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Jamada al-Awwal 18,1434/March 31, 2013 # 13
The article about Injustice in America is by Sis. Aisha, 
Jamaat al-Muslimeen, New York City. 
Scroll way down.
Latest Khutba
On Jesus, pbuh, Miracles and Self-Evaluation
On March 29, Dr. Kaukab Siddique gave the Juma khutba at 
Masjid Jamaat al-Muslimeen in Baltimore, Maryland. Here are 
the main points for distribution across America, inshallah. 
- 
Jesus, pbuh, brought the truth. He taught that we must 
not worship anyone other than Allah. The Qur'an requires us 
to believe Jesus, pbuh, and to honor him and his mother 
Maryam [Mary], pbuh.
 - 
Jesus, pbuh, was a revolutionary, who lived with and 
among the people and avoided the pomp and show of the world. 
True Christians are our friends.
 - 
The Jews did not accept him because they thought the 
Messiah would be a man of grandeur and would come with a 
mighty force.
 - 
Allah gave the greatest miracles to Jesus, pbuh, but the 
Jews would still not believe him.
 - 
Miracles were also given to Musa [Moses] and Muhammad, 
peace be on them.
 - 
Miracles are only given to great messengers of Allah. The 
priests and saints of Christians and Muslims should not 
claim that they too can have miracles.
 - 
Islam is the way of Jihad, not of miracles. Muhammad, 
pbuh, carried out unarmed jihad in Makkah. He was beaten up 
and persecuted. Abu Bakr, r.a., helped him to survive 
physical assaults.
 - 
The Qur'an tells us that Jesus, pbuh, was NOT crucified. 
It seemed so to the Jews. Allah exalted him.
 - 
We must not speculate about what happened to Jesus, pbuh. 
The Qur'an does not encourage us to do so. Already Muslims 
have suffered too much from such speculation which was 
carried on by a false "messiah" in Pakistan.
 - 
No one is going to come down from the heavens to help 
us. We have to strive and struggle to win as Muhammad did, 
pbuh. There is no short cut. We are responsible for victory. 
 - 
Even when Muslims are very good, they can be defeated 
sometimes or face great tragedy. Instead of trying to blame 
each other, we must carry out Islamic self evaluation.
 - 
Allah has taught us how to do this in Sura Ale Imran 
which explains why the Muslims suffered so heavily at the 
battle of Uhud although they were winning when the battle 
began. Here are the points to remember:
- 
Even good Muslims can be attracted by DUNYA [wordly 
goods].
 - 
Do Tawba, repent, pray to Allah for tazkia.
 - 
There can be no victory if we disobey the Prophet, 
pbuh.
 - 
The leaders should know that sincere Muslims who repent 
must be forgiven.
 - 
The Prophet, pbuh, himself was wounded but he not only 
forgave those who disobeyed him but was commanded by Allah 
to continue the process of Shoora [planning through 
discussion] with them.
 
 - 
We are living in a corrupt world where the leader of 
this country is openly supporting Israel, homosexuality and 
a general process of surveillannce. We must show compassion 
for each other, be united and find Islamic spouses for the 
unmarried.
 
Breaking news:
Bengali Muslims making big sacrifices to stop oppression.
March 20: In Bogra, Bangladesh, pro-India police killed 24 
women and children protesting against death sentence given 
to Maulana Syedee, Bangla Islamic leader. We publish 
detailed report. Scroll to end please.
[Pakistani girl Malala has received a $3,000,000 book deal 
in Britain. Her alleged shooting has not even been 
investigated. Our Bengali sisters are being shot down 
protesting against oppression. Not a word in the western 
media . [Note from Editor Kaukab Siddique]
Breaking news #2
Syria: Assad clinging on with help of elite Alawite forces.
March 29: Heavy fighting is taking place in the nothern 
suburb of Aleppo known as Shaikh Maqsud. Assad's forces 
counterattacked after the Islamics captured the eastern part 
of the area.
