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Zulq'idah 15, 1426/December 17, 2005 #92
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In our next issue: Dr. Wilmer Leon focuses on CENSORSHIP
in democratic America. In his "On With Leon" radio show
earlier this month, he interviewed Dr. Kaukab Siddique
about Simon Wiesenthal Center's attempt to silence him,
as well as Prof. Will Laviest and Hampton University students
who faced suppression from the Hampton U. administration
owing to their anti-war activities.
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IRAQ ANALYSIS: Election Flop: The Camera Does Not Lie!
New Trend's Media Monitor checked the major American TV
channels for reporting on the December 15 "elections"
in Iraq. Here are the salient features:
*
Before the day ended, the U.S. media started claiming
that MILLIONS had voted. By that evening, FOX had pinned
the number at about 11 million. This is nothing but
fabrication when one realizes that there is NO WAY that
the state of communication in Iraq can make an actual
survey possible. In the U.S. itself, with its extremely
advanced communications system, such counts do not
become possible till a few hours after the elections.
*
The contradiction between illusion and reality becomes clear
when one realizes that the U.S. has announced that it will
take TWO WEEKS for the votes to be counted. Two weeks!
Imagine the fraud possible in that time in a country where
$1 BILLION simply "disappeared" last year.
*
TV repeatedly showed Iraqis with one finger dyed to show
they had voted. This finger wagging went on all day but
the numbers of people involved were very few, perhaps 20 to 30.
*
The "voting" started with Iraqi soldiers hired by the
U.S. government. U.S. troops were everywhere and it was
obvious that the "voting" was carried out LITERALLY under U.S. guns.
*
U.S. TV was unable to show any large number of people lining
up to vote. The exception was ONE camera shot from the air
showing a line of about 100 to 200 people. Why were none of
them shown close up? They seemed to be troops. In another
camera shot, the usual dozen or so Kurds were shown doing
their little dance.
*
There does seem to have been some voting in Sunni areas,
but nothing significant. A top CNN reporter tried to report
from Ramadi, but he had to run for cover when gunfire broke
out. It appears that the resistance wanted some of their
people to be elected. Most of the population stayed away.
*
FOX TV gave the game away by mentioning the SPECIFIC military
units under whose "protection" "elections" were held in Falluja.
This time U.S. TV did not celebrate the "elections." It was
too difficult an act to carry on beyond 24 hours. By
December 16, the "historic" elections had moved off the
the TV screens. MSNBC and CNN were desperately reporting
the stale, 10 month old story of the sexy woman who
disappeared in Aruba after having slept with
half-a-dozen young men.
After 4 rapid-fire speeches, Bush has improved his ratings
by only ONE point. The American people, 63% of them, are sick
and tired of the lies he has been telling. Only the hard core
racists and the jingoist "nuke 'em" crowd, along with the
Lieberman types are with him.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[For our older readers.] [Compliments of Dr. Shabazz.]
RECOGNIZING A STROKE
Thank God for the sense to remember the "3" steps. Read and Learn!
Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify.
Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The
stroke victim may suffer brain damage when people nearby
fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.
Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:
1. *Ask the individual to SMILE.
2. *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.
3. *Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (i.e. It is sunny out today)
If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call
9-1-1 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.
After discovering that a group of non-medical volunteers
could identify facial weakness, arm weakness and speech
problems, researchers urged the general public to learn
the three questions. They presented their conclusions at
the American Stroke Association's annual meeting last
February. Widespread use of this test could result in
prompt diagnosis and treatment of the stroke and
prevent brain damage.
---------------------------------
Jamaat al-Muslimeen [only one item]
P.O. Box 10881
Baltimore, MD 21234
The Case of Dr. Kifah al-Jayyousi
U.S. Citizen Suddenly Deprived of his Rights:
His Oppression Censored by the Media.
Clear Cut Case of Bias against a Citizen's Islamic Faith.
Special New Trend Report.
