which is underway. He spoke against homosexuality: it was quite refreshing.

In most of America, the crescent was not sighted on Sept. 30. However, witnesses in southern Florida and near Waco in Texas claimed that they had sighted it, though it was very slim and low on the horizon. As a result, those who wanted Sunnah, had Eid on Oct. 1.

However, blind followers of funded groups, government agencies and FBI-affiliated groups had Eid on Sept. 30. They have given up all pretense of following the Sunnah.

Islamically, even the Sept. 30 sighting was not very sound. The Hadith evidently endorses local sighting. In the name of unity, American Muslims are trying to impose sighting ANYWHERE in America on the entire country. Thus we have the situation where a VERY FEW impose their will on the ENTIRE ummah. This is not nikah that you need only two witnesses. What people throughout the country cannot see is claimed by a very, very few.

Do these "let's be united" people unite on issues hurting the global ummah? No! ISNA-CAIR etc are silent about the suffering of Muslims. If the Prophet, pbuh, is insulted, they keep quiet. If Dr. Aafia Siddiqui is kidnapped, tortured, assaulted, there is not a peep out of these "unity" groups. More than a million people have been driven from their homes in Bajaur and Swat by Pakitstan's made-in-America army. Any ISNA response? No!

Inshallah, as Jamaat al-Muslimeen becomes stronger, we should work to support LOCAL SIGHTING. That would put an end to these attempts to divide the nation. Go, look for the crescent in your city. If good numbers of people see it, have Eid the next day.

America's Muslims are extremely weak. Their leaders, illa Mashallah, are boot lickers of the kafir system. The leaders have led the ummah so far from islam, that now even clear texts of Islam can be violated and the leaders can get away with it.

Look at the paradox: Immigrant Muslims eat more during Ramadan than they do during any other month. They are not ashamed. In fact if they were not such great eaters, there would be nothing left for them to do. Any Islamic activity will take them against the kafir system and they dare not. They say Allahu Akbar in every rakat of every prayer but they act as if the American power structure is Akbar.

We must look at the life of Muhammad, pbuh. Be humble. Seek guidance. A million dollar dome on your masjid is not going to save you from the Wrath of Allah if you are violating even the most basic Guidance from the Qur'an and the Hadith. Does Islam permit you to build million dollar mosques and hook up with the State government and get money from the Federal government. All this activity is kufr and shirk. It's not even relevant to ask these people why they ignore the Hadith about looking for the crescent. These people are in DEEP with the enemies of Islam.

Pakistani View
Lal Masjid Khatib issues decree against Zardari: Misbehavior with Sarah Palin was unIslamic

ISLAMABAD: Khatib Lal Masjid Maulana Abdul Ghafar issuing a decree against President Asif Ali Zardari for his behavior with US Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin, termed it unIslamic and said that the President has shamed the whole nation.

Addressing sermon on the occasion of Jummat-ul-Wida, Khatib Lal Masjid said that President Asif Ali Zardari's gestures and repeated praise of a non mahram woman is not only un- Islamic but is unbecoming of a head of state of a Muslim country.

He said that Asif Ali Zardari has shamed the whole nation and the manner in which he had shook hands with Sarah Palin is intolerable and shameful.

He said that we are fighting US war in our country and scores of our country men are being killed. He demanded an immediate end to operation in tribal areas and said that this is increasing hatred amongst tribesmen for Pakistan and the army.

He said we are fighting a war for infidels and we would than have to bear the wrath of Allah. He said that politicians instead of just verbal promises should take practical steps and give befitting response to their aggression.

He said that former President Pervez Musharraf had sold the country due to which today he is living in isolation and humiliation. He said we have adopted the ways of the Jews.

He said that the people of this country expected a change after elections but nothing has changed and we are still following the old policies.

He strongly condemned the statements of President Zardari in Europe terming them unscrupulous.

He was of the view that there must be an end to war on terror as US is not our ally but enemy.

