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Dr Kaukab Siddique | Editor-in-Chief Rajab 6,1432/ June 8, 2011 # 24


Detailed report on Karachi Naval Base Attack - scroll down



Pakistan spending mountains of money in the "War on Terror" - scroll down for story



Scroll down for report on local activism: Baltimore Black Think Tank



Scroll way down for Malik Zulu Shabazz's Thoughts on Memorial Day



Spotlights From Imam Badi Ali
Jamaat al-Muslimeen Shoora, North Carolina

Spotlight #1: If you claim Palestine is your central issue, why don't you—as a government, as an organization, or as a leader— launch a satellite TV station just to discuss the Palestine issue? Fill the air with info on Palestine.

Spotlight #2: Arab leaders nowadays are like used car dealers. Real leaders market values. Real leaders work on establishing a khilafa. They become leaders for truth and faith. It is sad when most of the Arab and Muslim leaders these days got nothin' on a used car dealer.

Spotlight #3: The Muslim society should take a hard look at itself. Their leaders are nothing but a reflection of the Muslim society. The society is like a team, and the leaders are the team captains. If your team is willing to work hard, they will take you to the top. For example: When the Palestinian people were willing to struggle and sacrifice, Yasser Arafat was the leader. Now, the Palestinians are starting to focus on material things, and we have Mahmoud Abbas.


United States, Under a "Black" President, to Boycott World Conference against Racism

By New Trend Staff

June 3, 2011 - The U.S. announced that it will boycott the United Nations' World Conference Against Racism, known as Durban III, to be held in New York in September. The reason given for the boycott is that the original Durban Conference of 2001 had an anti-Semitic overtone and should not be commemorated. Additional reasons were that the conference was expected to be an Israel bashing-session. Israel and Canada similarly announced that they will boycott the conference. The Simon Wiesenthal Center and the ADL expressed pleasure at the announcement of the U.S. boycott. "We are gratified at President Obama's decision to boycott the so-called Durban III," said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. The U.S. announcement "is the clearest indication that this gathering will be just as bad for Israel—and for those truly dedicated to the fight against racism—as were the previous two international conferences in 2001 and 2009. To acknowledge the current reality is a sad day for the UN and the struggle against racism," said American Jewish Committee Executive Director David Harris in a classic example of Orwellian Doublespeak.

Information for this report was taken from the Jerusalem Post, June 3, 2011



Egypt

Egypt Opens Rafah Crossing Permanently

In what appears to be a sign of true change in Egypt, the country abolished restrictions on entry into Gaza through a portal known as the Rafah crossing. The Rafah crossing connects Egypt and Gaza. Gaza has been under Israeli blockade since 2007, with the result being severe shortages of food, water, and other basic commodities. So, Gazans trying to escape what many term an open-air prison, had two options: the Rafah crossing, or land crossing through Israel proper. Since the former was severely limited by the U.S.-backed dictator Hosni Mubarak—against the clear wishes of his people—and the latter prospect based on the whim of "Israeli" authorities, the instrumenters of the blockade, the situation reached near famine conditions, and even the International Committee of the Red Cross called it a clear violation of international law.

On the Egyptian side, only 300 Palestinians—out of a population of 1.5 million--were allowed to enter Egypt on a daily basis. (figures from Gaza TV news) Now, finally recognizing the brotherhood between Egyptians and Gazans (and indeed all Palestinians), the Egyptian government has decided to open the crossing from 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM every day except for Friday and holidays. The number of Gazans using the crossing is expected, at least, to triple. Women will require no visa, as will children and men over 40. Men between 18 and 40 will require a visa to cross. (BBC, May 28, 2011)



Egyptians Protest Gaza Killings at Israeli Embassy
Israeli Ambassador leaves Cairo

On April 9, 2011, Egyptian gathered outside the Israeli Embassy in Giza, Egypt, to protest Israeli airstrikes which killed 48 Palestinians in Gaza. They demanded the immediate expulsion of the Israeli ambassador. About a week later, the Egyptian government announced plans to open the Rafah crossing, allowing Gazans entry into Egypt and effectively breaking the Zionist stranglehold on Gaza.

Samir Radwaan, the Egyptian finance minister, asked to comment on the possibilities for Israeli investments in Egypt, said, "Egypt doesn't need investment from the enemy." And Egypt's new foreign minister, Dr. Nabil El-Araby, said in an interview with Egyptian TV, that the peace treaty with Israel should not be taken for granted, and that the Egyptian side is absolutely entitled to revise its terms whenever needed. (Dr. Ashraf Ezzat, in "Veterans Today")

All of this seems to have been too much for Itzhak Levanon, the Israeli ambassador to Cairo. On April 16, he left Egypt for Tel Aviv. (Mena News Agency, April 17, 2011)

As the protestors outside the Israeli embassy in Egypt made clear, the Egyptian people will stand in solidarity with their Palestinian brothers until they gain their freedom and declare their own state. (Mena, April 17, 2011)



Norm Finkelstein, Egyptian Masses Protest Nakba at Israeli Embassy, Cairo

May 15, 2011 - Egyptian activists protesting the Nakba ("Day of Calamity" on which Palestinians were dispossessed of their lands) rallied at the Israeli Embassy in Cairo. Originally, they had planned to rally at the Rafah crossing, which leads into Gaza, but were prohibited by Egyptian authorities "for security reasons." At the embassy, the activists called for it to be shut down, and for the Israeli flag to be taken down. Dr. Norm Finkelstein, renowned Jewish activist and author of "The Holocaust Industry," in Cairo to deliver a lecture at the American University in Cairo, participated in the early part of the protests.