Kifah al-Jayyousi has a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering. Part
of the Palestinian diaspora [people driven out of their
homes by the Israelis], he moved to the U.S. when he was
17. He paid his dues to his country of choice and served
for six years in the U.S. navy, three years in the regular
service and three years in the reserve. After his Ph.D.,
Prof. al-Jayyousi worked at Wayne State University and
moved on to become Superintendant of Schools in Detroit
and finally to Assistant Superintendant of schools in Washington, DC.
He married Hidaya, a devoutly Islamic woman of Egyptian-Palestinian
origin. They have five children, three daughters and twin sons.
A very generous and outgoing person, he became interested in
the suffering of the Bosnian and Chechen people. To this
effect, he published an Islamic newsletter from 1993-95 in
which he appealed to readers to help the people of Bosnia
and the refugees from Chechnia. Readers should remember that
at the time, the U.S. foreign policy favored the Muslims of
Bosnia and Chechnia. Dr. Jayyousi could have never dreamed
that his support for those Muslims would be deemed a crime,
one day, against the U.S.
He was also very concerned about the arrest of
Shaikh Omar 'Abdel Rahman by the U.S. government.
Like many others, he said and wrote that the blind
Shaikh had never advocated anything against the U.S.
and should be released.
HOW HE WAS ARRESTED:
Dr. Al-Jayyousi, or Br. Kifah as his friends call him, was
in Qatar when he learned that his father was very unwell
in Detroit and was going to undergo open heart surgery.
He rushed home and was arrested at the airport in Detroit.
The government agents who interrogated him reportedly told
him that he would be allowed to meet his father if he
cooperated with them against other Muslims.
Br. Kifah refused to become a 'snitch.' His attorney,
a very capable gentleman named William Swor, says that
his appeal for release on bail was rejected although 20
PROPERTY OWNERS gave PERSONAL SURETY on his behalf. Kifah
was told that a criminal complaint had been filed against
him in Miami, Florida.
On April 4, 2005, he was flown to Miami, far away from
his family and community, and thrust into SOLITARY CONFINEMENT
in a tiny cell. He then learned that the government was
trying to tie him to a person named Hassouna against whom
the government has a voluminous case and who allegedly
contacted Kifah several years back.
WHAT IS HE ACCUSED OF?
The government then starting preparing indictments
against Dr. Jayyousi. The 4th and sperseding indictment
accuses him of conspiracy to assist in murder and
mayhem overseas! For good measure then it adds conspiracy
to COMMIT murder and mayhem overseas!
[Readers should know that the prosecution can bring any charges
it wishes to against the Muslims of America. This one could
mean LIFE in prison. It is a ploy to intimidate the prisoner.]
ROLE of the MEDIA:
When Br. Kifah was arrested on March 27, 2005, the print
media reported the arrest. However, the TV media completely
censored the news. After that all the media completely
dropped the story as he disappeared into the American
gulag. A DISTINGUISHED AMERICAN MUSLIM CITIZEN had disappeared
into the clutches of the American system but no one in the
vast media empire was concerned. He had become a non-person
because he was obviously a Muslim and any reporting on him
would arouse sympathy for Islam. He has never committed
a crime against the U.S.
The Icing on the Cake:
Almost 8 months later, the government linked Dr. Jayyousi to
the Jose Padilla case, though there is no indication whatever,
even from the government side, that Kifah ever knew or met
Padilla. One can speculate that the government is trying
to link Hassouna to Padilla on the one side and to Kifah
on the other! It must be hard work but the government is
imaginative and has much money on hand for such fabrications.
CONDITIONS in PRISON:
Dr. al-Jayyousi has been kept in a little cell cell
since April 2005. He has to be shackled and an officer
has to be present on those few occasions when the cell door is opened.
His religious rights are being denied. He is not allowed
to attend Friday prayers although he is a devout Muslim.
The excuse from the government is that he might
contact "terrorist groups."
