NTM 1559 | NewTrendMag.org

NewTrendMag.org News # 1559 [ Click on NEWS for back issues ][ OUR BOOKS ] [ Women in Islam ][ Our America ][ Hadith ][ Kaukab Siddique's khutbas ][ Latest photos. ][ Imam Badi Ali's Thoughts ][ Muslim Political Prisoners ] [ Previous Issue ]

Dr Kaukab Siddique | Editor-in-Chief

Ramadan 22,1435/July 20, 2014 # 29

Some good News:

After countrywide protests about Imam Jamil's deteriorating health in prison, he has been moved from Florence, Colorado, all the way to a hospital prison in Butner, North Carolina

Keep striving people! Thanks to all who called the prison authorities.

Extraordinary support for Gaza in Sudan. Go to end for photo.

Our Challenge to America's Muslims.

Imam Badi Ali mobilized the people of Greensboro, North Carolina, against Israel. Hundreds responded though fasting long fasts in hot weather. See the photo of the loooong line of protestors below

Muslims of America, we urge you to get out of the silence ISNA, CAIR and ICNA have imposed on you. Dont you have many more resources than Imam Badi!

This is his message:

Invitation from New Trend editor:

Al-Awda is holding a large pro-Palestine rally on July 20 in Washington, DC. I was invited to speak but I have another v. important meeting. Please go to al-Awda rally even though it is secular. Some of us will be there, inshaAllah.

Baltimore, Maryland
Large Rally against Police Brutality in Central Baltimore.
Anniversary of Tyrone West who was beaten to death by 10 policemen.
Information via Nadrat Siddique

On July 18, citizens of Baltimore demonstrated at kitmore street and Kelway off Loch Raven from 6 to 8 PM. . This was the anniversary of a youth,Tyrone West, who was beaten to death by 10 policemen.

The protestors chanted slogans against police brutality, heard speeches, marched up and down with placards for an hour and were filmed by local TV and scores of amateurs.

Jamaat al-Muslimeen was represented by a whole contingent. Here are most of the main speakers:

Ms. Tawanda Jones: sister of the murdered youth. [Led the march.]
Dr. Heber Brown III, pastor of the Pleasant Hope Baptist Church.
Rev. Kinji Scott, activist and organizer.
Br. David Wiggins, Baltimore Black Think Tank leader, standing for election as Sheriff.
Radical journalist James MacArthur, who films the activities of the police and has suffered much.
Br. Kaukab Siddique, ameer of Jamaat al-Muslimeen.
Br. Payam, Iranian youth from Towson University, prominent activist.
Russell Neverdon, attorney, who opposed and defeated Zionist attorney general Bernstein. He led the march too.
Jill Carter, State Delegate from the Baltimore assembly.

[The event was publicized by the Baltimore Bloc, Nadrat Siddique and Ameejill Whitlock.]

Our America
Police Brutality in New York: How they destroy People who are in their control.
by Sis. Aisha [Jamaat al-Muslimeen New York]

New York City - On Thursday (7/17/201), A forty-three year old family man died while in police custody. Eric Garner, of Staten Island, was killed while resisting arrest, according to police. His friend, Ramsey Orta, 22, was one of a few people who took a cell phone video of the police asking Garner questions about selling illegal, tax-free cigarettes. Garner complains that every time he is out there the police always harass him. Then, he instructed the police to leave him alone. Only minutes earlier Eric Garner broke up a fight between two men. This may have alerted police to him.
Orta's video shows an officer jump behind Eric Garner and put him in an illegal choke hold. Garner, who is asthmatic, immediately yells, "I can't breath!" The officers wrestle him to the ground and the same plain clothes officer, seen in an Oakland Athletics shirt with the number 99 on it, is seen leaning on Garner's head. Orta stated that when he saw his friend's arm stiffen he knew that he had died. Police claim Garner, who was also overweight, died of cardiac arrest. The Medical Examiner's preliminary result was inconclusive.

In an unusual move, Police Commissioner William Bratton stated that choke holds are illegal and that police officers are not supposed to use that method of detainment because it can lead to a suspect's injury or death. In another unusual move, Mayor Bill de Blasio offered the Garner Family his condolences. Community leaders will be meeting in Staten Island to demand justice for the father of six and grandfather of two. His wife, recently, had a baby, as well.

I have witnessed these "arrests" and they are usually not arrests. It involves the police, plain clothes or in uniform, merely questioning someone. Many times, one's rights are violated when the officers begin to get physical. The police then get so physical that the person being questioned has no choice but to defend him/herself. Once someone tries to protect him/herself from police violence that person is now accused of resisting arrest! Blaming the victim is a tactic that is used to excuse police criminality. Many of these excuses are meant to put the White American's mind at ease about police misconduct. The Black Community is NEVER addressed in these matters.