The protests lasted all day and were largely peaceful. But around 11:00 PM, protestors entered the heavily protected compound, approaching the main entrance of the multi-story building housing the embassy.

Egyptian military arrived to back up the security forces protecting the embassy. They issued stern warnings to the protestors to back away from the building. Evidently, the protestors did not heed the warning, and the military shot tear gas canisters and rubber bullets into the crowd. One protestor was hit in the head, and another in the abdomen. By the time the protest ended, 353 people were wounded and 168 arrested by Egyptian military police.

An Egyptian military spokesman said the violent crackdown on protesters was the result of their actions in trespassing on the premises of the embassy of a foreign sovereign country and forcibly taking down its flag.

The following day, an Egyptian TV interviewer asked Dr. Finkelstein if he thought it was the right time for Egypt, fragile from having just deposed Mubarak, to provoke Israel by closing its embassy or taking down the Israeli flag. Dr.Finkelstein responded "The Israeli embassy is the real provocation, and I think the Israeli flag should be taken down and the embassy should be closed as long as the Palestinian issue remains unresolved." He added, "The Egyptians will not lose their lives if Egypt lowered down the flag. It's the Palestinians who are losing lives; around 15 were killed yesterday as they marked the Nakba day."

Information in this report was taken from Dr. Ashraf Ezzat's Pyramidion blog, May 23, 2011.



Palestine

Israelis Scramble for Foreign Passports

Gideon Levy writing for the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported that a study at Bar-Ilan University found that roughly 100,000 "Israelis" have German passports. Approximately 7,000 more Israelis join this number (German passport holders) every year. Thousands more Israelis hold foreign passports to other (mostly) European countries, and many more aspire to attain one. According to Levy, "The foreign passport has become an insurance policy against a rainy day. It turns out there are more and more Israelis who are thinking that day may eventually come." The phenomenon, he says, has no equivalent in other developed countries. (Ha'aretz, June 2, 2011)

So Germany, no longer the boogieman, is instead the preferred passport source. As Levy writes, "For many Israelis, Germany has long since become a country like any other: Our cabinet ministers ride in Audis, and the washing machines we import from there excel in their German quality." (Ha'aretz, June 2, 2011) All the while, Germany continues to pay reparations to Israel.

Levy, to the teeth-gnashing of his militant Zionist readers concludes, "If the Palestinian people already had one real passport, maybe the Israelis wouldn't need two."



Libya

Netanyahu Thanks France for Intervening in Libya
Says Israel Will Not be Sorry to See Qaddafi Disappear from the Map

June 2, 2011 - Dutch press reported that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked France for intervening in Libya. The French action, the Apartheid representative said, helped prevent a massacre.

Qaddafi "was never a friend of Israel or the Jewish people and Israel will not be sorry to see him disappear from the map," said Netanyahu after meeting with the French Foreign Minister. An Israeli communiqué issued after the meeting attributed "a long history of support for international terrorism and violence against his people" to Qaddafi. (Deutsche Presse-Agentur, June 2, 2011)

New Trend comment: If someone said they would not be sorry to see Netanyahu disappear from the map, would they be labeled anti-Semitic or what?!



Why are the Libyan Rebels seeking Israel's support?

[Excerpted from the International Business Times, UK]
By Anissa Haddadi
June 2, 2011

As mediation and ceasefire initiatives such as the Road Map proposed by the African Union via South Africa's president Jacob Zuma failed, a French writer, Bernard Henri Levy announced that he delivered a message on Thursday from Libyan rebel leaders to Israel's Prime Minister, saying they would seek diplomatic ties with the country if they came to power.

This move, which is set to be ambivalently received in the Muslim world, also breaks the National Transitional Council from the Gaddafi regime, which does not have any diplomatic relations with Israel. Also it comes as the rebels are slowly gaining advantages over Gaddafi. In the last few days they have progressed on the battlefield while the Libyan leader's regime is facing an increase in defections and is becoming increasingly isolated internationally, especially after last week when Russia shifted its position and called on Gadaffi to step down.

In Africa, five other countries do not formally acknowledge Israel as a state or have diplomatic relations with it. They are Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan, while in the Middle East, Iraq, Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen and the United Arab Emirate share the same position.

So why are the rebels interested in obtaining Israel's support, and affirm they will acknowledge the existence of Israel as a state as soon as they gain power?

