House of Mirrors

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By Sumayyah Meehan, Muslim Media News Service (MMNS) Middle East Correspondent

plant For many people a broken mirror is steeped in the superstitious belief that the injurious deed will be followed by seven years of bad luck. However, for Lidia Al-Qattan, a renowned Italian artist in Kuwait, a broken mirror would be the inspiration to set her upon the journey of a lifetime. As the wife of the famous Kuwaiti artist Khalifa Al-Qatten, Lidia was often inspired to create her own works of art to impress her husband after he returned from trips exhibiting his artwork in various locations around on the world.

On one such occasion back in the Sixties, Lidia’s husband was away in the USA as part of a collective art exhibition in Washington, D.C. Prior to his departure her husband had completed a wooden cabinet that he created with his own hands. All that was left to be done was a couple of coats of paint. However, after Lidia was unable to procure some paint she came up with a brilliant idea to really make the cabinet shine. “I then remembered I had some pieces of a large mirror somewhere in the house where my three year old daughter, Jalila, had broken sometime ago which I decided to keep.” Lidia set to work affixing the broken shards of mirror to the cabinet with some heated wood glue. However, the edges of the glass were still very sharp and dangerous with a child in the home. After completing her design, Lidia mixed together some plaster cement and water to fill in the gaps and make the edges of the jagged mirror smooth. Once dry, Lidia further filed down any remaining rough edges. The result was very pleasing to her eyes. However, the real judge would be her husband as he was set to return home.

house Fortunately, Lidia’s husband was very impressed with her work. And so began her transformation as she evolved into an artist into her own right and used her very own home as her canvas. Over the course of several years Lidia has painstakingly ‘bedazzled’ every inch of her home with broken mirror pieces in every shade of the rainbow. Today it is a popular tourist destination and museum with visitors taking guided tours every day.

The tour begins in the kitchen, which is called ‘My World Hall’ and features designs relevant to the mystery of science followed by a walk through ‘Planet Earth Hall’, or the living room, which is designed along the lines of our Earth and nature. Next, visitors are led to ‘Zodiac Hall’, which is Lidia’s now grown daughter Jalila’s bedroom, and it is covered with sparkling galaxies, planets and all the signs of the Zodiac. Visitors walk through a hallway with a dual theme. Known as both ‘Shark Hall’ and ‘Corridor of Nations’, the journey of shimmering reflected light goes on to enthrall guests with sharks and other wonders of our world. The tour climaxes with breathtaking designs featured in ‘Sea World Hall’, ‘Universe Hall’ and ‘Knowledge Hall’, which also serve as a bathroom, bedroom and library.

The tour begins to wind down once guests reach the ‘Stairs to Inspiration’. The staircase, which features gilded birds in flight, leads to the first floor that houses separate art galleries for both Lidia’s and her late husband Khalifa’s work. Many people in Kuwait call her home the ‘House of Mirrors’ But for Lidia her home holds greater meaning, “I call it the fulfillment of a dream.”

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Will US Drone Strikes Move From Rural Pakistan to Baloch Capital?

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US Threatening to Attack Major Pakistani City of Quetta

By Jason Ditz, Antiwar.com

September 27, 2009

A move that has long been debated by the Obama Administration could soon become reality, as officials say the State Department delivered an ultimatum to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari during his visit last week cautioning that if he doesn’t move against the Taliban forces in the city of Quetta the US will.

Such attacks would be a major escalation of the unpopular US drone strikes against the nation, so far confined to the area in and around the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Quetta, a city of three quarters of a million people, is the capital of Pakistan’s largest province, Balochistan.

The Pakistani government has been reluctant to move against the city, which has reportedly become a hiding point for much of the former Afghan government, citing both the lack of threat posed to the Pakistani government and the lack of intelligence provided by the US about exactly where to act.

In fact, the attack on Quetta may turn out to be even more than lobbing a few missiles, as reportedly officials have discussed sending ground forces into the town to “capture or kill” any Taliban they find.

Already struggling to keep the populace calm amid growing resentment of the US role in the nation, if American missiles or worse, American ground forces start pouring into a major Pakistani city to fight people who the government says aren’t posing a threat to Pakistan, all bets are likely off.

Vice President Joe Biden, among others, have been pressing for an escalation of drone strikes as a way of “stabilizing” Pakistan. It seems, however, that there are few things that would be more destabilizing than attacking Quetta.

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Alzheimer’s, Dementia, and Islam

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By Baltimore Muslim Examiner, J. Samia Mair

Yesterday on World Alzheimer’s Day, Alzheimer’s Disease International released its 2009 Report in order “to raise awareness for this disease that will have a dramatic impact on individuals and healthcare systems globally.” The estimates are alarming.

According to the report, in 2010 an estimated 35.6 million people worldwide will have dementia. By 2030, the number of people with dementia is expected to be 65.7 million and an astounding 115.4 million in 2050. The increase mostly is attributable to increases in dementia in low and middle income countries. The economic cost of dementia is estimated at $315 billion annually.

The report notes that while improved health care has led to many people living longer and healthier lives, a “clearly negative effect of ageing” is the increase in the number of people with dementias.

Dementia, which mainly affects older people over the age of 65, results from brain disease. It “is characterized by a progressive, global deterioration in intellectual abilities, including memory, learning, orientation, language, comprehension, and judgment.” Alzheimer’s, the most common cause, is progressive and fatal.

The Qur’an specifically mentions this progressive deterioration in intellectual abilities:

It is Allah who creates you and takes your souls at death; and of you there are some who are sent back to a feeble age, so that they know nothing after having known (much): for Allah is All-Knowing, All-Powerful.

16:70

One commentator states in reference to this verse that it allud[es] to the organic curve of man’s growth, his acquisition of bodily strength, intelligence and experience, followed by gradual decay and, in some case, the utter helplessness of senility, comparable to the helplessness of a new-born child.

These alarming statistics about dementia bring many teachings of Islam to mind. For example, the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, stated:

Take advantage of five conditions before five others: youth before old age, good health before illness, prosperity before poverty, free time before becoming occupied, and life before death.

Tirmidhi, Mustradrak

Another hadith states:

How wonderful is the case of a believer; there is good for him in everything and this is not the case with anyone except a believer. If prosperity attends him, he expresses gratitude to Allah and that is good for him; and if adversity befalls him, he endures it patiently and that is better for him.”

Muslim

According to the report, dementia has physical, psychological, and economic consequences for the person with the disease, as well as the caregiver(s), family, friends, the healthcare system, and society. Between 40% – 75% of those who care for people with dementia report high levels of psychological illness and 15% – 32% have major depression.

This negative impact on family members is significant as caring for one’s aging parents is incumbent on Muslims:

Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him, and that ye be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in thy life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honor. And, out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say: “My Lord! bestow on them thy Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood.”

17:23-24

Clearly, support is needed for those who care for parents or other relatives with dementia.

The report lists 8 recommendations:

1. The World Health Organization (WHO) should declare dementia a world health priority.

2. National governments should declare dementia a health priority and develop national strategies to provide services and support for people with dementia and their families.

3. Low and medium income countries should create dementia strategies based first on enhancing primary healthcare and other community services.

4. High income countries should develop national dementia action plans with designated resource allocations.

5. Develop services that reflect the progressive nature of dementia.

6. Distribute services with the core principle of maximizing coverage and ensuring equity of access, to benefit people with dementia regardless of age, gender, wealth, disability, and rural or urban residence.

7. Create collaboration between governments, people with dementia, their caregivers and their Alzheimer associations, and other relevant Non-Governmental Organisations and professional healthcare bodies.

8. More research needs to be funded and conducted into the causes of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, pharmacological and psychosocial treatments, the prevalence and impact of dementia, and the prevention of dementia.