The names of the officers involved have not been released. However, two officers involved including the plain clothed officer are on desk duty. The New York Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit and the Staten Island Prosecutor are investigating. Many people focus on police criminality but, not prosecutor misconduct when it is decided not to prosecute. We need to focus on that, too, and pressure State's Attorney Generals to discipline or fire these no-action-taking prosecutors. I will keep you posted with any progress in this case, insha'allah.

This disturbing video can be seen on Youtube
http://youtu.be/5LSBpwmMnVM

Breaking News: Egypt: Sissi gets a surprise

July 19: A mujahideen group attacked an Egyptian military unit in Wadi el-Gadid, southern Egypt. Twenty one Egyptian troops were killed in the fighting and 4 wounded. Their ammo cache was blown up. Three mujahideen were also killed. [Libyan Islamic groups are sending weapons to Egyptian mujahideen.]

Source: Al-Jazeera

Violent clashes are reported from Syria between Assad's troops and Islamic forces. First time ISIS whipped an Assad force in open battle. Bitter fighting across the country. [ Scroll to end. ]

Pakistani military's genocide in North Waziristan. Massacre unitedly by US and Pakis.
But Mujahideen filtering back. Please scroll to end.

75000 Jewish troops are rolling into Gaza

July 20: Israeli tanks are advancing into Gaza under a curtain of fire from Israeli Jet fighters and naval craft. The death toll of Palestinians is now 342 killed, 2500 wounded. More children among those killed by Israel's elite forces. With the light weapons they have, Hamas cannot stop columns of tanks.

The Palestinians seem to have no martyrdom operators.

So how do the US media deal with this horror show?

The media simply switched to wall-to-wall coverage of the Malaysian airliner, hour after hour!

This is the best critique of Israeli propaganda.

Go to youtube.com and enter John Snow and Regev in it. Enjoy.

John Snow doesn't hold back as he interviews Netanyahu's spokesman concerning the targeting of civilians by Israeli forces, even though Israel possesses the technology to execute very specific targets, while Hamas rockets are like using a pea shooter against a tank.

As is to be expected, Regev attempts to avoid tough questions and blames Hamas for Israel's atrocities. We find the 'Israeli position' of killing children because Hama srefused to take part in biased negotiations disgusting, but watch for yourself and make your own mind up.

[Snow is British. Compared to him, US journalists are trash.]

Imam Badi Ali is rallying America's weak Muslim communities in support of Gaza.
July 18: More than 400 people rallied for Gaza in Greensboro, North Carolina. Photo shows a segment of the line up. They are waiting for the traffic light to change so that traffic can pass through.
[Photo: Br. Michael.]

Many Americans are naive & Mislead: Notice how Imam Badi calms them down.
In his own words:

During the protest on July 18th, 2014, I saw a man approaching the protest. He looked upset and his fists were balled-up. I walked towards him before he approached anybody. The first thing he told me was "What you guys doing here? What's this for?"

He was speaking with anger and immediately, I calmed him down by saying "You look tired man, can I help you with anything? " He asked what was the point of protesting against our allies. Then I started explaining to him the situation in Gaza and he told me, "Man I'm sorry, I was upset, I thought you guys are here to protest against our country." I told him that this was our country too. At the end, I gave him a gift certificate for one of the restaurants nearby. The man left very happy, praising us and Gaza. We exchanged phones so we could sit and talk later. He joined us for a few minutes, carried a sign and then left.

Latest Khutba in Baltimore: Lailatul qadr
Second Khutba on Palestine: Qur'an teaches Complete Way of Life:
Work to Defeat Israel

On July 18, Br. Kaukab Siddique gave his second juma' Khutba on Palestine at Masjid Jamaat al-Muslimeen in Baltimore, Maryland..Here are the main points for countrywide distribution.

Text: "Surely We revealed the Qur'an in the Night of Power: And what will convey to you what the Night of Poiwer is? The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. Therein descend the angels and the Spirit by Allah's permission with all decrees. It is Peace and acceptance: till the appearance of Dawn. [The Qur'an: chapter 97:1-5]