Well, according to Levy "The main point was that the future Libyan regime would be moderate and anti-terrorist and will be concerned with justice for the Palestinians and security for Israel,"



Pakistan
Were They Praying to Hillary Clinton?
Eyewitness Account of an Outspoken Imam's Khutba in Islamabad

From New Trend's Pakistan Monitor

On June 3, 2011, Maulana Ehsanullah gave the Juma khutba in Islamabad, Pakistan's capital. The mosque, located on a main road, was packed with worshippers. Many had to put their prayer rugs on the sand outside the mosque. People from all backgrounds, including some young Pakistani soldiers, pray here. There are also a few intelligence agents, it is said.

Ehsanullah has a long white beard. His face radiates faith, hope and charity. With his small turban and long nose he seems to be a Moses look alike. He raises the thinking level of his large audience but never incites hatred or violence. Here are some of the points he made:

Pakistan's Costs in Fighting America's Wars: $67 Billion

Pak's war on terror costs during last ten years amount to over $67 billion

[Excerpted from New Kerala]

Islamabad, June 3 : The direct and indirect costs of the war on terror incurred by Pakistan during the last ten years amount to $67.93 billion, according to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2010-11.

The chapter on 'Cost of War on Terror for Pakistan's Economy', included as a special section in the report, says that the country's economy is under tremendous pressure of the war on terror, which has gone intense in the last four years.

While quoting the findings of the inter-ministerial committee constituted to assess the cost of war on terror, the report says that this war not only caused serious damage to the economy, but also to the social fabrics of Pakistan.

The survey report says that at the start of the war on terror, its cost to Pakistan was estimated at $2.669 billion in the fiscal year 2001-02.

The economy experienced enormous direct and indirect costs, which continued to rise from $2.669 billion in 2001-02 to $13.6 billion in 2009-10, and $17.8 billion in the current financial year 2010-11. It was likely to go up further, The Nation reports.

The war on terror in 2010-11 also took its toll on the country's exports, physical infrastructure and foreign investment. The private sector also suffered a loss of $1.10 billion during 2010-11 due to this ongoing war.

The survey says that the onset of the war disrupted Pakistan's normal trading activities, as the cost of trading increased substantially because of higher insurance cover.

--ANI



Wikileaks Release Shows Pak General Kayani Requesting Continued U.S. Drone Operation

May 20, 2011 - Dawn published diplomatic cables from WikiLeaks which indicate Paki General Kayani requested continuous coverage by U.S. drones, called Predators, in South Waziristan. In the cables, U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson describes a meeting with General Ashfaq Kayani in which he asks that the drones be used. Drone strikes have killed hundreds of Pakistani civilians, and observers say, the cables may add to grounds for an eventual war crimes prosecution of the General. Kayani is viewed as a traitor by masses of Pakistanis.

Responding to the Dawn report, the Pakistani army said in a statement that the army has never sought U.S. drone missile strikes. (Los Angeles Times, May 21, 2011)

The full text of the release may be seen here:

http://dawn.com/2011/05/20/pattersons-scenesetter-for-gen-kaanis-us-visit.html



Julian Assange Wins Journalism Prize
Called Brave, Determined, Independent

June 2, 2011 - Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, won the 2011 Martha Gellhorn prize for journalism. The prize is awarded to a journalist whose "work has penetrated the established version of events and told an unpalatable truth that exposes establishment propaganda, or 'official drivel.'"

"WikiLeaks has given the public more scoops than most journalists can imagine: a truth-telling that has empowered people all over the world. As publisher and editor, Julian Assange represents that which journalists once prided themselves in - he's brave, determined, independent: a true agent of people not of power," judges awarding the prize said. (The Guardian, June 2, 2011)



War News
Pakistan

U.S. Consulate Vehicles Hit by Taliban

May 21, 2011 - Two U.S. consulate vehicles were the targets of a car bombing in Peshawar on May 20. One Pakistani bystander was killed and the vehicles' American occupants slightly injured. The car bomb was detonated by remote, according to Paki police. The targeted vehicles, like most used by the U.S. embassy personnel, were armored, and only one was damaged. Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility.


Grand Taliban Attack on Karachi Naval Base
Ten Paki Troops Killed, Two $36 Million US Aircraft Destroyed

May 22, 2011 - In one of the most spectacular insurgent attacks on the Indo-Pak subcontinent in recent memory, the Mehran Naval Base in Karachi was besieged by Pakistani Taliban for 17 hours starting around 11:00 PM on Sunday night. The attackers were armed with AK-47 automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and hand grenades, according to Pakistani television reports. (Los Angeles Times, May 23, 2011)

Some reports said the Taliban entered through either a sewage stream or an air force museum near the base. (Washington Post, citing local Pakistan media reports, May 22)

They destroyed two P-3C Orions, anti-submarine surveillance aircraft supplied to Pakistan by the U.S. Each of the destroyed aircraft was valued at $36 million. (Asia Times, May 27). The U.S. is scheduled to deliver six more of these to Pakistan by 2012. ((Bloomberg, May 23, 2011).

