This week’s leaks have exposed the dangerous folly of US and British attempts to control and divide the Palestinians

By Seumas Milne, Guardian UK

Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev (R) and  Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) walk together upon Medvedev’s arrival in the West Bank city of Jericho January 18, 2011. Medvedev drove into the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Tuesday for talks with Abbas on reviving the moribund Middle East peace process.  REUTERS/Ammar Awad

It’s a tragedy for the Palestinian people that at a time when their cause is the focus of greater global popular support than ever in their history, their own political movements to win their rights are in such debilitating disarray. That has been one of the clearest messages from the cache of leaked documents al-Jazeera and the Guardian have published over the past few days. It’s not just the scale of one-sided concessions – from refugees to illegal settlements – offered by Palestinian negotiators and banked for free by their Israeli counterparts. The constant refrain of ingratiating desperation is in some ways more shocking. While Israel’s Tzipi Livni rejects the offer to hand over vast chunks of Jerusalem as insufficient – adding “but I really appreciate it” – and Condi Rice muses over resettling Palestinian refugees in South America, the chief PLO negotiator, Saeb Erekat, is reduced to begging for a “figleaf”.

It’s a study in the decay of what in Yasser Arafat’s heyday was an authentic national liberation movement. Try to imagine the Vietnamese negotiators speaking in such a way at the Paris peace talks in the 70s – or the Algerian FLN in the 60s – and it’s obvious how far the West Bank Palestinian leadership has drifted from its national moorings.

However well the basic contours were known, it’s scarcely surprising many Palestinians are still stunned to discover exactly what is being said and done in their name. Erekat writes in the Guardian that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”, and any deal would be put to a referendum. But as we know from the Palestine papers, he himself made clear in private that such a vote would exclude most Palestinians, particularly refugees. And as he told US officials last year, the same package offered three years ago is “still there”, waiting to be picked up.

But simply to point the finger at Palestinian leaders is to miss the point. What has been highlighted by the documents is not a picture of genuine negotiation and necessary compromise, but of a gross imbalance of power that can’t deliver peace, let alone justice. What’s more, it’s one where the western powers repeatedly intervene to tilt the scales still further against the victims of the conflict.

What has become clearer from the confidential records is that the talk of “partners for peace” is a fantasy. A far more mainstream Israeli leadership than is now in power was not even close to accepting an offer that would anyway have been almost certainly rejected by Palestinians if they had been consulted.

And why would Israeli negotiators do anything else when their rejection was backed to the hilt by the US government? Reading the transcripts of the talks, they often seem to be simply going through the motions.

It is the story of 20 years of failed peace negotiations that became a charade, a way to maintain the status quo rather than deliver the promised two-state solution, and that have now evidently run into the sand. Inevitably, the vacuum they have left behind can only increase the threat of renewed war.

This is the same peace process that produced the breakdown of authentic leadership and the dysfunctional structures of the Palestinian Authority, which underlie the sorry saga disclosed in the leaked documents.

The PA was designed in the 1993 Oslo agreement to be a temporary administration for a five-year transition to statehood. Eighteen years later it has become an open-ended authoritarian quasi state, operating as an outsourced security arm of the Israeli occupation it was meant to replace, funded and effectively controlled by the US, Britain and other western governments.

Its leader’s electoral mandate ran out two years ago, and the authority has become increasingly repressive, imprisoning and torturing both civilian and military activists from its rival, Hamas, which won the last Palestinian elections.

With the large bulk of its income coming from the US and the European Union, the PA’s leaders are now far more accountable to their funders than to their own people. And, as the records of private dealings between US and PA officials show, it is the American government and its allies that now effectively pick the Palestinians’ leaders.

The new administration expected to see “the same Palestinian faces” in charge if the cash was to keep flowing, PA officials were told after Obama’s election: Mahmoud Abbas and, more importantly, the Americans’ point man, Salam Fayyad.

And despite some less strident rhetoric, the US and British governments have continued to promote the division between Fatah and Hamas, in effect blocking reconciliation while pouring resources and training into the PA security machine’s campaign against the Palestinian Islamist movement.

As we also now know, British intelligence and government officials have been at the heart of the western effort to turn the PA into an Iraqi-style counter-insurgency operation against Hamas and other groups that continue to maintain the option of armed resistance to occupation. Shielded from political accountability at home, how exactly does British covert support for detention without trial of Palestinians by other Palestinians promote the cause of peace and security in the Middle East, or anywhere else? In reality, it simply makes the chances of a representative Palestinian leadership that could actually deliver peace with justice even less likely.

The message from the revolutionary events in Tunisia and the spread of unrest elsewhere in the Arab world should be clear enough. Western support for dictatorial pro-western regimes across the region for fear of who their people might elect if given the chance isn’t just wrong – it’s no longer working, and risks provoking the very backlash it’s aimed to forestall.

That applies even more strongly to the Palestinian territories, under military occupation for the past 44 years. Unless those governments that bolster Israeli rejectionism and PA clientalism shift ground, the result will be to fuel and spread the conflict.

