Dr Kaukab Siddique | Editor-in-Chief Safar 23, 1425/ April 14, 2004 #47
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NEWS FLASH:
Saudi Arabia has released Dr. Mahboob Khawaja after 2 weeks of detention. His arrest was without basis. His son, Momin, is still being held by the Canadian government.
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Press Release
Message to U.S. Muslims: Stand Up For Your Rights, Without Breaking the Law: Oppose Oppression, War, Exploitation

Jamaat al-Muslimeen's Central Consultative Committee [SHOORA] met for 8 hours in Greensboro, North Carolina on April 10. It called on the Muslims of America to seek guidance from the Qur'an and the authentic Hadith of the Prophet [peace be on him]. It urged Muslims to exerts their rights under the law of the land to: 
* Organize
* Write, speak out, communicate
* Assemble, demonstrate, protest
* Oppose war and oppression, support peace and self-determination
* Publish and distribute literature.
The Shoora began with numerous verses from the sublime Qur'an, including the following:

"It is He who has sent His Messenger with Guidance and the Way of Truth, to cause it to prevail over all other ways, even though the associators may detest it." [9:33]

The sessions of the Shoora were dedicated to great modern personalities who struggled to help oppressed people, as follows:

Session One: Dedicated to Shaikh 'Omar 'Abdel Rahman

This session was mostly about media and the case of Imam Warithuddin 'Umar (who has sued the Wall Street Journal for defamation related to 9.11). The new Secretary General of Jamaat al-Muslimeen, who is a computer Wiz and media savvy sister, was introduced. She made a presentation about the media challenge facing Muslims.

Session Two: Dedicated to Shaikh Ahmed Yassin [Shaheed]:

This session was about the organization of a nationwide campaign to boycott businesses which are pro-Zionist and support Israel. A brochure produced by a sister who is member of the Central Shoora was introduced and she spoke about ways of its mass distribution

Session Three: Dedicated to Malcolm X (Shaheed) [Al-Hajj Malik Shabazz]

This session featured two major items:

* Racism in America. A learned presentation on the subject by a top intellectual of America, Dr. Abdul Alim Shabazz. The material he presented will be published as a book.

* HAITI: History and relevance to the racism practiced by America's power structure. A presentation was made by a Shoora member from the Caribbean.

CHARITABLE PROJECT: Jamaat al-Muslimeen is setting up a charitable project in Brooklyn, New York to help the people of Haiti.

Session 4: Dedicated to Rachel Corrie, martyred for Palestine, and Harriet Tubman, liberator of slaves.

This session discussed the plight of political prisoners in America, in particular Imam Jamil al-Amin, Shaikh Omar Abdel Rahman, Siddique Abdullah Hasan, Ahmed Abdel Sattar, Prof. Sami al-Arian and others.
The Shoora decided to set up support groups for a selection of prisoners to make sure that their rights are not violated in prison.

Session Five: Dedicated to Nigerian Islamic leader 'Uthman Dan Fodio

This session studied how to raise funds for Jamaat's work within the current stringent restrictions imposed on Muslim fund raising.
A decision was made to help the children of Africa, Bangladesh, Iraq and other countries.

The program included Zuhr and 'Asr prayers. During lunch break, a video on the assassination of Shaikh Yassin by Israel was checked for possible distribution.

The Shoora was presided over by Dr. Kaukab Siddique
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For Jamaat al-Muslimeen, its ideology, addresses, new Secretary General, go to: www.newtrendmag.org
click on Jamaat al-Muslimeen
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Juma Khutba: Islamic Center of the Triad, Greensboro, NC

LOVE of MUHAMMAD, pbuh, is at the HEART of Islam

A vibrant Muslim community has emerged in Greensboro, North Carolina. Owing to the efforts of Imam Badi Ali and those with him, the Islamic Center of the Triad is attracting families interested in a healthy, Islamic lifestyle.

The ICT takes up much of Br. Badi Ali's time, which he volunteers in addition to his full time job. It is a diverse community of immigrants, mostly from the Middle East and Africa, which has survived into the post 9.11 era owing to its record of industry and hard work.

The community is growing steadily and on APRIL 9, when Dr. Kaukab Siddique gave the Juma khutba at the ICT, the prayer area was jampacked with worshippers.

Br. Kaukab based his khutba on the following verse of the Qur'an:
"Had we sent down the Qur'an on a mountain, verily, you would have seen it humble itself and cleave asunder for fear of Allah. Such are the similitudes which We propound to people, that they may think." [59:21]

Here are a few main points of the khutba: -------------------------------------------------------------------
CHILDREN/YOUNG ADULTS and ISLAM: From HADITH
WHY IMMORALITY and SEXUAL CORRUPTION HAVE BECOME SO COMMONPLACE in USA's CHRISTIAN CULTURE?