March 28: The fighting is approaching Assad's bastion in 
Damascus' inner ring. The fighting is reported to be heavy 
as al-Nusrah refuses to retreat before Assad's fire power. 
Iran counters Hollywood. Our friend scholar Mark Weber was 
there. 
Please scroll down.
Widely distribute this to remove the holocaust-related 
support for Israel. Bradley Smith of Committee for Open 
Debate on the Holocaust publishes an astonishing report on 
Israel's main man in America Elie Wiesel who claims he was 
in the holocaust!. Also see a drawing of what the Jewish 
lobby wants Americans to believe happened. 
Go to end.
Ellison, Webb, Muzammil, Fadel, Safi, CAIR, ISNA for 
Homosexuality
The much publicized government oriented "Muslims" have now 
gone to the extent of supporting homosexuality, some 
blatantly and some slyly and obliquely. The entire group of 
Obama oriented "Muslims" have fallen for the homosexual 
offensive lead by the "Black Messiah". As the Prophet, pbuh, 
taught, if the Christians and the Jews go down the lizard 
hole, these hell-going "Muslims" will do likewise.
We hope that these lackeys of the West will do tawba and 
come back to Islam. 
Please scroll down
Western Nations have Accepted Sinful way of Life wholesale
by Br. David Wiggins [Black Think Tank leader, Baltimore] 
"Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to 
any people."
We have accepted the sinful way of life of the wicked 
nations of the North who comprise the international world 
ownership network, their military, intelligence, and 
commercial apparatus.
We have accepted all manner of filth and degradation as 
normal "life-styles" and "orientation". We accept greed, 
wrath,  sloth, pride, lus...t, envy, and gluttony in our 
family, commercial and spiritual lives.
And we have turned to the false gods and ideologies of the 
wicked nations of the North and have turned our face from 
the timeless truths that exhort us to righteousness.
There are only two clergy men that I have met in Baltimore 
who have pointed this out with any clarity on a consistent 
basis and they are my colleague David L. Johnson, Sr. and my 
wife's father, Kaukab Siddique.
Those Who Help Oppressors are also Oppressors: Imam Ahmad 
ibn Hanbal
From Nadrat Siddique [Jamaat al-Muslimeen Washington DC] 
Imam Hanbal was a leading theologian of Islam. A major 
school of Sunni Islam--the Hanbali Madhab--was named for 
him. Large numbers of people in "Saudi" Arabia, Qatar, and 
elsewhere in the Muslim world call themselves Hanbali, yet 
few seem to understand or follow his stern stance against 
kingship, and for fighting the forces of oppression. Here is 
a parable from Imam Hanbal, shared by my erudite friend in 
the UK, P. Khan:
When Ahmad bin Hanbal was imprisoned, one of the prison 
guards came to him and asked him: "O Abu 'Abdullah! The 
hadith that is narrated regarding the oppressors and those 
that aid them - is it authentic?" He said: "Yes."
The prison guard then said: "So, I am considered to be an 
aide of the oppressors?" Ahmad replied: "No. The aides of 
the oppressors are those that comb your hair, wash your 
clothes, prepare your meals, and buy and sell from you. As 
for you, you are one of the oppressors themselves."
-Manaqib al-Imam Ahmad by Ibn al-Jawzi
Strategic Thinking
U.S. Plans Major Blow Against Taliban Before Leaving:
General Allen and General Kayani Partners in the Battle
On March 25, General John Allen spoke at length to the 
Brookings Institute in Washington DC, a major think tank for 
American policy makers. His remarks were broadcast on 
C-Span. New Trend's impression is that General Allen is a 
sophisticated, ruthless and hard hitting officer, determined 
to win at any cost. Although he is leaving his post, by 
looking at him, one can see that America has put its 
absolute best into Afghsanistan at every level. The Taliban 
are winning owing to their Islamic ideals and resilience, 
otherwise they didn't have a chance against America's best. 
Here are the main points made by General Allen:
- 
US is arming, funding and training a huge Afghan military 
force against the Taliban, at least 350,000 strong.