He is also facing a medical problem. Two of his teeth had
fillings and these have dropped but he is not permitted
to have tylenol to stop the pain.
FACING FINANCIAL RUIN:
Br. Kifah's wife has to travel all the way to Miami to
see her husband. He is allowed to make one phone call
to his family per week and 2 legal phone calls. His
wife, Sis. Hidaya, and the 3 daughters were in Qatar
when he was arrested. To answer the government's claim
that he might flee to Qatar if released on bail, he
wife and daughters came back to Detroit as surety, but
this too did not move the government's compassion.
The defense attorney says, Kifah's innocence is so clear
that there can be only ONE REASON for his arrest: He
FOLLOWS Islam sincerely and devoutly.
------------------------------------
Dear Muslims wake up! Any politically aware community
would be shouting and screaming at such an outrage
against a distinguished and innocent member
of the community. WAKE UP!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Governor Schwarznegger refused to stop the execution
of Tookie Williams: We have an eyewitness account of
the Last Rally. The writer is a Muslim and quotes a
famous Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad, pbuh.]
[Special thanks to Sis. Nadrat Siddique who obtained
this report for New Trend.]
California murders Tookie: 2000 Rally in Protest
by Wanda Sabir
It was a "No Cookie, Cookie," Bilal Sabir's famous dessert guaranteed to
hit the spot - but somehow it missed this time. The occasion - post
state-sponsored murder, a situation not necessarily good for the appetite.
I think the inclination was the linguistic affinity - Tookie ... Cookie.
Comfort food for the political upset once I arrived home from San Quentin
Dec. 13 at 2:30 a.m.
I still can't believe it. Maybe if I refuse to watch the news or turn on
the radio for a few hours, don't open the door or buy a newspaper, I can
pretend it was all a nightmare and wait for the sun to rise again and then
again until the wrong is righted, what's done is undone. But I was there.
At 12:01, I remembered Stan Williams on the other side of the hill, one
covered in uniformed men, riot gear on, poised and ready for trouble as
reinforcements in helicopters circled overhead, often drowning out the
speakers.
The scene was surreal and a bit too artificially bright to be real. The
usual folks tried to sell me a paper, quiz me about the death penalty;
still others asked for my phone number. I don't know why young white
anarchists assume every African person is in need of political education.
Shadows walking back to cars after the execution I ignore the bright
lights, fake smiles, sympathetic yet clueless looks of empathy as news
anchor in red suit blocks my view, her blonde hair unruffled, matching
lipstick a slick smear where lips meet, her media techs pushy and
territorial. White privilege spraying the air like Raid, I try to stay
focused and remember the life about to be terminated just because certain
people have the power to do so. This makes the scenario in front of me
even more unpalatable. Why all the lights? Why all the noise? Why all the
fanfare now that a man's life is about over?
If this spectacle were not reason enough for every sane person to register
and vote, I'm not certain what might be a better one. Over 2,000 people
were there, the speaker's list lengthy, and except for the children who
spoke and then read from Tookie's books, most of the talk was the tired
rhetoric of the past which up to now has benefited everyone except the
ones it's supposed to help.
I was surprised to see so many people I knew, like Marina Drummer, Kamil
Jabril, JR, Donald Lacy, Angela Davis, Fania Davis, Heru Nefera Amen,
Sandra McGee, Kwami Yephet, Marcel Diallo .... Most, like me hadn't come to
any other executions, but this one was different.
Barbara Becnel and Rudy Langlais at Sunday's screening of "Redemption"
Not in our name, a slogan made popular at the start of the Iraq war, took
on additional meaning as each of us silently considered the language of
capital punishment: "The people of the state of California ...."
Unless one consciously disassociates herself from the acts of terror
committed on her behalf, then silence equals complicity. "Ignorance of the
law," as we're told, "is no excuse." Neither is ignorance of harm
committed by such laws in one's name by elected officials, whether they
were the representatives of one's choice or not.