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Harun Yahya

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They Don’t See This World Is Transient

Anything you have been given is only the enjoyment of the life of this world and its finery. What is with Allah is better and longer lasting. So will you not use your intellect?

Al-Qasas: 60

Hypocrites learn the Qur’an. From its verses, they know that this world consists of a brief deception, that true life is the life of the Hereafter, that there will be winners and losers there, and that in order to be a winner one has to live by Allah’s Book. Yet despite all this, they still choose this world.

But why do hypocrites turn their backs on a path that would prove profitable for them? Why do they choose a path that ends in the flames? The answer to this interesting mindset of the hypocrite is provided in the Qur’an:

They say, “There is nothing but our existence in this world. We die and we live and nothing destroys us except for time.” They have no knowledge of that. They are only conjecturing.

Al-Jathiyya: 24

One reason for this behavior is that they regard themselves as exempt from the Hereafter. As discussed above, they act out of the assumption that even if there is such a thing as the Hereafter, whose existence they do not fully believe in, they will enjoy a happy life in it. Therefore, they do not keep their hearts from being caught up in worldly passions. Even though from the outside they may appear to be possessed of faith, they always bear their worldly interests in their hearts. They have set their sights on love of this world, and a passion for worldly things has directed their ambitions. For hypocrites, the reality that the life of this world is brief and transient seems quite hollow and meaningless. In the same way that a deadly illness pervades the whole body, worldly passions pervade their being.

They Destroy the Beauties of the World

On the Day when those who disbelieved are exposed to the Fire: “You dissipated the good things you had in your worldly life and enjoyed yourself in it …”

Al-Ahqaf: 20

Although they live solely for the life of this world, these people can never be content and are unable to make full use of its blessings. In order to be able to do that, one must turn to Allah in all sincerity. Allah increases the grandeur, beauties, health, wisdom, abundance, success of His servants and rewards those who genuinely turn to Him with many other blessings. True spiritual and physical beauty belongs to the believer alone. The believer expects nothing from this world, yet is conscious of all the beauties in it.

But as for hypocrites, who knowingly reject the verses of Allah, their blessings continually decline and disappear. This they have achieved by their own hand. They turned their backs when the opportunities were there, and deliberately distanced themselves from their own blessings. All their expectations are worldly ones. Yet they are unaware that this world’s peace, comfort and blessings are bestowed by Allah. Their expectations are worldly ones, but they can achieve no worldly gains to which they are so devoted, unless Allah so chooses. Allah will bestow no beauty in this world to people who do not deserve it.

They also imagine that they thoroughly deserve whatever worldly blessings have already been given them, which for them, constitute a token of superiority. The fact is, however, that all the worldly splendors afforded them is but for a single purpose, as is revealed in another verse:

Do not let their wealth and children impress you. Allah merely wants to punish them by them during their life in this world and for them to expire while they are disbelievers.

At-Tawba: 55

Contrary to what they imagine, the life of this world is not an environment of well-being and comfort. In this world for which they live, Allah will not give such boons to those who have openly declared war on Him. The world is their only expectation, and here they strive and endeavor, yet everything they attain is empty—as Allah informs us by means of the following verse:

People whose efforts in the life of this world are misguided while they suppose that they are doing good.

Al-Kahf: 104

They Forget the Day of Judgment

The Day of Resurrection is a day full of terror when the world will come to an end. According to the verses, the Sun will be compacted in blackness, the stars will fade and fall in rapid succession, the oceans will surge into each other, the heavens will split open, and all human beings will be raised from where they are interred. The Qur’an refers to children’s hair turning white and pregnant women miscarrying out of fear on that day. The Day of Judgment awaits people following the resurrection. Believers fear the dread to which the Day of Resurrection will give rise, hoping not to be humiliated when they must account for themselves on the Day of Judgment, and that they will be able to give their accounts quickly and advance to Paradise.

The hypocrite also knows of the Day of Judgment and its properties. Because he reads the Qur’an, the dread of that day has been described to him also. However, one distinguishing feature of the hypocrite is that despite the information he acquires from the unequivocal verses of the Qur’an, he still harbors doubts regarding the Hereafter. Therefore, he does not plan his life according to this greatest of truths. Indeed, he never thinks about this truth with an open mind, for even a single moment, and he tries to forget it.

But instead, they deny the Hour; and We have prepared a searing blaze for those who deny the Hour.    

Furqan: 11

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The Pentagon Is Bankrupting Us

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By Jacob G. Hornberger

Consider this excerpt from The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its Dangerous Legacy by David E. Hoffman that appeared in the Washington Post:

Gorbachev had concluded that the sprawling Soviet defense establishment — the army, navy, air force, strategic rocket forces, air defense forces, and all the institutes, design bureaus and factories that supported them — was a monumental burden on the country. “Defense spending was bleeding the other branches of the economy dry,” he recalled. The extent of the bleeding was concealed by such deep secrecy that even Gorbachev said he had trouble obtaining accurate information.

Why can’t the American people recognize that that’s precisely what is happening in the United States today? The U.S. military — euphemistically called the “defense” establishment — or as President Eisenhower described it, the “military-industrial complex” — is a monumental burden that is bankrupting our country, especially in combination with the ever-increasing burden of the domestic welfare state.

First, it takes tax dollars to support soldiers. That’s a burden — a drain — on the private sector. With the dismantling of the wartime military machine, the taxes necessary to support the machine can be ended, leaving all that money in the hands of the private sector. That means more savings, investment, and consumption and increasing wage rates and profits.

The basic idea is more taxes mean more poverty. Lower taxes mean more prosperity and higher standards of living. That’s what Gorbechev was alluding to when he referred to the enormous burden that the military-industrial complex was placing on the Soviet Union.

Second, by being discharged the soldiers themselves cease being non-productive members of society and become productive members of society. As soldiers, they’re not producing anything. They’re a burden, a drain on the private sector. It’s only the private sector that is productive.

Thus, the dismantling of an enormous military-industrial complex would have the doubly positive effect of ending an enormous tax burden on the citizenry and adding productive people to the marketplace.

After every U.S. war, the custom had been to dismantle the military and discharge the soldiers into the private sector, which would cause economic prosperity to soar. After World War II, however, the U.S. military and military-industrial complex convinced policymakers not to dismantle the wartime machine. The Soviet communist threat, the militarists claimed, required the permanent and ever-growing existence of the military and military-industrial complex in American life.

Ironically, the new enemy that the U.S. militarists claimed justified this enormous and ever-growing military burden was the U.S. government’s very own ally in World War II, an ally into whose control the U.S. had just delivered East Germany and Eastern Europe, including Poland, a country to whom Great Britain had promised freedom at the outset of the war.

What happened when the Soviet communist threat ended in 1989? The Pentagon went desperately searching for a new mission to prevent the dismantling of its permanent wartime machine. After poking hornet’s nests in the Middle East throughout the 1990s, it came up with a new enemy after 9/11 — a permanent one — to justify its existence, an enemy that its very own poking had helped to produce — terrorism.

Today, we’ve got the Pentagon telling President Obama that it needs an increase of 40,000 troops in Afghanistan to succeed against “the terrorists” in Afghanistan. But if 9 years of bombing and killing “terrorists” hasn’t been enough to achieve “success” by now, that’s failure itself. The problem, of course, is that the permanent bombing and killing have only served to generate a perpetual terrorist-producing machine.

Why in the world do we need this enormous permanent military burden on America? Why not bring all the troops home, from Iraq, Afghanistan, Europe, Korea, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and everywhere else and discharge them? Why not dismantle the military and military-industrial complex, thereby relieving the private sector of this tremendous burden? Why not restore a constitutional republic to our land, as the Founding Fathers intended? Why not restore peace, prosperity, and harmony to the United States?