 - 
US is also preparing local police forces in every area to 
exclude the Taliban.
 - 
In 2014, "elections" will be held in Afghanistan under 
tight US and US-installed military forces.
 - 
Karzai is a reliable ally of the US. Don't be misled by 
his critical remarks. Those are for local consumption. 
Karzai's support will be key even when he won't stand for 
"elections" this time.
 - 
The US is studying Islam to be able to handle the 
Afghans. Gen. Allen himself gave "zakat" during Ramadan to a 
father whose son had been killed fighting the Taliban.
 - 
The US hopes to defeat if not destroy the Taliban during 
the coming fighting season [2013] and then 2014. The entire 
NATO battle formations and Afghan allies are being readied. 
 - 
Afghanistan is sitting on TRILLIONS of dollars of gold, 
diamonds and other minerals and US interests will be well 
served by the funding of mercenary forces.
 - 
Pakistan is key to US victory. General Kayani is 
extremely favorable to the US and he worked well with US 
generals including Allen himself.
 - 
Military coordination between Pakistan and the US is 
being improved. A Pakistani brigadier now works in the NATO 
military operations headquarters.
 - 
Eastern Afghanistan will be most difficult to win over 
owing to areas controlled by "extremists" in Pakistan [Pak. 
Taliban].
 - 
Huge sums of money have been allocated to victory in 
Afghanistan not only by NATO but also by US allies outside 
NATO. [Japan, South Korea.]
 
[Ed note: It appears that the US has successfully mobilized 
tribal factions which are opposed to an Islamic state and 
want to maintain tribalism, as well as poverty stricken 
people looking for a job. Shia Hazara elements as well as 
seculars and ex-Communists are with Karzai. The situation is 
not unlike that of Syed Ahmed Shaheed who came with high 
ideals from eastern India all the way to what is now 
Pakistan to help Muslims fight the Sikhs. He was betrayed 
and later killed by similar tribal factions who did not want 
their tribal system to e replaced by Islamic equality and 
justice.]
Sectarian buster
Shia Source Admits that Ali's, r.a., Daughter Married Umar, 
r.a. and had a son.
Ali, r.a., and Umar r.a., were great friends The question of 
Umar, r.a., even thinking of harming Ali, r.a., or Fatima, 
r.a., is too absurd. Only haters  will take it 
seriously.
Ali, r.a., gave his beloved daughter Umm Kulthum in marriage 
to his great friend Umar, r.a., and she had a noble place in 
Umar's household.
The Shias go crazy when they read that Ali and Umar were 
great friends. However scholars cannot deny it. Even a Shia 
reference book notes:
"Hazrat Ali's had two daughters from Fatima Zahra 
alaihasalam, Zainab and Umm Kulthum. He gave Zainab in 
marriage to Abdullah the son of Jafar Tayyar and Umm Kulthum 
to Umar ibn Kattab Zayd bin Umar was born of Umm Kulthum." 
[Ali Akbar Dehkhuda, lughat nama, vol. 19, p. 80 under 
'Ali bin Abi Talib, published from Tehran 1342 H.]
Translated from Farsi. This is like an almanac which Shias 
in Iran use as an ordinary reference.]
Our America: Two cases of injustice
Jew York - On March 21, 2013, David Ranta, 58 years old, was 
released from a New York prison.  He served 23 years of a 37 
year prison sentence but, his conviction was overturned by a 
judge. He was convicted in 1990 in the murder of Hasidic 
Rabbi Chaskel Werzberger in a botched car jacking.  District 
Attorney Charles Hines' office acknowledged there were 
serious flaws with the "evidence" used to wrongfully convict 
Ranta.  Including witnesses recanting their stories.
A then 13 year old witness now claims that detectives 
coached him into identifying Mr. Ranta in a line up.  Also, 
there were a slew of testimony from jailhouse inmates and 
crackheads that has proven weak.  At the same time that 
Ranta's Attorney, Pierre Sussman, was investigating this 
case, so too was the Brooklyn District Attorney's office 
through the Conviction Integrity Unit.
