St. Patrick and St. Joseph Schools & Colleges Reunion Committee USA organized the reunion event at Shahnai Reception Hall, 5912 Hillcroft Ave, Houston, Texas 77036, and simultaneously a Reunion on April 1st 2012 at 9 AM in Karachi, Pakistan with St Patrick’s & St Joseph’s School/Colleges alumni there.
This unique Reunion event was the first of its kind ever in the world as the two events were simultaneously happening at the same time on two different continents live via Skype, so alumni all over the world could also participate in these unique celebrations at the same time.
This Reunion coincides with the 150 years celebrations of St Patrick’s & St Joseph’s Schools/Colleges of Pakistan’s founding in Karachi Pakistan & are some of the oldest educational institutions in Karachi.
St Patrick’s School has many distinguished Alumni including Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari, Former President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf, Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Shaukat Aziz, Former Deputy Prime Minister of India Lal Krishna Advani, Former test Crickets Javed Miandad, Waseem Bari, & Danish Kaneria; and several Chief Ministers, Governors, Chief Justices etc. The event was Organized by Mr. Danny Dhalla, Chairman of the Reunion Committee USA and was assisted by Mrs. Aniqah Quraeshi Chair of the St Josephs School/College & Mr. Shahid Barry Chair of the St Patrick’s School/College.
The event was a glittering success as 250 plus alumni from all over the world participated including from Canada, Chile, Pakistan, UAE, Europe, Texas, Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia, California, Michigan, Florida, Arizona, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Halifax, etc
The Chief Guest was Mr. Oswin Mascarenhas Ex Principal St Patrick’s College. Mrs. Jean Mascarenhas presented awards to Mr. Fuad Cochinwala ( Alumni of the Year), Beo Ranaa Zafar (for her contribution to the arts), Saad Rashid (for his services to humanity), Mrs. Aniqah Quraeshi, & Mr. Shahid Barry (for their tremendous dedication & contribution for making this event a success).
MINNEAPOLIS,MN–A public event called The Lights to Unite: We Are All Trayvon wAS held at the Masjid An-Nur Mosque on Sunday April 1, 2012 evening, where members of Project Minnesota, MADDADS, Shiloh Temple International Ministries and north Minneapolis activists spoke out against gun violence.
Attendees signed a a petition for freedom from gun violence and commit themselves to acting against gun violence.
Speakers at the event included VJ Smith, president of MADDADS, Mary Johnson, founder of From Death to Life/Two Mothers, Heather Martens, executive director of Protect MN: Working to End Gun Violence, Bishop Richard Howell, of Shiloh Temple International Ministries,Imam Makram El-Amin of Masjid An-Nur.
Thefts at mosques
NEW YORK,NY–Mosques are spiritual places where worshippers come for comfort and solace. However, they are now being targeted by thieves across the USA. In some instances the culprits are from within the community. Recently, a Queens man was arrested for allegedly stealing from the Jama Masjid Mosque in North Bellmore. Nassau County Police arrested the 48 year Muslim old man after he was seen stealing from the donation box on a CCTV camera. It was apparently not the first time that he had done the deed. Footage from a few days earlier also showed him stealing from the donation boxes
In the meanwhile, police in Rochester,Minnesota, are trying to catch a thief who stole around $6,000 from the Masjed Abubakr Al-Seddig. The mosque has CCTV cameras and hope that it has captured the images of the thief.
In January, thieves stole purses from the purse bin at the Islamic Institute of Knowledge in Dearborn.
Wilmar allows conditional use for mosque
WILMAR,MN–The Planning Commission of Wilmar has allowed the Islamic Society of Wilmar to use a former school for a mosque. The conditional approval places two conditions: that the Islamic Society must have a site parking plan approved by the city engineer, and that there be no outside sound after 9 p.m.
The neighborhood where the former school is located is zoned R-2 for single-family and twin-home residences, and houses of worship are an allowable use with a conditional use permit within that zoning area, according to the city zoning ordinance.
The commissioners had no objections to the seven affirmative findings that they must consider when approving a conditional use permit.
Those include: no factual demonstration of substantial or appreciable negative impact on neighborhood property values; that adequate measures have or will be taken to provide ingress and egress to minimize traffic congestion and maximize public safety; and that the conditional use will be maintained in a manner that is compatible with the existing or intended character of the neighborhood.
Some residents have spoken against the approval citing traffic and other concerns during Ramadan.
Maryland Muslims meet state politicians
ANNAPOLIS,MD–Muslims from various parts of state travelled to Annapolis for the the Maryland Middle East American Legislative Night. The Frederick County Muslim Council helped organize the gathering with the governor, state Cabinet members and other elected officials, along with the Maryland Middle East American Chamber of Commerce and the Governor’s Commission on Middle Eastern American Affairs.
The government officials gave brief presentations centred on jobs, education and health care, according to a flier for the event. During the event, the local Muslims were able to meet with Sen. Ron Young and talk about issues that were important to them including education and health care, as well as the widening of I-270.
(Chicago, IL-March 30, 2012) – The Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago joins all Americans in calling for justice for Trayvon Martin and the arrest of his killer George Zimmerman. CIOGC also calls on the Chicago Police Department to exert all means at its disposal, to bring an end to rising violence and death of young men and women in Chicago’s inner city.