Maulvi Umar, Spokesman of Pakistani Taliban, gave a rare interview to a Pakistani journalist.
See excerpts below:

Muzamal Suherwardy SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
September 11, 2008 [Extract published here for non-profit, educational, purpose to disseminate a viewpoint very difficult to get in U.S. media.]
[The word "suicide" seems to have been extrapolated either by the interviewer or by editor of the Times. It should be read as "martyrdom operator" as it is seen in Pakistan and Afghanistan.]
This interview with Maulvi Umar, spokesman for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), was conducted in Urdu on Aug. 24 in the Bajaur tribal zone in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province by Muzamal Suherwardy, a senior correspondent and talk-show host for the Khabrain media group and an occasional contributor to The Washington Times. Umar typically calls news organizations to claim responsibility for suicide attacks, including one on Saturday in which at least 35 people died.

Quote:
Question: A military operation is under way in Bajaur that has brought wide unrest throughout the country. About 200,000 to 300,000 residents of the tribal areas have been evacuated from their homes and are leading a miserable life in the refugee camps. TTP is being blamed for this situation.

A: No, it's wrong. The government of Pakistan should be held responsible. Whenever the government wants, it starts a war, and the situation is the result of that war. There was nothing for a military operation in the area. The Taliban were living peacefully here. Then, the government launched a war, destroyed our homes and killed our brothers, which made the situation critical.

Q: The Pakistani government says foreign militants have taken refuge in the tribal areas and the operation is against these militants. Why does TTP provide shelter to these foreigners?

A: All these statements are nothing but a pack of lies. The government always makes lame excuses for a military operation in the tribal areas. It first said that Osama bin Laden was there. We have always contradicted such statements. The security forces have not even martyred or arrested a single foreigner in our area, the tribal areas. What kind of foreigners are they?
Secondly, we call American and NATO foreigners, and we are fighting against them.

Q: So, you are saying that TTP has not given refuge to any Uzbek, Tajik and Arab fighters?

A: Yes, we dont have any. All TTP activists from Waziristan to Swat are Pakistanis and patriots, and time will tell who is more loyal to Pakistan the Taliban or the United States. We know that America has not come in this region for Afghanistan. They actually want to interfere in the internal affairs of Pakistan. Whom you call terrorists will actually help Pakistan some day.

Q: If your fight is against America and NATO forces, why will you kill innocent Pakistanis in suicide attacks?

A: The Taliban is going through a tough time, so it has resorted to these attacks. The suicide bombers always target security forces or government officials, but sometimes innocent people also fall victim to it. We always regret that and seek pardon, but it happens in war. It sometimes becomes difficult to differentiate between the enemy and innocent people in the crowd.
Recently, we have targeted the Pakistan Ordnance Factory in Wah Cantt because all the weapons being used in Bajaur against the Taliban and residents of the tribal areas are invented and assembled in this factory. So, we had to take action in the revenge. (An August suicide attack on the munitions factory about 30 miles north of Islamabad in August killed 60 people, according to Pakistani press reports.)

Q: Will you attack this factory again?

A: Yes, we can. We can hit anywhere in Pakistan. Actually, it was a warning to the government. If it does not end the military operation in the tribal areas, we will make more suicide attacks on the military installations and government officials.
Our suicide bombers are in every nook and cranny of the country. They are just waiting for a green signal from their leadership to sacrifice their lives for Allah Almighty.

Q: Islam abhors suicide. Its a sin.

A: Yes, you are right. Islam forbids suicide. But [Islamic theologians] have given a verdict that when you sacrifice your life to cause damage to the enemy, then its not a sin; rather it brings the blessings of Allah.

Q: What is the relationship between TTP and al Qaeda?

A: Al Qaeda is not just an organization. It has become an ideology. Whoever is against America is Taliban.

Q: Is Osama bin Laden alive? It is said that he remained in Bajaur for quite some time.

A: He must be alive. We pray to God for his long life. He is an enemy of the United States because he knows that they wanted hegemony all over the world. Osama has set an example of all mujahedeen, and well follow in his footprints.

