By David Morgan, Reuters

Monday 18 June 2007

Iraq has emerged as the world’s second most unstable country, behind Sudan, more than four years after President George W. Bush ordered the U.S. invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, according to a survey released on Monday.

The 2007 Failed States Index, produced by Foreign Policy magazine and the Fund for Peace, said Iraq suffered a third straight year of deterioration in 2006 with diminished results across a range of social, economic, political and military indicators. Iraq ranked fourth last year.

Afghanistan, another war-torn country where U.S. and NATO forces are battling a Taliban insurgency nearly six years after a U.S.-led invasion, was in eighth place.

“Iraq and Afghanistan, the two main fronts in the global war on terror, both suffered over the past year,” a report that accompanied the figures said.

“Their experiences show that billions of dollars in development and security aid may be futile unless accompanied by a functioning government, trustworthy leaders, and realistic plans to keep the peace and develop the economy.”

The index said Sudan, the world’s worst failed state, appears to be dragging down its neighbors Central African Republic and Chad, with violence in the Darfur region responsible for at least 200,000 deaths and the displacement of 2 million to 3 million.

The authors of the index said one of the leading benchmarks for failed state status is the loss of physical control of territory or a monopoly on the legitimate use of force.

Other attributes include the erosion of legitimate authority, an inability to provide reasonable public services and the inability to interact with other states as a full member of the international community.

Foreign Policy magazine is published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington-based think tank. The Fund for Peace is an independent research group devoted to preventing and resolving conflicts.

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Press Release

Watch a film…make friends of other faiths…discuss one nation & world for all

An Interfaith Outreach Program of Unity Productions Foundation www.upf.tv.

Mission

20,000 Dialogues is a film-centered dialogue project that brings together Muslims and non-Muslims using films about Islam in America to stimulate discussion and promote understanding. It takes the concept of interfaith dialogue out of the realm of faith leaders into the hands of ordinary people who want to make a positive difference across cultures and faiths.

Vision

Film clubs or dialogue parties can be set up beginning with the film Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet and continuing with the upcoming PBS Documentary Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain airing August 22, 2007. This film examines the rise of a remarkable pluralistic society in Spain, where all three faiths thrived, and why that society ultimately fell, in part because of extremist forces within those faiths that tore it apart.

20,000 Dialogues seeks to bring people together at the grassroots level, where people live, worship and work to strengthen understanding of Islam and our common values in hopes of building relationships across faiths.

Purpose

20,000 Dialogues will use the films to bring people together and stimulate discussion and positive actions towards mutual respect and breaking down barriers of bias and stereotypes, fear and helplessness, misperceptions and misinformation.

How to Get Involved

The implementation of 20,000 Dialogues is simple –email dialogues@upf.tv to agree to host a dialogue with a tentative date determined consisting of a minimum 5 people, at least one of whom is Muslim. You will receive a copy of UPF’s film on DVD and download a ‘Dialogue Planner’ and ‘Discussion Questions’. Additional resources will also be referenced on the website. The host may find dialogue participants of other faiths on the website as well, using a system that will help connect you to interested participants in your area. After the dialogue, participants can submit their evaluation of their experience.

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By VINCENT THIAN, Associated Press Writer Sun Jun 10, 3:22 PM ET

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei – A two-week lavish wedding celebration for the daughter of Brunei’s sultan — one of the world’s richest men — culminated Sunday in a ceremony steeped in the royal tradition of this tiny, oil-rich nation.
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Princess Majeedah Nuurul Bulqiah, 31, and Khairul Khalil, 32, exchanged their vows Thursday and were officially presented to the public on Sunday according to Islamic religious rites.

The groom was greeted by the bride’s father, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, in the 1,788-room palace’s main hall and led to the royal dais where she was seated. The sultan then took Khairul’s hand and placed it on the princess’ head briefly before seating him next to her.

Cannon shots were fired, and the ceremony, attended by some 2,000 guests, ended with a thanksgiving prayer.

As they left the hall, the couple — dressed in matching gold and maroon traditional Malay outfits — gave a bow of respect before Hassanal and his two wives. The newlyweds then sat in a motor-driven carriage and led a procession around the capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, which was festooned with colorful banners. Thousands of onlookers lined the streets, waving tiny flags.

Brunei has vast oil and gas reserves that have fueled the royal family’s fortunes and made the country one of the richest per capita in the world. Its oil reserves are currently estimated at about 1.2 billion barrels.

Hassanal, 61, had an estimated net worth of nearly $40 billion in 1997, the most recent figures available. He has ruled the tropical Islamic country on Borneo island for nearly four decades, and his family has reigned for about 600 years.

Family members hold all key government positions. In addition to being prime minister, Hassanal holds the defense and finance portfolios, and is supreme commander of the armed forces.

Majeedah is the fourth of Hassanal’s 11 children, and works as a senior officer in the environment, parks and recreation department. The groom is an assistant officer in the prime minister’s office.

9-25

By Imam Shamsuddin Waheed

“Allah! Nothing deserves worship except He, the Self-Subsisting, Eternal. Slumber does not overtake him, neither does sleep. To Him belongs what is in the Heavens and what is in the Earth. Who possesses abilities of intercession, except by His permission? He knows what is between them, and what is behind them. None grasp of his knowledge, except by his will. His throne encompasses the Heavens and the Earth, He does not tire in protecting them both, and He is the Most High, the Magnificent”

The above text has become a favorite to Muslims. It adorns the walls of most Muslim homes, mosques, and sometimes even automobiles. Allah’s Messenger (s) is said to have recited the text after every Salaah and it is seen as an important text to recite when seeking the protection of Allah (in addition to the two final Surahs of the Qur’an).

How and why has this verse become so important to the readers of the Glorious Qur’an? It is known as the Verse of the Throne or Ayatul Kursiyy and is one of three texts which have a distinct manner of describing the reality of Allah (the other two texts being 24:35 and 112:1-4). This verse is important because it gives its readers criterion for ascertaining if something or someone is truly Divine. The Lord of the Universe does not have frailties or weaknesses of any sort. The Lord of the Universe is fully aware of His creation. He is knowledgeable of everything. Anything or anyone that does not possess the qualities that are mentioned in this verse must immediately recognize that he is not Divine.