The case of Trayvon Martin, underscores the importance of the need to bring attention to rising violence in the inner cities of America. In the past two weeks, more than 25 young men and women have been shot and killed in Chicago. Of the 167 gun violence deaths in Chicago, between 1991 and 2011, 122 (73%) were Black, 24 (14.5%) Latino, 12 (7% white, 1 (.05 %) Asian, and 7 (5%) of unknown racial background.
Under the excuse of gang violence, many of the killers are yet to be arrested.
Justice should be equally applied and the tendency of tolerating the killing of young black men by the general public and the “system†because of who they are must cease. CIOGC calls for the treatment of black murders by the justice system the same way as that of non blacks.
“We stand in solidarity with the family of Trayvon Martin in their quest to seek justice for the murder of their son. Trayvon’ life is as precious as the life of any of us,†Dr. Zaher Sahloul, Chairman of the CIOGC said.
“Like every American suspected of crime, Mr. Zimmerman should defend himself in a jury trial of his peers instead of the media circus of his family,†says Imam Misbahu Rufai, CIOGC Director for Urban Development.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi (L) shake hands after a news conference in Ankara January 19, 2012.
REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday voiced his country’s unwavering support for Teheran’s nuclear ambitions in a meeting with Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, according to an official statement.
‘The government and nation of Turkey has always clearly supported the nuclear positions of the Islamic republic of Iran, and will continue to firmly follow the same policy in the future,’ Erdogan was quoted as saying in the statement issued by Ahmadinejad’s office.
Ahmadinejad thanked Turkey for its ‘clear and frank’ stance on the issue, the statement added.
The exchange occurred on the last day of a two-day visit Erdogan was making to Iran to discuss the nuclear issue and bilateral ties.
The Turkish prime minister was to hold talks later Thursday with Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, before flying home.
Iran on Wednesday announced that long-stalled talks with world powers on its nuclear program would be held on April 13 at a place yet to be agreed. Teheran says it prefers Istanbul as the venue. The talks carry hopes of defusing a tense international showdown over Iran’s nuclear activities that has sent oil prices soaring.
Israel has brandished the threat of possible military action against Iran’s nuclear sites, while the United States has put its energies into sanctions and diplomacy but has not ruled out the military option.
Erdogan flew into Iran on Wednesday from South Korea, where he attended a nuclear security summit alongside other leaders, including US President Barack Obama.
Obama told the summit that ‘time is short’ for a diplomatic solution to the standoff with Iran and urged Iran’s leaders to engage in the talks with a ‘sense of urgency.’
The United States and its Western allies believe Iran is working towards a nuclear weapons capability. Teheran denies that, saying its atomic program is exclusively peaceful.
The last round of Iran/P5+1 talks was held in Istanbul in January 2011 and ended in failure. The round before that, in late 2010, was in Geneva.
Erdogan on Wednesday slammed the bellicose language being directed against Iran, saying: ‘Military threats against a country that seeks to master peaceful nuclear technology are not acceptable.’
Turkey relies on Iran for 30 percent of its oil imports, and has refused to go along with sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe, saying it will observe only UN-mandated restrictions on Iran.
However, Turkey is also a NATO member, and it has agreed to deploy parts of an anti-missile shield that could be used against Iran, a point that has generated friction in the past with its neighbor.
The United Nations has asked India to repeal the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, saying it had no role to play in a democracy.
“The AFSPA in effect allows the state to override rights in the disturbed areas in a much [more] intrusive way than would be the case under a state of emergency, since the right to life is in effect suspended, and this is done without the safeguards applicable to states of emergency,†Christof Heyns, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions told reporters here at the end of his fact-finding mission.
Powerful message
“The repeal of this law will not only bring domestic law more in line with international standards, but also send out a powerful message that instead of a military approach the government is committed to respect for the right to life of all people of the country,†he said.
The AFSPA — in force since 1957 in the North-East and since 1990 in Jammu and Kashmir — has become a symbol of excessive State power.
“I have heard extensive evidence of action taken under this law that resulted in innocent lives being lost, in Jammu and Kashmir and in Assam, where witnesses from neighbouring States also assembled. This law was described to me as ‘hated’ and a member of a State Human Rights Commission called it ‘draconian,’†Mr. Heyns said.
While Mr. Heyns visited Jammu and Kashmir, he was not allowed to visit Manipur but met the people from there in Assam. In Gujarat, the authorities at the last minute cancelled the scheduled meetings.
Gujarat pogrom
On the Gujarat violence, he said he had heard evidence regarding a number of instances where inter-community violence had occurred, resulted in large scale loss of life.
“In particular, I have met with people who lost relatives during the Gujarat killings of Muslims in 2002 and Kandhamal killings of Christians in 2007-08,†he said, while adding that deadly violence had been used by Maoists, insurgents and terrorists. “The state has a right to defend itself against such aggression, provided it abides by the international standards. The state, however, cannot adopt unlawful or unconstitutional means or create vigilante force to counter such violence,†Mr. Heyns explained.
Among other kinds of extrajudicial killings highlighted by the UN Special Rapporteur were excessive use of force by police including fake encounters, custodial deaths and traditional practices affecting women such as honour killings, and dowry deaths.