For Palestinians, the priority has to be to start to change that lopsided balance of power. That will require a more representative and united national leadership, as the story told by the Palestine papers has rammed home – which means at the very least a democratic overhaul of Palestinian institutions, such as the PLO. In the wake of what has now emerged, pressure for change is bound to grow. Anyone who cares for the Palestinian cause must hope it succeeds.

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January 8, 2011 could very well turn out to be a milestone in the history of Muslim civil rights activism and inter-faith bridge building. On that cold blustery morning, Muslim Peace Coalition organized an initiative to educate the Muslim community and other members of the public on the methods needed to peacefully combat the growing Islamophobia.

In spite of the inclement weather and the climate of fear and hatred against Muslims more than 150 community and youth leaders attended the day long peace leaders training retreat.  During the training retreat the news of the Arizona massacre  broke, underlining the spread of hatred that is threatening the unity of this nation and the urgent need to mobilize against it. The program was specifically designed to train the public on the proper techniques needed to successfully organize and mobilize for the April 9th mass anti war and anti-islamophobia rally.   The event took place in the Islamic Center of Long Island and ran from 9 am till 6 PM. Representatives from various Muslim and non Muslim organizations were in attendance.

The day commenced with a recitation from the Quran which called for the standing up for justice even if it means speaking out against yourself or your own kin. This was followed by the welcome address by Dr. Shaik Ubaid, the New York chapter co-chair of MPC who spoke about the reasons for the launch of the peace coalition and the goals of the training retreat . This was followed by a moving and informative talk regarding the history of peace movements in the United States given by Kathy Kelly.  Kathy Kelly, who many consider to be the conscience of America had just returned from Afghanistan. Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid spoke about how wars are damaging America’s economy and international standing. He talked about the need to organize against war and terrorism. His comprehensive power point presentation also showed how involving the youth in peaceful methods to fight islamophobia will prevent their radicalization.

The third session discussed the media and how individuals and organizations could influence the media and use it as an effective tool to educate the public and influence the policy makers. Bob Keeler, an editor from Newsday talked about various ways that Muslims could have their voices heard in the media.  His practical tips from maintaining individual contacts to fruitful and regular meetings with the editorial board, and on getting the community portrayed in a positive light in all sections of the print media- news, editorial, culture,religion and style were priceless. He asked them to write in the Op-ed sections and contribute to any other column that they were well acquainted with. Dr. Shaik  Ubaid then touched upon previous examples to show how a community can have an effective media-relations effort.

Imam Malik Mujahid was up next and he discussed methods that could be implemented to mobilize the community at different levels in a democratic and peaceful way against Islamophobia.  His multi- media presentation was again a resounding success.

After the lunch and prayer break it was the turn of Ibrahim Abdul Matin, the author of Green Deen to educate and enthrall the delegates on how the youth can and must be mobilized for the betterment of the society. This media personality and environmental activist taught ways to foster understanding and harmony in the American society.

Imam Shamsi Ali then spoke at length about Islam’s stand on inter-faith bridge building.  He emphasized on the Islamic commandments on fostering communal harmony in the society with examples from the life of Prophet Muhammad.

The next session chaired by Habeeb Ahmed, one of the most prominent Muslim leaders of New York, addressed the dangers of Islamophobes using the congressional hearings announced by Congressman Peter King to further spread hatred and fear against the American Muslim community.  Imam Mujahid led an interactive discussion on developing a practical and comprehensive strategy to counter this threat in a democratic fashion by mobilizing all Americans with conscience.

The final session was a solidarity session where leaders of more than 25 inter-faith alliances, peace groups, churches and synagogues spoke against Islamophobia. They expressed solidarity with the Muslim community in the backdrop of Congressman King’s announced hearings. The national and local leaders of the peace and inter-faith groups urged a large turnout for the April 9th rally against war and Islamophobia. This session was moderated by Seemi Ahmed, the co-chair of MPC who spoke about the urgent need to fight against the spread of hatred and political polarization through inter-faith unity on the model of the civil rights struggle. The keynote speaker was George Gresham the president of the SEIU 1199. He spoke movingly about his upbringing in the segregated South and how his family and community struggled to get their rights while maintaining their human dignity and decency all the way. He spoke about the need to be vigilant so as not to lose the hard earned civil rights that were won under the leadership of Rev. Martin Luther King.

The delegates and speakers observed a moment of silence for the victims of the Arizona massacre and prayed for speedy and full recovery of Congresswoman Giffords and other wounded victims. They prayed for the healing of the community.

The retreat sessions were chaired by community leaders and the program was run in a professional and punctual fashion by Seemi Ahmed that won the praise of all.

The training conference came to an end with speeches from Zead Ramadan of Council of American Islamic Relations and Imam Al-Amin Abdul Latif, the President of the Islamic Leadership Council of New York Metropolitan area. ILC is the umbrella organization of the New York area Muslims and Imam Al-Amin gave his personal blessings and promised that ILC will support the April 9th rally.