Ten Paki troops were killed, and at least 15 were wounded in the fighting, according to Paki Interior Minister Rehman Malik. (CNN, May 23)

Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that four Taliban carried out the attack. He said they were dressed in all black. But, Ehsanullah Ehsan, a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban gave the number of Taliban as 15. (Bloomberg, May 23, 2011) Four of the Talibs appear to have been killed in the attack. The surviving attackers escaped through "a cordon of thousands of armed forces." (Asia Times, May 27, 2011)

Without offering evidence, the Paki interior minister hinted that the attackers might have been tied to India. (Washington Post, May 23) This speculation appears to have spread among some sectors of Pakistan's population.

Taliban spokesman Ehsan told CNN the attack at the Mehran naval air station was to avenge the killing of innocent civilians, and that Pakistani security forces are carrying out those killings on the instruction of the United States in the name of a "war on terror." (CNN, May 23) But Reuters reported that the Pakistani Taliban in claiming responsibility for the attack, said it was to avenge the May 2 killing of Osama bin Laden (New York Times, May 23), so the motive may have been two-fold.

Initial reports said the Pentagon denied the presence of Americans on the base during the attack (New York Times, May 23). A U.S. Embassy spokesman also said that no Americans were present. (Washington Post, May 22) But Interior Minister Malik said that six Americans involved in training Pakistani forces (and 11 Chinese) were inside the Naval Base. (Bloomberg, May 23)

The Mehran base "is efficiently supporting day and night operational activities of all (naval aviation) squadrons." (CNN, May 23)

New Trend comment: Insurgent penetration of an installation as heavily fortified as Mehran is a rare occurrence. That the attack took place in Karachi, a zone rarely targeted previously, that the target was strictly a military one, and that a number of attackers escaped under the circumstances indicates great flexibility, discipline, and ingenuity.



Eight Killed, 12 Injured in Taliban Attack in Bajaur

May 29, 2011 - Eight people were killed and 12 others injured in a Taliban attack in Bajaur, in the Northwest frontier. Details of the target were not given in reports of the attack. The Paki army is on high alert. (Xinhua Press, May 29, citing local Urdu TV channel ARY)



Déjà-Vu: NATO Alleged to Conduct Cross Border Kidnapping
Five Pakistani Taliban Leaders Taken from Pakistan to Afghanistan

May 31, 2011 - Xinhua Press cited "unconfirmed reports" that five Pakistani Taliban leaders were arrested by NATO forces in the Gorvait area of North Waziristan on May 30. They were evidently hauled off in two NATO helicopters to Afghanistan. According to the Chinese news agency, the source of the report, who asked to remain anonymous, said the action was taken by NATO forces without informing the Pakistani government. Xinhua further speculated that "the incident might be another Abbottabad-like operation taken by the foreign forces on the Pakistani soil without the knowledge of the Pakistani side." The report of the incident was confirmed by the political agent of North Waziristan. (Source: The Peoples Daily, May 31, 2011)



17 Resistance Fighters Killed in Orakzai

May 31, 2011 - Pakistani security forces claimed to have killed at least 17 "militants" in an operation in Orakzai Agency in the Northwest Tribal area, said Xinhua Press, citing a report by the local television channel "Express." (Source: The Peoples Daily, May 31, 2011)



Seven Policemen Killed in Dir Balla

June 1, 2011 - Insurgents attacking a checkpoint in Dir Balla, of Northwest Tribal area, killed at least seven policemen.

(Xinhua Press, citing local Urdu TV channel ARY, June 1, 2011)



81 Killed in Taliban Attack on Pakistani Border Post

June 2, 2011 - Dutch News reports said the Taliban attacked a Pakistani border post, called Shaltalo checkpoint, in Upper Dir district in the Northwest Province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Casualty figures were conflicting. According to Nazir Khan, a police official, 35 people were confirmed dead, including 27 from the police and the Levies (a tribal border police), and eight civilians. Mir Qasim, a district police officer, claimed that 46 "militants" were killed by Pakistani security forces. But he refused to give further details, claiming the number of bodies of the "militants could not be confirmed because they took the bodies of their comrades with them.

Omar Hassan Alharabi, a Taliban spokesman in Malakand, claimed 52 policemen and paramilitary troops were killed and that the attackers captured 15 security personnel.

Police official Khan also said the attackers were wearing military uniforms. They fled towards Afghanistan, under assault by Paki army helicopters. An intelligence official who insisted on anonymity said the "militants" had captured at least three villages. (Source: Deutsche Presse-Agentur)



Afghanistan

Insurgents Target Italian Military Compound

May 30, 2011 - The Associated Press reported that a car bomb exploded outside the Italian military compound in Herat, wounding five Italian occupation troops. One of the wounded is an Italian army captain, who was gravely wounded in the abdomen. The bomber did not breach the gates of the compound. Eleven Afghan soldiers were injured and four assailants killed in a gun battle which followed the car-bombing, added the Los Angeles Times, citing provincial authorities. (Los Angeles Times, May 31). Italy is part of NATO's mission in Afghanistan. According to the LA Times, "It has about 3,800 soldiers in Afghanistan. As with a number of NATO nations contributing troops to the conflict, the war is unpopular among Italians, cropping up in increasingly acrimonious domestic political debate."