Unfortunately, after only two days on the outside, David 
Ranta suffered a heart attack and will be undergoing surgery 
at an undisclosed New York hospital. It was discovered that 
he had two clogged arteries.
A fair trial for David Ranta, a homeless drug-user, was 
difficult from the start.  Many of Rabbi Werzberger's 
followers surrounded the police car transporting him and 
shook it while calling for the death penalty.
I wonder if it is at all possible to get a fair trial when 
one has been accused of harming a Jew?
Interestingly enough, on March 11th, Jewish attorney, 
Frederick Cohn, requested that no Jews serve on the jury in 
yet, another case against a Muslim accused of supporting 
terrorism.  Abdel Hameed Shehadeh is accused of lying about 
"trying" to join Pakistani terrorists, according to the 
kuffar press.
According to Attorney Cohn, the American Jewish community is 
heavily tied to Israel and Zionism and is completely unable 
to express any impartiality in this case. Of course Judge 
Levy, a Jew, denied the request.
I was just wondering.
I am hopeful that David Ranta can overcome this gross 
injustice.  Of course, there may be a lawsuit against the 
city.  the actual perpetrator of this murder was killed in a 
car crash soon after the Rabbi's murder.
If there is a lawsuit, only the tax payers of New York City 
will be paying for the malfeasance of New York City 
detectives handling this case.  There is never any 
accountability on the part of dirty cops.
Another Productive Visit to Iran:
Tehran Conference Critically Examines 'Hollywoodism'
by Mark Weber
http://www.ihr.org/news/iranvisit_feb2013.html
More than 40 writers, filmmakers and scholars 
from the US, France, Italy and other foreign countries, 
together with dozens of Iranian cinema specialists, 
journalists, officials and others, gathered at the large 
Azadi hotel in north Tehran for a four-day "Hollywoodism" 
conference to critically examine the formidable role and 
often harmful social-political impact of the US film 
industry, and to discuss how to counter it. I was one of 
several Americans who had been invited to the event ... 
During this expense-paid visit I gained a greater 
understanding of this ancient but vibrant nation of 75 
million, which Israel and its allies in the US have 
demonized and threaten with military attack.
[Junaid is such a mentally defeated person, he wanted  to 
counter Geller's attack on Islamics by saying, yes, we have 
Muslim "leaders" right here who support the sodomizers and 
lesbians.]
Keith Ellison, Andre Carson, Johari Malik, Webb, Muzzammil, 
Fadel Support Homosexuality
Excerpts from Junaid Jahangir's Article in Goatsmilk.
Both American political and religious Muslim leaders have 
very different views on queer rights than what the Geller 
ads would have us believe. In 2009, the Council on 
American-Islamic Relations supported the hate crime bill 
that sought to incorporate sexual orientation and gender 
identity.
Among Muslim political leaders, Geller may quote Ako Abdul 
Samad, the Iowa State representative from the 66th district, 
as saying 'if standing up for equal protection under the law 
is a sin, then all of us in this room are sinners'.
Geller can also reference the first Muslim Congressman Keith 
Ellison, representative of the 5th district in Minnesota, as 
stating, 'I am proud to be vice-chair of the Congressional 
Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Caucus'.
He can also be quoted as saying, 'It is not your place to 
judge and condemn others' and 'If the person you happen to 
love and want to be with happens to be the same-sex and 
gender as you then I say God Bless you and try to be as 
happy as you can in this very difficult world'.
Likewise, Geller can reference the second Muslim Congressman 
Andre Carson, representative of the 7th district in Indiana, 
as stating, 'As a proud member of the LGBT Equality Caucus, 
I am committed to the Caucus' mission to "achieve the 
extension of equal rights, the repeal of discriminatory 
laws, the elimination of hate-motivated violence, and the 
improved health and well-being for all, regardless of sexual 
orientation or gender identity or expression"'.
