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Dr Kaukab Siddique | Editor-in-Chief Rabi' al-Thani 23,1435/February 23, 2014 # 8

What does Islam say about the rights of women and violence against women? What about non-Muslim domestic violence, both against women and men in America? See analysis by Dr. Kaukab Siddique and Ustaz Nouman Ali Khan, Chicago, below .

Important reports from Africa:
Please scroll down to Egypt, Somalia, Nigeria and CAR [Central African Republic]

Breaking News: Syria
Islamic Fighters Advancing Again: Also, attacks in Lebanon.
UN recognizes Horrendous suffering of Syrian Civilians but ....

February 22: A new Islamic offensive has unnerved the Assad regime. The mujahideen are advancing on several fronts against regime garrisons in the Aleppo and Damascus areas. The Alawite air force is going all out trying to stop the movement with jet fighter attacks while it continues to drop barrel bombs on civilian populations opposing the regime.Assad has bombed Palestinians now.

The UN Security Council, this time with Chinese and Russian support, is urging Assad to let food go through to starving populations under siege by the regime in Homs, Hama and the Palestinian camp Yarmouk. The UN was able to issue its statement because it also agreed to blame the Islamic side for "violations." The number of dead civilians at the hands of the regime has gone above 140,000 in three years. Among those killed by Assad are 11,000 children. Thousands of women have been raped by the Alawites, and several million people are refugees. More than 800 civilians have been killed by barrel bombs.

In Lebanon, an Islamic group imitating al-Nusra attacked the Shi'ite stronghold of Hermel at a Hizbush checkpoint. [February 22]. Earlier on February 19, a huge bomb was set off by the Abdullah Azzam Brigade at the Iranian Cultural Center in Beirut. Eight people were killed and more than 100 wounded. Mujahideen groups have started responding to the Iranian and Hizbush forces supporting Assad when he was near collapse.

Breaking News: Iraq

February 23: The Maliki regime was unable to recapture Fallujah and Ramadi after three weeks of fighting. Both cities are largely in the hands of ISIL [Islamic State in Iraq & the Levant], as is most of Anbar province to the Syrian border.

Now the Maliki regime has called for a 72 hour cease fire [which observers say is a ruse while the regime mobilizes new weapons received from the US.]

Breaking News: Pakistan
Military Disinformation Ends Peace Talks. Air Force bombing Islamic villages.

On February 17, just when the Pak Taliban were ready to announce a cease fire, a mysterious report came out of Mohmand agency on the Afghan border that the local Taliban had killed 23 Pakistani troops whom they had captured SEVERAL YEARS back. Of course the report could not be independently verified.

The military and the civil government let loose a storm of propaganda against the Pak Talibsan. There was general revulsion in the country. No one paused to ask why the "executions" just when peace talks were to begin. [Even Imran Khan was taken in. Only Munawar Hasan sounded doubtful.] Mohmand is a border area which the Pakistani army "conquered" two years back.

Two days later, when public opinion was flaring against the Pak Taliban, the news leaked out that 40,000 Pakistani troops had already entered North Waziristan.

On February 20, Pakistani air force jet fighters started bombing Islamic targets in North Waziristan and claimed to have killed 35 "suspected Islamic extremists."

No one asked, why is the air force attacking North Waziristan? It is the stronghold of the Haqqani network, linked to al-Qaida, but not of the Pak Taliban and is quite far from Mohmand where the executions allegedly took place.

Then on February 21, the air force attacked Hangu which is entirely outside the border areas. Again Islamic people were killed.

America has been urging Pakistan for several years to attack North Waziristan.

Need we say more?


Many prisoners in America embrace Islam but when they come out, they get very little support from Muslim communities. Most Muslims do not even take the trouble to send a post card or a letter to prisoners or to talk to ex-prisoners.. Now a Muslim who spent many years in prison has a started a project called SCHOLARS BEHIND BARS which will help, inshallah, to change the situation. Please scroll down to the end .

Slightly delayed.
National Islamic Shoora of Jamaat al-Muslimeen to meet, inshallah, in May.