Islam is the only religion which says it is complete way of life. [Maulana Maudoodi on sura al-Baqarah.]
Faith means we give ourselves completely to Allah. As the kuffar used to taunt sahaba, r.a.: Your prophet teaches you even how to go to the bathroom!
Faith [iman] is essential if we seek Guidance from the Qur'an. Non-Muslims have written wonderful theses on the Qur'an but remain unchanged because they lack faith.
Faith according to the Qur'an is ALWAYS linked to good deeds, otherwise it is questionable..
Why is the night of revelation of the Qur'an called the Night of Power? Because it can change us, transform our nation and enhance the entire course of history.
The Qur'an transformed the poorest and most ignorant people in the world into the kindest, the most learned and the most powerful people in the world.
Prayer is important but Ramadan is most motivational for action: The battle of Badr, most important battle in history, was fought in Ramadan. The Conquest of Makka, the most important victory in human history, was also in Ramadan.
Why are we not thankful for what Allah gives us: Last month Allah gave us Badr when ISIS won sweeping victories in Iraq and Syria. The odds were 100 to 1, and in Mosul 400 to 1, and the mujahideen were not only victorious but captured the heavy weaponry America gave to its puppets along with huge wealth [Anfal].
We were not thankful for the victories in Iraq. Instead we spun conspiracy theories to discredit the mujahideen.
Now Allah has given us Uhud in Palestine and we are crying because the yahood are slaughtering us including our women and children.
The Qur'an teaches us not only wudu and tayamum but also jihad and shahadat. We should be helping the Palestinian people. We should be united on Palestine to defeat the Jews who have the backing of a corrupt superpower.
We live under the protection of the US government, somewhat like the Muslims lived under tribal protection in Makka.
Does that mean we should be silent in adversity? No, the Qur'an has made it FARD on us to [obligatory] to speak out against oppression.
The Constitution of this country also gives us the right to express ourselves. Then why are we silent? There is something seriously wrong with the cliques who control many of our mosques. There is no excuse for silence when our ummah is under attack..
Let the US government know clearly that the 9 million Muslims of America do not consider Israel a legitimate entity. Any friendship for Israel means hostility against Muslims.
The Jews of America, by and large, are our enemies. We must defeat them by using all peaceful means available to us:
1. Boycott all businesses connected to Israel directly or indirectly.
2. Use Facebook, emails, youtube to uncover the ugly face of Israel.
3. Do not get involved with any government agency, synagogue or organization which supports Israel.
4. Disconnect with all Jewish lawyers, doctors, professors, businessmen to whatever extent is possible, unless they clearly oppose Israel's legitimacy.
Seek the blessings of Allah while praying in the Night of Power [lailatul qadr] in the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadan, which according to hadith are the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th and 29th nights of Ramadan.
There is nothing which Allah cannot give you in lailatul qadr if it is not haram: Ask for Islamic spouses and children, ask for health and jobs, ask for knowledge of Qur'an and hadith, ask for unity of Muslims on Qur'an and hadith, ask for defeat of the kuffar, munafiqun and tawagheet [tyrants].
Above all ask Allah to accept the martyrs of Palestine. O Allah send mujahideen to defeat the yahood and to drive the Zionists out of Palestine.
O Allah give victory to all those fighting for Islam, be it in Kashmir, Palestine, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Nigeria, Egypt, Bangladesh, Chechnia, Mali or Syria.
O Allah accept our prayers and our fasting.

This was sent to CNN'a Wolf Blitzer
When will Mr. Blitzer stop blaming the Victim: "It's their own Fault!"
by Sis. Aisha [Jamaat al-Muslimeen New York City.\

Wolf Blitzer's interview with Ramez Al-Madhoun, a Palestinian resident, really showed Blitzer's pro-Zionist attitudes. Mr. Blitzer gives the impression that he wants to present a fair Palestinian account of the Israeli Ground Invasion. Blitzer is speaking to Ramez Al-Madhoun as the viewer sees Israeli missile strikes. It is obvious that Ramez Al-Madhoun life's in danger as he is speaking to Mr. Blitzer.

The next set of questions Mr. Blitzer asked were designed to make Ramez Al-Madhoun appear defiant and ignorant. Blitzer asked:

Are you in the area where Israelis were dropping leaflets and sending out messages requesting Gaza residents evacuate for their own safety? According to Al-Madhoun, the leaflet was actually asking Gaza residents to pressure activists to put their weapons down and stop resisting Israel. With all of the bombing going on, Al-Madhoun thought that this may have been an evil joke on the part of Israel.
When Israelis asks you to get out of where you are, why not leave? Al-Madhoun responds with, "Where to my friend?"

Wolf Blitzer wanted to give viewers the impression that Israel's ONLY target is Hamas and not Gaza civilians. However, Israel's actions state otherwise. They have barraged ALL of Gaza with airstrikes in an attempt to weaken the Palestinians and drive them out of their homes. Now Blitzer asks why didn't Gaza residents leave?!!! Why is ALL of Gaza under fire and why should Palestinians leave? Where else are they to go when they've been pushed from their homeland to a strip of Egypt's land!

Wolf Blitzer wants to make it appear that ANY suffering that Palestinians MUST endure now is THEIR OWN fault because they did not leave when Israel gave the them a chance. However, Al-Madhoun's response derailed Wolf Blitzer's attempt to blame the Palestinian victims of Israeli Aggression.

How to help Palestine
Reach out to the American People. Here is one way to do it.