A second explosion ripped through a busy intersection in downtown Herat, killing four people. Herat is set to be turned over by NATO to the puppet Afghan government control in July 2011. The LA Times speculated that, "The strikes may be part of an effort to target areas where security responsibilities are to be handed over to Afghan forces." (Los Angeles Times, May 31, 2011).



Afghan Woman Confronts NATO Troops

During a night raid by NATO's International Security assistance Force (ISAF) in Khowst province, an "individual," later discovered to be a woman, ran toward the arriving forces wielding a rocket launcher. She was shot and killed, the military said in a statement. (Los Angeles Times, May 31, 2011)



Three "Special Forces" Soldiers Killed

May 29, 2011 - Insurgents using a homemade bomb killed three members of the Fort Bragg Special Forces in Wardak province. Before coming to Afghanistan, all three were previously stationed in Iraq. One was on his third tour of duty in Afghanistan. (The FayObserver, June 2, 2011)



Two NATO Troops Killed in Eastern Afghanistan, Two Afghan Police Killed in Kunduz
Taliban's Mullah Sahar Purportedly Killed in Explosion

June 1, 2011 - Insurgents killed two NATO soldiers in separate incidents in eastern Afghanistan on May 31 and June 1. The location was not immediately clear from news reports. In Chardarah, Kunduz, two Afghan police officers were killed and two others were injured in a roadside bomb attack by insurgents. In Marjah, Helmand, nine "suspected insurgents," purportedly loading explosives onto a truck, were killed on May 31, when the explosives detonated. The puppet provincial governor claimed that one of the dead is Mullah Sahar, a Taliban commander. (Deutsche-Presse Agenteur, June 1, 2011)



German and Polish Occupying Troops Killed

June 2, 2011 - Insurgents killed a German and a Polish soldier in separate attacks, according to ISAF, the NATO-led occupation force in Afghanistan. The Polish soldier was killed and two others injured by insurgents using small arms and anti-tank grenades northwest of a base in Giro, Ghazni province. A German soldier was killed and five others injured near the city of Kunduz by insurgents using an improvised explosive device. (BNO News in New Kerala, June 2, 2011)



New Trend Funnies
Oops! Sorry I killed your children

"I want to offer my sincere apologies for the nine civilians who were killed during the incident in Nawzad district, Helmand province."

-U.S. Marine Maj. Gen. John Toolan, speaking for top coalition commanders Gen. David Petraeus and Lt. Gen. David Rodriguez, minimizing the killing of 14 civilians in a May 28 bombing raid (even the puppet Afghan government maintained that at least 10 of the 14 were children).



Obituaries

Gill Scott Heron

Gill Scott Heron, a renowned, revolutionary Black poet, musician and spoken word artist died in the United States on May 27. A powerful voice against racism and oppression, his albums included "From South Africa to South Carolina," in support of the South African freedom struggle, and "The Midnight Band," which included songs such as "Guerilla" and "The Liberation Song." He famously characterized American freedom as "Free-Doom," and sang against racism and social inequality in songs like "Whitey on the Moon." [The New Trend editor's daughter relayed that she first encountered Gil Scott-Heron in the course of working on a protest for "Jobs, Peace, and Freedom" as a teenager. Scott-Heron sang at a benefit concert for the protest.]



Geronimo Pratt: Black Liberation Struggle Veteran
Geronimo Pratt, a high ranking Black Panther and former political prisoner, died June 2. Imprisoned for 27 years, for a crime he did not commit, he was a living example of the workings of the American Gulag. He was falsely imprisoned under the FBI's COINTELPRO program, which targeted political dissidents during the 1960s and 1970s (and which many contend continues today under other names). Like Imam Jamil Al-Amin, Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, and other "high profile" political prisoners whom the government wishes to break, he spent many years of his incarceration in solitary confinement. When he finally released in 1997, having had his conviction overturned with the illustration of government deceit, clearly disgusted with life in America, he went to live in Tanzania. He continued to work toward the release of other political prisoners, for example, Mumia Abu Jamal, until the end of his life. New Trend mourns his loss.



Saleem Shahzad: Pakistan's Anna Politkovskaya?

Saleem Shahzad, the Pakistan bureau chief for Asia Times on-line, died on May 31, 2011. He had been missing for three days when his tortured body was found in Mandi Bahauddin in Pakistan's Punjab province. His writings included sensitive exposes of the Pakistan military, and prior to the torture-murder, Shahzad had been receiving death threats. (Asia Times, June 4, 2011) Speculations are that the ISI, Pakistan's intelligence services, were involved in the death.

According to a report in New Kerala, "Shahzad is widely believed to have been seized by intelligence officials for alleging that terrorists attacked a key naval base in Karachi May 22 after the navy refused to free sailors held for suspected militant links."