Muslim Coalition for Peace-USA: http://muslimpeacecoalitionusa.com/ Phone: 202-643-JUST

13-4

By Siddiq Ather

The 2010 fall quarter at Northwestern University started with a string of wonder and excitement. Freshmen and upperclassmen alike stand and sit readying themselves for a year of academic and social growth. In the background the Muslim Cultural Students Association holds a belated Eid event for new, transfer, and returning students to reconvene after a halcyon summer vacation. It is in this event where Tahera Ahmad officially introduced herself to the students at Northwestern as their first Muslim Chaplain.

She was born and raised in the suburb of Morton Grove in Illinois, and played high school basketball. She has experience working with a great variety of communities throughout the Chicago-land area, ranging from big organizations like the Council of Islamic Organizations of greater Chicago (CIOGC) to local youth groups. Her advising and chaplaincy role at Mount Holyoke College as well as her graduate studies on Muslim chaplaincy in Connecticut with help her greatly in her new position. In addition her teaching experience at the Islamic Foundation School in Villa Park in the subjects of Arabic, Quran, and Islamic Studies further enhance her ability to connect with students. The Muslim Cultural Student Association student staff, with students with various ethnic backgrounds, some local and some international, are thrilled to work with her.

Last year the Northwestern University Muslim Cultural Students Association made a big push for help and donations for the victims in Haiti with their Hoops for Haiti event, among others. This year there is much planning and action going on to help the flood victims in Pakistan. Whether it is humanitarian, spiritual, interfaith, or otherwise, a Muslim chaplain on the university is a monumental help and an integral step forward. May the Muslim Cultural Students Association as well as their new Muslim chaplain be endowed a with a multitude of blessings, the ability and initiative to show the core qualities of Islam like love, empathy, community, and progress. For the many students whose universities who do not as of yet have a Muslim chaplain, stay consistent in your endeavor and continue to work towards the many goals a university Muslim student group holds with the myriad of faculties that are available on and around campus.

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By Mark Oppenheimer

This should have been a good New Year’s for Aharon Friedman, a 34-year-old tax counsel for the Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee. He spent time with his 3-year-old daughter, and could have been thinking about the influence he will have starting Wednesday, when his boss, Representative Dave Camp of Michigan, becomes chairman of the powerful tax-writing committee.

Instead, Mr. Friedman, an Orthodox Jew, finds himself scrutinized in the Jewish press, condemned by important rabbis, and attacked in a YouTube video showing about 200 people protesting outside his Silver Spring, Md., apartment on Dec. 19. They were angered by Mr. Friedman’s refusal to give his wife, Tamar Epstein, 27, a Jewish decree of divorce, known as a get.

The Friedman case has become emblematic of a torturous issue in which only a husband can “give” a get. While Jewish communities have historically pressured obstinate husbands to give gets, this was a very rare case of seeking to shame the husband in the secular world.

Holding signs saying, “Do the right thing” and “Free your wife,” the crowd included religious women with their heads covered, men in skullcaps and a rabbi with a bullhorn who shouted, “Withholding a get is abusive.”

Another rabbi took the unusual step of writing to Mr. Friedman’s employer, asking that he lean on Mr. Friedman to grant the Jewish divorce.

Mr. Friedman and Ms. Epstein have been civilly divorced since April and share custody of their daughter, but they are still married according to Jewish law. And without a get neither he nor Ms. Epstein can remarry within the faith. She is considered an agunah, or chained woman.

Although the majority of men in Jewish divorces grant their wives a get with little fuss, the husbands who refuse — it is estimated there are several hundred agunot in the United States today — can provoke a clash between religious folkways and secular divorce law.

Usually these conflicts are resolved quietly, within the religious community. But Ms. Epstein’s frustrated supporters took to the streets.

Like most marriages that end badly, this one began hopefully. On April 23, 2006, Aharon Friedman of Brooklyn married Tamar Epstein, seven years his junior, of suburban Philadelphia. The next year, they had a daughter.

According to court records and interviews with Ms. Epstein, her lawyer and Mr. Friedman, who refused to be quoted publicly, Ms. Epstein said in March 2008 that she wanted a divorce. Her husband said he hoped to reconcile but the next month, she moved with their daughter to her parents’ home in suburban Philadelphia.

Both parties wanted their divorce resolved by a beit din, a Jewish court. But both also availed themselves of civil court: Mr. Friedman to get an emergency order to have his daughter returned to Maryland (it was denied), and Ms. Epstein, thereafter, in a countersuit for divorce. Both have since filed numerous other civil motions in a messy case.

An Orthodox rabbinic court in Baltimore still had not ruled when a Maryland civil court heard the case, in June 2009. It issued its custody order two months later, and in April 2010, the divorce became final.

All parties have said that Mr. Friedman is angry about the custody order, which grants him three weekends a month with his daughter, two of them in Philadelphia, beginning at 6 p.m. on Fridays. As a religious Jew, Mr. Friedman will not drive from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday — so he cannot see his daughter until Sunday.
The custody order is “a joke,” said Yisroel Belsky, a prominent Brooklyn rabbi. “The court decided in a bullheaded way not to respect the Shabbos,” or Sabbath, he said in a interview.