It is critical that we continue to challenge our local and national media to provide unbiased coverage of Israel's attacks on Gaza. Please use this tool to write a letter to the editor of your local paper about coverage that has recently appeared in their publication.

Letters to the editor are an effective way to communicate your message. Letters sections are widely read and it's often easier to get a letter published than an op-ed. Letters should be submitted as soon as possible after the article/editorial/op-ed that you are responding to is published, ideally within 24 hours.

How to use the tool below to send letters to the editor:

Enter your zip code in the box below and choose publications you would like to send letters to.
Suggested talking points will appear in the margin. Draft your letter using whatever points you wish. If you click on a talking point, it will appear in the box and you'll be able to edit accordingly.
Read through your letter to make sure it flows and is under the specified word count, then click send.

If you have any questions, please contact us at uscampaign@endtheoccupation.org

Step 1 - Select a Recipient

Letter to the Editor

The Letter to the Editor Section is one of the most widely read sections of the newspaper and can reach a large audience. It allows community members to comment on the way issues are being addressed in the media and to influence the topics the local paper may choose to cover. Elected officials often monitor this section of the newspaper and take notice of constituents' opinions.
We've made it easy for you to contact your local newspaper with your views, but editors want to hear from you in your own words.

Our America: Boston
Bombing case
Spy for us: Offer Refused! Family says Help the hungry in Syria.
by Sis. Karin Friedemann

On Friday, July 18, a brief hearing took place in front of Judge William Young at the federal courthouse in Boston for Khairullozhon Matanov, the cab driver from Kyrgyzstan who had dinner with the Tsarnaev brothers the day after the Boston Marathon bombing in April 2013. He is accused of lying to the FBI about whether he happened to run into them at the restaurant or if he drove them there. He is also accused of deleting google searches from his computer knowing that the FBI would be visiting, even though everything he deleted was public information that provided no clues to the bombing investigation whatsoever.

Matanov's situation is an unusual case because the FBI used a drone to circle around his apartment building on numerous occasions and employed 3-4 FBI agents to follow him around wherever he went, 24 hours a day for one year. This incredible taxpayer expense resulted in not one single alarming activity being detected other than charitable wire transfers to his family overseas.

In a new development, the government seems to now be asking for 15 years under sentencing guidelines with terrorism enhancements for "destroying evidence," when in the previous hearing they were talking about 44 years.

In prison, Matanov was asked by the FBI to spy on "terrorists." He was also told that if he were to plead guilty, his sentence would be reduced to under 7 years.

A tentative trial date was set on June 8, 2015 for the young man, who is being held under 24 hour solitary confinement. The government offered this date, saying they wanted to give defense attorney Edward Hayden plenty of time to review the discovery, which Hayden said was a stack of paper about a foot high. Hayden agreed to this date "in good faith that I will need this time," while reserving the right to move the trial sooner.

This approach is polar opposite to all the other BMB related cases, where the prosecution has dumped millions of pages worth of unsearchable digital evidence upon the defense, and then insisted upon plowing forward with the proceedings despite defense cries for more time to not only review the evidence, but to figure out where the government is going with the case.

The US prosecuting attorney against Matanov is Scott Garland. Reporters asked Hayden if he thought Garland was playing games and Hayden replied he did not think so, as Garland had never played games in the past.

The defense is planning on filing another motion for release on bail, so another bail hearing is expected within a couple weeks. Hayden argued that Matanov is "in a stressful situation." Court filings which state Matanov, "whose ability to respond lucidly to questions has deteriorated because of his solitary confinement," ask the court to employ his previous attorney, Paul Glickman.

"Because Mr. Matanov is a very scared young man, thousands of miles away from his family members and facing serious criminal charges that may result in his exclusion from the United States, I believe that the trusting attorney-client relationship I have built with Mr. Matanov is critical to an adequate defense of this case," Glickman said in an affidavit filed in court. The judge refused to appoint Glickman but agreed to pay him a $2,500 consulting fee to assist Hayden.

While this is a small but pleasing improvement, two letters from Matanov received by this author have found him to be in a state of iman. His main concern is for his family. He may be a bit cranky due to fasting for Ramadan under prison constrictions. He has been feeling frustrated by inability to add people to his phone list or visitor list. He talks to his attorney and his mother overseas.

The young lady on the defense team told me he has a window looking outside. His cell is like a small room (no bars). However the prisoners are able to shout to one another through the walls.

July 22 Birthday Campaign for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

In order to help in the SAMs case against Dzhokhar (Jahar) Tsarnaev's solitary confinement, Jahar supporters have suggested Ramadan charity actions in his name to demonstrate that the only thing Jahar "inspires" is good deeds and acts of kindness.

Jahar reportedly "had a big smile on his face" when he heard that people were doing this, but he asked that his deceased brother Tamerlan receive the award in heaven for these kind acts. Tsarnaev family members suggested donating to the hungry in Syria.