Journalists from the Pakistan Federation Unions of Journalists (PFUJ), Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ), and the National Press Club are demanding the establishment, by June 10, of a government commission to investigate the murder. (IANS in New Kerala, June 3, 2011)

Inna lilla hay wa inna alayhae rajeon. ("We come from Allah, and unto Him we return.")



Letters

Br. Omar Afzal and Br. Shamim Siddiqui are both long-time New Trend readers, and very sincere brothers. Here is an exchange between them, which reveals much about the internal dialectic in the Muslim community.

Internal Muslim Dialectic
Saudis Supported Mubarak

Dear Br. Shamim,

Where did the Islamic Movements go wrong in the past? Why are we repeating this with ISNA, ICNA ?

1) Please look back a few decades. All Islamic movements (Ikhwan, JI Pak, etc.

including Maulana Maududi)) were singing praise for Saudi kings. Very few scratched

the surface to see the real game: keep the Islamist elements "SATISFIED" WITH A FEW

CRUMBS, AND A CHARADE of " puritan (Salafi) Islamic rule.".
If Saudis had their way Husni Mubarak would still be cutting the throats of Ikhwan.

Saudis are trying their best to save Mubarak from the gallows. They saved Bahrain

and have been protecting Saleh in Yemen.

The Islamists in Saudi Arabia are tightly controlled and don't have stomach for openly

opposing the "Islamic" monarchy.

2) You dream of an Islamic movement in America suffers from three delusions:

a) There are very few who understand what is an Islamic movement?

b) Those who still have a flicker in their hearts are either "old" or have lost hope after decades of committed association with MSA/ISNA , ICNA, Forum, etc.

c) Very few have a clear idea what appeals the masses in N. America (who are looking for "something" to hold on for a meaningful life on earth.

Your "ritual" or "political" Islam does not inspire the intelligentsia here who is looking for an ideology (not slogans) that solves the major problems facing the humanity: poverty, illiteracy, oppressive regimes, excessive exploitation (of both natural and human resources), wars and conflicts (including terrorism and mass murders), etc.

Please go through the Islamic books and find out what practical solutions have we offered for any issue that is plaguing the humanity?

As for the Islamic societies, and Muslim governments, they are the worst models. They have been giving a bad name to the "Islamic way of life", and a good justification for the entire human race on earth to hate Islam and the Muslims.

We have to make a new start: Presenting Islam as "Hudan lil-Muttaqeen" (Guidelines for solving problems), and not a set of religious rituals.

For example, why do the Muslims have to "Sacrifice" vast numbers of animals (at Hajj and on Eid al-Adha) and waste enormous quantity of meat? Is animal sacrifice the only way to show our devotion to Allah?

Why can't the money pooled together, and redistributed to alleviate chronic poverty/eliminate mass begging?

The Muslims have yet to solve wide ranging issues:

• An Islamic calendar

• How to face Qibla

• When to pray

• How to raise funds for the eight categories mentioned in the Qur'an for Zakat distribution

• Distribution of inheritance in a modern industrial world (where usually both men and women work and younger males and females do not need from the parent's as much as the older alive parents, etc.

(This is just a sample of a few of the fiqh issues that must be revisited in the global perspective.)

I hope and pray a new generation of the Muslims rises to present ISLAM as the

most practical and JUST SOLUTION.

Omar Afzal, PhD

Ithaca, New York

www.islamicmoon.com



Internal Muslim Dialectic
Responsibility of Muslims in the West

Omar Bhai, Asalamu alaikum

Since the emergence of the Arab spring, I have been advocating that let democracy prevail in the Muslim world. Insha Allah, no Obama, no Fahad and no Sarkozi can block Islam or stop it from giving its inherited Barakah to human society.

You see that G-8's aid package for Arab spring is only to stop the emergence of Muslim Brotherhood and I have every apprehension that Saudi Arabia is behind it and will finance it hugely.

The West has no stomach to finance a package of 20 billion aid for the Muslim world. This is the mockery of the so-called Arab Muslim dynasties. The day is not far off when they all will go to hell. This is the end-result of the tyrants. They are already shaky and seeking the protection of the West both openly and secretly but none can stop their fall as Allah does not like the Zalimeen and Munafequen at all .

That is why it is essential that the echo of Islamic Renaissance must come from the West when they are convinced that ISLAM is only Khair for humans. That is our job but unfortunately we are just busy in our "package" of Salah/Sawm/hajj and left the world as a pasture for the tyrants both of the East and the West.

Our account is also recorded with Allah and we cannot escape its horrible consequences. May Allah save all of us.

Shamim Siddiqui
Long Island, New York


Jamaat al-Muslimeen NEWS
PO Box 10881
Baltimore, MD 21234

Baltimore Black Think Tank Town Hall Calls Attention to Connections between Local and National Elites, their Connections to Israel

On May 26, 2011, New Trend attended the monthly town meeting hosted by the Baltimore Black Think Tank. A grassroots organization founded in 2005, the Baltimore Black Think Tank is made up of concerned citizens who found that the city of Baltimore was doing little or nothing to serve its majority Black population, and that instead, the rights of that population were being violated at many levels, including the police, the judiciary, the education system, the health department, and the local Zionist newspaper, the Baltimore Sun. New Trend was pleased to discover that the Afrocentric organization, following African tradition, honors its elders, including giving them a voice at the monthly town hall meetings.