Allah says in the Qur'an not to stand idly by and allow wrong to be
committed. The first or best resistance is to stop it with one's hand, the
second is to stop it with one's mouth and the third to leave the place
where the wrong is committed.
Resistance is an active word, and so is change, both transitive. Both
attach themselves to an object, something concrete, something measurable,
something visible, and in the process make it into something else ... we
hope, something better.
Tookie's thinking changed and when that changed, so did his life. This
change is seen in the choices he made to eschew negative actions and to be
a man of peace.
At one point I thought democracy belonged to all Americans, the same with
justice. Tookie's death is evidence to the contrary, the two - justice and
democracy - are owned by white men in business suits who run the world and
control many people in it.
But not for long.
It was 12:15 ... "take a deep breath," someone advised. "Sometimes it takes
10-15-20 minutes before we know what's going on." These were veterans
around me. One woman ran down the procedures for her friend.
12:20 ... Life is ended so quickly, yet takes so long to live - 24 years, 51
years, gone just like that.
It was the same argument ... safer streets. Remember the victims. We do
remember the victims, especially those of us who are victims. My nephew
was murdered three-four years ago, another San Francisco unsolved murder -
21 years old, shot in the head.
Murder is wrong no matter who commits the wrong.
Tookie professed his innocence to his grave; and to substantiate this, new
evidence was revealed just Saturday from a former inmate of the LA county
jail which incriminates the LA Sheriff's Department.
Nothing has changed, except now Black men don't have to get off the
sidewalk and walk in the street, their eyes down, when a white person
walks by.
"Stay peaceful ... hold onto Tookie's legacy (of peace)" came from the stage.
Tookie stated just before his death that he was okay, that his conscience
was clear," Brother Fred Jackson, project coordinator for the Internet
Project for Street Peace, shared. I'd just seen Brother Fred yesterday at
the screening of "Redemption" sponsored by Oakland Councilwoman Desley
Brooks' office.
Tookie called in to speak to us. Executive producer Rudy Langlais was
there too. We were all so hopeful. Desley told me about victory parties
planned, and when I spoke to Sister Barbara Cottman Becnel, co-author of
the anti-gang and violence books she and Tookie authored, she smiled and
invited me for an interview once he was granted clemency or a stay.
"We're going to stay calm," Brother Fred continued as still another voice
joined his. "I know you're angry; we'll all angry, but we're going to stay
calm.
The recitation of Tookie's words helped me stay mindful about the reason
for the gathering.
Minister Keith Muhammad called Tookie a scientist of social change. I had
a déjà vu moment as he spoke: Saturday morning MGT classes at Temple 26 in
San Francisco. Recitation of the Actual Facts, Student Enrollment Lessons
and discussions from "Message to the Black Man." I always wondered when
the "Lesson to the Black Women" was going to be written, until Shaharazad
Ali wrote hers. I'll have to write it myself. Just as Tookie wrote his.
Each of us is responsible for his or her life. The answer lies inside each
of us. We need to stop throwing away our power. Greatness fills many
landfills.
While many people prayed for a California moratorium against the death
penalty through Jan. 1, 2009, a bill authored by Assemblyman Paul Koretz,
about to have a legislative hearing next month, a week behind the next
scheduled execution - this time of Clarence Ray Allen - a lone voice
shouted and cursed the night, and soon even that voice was silenced at
12:25 a.m. as we began to wonder what was going on.
The helicopters flew closer as we waited information about Brother Stan.
Was he still alive?
"Don't kill in my name," a sign read. "Blessed are the Peacemakers,"
another stated. "It's our ancestral territory ..." a man whispered angrily.
"If we're going to do something, why not do something!"
I looked around at the potential guns pointed at us and where I could move
if people went stupid.
At 12:34 we sang a Native American healing song.
At 12:35, Stanley Tookie Williams was dead. The state of California had
murdered him.
A man whose greeting was the Swahili term Amani, or peace, was gone. What
a waste, his loss incalculable now or ever.