Jacob Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation.

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Mohamed Okdie, Candidate for Detroit City Council

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By Adil James, Muslim Media News Service (MMNS)

M-okdie Farmington–September 30–Among the three Muslim candidates with sufficient political vitality to pass unscathed through the Detroit City Council Primary is Mr. Mohamed Okdie, who has been a prominent figure in state and local Detroit government for several decades; where he worked in many local schools as a social worker for 22 years. 

He achieved success and prominence in his position, being nominated by Detroit mayors and Michigan governors to several prominent positions which he took solely on a voluntary basis.  For example he was appointed by Mayor Dennis Archer to the Detroit – Wayne County Community Mental Health Agency board of directors, where he served for 15 years, overseeing an annual budget of $530 million.  He now serves on the Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents–and he was appointed to that position by Governor Granholm in January 2009.

He describes these several appointments, explaining that he has “struggled to participate and make quality of life better for all of us.” 

His background among the Muslim families of the metro Detroit region is very deep–his father and grandfather were among the central members of the Dix Road mosque, known as Michigan’s oldest mosque.

Mr. Okdie describes how the early Muslims of this area, while working at the Ford River Rouge  auto manufacturing complex, volunteered not only their money and time but the sweat of their brows, and the work of their arms to the building of the Muslim community in Detroit.

“I was raised in the mosque on Dix in the south end of Dearborn, close to Detroit.  It was built in the 1930’s and my family, my father, grandparents, played a central role in building that mosque…. The [Muslims at that time] pooled their money together and bought that land and build that mosque.  Those men in the early days used shovels and picks and dug out the foundation of that mosque by hand.  They were very dedicated men.  They did that after work and on weekends after working in the factory.”

Okdie explains that although he has never run for political office, he decided to run because “I believed that the city is in big trouble, the leadership is weak, and because of my community involvement and academic achievements and my love for the city I thought I could contribute to make things better–I decided to run because I think I may have something to contribute.”

Even his academic history shows his dedication to Detroit, as he has two degrees (a bachelor’s and a master’s) from Wayne State University and one associate’s degree from the Detroit Institute of Technology.  He also completed two years towards a Ph.D. at Wayne before refocusing on his personal life.

Okdie placed 16th in the primary election, securing a spot among the top 18 who pass to the general election in November.

Perhaps it is a testament to the openness of Detroit residents to Islam, or to his own activeness in state and political community affairs, but Mr. Okdie is unsure that his being Muslim affected the vote: 

“I think in some places it probably helped me and in others I don’t think it made any difference.”

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Community News (V11-I41)

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Dr. Juzar Ali appointed hospital director

Juzar Ali

BATON ROUGE, LA–The Louisiana State University Health System has appointed Dr. Juzar Ali Medical Director of the Interim LSU Public Hospital (ILPH).

A Professor of Medicine in the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans (HSC) School of Medicine, Dr. Ali holds the Russell C. Klein, M.D., LSU Alumni Professorship and is former Vice Chair of Medicine for Clinical Affairs in the LSU HSC School of Medicine Department of Medicine, Section of Pulmonary/Critical Care. He is the director of the LSU Tuberculosis Clinics and the OPH Region 1 Metro-Wetmore TB Clinics.

He is a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians and the Royal College of Physicians of Canada and a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Pulmonary Medicine.

He is the author of chapters in, and serves as co-editor of, Pulmonary Pathophysiology, a symptom-based clinical and pathophysiologic review of lung diseases, whose 2009 third edition is currently under print, and he coauthored Clinical Chest Radiology: PreTest Series for medical students and residents. His scholarship has appeared in numerous peer-reviewed journals including International Union Against Tuberculosis and CHEST.

He has served as a reviewer, by invitation, of the journals CHEST, Annals of Internal Medicine, International Union Against Tuberculosis, Medical Principles and Practice 2002, International Journal of Infectious Diseases, and American Journal of Public Health. His clinical research interests include the diagnosis and management of tuberculous and non-tuberculous mycobacterial disease, and he has participated in various multicenter national and international studies and trials of tuberculosis and atypical mycobacteria. He has made scientific presentations locally, nationally, and internationally.

His impressive scholarship complements his success as a professor, a role in which his students hold him in high esteem, and makes him indisputably well suited for the position of medical director of a teaching hospital. Most recently, in 2008, he received the Allen Copping Excellence in Teaching Award for the School of Medicine and was accepted as a teaching scholar by the LSU HSC Academy for the Advancement of Educational Scholarship. In 2002, he received the Fulbright International Scholar Lecturer Award and, in 2004, the Fulbright Alumni Award. He fulfilled both at Ege University Medical School and Hospital in Izmir, Turkey.

He was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society as the recipient of its outstanding faculty award in 1997 and received from the LSU HSC Aesculapian Honor Society its Outstanding Professor of the Senior Class award in 1996, 2000, and 2004 and the society’s Junior Students’ Class Favorite Professor Award in 1997 and 1999. He received the first annual LSU HSC Excellence in Teaching Award in Internal Medicine from the Class of 1998 and also received the LSU HSC Excellence in Teaching awards for the Department of Medicine in 1996, 1997, 2000, and 2004 and in its pulmonary subspecialty in 2007. Besides his teaching, scholarship, and patient care, Dr. Ali has been instrumental in the acquisition of NIH and foundation grants for tuberculosis awareness and education, including the development of the Tuberculosis Education Aimed at Community Health (TEACH) program and www.lsumc-wetmore-tb-info.org. His volunteer activities include increasing TB education, awareness, and screenings for the homeless through community clinics.

Navislam–The new iphone application launched

SEATTLE, WA–”We are excited to announce NavIslam is now available on iTunes,” said Ms. Samira Khan VP of Communications for Vendo Concepts. Ms. Khan went on to say, “The newest iPhone application allows Muslims to search and locate Halal Restaurants, Mosques, Prayer Times and Qibla direction anywhere in North America – all from one application NavIslam”.

For all cities in North America (US/Canada) – an all in one Muslim application. The perfect companion for business travelers, family getaways, vacations or simply for locating the best and most accessible options in Halal dining. It’s the perfect App for Muslims on the go. All the data is stored locally so you don’t have to be connected to the Internet, Wi-Fi, or pay costly Data Roaming charges no matter where you are travelling in North America. NavIslam is great for iPod Touch users as users as well. NavIslam is a unique application designed with ease of use in mind. Our Nearby feature and localized data make it the number one choice in Halal Restaurant/Mosque finding applications. For a demonstration of the application, please visit www.navIslam.com or iTunes.

Ms. Khan states, “This is a great tool and will be powerful to use to locate mosques and find some great new places to eat – at home or if you are travelling for work or pleasure.” She adds ” the other key differentiator is that NavIslam is the only application available that doesn’t require you to be connected to the Internet or using up your costly data usage, since all the data is stored locally on your device, this makes it especially great for iPod Touch users too.”NavIslam searches the Internet daily for new Restaurants and Mosques and provides free updates so you won’t miss a thing.

Hawaii celebrates Islam Day

HONOLOLU–Hundreds of people in Hawaii have celebrated the island’s first Islam Day in recognition of the rich religious, scientific and cultural contribution of the Muslim world.

“It’s a historic day. It’s long overdue,” Hakim Ouansafi, president of the Muslim Association of Hawaii, told the Honolulu Advertiser on Friday, September 25.

“It’s a day of celebrating our commonality, a day of people of faith and no faith to get together and talk story.”

Hundreds of people packed the McCoy Pavilion at Ala Moana Beach Park on Thursday to celebrate Hawaii’s Islam Day.”We expected 200 to 300, so we’re very pleased with the turnout,” said Ouansafi.