Some of the traditional Commentators have taken from this verse an assumption that the Divine actually sits upon a chair or throne, much like the chairs we sit in. This assumption, although utterly contradicted by other texts in the Qur’an itself (112:4), is increasingly becoming popular today among the Muslims. Fairy tales have been created to support these type of ideas, to the extent that an uninformed observer would make the assumption that the Islamic conception of God is the same as the ideas surrounding the deities worshipped in Hinduism. That is dangerous! It is counter-productive to our efforts at spreading Islam. It is also harmful to our spiritual life to have a distorted understanding of the Divine Reality.

What is Kursiyy? It is a beautiful reference to the might, power and knowledge of Allah (S.W.T.). In the same way phrases such as The hand of Allah, the Face of Allah, etc. are clearly metaphors, pointing to the Divine abilities and power, Kursiyy here shows us the very foundation of Divine Rule. A throne or chair is a symbol of power and respect. Allah’s rule is not limited to the Qur’an, to the Masjid or to his worshippers. The relegation of the spiritual to the church/sacred place and banishment from public life, politics and business is a myth according to this verse.

“His Throne (‘Kursiyyuhu’) encompasses the Heavens and the Earth.” There are numerous commentators who have explained the Throne in the same manner as this article. One would need only to consult Tafseer books to see that. If that is not convincing evidence, let us turn to modern Arabic. The word for notebook is Kurrasah, coming from the same root word as Kursiyy. What is a notebook? It is a book which contains written facts or information. Just as we have books, magazines, and the like in our possession, Allah also has within himself the ultimate container of knowledge and facts.

None can have knowledge of all. Our lives are in a state of constant change; so we are to ask Allah for His guidance each time we perform the Salaah. The practices of Salaah, Fasting, and contemplation (Dhikr) are designed to give us the mental and spiritual capabilities to grasp some of Allah’s knowledge and guidance for our practical implementation in this world. Remember that Allah’s messenger, before receiving the Revelation, was in the habit of retreating to Mt. Hira, outside his home city of Makkah, for prayer, and it was in the midst of such activities that he received the beginning of Qur’anic revelation.

All believers have the capacity to receive the guidance of Allah with drive, sincerity, dedication and patience. This guidance is not restricted to simply choosing the appropriate business venture or marriage partner. We are talking about the guidance that will fill your heart and mind with faith in Allah alone, the guidance which gives you the sort of insight and wisdom that others recognize, even if they don’t understand fully. It is explained in another manner in the Qur’an: “Light upon Light, Allah guides to his light whom he wills…” (24:35)

Therefore, when we pray or read the Qur’an, let us not do so in a hurry. Make the extra effort to understand the guidance of Allah.

The Divine Throne is also based upon justice and Allah has said that He does not let the efforts of His sincere servants be wasted (2:143).

Do not heed the calls of those who don’t understand, but depend upon Allah, the strongest and most reliable guide.

Shamsuddin Waheed is an imam, lecturer and Quranic Arabic instructor. He can be reached at Waheed79@yahoo.com or visit his Website www.islaminview.ipbfree.com}

9-25

These physicians have a strange way of preserving the American way of life

Courtesy Nat Hentoff

For all the press coverage of abuses, including torture, of our “detainees,” most Americans are unaware of the partnership between military interrogators and military doctors and psychiatrists in “breaking” prisoners who refuse to provide information. A chilling account of this utter betrayal of medical ethics appeared in the July 2005 New England Journal of Medicine (“Doctors and Interrogators at Guantánamo Bay”), hardly a widely circulated publication.

It was preceded on July 1 by an op-ed column in The Washington Post, “The Stain of Torture,” by Dr. Burton J. Lee II, former personal physician to President George H.W. Bush. Lee was horrified that “military medical personnel have played a role in the torture of prisoners.”

I thought these modern versions of Émile Zola’s “J’Accuse”—which famously denounced the French military in 1898 for its anti-Semitic persecution of Alfred Dreyfus—would be followed by Congressional investigations and fiery editorials, but the only substantial follow-up I’ve seen to this indictment of the Defense Department’s torture doctors has been a book, Oath Betrayed: Torture, Medical Complicity and the War on Terror by Dr. Steven Miles, an expert on medical ethics and international human rights.

The book was published by Random House last year, but has largely disappeared from press and public attention. In his April 7 interview with Miles, Peter Rowe of the The San Diego Union-Tribune noted that “Amazon reported that 227,826 other volumes were outselling Oath Betrayed.”

I am not surprised, therefore, to have seen no follow-up in the press or in Congress on Miles’s documented proof that it was Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld who authorized the collaboration between interrogators and doctors preparing prisoners for torture.

In an April 2003 memorandum, Donald Rumsfeld ordered that “interrogations must always . . . take into account . . . a detainee’s emotional and physical strengths and weaknesses . . . [and] manipulate [those] emotions and weaknesses.”

This is how it works, as described in the New England Journal of Medicine.

At Guantánamo, Major General Geoffrey Miller, under Rumsfeld’s policy, “approved the creation of a Behavioral Science Consultation Team” (BSCT, pronounced biscuit). Psychiatrists and psychologists on the team at Guantánamo “prepared psychological profiles [of the prisoners whose personal health information they had access to] for use by interrogators. They also sat in on some interrogations, observed others from behind one-way mirrors, and offered feedback to interrogators.”

In another medical publication, American Journal of Bioethics, Miles added, “The BSCT doctors suggested . . . how to break the prisoners down. . . . [One] approach aimed at a prisoner’s personal vulnerabilities, his worst fears, for example.”

No detail was too insignificant for these specialists in cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment. A BSCT psychologist authorized the use of snarling dogs to “exploit individual phobias.” And another psychologist, a chair of the BSCT team at Guantánamo and a major in rank, “suggested putting the prisoner in a swivel chair to prevent him from fixing his eyes on one spot and thereby avoiding the guards.”