Women, minorities at risk
“Women and minorities — religious minorities, as well as Dalits and Adivasis — as well as human rights defenders, including Right to Information activists, are especially at risk, and their protection deserves special measures.â€
Suggesting that a credible Commission of Inquiry into extrajudicial executions be appointed by the government, Mr. Heyns said the panel should investigate allegations concerning past violations, propose relevant measures to deal with these, and work out a plan of action to eradicate practices of extrajudicial executions. He has also recommended a moratorium on the death penalty.
“I have made you different†“Your colors are a signâ€.
There is none more aware of the differences of human beings than the One who created them. It is through the generosity and graciousness of ALLAH that He made us different nations, tribes and colors. Just think for a moment how dull the world would be if everyone were pink and thought exactly alike. We could not learn from each other – and thus, we could not grow. But ALLAH, with His infinite wisdom, has made us different- so we may know each other.
In the early 1960’s, El Hajj Malik El Shabazz (Malcolm X) returned from his pilgrimage to Mecca and made the profound statement that “America needs to look at Islam as the answer to its race problem.†Here was a man whose mind had been previously clouded by erroneous assertions of Black superiority and Caucasian devilishness. While on hajj he wrote to his wife that he had sat down and eaten with blonde-haired, blue-eyed people and there was no racism there – only brotherhood.
Recently, in Southeast Michigan where I live, there have been a rash of ugly racial incidents and feelings put out. A person was shot and killed at a gas station recently and immediately the tone of racism filled the air.
Emphasizing the racial disparities made reaching a peaceful solution virtually impossible. Everybody involved was in such a hurry to throw blame on the other party and absolve themselves of any wrongdoing. Deep down in their soul everyone there felt uneasy.
I believe the less we speak about or acknowledge racial differences, the better off we will be. ALLAH, The Almighty, emphasizes the unity of mankind to make it easy for human beings to co-exist.
Southeast Michigan has the reputation of being one of the most racially segregated areas in the country. Cities separated by a few miles are 90% African-American and 98% Caucasian respectively.
This can be looked at negatively as a sign of hatred, which in some cases it might very well be. But what is more important than where people live is what is in their hearts.
In my nearly 30 years as a Muslim, I am a witness that Muslims, for the most part, look upon other Muslims as brothers and sisters, regardless of their culture, ethnic background, or school of thought. A Muslim from China can meet a Muslim from the Netherlands while they are vacationing in Brazil, and there is an instant kinship and recognition – and most times a universal greeting of As Salaam alaikum. I have seen this in no other group of people whether it be religious or fraternal. Even Muslims who don’t necessarily like each other still share this kinship. And it is not fake. You know in your soul and heart if someone really likes you or not.
This is a blessing from ALLAH to those who are adherents to the highest form of existence for a human being…Islam.
Our charge now is to exercise this brotherhood by more visible interaction of the various Islamic communities. Even if we live, work and play in different areas, we must make a conscious effort to be seen interacting and cooperating with each other. This is not only good for us, but it will also be a sign and a help to those who are not Muslim. It will raise the esteem of Muslims in the general society as having something very positive and beneficial to the entire world.
The Muslims must exercise their Islam more to be an example to the world. We need Islam- America needs Islam- the world needs Islam. Peace.
An Egyptian family is seen outside Mosque of Mohamed Ali Pasha, situated on the summit of the ancient citadel of Salah Addin Alayoubi, in old Cairo March 30, 2012. The mosque was commissioned by Mohamed Ali Pasha between 1830 and 1848.
REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian liberals have refused to sit on a body drafting a new constitution dominated by Islamists, despite an offer by the Muslim Brotherhood to give them more seats, in a sign of growing political polarization after the fall of Hosni Mubarak.
The new constitution is due to be written by a 100-member assembly of politicians and public figures over the next six month. However, the body is dominated by Islamists, reflecting their resounding victory in parliamentary elections, and dozens of non-Islamist representatives have already walked out complaining that their voices are being drowned out. That has put the assembly’s legitimacy in doubt.
Around 30 members of the assembly have so far withdrawn including the state’s top Islamic authority Al-Azhar, the Coptic Orthodox, Catholic and Evangelical churches and a Constitutional Court representative.
Late on Monday, a group of liberal parties who hold around a dozen seats in the Constitutional Assembly refused an offer by the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) stay on the understanding they could take 10 seats vacated by FJP members. Instead they vowed to take their protest to the street.
“It isn’t enough, there must be rules set for the selection criteria based on proficiency and the non-religious stream’s representation should be higher,†said Basel Adel, an MP from the Free Egyptians party – one of those to withdraw.
It is unclear whether the assembly will be able to operate with less than its full complement of members.
The Brotherhood has repeatedly been saying it does not want to monopolies political institutions in the new Egypt but earlier this week it reversed a pledge not to contest the presidential election in May and June. It is set to form a government after that vote.
It also disputes accusations that Islamists dominate the assembly, saying it contains only 48 Islamists, 36 from parliament and 12 from outside. Efforts by Brotherhood leaders to bring back those who have withdrawn have failed amid accusations from their opponents that many more members have Islamist leanings and that candidates’ selection was based on loyalty, not expertise.
On Tuesday thirty political and labor groups called for mass protests on April 23 – the day a court is due to decide if the assembly was correctly formed.