Among Muslim religious leaders, Geller can quote Imam Johari 
Malik, director of Outreach at the Dar Al Hijrah Islamic 
Centre in Northern Virginia, as stating, 'If someone says, 
"gay sex is nasty", just ask them, "how do you know?" ... 
"It's time to get past our homophobia to help human 
beings"'.
Likewise, Geller can also reference Imam Suhaib Webb of the 
Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center, the largest 
mosque in the New England area, as stating, 'If someone 
who's a homosexual comes to the mosque, wants to pray, wants 
to worship, be part of the community, I have no issue with 
that,' and 'Ultimately, people who have whatever 
inclinations in their life, no one has a right to bar them 
from their experience with God.'
Even conservative leaders like Imam Muzammil Siddiqi, 
director of the Islamic Society of Orange County in 
California, one of the largest mosques in the U.S., who had 
earlier proscribed queer people and stated that 'no one is 
born a homosexual', have slightly shifted their view point 
on the issue.
In a recent interview, he mentioned, 'many Muslim jurists 
today are inclined to accept on the basis of modern research 
that it is quite possible that people may be born with this 
[orientation]' and that 'we all have to learn and understand 
things more, so we do change our minds on the basis of 
understanding the human situation'
... While, acknowledging the classical Islamic position, 
Professor of Islamic Law, Dr. Mohammad Fadel mentioned in 
the context of the 2012 U.S. Elections, 'I think one can 
certainly take the view, and I know a lot of Muslims might 
find this to be controversial, that we can support the idea 
of same-sex marriage because what we want is to make sure 
that all citizens have access to the same kinds of public 
benefits that other people do'.
Similarly, Dr. Omid Safi recently weighed in on same-sex 
marriage in the U.S. He has clearly stated "Love is love. 
Family is family, though they come in different shapes. My 
children have gay and lesbian friends.  They belong a social 
club at school that is an alliance of straight, gay, 
lesbian, and bi-sexual students'
Why did the Jews at Auschwitz march out of the camp with the 
Nazis instead of waiting for the Soviet liberators?
With thanks to Bradley Smith and CODOH
Prisoners on a death march out of Dachau
The photo above shows some of the 6,887 Jewish prisoners and 
Russian POWs who were marched out of the Dachau 
concentration camp on April 26, 1945.  Today's students are 
taught that the purpose of this "death march" was to kill 
the prisoners before the camp could be liberated by the 
Allies.  Note the two German soldiers who are marching with 
them.  There is no photo of the march out of Auschwitz, but 
the photo above will give you an idea of how the Auschwitz 
march took place.
On a similar march out of Auschwitz, the German soldiers 
marched at the head of the column, tramping down two feet of 
snow to make it easier for the Jews to march.
I am on the e-mail list of Bradley Smith, a famous Holocaust 
denier, and today I received an e-mail from him, which 
included a letter which he sent recently to Kent State 
University where Elie Wiesel is expected to give a talk to 
the students.
As you may know, Elie Wiesel and his father were on the 
death march out of Auschwitz on January 18, 1945.  They were 
given a choice whether to march or stay behind and be 
liberated.  The Dachau prisoners, shown in the photo above, 
were not given a choice.
I love Bradley Smith and I am a great admirer of his 
writing.  I read the copy of Bradley's letter to the 
University and laughed out loud.  I am quoting from the 
letter, so as to share it with those who may not be on 
Bradley's e-mail list.
Quote from letter written by Bradley Smith to Kent State 
University:
===== In his autobiographical book Night, Elie Wiesel writes 
that in January 1945, when he and his father were both 
prisoners of the murderous German Nazis at Auschwitz, they 
were asked by their captors if they would prefer to remain 
in that death camp, where countless Jews had already been 
murdered in gas chambers, to await the imminent arrival of 
their Soviet liberators, or would they rather leave with the 
Nazi Jew-killers who were abandoning the camp. Elie Wiesel 
and his dad, talking it over, agreed they would prefer to 
leave on the death-march retreat with German Nazis dedicated 
to exterminating Jews as a race rather than wait for their 
Soviet liberators.