Moreover, Steven Miles reports in Oath Betrayed that “a civil lawsuit and an FBI memo describe four prisoners—three at Guantánamo and one apparently in Afghanistan—who were “denied a prosthetic limb [and] antibiotics for festering wounds . . . until they cooperated with interrogators.”

Another detailed source of how the torture doctors operate is the soon-to-be-updated 2005 report, “Break Them Down: Systematic Use of Psychological Torture by U.S. Forces” from the Physicans for Human Rights (phrusa.org). (PFHR has offices in both Washington and Cambridge, Mass.)

A key indictment in this report on the legal responsibilities of health professionals cooperating with interrogators should lead to a Congressional investigation now that the Democrats are in power, but Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are clueless in these human-rights matters:

“Health personnel employed by the Department of Defense and other agencies in the ‘war on terror’ are bound by international law,” reads the report.

Also, “they should abide by ethical standards of the World Medical Association and the American Medical Association [both of which have yet to be heard from concerning the discipline of torture doctors]. The Declaration of Tokyo, adopted by both bodies, prohibits participation by physicians in torture and all forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. This includes providing knowledge to ‘facilitate the practice of torture’ [and other degrading treatment]. It also prohibits the physician’s presence when any of these practices takes place.”

Are none of the doctors in these prisons troubled by what they see, even if some are not directly involved? “There is evidence,” says Physicians for Human Rights, “of failure on the part of health professionals to report abuse as well as evidence of complicity in acts of physical and psychological torture.”

There are FBI agents with much higher ethical standards than these health professionals. A number of them, appalled at what they saw during Army interrogations while on assignment at Guantánamo, sent urgent e-mails to FBI Director Robert Mueller reporting these abuses, adding that some of the torturers pretended to be FBI agents. Mueller took no action until persistently prodded by Vermont Democratic Senator Pat Leahy; he then said he’d look into it. But as far as I know, no torturer cited by the FBI agents has been held accountable.

I asked Miles what actions have been taken against these health professionals who have abandoned medical ethics. “Only very minor reprisals,” he said. “A medic who watched some abuse. A nurse who witnessed other abuses. But no one higher has been disciplined.” A source at Physicians for Human Rights tells me: “It’s been a complete whitewash.”

Not only Army interrogators and doctors are committing these war crimes under our own War Crimes statute. Two years ago, The Washington Post’s Dana Priest reported that in a CIA Rendition Group of kidnappers, “case officers, paramilitaries, analysts and psychologists . . . figure out how to snatch someone off a city street, or a remote hillside. . . . “

The famed anthropologist Margaret Mead wrote that in ancient times, when a physician arrived, a patient was not sure whether the doctor had come to treat him or kill him. So much for advanced civilization. But why, I wonder, are American doctors who are not in our military prisons remaining silent?

9-25

Courtesy Justin Raimondo

As the situation on the ground in Iraq veers out of control, the rest of the Middle East is coming undone – a state of affairs directly attributable to our policy of “regime change” throughout the region.

On the western front, Lebanon is teetering on the brink of (yet another) civil war, with the very forces we have been backing covertly – al-Qaeda-affiliated Sunni radicals – in a stand-off with the (U.S.-allied) government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. With the Americans, the French, and assorted Euro-types standing behind them, the busybodies over at the UN – supposedly the world’s major force for “peace” – have engineered a scenario whereby the Syrians and their Lebanese allies are being blamed for an assassination so mired in murk and mystery that it would take Sherlock Holmes on steroids to unravel it – and certainly the UN “investigation” has done nothing to solve this whodunit. The outcome is likely to be a UN-sponsored intervention that will be little more than a fig-leaf for American (and Israeli) meddling in the internal affairs of a supposedly sovereign nation – and, perhaps, a confrontation with Iran, which supports the nationalist-Shi’ite Hezbollah.

Also on the western front: the Turks have launched what is to all intents and purposes an invasion of Kurdistan, sending thousands of troops into a region effectively controlled by the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), a terrorist group that has wreaked death and destruction on thousands of Turkish civilians and foreign nationals over the years. The Turks legitimize this open violation of Iraqi sovereignty in the name of “hot pursuit,” but of course they could pursue the terrorists all the way to Sulaimaniya, the regional capital, if they wanted to get at the true source of the PKK’s support. They mounted this incursion in spite of strenuous warnings by the Americans that the consequences of such an act could be disastrous for US-Turkish relations – an indication of just how volatile this long-simmering issue has become.

To the east, Pakistan’s crisis looms as potentially the biggest disaster of them all, one that would give a rather sinister meaning to the prospect of a Middle East meltdown – because Pakistan, after all, possesses nukes, the only Muslim nation so endowed. The result could well be a nuclear meltdown, with horrific consequences for the region and beyond. General Pervez Musharraf’s grip on power – never all that firm to begin with – is increasingly shaky, with the nation’s Muslims in open rebellion, the National Assembly in an uproar over newly-imposed restrictions on the media, and much of the countryside slipping outside the General’s control. If Muslim extremists succeed in toppling the Musharraf regime, the West could find itself confronted with a nuclearized ally of al-Qaeda ensconced in Islamabad.

Superimposed on the twin crises currently unfolding in Iraq and Iran – the former deteriorating into chaos and the latter just as rapidly rising to challenge American hegemony – these new threats to regional stability threaten to ignite a conflagration on a par with both world wars.

To begin with, the economic blowback from the outbreak of World War IV in the Middle East would strike a stunning blow to the American middle class – and, perhaps, drag us and much of the rest of the world into a downward spiral that would make the formerly “Great” [.pdf] Depression seem like a minor blip on the screen.

The economic costs of empire were calculated half a century ago by the Old Right seer Garet Garrett, who said part of the problem was that “everything goes out and nothing comes in.” The American Imperium, Garrett averred, was an “empire of the Bottomless Purse” – and yet perhaps we will soon scrape bottom, having mortgaged our children, and their children, and exchanged our republic for what will surely go down in history as one of the biggest, and shortest-lived, empires of all time. An empire built on debt, an exercise in vanity and a monument to the hubris of our rulers: like the pyramids of Egypt, its relics will be the object of study and much wonder at how so great an effort could have been wasted on behalf of such a towering narcissism.