And the Rabbinical Council of Greater Washington issued a statement saying that the parties had not yet exhausted the rabbinical courts, suggesting it was premature to blame Mr. Friedman for withholding the get.

But other rabbis have argued that it is Jewish custom to give a get once divorce terms have been settled, and with no possibility of reconciliation.

“Even if one party acts wrongly to the other, it is never correct either for the husband to withhold a get or for the wife to refuse a get when a marriage is clearly over,” writes Rabbi Jonathan Reiss, who is not involved in this dispute.

Ms. Epstein eventually sought help from the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot, or ORA, an Orthodox group in New York. The group organized the Dec. 19 rally outside Mr. Friedman’s apartment. After videos were posted on the Internet, Washington Jewish Week ran an editorial with the headline “Unchain This Woman.”

Ms. Epstein, still living with her parents and working as a nurse, said: “It’s been over two and a half years since we separated, all I want is to be able to move on and rebuild my life for my sake and my daughter’s sake. And I’ve been held hostage.”

On Dec. 20, Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld of Washington, who supports Ms. Epstein, wrote to Jon Traub, the Republican staff director of the Ways and Means Committee, accusing Mr. Friedman of “psychological terrorism.” Rabbi Herzfeld urged Mr. Traub to “tell Aharon to give the get immediately,” and warned that “it is appropriate to also rally in the vicinity of Aharon’s work place.”

Rabbi Herzfeld said Mr. Traub told him, in a phone call, that this was not a matter for the Ways and Means Committee.

But for Ms. Epstein’s supporters, this is a matter for everyone.

Rabbi Herzfeld told The New York Times, “I don’t think the Messiah can come, as long as there is one agunah in the world.”

The homepage of The Jewish Star featured Rabbi Jeremy Stern leading a protest to pressure Aharon Friedman to give his wife a religious divorce.

13-4

By Paul Krugman

On Wednesday, President Obama called on Americans to “expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy, and remind ourselves of all the ways our hopes and dreams are bound together.” Those were beautiful words; they spoke to our desire for reconciliation.

But the truth is that we are a deeply divided nation and are likely to remain one for a long time. By all means, let’s listen to each other more carefully; but what we’ll discover, I fear, is how far apart we are. For the great divide in our politics isn’t really about pragmatic issues, about which policies work best; it’s about differences in those very moral imaginations Mr. Obama urges us to expand, about divergent beliefs over what constitutes justice.

And the real challenge we face is not how to resolve our differences — something that won’t happen any time soon — but how to keep the expression of those differences within bounds.

What are the differences I’m talking about?

One side of American politics considers the modern welfare state — a private-enterprise economy, but one in which society’s winners are taxed to pay for a social safety net — morally superior to the capitalism red in tooth and claw we had before the New Deal. It’s only right, this side believes, for the affluent to help the less fortunate.

The other side believes that people have a right to keep what they earn, and that taxing them to support others, no matter how needy, amounts to theft. That’s what lies behind the modern right’s fondness for violent rhetoric: many activists on the right really do see taxes and regulation as tyrannical impositions on their liberty.

There’s no middle ground between these views. One side saw health reform, with its subsidized extension of coverage to the uninsured, as fulfilling a moral imperative: wealthy nations, it believed, have an obligation to provide all their citizens with essential care. The other side saw the same reform as a moral outrage, an assault on the right of Americans to spend their money as they choose.

This deep divide in American political morality — for that’s what it amounts to — is a relatively recent development. Commentators who pine for the days of civility and bipartisanship are, whether they realize it or not, pining for the days when the Republican Party accepted the legitimacy of the welfare state, and was even willing to contemplate expanding it. As many analysts have noted, the Obama health reform — whose passage was met with vandalism and death threats against members of Congress — was modeled on Republican plans from the 1990s.

But that was then. Today’s G.O.P. sees much of what the modern federal government does as illegitimate; today’s Democratic Party does not. When people talk about partisan differences, they often seem to be implying that these differences are petty, matters that could be resolved with a bit of good will. But what we’re talking about here is a fundamental disagreement about the proper role of government.

Regular readers know which side of that divide I’m on. In future columns I will no doubt spend a lot of time pointing out the hypocrisy and logical fallacies of the “I earned it and I have the right to keep it” crowd. And I’ll also have a lot to say about how far we really are from being a society of equal opportunity, in which success depends solely on one’s own efforts.

But the question for now is what we can agree on given this deep national divide.

In a way, politics as a whole now resembles the longstanding politics of abortion — a subject that puts fundamental values at odds, in which each side believes that the other side is morally in the wrong. Almost 38 years have passed since Roe v. Wade, and this dispute is no closer to resolution.

Yet we have, for the most part, managed to agree on certain ground rules in the abortion controversy: it’s acceptable to express your opinion and to criticize the other side, but it’s not acceptable either to engage in violence or to encourage others to do so.