On April 9, after Maghrib, Dr. Kaukab Siddique spoke to a gathering of children and young adults on the outskirts of Greensboro. He made the following points:
  1. Ali ibn Abi Talib, r.a.
  2. 'Ayesha bint Abi Bakr. r.a.
  3. Abdullah ibn Abbas, r.a.
  4. Jabir ibn Abdullah, r.a.
  5. Abdullah ibn 'Umar, r.a., and many others.
These are also the leaders of Hadith narration which is essential to understanding the Qur'an. [One of the young adults came later to the speaker to express her thanks and added: "I wish you were my father."]
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OPPRESSION of WOMEN IN AMERICA: LET OVERSEAS READERS WHO THINK AMERICA IS PARADISE, READ and PONDER

Please get involved to fight racism, oppression and injustice because we do not know who will be the next victim. Please celebrate diversity and teach your children that all human beings are equal and to accept all ethnic people and treat them as they would like to be treated by others. Ask your schools and places of worship to be involved in teaching the moral values of humanity. Samina Faheem Sundas

White Supremacists Beat Mexican Mother and Daughter To Death.

The Alta California Spanish speaking media in Los Angeles is now reporting that the heinous bludgeoning to death, on Sunday February 1 in Fremont, California, of Maria Esperanza Hernandez and of her daughter Maria del Carmen Castillo Hernandez, both undocumented immigrants, was the work of anti-Mexican vigilantes. Fremont police detectives are calling it a possible "hate crime" and are asking the public for help in solving the cowardly crime. Fremont, California is about 15 miles north of San Jose and has a reputation of harboring racist and violent white supremacists. The 210,000 population of Fremont is 42% White, 37% Asian, 13% Latino and 8% Other. The largely affluent community contains gangs of white shiftless youths known to harass Mexican immigrants who take the bus or walk to the town to work in menial jobs. On Sunday February 1, 39 year old Maria Esperanza Hernandez, of Central Mexico, left her home at 2:30 in the morning, accompanied by her 19 year old daughter for a long walk to work in the laundry room of the Fremont Care Center. The daughter, Maria del Carmen Castillo Hernandez, had accompanied her mother for safety reasons because Maria Esperanza Hernandez was unable to obtain a driver's license due to her undocumented status and because she had missed her ride.

At approximately 5 in the morning residents were awaken by blood curdling screams from the mother and daughter who were being clubbed to death in the street. One resident was able to come out in time to observe a white youth in his twenties standing over the dead bodies of the Mexican mother and daughter. The witness also observed a car with three men inside just watching the brutal murder. The witness said that the youth than ran and the car sped away, turning its lights off. Next to the two bodies the murderer left a bloody wooden club he used to bludgeon the mother and daughter to death. This case is just one of many that are becoming disturbingly common in Alta California and that are a consequence of the ever louder racist agitations by anti-Mexican bigots such as Glenn Spencer and Congressman Tom Tancredo of Colorado. One particular savage murder in this category was the dragging death of a tomato worker from Oaxaca, Mexico that occurred on July of 2000 in the Carmel Valley of the City of San Diego. The incident included the cruel and brutal beatings of 5 other elderly workers that worked in an area's nursery. The criminals were 8 young white thugs that lived in the affluent homes of Carmel Valley. The hoodlums were essentially protected by the white judge and merely given a slap on the wrist. They were charged for the beatings but never for the dragging death of the undocumented tomato worker from Oaxaca: For more info visit www.aztlan.net
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Roberto Hernandez
Research Assistant
Center for Latino Policy Research
Institute for the Study of Social Change
University of California
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[With thanks to Sis. Zakiyyah from Los Angeles.]

Iraq Solidarity Action - Resist the Massacre in Falluga: Cluster bombs used on Civilians

Urgent information and appeal from Ewa Jasiewicz, who worked with Voices in the Wilderness and Occupation Watch in Iraq, lived there for 8 months (Basra and Baghdad) and in Palestine, mainly Jenin camp for 6 months, speaks Arabic, and who got back from Iraq 2 months ago. She is in regular contact with her friends in Basra and Baghdad.

I just spoke to friends in Baghdad - Paola Gaspiroli, Italian, from Occupation watch and Bridges to Baghdad, Journalist Leigh Gordon, England, (NUJ, Tribune, Mail on Sunday) and a Palestinian friend with family in Falluja and friends in the Iraqi Islamic Party. Both he and Leigh have been ferrying out the injured from Falluja to Baghdad for the past three days. Ambulances have been barred from entry into the blood-drenched city.