We have the mightiest military machine in human history, yet what do we have to show for it? In Iraq, we have an insurgency mounted by a rag-tag army of Ba’athist “dead-enders” and makeshift local militias that have fought us to a standstill. In the meantime, we have no effective defense against the day the Chinese and Japanese dump their dollars and stop subsidizing American militarism. No purse is bottomless: our empire of debt puts us at the mercy of our creditors.

America’s imperial aspirations are also cause to fear a threat on yet another front: as 9/11 proved, “blowback” is likely to hit us on our own soil. It behooves us to remember that, for all the diversions away from our real enemies, al-Qaeda and its satellites around the globe, we do indeed face the very real threat of a 9/11-like attack in the continental US. This, after all, has always been the linchpin of Osama bin Laden’s strategic line: that, rather than conducting guerrilla operations around the edges of the empire – say, against Israel, or the local U.S.-supported tyrants, such as Hosni Mubarak and the House of Saud – it is necessary to hit the Americans where they live.

Seismic tremors – rippling outward from the center of the earthquake set off by the invasion and ongoing war in Iraq – are shaking the entire region, and the shockwaves are sure to hit Washington, London, Paris, and Tokyo with gale force. Whether our fragile freedoms and the bubble of inflated prosperity will survive the storm is an open question, but of one thing we can be sure: we’re about to be tested as never before.

Given the sorry record of the past five years or so, I’m not at all confident that we’ll muddle through, this time, without losing a lot of what America – and the developed world, often known as “the West” – used to be about. It’s at times like these that I wish I was religious, in the true sense of the word, and could put my faith in Providence as the ultimate guarantor of American liberty and our republican traditions, but, unfortunately, I find that impossible. Although I am not evangelical in my atheistic fervor, and give moral credence to religiously-motivated resistance to militarism and authoritarianism, the only sort of faith I can claim is full confidence in the power of ideas. Specifically the power of the libertarian and anti-imperialist ideas that generated the American Revolution – and hold out the promise of sparking yet another.

My great fear, however, is that it is too late for that. We are hurtling toward catastrophe in the Middle East at such speeds that it seems almost impossible to slow down, let alone reverse, the momentum for war. With lemming-like determination, our rulers seem intent on leaping over the Middle East precipice and into an abyss. Who will stand in the path of the War Party as it force-marches a reluctant nation into battle, this time against the entire Muslim world?

Like that lone Chinese dissident who stood in the pathway of a Red Army tank during the Tiananmen Square protests, such a leader would have to possess the kind of courage that surpasses all reason – and where are such people to be found?

Surely not on the stage of either party’s presidential debates, unless we’re talking about Ron Paul or the Democrats’ Cassandra, Mike Gravel. Gravel is not a real factor, except as a provocateur to show up the cowardice and opportunism of the “majors.” However, Ron Paul is a different matter: his candidacy could easily set off the sort of ideological avalanche that paleoconservatives and many libertarians have long awaited, one that could eventually sweep away the neoconservative hegemony over the GOP and help return the Republicans to their anti-interventionist, pro-individual rights roots. This, however, is a long-term project, one that cannot be achieved in the course of a single election season, and that’s the problem: we don’t have a lot of time.

The spark was struck when we invaded and occupied Iraq, and the fuse is now burned nearly to the end. If our republic survives the inevitable explosion, it will be in some permanently disfigured form – an America rendered unrecognizable not only to the shades of the Founders, but to ourselves.

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By Imam Abdullah El-Amin

1. Alif Lam Min
2. 2. This is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt, to those who fear ALLAH;
3. Who believe in the Unseen, are steadfast in prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them;
4. And who believe in the Revelation sent to thee, and sent before thy time, and (in their hearts have the assurance of the hereafter.
5. They are on true guidance from their Lord, and it is these who will prosper.
Baqara: 1-5

The Holy Qur’an starts with Al Fatiha, seven short verses that basically testify to the Power, Beneficence, and Mercy of Almighty ALLAH; and then asks for His Guidance. After these seven mighty verses, the second chapter (the verses above) then wondrously tells you where that guidance is.

When we look on the back of a U.S. dollar bill, we see a single eye over a pyramid. This is commonly called the “all seeing eye” or the “mind’s eye”, or “The Third Eye”. This is symbolic language for our perception or being able to understand the whys of our existence.

ALLAH, The Almighty, says belief in that which we cannot see is basic and fundamental to our status as Muslims and adherents to the religion of Al-Islam. ALLAH starts off this Sura with the mystic letters Alif, Lam, Min, but doesn’t explain what these letters mean. Nevertheless, they obviously have meaning because ALLAH says that the entire book is guidance sure.

ALLAH also says that we are to believe in the scripture that was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (s) and also believe in the scriptures sent before this scripture, even though we do not have the complete, true scriptures of those that came before. These scriptures of the Injeel (Gospels) of Christ Jesus, and the Torah, revealed to Moses, are not in their original form as revealed by ALLAH. Only the Qur’an is in its original form, and the Arabic of the Qur’an is the exact same all over the world. ALLAH knows this but still He orders us to believe in those previous scriptures. Now why would ALLAH order us to believe in something that He didn’t give us an explanation of?

For one thing, everything that we want to know might not be what we need to know or might not be what we can handle if we knew. Maybe it’s too much for our brains to absorb. Still, it is pertinent to our religion because ALLAH included it. These unseen verses might be affording us a protection that, had we not had it, would doom us to certain destruction. You can’t see what holds up the Earth. You can’t see what separates the sweet water of the lakes from the salty water of the oceans – but you believe it is a fact because you have the evidence.

You also have evidence of ALLAH’S promise to us. It has been proven time and time again as a perfect blueprint for successful living. ALLAH says you first have to have a profound respect and love for Him. Next, believe in other unseen that He is utilizing for the good of the creation. Next keep up devotion and submission to Him through prayer and spend a portion of that which He has given you.