The next meeting of the shoora will be held in May. inshallah. Please look for date and place.

Jamaat al-Muslimeen opposes oppression and tyranny of all kinds, especially the criminal regimes of Assad in Syria and Sisi in Egypt.

Jamaat stands for the rights of women as exemplified in the personalities of Hajira, Maryam, Ayesha, Umm Ammara and Sumayya, may Allah be pleased with them.

It supports the rights of Islamic political prisoners such as Imam Jamil, Dr. Omar Abdel Rahman, Massoud Khan [ FreeMasoudKhan.net ], Dr. Ali Tamimi, Dr. Kifah al-Jayyousi, Imam Siddique Abdullah Hasan, Ziyad Yaghi [ FreeZiyadYaghi.info ], Ehsan al-Sadequee and many others.

It stands against racism, Zionism, imperialism, homosexuality and occupation of Muslim lands.

It's the only Muslim organization in America which rejects the legitimacy of "Israel."

It teaches resistance by creative peaceful means within the limits of the law.

Your advice and support are most welcome. [See Jamaat al-Muslimeen on facebook. and on New Trend's web site.]

Our America: Q & A on Domestic violence
Men hitting women and now even women hitting men. What does Islam say?

A few days ago, Ray Rice, a Baltimore Ravens football star, was accused of domestic violence against his fiance. It is said that he used an upper cut on her but, this occurred after she, allegedly, spit on him and hit him. Ray Rice is of African-descent.

The White male sportscasters and fans are calling in and criticizing him for hitting his fiance whether she struck him first or not. I know that there is a racist double standard in America regarding this issue. Charlie Sheen, a White man, has shot at, attempted to stab, and beat up women in his past relationships and is continuously employed in Hollywood.

Many people believe that Chris Brown, an Black American singer, was defending himself against an angry Rihanna when he attacked her. Their, famous, domestic violence incident occurred when she found texts from other women on his cell phone. However, his reputation and his psyche took a serious hit from the backlash.

American women take advantage of the idea of men being taught not to hit women. However, American law does not recognize chivalry and any assault is punished based on who struck the other, first.

As I understand it, Moorish Muslims brought chivalry to parts of Europe during their seven century reign. However, what does the Hadith state about men hitting women back in self-defense?

Any response would be appreciated.
Salaam,
Sis. 'Aisha

Response by Br. Kaukab Siddique: From our archive.
Domestic Violence is NOT permitted in Islam for both genders.
How to understand the Qur'an: Issues of Women's Rights.

Doesn't the Qur'an 4:34 Put Men Above Women, Even Giving them the Right to Beat Women?

How do you reconcile your view on the wife's obedience to verse 4:34 which deals with the light beating of the wife?
WS
Adam [South Africa]

[Reply by Br. Kaukab Siddique, PhD]
Some Muslims in our times have delinked the Qur'an from the Hadith which enshrines the life of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). When these misled Muslims take the Qur'an, they take it one verse at a time and try to make the claim that in itself each verse is ultimate in meaning. Thus when they are faced with chapter 4 verse 34 of the Qur'an, we find Muslims taking these postures:
GROUP A
  1. Some say the verse makes men the "rulers" of women.
  2. They add that women must obey their husbands (be "qanitat.")

  3. They claim that if women display "nushuz" (rebellion) against the husband, then the husband can carry out a three stage withdrawal from the wife, resulting in him beating her (lightly) for her rebellion.

  4. The commentary of this group gives the impression that women are the slaves of men.

GROUP B
These are the 'modernist' apologists who are reacting to the West's attack on the Qur'an. They make weird efforts to twist the meaning of the verse to avoid its obvious meaning. The Pervaizi sectarian types use the dictionary. They find that, Arabic being a versatile language, the word used for 'beating' can also mean having sex. So they grab hold of this straw to, in their thinking, save Islam from barbarism which Western writers accuse it of. For them 4:34 does not imply inequality at all.