Here is their news, which they told me over the telephone tonight
(Friday)

Paola:

There has been a massacre in Falluga. Falluga is under siege. 470 people have been killed, and 1700 injured. There has been no ceasefire. They (Americans) told people to leave, said they have 8 hours to leave and people began to leave but they're trapped in the Desert. The Americans have been bombing with B52s (Confirmed also by Leigh in an email three days ago). Bridges to Baghdad are pulling out. We have flights booked out of Amman. Tomorow a team will go to Sadr City to deliver medicines. 50 people have been killed there. ?? (Forgotten name) the 'elastic' shiekh in Sadr City (I've met him, young, brilliant guy, describes himself as 'elastic' because he is so flexible when it comes to his interpretations of Islam and moral conduct definitions etc, he's pretty liberal) he has told me I should leave. He says that even he can't control his people. Foreigners are going to be targeted. 6 new foreigners have been taken hostage. Four of them are Italian security firm employees - they were kidnapped from their car, which was found to be full of weapons, and there were black uniforms. Baghdad was quiet today except for Abu Ghraib (West Baghdad, where a vast prison is located and is bursting at the seams with 12,000 prisoners) an American convoy was attacked there and 9 soldiers were injured and 27 were kidnapped. That's right 27. None of the newswires are reporting it though. And I heard this from (*name best not to supply without permission). Its really really bad. They (Americans) have been firing on Ambulances, snipers are following the ambulances, they cannot get in.

Falluga, there are people in the Desert, they've left Falluga but they're not being allowed into Baghdad, they're trapped in the Desert, they're like refugees, its terrible but the people, Iraqi people are giving all they can; they're bringing supplies, everybody is giving all their help and support to Falluga.

I want to stay but I have to go, if I want to come back and be useful, you know I think its best to leave, Bridges to Baghdad has decided this. It's getting really dangerous for Italians. We feel like we're being targeted now. (Italy has a 2500+ force including Carabinieri occupying Nassiriyah which has been subject to a number of resistance attacks including the devastating attack on the Police station which claimed the lives of 4 soldiers, one civilian, one documentary film maker, 12 Carabinieri police and 8 Iraqis).

(.) and Leigh have been great. They've been driving into Falluga and bringing out people, going back and forth. They know what's going on, really they have been great. They want more people to help them but we couldn't from here. It's getting much much worse.

ends

My friend who's been in Falluga today and for the past few days:

We've been seeing it with our own eyes. People were told to leave Falluga and now there are thousands trapped in the Desert. There is a 13 km long convoy of people trying to reach Baghdad. The Americans are firing bombs, everything, everything they have on them. They are firing on Families! They are all children, old men and women in the dessert. Other Iraqi people are trying to help them. In Falluga they (Americans) have been bombing hospitals. Children are being evacuated to Baghdad. There is a child now, a baby, he had 25 members of his family killed, he's in the hospital and someone needs to be with him, why isn't anyone there to stay with him, he just lost 25 from his family!???

The Americans are dropping cluster bombs and new mortars, which jump 3-4 metres. They are bombing from the air. There are people lying dead in the streets. They said there'd be a ceasefire and then they flew in, I saw them, and they began to bomb. They are fighting back and they are fighting well in Falluga. But we are expecting the big attack in 24-48 hours. It will be the main attack. They will be taking the town street by street and searching and attacking. They did this already in a village near-by, I forget the name, but they will be doing this in Falluja.

Please get help, get people to protest, get them to go to the Embassies, get them out, get them to do something. There is a massacre. And we need foreigners, the foreigners can do something. We are having a protest, Jo (Jo Wilding www.wildfirejo.org.uk) and the others from her group are coming to the American checkpoint tomorrow. We haven't slept in 3 or 4 days. We need attention. I have photos, film, we've given it to Al jazeera, Al Arabiya but get it out too. Do everything you can. We are going back in tomorrow.

Leigh Gordon: It's kicking off. Come by all means but me and (..) probably won't be around. I mean they're going to crazy. (.) is saying for foreigners to come but its not safe. Sheikh . from Falluga said he couldn't guarantee my safety. I mean its going to go crazy, I think foreigners will start getting killed soon - I mean people are going to start getting desperate, when they've seen their mother father, house, cat, dog, everything bombed they're going to start to attack. They (Americans) have said this operations only going to last 5 days' it's drawing to an end. They need to free up troops on other fronts breaking out all over the country. They're going to go in for the kill. There's no way of guaranteeing anybody's safety. I think you can be useful but its not like you can just not tell your mum and think you'll be back in a week. We're probably going to get killed tomorrow. Come, but we might not be here.