Next, know that He didn’t just create you and leave you alone – He sent guidance to you through His prophets (as). ALLAH promises that these are the ones who will be successful.

So do you want to be prosperous? Do you want to be peaceful? Do you want to have the assurance that when you leave this life that there is a much better life waiting for you? Of course you do, and the way this is attained is to be guided by ALLAH. Then you will “see” the benefits of believing in the unseen. The unseen is there for our protection not for our visual direction. Constantly submit and ‘see’ what I mean.

As Salaam Alaikum
(Al Hajj) Abdullah Bey El-Amin

9-25

By Bob Wood, Muslim Media News Service

As the first full week of June ends, we notice sudden concern in the markets about interest rates. Short- and long-term rates are rising, due partly to rate hikes by foreign central banks. Those bankers seem more worried about inflation than our domestic central bankers. Someone has to be wrong, and I think the error is ours.

Our Fed or government leaders, when speaking about inflation, indicate we have little cause for worry. Inflation is ‘’tame, benign and likely to moderate in coming quarters,’’ they say. Of course, much of this confidence stems from their ability to “scrub” inflation figures until they produce numbers to support their fiscal and monetary policies. And then it appears that they’re doing a great job with our economy.

But why do foreign central bankers show concern about inflation and anticipate rates climbing around the world –while our bankers see no reason for alarm? How is it that the cost of living seems to be rising in other places but not in the U.S.?

One possibility is that our leaders are financial miracle workers. Another is that we may not be hearing the full truth about how fast our costs are rising and how fast the dollar is losing its purchasing power.

As regular readers know, or from your own real-world observations, U.S. inflation is running just as high, if not higher, as it is elsewhere. I say higher, in some cases, because health care costs are some of our fastest and most persistently rising expenses. In other countries with rising interest rates, health care has been socialized to one degree or another.

Of course, if our economic leaders simply ignore those higher costs for health care, inflation looks lower than it is. And if they exclude other items rising in price faster than they would like to admit, such as the cost of gasoline, heating oil, milk, corn and tuition, then inflation would indeed look ‘’benign, contained and likely to moderate in coming quarters.’’

So, sure enough, that is exactly what they do! And they have good reason for doing so. If inflation has climbed higher than official figures suggest, foreign as well as domestic investors in our bonds, would shun bonds such as long-term Treasuries, which are guaranteed to cost investors money over time.

The main goal of investing is growing one’s savings faster than the cost of living rises, thus making the investor richer in what is known as ‘’real terms.” But if U.S. 30-year Treasury bonds yield about 5% when inflation is running hotter, maybe 6%, the investor with that 5% yield is losing purchasing power.

If inflation really is running at 6%, then bond yields should offer investors a higher payback, maybe 8% or 9%. That wouldn’t be a problem though, would it?

Well, judging by markets reactions this past week, apparently this would be a rather large problem! First and most obvious would be more trouble for the already stagnant housing market. That industry recently was awash in good cheer generated by ultra-low interest rates and abundantly available credit. Any buyer who could fog a mirror or sign his name on multiple forms could secure a mortgage.

Those low rates made homes more affordable to marginal buyers. But with interest rates rising high enough to offset 6% inflation, many of those marginal buyers could be shunted aside — when the housing market is in desperate need of buyers. Making the situation worse is that many adjustable rate mortgages are coming due for higher rate re-sets later this year, with huge amounts of them coming due in the fourth quarter.

Not only will marginal buyers be pushed out of the market, but many more marginal home owners may suddenly become unable to afford their rising mortgage payments, if our negative savings rate is any clue.

Another bad situation involves our national debt, now nearing the $9 trillion mark. When saner people ran our economy, the 30-year Treasury bond was retired with new debt financed by shorter term instruments, and this enabled us to take advantage of lower interest payments.

With many two-, five- and 10-year bonds maturing in coming years, that monstrous debt load will require financing at higher rates, too, thus increasing government expenses for servicing the debt. And since the U.S. still borrows money to pay interest on past borrowings, our Ponzi-Scheme Federal government finds it hard to keep up.

Managers of pension funds find that higher rates of inflation make their jobs harder, since they have to assume higher growth rates for future liabilities. That forces them to increase payments into their pension plans, which reduces cash flows and reported profits. And can you imagine what higher inflation does to cost projections for Social Security and Medicare programs?

Higher interest rates and bond yields are also bad for the stock market. If institutional investors can buy bonds yielding 8%, which were available this week in New Zealand and Brazil, why would they buy stocks? An 8% yield, compounded over time with a guaranteed return of their initial investment and paid in full upon reaching the maturity date, would make assets like stocks seem unworthy of the risk.

An 8% bond yield works out to a price-to-earnings ratio of about 12, meaning that stocks would have to sell for about 12 times earnings to compete. Some may argue the possibility of a higher P/E for stocks in an 8% world, citing their better growth potential. But with no assurance of getting back your initial investment at any point in the future, I would argue that the P/E for stocks should run about the same, if not lower, to compensate investor risk-taking.

But stocks now sell for nearly 20 times earnings. Here I mean real earnings, 12-month trailing reported earnings, not those made-up ‘’15 times forward operating earnings’’ bandied about by market promoters that hold no provable relevance as to future stock market performance.

Of course, these numbers are not based on inflation rates that are truly in the 6% range now. Investors are relying on valuations based on what we hear is that ‘’core inflation’’ number, which runs much cooler than that. If inflation really was running close to 6%, all bets would be off, and both stock and bond investors would need to re-value their holdings. And those values would all run lower than today’s prices — much lower in many cases.

Now you understand why the markets were spooked this past week. The ripple effects of higher interest rates could prove too much to overcome, and the U.S. economy would re-adjust in ways that most would not enjoy very much, economically speaking.

But here’s a big problem for ‘’core inflation’’ proponents: inflation really is running at close to 6% now, and yet by other measures, it’s closer to 10%! How do I know that?

As it turns out, many others also know this, and now you do, too! Subscribers to John Williams’ excellent web site www.shadowstats.com can read each month how he applies the same methodology used by government accountants during the 1980s to arrive at that 6% figure. Speaking realistically, can anyone really experience increasing gasoline prices to over $3.00/gallon, rising food prices, soaring health care costs or rising property taxes and still believe that the cost of living is as low as government sources tell us?