Q: How do you get money to run your movement?

A: Tribal people and Muslims from all over Pakistan and all over the world give donations for the cause.

Q: So, TTP has no financial constraints?

A: No, not at all.

Q: How do you get weapons?

A: There are wave after wave of mass reservoirs of weapons in Pakistans tribal areas and Afghanistan. We have enough weapons to continue jihad against the Americans till doomsday.
The weapons we have here in Bajaur are from the Pakistani army. We have huge stocks of G3s and mortar shells. We have arrested 300 army men in Waziristan and seized a mass amount of weapons from their custody, and with that, we can fight against the Pakistani security forces for 10 years. We also have armored jeeps and other military vehicles.

Q: How is Baitullah Mehsud (the militia leader accused in the death of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto)?

A: He is fine. I talked to him yesterday. Sometimes he [falls] unconscious because of uncontrolled diabetes, but apparently hes fine. He is a young, brave man and has extraordinary willpower.

Q: TTP has developed an organized army. Can you give some idea of its strength?

A: In the tribal belt, we have more than 100,000 fighting soldiers.

Q: Do you pay them?

A: No, they voluntarily fight against the non-Muslims.

Q: If you dont pay them, how will they feed their families?

A: They do labor and business besides their jihad activities to feed their families. TTP has told them that the war will continue for years so they could continue with domestic matters. However, these days, we are in a warlike condition in the tribal areas, so they have abandoned their other business and are fully concentrating on jihad.

Q: Does TTP provide training to its soldiers?

A: Obviously, we train our soldiers. We teach them to use all kinds of weapons besides physical training.

Q: How much time does training take?

A: There are different courses, ranging from two months to five years.

Q: Do you only use teenagers for suicide attacks because they have immature minds that are easy to manipulate?

A: No, its not so. We dont force anybody to do suicide attacks. They automatically come to us and request a chance to sacrifice their lives for Allah. We teach our children. They study the Koran, understand it and memorize it, and when they become totally ready, then they are recruited for jihad. You will find not even a single child among us. However, we have a lot of energetic young people.

Q: It is said that their minds have been prepared for suicide attacks since childhood.

A: No, no, its not right. We neither prepare people for suicide attacks nor preach the action. People automatically come and request a chance to sacrifice their lives for Allah, and then we train them.

Q: How do you recruit suicide bombers? Its quite impossible for a common man to [get] access to you.

A: Its not so. People who have a desire easily access us. Recently, an Urdu-speaking man from Karachi came to me for suicide attack training. I thought he had some financial constraints or a scuffle with his family. But he told me that he was quite wealthy and he just wanted to sacrifice his life for Allah. So, we trained him, and he did a very successful suicide attack.

Occupied KASHMIR
PEACEFUL PROTEST FOR INALIENABLE HUMAN RIGHTS AND SELF-DETERMINATION CRUSHED by INDIAN OCCUPATION FORCES

Washington, D.C. October 5, 2008. Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Executive Director, Kashmiri American Council/Kashmir Center said that the horrific and inhumane situation in Kashmir, caused by the Indian military and paramilitary forces, has deteriorated to unheard levels of depravity. In response, the Coordination Committee - headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Syed Ali Geelani, and Mohammad Yasin Malik, have resolved to organize a massive peaceful protest on October 6th, 2008 to the historic Lal Chowk in the besieged city of Srinagar. Moreover, the Coordination Committee has issued a stark warning to all its citizens that, according to Dr. Fai, 'pebble-pelting will not be allowed and violence will not be tolerated'.

The Kashmiri American Council/Kashmir Center reiterates that this peaceful demonstration represents a fundamental attitudinal shift throughout Indian occupied Kashmir. Namely, of peaceful, and civil protest to demand the basic right of self-determination. To be clear, Dr. Fai stated that 'the Kashmiri leadership is entirely aware that the most effective weapon in mobilizing international opinion is peaceful and non violent processions'. Clearly, the people have transformed their movement into a culture of non-violence.' Supporting that the numerous massive protests throughout Kashmir within the past three months in which no weapons were in the hands of people. Rather, the people of Kashmir carried placards that demanded their right to self-determination, an honest inquiry into the 4600 mass graves gruesomely unearthed and 'Azaadi - Freedom.'