"Your kindness to others is the only gift he can receive. And the only gift he wants," writes Amber Bishop, who is spearheading the campaign.

Documentation of the beautiful deeds will be put into a humble scrapbook and given to the Tsarnaev family. If you would like to contribute to this effort please contact Amber Bishop on facebook or send an email to acbishop74@yahoo.com

"Get creative and get out there and do amazing things for people, animals, the environment, the sick, the needy, the voiceless. Make suggestions, post ideas, work in teams. Be unique so your act stands out. And feel good about what you are doing. A small act of kindness can go a long way in this world. It can start a chain reaction of good deeds. I can't wait to see what you send!" writes Amber.

Dear Erdogan: Islam requires you to break Relations with Israel.
Rhetoric should be backed with Weapons for Gaza.
Shoot down a few Israeli Jet Fighters. Suleyman the Magnificent would have done it.

View photo. Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses MPs from his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in parliament in Ankara on July 15, 2014 (AFP Photo/Adem Altan)

Istanbul (AFP) - July 17: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday launched his most bitter attack yet against Israel over its air campaign in the Gaza Strip, accusing the Jewish State of seeking a "systematic genocide" of the Palestinians.

Erdogan, a pious Muslim who sees himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause, has in the last days intensified his rhetoric against Israel as he presents himself as a leader of the entire Islamic world ahead of August 10 elections in Turkey.

But in his latest attack on Israel, he went even further in comments that could endanger attempts for a normalisation in the troubled ties between the Jewish State and Turkey.

"This is not the first time we have been confronted by such situations," Erdogan told a meeting of Islamic scholars in Istanbul to mark the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

"Since (the creation of the state of Israel) in 1948 we have been witnessing this attempt at systematic genocide every day and every month.

"But above all we are witnessing this attempt at systematic genocide every Ramadan."

The violence has so far claimed the lives of 231 people in Gaza and one person in Israel, with Israel bombarding the Gaza Strip and Palestinian militant group Hamas launching rockets at Israel.

"The Western world remains silent, so does the Islamic world. Because those who lost their lives are Palestinian, you can't hear their voices," Erdogan added.

Erdogan renewed his vehement criticism of the United Nations, which he accused of having no use as well as persuing a hidden agenda.

"What is the UN doing? Why has it been founded? For world peace? Does it contribute to the world peace? No. They are serving whatever their secret agenda is."

Erdogan accused other Islamic countries of being indifferent to the fate of the Palestinians, a possible reference to Sunni Gulf Arab states with whom Ankara has prickly ties.

"I am asking the Islamic world? Isn't your heart shattered? Forget about the West, If your family does not embrace you, would others do that?"

NATO member Turkey was traditionally Israel's key ally in the Islamic world but ties have nose-dived since Erdogan's Islamic-rooted party came to power over a decade ago.

Ties hit a low after Israeli marines stormed a Gaza-bound Turkish ship in 2010 while in international waters. Ten Turks died as a result of the attack.

Encouraged by the United States, there had been progress toward a normalisation of ties between the former allies but Erdogan has said there can be no normalisation so long as the "massacres" continue.

America's heritage. How they treat each other will be little better than how they'll treat us.
The Civil War Concentration Camps
Mark Weber -- Institute for Historical Review
http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v02/v02p137_Weber.html

No aspect of the American Civil War left behind a greater legacy of bitterness and acrimony than the treatment of prisoners of war. "Andersonville" still conjures up images of horror unmatched in American History. And although Northern partisans still invoke the infamous Southern camp to defame the Confederacy, the Union had its share of equally horrific camps. Prison camps on both sides produced scenes of wretched, disease-ridden and emaciated prisoners as repulsive as any to come out of the Second World War.

Our America: Miami, Florida
FBI Went into Saudi Arabia and Arrested Two US Muslims.
Crime: Funding Syrian Mujahideen and al-Shabab [who are not fighting America.]
U.S. citizen pleads guilty to supporting al-Qaida splinter groups in Miami FBI probe
By Jay Weaver The Miami Herald

Gufran Ahmed Kauser Mohammed, 31, will be sentenced on his conspiracy conviction in Miami federal court in October A naturalized U.S. citizen who had once lived in California faces up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty Thursday in Miami to providing thousands of dollars in material support to three U.S.-designated terrorist organizations operating under al-Qaida.

Gufran Ahmed Kauser Mohammed, 31, will be sentenced on his conspiracy conviction in Miami federal court in October.

Mohammed was arrested last year in a Miami-based terrorism investigation led by an FBI employee, who engaged him and a co-defendant, Mohamed Hussein Said, 26, in an online, undercover financial scheme.