The Day featured entertainment activities, games for children, free food and a panel discussion on coexistence in a pluralistic society.The Hawaii state legislature has passed a resolution to mark Islam Day in recognition of the rich religious, scientific and cultural contributions of the Muslim world.

Though adopted overwhelmingly, the resolution sparked debate across the island. “A lot of people reacted out of fear and ignorance,” said Ouansafi.

“They’ve had a chance to reflect a little bit more and people are coming around.”

Last Defendant in Tennessee Islamic Center Burning Pleads Guilty

WASHINGTON–Eric Ian Baker pleaded guilty on Sep.22 in federal court in Nashville, Tenn., for his role in burning and vandalizing the Islamic Center of Columbia, Tenn., on Feb. 9, 2008. Baker was charged with violating civil rights that protect religious property and for using fire in the commission of a felony. Two other defendants, Michael Corey Golden and Jonathan Edward Stone, had previously pleaded guilty in November 2008 for their roles in the arson.

During the plea hearing, Baker admitted that he, Golden and Stone assembled Molotov cocktail incendiary devices, broke into the Islamic Center, ignited the devices and used them to completely destroy the mosque. He admitted to painting swastikas and the phrase “White Power” on the mosque in the course of the arson and that they acted because of the religious character of the property.

“The law protects the right of all Americans to worship where and how they choose without fear of violence or intimidation,” said Loretta King, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division will vigorously prosecute those who, through acts of terror, attempt to interfere with that right.”

“This type of crime strikes at the heart of our civil rights and religious freedoms in America. I am very pleased that through local, state and federal cooperation all defendants responsible for this vile attack have been brought to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Edward M. Yarbrough for the Middle District of Tennessee.

“Every Muslim who saw the news photos with the Swastika painted on the burned out Islamic center was victimized by this attack. Today, they can clearly see that American law enforcement stands strongly with them to guarantee their freedoms to worship and assemble,” said ATF Nashville Field Division Special Agent in Charge James M. Cavanaugh.

“The FBI is committed to protecting the civil rights of all people through the enforcement of federal civil rights statutes,” said FBI Memphis Division Special Agent in Charge My Harrison. “The destruction of any place of worship will not be ignored and the FBI will make every effort to bring those who commit such heinous acts to justice.”

A date for Baker’s sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later time. Stone and Golden are scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 23, 2009. All three defendants face prison sentences of up to 30 years for damaging religious property and for using fire and an explosive device to commit a federal felony offense.

The case was investigated by the Columbia, Tenn., Police Department and special agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal McDonough and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Jonathan Skrmetti.

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Houstonian Corner (V11-I41)

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Community has Confidence: Khalid Khan Next City Councilman of District “F”

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Khalid Khan (Right) With Famous Businessman Of Houston Farouk Shami…

Houstonians of diverse background gathered at two fundraisers this past weekend at Shahnai Restaurant Southwest Houston and Lazzeeza Restaurant North Houston, to raise funds for the Campaign of Khalid Khan for the City of Houston District “F” Position.

Shahnai event was organized by several close friends and well-wishers and more than $110,000 were raised, while Lazzeeza’s program was arranged by Badat (spearheaded by Iqbal Badat), Akhlaq and Mohammad Ahmed Families and $10,000 were raised.

Present City Councilman of District “F” M. J. Khan, who is going to be termed out, has said that whenever he meets his constituents, they ask him if Khalid Khan is his son: Majority of the constituents regards M. J. very high and are showing keen interest in Khalid Khan’s Campaign and the Community should have belief that the next City Councilman of District “F” will be another Khan, i.e. Khalid Khan and community needs to come out in large numbers to vote for Khalid: He is a winnable candidate.

Khalid Khan in his usual eloquent manner, talked about his vision for District “F”. As the next City Councilman for District “F”, Khalid Khan has plans to improve the safety by increasing the amount of officers on patrol and by ramping up the neighborhood watch. He also wants to add more green spaces, so that families can enjoy time together. Additionally, he wants to focus on the revitalization of Sharpstown Mall and other District “F” businesses that need attention. As per his track record, Khalid plans to have an open-door policy for all of his constituents. For more information, one can visit: http://www.khanforcouncil.com/

Other six candidates for District F are Peter Acquaro, a senior vice president at Wealth Development Strategies; Joe Chow, retired assistant director for the City’s Planning and Development Department; Lewis Cook, a former assistant Texas attorney general; AL Hoang, a defense attorney; Robert Kane, who works in hotel management; and Mike Laster, a real estate attorney.

Khalid Khan, as everyone knows, is a small business owner, community activist, and devoted family man is running to be the next City Councilman for District “F”. He is a long time resident of Houston and has been doing business in District F for 22 years.

Voted “outstanding businessman” (Pakistani-American Association of Greater Houston Award, 2009), Khalid is the owner of Capricorn Travel. For sixteen years, Khan has run a successful business; he understands how to adhere to a budget and still be productive. He has pledged to use his experience running a small business within City Hall in an effort to improve city services for fewer tax dollars.

Khalid Khan is extremely active in the community. He is a member of Hillcroft Merchant’s Association, which is an organization dedicated to protecting small business owners from crime. Khan is also a chief fundraiser for The House of Charity, an organization dedicated to providing high quality medical and surgical care to impoverished children. Khalid Khan is also a lifetime member of PAAGH, first serving as chairman of Education & Publication Committee, then chairman of Constitution Committee and then vice president for two years. He became president of PAAGH on January 1st, 2009.

Khalid Khan is an outstanding leader who was instrumental in the rebuilding of lives after Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. Of note, he led a campaign to raise $40,000 for the Red Cross 911 Relief Fund, established a relief center in District F, and organized blood drives and flu shots at medical camps in District F. He is known for giving his time to others and hopes to continue that tradition as the next City Councilman for District F.

Khalid Khan is a strong family man. He and his wife, Mehreen Khan, have been married for the past 15 years and have two beautiful daughters: Samar (14) and Mahek (13).

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Pakistan On The Edge of The Precipice

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By Shahid R. Siddiqi

“American interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs reaches such an ominous level that the country seems to be run by an American under secretary of state or envoy, Richard Holbrook, rather than its elected representatives.”

In recent years, American strategists have propagated the need to redraw political boundaries of Islamic states along ethnic lines. Driven by paranoia with resurgent Islam and their obsession to control this very important oil rich region, they seek to legitimize their actions by labeling them as effort to dispense justice for `oppressed Muslim minorities’.

The underlying belief is that smaller entities would be easier to micromanage through puppet regimes, enabling them to contain militancy and squeeze into extinction Jehadi outfits by choking their funding.

This `remapping’ involves splintering the Muslim world and creating sovereign states of Balochistan, Kurdistan and Arab Shia State by carving out and unifying Pakistani and Iranian Baluchistan territories to create Free Balochistan; unifying Iranian, Iraqi and Turkish Kurdistan to create Greater Kurdistan and slicing off Eastern Saudi Arabia to unite it with Southern Iraq to create Shia Arab State. It is no coincidence that these territories hold the bulk of the world oil and host anti-imperialist movements.

“The global interests of the United States have routinely propelled it into adversarial engagement with the Muslims, losing their hearts and minds.”

Brilliant thinking! This promises them a picture-perfect Muslim world, tailored to their needs. The difficulty, however, is that their undertaking is too ambitious, out of sync with reality and unachievable. And this mindset is bound to pitch Christianity and Judaism versus Islam, a horrifying scenario.