The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, under Article 20, clearly states 'Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.' In response to this legitimate call to exercise their inalienable rights, the Indian authorities have imposed a curfew, detained Mohammad Yasin Malik and put the whole leadership under house arrest, including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Chairman, All parties Hurriyet Conference, affecting the whole of Indian occupied Kashmir. This collective punishment on a civilian, non-combatant population is, yet again, another indisputable instance of Indian unwillingness to abide by the UN Charter. To that, Dr. Fai responded 'nothing can break the will of the Kashmiri people for their legitimate and undeniable right for self-determination - the basic human rights supported by even Indian intellectuals and thinkers like Ms. Arundhati Roy, Mr. Vir Sanghvi, Mr. Pankaj Mishra, Professor Rajmohan Gandhi, Mr. Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar, Mr. Gautam Navlakha, Dr. Sumantra Bose, Mr. Ramratan Chatterjee, Mr. Praful Bidwai, Professor Angana Chatterji, Mr. Harish Dhawan and many others.

The Kashmiri American Council/Kashmir Center is committed to finding a just and lasting peace to the disputed territory of Kashmir through a fair and impartial plebiscite. It fully endorses the beginning of tripartite talks and a Peace Process, including India, Pakistan and Kashmiri leadership, to resolve this longstanding dispute. It urges the international community to intervene on humanitarian grounds to ease the suffering of the innocent and unarmed Kashmiri population.

The father of Imam Muhammad's young wife now has a web site of his own where he has published details of the efforts to deny his daughter her Islamic rights.
Go to: http://www.siddeeq.com/brother_siddeeq

Letter: The Difficulties Faced by Imam W.D. Mohammad's Young Wife show Muslims are not letting go of the American system

I wanted to wait until I was able to pray through some very serious issues I have had with some people in the WD Mohammed community before I addressed the article you wrote about him shortly after his death. I found it to be very unnecessary and the timing was extremely poor. I say this because you have stated your issues with him in the past (while he was alive) very clearly so why repeat them so soon after his death? What is the point? What will this achieve?

The community under his leadership for me has been filled with a multitude of challenges. However many in this community are wonderful people and you can't blame Imam Mohammed for the behavior of other adults. He taught us against everything that some in the community continue to cling too (jealousy, trying to impress him, cliques, misogyny, holding on to our past customs that contradicted Islam), etc.

You are entitled to your view of him and anyone else. I felt the timing of the article was out of place. However, I am glad you are printing the information about the ill treatment of his young wife. I find what I have read about the treatment she is receiving from one of his daughters and some family members in poor taste. Many of the women in the WD Mohammed community just can't let go of this system (American law system) when it comes to marriage. Many feel they must be validated as a good woman by the state. Also many are so against polygyny that it does not matter how happy the polygynous family may be, they will not want good for them in general. Any sister who stands firm in her faith concerning this subject at some time will find herself either officially or unofficially ostracized. When we know and realize that our source is Allah, we do not have anything to fear from men. Many women with civil marriage licenses are not treated very fairly in the court system once the marriage is dissolved. Many do not receive justice. A contract between two Believers who truly fear Allah is very valid. It can't be used in the Family Court system; however it can be used in the civil system if need be, insh'Allah.

WD Mohammed's community is not the only one that has this civil law marriage versus Islamic law marriage concept problem among women and some men. Unfortunately, so many women are so horribly mistreated in Islamic communities that many turn to the civil system in hopes of getting some justice. Until Islamic Shariah is universally applied in all or at least most Islamic communities this will continue.

May Allah forgive us all for our shortcomings.