“The front believes there is no other way to face a conspiracy that will drive Egypt to ruin except by relying on the people who sparked, and protect, the revolution,†the newly-formed group, named the Front for a Constitution For All Egyptians, said in a statement.
Margaret Azer from the Wafd Party – the third biggest after the FJP and the ultra-conservative Nour Party – said the selection process should be scrapped and begun again.
(Reporting and writing By Tamim Elyan; Editing by Ben Harding)
Wasalu Mohammed Jaco a.k.a Lupe Fiasco grew up in the south side of Chicago. He has a Muslim African American heritage.His parents separated when he was very young, he was close to both of them but he mostly spent time with his dad in Chicago. They were tight on money, he grew up among kids who were drug addicts and were in and out of jail all the time.
He started playing chess, joined the school drama club and started writing songs. His mother had a large collection of National Geographic Magazine and by reading those he learned about the world around him. His dad introduced him to the music of Freddie Mercury, Ravi Shankar and Ustaad Akbar Khan.
He attributes his faith as a strong influence in his life. He caught the eye of famous rapper Jay-Z who helped him release his first album “Food and Liquor,†which became a “skater anthem†which is popular among skate boarding kids living in small villages, towns and large cities–Black or White, Rich or Poor! He was nominated for 3 Grammy Awards for his first album. His second album “The Cool†was released in 2007. He released his third album “Lasers†in 2011.One of his singles “the Show Goes Onâ€peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Chart. Lupe Fiasco has also ventured in the fashion Industry, launching two clothing lines. He also helped with relief efforts of Haitian People after the Haiti Earthquake of 2011.
He raps:
“G’s up with Muhammed and Jesusâ€
“In the Quran they call him Issa “
“Dont think Osama and Saddam is our leaderâ€
“We pray for peace ,but the drama intrigues us Allâ€
“so we fall for the illusion of the beastâ€
“so instead of try’in to teach we show our teethâ€
NORMAN,OK–Dana Mohammed-Zadeh, a graduating student at Oklahoma University, is receiving a series of honors for her outstanding performance.
This week she received a silver medal and was among a group of students who were chosen by a student, faculty and staff committee based on their leadership, scholarship and service, to OU, according to the event program. She also received the outstanding commuter student award.
Next week she will receive 2012 Carl Albert Award which is presented annually to the outstanding senior in the OU College of Arts and Sciences, based on academics, moral character and future service to the state.
Mohammad-Zadeh will receive a plaque and a check for $2,500, and will attend a ceremony with OU President David Boren and members of the Albert Family to share Albert’s vision of making a difference in your community, Startz said.
U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, March 5, 2012.
REUTERS/Jason Reed
The headline over an article in Ha-aretz by Bradley Burston on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s poker game with President Obama was If Obama wins in November, is Netanyahu in trouble? That’s a question I’ve had in my own mind for quite some time and it begs another. What, really, worries Netanyahu most – the prospect (not real) of Iran posing an existential threat to Israel or the prospect (real) of a second-term Obama?
There is, Burston wrote, something new in the air, something Netanyahu does not like. What is it? “American conservatives have begun to think out loud that Barack Obama will win in November.†In my opinion there’s a better than evens chance that in the course of a second Obama term, America would put its own best interests first, which would mean an end to unconditional American support for the Zionist state of Israel right or wrong. (As is often the case, the Gentile me and Gideon Levy are on the same page. The headline over one of his recent articles in Ha-aretz was It’s only a matter of time before U.S. tires of Israel).
There are three main reasons why I have that opinion.
The first is my belief that Obama hates being a prisoner of the Zionist lobby and its stooges in Congress. (I think that Max Hastings, a former editor of the Daily Telegraph and a well respected military historian, was spot on when he wrote the following in a recent article for the Daily Mail. “Privately, Obama yearns to come down hard n Netanyahu, whom he dislikes intensely. But the U.S. President does not dare to do this when his own re-election may hinge on the three per cent of American voters who are Jewish.â€)
The second, and much more to the real point, is that behind closed doors there are now many in the top levels of America’s military, intelligence and foreign policy establishments who are aware that an Israel which has no interest in peace with the Palestinians, and is led by men who want war with Iran, is an Israel that is much more of a liability than an asset for the U.S. There is also awareness in the top levels of America’s military, intelligence and foreign policy establishments that Netanyahu decided to play the Iran threat card in order to divert attention away from Israel’s on-going consolidation of its occupation of the West Bank and, in short, to have Palestine taken off the American foreign policy agenda.
The third is the insight given to me by former President Carter when my wife and I met with him and Rosalyn after they had said goodbye to the White House. “Any American president has only two windows of opportunity to break or try to break the Zionist lobby’s stranglehold on Congress on matters to do with Israel Palestine.â€
The first window is during the first nine months of a president’s first term because after that the soliciting of funds for the mid-term elections begins. Presidents don’t have to worry on their own account about funds for mid-term elections, but with their approach no president can do or say anything that would offend the Zionist lobby and cost his party seats in Congress. The second window of opportunity is the last year of his second term if he has one. In that year, because he can’t run for a third term, no president has a personal need for election campaign funds or organised votes. (I imagine that incoming President Obama, briefed by Carter or not, was fully aware of these limited windows of opportunity and that was why he tried in his first nine months to get a freeze on Israel’s illegal settlement activity).