Mohammed and Said were charged with conspiring to provide a combined total of about $25,000 to the al-Qaida splinter groups. Both defendants were ordered held without bond. Said, who pleaded not guilty, is still set for trial next year.

The Miami FBI employee posed as a brother and a sister who supported al-Qaida as a way to communicate in an Internet chat room with the two men overseas. The men were accused of plotting to finance the terrorist group's battles in Syria and Somalia, according to an indictment.

The "online covert employee" assumed the role of the brother, saying he was an al-Qaida fighter. Then he switched to playing the sister, saying she could help collect money for the terrorist group.

In 2012, the FBI employee first engaged Mohammed in Saudi Arabia and later Said in Kenya.

Mohammed, who once had lived in California, and Said, who had resided in Mombasa, were arrested in Saudi Arabia and brought to Miami by FBI agents.

According to the indictment, Mohammed and Said met in Saudi Arabia in May 2011 and agreed to provide financial and other resources to an al-Qaida affiliate, al-Shabaab, which was seeking to overthrow the U.S.-backed transitional government in Somalia.

Through September of that year, Mohammed allegedly wired Said more than $11,000 via Western Union to back al-Shabaab, the indictment said.

In April 2012, the FBI undercover employee established online contact with Mohammed, according to the indictment. Mohammed arranged to send a series of Western Union wire transfers totaling more than $9,000 through November to the FBI employee. The funds were intended for another al-Qaida affiliate, the Nusra Front, which is fighting the government of President Bashar Assad in Syria.

Last December, Mohammed also met in person with a purported associate of the FBI undercover employee and gave him 14,400 Saudi Arabian riyals, worth about $3,800, which also was meant to support the Nusra Front, the indictment said.

Pakistan
US Supports Israeli Terrorism: Islamic Leader urges Action by Pakistan

LAHORE, July 18: Deputy chief of the Jamaat e Islami, Hafiz Muhammad Idrees, has termed as most shameful the conduct of the world community, especially the Muslim rulers, who have failed to take any step against the Israel's aggression in Gaza causing the blood shed of innocent Palestinians.

Addressing a large Friday congregation at Mansoora mosque, he said that helpless Palestinians were falling victim to Israeli terrorism enjoying US support while the entire world stood in silence.

Hafiz Muhammad Idrees said the apathy of the Muslim rulers to this humanitarian and Islamic issue had harmed the noble cause of Islam. The Muslim rulers were openly siding with the Satanic forces. Had there been any sense of honour in the Muslim rulers, the Gaza Muslims would not been killed so mercilessly.

The JI deputy chief said that the eyes of the Muslims were on Pakistan, a nuclear state but unfortunately, its rulers had felt contented by issuing a condemnation statement. He asked of what use the nuclear capability was if our Muslim women and children were being crushed under the enemy tanks, and added that Pakistan could not play any role only due to the cowardice of its rulers. He appreciated Turkey's courage for raising voice against Israeli aggression in Gaza.

Egypt's Shame

Seen across the Egyptian Rafah border with Israel, smoke ascends as Israeli artillery and air force ...

July 19. General Sissi stopped a totally non-political convoy of food suppply and necessities of life which was headed to Gaza via the Rafah crossing controlled by Egypt.

Sudan: Strong Support for Gaza and Hamas
July 18

Sudanese men shout slogans during a protest against Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip in the capital Khartoum on July 18, 2014. (photo credit: AFP/EBRAHIM HAMID)

Breaking News: Syria
Assad declared himself newsly "elected" president of Syria [lol!] while this was happening:

Violent Clashes: Assad's Forces Wiped out by ISIS in Oil-Gas area near Palmyra [East of Homs]. Deir az-Zour Province also falls to ISIS.

Al-Nusra Clashes and wins with Alawites-Assad forces in Hama, Qalamoun, Damascus, Idlib, Latakia, Deraa areas Miserable conditions in Aleppo as bombing and Hizbullah attacks continue: Water cut off.

July 17-20:: In its most significant victory so far, ISIS [now the Islamic Caliphate] captured the al-Shaer oil and gas wells near pre-historic Palmyra. In the initial ISIS attack, 23 of Assad's troops and 10 of ISIS fighters were killed. As the fighting continued, all of the Assad-Alawite garrison of 270 guarding the facilities were wiped out. Assad's radio is saying that some of the militia were captured and then executed by ISIS.

Assad's planes are bombing ISIS and caused some losses.
July 18:: In heavy fighting in Deir az-Zour province, bordering Iraq, almost the entire, vast , province and city fell into ISIS hands.

Earlier Assad's jets raided Raqqa, ISIS capital, and killed 15 people.
ISIS executed two men for rape and one woman for adultery.
July 17-20:: Jabhat al-Nusra forces are trying to advance against Assad's best units in the al-Meleha area in the province known as Reef Damishq straddling Damascus. Assad's planes are attacking Muslim areas and killed 2 children. Hizbullah from Lebanon defending Assad's areas were beaten back by mujahideen and lost 10 killed.