The global interests of the United States have routinely propelled it into adversarial engagement with the Muslims, losing their hearts and minds. More often than not, Israeli interests define U.S. foreign policy direction, particularly where their interests are congruent. Both the US and Israel have eyes on the oil reserves of Caspian Sea and Central Asia, they need an energy pipeline project transiting through Afghanistan and Pakistan’s Balochistan and desperately want a wider security shield for Israel, which involves denuclearizing Pakistan.

Israel’s interest to de-fang Pakistan’s nuclear ability dates back to mid-eighties when it attempted to bomb Kahuta facility in collusion with the Indians – a mission that was aborted when an alert Pakistan Air Force took to the skies. Now in Afghanistan they have a perfect opportunity to collude with the United States and India to take out Pakistan’s nuclear assets.

Pakistan’s denuclearization is important to India too. Pakistan must be trimmed to size to enable India to achieve undisputed regional leadership. This is also in the interest of the United States: as a dominant regional power – India, could counter China which grows stronger by the day and will eventually challenge American expansionism into Asia. Together with Russia, China has already forged an alliance, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, to squeeze the U.S. military bases out of Central Asia. For the United States, an independent Balochistan will also be very important. This could easily be used to pressurize Iran and serve as energy corridor to Central Asia.

“President Obama’s insistence to stay on in Afghanistan and proceed with a massive military buildup is apparently not without a sister motive.”

Pakistan is, therefore, up for reconfiguration in this chess game of geo-strategic interests. The United States is no longer interested in Pakistan as a unified entity. President Obama’s insistence to stay on in Afghanistan and proceed with a massive military buildup is apparently not without a sister motive. Afghanistan not only provides a safe haven and logistical support for espionage and subversion against Pakistan, its puppet government has also joined the bandwagon by creating its own Research & Analysis Milli Afghanistan (RAMA) with Indian help and tasked it to destabilize Pakistan.

In his 2006 treatise `Blood Borders’, Col. Ralph Peters, a Pentagon advisor, advocated the incorporation of NWFP into Afghanistan and creation of a sovereign `Free Balochistan’, carved out of Baloch areas of Pakistan and Iran. His grounds: ‘ethnic affinity’.

Pakistani Balochistan is estimated to hold 25.1 trillion cft. of gas and 6 trillion barrels of oil, in addition to gold and copper deposits. It borders Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia and China and has a strategically located port that can provide to Central Asian countries and China an opening to Arabian Sea.

In his article, Drawn and Quartered (NY Times) Selig Harrison of the Center of International Policy, Washington, forecasts Pakistan’s break up into three sovereign entities along ethnic lines:

Pashtunistan (comprising Pashtuns of NWFP and Afghanistan), Free Baluchistan (a federation comprising Sindh and Baluchistan) and Pakistan (comprising the “nuclear armed Punjabi rump state”). He attributes Pakistan’s balkanization to rising nationalist sentiment in the Pashtun belt and growing disillusionment of the Pashtuns, Balochis and Sindhis with Punjab and Pakistan.

Both Col. Peters and Harrison essentially sing the same tune and present a doctrine that seems to broadly reflect America’s long term objectives.

In his article The Destabilization of Pakistan, Michel Chossudovsky, Director of Montreal-based, Center for Research on Globalization (author of America’s “War on Terrorism”) warns: “Washington’s foreign policy course is to actively promote the political fragmentation and balkanization of Pakistan as a nation”. He states:

“The U.S. course consists of fomenting social, ethnic and factional divisions and political fragmentation, including the territorial breakup of Pakistan. This course of action is also dictated by U.S. war plans in relation to both Iran and Afghanistan.”

“ … a joint espionage network of CIA, Mossad, MI-6 and RAW operates in Afghanistan to destabilize Pakistan and other regional countries.

This cannot be dismissed as conspiracy theory. There are pointers that corroborate Chossudovsky’s thesis. The Indo-US Strategic Partnership Deal “is in place that aims at containing and curbing the rising military and economic power of China and the increasing threat of Islamic extremism in the region”. Reports indicate that a joint espionage network of CIA, Mossad, MI-6 and RAW operates in Afghanistan to destabilize Pakistan and other regional countries.

Evidence has emerged that dissidents from Pakistan are being trained at Sarobi and Kandahar for missions inside NWFP, whereas bases at Lashkargah and Nawah are being used to train dissidents from Balochistan for missions in support of Balochistan Liberation Army.

With this backdrop, view other developments: Benazir returns after a deal with the US and is eliminated. Musharraf is shown the door.

Zardari, a man of most dubious credentials, is catapulted into the presidency as Benazir’s replacement and assumes all powers. Economic downturn bankrupts the country and creates social chaos. The federal and provincial governments are completely immobilized. Corruption hits the sky. And the people begin to lose faith in the federation.

Then as a sequence to Bombay fiasco the army is made to run from pole to post, insurgencies erupt in the FATA, North and South Waziristan and Malakand Division by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan Рa rogue outfit aided and supported from Afghanistan and which is a known prot̩g̩ of the occupiers of Afghanistan, the NWFP gets destabilized, the Army gets bogged down in quelling insurgencies and maintaining internal security, Baloch separatists get energized and the people of Pakistan are massacred and terrorized.

American interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs reaches such an ominous level that the country seems to be run by an American under secretary of state or envoy, Richard Holbrook, rather than its elected representatives. The parliament ceases to be of any consequence. Pakistan suddenly finds itself in turmoil, the like of which it has not experienced before.

Even the man on the street fears that the US-Israeli-Indian nexus is out to deprive Pakistan of its nuclear assets and dismember it in the process, if necessary. The media is screaming that the NWFP and Balochistan are targets of subversion. The consensus is that the American show of support and financial assistance is hogwash and that the PPP government is a pawn in this game.

There is a pervasive fear that Pakistan has reached the edge of the precipice.

“The alternative is for all political parties to immediately come together …”

Unfortunately Pakistan’s political elite does not seem to take note of this. It has historically lacked foresight and comprehension of the bigger picture. The politicians ceaselessly pursue self-aggrandizement and their preoccupation is the game of personal power politics, which makes them oblivious to the disaster in waiting.

Their camp followers keep singing their praises and preach: `every thing will be alright once we come to power’. To expect such political pygmies to turn the tide would amount to committing suicide.

Can Pakistan be pulled back from the edge of the precipice? The answer is yes. But to deal with these extraordinary circumstances Pakistan needs leadership with extraordinary ability. Such leadership is just not there.

The alternative is for all political parties to immediately come together, shun differences and find a way of jointly and sincerely managing the country – call it a national government if you please.

Its first priority should be to avert the collapse that is otherwise imminent. It must end foreign interference and pursue a national agenda instead of petty personal agendas. The issues are critical and many and must be identified and resolved with the collective wisdom of politicians, armed forces, technocrats and the intelligentsia. Fundamental constitutional, political, economic and social reforms are inevitable to give the country a fresh start. After a pre-specified time frame of say five years, a political government could return through fair elections.

This seems to be the solution of last resort. And if this opportunity is lost those at the helm and those who watch silently will be considered ex-post-facto accomplices in the dismemberment of Pakistan.

Shahid R. Siddiqi lives in Baltimore MD and in Pakistan. He served in the Pakistan Air Force and later joined the corporate sector with which he has remained associated until recently in Pakistan, the US and South Africa where he has held senior positions. Simultaneously, he has worked as a journalist and a broadcaster. He was the Bureau Chief of Pakistan & Gulf Economist, an English weekly published from Karachi (Pakistan).

Siddiqi now writes on political and geopolitical subjects and his articles are carried by the daily newspapers such as Dawn and The Nation (Pakistan) and online publications such as Axis of Logic, Foreign Policy Journal, Middle East Times and Globalia.