So my answer to Burston’s headline question is yes, Netanyahu could very well be in trouble if Obama wins a second term.
A good indication of Netanyahu’s fear of a second term Obama is, I think, the mountain of money his seriously wealthy supporters in America are investing in the effort to get a Republican into the White House who will allow Netanyahu and the Zionist lobby to pull his strings.
Question: Given that he does not want Obama to have a second term, what now are Netanyahu’s options?
I can see three possibles.
One is to watch and wait and hope that there will be a downturn in the American economy between now and November that will assist a Republican presidential candidate to defeat Obama.
Another is to launch a unilateral attack on Iran’s nuclear sites (never mind that Iran’s leaders have not taken a decision to go nuclear for weapons and possibly never will unless Iran is attacked). Question: How might initiating a war with Iran assist Netanyahu to put Obama in real trouble?
One short answer is that the probable regional and global fall-out of an Israeli attack on Iran, including soaring oil prices, could bring what is being presented as a slow but sure recovery of the American economy to a swift halt. And that, most likely, would be enough to guarantee Obama’s defeat in November. (In an analysis for The National Interest, an American bi-monthly foreign policy journal, Paul Pillar, a former, very senior CIA analyst and today a visiting professor at Georgetown University for security studies, noted that the welfare of American consumers and workers is “not high†on the list of decision-making criteria for Netanyahu and his government).
There is, however, one thing that could cause Netanyahu not to go with this option. Quite apart from the fact that Israel’s past and present intelligence and military chiefs are divided on the wisdom of a unilateral Israeli attack on Iran, the polls are showing that a majority of Israeli Jews are opposed to Israel going it alone with an attack on Iran. They’re in favour of Iran being attacked but only if America becomes engaged and takes the lead.
And that brings us to a possible third option for Netanyahu. It is to commission a Mossad false flag operation – an attack on a vital American interest or interests for which Iran could be and would be framed.
The Zionist lobby, Obama’s Republican rivals and much if not all of the American mainstream media would promote this falsehood as fact, and that could leave Obama with no choice but to commit American military power. If he did not, his Republican challenger or challengers, assisted by the Zionist lobby and most if not all of the American mainstream media would accuse him of failing to protect America’s security interests and betraying Israel. And that, given the ignorance of American public opinion, would almost certainly be enough to guarantee Obama’s defeat.
For his own part Obama absolutely does not want war another war. He’s frightened, as he should be, of the possible/probable consequences.
Quite apart from the possible/probable economic consequences (including soaring gasoline prices in America), Obama understands completely that U.S. engagement in a new and broader regional war will ignite more anti-Americanism and play into the hands of Arab and other Muslim radicals and extremists, perhaps to the point of assisting them to become the dominant political power in the region. And that, were it to happen, would be potentially catastrophic for America’s best interests in the Arab and wider Muslim world. (Netanyahu would, of course, be quietly pleased because his Israel needs enemies).
So far as I am aware there is no well informed commentator who is prepared to make an explicit prediction about what Netanyahu will do – whether he will or will not order a unilateral Israeli attack on Iran in the closing stages of the American election. If I had to bet my life on it, I’d say he won’t; but there’s a real danger that his anti-Iran rhetoric, described in a recent Ha’aretz editorial as “a combination of wretchedness and megalomaniaâ€, may create an unstoppable momentum for war.
As my readers know, I regard Ha’aretz as the most honest newspaper in the world on the subject of what is really happening in Israel. Its view of Netanyahu was on display in a recent editorial headlined Israel must not lend itself to Netanyahu’s vulgar rhetoric on Iran. I think the whole editorial ought to be required reading not only for those who want to replace Obama as president but for all American voters. Here is the text of it (with my emphasis added).
Anyone who cares about Israel’s future could not help but feel a chill upon hearing Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent speech at the AIPAC conference – if not because of the gravity of the existential threat it described, then because of its sheer vulgarity and bad taste. The prime minister, as if he were no more than a surfer leaving feedback on a website, did not hesitate to crassly compare Israel today to the situation of European Jewry during the Holocaust. And to spice up his speech with one of those visual gimmicks he so loves, he even pulled out a photostat of correspondence in order to imply a comparison between U.S. President Barack Obama’s cautious approach toward attacking Iran and President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s refusal to bomb the rail lines to Auschwitz.
Netanyahu sometimes seems like he is holding a debating competition with himself. Every speech is the “speech of his life†and must overshadow its predecessor, while afterward, as if they were rehashing a sporting event, he and his aides gleefully count the number of standing ovations, especially from his American listeners. And in order to wring an ovation from the end of every sentence, it seems as if all means are legitimate: kitsch (trash) and death, threats and vows, warnings and rebukes of the entire world.
This time, too, it’s not quite clear what he wanted to obtain via this inane rhetoric – a combination of wretchedness and megalomania – aside from applause. Did he want pity? To prick the conscience of the world? To terrify himself, or perhaps to inflame the Churchillian fantasy in which he lives? But one thing is clear: Aside from the fact that he deepened our feelings of victimhood, insulted the American president and narrowed the options for diplomacy, Netanyahu did not improve Israel’s situation one jot by this speech, just as he hasn’t by any of his others.