What we need now is an extension of those ground rules to the wider national debate.
Right now, each side in that debate passionately believes that the other side is wrong. And it’s all right for them to say that. What’s not acceptable is the kind of violence and eliminationist rhetoric encouraging violence that has become all too common these past two years.

It’s not enough to appeal to the better angels of our nature. We need to have leaders of both parties — or Mr. Obama alone if necessary — declare that both violence and any language hinting at the acceptability of violence are out of bounds. We all want reconciliation, but the road to that goal begins with an agreement that our differences will be settled by the rule of law.

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By Yoginder Sikand

You may lionise him as an ardent `defender of the faith’ or detest him as a pugnacious demagogue, but Zakir Naik is one person you just cannot be indifferent to. Based in Mumbai, this doctor-turned-`Islamic’ missionary-to-the-world-at-large presides over a vast media empire, centred on his Peace TV channel that is avidly watched by literally millions of viewers across the world. Naik’s forte lies in his practised ability to readily denounce other religions and to thereby, at least in the eyes of his awe-struck admirers, prove the superiority of (his own brand of) Islam.

Most non-Muslims who have seen Naik blabber on television, instinctively find him repulsive, or so I would hope and imagine. But Naik’s share of critics is now rapidly expanding to include not just non-Muslims and sensible, liberal, progressive-minded Muslims who are disgusted with his obnoxious tactics and what they regard as his warped and supremacist interpretation of their faith, but, curiously enough, a growing number of influential mullahs or `Islamic’ clerics as well. Their grouse against him, apparent from their statements and writings, is not his vituperative attacks on other faiths that so embarrasses Naik’s liberal Muslim critics. Rather, it has almost everything to do with the challenge that Naik poses to their claims of being the sole arbiters of `Islamic authenticity’.

Last month, the Mumbai-based monthly Eastern Crescent carried a cover story that summed up, fairly neatly, the arguments of a growing number of mullahs against Naik. The magazine is one of its kind, the mouthpiece of an influential section of Deobandi mullahs. It is probably the only English language periodical that is almost entirely mullah-run. Its editor, all its senior staff and almost all its writers are madrassa-trained mullahs, all of them graduates of the Darul Uloom, Deoband, the largest and probably most influential madrassa in the world. Its founder and chief patron, the Assamese millionaire and politician Badruddin Ajmal Qasmi, is a graduate of the Deoband madrassa and a member of its central governing council.

The cover story of the December 2010 issue of Eastern Crescent is revealingly titled `How a Maulana Rejects Zakir Naik’s Glamour World’. Penned by M Tauqeer Qasmi, it is a winding and rather convoluted report that explains how and why the head of one wing of the Deoband madrassa, `Maulana’ Salim Qasmi, vice president of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board, was finally convinced by his fellow mullahs at a meeting held recently in Mumbai to desist from accepting Naik’s invitation to participate in a mega event being organised by Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation. Around a hundred mullahs were present at the meeting. In describing the meeting, Tauqeer Qasmi highlighted various aspects of Naik and his `Islamic’ channel that have now won him the ire of a major section of the Deobandi mullah community.

Naik’s trespassing into what they regard as their closely-guarded exclusive zone of interpreting Islam, doing so on his own and without their assistance, seems to have been a major sore-point for the mullahs present at the meeting held in honour of the visiting Deobandi head. Although, interestingly enough, the holy Quran stridently denounces priesthood (and this would include mullah-hood, too), the mullahs act virtually as priests, and presume it to be their sole prerogative to interpret Islam. Their authority and leadership, and the worldly pelf that goes with these, are all inextricably linked to this untenable claim. Naturally, then, they regard as nothing short of anathema, Naik interpreting Islam on his own, without their sanction or approval. Not surprisingly, Naik was repeatedly denounced at the meeting for `wrongly’ interpreting the holy Quran.

Naik’s brand of `Islam’ shares much in common with that of the Saudi Wahhabis, who stress a very literalist understanding of the holy Quran and the Hadith, the corpus of traditions containing what are believed by many (though not all) Muslims as the sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Like many Wahhabis, Naik does not appear to believe, so Tauqeer Qasmi alleges, in two other sources of jurisprudence that most other Muslim groups uphold: qiyas, or analogical reasoning, and ijma, or the consensual opinion of Muslims on a particular issue. In contrast, the Deobandis stress all four sources of jurisprudence. In their view, ijma denotes the `consensus’ of the ulema or `Islamic’ clerics (of their particular sectarian persuasion) on a particular issue. Their stress on ijma is central to the claims they make for themselves as the sole authoritative interpreters of Islam. This is because their interpretation of the concept translates into enjoining on Muslims taqlid or blind conformity to their own dictates, which they derive from the texts of the mullahs of the past belonging to their own sectarian persuasion. Any interpretation of any issue that goes against this supposed ijma is quickly branded by the mullahs as `dangerous heresy’. In this way, the concept of ijma is routinely deployed by them to stifle dissent, impose a mindless conformity and shore up their authority, thereby also bolstering their own vested worldly interests.