The May town meeting featured David L. Johnson, Sr., an outspoken talk show host heard on WOLB (1010 AM) on Wednesdays at 5:30 PM. Johnson, whose program regularly blasts police brutality and miscarriages of justice in the prison system, spoke about the connections between the ruling elite at the local and national levels, the relationship between the Council on Foreign Relations and the Baltimore Council on Foreign Affairs and the Greater Baltimore Committee, and how all of these were linked to support for Israel. He showed the audience a book pointing to the U.S. government's pre-meditation of the Iraq war.
An sista-elder spoke from the floor, characterizing Zionism as racism. A community activist-artist spoke from the floor, telling of his symbolic action, in placing toilets outside the offices of Baltimore politicians whom he said had used Black Baltimore as their toilet. He was charged with terrorism! (Full story to come in a subsequent edition of New Trend). The Black Think Tank representatives symbolically wore black eyes, to symbolize the brutalization of Black people at the hands of the government.

Afterwards, New Trend met with Leo Burroughs, community elder who is active in the case of former Black Panther leader and political prisoner Marshall Eddie Conway; the protest movement against the Shomrein (Jewish) militia which beat a Black youngster in Baltimore's Park Heights neighborhood; and a plethora of other community projects. New Trend also met Vicky Harding, the hard-hitting Vice President of the Baltimore Black Think Tank, renowned for exposing a massive scandal involving test scores within the Baltimore school system, and now running for Baltimore mayor. New Trend encourages Baltimore area Muslims to attend the Baltimore Black Think Tank's town hall meetings, held monthly.

For more information on the Baltimore Black Think Tank's Town Hall Meetings, contact:
info [at] baltimoreblackthinktank [dot] org



Jamaat al-Muslimeen NEWS
PO Box 10881
Baltimore, MD 21234

Baltimore Coalition Meets, Plans Protests Against Jewish Militia's Impunity

On June 2, New Trend attended a meeting of the M2M coalition in the heart of Baltimore. M2M is a coalition of Baltimore area church, civic, human rights, and socialist groups concerned about the November 2010 beating of a Black youth by the Shomrein, a Jewish vigilante patrol in Baltimore's Park Heights neighborhood, and the subsequent cover-up of the incident by local media and politicians.

Park Heights is divided into two starkly different sections, one a very affluent Jewish area said to house many IDF (Israeli Defense Force) and former IDF members, and the other a much more economically depressed Black area. The Shomrein militia is effectively a vigilante patrol policing the Jewish side. In this capacity, militia members—grown men aged 20 and up—beat the black 15-year old as he walked between school and home.

Although both felony and misdemeanor charges were initially brought against the Shomrein militia members involved, all felony charges were dropped in January 2011 by Baltimore's State's Attorney, Gregg Bernstein. Some activists questioned the impartiality of Bernstein, a Jew. A May 2, 2011 hearing on the case resulted in a postponement of the trial until July 2011.

The coalition meeting resolved to hold a protest on June 21, 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM at the Clarence Mitchell Courthouse in downtown Baltimore. This will build towards a larger protest and rally to coincide with the trial.


Our America

In the United States, Memorial Day is celebrated on the last Monday of May. Traditionally, it honors men and women who died while serving in the U.S. Armed forces. With Memorial Day just behind us, we share a slightly different take on Memorial Day from New Black Panther Party Chair Malik Zulu Shabazz. Note to our international readers: blacks in the U.S. are as oppressed as Dalits in India, Aborigines in Australia, or Palestinians in Gaza. The prevailing power structure has done everything in its power to remove black people from the memories of their history, including their legacy of struggle against racism and colonialism. Here Malik Zulu Shabazz reminds us of that legacy.

Memorial Day Thoughts from Malik Zulu Shabazz

Memorial Day honors to Nat Turner. He died after killing a lot of White folks who were killing and raping our people.

Memorial Day honors to Jean-Jacques Dessalines. The Haitian Revolutionary did more than just tear the white out of the flag when he became leader of the country. He was responsible for hundreds of French devil heads being taken as he led the fight for the first independent Black Republic of the Modern era. Salute!

Honors to the Honorable Warrior Zulu King Cetshwayo. Before his career ended, he dealt the mighty British Army its first major defeat. His men killed 1,300 British soldiers- devils who had invaded so called South Africa on 22 January 1879. He gave the white Boer invaders hell, too. May the Most High be pleased with his mighty shining example.

Honors to the Honorable Jonathan Peter Jackson (May 1953 - August 7, 1970).

Jonathan Jackson is primarily known for initiating an attempt to negotiate the freedom of the Soledad Brothers (including his older brother George) through the kidnapping of Superior Court judge Harold Haley from the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, California, an incident in which he was one of four people killed.