I felt like the brothers and sisters must have felt when faced by lynch
mobs - the barbecue for the day, their bodies. We turned around and began
to the long walk back to the car. Crosses piled on the ground made travel
hard, as did other discarded protest paraphernalia.
The rowdy voices grew louder as the police presence grew more visible. We
left the visitor's center location, the San Francisco Bay a serene
contrast to the madness we'd just witnessed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
[Mauri Saalakhan is a well-known rights advocate. He travels the
country from mosque to mosque. Every now and then, he comes up
with ideas which need correction, to say the least. Recently he
tried to build up ISNA leader Siraj Wahhaj on the basis of a
spurious book on terrorism by Sperry. When a reader
criticized him, he wrote an insulting letter in which
he again defended Siraj Wahhaj.
[Here we publish Dr. Siddique's letter about/to
Saalakhan followed by Saalakhan's letter, uncut.
Saalakhan has not answered though 2 weeks have passed.]
-----------------------------------
Siraj Wahhaj's Role in the Sentencing of
Islamic Scholar Shaikh Omar 'Abdel Rahman.
Long Time ISNA Figure Has Much to Answer For.
Dear Muslims asalamu Alaikum
Mauri Saalakhan is trying to compare Siraj Wahhaj
to Imam Jamil al-Amin. This is a false comparison.
Imam Jamil has sacrificed his life for Islam and
is being held in a U.S. prison while Siraj Wahhaj
has made it his livelihood to raise millions of
dollars for rich Muslim mosques [from which he gets his cut.]
Here is a fact: Siraj Wahhaj has been, for years,
central shoora member of the most pro-Bush, pro-White
House, Uncle Tom organization in America which calls
itself ISNA [Islamic Society of North America].
Will Saalakhan deny that fact?
Siraj Wahhaj helped to put Dr. Omar 'Abdel Rahman
in prison for LIFE. Saalakhan's defense of
Siraj is as follows:
" Imam Siraj Wahhaj did not go to the court "to give
evidence against Sheikh Omar." He was supoened, and
(under oath) felt compelled to respond truthfully to
a difficult question that was raised by one of
Sheikh Omar's DEFENSE ATTORNEYS."
Looks like Saalakhan has a short memory or he has not
read the court transcript. I have the transcript.
Siraj was invited as a defense witness in the trial
of the Shaikh. Instead of defending the Shaikh,
Siraj stated outright that the Shaikh taught
that it is OKAY TO ROB BANKS!
Imagine the impact of this: Siraj was saying that
the spiritual leader of millions of Muslims,
Shaikh Omar 'Abdel Rahman, hafize Qur'an, Ph.D
from Al-Azhar in Islamic theory on Jihad,
taught that it's okay to rob banks!
Siraj Wahhaj laughed after making this shameful
comment. The defense attorney was so shocked and
taken aback that he changed the subject.
The OUTRIGHT LIE by Siraj Wahhaj against the Shaikh
was then used by the Jewish Judge, Mukasey, when he
sentenced the Shaikh. A supposed imam of the
Muslims, Siraj Wahhaj, gave the weapon to the
Jew to sentence the Shaikh.
Then to build up Siraj Wahhaj, Mauri Saalakhan claims:
"The mere fact that after all of these years Siraj Wahhaj
is still officially listed as an "unindicted
co-conspirator," should speak volumes about which
side of the fence the government considers him on! "
Again, Saalakhan is providing incomplete information.
The government published a WHOLE LIST of Muslims from
the New York area as "unindicted co-conspirators." Siraj
was one among a 100 plus names. That certainly does not
make him an opponent of the government. Just about
every known person in NYC was on it.
Siraj has been part of this whole bunch of bootlickers
known as the Shoora of ISNA. It's a puppet
organization of the government. Whom is
Saalakhan trying to fool?