The mujahideen advanced closer to Damascus proper and fired mortars into downtown Damascus killing 4 people and wounding 16.
July 16-20:: Hama province: Heavy fighting in the heartland of Syria. Assad's air force countered Jabhat al-Nusra's capture of Morek and carried out 25 air raids. After that Assad's tanks went in but were beaten back by al-Nusra. One tank was destroyed on July 17 and 2 on July 18.

In Idlib province [north west of Syria] Assad's troops clashed with ISIS but lost the battle for a check point known as al-Hanjase.

In the Qalamoun mountains leading to Lebanon which Assadis captured last month, the mujahideen are back and are locked in ferocious fighting with Hizbullah, losing 12 killed with 3 Hizbullah killed. [Fighting continues on July 20]

Al-Nusra is trying to advance into Alawite stronghold of Latakia again and are clashing with heavily armed Shi'ite militia known as NDF.

Aleppo is in serious humanitarian disaster after being hit by Assad's barrel bombs which have killed 2,000 civilians over three months.

More barrel bombs were dropped by Assadite helicopters during the 4 days under review here. A large Hizbullah [Lebanese Shi'ites] force is trying to break into Aleppo. Islamic position is weakened by ISIS-Nusra clashes which led to ISIS retreat from two area of Aleppo. Mujahideen reinforcements are moving in to stop the Hizbullah advance.

Water supply to areas under Islamic control in the vast city has been cut off. Population is suffering terrible hardships.

[Ed. note: Why don't Muslim countries supply heavy weapons to mujahideen which could bring down helicopters.]

Breaking News: Pakistan: Genocide and Mass Murder

By July 20, Pakistan had evicted more than 700,000 people from their homes in North Waziristan. Of the threse 500,000 are sitting in the barren plains near Bannu. In extreme heat and the fasting month of Ramadan, they have been abandoned by the Pakistani military.

Another 200, 000 people fled to Afghanistan. Indications are that these included most of the guerrilla fighters of the Pak Taliban and the Haqqani network

USA has been helping Pakistan to kill Islamic "militants." A US drone attack in North Waziristan on July 16 killed 18 "militants." Another drone attack on July 18-19 killed 11 "Punjabi Taliban" at their camp in North Waziristan.

Pakistani air force bombs the villages and towns of North Waziristan every day and claims to have killed 400 "militants."

The markets, mosques, and medressas have been destroyed. Huge Pakistani tanks are wandering their way through the narrow lanes of towns like Mir Ali and Miram Shah, shattered remains of once thriving centers of business.

But just when the military thought it had fulfilled America's orders, this happened: [As reported in Dawn.}

July 18:

PESHAWAR: Heavily-armed militants attacked a paramilitary check-post in Jamrud area of Khyber tribal agency early Friday, killing at least five security personnel, official sources said.

Sources said more than a dozen militants attacked a Frontier Corps patrolling party and check-post in Gundi area of Jamrud, followed by a grueling gun-battle which continued over two hours.

At least five soldiers were killed and six others injured in the attack, the sources said.

A vehicle of the FC forces was also destroyed in the attack.

Security forces also claimed to have killed a number of terrorists, but the exact number of casualties could not yet be independently verified.

[Jamaate Islami is helping the abandoned people near Bannu. So is Jamat ud Dawa but ad Dawa's position is very problematic as it is also supporting the military operation.]

Indonesia

Support for Islamic State [IS, previously ISIS] Spreading in Muslim Communities

A jailed Indonesian preacher has reportedly urged his followers to fight with the Islamic State group [EPA]

As the Islamic State group, formerly the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, continues its armed campaign in Iraq and Syria, its notoriety is drawing fans and fighters from as far as Asia and the Pacific.

Authorities and experts have warned that the growing popularity of the armed group in the Far East, driven in part by social media, could pose a long-term security threat to a region that has already been battling home-grown armed groups for decades.

"The security threat from Muslims travelling to fight in the Levant is already with us," said Rodger Shanahan, national security and Middle East expert at the Australian National University.

"The longer term threat will come from the linkages that these fighters establish with disparate groups," he told Al Jazeera. "In the future, we may see the existence of another global jihadist network of people who made connections in Syria and Iraq."

Veryan Khan, editorial director of Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium (TRAC), told Al Jazeera that there are already some 500 fighters from the Asia Pacific region in the Middle East.

On July 11, Philippine and Australian police arrested Robert "Musa" Cerantonio, a former Catholic of Irish-Italian background who converted to Islam at 17. The Melbourne native is accused of trying to incite Muslim men in the Philippines to fight in the Middle East.