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Israel Hunts Critics

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By Haroon Siddiqui

In trying to discredit Richard Goldstone’s UN report on the Israeli attack on Gaza, Israel and its supporters are shooting the messenger, says another high-profile Jewish public intellectual critical of Israeli policies on Palestinians.

Richard Falk, professor emeritus in international law at Princeton University and prolific author, is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Last December, he was expelled from Israel after characterizing the crippling Israeli economic blockade of Gaza (in effect since 2007) as collective punishment, amounting to “a crime against humanity.”

Falk is to speak in Toronto today on the Arab-Israeli conflict (2 p.m., U of T’s Health Sciences Building, 155 College St., Room 610).

A four-person panel led by Judge Goldstone of South Africa, the former chief prosecutor of the war crimes tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda, has accused Israel of war crimes in Gaza, including deliberately targeting civilians.

Falk said in a phone interview Thursday that the panel “confirms the prior allegations that Israel has been acting unlawfully, indeed criminally, but it (the panel) does so more comprehensively and with a very credible group led by Goldstone, who’s known for his sympathy for Zionism and Israel.

“I’ve known him well. He has deep emotional and intellectual links to Israel but he also has a professional attachment to the rule of law. If he can be attacked as biased against Israel, then anyone on the planet is susceptible to that attack.

“Israel’s tactic – I’ve also experienced this myself – is that rather than discuss the message, they talk about the messenger and try to discredit the auspices or the person who’s bringing critical assessments of their behavior.

“They don’t make any effort to engage in the substantive debate because they really can’t do that with any degree of effectiveness.”

Goldstone also characterized the Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel as war crimes. But Falk said that, contrary to popular belief, the rocket attacks “did not precipitate the Israeli attack. They had basically stopped during the temporary ceasefire. It was Israel, not Hamas, that broke the ceasefire Nov. 4 by launching a big attack inside Gaza.”

The Israeli Gaza operation and the Goldstone report represent a turning point. Both have had “a very strong political impact on the Palestinian solidarity movement around the world, which is essentially a successor to the (South African) anti-apartheid campaign that was also waged globally.”

The Arab-Israeli conflict is thus “reaching a new phase that’ll be shaped less by the military and the violent dimensions of it but more by the symbolic and the normative dimensions of law and morality.”

Therefore, overwhelming Israeli military superiority may no longer do. Israel will face increasing calls for an economic boycott, disinvestments and economic pressure.

Does he support such calls?

“I’m not normally in favour but, under the circumstances, I’m reluctantly in favour.”

His overall assessment:

“Israel seems completely unwilling to allow a viable Palestinian state … The expansion of Jewish settlements, a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention; the blockade of Gaza, a collective punishment prohibited by the Fourth Geneva Convention, that endangers the entire population of 1.5 million that includes 53 per cent children; and the changing of the character of East Jerusalem by making it difficult for Palestinians to stay there and encouraging a much greater residential Jewish population” – all seem designed to scuttle any real solution.

What of the argument that Israel does not have a peace partner?

“It’s partially true that there’s neither Palestinian unity nor acceptable Palestinian representation.

“But that’s partly a consequence of Israel’s own actions – its refusal to treat Hamas, democratically elected, as a real political actor, rather than dismissing it as a terrorist group. For decades that was done in Northern Ireland, preventing a negotiated resolution.”

As for the Palestinian Authority, “its limited capacity is partly a result of Israel’s own attempts to co-opt it, which it has been somewhat successful in, but that undermines the P.A.’s ability to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinians.”

Falk is not too hopeful regarding Barack Obama’s peace initiative, given that the president does not seem to apply to Israel his own oft-repeated commitment to the rule of law. Obama has backed out of his call on Israel to freeze settlements, urging it only to show “restraint.”

As for Canada, it “could play a useful role if it were to be independent of pro-Israeli geopolitics and was more balanced and impartial.”

hsiddiqui@thestar.ca

Crescent Chicken Patties Selected by ShopRite Stores

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Plated Chicken Pattie Chicago, IL – Crescent Foods announces that ShopRite has selected Crescent Chicken Patties as the healthy value choice for stores in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

ShopRite selected Crescent Chicken Patties for their nutrition-conscious consumers. The patties are pure fresh grain-fed chicken, with no preservatives, no artificial ingredients. The birds are raised cage-free and healthy, for better flavor worthy of Halal certification.

“Unlike most fast food chicken patties, ours offer high flavor and low fat. That allows parents to serve their families just what they want, but still know it is also good for them,” said Ahmad Adam, founder and CEO of Crescent Foods.

ShopRite is introducing patties in three of the seven available flavors: Original, BBQ, and Gyros. The frozen patties are packaged in boxes of eight quarter-pound patties. They can be sautéd or grilled, quickly and easily right from the frozen state. They may be served with eggs for a lower fat breakfast, on a bun or pita, cut in strips on a salad or over pasta with a favorite sauce.

ShopRite is the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the United States. Crescent Foods is the largest provider of premium Halal poultry in the country.

Crescent Foods Patties Group

For more information, contact Crescent Foods 1-800-939-6268 www.crescenthalal.com.

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Gaddafi’s Tent Is Dismantled in New York Suburb

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By Ellen Wulfhorst

2009-09-27T203653Z_01_VEN022_RTRMDNP_3_LATAM-AFRICA

Libya’s leader Muammar Gaddafi looks at a flag during the plenary session at the Africa-South America Summit in Margarita Island September 27, 2009. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Gaddafi urged African and South American leaders on Saturday to strive for a new world order countering Western economic dominance.

REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

NEW YORK, Sept 23 (Reuters) – Workers on Wednesday dismantled a tent that had been pitched in suburban Bedford, New York, for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi amid threats of criminal action by local authorities.

Officials in the affluent town, about 30 miles (50 km) north of New York City, had ordered the tent be taken down because it violated building and zoning law, authorities said.

The tent had been put up on land owned by developer Donald Trump. Gaddafi, a famously eccentric figure, is known for pitching a large Bedouin tent on his trips abroad.

It was the Libyan leader’s third attempt to have a tent set up in the New York area for his stay.

“The tent is coming down, and he’s not staying here tonight,” said Donna Greene, spokeswoman for the Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano. Bedford is located in Westchester County.

“That’s subject to change,” she added. “You just never know what’s going on with this guy.”

The 213-acre (86-hectare) estate is owned by Seven Springs LLC, part of the Trump Organization. Trump said the land had been leased on a short-term basis to Middle Eastern partners.

“We have requested that the tenant occupying the property in Bedford, New York remove the tent that was erected. They have complied with this request,” the Trump Organization said in a statement on Wednesday. “Additionally, Mr. Gaddafi will not be going to the property.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Gaddafi delivered a rambling 94-minute speech to the U.N. General Assembly that touched on everything from the assassination of John F. Kennedy to swine flu and denounced the powers of the U.N. Security Council, which he said should be called the “Terror Council.”

Gaddafi last month had plans to erect a tent in suburban New Jersey where the Libyan Embassy owns property, but the U.S. government blocked those plans. A request to set up his tent in New York’s Central Park was also turned down.

Bedford building officials issued a “stop work” order to a property caretaker on Tuesday and had threatened civil or criminal action if the tent was not dismantled, said Bedford town attorney Joel Sachs.

Gaddafi’s plans for using the tent were never made clear. He was believed to have stayed at Libya’s U.N. mission in New York City on Tuesday night.

Gaddafi has come under criticism for giving a celebratory reception to Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, who was convicted of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people, and recently freed from prison by Scottish authorities.

Bedford is home to such celebrities as homemaking expert Martha Stewart and fashion designer Ralph Lauren. It is 13 miles (20 km) from Chappaqua, where former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton own a home.

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Advani Plays Ayodhya-Card Again: Why?