Is there one professor at Kent State University who thinks 
it might be worthwhile that students consider the 
significance of this confession? Why not? =====
I don't think that Bradley Smith will get an answer to his 
letter, so I am going to explain to him and the students the 
purpose of the death march out of Auschwitz.
I learned the reason for the death marches from Professor 
Harold Marcuse, who teaches the history of the Holocaust at 
the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Professor Marcuse wrote the following in a comment on my 
blog several years ago:
In any case the death marches in 1945 were a largely futile 
attempt to keep human evidence of and witnesses to 
atrocities from falling into Allied hands. That rationale 
hinged on the illusory notion that the Germans would 
ultimately defend some territory and in some bizarre way 
"win" the war. When some responsible German officials 
realized beyond doubt that the war was lost, they drew the 
"logical" conclusion and burned the marching prisoners 
alive, as happened at Ohrdruf, Gardelegen and numerous other 
places. For them apparently, dead evidence was better than 
alive evidence.
I am assuming that the professors at Kent State University 
teach the students the same story that is taught at the 
University of California, Santa Barbara.
Elie Wiesel and his father trusted the Nazis not to burn 
them alive on the march, so they didn't stay behind at 
Auschwitz, when given a choice. If you have ever read Elie 
Wiesel's book, you know that Elie and his father survived 
the burning ditches at Auschwitz on the Night that they 
arrived.  They expected to survive the burning of the 
prisoners on the march out of the camp.  They didn't know 
what the Soviets might do, so they chose the Nazis 
instead.
Children were being burned alive at Auschwitz on the night 
Elie Wiesel arrived
The Jews who stayed behind at Auschwitz found out that they 
had made the wrong choice because the Soviets didn't take 
care of them at all.
After the three Auschwitz camps were liberated, the 
survivors were on their own. Unlike the concentration camps 
in Germany, where the liberated prisoners remained in the 
camps as Displaced Persons and were cared for by the 
Americans or the British, the Auschwitz prisoners from 29 
countries were released to find their own way home.
Primo Levi was an Auschwitz survivor who wrote a book, later 
made into a movie, about his long journey home to Italy 
which took him many months. He described how the Jewish 
prisoners were greeted with hostility in every country along 
the way.  (Primo Levi was forced to stay behind because he 
was sick at the time of the death march out of the 
camp.)
Binjamin Wilkomirski, who falsely claimed to be a child 
survivor of Auschwitz, wrote in his fake book, entitled 
Fragments, that there was no liberation. "We just ran away 
without permission," he wrote. "No joyous celebration. I 
never heard the word 'liberation' back then, I didn't even 
know there was such a word." Binjamin Wilkomirski also 
describes this in his book, Fragments: "And the people 
outside the camp, in the countryside and the nearby town — 
they didn't celebrate when they saw us."
Wilkomirski's fake book is still being taught in American 
schools, but it is now called a novel.  Elie Wiesel's fake 
book was at one time classified as a novel, but is now being 
taught in American schools as the Gospel truth.
Bangladesh
Quick Action by Islamics Saved Hindu Temples. Regime Wanted 
to Blame Jamaate Islami.
Police Killed 24 women, children in Bogra. Extra Judicial 
Executions widespread.
A Report on the violence in Bangladesh following the death 
sentence awarded to an Islamic Scholar
On 28 February, 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal-1 
passed a death sentence against Allama Delwar Hossain 
Sayedee, a renowned Islamic Scholar and the Deputy Leader of 
the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami ("Jamaat") for allegedly 
committing crimes during the Liberation War of 1971. The 
trial and the Tribunal were condemned by international 
criminal lawyers and human rights organisations such as 
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, International 
Centre for Transitional Justice, as falling far below 
acceptable standards.  Moreover, there were well documented 
instances of abducting a defence witness, collusion between 
judges, prosecution and ministers and granting of favours to 
judges in order to ensure a conviction against Mr. Sayedee1. 