Not surprisingly, therefore, Naik’s supposed refusal to abide by ijma (as the mullahs understand it) was yet another ground for the Deobandis present at the meeting to roundly denounce him. As Tauqeer Qasmi bluntly put it, `Zakir Naik attempts to deny ijma […] and this is against the spirit of shariah’. He bitterly castigated Naik for allegedly `mislead[ing] common youth by not conforming to these traditional sources of the shariah.’

For the Deobandi mullahs, the issue of Naik’s refusal to abide by the ijma of the mullahs, which they regarded as an affront to their authority, was no harmless academic quibble. They viewed his stance, so it seems, as virtually leading him out of the Sunni Muslim fold, which, in their eyes, is the sole authentic version of Islam. Thus, Tauqeer Qasmi contended, `Zakir Naik repeats that he believes only in holy Quran and sahih (authentic) Hadith. All Muslims from Ahle Sunnah Wal Jamah [ie Sunnis] believe and consider the Quran, Sunnah [the practice of the Prophet], ijma and qiyas as sources of Islamic shariah.’ The insinuation, therefore, was that since Naik reportedly did not abide by ijma and qiyas, he was not a Sunni Muslim at all. And, according to the Deobandi mullahs, only Sunni Muslims (as they define the term, which is deeply contested by rival groups that also claim the Sunni label) are true followers of Islam.

Muslim sects have been battling each other for centuries, each pompously insisting that they alone are true Muslims and that all other Muslims (and the rest of humanity as well) are doomed to everlasting torment in hell. In the current Deobandi offensive against Naik, their sectarian differences are, not surprisingly, routinely invoked. Naik’s critics accuse him of alleged links with the hardliner neo-Wahhabi Ahl-e-Hadith sect, with which the Deobandis have been engaged in fierce competition for decades, each claiming to represent the sole `authentic’ Islam, roundly denouncing the other as wholly `un-Islamic’. Tauqeer Qasmi accused Naik of covertly working to promote an `undeclared mission’: to `force people’ to `convert to’ ghair muqallidiat, an offensive term for the Ahl-e-Hadith derived from its refusal to abide by taqlid or blind following of any of the four generally prevalent schools of Sunni Muslim jurisprudence which the mullahs adhere to. As `evidence’, he cited the instance of a Muslim employee of Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation who was a Hanafi, the school of jurisprudence to which the Deobandis advise rigid adherence.

This man, Taqueer Qasmi alleged, was compelled by his employers to pray in the Ahl-e-Hadith manner. The difference in the Hanafi and Ahl-e-Hadith manner of praying may strike one as so trivial as to be completely unworthy of comment, but since the mullahs thrive on such matters and use these to fan endless sectarian conflict, it is unsurprising that Tauqeer Qasmi regarded this employee being reportedly made to place his hands on his chest (in the Ahl-e-Hadith fashion), instead of his navel (as the Deobandi Hanafis do), while praying as a heinous crime, one that was tantamount, in his view, to forcible conversion to the Ahl-e-Hadith sect.

The literally thousands of madrassas that they control are the basis of the authority of the mullahs, where would-be mullahs are carefully schooled. Not surprisingly, therefore, the mullahs carefully seek to protect the madrassas from even the most well-meaning and sensible criticism. Tauqeer Qasmi lashed out at Naik, accusing him of seeking to undermine the authority and appeal of the madrassas, probably regarding this as yet another impudent challenge by Naik to the mullahs and their authority. As `proof’ in this regard, he referred to a new method that Naik claimed to have discovered to memorise the entire Quran in a mere three months. He dismissed it as a complete hoax invented by Naik, whom he accused of `do[ing] everything that may catch public attention.’ He denounced Naik for blaming madrassas for having proven unable to `do such an “easy work”’ and, on this basis, for questioning their usefulness. One mullah present at the meeting, Taqueer Qasmi approvingly wrote, went so far as to declare, citing a `conspiracy theory’ that is routinely invoked in the speeches and writings of the mullahs and their followers, that, `Dr Zakir Naik has been doing exactly the same that the Christians and Jews are failed (sic.) to do in India, that is alienating common Muslims from madrassas and ulema [Muslim clerics]. He and his men discourage people from visiting ulema for knowledge and sending children to madrassas.’

Naik, the mullahs at the meeting admitted, had done `some good work’ — which they equated with `successfully debating’ with people of other faiths, this being their curious way of understanding what serving God and the Islamic cause is all about. However, they argued that Naik had outlived his `usefulness’, and that his missionary (dawah) work `is now becoming part of his past.’ They contended that Naik, presiding over a rapidly expanding global `Islamic’ media empire, had `now become more of a glamorous person, looking for petro-dollars to finance his mega events’. One mullah even claimed that Naik was misusing zakat money, sent by Muslims to be used for the poor and the needy, which, so he said, Naik was diverting to fund his television channel, cover advertising expenses and pamper speakers at his mega events in the form of jaunts at five-star hotels, free air tickets and gifts.