GROUP C
[Some writers, who are not Pervaizi but also want to have "Qur'an alone," like Amina Wadud, have worked hard on 4:34 to make it say what it obviously does not.]

The problem with the writings of this group is that it creates a "Qur'an" made in their own image according to which there is no issue of application or context. For them, there is no difference between war torn Afghanistan and an 'Islamic' conference in a Hilton Hotel.

In my book THE STRUGGLE OF MUSLIM WOMEN, I have shown the original, Islamic way of understanding the Qur'an, which is through the Hadith.
My viewpoint is that the Qur'an was a PROGRESSIVE REVELATION. "Progressive" here means that it went from stage to stage. The HADITH indicates and provides SOCIAL CONTEXT without which the Qur'an cannot be understood. I note in my book, for instance, that according to HADITH, 4:34 was revealed in the early period of Madina (Sahih of Bukhari, kitab al-Fadail). That was a time when the Muslim community was not fully formulated and people coming into Islam, especially women, had to be disciplined to understand that they could no longer keep in touch with men they knew beforehand. Sexual promiscuity was common in pre-Islamic Arab society. Also, on marriage, men would not take proper economic care of the wife. Hence the emphasis on this verse on men being "maintainers and providers" [ qawwamun].

I also showed that the word NUSHUZ in 4:34 is not about the willfulness or rebellion of the wife but, as indicated by Hadith, sexual misconduct. It's the kind of loose sexual behavior which can undermine a marriage.

As the Qur'an was revealed progressively, Sura 24 verses 6-10, do not indicate any right to physically discipline the wife. In fact these verses indicate that even where the husband is alleging adultery, he cannot do anything other than to take an oath. The Hadith makes it clear to us that the Prophet (pbuh) forbade men to hit their wives. His SUNNAH, which is the model for all Muslims, shows, according to 'Ayesha (r.a.), that he never raised his hand against any woman.

From Hadith, we know that the last verses on male-female relationships were 9:70-71 and these state very clearly that BELIEVING MEN AND WOMEN are EACH OTHER'S GUARDIANS and PROTECTORS. [These verses do not say that men are guardians and protectors of the women.] Obviously, by the time Sura Tauba (chapter 9) was revealed, the Islamic community led by the Prophet (pbuh) had reached its perfection, which of course we know from Hadith.

Those who have a static view of the Qur'an tie themselves into knots by applying the "Qur'an only" method to 4:34 (of course in the process adding the Arabic dictionary while leaving out the Hadith).

As for male-female relations in America leading to the situation which Sis. Aisha has related, here is a very good presentation by Br. Nouman Ali Khan [bayyinah.com] as seen on the DEEN SHOW coming out of Chicago. We thank Br. Salahuddin in Karachi, Pakistan, for introducing us to Br. Nouman's work. Br. Nouman is one of the VERY FEW Muslim preachers in America who can speak to Americans in their own lingo and good English.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZEAFQCXnL4

Breaking News: Somalia

On February 21, a martyrdom operator from al-Shabab smashed into the Presidential Palace in Mogadishu, Somalia. Seven other mujahideen then entered the palace and battled the security forces inside before they were killed. Almost all the top military and civilian officials of the US-installed tregime were killed but the "President" survived.

More than 22,000 non-Muslim troops from western sponsored African regimes are in Somalia supporting the "government" in Mogadishu.

As this map prepared by the BBC shows, almost all of Somalia is in the hands of al-Shabab. See the green color. Ethiopian and other non-Muslim forces supported by the US and Israel are holding some territories.
who runs Somalia map

Nigeria
Boko Haram defeated Nigerian troops in Bama: Governor's desperate appeal for more troops.

February 22. Nigerian troops are locked in battle with Boko Haram Islamic fighters in the Bama area northeast of Nigeria. The military is keeping journalists out of the area to hide the whipping its troops are getting from the Islamic fighters. The news filtering out indicates that the Islamics are on the offensive.

The Nigerian army says it is winning but the Governor of the state held an emergency meeting with the President of Nigeria with a funny name. "After meeting President Goodluck Jonathan, Mr Shettima told the BBC Hausa service that without reinforcements "it is absolutely impossible for us to defeat Boko Haram".