After, the verdict was announced, people across the country 
came out to protest  against the verdict, which was largely 
perceived as  politically motivated. The verdict had 
offended the sense of justice of the Islam loving people of 
this country.   However, the Government was determined to 
portray the verdict as popular, and ordered the police to 
fire upon protestors with live ammunition. As such on 28 
February, 73 civilians were shot and killed by the police in 
less than 8 hours.   In one District alone 14 people were 
shot dead in a few minutes.  (Bodies of protestors killed by 
the Police being removed.) Protests also took place on 1 
March, 2013 and 6 more protestors  were killed by the 
Police.  On 2 March, a further 6 protestors were killed.   
Then again on 3 March, 2013 protests took place all over the 
country.  In Bogra  (in north-western Bangladesh) women 
protested side by side with the men. In Jhenidah processions 
consisting only of women protested peacefully  against the 
verdict. They also brought the children along, not 
suspecting that the police would fire upon them and their 
children. However, the police fired indiscriminately killing 
both women and children. Protestors  angry with the killing 
of civilians  attacked police stations.   In Bogra the Army 
was called in by the District Administration. The situation 
was controlled by one platoon of the Army without firing a 
single round.  However, This was 
revealed when the Economist, the Wall Street Journal and a 
local newspaper  disclosed the internet calls of the former 
Chairman of the International Crimes Tribunal-1. 2  when the 
police were in charge, their indiscriminate firing resulted 
in the death of 24 women and children. In Bogra people no 
longer have faith in the police administration.    (The 
police aiming and shooting at protestors standing at a 
distance without provocation) In the protests which lasted 
from 28 February to 5 March, 2013 around 120 people  were 
shot and killed by direct police firing. Around 1000 
civilians were injured.  5 policemen  died in the violence.  
These incidents occurred when the police ran out of live 
ammunition and were subject of the wrath of local people.  
It is not alleged that the protestors used arms or weapons 
of any kind, nor is there any evidence of such use. The 
protestors merely threw brick-bats at the police who were 
dressed in full riot gear and protected by shields and 
bullet proof vests.  The action of the police, therefore, in 
using live ammunition was not necessary and the extent of 
the live ammunition used was neither reasonable nor was it a 
proportionate response. This is reflected in the casualties. 
For the 120 civilians killed by the police, 5 policemen lost 
their lives.
Brutal police action on civilians protesting against the 
verdict passed against a leader of Jamaat has to be seen in 
the context of the continuing violence against Jamaat and 
its student wing. Prior to the police action that commenced 
on 28 February, the Police have been hunting members  of the 
Jamaat and its student wing, the Islami Chattra Shibir 
("Shibir") and killing them in police custody. Over the past 
couple of months the police have been randomly picking up 
member/supporters of Jamaat and have shot at them at point 
blank range (while in their custody) in full view of the 
media. The images of such point-black shooting have been 
documented and archived and are now available on the 
internet2.  These custodial shootings have been authorized 
by the Police Administration including the Police 
Commissioner for Dhaka Metropolitan Police, Benzir Ahmed.  
Mr. Ahmed had in January 2013 ordered his officers to shoot 
Jamaat and Shibir men on sight. This has been reported in a 
number of national daily newspapers including Ittefaq3 
Bangladesh Pratidin4, Naya Diganta5, Amar Desh6 and 
Manabzamin7 .
Attacks on the Hindu minorities and symbols of Bengali 
nationalism
http://youtu.be/W3WFlesX_Gg 
, http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=78b_1361803125&comments=1
http://ittefaq.com.bd/index.php?ref=MjBfMDFfMjlfMTNfMV8xXzFfTQ5MDI=
http://www.bd-pratidin.com/?view=details&archiev=yes&arch_dae=29-01- 
2013&type=single&pub_no=986&cat_id=1&menu_id=1&news_type_id=&index=2
http://www.dailynayadiganta.com/new/?p=103388
http://www.amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2013/01/29/18524#.UTTxNjv9Nmw
http://www.mzamin.com/archive_details.php?nid=NDA0MTI=&ty=MA=&s=MTg=&c=MQ==&seco=MjAxM3wxfDI5fDA=
During the protests 
against the verdict, a number of sudden attacks were carried 
out on  symbols of Bengali nationalism (i.e. flags and 
monuments) and members of the Hindu minority. The reasons 
for such attacks were not  known, but the Government and the 
local media were quick to blame Jamaat.  However, till date 
no member of Jamaat has been arrested in connection with 
these attacks. The only person to be arrested was a member 
of the student wing of the ruling Awami League Government, 
who was caught red-handed. The government promptly declared 
the person caught as a lunatic and released him.  The 
attacks on the minorities could not have taken place without 
the knowledge and support of the Government.