There is tremendous arrogance in Siraj Wahhaj that he
thinks he is too big to defend himself. Can't Siraj
write for himself? When he can speak for hours at
rich mosques, telling people that the world could
end at any minute and therefore they should donate
for the million dollar mosque, why can't he speak
about Shaikh Omar whom he helped to send to prison
FOR LIFE? Why does Saalakhan have to speak for him?
Saalakhan is using Sperry's book to make a hero of Siraj.
It is an absurd and silly book which no one takes seriously
[except Saalakhan and a few others]. It is as silly as
Stephen Schwartz' boook and writings which claim that
ISNA is a radical Islamic organization [!] preparing to destroy America!
These kinds of books are disinformation carried out by
the Zionists. We should not be so simple minded as to
believe it. The Bush regime has given a clean bill of
health to ISNA and never accepted what
Stephen Schwartz or Sperry wrote.
I wonder if you know that one of the leading Imams who
helped Muslims in the prison system, Imam Warithuddin
'Umar, was attacked by the Wall Street Journal,
which lead to further attacks by Senator Schumer and
others. Imam Umar's career was ruined.
Following that attack, the Wall Street Journal
tried to show that it is not prejudiced against Muslims.
It published a huge report glorifying Siraj Wahhaj,
especially to help Siraj answer the questions Muslims
have about him. [Siraj indicated among other things
that he takes quantities of dollars from the money
collected at his mosque. Was it $24,000 or more,
I forget. Plus cuts from his fundraisers all over the country]
If Siraj had cared for his Muslim brother, he could
have declined an interview from the Wall Street Journal,
or he could have defended Imam Umar during the interview.
He did not say a word!
Try to think of this, an enemy of Islam destroys your
brother's life and you cosy up to that enemy of Islam!
That is Siraj Wahhaj.
I urge Siraj Wahhaj to write and explain his behavior.
I am sending this to Saalakhan. He has been writing
a lot of nonsense. It is about time that he
apologizes to the Muslims of America for his misleading statements.
Sincerely
Your brother-in-faith
Kaukab Siddique
-----------------
Forwarded Message:
Subj: [muslims-n-georgia] Re: [APFT] If Imam Siraj Wahhaj is Indicted
Date: 12/3/2005 8:25:49 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: ssaala@aol.com
To: chandra_ram@hotmail.com
In a message dated 12/3/2005 5:43:56 AM Pacific Standard Time,
chandra_ram@hotmail.com writes:
I have no sympathy for Siraj wahajj.
Siraj wa hajj is the person who went to the court
to give evidence against Shaikh Omar Abdur Rehman,
who is blind and a hafiz of Quran.
Assalaamu Alaikum:
I acknowledge your lack of sympathy for Imam Siraj. If
you are a Muslim, you also appear to lack the appropriate
Islamic decorum (we should give salaams even when we
disagree), in addition to being misinformed.
For the record - and you're getting this from someone
who has for YEARS been a defender of Sheikh Omar (to the
best of my limited ability) - Imam Siraj Wahhaj did not
go to the court "to give evidence against Sheikh Omar."
He was supoened, and (under oath) felt compelled to
respond truthfully to a difficult question that was
raised by one of Sheikh Omar's DEFENSE ATTORNEYS.
While some who were present considered Imam Siraj's
truthful response to the question somewhat damaging
to the Sheikh, the truth of the matter is that he
did not go into that federal courthouse with the
intent of doing Sheikh Omar any harm - despite the
unfortunate fact that some have deliberately twisted
what did take place, to make it appear that this was his intent.
I know this for a fact from speaking, a few years ago,
to the attorney who questioned him on the witness stand!
(And from discussing this issue with other close
associates of Sheikh Omar.)
The mere fact that after all of these years Siraj Wahhaj
is still officially listed as an "unindicted co-conspirator,"
should speak volumes about which side of the fence the
government considers him on!
In conclusion, dear sister, your response reveals the
poisonous, corrosive, and disunifying power of gheeba
(backbiting). May Allah (swt) protect us from it.
El-Hajj Mauri' Saalakhan
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