Your Sister in Faith,
Hadayai Majeed
1000 Peace Women Across the Globe [Atlanta, Georgia]

Courtesy: Uruknet.info and Dr. M. Rasool

What Nobody Wants To Know About Somalia And Why; And What That Means

Winter Patriot

Somalia Refugees

October 3, 2008

A huge war crime -- a massive crime against humanity -- is going on right now in Somalia, courtesy of (but only indirectly traceable to) the Bush administration and Washington's bipartisan power elite. But, aside from Chris Floyd and a few other internet madmen, nobody knows -- or even wants to know -- much about it.

What's happening? And why doesn't anybody want to know? These are troubling questions for anyone who cares about the soul of America, and even more troubling for anyone who's beginning to suspect that America has no soul at all.

Chris Floyd

Somalia is the invisible third front of the Terror War, an American-backed "regime change" operation launched by the invading army of Ethiopia and local warlords in December 2006. In addition to helping arm, fund and train the army of the Ethiopian dictatorship, the United States has intervened directly into the conflict, carrying out bombing raids on fleeing refugees and nomads, firing missiles into villages, sending in death squads to clean up after covert operations, and [...] assisting in the "rendition" of refugees, including American citizens, into the hands of Ethiopia's notorious torturers.

Bombing raids on fleeing refugees? Oh, yes. And much more, too. These people look hungry. We'd better kill them!

And the longer it goes on, the worse it gets.

When Chris Floyd writes, "Somalia is the invisible third front of the Terror War", he's probably counting chronologically starting from 9/11: in this sense Afghanistan is #1 (we started attacking in October of 2001; let's forget about the summer of '79) and Iraq is #2 (officially March of 2003, but in reality January 1991, and long before then as a matter of fact), which would make Somalia #3 (December 2006, and long before then, too!) and the recently opened and more recently acknowledged, still partly-deniable war-against-our-ally Pakistan as #4. And then Iran would be #5, or maybe it already is? But -- oops! -- did we forget to count the Terror War against the Home Front?

It soon gets too complicated to sort out, and therein lies one of the problems. The world is too big and too chaotic; we are too small and too stupid; we will never be able to deal with all of it. (I've been blogging for almost four years now and there are still large parts of the world that I have never even mentioned! It doesn't mean I don't care; usually it means I don't know enough to say anything authoritative, in which case I prefer to remain silent. But still ... where's my coverage of Darfur? And that's just one example.)

We prefer good news to bad, especially when times are tough. And it doesn't take much to overload on bad news these days. But still ... How can we ignore things like this ?

Together, the American Terror Warriors, the Ethiopians and the warlords (some of them directly in the pay of the CIA) have created the worst humanitarian disaster on earth. Thousands have been killed in the fighting. Hundreds of thousands have been driven from their homes, many fleeing to northern Kenya, where more than 215,000 people are languishing in a single refugee camp in Dadaab; 45,000 people have poured into the camp this year alone, says the UN. In some of the camps, Somali refugees are living without any shelter at all: "The BBC's Mark Doyle, who has recently visited the camps in Kenya, says some refugees do not even have a basic plastic sheet to protect them from the sun and rain."

In just the last two weeks, more than 18,500 people have fled the capital of Mogadishu, which has already been decimated by the warfare. Many were sent on the run by one of the Ethiopians' favorite tactics: mortar and artillery fire into civilian areas believed "sympathetic" to the insurgents.

The United States is not only backing the Ethiopians and the Somali transitional government (TGF) propped up by the occupation; Washington has also provided "robust financial and logistical support to armed paramilitaries resisting the command and control of the TGF," according to a major new study of the conflict by the human rights organization, Enough. In addition to these freebooters, it turns out that the wide-ranging Somali pirates -- who last week hijacked a shipload of heavy weapons being funneled into African conflicts by Ukrainian war profiteers -- are supported by "backers linked to the Western-backed government" in Mogadishu.