Williams also uses an even older methodology whereby the actual basket of goods bought by consumers stays constant over time, and using that simple measurement shows inflation running closer to 10%. One additional clue that helps bolster his work is growth of the money supply, a number hidden from public view as of March 2006. Williams calculates, as closely as he can, along with others who attempt getting to the truth on this matter, and they seem to agree that money printing has gone parabolic in recent years and is now rising at about the 13% range over the past year.

So how can we see such a huge increase in supply without noticing its value eroded over time? I am sure that economists reading this column could offer a list of items that have not shown value decline when supply rose sharply, but as a general rule, this is a pretty reliable rule, especially over time.

What would inflation rates of nearly 10% mean for our economy? Maybe it’s better that we don’t think about it, right? Maybe it’s better that our leaders at the Fed and economists featured in the financial media lie to us. Knowing the truth could spark a major sell-off in stocks and bonds and make that fresh $2 billion/day coming from foreign lenders a very expensive proposition. Talk about inflation!

The major problem with inflation now is that it’s becoming too obvious to deny, and rates are headed higher. Sure, the Fed can lower short-term rates to try influencing the bond market. But long-term bonds already in the market will show prices according to what the market views as closer to the true rate of inflation. Basically, we are painted into a fiscal corner.

This should prove to be a very interesting time for investors.

Have a great week.
Bob

Bob Wood ChFC, CLU Yusuf Kadiwala. Registered Investment Advisors, KMA, Inc., invest@muslimobserver.com.

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Muslim join Interfaith effort to fight hunger

TOLEDO, OH–Muslims have joined an interfaith effort to fight hunger in northwest Ohio. A program titled “The Face of Hunger Will Surprise You” was recently held to raise awareness as well as funds and donations for the cause in Toledo.

A local Muslim group raised $1,700 to buy more than 400 pounds of meat that it donated to the Northwest Ohio Food Bank.

“God and the Qur’an say that there is no distinction between a hungry Muslim and a hungry non-Muslim,” said Hassan HassabElnaby, director of the Muslim American Society’s Toledo chapter.

“It is our responsibility as a Muslim, as a citizen, as a member of this community to help regardless of any other consideration – race, religion, whatever,” he said.

The Northwest Ohio Food Bank provides supplies to a network of 308 agencies in eight counties, according to Holly Muraco. The food bank has distributed more than 63 million pounds of food in its 22 years of existence, she added.

England’s largest mosque opens

BOSTON, MA–At least two-thousand worshippers gathered Saturday to pray on the grounds of the Islamic Society of Boston’s mosque shortly after a minaret-capping ceremony.

Some worshippers had tears streaming down their faces and others raised their hands in prayers as they watched the copper cap being hoisted by crane to the top of the minaret.

The event celebrated the settling of all lawsuits related to the construction of the mosque.

But worshippers must wait for at least six months before they could pray inside, to allow construction workers to finish work on the 14 dollar structure.

The mosque is part of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center being built in Roxbury.

Austin Muslims organize large food drive

AUSTIN, TX–The Muslim American Society of Austin is doing its part to fight hunger in Texas and across the nation.

Volunteers at Tuesday’s National Humanitarian Day Relief Drive distributed over 400 pounds of goat meat packages to several locations across town. That’s enough to feed about 1600 people.

Volunteers say there is no distinction between a hungry Muslim and a hungry non-Muslim.

“Part of being a Muslim is to feed those who need food. And that’s a big part of what we’re doing here is by being part of this community and we are part of the American society and community and those who are in need are also a part of it, so we’re reaching out to them,” volunteer Islam Mossaad said.

Non-perishable foods, clothing, and blankets were also taken to various soup kitchens, shelters and needy families.

Much of the food will also be taken to other locations across the United States to set up food banks.

Community fair held in Frankfort

FRANKFORT, IL–The American Islamic Association in Frankfort, IL, held its second annual community fair. More than 200 people attended the event including many people of other faiths. The fair also featured free blood pressure screenings by staff members from Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey to an inflatable jumping house for kids.

The fair’s organizers said the day, and the blood drive in particular, was an opportunity to help the community, reported the Daily Southtown.

“We have so many doctors in our community, and we wanted to give something back,” said Sadiya Khan, who serves on the mosque’s board of trustees and helped organize the event.

There are about 15 Muslim doctors at Ingalls Memorial Hospital alone, said Dr. Saif Nazir, who also serves on the mosque’s board.

“This event brings all the community, not just the Muslims, together,” Nazir said before announcing that everyone who donated at the event’s blood drive could have their pick at the Dunkin’ Donuts table.

The South West Interfaith Team, of which the mosque was a founding member, also had a presence at the fair.

“The basic idea is we see each other as human beings and not as headlines,” said Khalid Mozaffar, the organization’s Muslim co-chair.

Urdu newspapers allege intimidation

NEW YORK, NY–The editors of two national Urdu language newspapers claim that copies of their newspapers have been vanishing from grocery stores after they began publishing articles exposing corruption in the local Pakistani Parade Committee. Last month it was reported that a group of men in a van has been driving around and snatching all copies of the Pakistan Post from its distribution centers.

The Committee to Protect Journalists cited several articles that appeared in the Urdu Times and the Pakistan Post that may have sparked the seizure of the newspapers. These included several pieces about alleged financial wrongdoing with respect to the Pakistan Independence Day parade held in August.

Utah gets new mosque

Utah’s Muslim community has a new place of worship with a familiar face as its leader. Imam Shuaib Din, formerly of the West Valley City Mosque, was relieved by the board several months ago because of allegations of domestic abuse.

Today, he and many supporters started their own Islamic community in a new building. After trying twice before to raise the funds and find a building, many Muslims in the south end of the valley have their own house of worship. Nearly 150 came to Friday prayers at the new center located at 9000 South and 215 West in Sandy.