Memorial Day Honors to all who fought, killed and died in the Watts Rebellion of August 1965. Honors to these bold brothers and sisters who broke from singing "We shall overcome" and started practicing "We shall overrun." After Watts, the whole nature of the 60's Revolt would dramatically change.

Memorial Day Honors to all who fought, killed and died in the Detroit Rebellion (so called riot) of July 1967. When the ghetto exploded the white power structure started giving out jobs to Black reporters, Black News People, Black Political positions. Anything they could find to give some crumbs to the revolutionary masses, who were sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Memorial Day honors to all the unknown brothers and sisters who fell in these battles, like the unnamed young brother who died in the Newark Rebellion of 1967. Often we honor the leaders but many whose names we know not have died so we can be comfortable today. We salute them.

Memorial Day honors to all who died and killed and burned in the 1992 Los Angeles Rebellion. I am especially proud of my hometown for the strongest rebellion in the modern era. The acquittal of four white cops in the brutal sadistic beating of Brother Rodney King was not met with calls for "Federal Intervention," but rather stronger means that would make police brutality less likely in the future. Salute to them. Sadly, I couldn't be in my hometown on April 29, 1992....so action was taken in white Georgetown in Washington DC. The jail time was well worth it.

Honors to all the Blacks who perished in the Sharpeville Massacre in Azania-South Africa, 21 March 1960. They died for our freedom.

Memorial Day honors to Dr. Khallid Muhammad. Certainly he died fighting for our freedom. And after knowing the history I've posted, you can see why he was justified in hating the White Man. May Allah be pleased with the legacy of my personal mentor. He anguished mush to get even with this devil.

On this "Memorial Day," honor your own who fought and died and killed for our liberation and defense. This writing is dedicated to just some of our heroes and she-roes. Even our family who died fighting in foreign wars for a freedom yet to be delivered at home; I honor and respect them.

Memorial Day Honors to Queen Warrior Ya Asantewaa. She is a model example to any Black Woman. She took up and led the fight against the devil British in Africa. She and other Black Women took up the charge themselves. I honor and respect her. March 28, 1900 she took up the attack against the wicked.

Honors to the Honorable Warrior Zulu King Cetshwayo. Before his career was ended he dealt the mighty British Army its first major defeat. His men killed 1,300 British soldiers- devils who had invaded so called South Africa on 22 January 1879. He gave the white Boer invaders hell to. May the Most High be pleased with his mighty shining example.

Honors to the Honorable Queen Nzinga, Queen ruler and freedom fighter of Angola who drove the devil Portuguese from Angola. After learning the lies and deceptive ways of Yacub's European invaders, she became a masterful tactician and by military means, led the removal of the enemy from the nation and was most wanted by the devil... until the time of her passing. She remains a model example.

Memorial Day honors to the Black Panthers of the 1960s. They put up a helluva fight. Over 60 were killed, but at least 30 pigs were killed in epic confrontations from 1967-1973. These comrades remain our heroes she-roes and martyrs. Honor and respect the blood that has been shed for us to have the luxury today to choose whether or not we desire to struggle. Certainly BPP Chicago Deputy Chairman Fred Hampton was assassinated for our cause and we salute him and honor his example in struggle.

Honors to the Black Liberation Army of 1971 - 1973 and beyond. They took the struggle underground and took it to the enemy by any means. Honor the ancestors from the BLA and keep in mind every political prisoner that remains behind.

Memorial Day Honors to the Honorable Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, the legendary anti-apartheid freedom fighter and founder of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania. He became famous for spearheading the Sharpeville protests which turned into the Sharpeville Massacre which was the beginning of the end of the Apartheid system in Azania. You must learn and teach your babies about him.

Honors to the Honorable Captain and President Thomas Sankara. A leader of the revolution in Burkina Faso, a nation builder and strong anti-imperialist. Before his execution in 1987 (organized by the French devils) he set the standard for modern government anti-imperialist principles in Black Africa. Teach yourself and your babies about him.

Memorial Day honors to the Honorable, his Excellency Patrice Lumumba - the True Leader of the Congo and a great visionary for Africa.

Memorial Day honors to the Honorable Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for his martyrdom. Though I do not believe in non violence and integration my respect for Dr. King endures because he laid down his life for his people. And he was a man who could have had wealth and comfort but he gave it all up for his people. So I honor and respect him. May Allah be pleased with him.

Notice how all of the above martyrs were either killed by American, French, Belgian, Portuguese, Boer or British devils—proving that regardless to land, label, or language, the devil is the same all over the 196,940,000 sq. miles of the planet. There is no reforming the devil. Emphatically no! All of the prophets have tried to reform them and could not because it would take too long grafting them back to original.

On this Memorial Day, honor your own and not your enemies. This day is dedicated to martyrs, those whose death was related to struggle with the enemy.



Malik Zulu Shabazz is an activist attorney based out of the Washington, DC area. Chairman of the New Black Panther Party, he is a leading voice against the oppression of black people in the United States.

2011-06-10 Fri 19:25:22 cdt
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