We're reading more from Chris Floyd, of course; who else? Floyd's writing is unique, both in its stylish command of the language and in its content: for instance, hardly anybody else ever bothers to write about Somalia. The big media -- mainstream and other -- avoid mentioning it at almost every opportunity, and most of what does get published is sanitized in one way or half a dozen, with writers and editors falling over each other to avoid placing the blame for this horrendous situation where it obviously belongs.

But not Chris Floyd: whenever he digs up news from "the invisible third front", he writes about it, and he counters the spin. He puts the news in context; he explains what it means in terms of the big picture, just like he always does, whether he's writing about Iraq or Afghanistan, or the Home Front, or any other place.

But -- remarkably, sadly, and altogether too revealingly, in my opinion -- when Chris Floyd writes about Somalia, his website traffic goes through a hole in the floor.

So hardly anybody bothered to visit Floyd's remarkable site, Empire Burlesque, on the day when he posted the passage quoted above, along with excerpts from a piece by Jennifer Beskal at Salon:

Ishmael, a 37-year-old shepherd from the Ogaden region in Ethiopia, looked at me with tears in his eyes. Ethiopian forces -- who had already killed his mother, father, brothers and sisters -- murdered his wife days after they were married. They then slaughtered his goats, beat him unconscious, and slashed his shoulder to the bone, he said.

In December 2006, Ishmael crossed through Somalia into Kenya, heading for the nearest refugee camp in search of medical care. But when he didn't have enough money to pay a 1,000 shilling ($15) bribe, the Kenyan police bundled him into a car and took him to Nairobi. Less than a month later, he was herded onto an airplane with some 30 others, flown to Somalia and handed over to the Ethiopian military -- the same forces that he previously fled.

Ishmael is a victim of a 2007 rendition program in the Horn of Africa, involving Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and the United States. There are at least 90 more victims like him. Most have since been sent home. A few -- including a Canadian and nine who assert Kenyan nationality -- remain in detention even now. The whereabouts of 22 others -- including several Somalis, Ethiopian Ogadenis, and Eritreans -- remain unknown....

[In the immediate aftermath of the invasion], Kenyan authorities arrested at least 150 men, women and children from more than 18 countries -- including the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada -- in operations near the Somali border, and held them for weeks without charge in Nairobi. In January and February 2007, the Kenyan government then unlawfully put dozens of these individuals -- with no notice to families, lawyers or the detainees themselves -- on flights to Somalia, where they were handed over to the Ethiopian military. Ethiopian forces also arrested an unknown number of people in Somalia....

An unknown number of them -- likely dozens -- were questioned by the Central Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in Addis Ababa. From February to May 2007, Ethiopian security officers daily transported detainees -- including several pregnant women -- to a villa where U.S. officials interrogated them about suspected terrorist links. At night the Ethiopian officers returned the detainees to their cells....

In addition to working with the U.S., the Ethiopians used the rendition program for their own ends. For years, the Ethiopian military has been trying to quell domestic Ogadeni and Oromo insurgencies that receive support from neighboring countries, such as Ethiopia's archrival, Eritrea. The multinational rendition program provided them a convenient means to continue this internal battle -- and get their hands, with U.S. and Kenyan support, on those with suspected insurgent links.

Ishmael was one of their victims.

The questions his Ethiopian interrogators asked were nonstop, and always the same: "Are you al-Qaida? Are you an Ogadeni rebel? Are you part of the Somali insurgency?" Each time he said no, he was beaten, sometimes to the point of unconsciousness. When he resisted answering, they targeted his testicles.

Then, in February 2008 -- some 14 months after his original arrest -- the Ethiopians decided Ishmael was no longer worth the trouble. They dumped him, along with 27 others, just over the Somali border....Now Ishmael is back in the refugee camp, limping and urinating blood. He is still waiting for the healthcare he came searching for nearly two years ago.

Why do people read Chris Floyd? Because he's a fantastic writer; because he's a tireless researcher; because he always tells us the truth, no matter how horrible; because he directs our attention to vital stories we otherwise might have missed; and surely there are more good reasons.