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By Nilofar Suhrawardy, Muslim Media News Service (MMNS) India Correspondent

NEW DELHI: What could be senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani’s political strategy? Soon after he voiced his “commitment” towards building of a temple at the controversial site in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, Advani indicated his inclination to distance himself from politics. Earlier this week, Advani held a discussion with Swami Vishwesh Teerth, seer of Udupi Pejavar Math (September 28). The seer, who is one of the trustees of Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas Trust, advised Advani not to retire from politics. Advani called on the seer on occasion of a Hindu occasion- Vijay Dashami. Interestingly, the temple-issue did not figure in the discussions Advani had with Teerth. “He (Advani) came here on a religious visit. While chatting, he expressed his desire to retire from politics, but I suggested to him to stay back, because the younger generation needed his guidance,” the seer said. “I did not ask him anything about this, but looking at the pace in which the present political scenario is heading Advani expressed his desire to retire from politics,” he said. “There was no discussion about the Ramjanmbhoomi movement during the meeting,” the seer said. On his meeting with the seer, Advani said: “I met him to seek his blessings on the occasion of Vijay Dashami and I am happy about the meeting.”

Interestingly, the BJP has tried to downplay Advani’s meeting with the Hindu seer and saffron leaders seem fairly unimpressed by his call for building the temple at Ayodhya. They apparently view these moves as Advani’s attempts to silence those who feel that it is time he graciously retired from politics. The veteran politician (82) is the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, to which he was elected for the sixth term in parliamentary elections held this year.

Emphasizing that he learnt about Advani’s meeting with Pejavar seer only through media, BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said: “I came to know about this meeting only through the media. I request the media not to give any political angle to this meeting.”

Advani reiterated his stand on building the temple at Ayodhya, after his visit to the Somnath temple (Gujarat). Advani strongly believes that the Ram Janmabhoomi Rath Yatra, he launched on September 25, 1990 from Somnath played a crucial role in contributing to BJP’s emergence as a national party. Since 1990, Advani has been visiting the Somnath temple every year on September 25. The yatra (procession) also had a negative impact, leading to political polarization along communal lines, riots across the country and the demolition of Babari Masjid on December 6, 1992. After this year’s visit to Somnath, Advani told media in Ahmedabad: “People in the country would be happy and satisfied only when a decent temple is built at Ayodhya. I will keep visiting Somnath Temple till the Ram Mandir is built in Ayodhya.”

Paradoxically, with Indian political culture having changed significantly over the past two decades, Advani’s stand on Ayodhya-issue has not had any major impact in political circles. At the most, it has provided BJP’s rival party- the Congress some ground to question Advani and his party’s political credentials. Till not too long ago, even Congress leaders refrained from strongly criticizing the BJP on Ayodhya-issue out of the fear of losing “Hindu” votes. The Congress is now apparently convinced that the average Indian voter – Hindu, Muslim or of any other religion- is least likely to be taken for a ride by communal rhetoric voiced by BJP leaders. Rather than remain a mute spectator to Advani’s recent comment on Ayodhya-issue, the Congress has thus questioned the same.

“Advani is raising such issues to avoid and delay his forced retirement which is being pushed by senior leaders of BJP and RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh),” Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmad said. The Congress has a very clear stand on the Ayodhya issue, Ahmad said. “A solution to it can be found only in two ways either through a consensus and mutual amity between the two communities or as per the decision of the court,” Ahmad said.

Much to Advani’s dismay, his attempt to revive the Ayodhya-issue has not invited any strong support for him from his own political camp too. This is suggested by party’s spokesman Rudy calling on the media not to add much political importance to Advani’s meeting with Pejavar seer. While some critics have said that the time for Advani to retire from politics was “appropriate now,” former BJP ideologue K.N. Govindacharya said that his retirement is overdue. Govindacharya said: “Advani should have stepped down in 2004 itself (following the party’s defeat in then elections) but dragged himself for five more years and now has brought himself to this situation where he has to take all this criticism (from within and outside the party).”

Though rumors about his retirement from politics have been circulating since BJP faced defeat in Lok Sabha polls, held earlier this year, neither the party nor Advani himself have yet taken a clear stand on the issue. Besides, rather than being forced into political retirement, Advani is reportedly working on creating a post for himself in BJP, similar to that held by party supremo Sonia Gandhi in the Congress. The RSS chief Mohan Bhagat and BJP president Rajnath Singh, however, are strongly opposed to this plan of Advani. Be it the Ayodhya-issue and/or his meeting with Hindu seer, Advani apparently is preparing cards to counter those keen on ensuring his retirement from the political stage.

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Analysis of President Ahadminejad’s Speech Before the UN General Assembly

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By Geoffrey Cook, Muslim Media News Service (MMNS)

New York–September 23rd–The President Ahmadinejad of the Iran spoke at the United Nations last week.   It was a raucous and controversial affair, and was overshadowed by President Obama’s later accusation that Tehran had a third nuclear facility that his nation had not acknowledged; and, thus, had not been examined by the IAEA (the International Atomic Energy Agency).  Although United States intelligence was aware of this facility for four years, it is curious the States chose this moment to directly confront the Chief Executive of the (Shia) Islamic Republic.  Dr. Ahmadinejad responded that his nation was well within International Law (for they always had claimed that their Program was for peaceful purposes, and his nation did not have to declare it until it was closer to going online).  Later the President of Iran committed his nation to an IAEA visit to that facility.

Ahadminejad has had the accusation of being anti-Semitic in the West, but how can he be anti-Semitic when he is the strongest State supporter of the Palestinians, a Semitic people!  As he utters, “…can one imagine that the inhuman policies in Palestine may continue; to force the entire population of a country out of their homeland…by resorting to force and coercion; to attack…with all types of arms and even prohibited weapons; to deny them of their legitimate right of self-defense, while…the international community calling the occupiers as the peace lovers, and portraying the victims as terrorists!”  Clearly, an article in Britain’s Standard of September 24th declared his speech at the U.N. was an “ant-Semitic rant” failed to read it closely.  In a blog notation of September 19th by the great scholar of Persia, Juan Cole, reporting the President’s talking about Zionist emigration into the former Palestinian Mandate on a recent Jerusalem Day in Tehran, the President stated, “…The occupation of Palestinian land had no connection with the holocaust…” 

As for threatening to wipe Israel off the map, it comes from an ambiguous quote Ahmadinejad made from the late Ayatollah Khomeini, “The Zionist regime over Jerusalem” must eventually “vanish from the pages of time.” 

A quote is never directly coercion, although it could be interpreted as an indirect intimidation depending upon the context.  He has denied the extent of the holocaust from six to five million souls exterminated.   Now even the old Soviet Federation had their own take on the tragedy:  It was not six million Jews that died but six million Slavs, because that was the majority of their citizenship. 

The position of Ahmadinejad is, since the Holocaust happened in Europe, why should the Arabs, who had nothing to do with horrors of the thirties and forties in Europe during the last century, be the ones to “pick up the pieces.”

Now,  unfortunately, the Zionist Right has taken these ambiguous and culturally unspecific comments out of context for their own propagandistic vilification of this man and his country.

Unfortunately, most Western countries took the Zionist propaganda “hook, line and sinker” because of the right-wing Zionist lobbies in their own countries who have a huge influence over their politics by their overwhelming monetary reserves; and, thus Western delegates walked out when the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran stepped up to the dais.           

“Semites” include Jews and Arabs — when their genes have been inter-mixed with the communities historically around them — and a good deal of the Eastern European Jews where descended from Khazar converts in the Ninth Century (CE) in what is now Southern Russia, and were Turkic and not from the ancient Levant. 