Netanyahu isn’t the first Israeli prime minister, especially from the right, to harp on the trauma of the Holocaust. But in contrast to Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon, who at the moment of truth also displayed diplomatic and leadership abilities, Netanyahu was and remains essentially a PR man: someone for whom words and rhetoric replace reality. The spine-chilling fear is that one day, all of us – himself included, despite his caution and hesitation – will discover too late that we have become hostages to his Churchillian speech, but without a Churchillian victory.
I’ll conclude with my own favourite story about Netanyahu.
Way back in 1984 I had an appointment for lunch in New York with the Englishman I most admire, Brian (later knighted) Urquhart. He was an Undersecretary General of the UN with the responsibility for conflict management. He served four Secretary Generals and was, in fact, the world’s number one trouble-shooter. Because of his matchless grasp of international affairs and his integrity, he was respected by leaders on both sides of all the conflicts he managed. And he never pulled his punches in behind-closed doors exchanges with leaders. On one private occasion Prime Minister Begin said he should not talk with Arafat. Urquhart looked Begin in the eye and said: “Mr. Prime Minister, I am the servant of the international community, don’t you dare to tell me who I can and cannot talk to!†When Brian arrived for lunch, he said as he was sitting down, “I’ve just met the most dangerous man in the world.â€
I asked who it was.
Brian replied: “He’s just presented his credentials as Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Benjamin Netanyahu.â€
Emeryville (Calif.)–In a New York Times article dated March 19th, a war simulation was reported which was conducted by the Pentagon. It reported what results an Israeli attack on Iran would have on American interests and forces in the larger geographical area. Succinctly, it predicts that the strike would lead to a wider regional war, which could in the end most likely suck in the United States and leave hundreds –( if not thousands) of Americans — plus allies — dead.
This military exercise has increased the concern Israeli strategy is to force America into Tel Aviv’ confrontation with Iran. At the moment, Washington’s current stance is to remain neutral. In the words, of the Times writer, “…a strike could prove perilous for the United States.†Aides to the U.S. General responsible for the expanse related that “…an Israeli first strike would likely to have dire consequences across the region and for United States forces there.â€
(War games either on computer or real troops look at “what if†scenarios.) This two-week long war game (Internal Look) assumed that the District of Columbia (D.C.) was pulled into the conflict when Iranian missiles struck a U.S. Navy warship (either intentionally or unintentionally) in the Persian Gulf in retaliation for the Israeli aggression (which was beyond the U.S.A. to control) – with initial casualties of about 200 sailors and Marines. The United States is forced to counteract in self-defense by carrying out its own strikes as the N.YT. (New York Times) reports. This is sometimes politically referred to as the “October Surprise†because there is some speculation that the highest probability is right before the election to rid Tel Aviv of Barack Hussein Obama, who is seen as a thorn in the side of Israel’s right-wing government — much like perceived pro-Palestinian Jimmy Carter in his run against Ronald Reagan from whose foreign policy al-Islam is still reeling.
Curiously an Israeli attack, if they even have the means to accomplish it, (Pakistan and, thereby, Tehran have superior long-range weaponry since Rawalpindi, who had had exchanged its nuclear technology for North Korean projectile proficiency to fulfill the requirement to build a credible defense against the territorial whole of its main threat, nuclear Subcontinental India), and it appears much of this technology was handed over to Iran.
Back to the Times, an Israeli attack would set back the Iranian program by roughly a year (your commentator has read estimates that that Tehran’s nuclear capability would be out for a lesser period because it is in hard targets (mountains), and subsequent forced American strikes would only slow the Iranian nuclear effort, if they have any at all or if it is a lower capability, by merely an additional two years. America’s arsenal of long-range bombers, refueling aircraft and precision missiles could do far more damage to the Iranian nuclear program if diplomacy failed due to Israeli duplicity.
An Israeli foray along with the certain counterstrike by Iran would create an unpredictable and uncontrollable situation within the extended territorial span.
Certainly, the N.Y.T. reports, Israel would give the United States little or no warning of an attack upon Qum and other Iranian nuclear sites.
Unfortunately, Iran would assume that the United States was complicit with Tel Aviv; and, therefore, American military forces in the Persian Gulf would be open targets. The Times recounts Washington’s armed forces assuming that Iranian jets would chase Israeli warplanes after the assault, and Iranians would launch missiles at an American warship in the Persian Gulf. D.C. (the District of Columbia) would view this as an act of war that would coerce (by the Israelis) American retaliation.
Pakistan as a regional nuclear power in “brotherly†relations with its Western neighbor, would be a lynch pin as would be France as the only member of the P-5 with a nuclear capability to counter the threat if the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) “screws on†their warheads. Paris is an unlikely scenario, but she does not have the best of relations with the Jewish Commonweal, and her interests are to prevent the acting out of the Christian Zionist myth of Armageddon in the Middle East, for they are the former Colonial power over many of the States in that region, a relationship which France still takes very seriously.
Back to the Times commentary, Iran would try to carefully manage the escalation after an Israeli first strike in order to avoid giving the United States a rationale for attacking with its far superior forces (which is the purpose of the Israeli Dense Forces’ ensnarement). Although the Shia Islamic Republic might use proxies (“terroristsâ€), (who might, also, be enemies of Rawalpindi) to set off car bombs in world capitals, or funnel high explosives to insurgents in Afghanistan to attack American and NATO troops.