Which of these reasons are negated when Chris writes about Somalia?

None, of course. That was a rhetorical question. Now here's a real one: Why does the whole world run away from Chris Floyd's articles about Somalia?

Is it because the victims of the war crime in Somalia are blacker than the victims of the war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Is it because the roots of the war crime in Somalia reflect badly on both Bill Clinton and George Bush?

Is it because we can't stand reading about more than two war crimes on the same day, and Iraq and Afghanistan fill our quota?

Is it because the war crime in Somalia is a proxy war crime, being fought under the flag of the invading Ethopians?

Are Americans too lazy and too stupid to connect the dots -- the dots between funding, arming, supplying, motivating and supporting an invading army; and actually being responsible for the invasion?

Is it because no Americans are being killed there?

Or is it because the stories coming out of Somalia are so gruesome?

Floyd's newest post contains an update on renditions in the Somalia war crime, from the BBC:

Among [the fleeing refugees] were Salim Awadh, a Kenyan, and his Tanzanian wife, Fatma Chande. Both of them were arrested as they crossed the border [from Somalia to Kenya in January 2007].

"I was kept in a cell with other women. Then the Kenyan anti-terrorist police questioned me - they asked me why we went to Somalia," Fatma says.

I meet Fatma in her small two-room house in Moshi, northern Tanzania. She is quietly spoken and her voice falters as she explains what happened next.

"I told them my husband got a job repairing mobile phones in Somalia. But they tried to force me to admit that my husband was a terrorist. They said I had to tell them the truth or they would strangle me."

...In the first weeks of early 2007, news began to filter out that several hundred people - including children - had been arrested trying to enter Kenya.

Al Amin Kimathi, the head of Kenya's Muslim Human Rights Forum, sent volunteers to police stations across the capital, Nairobi, trying to collect information.

"Some very frustrated senior police officers told us point blank: it's not our operation, go and ask the Americans, just call the American embassy. We even saw the Americans bring in detainees and take them out of certain police stations in Nairobi," he said.

Many of the refugees were sent back to Somalia, and then "renditioned" onward to Ethiopia.

"A week after we arrived we were interrogated by whites - Americans, British, I was interrogated for weeks," Salim says....

Former detainees have also told the BBC they were questioned by US agents. One said he was beaten by Americans.

...Al Amin Kimathi believes Ethiopia was seen as the ideal destination.

"It was the most natural place to take anyone looking for a site to go and torture and to extract confessions. Ethiopia allows torture of detainees. And that is the modus operandi in renditions."

...More than a year and a half after the renditions, the US government still refuses to respond to questions on the alleged US role.

...Meanwhile Fatma is still waiting anxiously for news of her husband.

After Salim got access to a mobile phone, he was able to speak to her from his cell for the first time in more than a year.

Now the phone has stopped working, Salim has disappeared once again.

Chris appends this note:

I know that no one cares about this. I know that the fact that thousands of Somalis have been slaughtered and millions more driven into suffering and desolation by a vicious war being conducted at every step with American assistance, in America's name -- in your name, if you're an American -- is not nearly as important as whether or not Joe Biden strikes the proper tone in his "debate" with Sarah Palin tonight. I know that even to most true-blue "progressives," the Somalis are non-people -- except when they show up as wild-eyed beserkers on late-night re-runs of "Black Hawk Down." I know that every time I write about Somalia, the traffic for the site plummets like the stock of a clapped-out merchant bank just before it gets a government bailout. But I don't really care. With the full approval of the entire bipartisan political elite, America is breeding death, hate, extremism and a hellish storm of blowback through its actions in Somalia. You might not give a damn that this evil is being wrought in your name, but I do.

I applaud Chris Floyd for his persistence in paying attention to Somalia even though his readers have made it painfully obvious that they don't give a fig. But I still want to know: what combination of factors allows them not to care, or prevents them from caring?