Later they inter-married with Yiddish-speaking Jews who had emigrated from Central Europe (the present Germany) into Eastern Europe to form the Ashkenazi, who in turn, formed the modern State of Israel under a Zionist ideology. 

Ahmadinejad’s objection is not about Judaism as such (there are 20,000 Jewish citizens within Iran still), but Zionism’s right to invade the Levant and to steal the (Palestinian) Arab land through Settler Colonialism “How can the crimes of the occupiers against defenseless women and children and destruction of their homes, farms, hospitals and schools be supported unconditionally…” 

Of course, one of the least auspicious aspects of his trip here was his recently contested second election to the Presidency with massive urban street riots ensuing (which your essayist desires to discuss in the ensuing few weeks.)  Yet, he asserts that “Our nation has…gone through a…democratic election…They entrusted me…with a large majority…”  He, further, avers that “…the Islamic Republic of Iran…[is]…one of the most democratic and progressive governments of [in] the world…” 

It is a (Shia) Islamic democracy, though, so those under Jeffersonian or Westminster systems deny it as democratic, and; therefore, is against Tehran “Approaches…in which realization of the interests of certain powers is considered as the only criteria to weigh democracy,” and in a clear allusion to the former U.S. President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, ”…the approaches…[that]…dictators are portrayed as democrats, lack legitimacy and must be totally rejected!…They can no longer sit both [as] the judge and the executor and challenge the real democratically established governments…The awakening of nations and the expansion of freedom worldwide will no longer allow them to continue their hypocrisy!”  This leads him into his anti-Colonial / Imperialist views:
His anti-Colonialist position is clearly enunciated, “We must all remain vigilant to prevent the pursuit of colonialism, discriminatory and inhuman goals,” and even more Imperialism, “It is not acceptable that some…several thousands of kilometers away from the Middle East would send their troops… It is no longer possible to bring a country under military occupation in the name of [the] fight against terrorism…”  Of course, he sees the root of the conflict is embedded within the overriding economic system:

As Communism finally fell, “…expansionist Capitalism will certainly have the same fate…”  Further, “It is no longer possible to inject thousands of billions of dollars of unreal wealth to the world economy simply by printing worthless paper assets, or transfer inflation as well as social and economic problems to others through creating [and] sever budget deficits. The engine of unbridled capitalism with its unfair system of thought has reached the end of road…The era of capitalist thinking and imposition of…thoughts on the international community, intended to predominate the world in the name of globalization and the age of setting up empires is over. It is no longer possible to humiliate nations and impose double standard policies on the world…”  Ahadminejad is pronouncing an Islamic view for world economic reform.

Central to this man’s personality and policies is his religiosity:  His solution to the world’s problem must have a component of pious Muslim principles, “…we must take change seriously and help others through collective work to return to the basic moral and human values.

“Messengers were sent by God to show the light of the truth to human kind, they came to make people aware of their individual and social obligations.  Piety, having faith…[in]…Allah [SWT] …offered by the Messengers of God from Adam to Noah, from Noah to Abraham, Moses, Jesus Christ and the last one Prophet Muhammad (s). 

“All of them came to do something to eliminate war and ignorance, to eradicate poverty and uproot discrimination in order to spread happiness in the entire world.

“They are the best gifts that God Almighty has granted to human beings.”  

H.E. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad concluded his Islamic world view with “…Indeed, the bright future for the mankind will come, but acknowledging a struggle is required while “…waiting for that brilliant time…let’s…prepar[e]…for that bright future.”

Your reporter has been an admirer of President Ahmadinejad, and hope he was not involved in election fraud. 

He has brought his Islamic Republic up to a regional hegemonic power within the Middle East, and a counter-weight to the external Imperialistic powers – especially the United States. 

If Iran was freed from the restrictive embargo, his nation would flourish! 

They desperately require atomic power plants, despite the fact they are sitting on a lake of oil, for they do not have sufficient refining capabilities; and, therefore, have to import gasoline due to the embargo! 

As for the nuclear weapons threat, the big problem in the Middle East is Israel’s over-looming arsenal with no MAD (Mutually Assure Destruction) to counter-balance it. 

If the Medes are preparing nuclear weapons, it is merely to counter Tel Aviv’s threat, and they would probably keep the bombs inactive unless an actual threat was looming–like India and Pakistan before New Delhi’s right-wing party went nuclear to solidify their tottering coalition, and Islamabad had to answer in kind!

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Muslim Lawyers Issue Urgent Community Advisory

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Muslim Lawyers Issue Urgent Community Advisory

**PLEASE FORWARD TO YOUR MOSQUES, FAMILY AND FRIENDS**

American Muslims are committed to preserving the safety and security of our country and support the full and fair investigation and prosecution of those who would seek to bring us harm.  However, Muslim Advocates, the National Association of Muslim Lawyers (NAML) and local Muslim bar associations across the country strongly urge individuals not to speak with law enforcement officials without the presence or advice of an attorney.  Despite the characterization that contact with law enforcement is voluntary and discretionary, information provided — or omitted — during any such interview can become the basis for further investigation or prosecution and have immigration implications.

We highly recommend that attorneys and community leaders share a short, 15-min. "know your rights" video, produced by lawyers with Muslim Advocates, with their mosques, family and friends.  The video provides crucial information about how to handle contact from law enforcement officials.  The video is available in five languages – Arabic, Urdu, Farsi, Somali and English.  Click here to view the video online.

Key tips to keep in mind:

  • There is no legal obligation to speak to law enforcement officials.  You are only required to provide identification to law enforcement officials if asked and immigrants are required to carry proof of immigration status at all times.  Declining to speak cannot be presumed as guilt.
  • Any statements made during an interview can be used against you at a later time.  Lying to a federal officer, even by omission, is a crime.
  • If approached by the FBI or law enforcement, ask for their business cards and say that your lawyer will contact them.

For more information, or for assistance locating an attorney in your area, please visit www.muslimadvocates .org or contact Nura Maznavi. (nura@muslimadvocates. org) 415-692-1484.

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Muslim Advocates is a national legal advocacy and educational organization dedicated to promoting freedom, justice and equality for all, regardless of faith, by using the tools of policy engagement, legal advocacy and civic education and by serving as a legal resource to promote the full participation of Muslims in American civic life.  Muslim Advocates is 501 (c)(3) charitable, tax-exempt nonprofit entity.

Echoes

by

-tufail

In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo (plural echoes) is a reflection of sound, arriving at the listener some time after the direct sound. Typical examples are the echo produced by the bottom of a well, by a building, or by the walls of an enclosed room. A true echo is a single reflection of the sound source. The time delay is the extra distance divided by the speed of sound.

If so many reflections arrive at a listener that they are unable to distinguish between them, the proper term is reverberation.

An echo can be explained as a wave that has been reflected by a discontinuity in the propagation medium, and returns with sufficient magnitude and delay to be perceived.

Echoes are reflected off walls or hard surfaces like mountains and fences.

When dealing with audible frequencies, the human ear cannot distinguish an echo from the original sound if the delay is less than 1/10 of a second. Thus, since the velocity of sound is approximately 343 m/s at a normal room temperature of about 20°C, the reflecting object must be more than 16.2 m from the sound source at this temperature for an echo to be heard by a person at the source.

Sound travels approximately 343 meters/s (1100 ft/s). If a sound produces an echo in 2 seconds, the object producing the echo would be half that distance away (the sound takes half the time to get to the object and half the time to return). The distance for an object with a 2-second echo return would be 1 sec X 343 meters/s or 343 meters (1100 ft).

In most situations with human hearing, echoes are about one-half second or about half this distance, since sounds grow fainter with distance. In nature, canyon walls or rock cliffs facing water are the most common natural settings for hearing echoes.

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