Nigerian troops are killing civilians supporting the Islamics and then claiming that Boko Haram did it. Earlier in the month, the government reportedly killed the most famous Islamic teacher in Zaria who had met a Boko Haram representative. The government then claimed that Boko Haram did it.

Meanwhile reports of the genocide of the Muslim minority in CAR [Central African Republic] at the hands of Christian mobs are filtering across Cameroon into Nigeria, motivating Boko Haram to attack Christian settlers brought from the south by the government to dilute the Muslim majority in the north.

We have a report on the genocide in CAR. It's like the genocide of the unarmed Muslim minority in Burma. Please scroll to end but don't let children see this.
Nigeria Borno map

Courtesy: BBC
Profile: Egypt's militant Ansar Beit al-Maqdis group blast site Egyptian police headquarters downtown Cairo Egypt Friday Jan 24 2014
An Egyptian policeman shouts at bystanders to keep away from the site of a blast at the Egyptian police headquarters in downtown Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Jan. 24, 2014. Ansar Beit al-Maqdis said it bombed the police headquarters in Cairo

Al-Qaeda-inspired militant organisation Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (Champions of Jerusalem) has claimed responsibility for the 24 January bomb attack on the police headquarters in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

Initially, the group was known for launching attacks on Israeli targets and interests, but after the ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, it has started directing its violence against the Egyptian army and police.

Beginnings

Sinai-based Ansar Beit al-Maqdis started its operations immediately after the January 2011 uprising that led to the fall of the country's long-running ruler Hosni Mubarak.

Ansar Beit al-Maqdis first came into the limelight in July 2012 when it assumed responsibility for the blowing up of a pipeline that exports gas to Israel and Jordan.

A month later, the group said it had fired rockets from Sinai into the southern Israeli resort of Eilat, and in September 2012 Ansar Beit al-Maqdis claimed responsibility for attacking an Israeli border patrol in response to a US-produced film widely condemned in the Muslim world as having insulted the Prophet Muhammad.

Bomb and gun attacks

After the Egyptian military brought down the Muslim Brotherhood's President Mohammed Morsi in July 2013 and the clampdown that followed against his supporters, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis concentrated its attacks on the army and police.

The group has been involved in suicide bombings, drive-by shootings and assassinations.

In one of its most high-profile attacks, the group tried to assassinate Interior Minister Muhammad Ibrahim in September 2013, when his motorcade in Cairo was targeted by a car bomb.

Others include an assault on South Sinai's Security Directorate in October 2013, and an attack the same month on the military intelligence building in the Suez Canal city of Ismailiya.

'Palestinian links'

Some observers believe that Ansar Beit al-Maqdis has links to the Muslim Brotherhood and to Palestinian militant groups, especially the Hamas movement, which governs Gaza.

Brotherhood Without Violence, a recently-formed movement which includes alleged Muslim Brotherhood dissidents, claims Ansar Beit al-Maqdis is the Brotherhood's "military wing".

Nabil Naeem, former leader of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad militant group, has accused Hamas of funding Ansar Beit al-Maqdis.

Our America
Scholars Behind Bars aim to reform Prisoners through books, education
By Dennis Boatwright II [Detroit, Michigan]

When President Bill Clinton signed into law the 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill, it was one of the most callous acts of legislation targeting prisoners in that it effectively put a lid over their This act, hidden inside a subsection of that bill, overturned a long-standing section of the Higher Education Act of 1965 permitting inmates to receive a Pell Grant for post-secondary education while incarcerated. The passage of this act ensured that the academic achievement of lower income inmates does not rise above a high school diploma or G.E.D.

Many critical observers view this severe act as an extension of an overall plan to 1) to guarantee that the $60 billion prison system remains a lucrative industry and, 2) to keep as many African Americans incarcerated.