The 29-year-old man reportedly visited the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, where most of the country's 10.3 million Muslim population live. Mindanao is home to the al-Qaeda affiliate Abu Sayyaf Group, which has been involved in bloody attacks and kidnappings in the Philippines and Malaysia.

'New skills and extremist outlooks'

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop appeared to dismiss Cerantonio, calling him a "fraud" for claiming on Twitter that he had arrived in Syria, when he was in fact holed up in the Philippines.

Cerantonio has over 6,700 followers on Twitter, and several videos on YouTube [Video screen grab/Al Jazeera]

But his tweets were enough for Australian authorities to pursue him in the central Philippine island of Cebu. In one tweet posted in June he declared, "May we be loyal soldiers of the Islamic State until we return to our Lord."

Following Cerantonio's arrest, Bishop vowed to stop her countrymen from fighting abroad, becoming "radicalised" and then returning home with "new skills and extremist outlooks".

What is worrying for authorities is that Cerantonio's arrest may have, for some, burnished his "credibility" on social media.

Described by the Guardian as the third most "liked" person online among "western jihadists in Syria", Cerantonio's Twitter account, emblazoned with an Islamic State banner, has thousands of followers. A Facebook page created after his arrest has already gained almost 3,000 "likes"; his previous page was shut down by Facebook for allegedly abetting violence.

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera has discovered video clips posted to YouTube of armed men, their faces covered, speaking in Filipino and Arabic pledging allegiance before a flag used by the Islamic State group. So far, no known local armed rebel has been identified as their leader.

In another video, dozens of Filipino prisoners, also speaking in the local language and Arabic, gathered in a jail hall, shouting slogans in front of a black flag with white lettering and vowing loyalty to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State group.

It is not known how many Filipinos have joined the fight in Iraq and Syria. Filipinos fought alongside other Southeast Asian fighters in the 1979-89 Afghan war against Russia - and when that war ended, they returned home to organise the Abu Sayyaf Group in Mindanao. Their Indonesian counterparts founded the Jemaah Islamiyah, which was later linked to the Bali bombing in 2002.

Studying the tactics used by the new generation of armed fighters, TRAC security expert Veryan Khan said that they are trying to "consolidate" their support using social media.

In its latest report published on July 16, the TRAC research organisation concluded that the Islamic State group "seems to have won the vote of the young jihadists, the generation that will determine the future of jihadist terrorist organisations".

Southeast Asian fighters

Southeast Asian men are already fighting in the Middle East, according to Nor Asizan Bin Idris, a professor on national security at the National University of Malaysia.

"For now, they are focused on fighting in the Middle East, but in the future they could target Asia," he told Al Jazeera.

Channel News Asia has identified one Islamic Group recruit as 26-year-old Malaysian Ahmad Tarmimi Maliki, who reportedly drove a military vehicle carrying explosives into Iraq's special forces headquarters in Anbar province, killing 25 soldiers and himself on May 26.

For now, they are focused on fighting in the Middle East, but in the future they could target Asia.

- Nor Asizan Bin Idris, National University of Malaysia

In recent months, the Malaysia Royal Police have arrested 15 men for their alleged links to the Islamic State group. One of the suspects was a 30-year-old naval officer who had been in service for 10 years.

In Singapore, the country's deputy prime minister, Teo Chee Hean, told parliament just last week that a handful of Singaporeans had gone to fight in Syria, adding: "The presence of former foreign fighters in our region - whether they originate from Southeast Asia or elsewhere - is a security threat to us."

One was identified as Haja Fakkurudeen Usman Ali, a naturalised citizen, who left his wife and three children for Syria. Another is a Singaporean woman who joined her husband and two teenage children. Several others were stopped before leaving.

Meanwhile in Indonesia, a prominent preacher serving a 15-year prison sentence at a maximum security facility near Java has also reportedly urged his followers to fight alongside the Islamic State group.

According to the Jakarta Post, Abu Bakar Bashir sent his message of support through the leader of the Jamaah Anshorut Tauhid, a group designated a terrorist organisation by the US. His group has reportedly continued to raise funds to send fighters abroad.

There are at least 50 known Indonesian armed men who have joined the Islamic State group. One 19-year-old fighter identified by Jakarta Post as Wildan Mukahallad, who previously fought in Syria, died in a suicide attack in Baghdad.

"The seeds of quite a few security issues are being sown in Syria and Iraq at the moment," Shanahan, of Australia's Lowy Institute for International Policy,said.

Back in the Philippines, the Australian national, Cerantonio, will reportedly be deported in the coming days.

Since his arrest, Cerantonio has refused to speak to authorities. But his Filipino girlfriend, who had been living with him, told local reporters that he is innocent, adding he "can't even kill an ant".

Follow Ted Regencia on Twitter: @tedregencia

Source:Al Jazeera

2014-07-20 Sun 09:05:26 cdt
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