Perhaps there's a question about whether these war crimes are really being committed in our names? Jennifer Deskal, the human rights advocate whose piece in Salon Chris Floyd quoted at length, writes:

Almost everyone I spoke with assumed -- whether true or not -- that the United States backed the arbitrary arrest and unlawful rendition of men like Ishmael and the still-detained Kenyans. Almost everyone assumed that the Ethiopians operate with America's blessing.

To which Floyd remarks:

They "assume" these things, of course, because they are true.

And Deskal continues:

Their stories have circulated, fueling anger and resentment. As one man, whose childhood friend became one of the rendition victims, told me, "Now when I go to the mosque, I pray to God to punish the Americans."

To be sure, the United States is not the main culprit when the Kenyans unlawfully render suspects or the Ethiopians torture them. But when U.S. officials interrogate rendition victims who are being held incommunicado, the United States becomes complicit in the abuse. The U.S. is funding the Ethiopian military, supporting its activities in Somalia and training Kenyan security forces in counterterrorism -- so as U.S.-backed military and police forces in the region brutalize their domestic opponents in the name of fighting terrorism, the United States is often blamed.

The United States could change those perceptions by demanding higher standards of its foreign partners and cutting off aid to abusers. It otherwise risks fueling the very problem -- anti-American militancy -- that it seeks to solve. For starters, the U.S. could demand the release or fair trial of any rendition victims still stuck in Ethiopian custody.

Chris Floyd again:

Daskal's story is marred by the same timidity which groups like Human Rights Watch (where she serves as senior counterrorism counsel) generally display when discussing American direction of and complicity in war crimes. These references are often couched in terms of "a perception" (or even misperceptions!) of American intentions. The latter are always given the benefit of doubt and qualification. Still, it requires little reading between the lines to see the confirmation of what every honest observer of the conflict can see: the Terror War operation is creating more of the violent extremism that it purports to combat. ...

In my opinion, Chris Floyd lets Jennifer Deskal off lightly for ridiculous spin and obvious distortion -- as well as some remarkably timid audacity! (or should I say audacious timidity?)

The notion that the USA is only complicit if its officials participate in the interrogation of rendition victims is bizarre and incomprehensible -- except as another part of the official deception. Welcome to the nightmare, where even defenders of human rights cut unrepentant torturers as much slack as possible.

Another bizarre and incomprehensible notion also comes to mind: perhaps most Americas are determined to know as little as possible about the war crime in Somalia because that's the only way their lives can make sense!

The war crimes against Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Iran and the Home Front all have some "justifying" pretext, or several. Even though all the stories are false, they're there, part of the national crazy-quilt all the obvious, transparent, politically viable lies about 9/11; campfire tales about Saddam Hussein and his non-existent WMD; the endless not-really hunt for Osama bin Laden; nuclear weapons that don't exist yet but are already an existential threat to Israel; and a nation crawling with FBI entrapment victims if not actually real terrorists.

But we don't have any story about Somalia.

We don't have a mythically famous villain.

We don't have any ruins we can point to while saying, "You see this? The Somalis did this!"

In other words, there is no reason -- not even a transparently false reason -- for the war crime against Somalia.

And yet there's no opposition to it, from either party. And this combination of facts, in my opinion, makes the story intolerable to almost everybody.

There's no way to cloak ourselves in denial this time, no fig leaf to hide behind. Somalia reveals all too clearly the real motives behind the Terror War, and they are not what we have been told -- by Democrats or Republicans.

Somalia also reveals some crucial aspects of the Terror War on the Home Front. Among them: America's bipartisan leadership has no qualms about attacking foreigners who pose no threat to us, even without a plausible pretext, if they think they can get away with it.

When you add in all the other reasons -- from the blackness of the victims to the gruesomeness of the stories -- you get a tangled mess of horror that is so ugly, only the most courageous among us can stand to look at it.

Chris Floyd has enough courage to do it. But most of his readers do not. And that's one of the reasons why I am becoming increasingly convinced that we are more screwed now than ever before.

2008-10-07 Tue 20:48:28 cdt
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