Imam Shuaib is their leader. He says he is undergoing court-ordered counselling. If he completes that, the guilty plea to misdemeanour assault will not go on his record. He and his wife are divorcing. He does see his children. He says he has learned what books cannot teach.

Imam Shuaib Din of the Utah Islamic Center says, “Obviously the last four or five months have been a very humbling experience for me, to say the least and, this UIC is the silver lining of that dark cloud that I was faced with and the community was faced with.”

Sofia Ahmed of the Utah Islamic Center says, “There’s a lot of Muslim people who have been supporting him and it has shown, in the last two weeks especially. We didn’t think that this many people would show up, and we have a lot, that’s good.”

The new Utah Islamic Center plans to expand at the new location to include a summer camp for young men and women and also daily religious study in the fall.

Imam Shuaib was an active member of the interfaith community. He plans to organize those activities again.

The overarching goal is to be “inclusive, progressive and transparent,” Din said. A Shia Muslim is serving on the advisory council, something that was not allowed in the Islamic Society constitution, he told the media. Though there will soon be a separate area for women to sit in the mosque, Ahmed said they are welcome to join men in the same room if they prefer.

USAID grant funds UC Davis Partnership to improve TB Diagnosis in Pakistan

UC Davis and Pakistani researchers have received a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to develop a better method for diagnosing tuberculosis that employs novel technology and is highly effective, affordable and portable, which will allow it to be deployed in remote, rural areas of the world.

In developing their new diagnostic methods, the researchers will use the latest technology that allows multiple tests to be performed from a single sample, and for the processing of hundreds of samples a day. The $400,000 award will support the development of a new, more specific TB test that can be performed using small blood samples from hundreds to thousands of individuals at once. The two-year grant will also support the transfer of this new technology to Pakistan, which has the sixth-highest incidence of TB in the world.

“If we are going to significantly slow the spread of TB in places like Pakistan, we need to be able to detect an infection at its earliest stages and identify those individuals who are infected but do not yet show signs of active disease,” said Paul Luciw, a microbiologist with the UC Davis Health System and Center for Comparative Medicine.

Luciw, who is also a professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, will serve as the principal investigator in the United States. Azra Khanum, professor and chair of the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Arid Agriculture in Rawalpindi, will serve as the principal investigator in Pakistan.

The UC Davis team also includes Imran Khan, associate director of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine’s Clinical Proteomics Core and the Center for Comparative Medicine, who is originally from Pakistan. According to Khan, the key to combating TB is a more efficient, cost-effective diagnostic test for TB.

“The current tests are inefficient, complicated and relatively expensive to perform in developing countries,” Khan said. The new multiplex test, he added, will be better, faster and, most likely, cheaper.

Luciw, Khan and their collaborators will be working to perfect a method for detecting multiple antibodies produced by the immune systems of exposed individuals in response to the bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which causes TB.

“The current tests only detect a single antibody at a time,” Khan said. The multiplex test, he said, could allow researchers to simultaneously test a dozen or more antibodies in a single blood sample from a patient. “This would give us a complete range of antibodies in an infected individual and it will be specific enough that results will not be confounded by the responses to TB vaccine or other Mycobacterium species.”

The new test builds on successful diagnostic tests created by Luciw, Khan and other Center for Comparative Medicine researchers for the detection of various diseases, including TB, in non-human primates. This work was done in part at the California National Primate Research Center, a federally funded biomedical research facility affiliated with UC Davis.

The human TB test Luciw and Khan are developing uses xMAP technology created by Luminex, an Austin, Texas-based company. The technology utilizes sets of microspheres, invisible to the naked eye, coated with antigens specific to antibodies produced by patients in response to M. tuberculosis.

Serum or plasma from a blood sample is mixed with a solution containing the bead sets. The sample is then placed in an instrument that uses lasers to identify the beads in which positive antibody/antigen reactions have taken place. The next-generation instrument from Luminex is expected to cost one-quarter of today’s machine and, depending on the use of additional robotics, allow the simultaneous, bench-top analysis of thousands of samples per day.

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease, usually of the lungs, that is spread from person to person through the air when infected individuals cough, sneeze or talk. A person usually has to be exposed to an infected individual for some time in order to also become infected. For this reason, friends and family members of individuals with confirmed infections should be screened for TB.

In most cases, M. tuberculosis infection is kept in check by the body’s immune system. In about 10 percent of cases, however, the infection breaks out into active TB disease, though it may take years for this to happen. In 2003, the World Health Organization estimated that less than half of the nearly 9 million new cases of TB were diagnosed using laboratory tests.

Currently, Pakistan contributes about 44 percent of the tuberculosis burden in the eastern Mediterranean region. The new approach could eventually help health-care workers there and throughout the developing world to better screen people who have come in contact with infected individuals. “Ultimately, we hope to be able to survey populations, identify hotspots of infection and treat people who are infected before they can spread the disease,” Khan said.

UC Davis Health System is the leading tertiary care provider for a 33-county region of Northern California. Research strengths at UC Davis Health System include clinical and translational science, stem cell science, infectious diseases, vascular biology, neuroscience, cancer, functional genomics and mouse biology, comparative medicine, combinatorial chemistry and nutrition, among many others.

In other news, Junior Imran Khan appealed to the board to reinstate Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday as a holiday in the district. As a member of the school’s Diversity Club, he asked that funds be allocated for a day of recognition if a day off could not be granted. Last year, Khan said the club paid for the speakers from their own budget. Board president Maureen Matiska said that the board felt that a day of recognition would be more appropriate than “a day to go shopping or sleep in.”

She added funds would be allocated for the events on that day, and Galicki requested that he and Reinert be included in the planning and selection of speakers.

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After lawsuit settlement, Muslims celebrate in Roxbury

Boston–June 9–The Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) decided to settle with the David Project, with both parties agreeing to drop all lawsuits including the suit filed by James Policastro to attempt to get the Roxbury mosque torn down. No future litigation can be brought against the mosque.

Interfaith director Jessica Masse said, “The ISB has made its point, which was never about monetary gain, and was always about standing up for the right of its community to worship freely. We will now focus on strengthening our ties with the broader community, and in particular, the interfaith community.”