Bringing these serious charges against Naik, the mullahs prevailed upon the visiting head of the Deoband madrassa to refuse to accept Naik’s invitation. They claimed that Naik’s intentions in inviting him were wholly sinister. `The reality behind [Naik’s] calling big names and ulema like Maulana Salim Qasmi’, argued Tauqeer Qasmi, `is that complaints have been made to the Auqaf ministry of Saudi Arabia that Zakir Naik is misusing their money and no authentic alim [Islamic scholar] of India supports him. So, Dr Naik is looking to bring renowned ulema to his fold to market his position around the world.’ Salim Qasmi was also advised by his followers that in inviting him, Naik was not at all interested in putting across his views through his television channel. Rather, they claimed, Naik wanted his presence only to use his face, as head of an influential madrassa, so as to attract viewers and thereby bolster his sagging popularity. If Salim Qasmi accepted Naik’s invitation, they warned, it was likely that Naik would excise portions of his speech that did not conform to his `deviant’ Ahl-e-Hadith brand of Islam.
Having carved for himself a `flourishing’ career as the world’s largest `Islamic’ media Mogul essentially by debating non-Muslims and mocking their faiths, Zakir Naik now has a new set of people to debate with — the influential mullahs of Deoband. And, for their part, the latter have now got yet another target to drum up public support against.

Yoginder Sikand frequently writes on Muslim issues.

By Lina Ibrahim and Nayla Razzouk –

Turkey’s Renaissance Holding signed a $180 million agreement to build a real-estate project in Syria, Chairman Erman Ilicak said.

The Taj Halab complex, due to be built in the northern city of Aleppo, will include a shopping mall, movie theaters, hotels, office spaces, art galleries and a convention center, he told a news conference in Damascus today. It will be built on a 200,000 square-meter (2.15 million square feet) area by the end of 2014, Ilicak said after signing the accord with representatives of Syria’s Bena Properties.

Ankara-based Renaissance Holding will have a 30 percent stake in the project with the remaining shares held by Bena Properties, the real-estate arm of Damascus-based Cham Holding.

Syria is encouraging private businesses in its state- dominated economy as it seeks to make up for a decline in oil production. The country opened its first stock exchange in 2009 and in September announced a plan to attract as much as $55 billion in foreign direct investment over the next five years.

To contact the reporters on this story: Nayla Razzouk in Amman at nrazzouk2@bloomberg.net; Lina Ibrahim through the newsroom in Dubai at mideastnews@bloomberg.net

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Daisy Khan speaks on MLK Jr. at interfaith event

PHILADELPHIA,PA–Prominent Muslim activist Daisy Khan spoke on the inspiration she had derived from Martin Luther King Jr.’s example in the recent controversy related to an Islamic Center planned near Ground Zero. She was speaking at Center City’s Arch Street Presbyterian Church as part of an interfaith celebration of King’s life and work, the Inquirer reported.  This 28th annual event was sponsored by the Neighborhood Interfaith Movement, a Mount Airy-based coalition of 58 Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Unitarian congregations.

“He gave us strength,” Khan said. “For us, the struggle is one of acceptance, of being treated as equals.” Khan and her husband, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, are the founders of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, which seeks to build the Islamic center.

“I know a day will come when Islam will be fully accepted as an American religion,” she said. “A day will come when an entire community is not blamed for the actions of a few . . . A day will come when a woman in a scarf and a man in a beard will not strike fear in somebody’s heart.”

Madina Ali bags Big East honor award

MORGANTOWN, WV–Madina Ali of West Virginia University’s women’s basketball team has bagged  her third BIG EAST honor roll award of the season as announced by the league office this week, according to news reports.

Ali has been credited with overturning the fortunes of the Mountaineers from a season’s first loss last week at Marquette. “Ali led the Mountaineers in bouncing back from the loss with her seventh double-double this season as she put up a career-high 32 points and pulled down 10 rebounds against Syracuse. The win extended West Virginia’s home court streak to 29 games. It was the first 30-point game of Ali’s career and the seventh time she led WVU in scoring this season,” the MSN Sports Net reported.

“At forward, Ali was 10-for-19 from the field, shooting 52.6 percent, including a 3-pointer, two blocks, two steals and an assist against the Orange. She also shot 73.3 percent from the free throw line, allowing WVU another 13 points.”

Aid agencies realize the need for religious dietary accommodation

NASHVILLE, TN–When disaster strikes the normal concerns like religious dietary needs are pushed aside. But aid organizations are now recognizing that in such trying circumstances it would be a good idea to be sensitive. The Red Cross organization realized the diversity of Middle Tennessee area last year when the devastating floods forced many residents to seek shelter. It recognized that the area was home to Muslims, Jews, and Hindus who have their own dietary codes.

“In a disaster, there are very limited resources, but we try to plan menus to accommodate as best as we can,” said Joel Sullivan, CEO of the local chapter of the American Red Cross, which serves 17 counties surrounding Nashville, told the Tennessean. “We learned during the flood that there are dietary needs out there that there wasn’t a demand for in this area before.”

In the months after the flood, staff at the Red Cross have been calling community leaders to get advice on how they could have better responded.