In Ramu, Chittagong (south-eastern Bangladesh) the attack on 
Buddhist temples in late 2012 took place with the government 
approval8. Even in 1971, the attacks on the minority Hindus 
took place because such attacks were supported and assisted 
by the Pakistan Government. In fact there have serious 
doubts have been raised from a number of quarters as to the 
Government allegation that Jamaat carried out these 
attacks.9 In fact members of Jamaat's student wing guarded 
temples so that they would not be attacked. See picture 
below:- (Members of Islami Chattra Shibir (Jamaat's student 
wing) guarding a temple) Jamaat has issued a number of 
statements condemning such attacks. It has also undertaken 
to take measures to rehabilitate the affected persons on 
humanitarian grounds.
The Role of Local Media
The local print media in Bangladesh led by the Bengali paper 
the Prothom Alo and the English newspaper, Daily Star 
described the civilians killed as supporters of Bangladesh 
Jamaat-e-Islami and therefore justified. The women and 
children who participated or were present in the protests 
have been described as being used by Jamaat as human shields 
and hence, their deaths too have been justified.   However, 
the pictures tell a different tale. The pictures used by the 
Daily Star for instance shows processions mainly of women 
with their children carrying brooms and sandals/shoes tied 
to sticks. There is no evidence of men using the women and 
children as shields.  In fact apart from the presence of one 
old man (see photograph on the left) in one of the 
processions, there is no evidence  of an adult male being 
present. The photographs that were used by the Daily Star on 
4 March, 2013 are reproduced below (with the caption):
http://thefinancialexpress-bd.com/index.php?ref=MjBfMTBfMDhfTJfMV84OF8xNDYxOTQ=
http://www.khichuri.org/bangladeshs-self-styled-secularists-re-no-protectors-of-minorities/
The women with their 
children protested with sandals and brooms not knowing that 
the police would be so brutal as to fire upon them.  
Moreover, even if we assume that the Daily Star was correct 
and the women and children were being used as shields  
(contrary to what is actually revealed in the photographs) 
this cannot be a justification for killing innocent people. 
More over when the Leader of the Opposition, Khaleda Zia had 
condemned the attacks, the Daily Star expressed its 
displeasure over the fact that Jamaat had not been blamed.  
Although no inquiry or investigation had been carried out 
the Daily Star was keen to blame Jamaat for the atrocities.  
 (The Daily Star, 5 March, 2013) In fact, the Daily Star and 
Prothom Alo have been actively campaigning to play down and 
even at times has been justifying the police brutality on 
those protesting against the verdict.  The bias of these two 
newspapers are well documented.
http://www.khichuri.org/are-bangladeshs-media-adding-fuel-tothe-countrys-toxic-political-culture/
Conclusion  The Government and the pro-Government media have 
been actively campaigning to brand Jamaat as a political 
party which has attacked minorities. In fact there is 
evidence of Government involvement which has been 
highlighted by the Leader of the Opposition.  Evidence has 
been distorted by newspapers such the Daily Star, to blame 
Jamaat for the violence.  Moreover, its supporters have been 
indiscriminately killed by the police a fact which is 
downplayed by the Government and the local media.  In these 
circumstances we call upon the international community to 
correctly evaluate the situation in Bangladesh and to come 
forward and assist Jamaat in representing its constituents 
and supporters in Banglades
2013-03-31 Sun 09:09:05 cdt
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