Masse thanked the interfaith community for having the courage to the stand with the ISB when no one else would.

ISB Director, Dr. Yousef Abou-Allaban stated, “We have achieved multiple victories in court…The decisions of the Massachusetts judges who issued rulings in these cases affirming our rights should be read by all citizens. But now we want to move forward.”

The ISB held a press conference on Wednesday, May 30 at the mosque site in Roxbury and on June 9 held a “Faith and unity march” and “Minaret Capping festival” attended by over 2000 visitors, including James Policastro!

Policastro said it was a beautiful ceremony, reported the Boston Globe.

A copper cap, affixed with an American flag, was lifted by crane and attached by workmen to the top of the minaret in front of the crowd as a symbol for the Muslim community’s addition to the American melting pot.

Imam Basyouny Nehala called the adhan from the minaret for the first time.

The 70,000-square-foot mosque, which has taken two decades to complete, plans to open this Ramadan.

Muslim American Society (MAS) Boston’s executive director Bilal Kaleem expressed his joy. “The settlement was achieved a couple weeks ago,” Kaleem said, “but it didn’t hit home until I saw the 5,000-pound cap of the minaret coming down slowly with thousands of people praying and crying. It was beautiful, emotional, and a time of great thankfulness.”

Sufia Hassan, whose husband heads Masjid Alhamdulillah in Roxbury, said their mosque was not originally built as a house of worship.

“This is the first built from the ground up,” Hassan said enthusiastically. “What’s nice is that it will bring Muslims from this country and other countries together.”

The New England community has achieved a great milestone in their dream to build the largest Islamic Center in Greater Boston.

Neocons wage campaign against Palestinian American anthropologist

New York City–May 28, 2007—Nadia Abu El-Haj, an assistant professor in the department of anthropology at Barnard College, is the latest target in the ongoing tenure wars against scholars, whose work is viewed as undermining the official Israeli narrative.

University faculty that have experienced such attempts at academic assassination have included Columbia’s faculty members Rashid Khalidi, Georges Saliba, Joseph Massad, and Hamid Dabashi, as well as Harvard University’s Hillary Rantisi and University of Michigan’s Juan Cole. Recently, a campaign led by Alan Dershowitz pressured De Paul University to deny tenure to Norman Finkelstein.

Neoconservatives, including Daniel Pipes’ Campus Watch and the Solomonia website, which represents the David Project in the blogosphere, have targeted Nadia Abu el-Haj because of her book, Facts on the Ground: Archeological Practice and Territorial Self-fashioning in Israel (University of Chicago, 2002).

This book analyzes the anthropology of Israeli archeology as well as the role that Israeli archeology and geography play in Israeli society and self-conceptualization.

Israeli academics are unused to being the object of anthropological study by a Palestinian American scholar working at a prestigious American University.

Critics claimed Abu El-Haj’s analysis calls into question the connections of modern Jews to ancient tribes of Palestine.

Abu El Haj interpreted the city name of Tel Aviv as a contrived attempt to connect modern Jews with ancient Palestine because Tel is an Arabic word meaning a mound composed of an ancient ruin while Aviv means spring. Old-New Land, the title of a book by Zionist leader Theodor Herzl advocating the colonization of Palestine, was rendered into Hebrew as Tel Aviv.

Phil Orenstein of the Neoconservative Democracy Project implored Barnard College President Judith Shapiro to “do the right thing” and deny tenure to the Palestinian American anthropologist. He tried to argue that pro-Israel advocates were being denied tenure.

President Shapiro clarified her position on the massive campaign waged by neoconservative Israel advocates against El-Haj.

“I do not myself believe that the people who are getting in touch with me anonymously truly need to do so. Nadia Abu El-Haj has also received death threats from those opposed to her work.”

She continued, “I have not received a single student complaint about her teaching, advising, mentoring, or anything that has gone on in the classroom. There are indeed places where Jews or Zionists are endangered and marginalized, but Morningside Heights [NYC] in the year 2007 does not happen to be one of them.”

Spring festival raises funds for Al Hamra Academy

Shrewsbury, Massachusetts–June 10–Islamic School Al Hamra Academy’s annual spring bazaar was attended by families from Greater Boston.

The atmosphere at the bazaar was distinctly South Asian. The school’s lush campus overflowed with women dressed in colorful shalwar kameez by late afternoon. The aroma of Pakistani and Indian food filled the air.

All the food, rides, and art activities required tickets, which were sold on the front lawn near the main entrance of the building. Tickets were $1.00 each and a rides pass was offered for $25.00.

The food vendors sold spicy samosas, barbecued chicken with yogurt sauce, and other curry dishes. Typical American fare such as pizza, hamburgers, and hotdogs was also offered, so there was something for everyone. The complementary coffee and tea went well with the honeyed baklava and chocolate cookies.

The fun was very inexpensive. For the price of one ticket, kids were able to ride a mini train around the parking lot, bounce inside the Wizard’s Castle, or knock their jousting partner off a pedestal with an inflatable lance.

The arts and crafts area was crowded with children painting with sand, stringing beads, or having their faces painted for a single ticket. Henna tattoos were available for two tickets, and many hands were decorated with intricate flowers and scrolls.

There were items for sale including clothing, books, jewelry, and original artwork. The Academy’s Student Government Association was busy selling curly homemade fries and fresh lemonade along with books, DVDs, and videos.

The highlight of the day was the Championship Soccer Tournament, which featured the Academy’s thirteen soccer teams. All the girls and boys did their best to score while parents and siblings cheered. Trophies were handed out to all the players after the tournament. Later on, four ponies were brought onto the soccer field for the kids to ride.

The event, organized by the members of the parent teacher organization, helped to raise money for Al Hamra. The academy, whose motto is “excellence through education,” is a full-time Islamic school that offers grades PK-8.

According to the school’s website, it was established in 1994 and serves as a model for other Islamic schools. The students have won numerous awards over the past five years at science fairs, including eight prizes in this year’s Regional Science Fair.

The school sits on 2.8 acres of land and has a meeting hall, masjid, classrooms, library, and computer lab.

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