Palestine

2 years ago right now, the Jenin camp Massacre was tearing into its 7th day, the 1km square tight-knit Palestinian refugee camp was suffering an Israeli military invasion which would see 79 killed (in the last count after bodies had been recovered form the rubble), including a head paramedic doctor and people who slowly bled to death from superficial injuries because all medical services were barred from entering for the duration of the attack (14 days). Over 800 homes destroyed, most in the Hawasheen neighbourhood which suffered a 4-day-long continuous bulldozer offensive, crushing residents including young children to death. Hundreds were injured in the attack which involved also involved apache helicopter gunships, hundreds of Merkava tanks, Armoured Personnel Carriers and hundreds of troops. 23 were killed (official Israeli figure but the actual toll is estimated at much higher. An entire road route from Jenin into '48 (Israel) was sealed off as a closed military zone and witnesses barred whilst the dead and injured from the Israeli side were being transported out).

All Palestinian emergency services, The UN, The Red Cross, foreign aid workers, and human rights observers were banned from entering Jenin camp. The massacre gouged on as the worlds media attention was fixated on Aarafat besieged in his compound. Jenin suffered in silence. Falluga, a city with a population 18 times the size of Jenin Camp (Jenin camp's population was approx. 14,000, Falluga's is 232,000), is now undergoing a parallel trauma, but with a larger, more powerful, better armed enemy, which has carpet bombed, recently and historically when the war-heat has forced land-troops to retreat. This is another Jenin. This is another massacre. We have to do what we can in solidarity with the dying and the bereaved and those still struggling, defending, fighting back. Resistance is dignity, is the honour of fighting back. Iraq is on fire. The Iraqi intifada is raging. We cannot be silent. Stop the massacre in Falluga. Remember the massacre in Jenin. Never Again.

What to Do

This is an appeal to the anti-war movement, to the peace movement, eco-action movement, animal rights movement, anti-fascists, everybody active, everybody who can respond, can call a demo, can organise a protest, an office occupation, an embassy storming, a road blockade, mass civil disobedience, industrial shut-down, work-place occupation, solidarity work stoppage, blockade the US Embassy, Fairford Military Base action campaign - what's taking off at Fairford? Are B52s being deployed?

Shannon Peace Camp protestors - are there new movements at Shannon? We need to address this, we need to resist this. We become the solidarity resistance in Iraq by taking action in our neighbourhoods and in our cities. Print up a leaflet. Paint up a banner. Take to the streets. Only a small group can make a change. Show people in Iraq that we are standing by them. 700 more British troops have been flown in to quell the uprising in the South. No Pasaran. Take to the embassies, the bases, the US interests, the streets.

www.usembassy.org.uk/ukaddres.html - addresses of US Embassies in London, Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff

cndyorks.gn.apc.org/caab - Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases - this site has a list of the locations of all the main US air bases used in the UK

www.caat.org.uk/links/companies.php - full list of arms companies. BAE Systems, and Lockheed Martin have been principal supplies of weapons of mass destruction for the war on Iraq

www.caat.org.uk/support/confronting-companies.php - tips on confronting arms companies by Campaign Against the Arms Trade

english.aljazeera.net/HomePage - Keep up to date with Al Jazeera

Sample Leaflet Text

As you read this, a massacre is taking place in Falluja, Iraq. Falluja is a town which has been resisting the occupation of Iraq since June. US troops have been forced to the border of the town since then. It has fought hardest and most uncompromisingly and has regularly pummelled by F16 fighter jets and apache helicopter gunships since then, with civilians being slaughtered on a regular basis.

Well over 470 people have now been slaughtered by US troops in Falluja, this week. 1700 have been injured. The deathtoll is expected to rise due to the siege nature of the military cordon around the town. ambulances are being fired upon and followed by sniper sights if they attempt to enter the town. Eyewitnesses have reported seeing bodies lying dead in the streets. Hospitals have been attacked. Medical supplies and bed shortages are at crisis levels. Residents are calling it a massacre. People from all over are attempting, some succeeding, to get into Falluja to help evacuate the injured by car. People are donating food, medical supplies and water to those fleeing. All of Iraq is watching and sympathising with Falluja say people on the ground there.

There is at the time of writing (10/04/04) a 13km column of Falluja residents fleeing the bomb-smashed town, trapped in the desert and surrounded by US troops which eye-witnesses report have been firing on them. Most of the desert marooned refugees are elderly men, women and children.

For US soldiers stationed near the town, they have been in an impossible situation and their blood too is being shed for the market-profit-power chasing interests of the US and UK government and corporate interests.
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2004-04-15 Thu 18:27ct