Tehran would deny any responsibility, for the Persians would not wish a full-scale war on its territory. Consequently, on the other hand, many U.S. military planners think that Iran would not directly strike American military targets.
Thus, diplomats and generals are scrambling presently attempting to establish a position and response upon the worst.
“A war is no picnic,†Hebrew Defense Minister Ehud Barak stated in an interview. Further, if Israel feels itself forced into action, the retaliation would be bearable, (and that shows the source of probable tragic aggression).
“There will not be 100,000 dead or 10,000 dead or 1,000 dead. The state of Israel will not be destroyed.†(These words demonstrate the magnitude of Zionist miscalculations towards the Islamic world that has brought us to this point in time on the precipice of ill-thought-out bellicosity towards the Shiite Republic!)
Whatever way, as a nuclear-tipped State, Pakistan perceives its interests might be a pivotal actor in the outcome of this quandary; and, thereby, direct Islamabad into the geopolitics of the Middle East forming a bridge between Western Asia — along with North Africa — to Islamic South Asia.
Great empires, such as the Roman and British, were extractive. The empires succeeded, because the value of the resources and wealth extracted from conquered lands exceeded the value of conquest and governance. The reason Rome did not extend its empire further east into Germany was not the military prowess of the Germanic tribes but Rome’s calculation that the cost of conquest exceeded the value of extractable resources.
The Roman empire failed, because Romans exhausted manpower and resources in civil wars fighting amongst themselves for power. The British empire failed, because the British exhausted themselves fighting Germany in two world wars.
In his book, The Rule of Empires (2010), Timothy H. Parsons replaces the myth of the civilizing empire with the truth of the extractive empire. He describes the successes of the Romans, the Umayyad Caliphate, the Spanish in Peru, Napoleon in Italy, and the British in India and Kenya in extracting resources. To lower the cost of governing Kenya, the British instigated tribal consciousness and invented tribal customs that worked to British advantage.
Parsons does not examine the American empire, but in his introduction to the book he wonders whether America’s empire is really an empire as the Americans don’t seem to get any extractive benefits from it. After eight years of war and attempted occupation of Iraq, all Washington has for its efforts is several trillion dollars of additional debt and no Iraqi oil. After ten years of trillion dollar struggle against the Taliban in Afghanistan, Washington has nothing to show for it except possibly some part of the drug trade that can be used to fund covert CIA operations.
America’s wars are very expensive. Bush and Obama have doubled the national debt, and the American people have no benefits from it. No riches, no bread and circuses flow to Americans from Washington’s wars. So what is it all about?
The answer is that Washington’s empire extracts resources from the American people for the benefit of the few powerful interest groups that rule America. The military-security complex, Wall Street, agri-business and the Israel Lobby use the government to extract resources from Americans to serve their profits and power. The US Constitution has been extracted in the interests of the Security State, and Americans’ incomes have been redirected to the pockets of the 1 percent. That is how the American Empire functions.
The New Empire is different. It happens without achieving conquest. The American military did not conquer Iraq and has been forced out politically by the puppet government that Washington established. There is no victory in Afghanistan, and after a decade the American military does not control the country.
In the New Empire success at war no longer matters. The extraction takes place by being at war. Huge sums of American taxpayers’ money have flowed into the American armaments industries and huge amounts of power into Homeland Security. The American empire works by stripping Americans of wealth and liberty.
This is why the wars cannot end, or if one does end another starts. Remember when Obama came into office and was asked what the US mission was in Afghanistan? He replied that he did not know what the mission was and that the mission needed to be defined.
Obama never defined the mission. He renewed the Afghan war without telling us its purpose. Obama cannot tell Americans that the purpose of the war is to build the power and profit of the military/security complex at the expense of American citizens.
This truth doesn’t mean that the objects of American military aggression have escaped without cost. Large numbers of Muslims have been bombed and murdered and their economies and infrastructure ruined, but not in order to extract resources from them.
It is ironic that under the New Empire the citizens of the empire are extracted of their wealth and liberty in order to extract lives from the targeted foreign populations. Just like the bombed and murdered Muslims, the American people are victims of the American empire.
A non-Muslim acquaintance recently sent me a photograph of her friend who was holding the Toronto Sun newspaper in his hand with the recent headline: “Is beating women allowed?†(or something to that effect) in reference to a marriage guidebook penned by the late Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, an Indian scholar of Islam. The book is available in Canada much to the horror of the Canadian public. I have not yet read the 160-page book “A Gift for the Muslim Couple†by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi and I doubt that the editorial and reporting team at Sun Media has either. Regardless, the Sun Media is generating much fear and paranoia for what seems to be cheap publicity points. Sensationalist articles and television shows targeting the Muslim community are mainstream in the U.K. and U.S. Unhindered, this wave seems to be rising now in Canada.
Tarek Fatah of course wants the bookstore owner charged under the law.