There are approximately 25,000 Muslims living in Middle Tennessee.

New trends in Halal retailing in North America

The halal retail market in North America is brimming with opportunities and creative retailers are experimenting in numerous ways of capitalizing it. An often overlooked but growing trend is the emergence of large super-market style stores which are open until late night or for twenty four hours.  Despite facing a slew of hurdles these businesses have grown and expanded.

The New York Times in its January 7th edition carried a report about the transformation of Hill Side in Queens after a number of new businesses propped up. Among these is the giant 24 hr Super Halal Meat. It sells fresh meat along with a whole array of groceries from South Asia and the Middle East. When it opened last year it was picketed by some residents over alleged health safety and traffic concerns. But the owners eventually were able to convince everyone after more than 50 inspections by city officials didn’t find any major violations.

In Chicago the Nayab Mart on the famed Devon Avenue has been in operation for more than a decade. It is also open 24 hrs and specializes in South Asian groceries in addition to halal meat. 

In Toronto Iqbal Foods has become a landmark and a hit not only with Muslims but also non-Muslim consumers. Open until midnight it attracts customers from throughout the Greater Toronto Area and beyond. 

Unlike the Queens case, Nayab and Iqbal Foods have faced little opposition because the areas in which they opened were already dominated by the immigrant population. Devon Avenue is a well known South Asian hub. Thorncliffe Park, where Iqbal is located, is a dense neighborhood with highrises populated mainly by Muslims.

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By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

File:  Aravane Rezai	File:  Sania Mirza
File:  Akgul Amanmuradova	File: Dinara Safina at the 2008 WTA Tour Championships

It has been a rough Australian Open for every female Muslim tennis player. They each took different paths to get to Sydney. But, ultimately, their fates were the same.  The first of the first round casualties was France’s Aravane Rezai, whose demise was probably the most disappointing. Coming is as the 17th seed in the ladies’ singles draw, she faced the optimistic prospect of playing an unseeded player, Czech girl Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, in the first round. Strycova, however, stormed to a 6-0 first set victory. Rezai fought back to take the second set 6-3, but Strycova won the third set 7-5 to end Rezai’s Aussie dreams before they had hardly even been dreamt.

Sania Mirza’s story was a bit more spirited. The Indian barely had time to breathe the prior week. She battled her way through three rounds of qualifying matches and strung together the necessary victories to gain entry into the main draw of the Australian Open ladies singles event. But in the first round she was greeted by seven-time grand slam winner Justine Henin. Mirza fought valiantly, also taking advantage of an injury on the part of Henin. And Sania took the first set 7-5. But Henin took the next two sets 6-3, 6-1 and took the match.

Akgul Amanmuradova also lost in the first round. The Uzbeki fell to Germany’s Kristina Barrois 6-4, 6-2. The loss was especially disappointing in that Akgul had a decent draw, opening with a player ranked lower than her. Amanmuradova is currently ranked number 72 in the WTA world singles rankings, while Barrois is ranked 7 points lower at 79.

But the saddest story belonged to Russian Dinara Safina. It was an especially difficult 2010 for the Russian former world number one, as injury and other struggles sent her tumbling to number 75 in the world. Unfortunately 2011 has so far been even worse. In the third in a series of first round losses, Safina was double-bagled 6-0, 6-0 by Kim Clijsters in the first round. The sister of men’s former number one Marat Safin, Dinara will clearly need more time to straighten out her game, and her head.

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Temple’s #96 Sophomore DT Muhammad Wilkerson, #45 Sophomore DE Morris Blueford Jr. and #58 Junior LB Elijah Joseph

Temple University defensive tackle Muhammad Wilkerson has declared his intention to forgo his senior season of college football and make himself available for this April’s National Football Draft. “I sat down with my mom, and we decided to take the shot now,” Wilkerson told the Philly Sports Daily.

The 6-foot 5-inch, 305 pound defensive lineman has been named to the all-Mid-American Conference first team the past two seasons. And he was named one of the 27 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Football Bowl Subdivision All-Stars for 2010. Wilkerson has already been named to the Outland Trophy Watch List, which tracks the top interior linemen in all of college football. He was also named the MAC Defensive Player of the Week twice in 2010. Wilkerson, who hails from Linden, New Jersey, was Temple’s third leading tackler, and led the team with 9 ½ sacks and 13 tackles for losses.

“I enjoyed my time at Temple University,” Wilkerson said in a statement released by the team. “It was a good experience for me.  I’m thankful for the opportunity for a scholarship and for an education.  I promise to come back and get my degree. I’m definitely going to miss my teammates and being a student-athlete at Temple.”

“I’ve spoken to Muhammad and his mother,” coach Steve Addazio said, “and they feel it’s in his best interest to enter the draft at this time.  We thank Muhammad for all that he has given to Temple Football during his tenure, and we wish him the best.”

Wilkerson is known for his surprising speed and quickness for a young man with such a large, strong frame. He has already started training for the NFL Draft in Atlanta with Competitive Edge Sports. He is currently projected as a second or third round selection in the draft.

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