"Without education, job skills, and other basic services," Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal candidly pointed out, "offenders are likely to repeat the same steps that brought them to jail in the first place ... This is a problem that needs to be addressed head-on. We cannot say we are doing everything we can to keep our communities and our families safe if we are not addressing the high rate at which offenders are becoming repeat criminals." According to a Pew Research study, over 80% of parolees will re-offend, and of this tragic number, about 45% will return to prison within 3 years. This author was recently released after serving 23 years. For two decades I personally experienced and observed the harmful impact of ending the Pell Grant program. For example, termination of those funds makes it certain that only upper-income inmates leave correctional facilities with higher education accomplishments.

Inmates who cannot afford to further their education, on the other hand, are tormented by the prospects of not being able to improve their learning. I was among just a handful of men that were fortunate to have people in society who would buy books and educational material to meet my learning needs. Most inmates are not so lucky.

The noble mission of Scholars Behind Bars is to purchase books and educational material for prisoners who wish to take their learning to greater heights. Specifically, this non-profit organization will buy inmates college textbooks (such as Introductory to Psychology), advanced journals (such as Foreign Affairs), and high-quality analysis magazines (such as The Economist), depending upon their respective field of interest.

Because of my long-term incarceration, I personally know of and communicate with some of the best and brightest prisoners, some of whom are easily honorary doctorate candidates had they been provided with the proper education. They tell me that Scholars Behind Bars is a great idea and something they could only dream about.

With your help Scholars Behind Bars will help enable prisoners to pursue their self-learning dreams despite the many barriers and challenges they face. To help Scholars Behind Bars please contact the Director, Dennis Boatwright, at (313) 469-4756, or dsboatwright43@gmail.com.

Your contributions may help the next Malcolm X or Nelson Mandela to emerge from prison.

Rampaging Christian mobs: A sample of the genocide
Central African Republic: Girl, 11, Sole Muslim Survivor of Massacres in CAR Town
By Kim Lewis, 18 February 2014
girl out of hiding Muslim quarter of a village west of Bangui
The security situation in Bangui is worsening day by day.

A girl discovered hiding in a dark corner of an abandoned house is believed the sole survivor of two massacres that recently devastated the Muslim quarter of a village west of Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic where communal violence continues to rage after several months.

The human rights organization, Amnesty International, says the 11-year old Muslim girl was found crouched in a corner of her family's home, traumatized and weak from going without food or water for four days. Her parents and neighbors were dead.

Her rescuer was Donatella Rovera, an Amnesty International senior crisis response adviser. Rovera told VOA she had gone to the town of Bouguere - about 155 miles west of Bangui - to investigate reports of a January 24 massacre in which thousands in the town had died. However, Rovera soon realized a second massacre had been committed.

Any Muslims who survived the first attack and did not flee the town were apparently being targeted in second attack which occurred a week ago.

"There were bodies literally littering the streets," says Rovera. "Some of them were burned. Some of them were mutilated. I saw two that were being chewed on by dogs. The bodies had been left in the streets, in the Muslim quarter of the town, which is where most of the killings happened. And the homes were either burned or thoroughly ransacked."

As she walked from house to house, Rovera saw bodies. In one house she saw the bodies of two women and a baby she thought was six or seven months old. The baby had no visible injuries but was lying face down, leading Rovera to think that perhaps the infant died after getting lost looking for his own parents who may have tried to flee their killers.

"And then in one of the abandoned houses, I found a little girl, age about eleven, who was crouching in a corner, in the dark," Rovera says. "She had not eaten or drunk for the previous four days - it seems the day of the massacre. And she was so weak that she couldn't even stand up."

Rovera asked others in the neighborhood about the girl.

"I understand from other residents of the town that her father was killed on the 10th of February, the day of the most recent massacre. Her mother had been killed during the previous massacre."

Other villagers told Rovera she should take the girl out of the village because she is the only survivor in the town's Muslim neighborhood.

Rovera said she had found a safe place far from Bouguere where she will receive care. Amnesty and other organizations are looking for living relatives of Bouguere's surviving Muslim.

[Courtesy Voice of America.

2014-02-23 Sun 09:13:05 cst
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