Jamaat al-Muslimeen International Press Release
1422 Hijri: Year of Worldwide Struggle for Victory of the Masses
Fasting recommended on Muharram 9 and 10
Our greetings go out to all oppressed people on the beginning of the
new Islamic year 1422. The Islamic calendar, started by Caliph 'Umar
ibn
al-Khattab (Allah be pleased with him), begins with the movement of the
Prophet (pbuh), Abu Bakr (ra) and others from Makkah to Madina which
was to
become the model of the Islamic community.
The Hijrah (LEAVING ONES HOME, GOODS, EVERYTHING in Allah's
way) is
referred to in the Qur'an and the greatest rewards are promised to
those who
did the Hijra. The details of the Hijra and the necessity of doing so
in
certain situations are given in the Hadith.The Qur'an (Allah's word) is
rooted in the human reality by means of the Prophet's life documented
in the
Hadith.
The calendar chosen by caliph 'Umar and his Shoora (including
hazrat
Ali), begins with the month of Mohurram, one of the 4 months in which
fighting is forbidden (other than in self defense). The Qur'an says:
"The number of months with Allah is 12, so ordained by Him the day He
created
the Heavens and the earth; of them 4 are forbidden : that is the right
religion: so wrong not yourselves therein and fight the pagans all
together
as they fight you all together. But know that Allah is with those who
restrain themselves. (9:36)
Now, what are those 4 months which are forbidden (for warfare)?: We
learn
from the Hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) that those are Zulqidah,
Zulhijja,
Muharram and Rajab. The Prophet (pbuh) mentioned them during his
Farewell
Sermon when he commanded all Muslims to pass on his Hadith to all
peoples,
forever onwards. After that all this companions narrated Hadith to
those who
had not met the Prophet.
There is no way of learning from the Qur'an itself which those 4
months
are; hence Hadith study is an essential link to Qur'an study.
There are Hadith in the collections of Bukhari and Muslim which
indicate
that the believers were delivered from the clutches of the Pharoah of
Egypt
when they escaped across the Red Sea on the day of Ashura, the 10th day
of
Mohurram. The Prophet (pbuh) claimed Moses (Moses) as his brother
messenger,
and all Muslims believe that Moses was a Muslim: Hence the Prophet
urged the
Muslims to fast on the day of Ashura. It is also reported that he later
changed the fasting day to Muharram 9, to separate Muslim practice from
that
of the Jews.
Again the link here with Moses and Pharoah is that: ISLAM IS
WITH
THE OPPRESSED, AGAINST THE OPPRESSOR.
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Two important events stand out in Muharram during early Islamic
history: Caliph 'Umar (Allah be pleased with him) was martyred on
Muharram 1
by a prisoner of war whom in his compassion he had allowed to work in
the
city of Madina. 'Umar is the epitome of piety, wisdom and humility in
Islamic
history. Even when he was dying, he gave a signal to the Ummah which we
must
never forget: that his son, the illustrious scholar of Hadith 'Abdullah
ibn
'Umar should not be considered a candidate for Caliphate so that the
office
may not become hereditary.
On Muharram 10 (Ashura) comes the martyrdom of Hussain ibn Ali
(Allah be
pleased with them both) the grandson of the Prophet, who was martyred
in the
sands of Kerbala when he refused to accept hereditary rule and
kingship. It
was a terrible tragedy for Muslims and signalled the end of an era.
The event of Kerbala has become a symbol for Muslims that
kingship
and hereditary rule must not be accepted.
In our own times, after centuries of decadence, Muslims have
rediscovered the revolutionary symbolism of Kerbala, at the theoretical
level
through the writings of Allama Maudoodi and at the practical level
through
the mass movement led by Imam Khomeini which overthrew the Shah of
Iran, the
showpiece of American imperialism in the Muslim world.
Allama Maudoodi's book KHILAFAT-O-MULUKIAT (Caliphate and
Kingship)
brought a storm of abuse on his head from the conventional religious
circles
which were siding with the secular government in Pakistan. Maudoodi
(may
Allah fill his grave with light) showed in unanswerable terms, with
overwhelming documentation from the Qur'an and the Hadith, that
dictatorship,
kingship, one-man rule, autocracy are the opposites of the Islamic
concept of
Caliphate.
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We urge readers to fast both on Muharram 9 and 10 to cover two
stages
in the development of the Islamic community under the Prophet, pbuh.
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If our voice can reach Pakistan, we beg Shias and Sunnis not to
fight
each other on Mohurram. Instead, stand united against dictatorship. Our
real
enemies are not Muslims who follow various schools of thought. We must
stand
against the SHIRK of males pretending to be gods in front of women.
DOWN WITH MALE DOMINANCE. UP WITH WORSHIP OF ALLAH ALONE.
Our struggle is :
1. Liberate Kashmir from Hindu occupation. (free Kashmiri women from
the
Hindus)
2. Liberate Palestine from Zionist occupation. (free Palestinian women
from
Jews)
3. Liberate Chechnia from Russian occupation. (Free Chechnian women
from
Russkies)
4. Liberate Iraq from U.S. occupation/intervention. (free Iraqi women
from US
terrorism)
5. Remove American military presence from Arabia and the Gulf. (free
Arab
women from cultural and military imperialism)
6. Stop missionary subversion in Sudan, Indonesia, Nigeria and
Pakistan.
(free women from worship of a prophet named Jesus, pbuh)
7. Strengthen the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
8. Help the Albanian people in Macedonia and Kosova.
9. Give Muslim women their rights in Turkey.
10. Help rebuild BABRI MASJID and other mosques in India and Bosnia.
11. Support the people of Bangladesh against ravages of floods and
government
corruption.
12. Feed the children of Africa and provide them scholarships.
13. Free Shaikh Omar 'Abdel Rahman, Imam Jamil al-Amin, Ahmad Ajaj,
Siddique
Abdullah Hassan, Leonard Peltier, Mumia Abu Jamal, Marshall Conway,
Victor
Alvarez and ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS. (As the Qur'an says, they kill our
men
and keep our women.)
14. Provide medicines and clean water to the deprived of the world
15. Stop trade imbalances and get proper value for our raw materials.
16. Stop the ravages of Wall Street, Hollywood, Madison Avenue and the
Pentagon
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2001-03-28 Wed 15:13ct