This is not unexpected of Fatah who has made a lifelong career out of stabbing his own community. Strangely he becomes bitterly resentful (as he did on March 1, 2012, at University of Toronto when he isn’t awarded the honor he feels he deserves from his “racist†circus masters in return for vilifying Muslims. What does he think? Fatah, … [i]f [the Michael Corens, Jonathan Kays, Ezra Levants] begrudgingly bear you on the same panel as themselves, its not for your rugged good looks, but the damage they can inflict on the Muslims using your small brain and a big mouth. Alas, Fatah’s daughter Natasha showed way better understanding than him of the way the game works when she remarked: “…when people you thought were good and decent, reveal their racism, and you find out your offence isn’t worth their time because you’re just another Paki.â€
I do however blame the self-appointed Muslim community leadership, which began either mindlessly condemning Thanvi’s book in unison or has remained pathetically silent about the issue. Where is the Imam Council? Where is Ali Hindy? Where are the champions of faith who are foremost in their dawah efforts? Their silence is deafening.
I for one believe that the criticism of the Muslim community based on this book is unfair for the following reasons:
A Guide for the Muslim Couple was written in the 19th century. Its author, A. A. Thanvi, was born in 1863 and died in 1943. It is unfair to use this book to assert the Muslim male’s alleged contempt for women. It is from before the time women could vote, work freely, get into professional colleges, own full property rights and be legally protected against spousal violence in the west. If invoking this 19th century book is allowed to thrash Canadian Muslims today, then critics should be allowed to cite works from that same era to make the case for Western males’ contempt for women as well. And if the mere presence of this book in the 21st century counted a crime, what then should we say to the world that sees the Western woman objectified, sexualized, and humiliated in bondage and sadomasochistic videos, criminally accessible to 5-year olds on the net, in the name of entertainment by the 20 billion-dollar porn industry here at home? What about the continuing violence committed against women in society at present? In none of the stinging reviews was there as much as a peep about violence perpetrated against women committed overwhelmingly by non-Muslim (white) males. Was protecting Muslim women the Toronto Sun’s real agenda or was it to brushstroke the Canadian Muslim community in a negative light?
For example, NOW (National Organization of Women) tells us that on an average of 3 women are killed in the US every day, one-third of whom are killed by intimate partners. NCIPC cites that 4.8 million American women suffer bodily attacks and rapes from their partners every year – that’s 600 women per day. The Justice Dept informs us that one in five American college women will be raped at some point during their college years. College is preparation for the real world I suppose.
Is Canada much different? Afraid not. Women continue to outnumber men nine to one as victims of assault by a partner and are 3 times as likely to be killed by their partners as are men. According to the Canadian report Assessing Violence Against Women 74% of female killings occur at the hands of ex-husbands. Remember all this goes beyond fixing employment and income disparity and maternity leave disputes; it’s about letting women live in our society.
Under the current situation, it appears amazingly hypocritical to accuse the Muslim community of a “particularly sinister†kind of misogyny using a little known couple’s guide, all the while ignoring an ocean of a problem around us. It reeks of anti-Muslimism, nothing else.
And just when we may hold Eric Brazau, the shady man who broke the story in the Toronto Sun about Thanvi’s book, as some bleeding-heart friend of Muslim women, an impression he never fails to make as a “gentlemanly†guest on radio shows, be aware that this seven-time convicted violent offender has been criminally charged in the past for reportedly riding his bike in public alongside a hijabi lady and continually harassing her by calling her a terrorist and telling her to go back to Afghanistan. Toronto Sun itself broke the story in the past when it was newsworthy, but deliberately made no mention of it this time. Yesterday’s scum becomes today’s crusader for Muslim women rights. Incredible.
To make things clear on our end: Islam, like all pre-modern religions, does not, I repeat, does not stand for equality of spouses in a conjugal relationship. Man has a role in the family as a protector, provider and a moral leader, which is distinctly different from the one God awards to the woman. This is the truth. To the Muslim leadership that denies it, I say, shame on you for telling people lies! You know well that men have a responsibility to be the captain of the ship, to be the moral guardians first and foremost who will be held responsible before God for the moral direction of the family institution in society – which today is in shambles. Although Islam is certainly not “oppressive†to women, it does require wives first and foremost with guarding the household in their husbands’ absence. Chauvinistic?
Unfair? Exploitative? Perhaps. But this is what we are commanded, and if we turn back we hurt none but ourselves.
Moreover, if Thanvi’s theological book hurts public sensibilities so much, then let the detractors be brave and shout words of protest against all theological works – without singling out Islam or Muslim men. Would the “ethically-appalled†Eric Brazau, who broke the story of Thanvi’s book to Toronto Sun, saying: “I thought that it is incredible that this kind of thing can be found in Canadaâ€, make similar raids into Jewish and Christian bookstores with a similar agenda? I don’t think so. Think about this: I have five copies of the same one book that gives women a status way lower than this Muslim book ever could; it’s called the Bible. And guess what? It’s way more popular in the homes and bookstores.
According to the Bible woman is the source of all sin, the cause of global death (Ecc. 25:13), the source of all wickedness (Ecc. 42:13), can be shameless like a dog (Ecc. 26:25), is of a sinister nature (Ecc. 7:26) is a recipient of special punishment from God (Gen. 2:15), brings shame when she opens her mouth in church (1 Cor. 14:35), becomes unclean to touch during periods/childbirth (Lev. 15:19), must be ruled by man (3:16) (1 Corinth 11:3), must submit to husbands in everything (Ephesians 5:22-24), must learn to shut her mouth and be fully obedient (1 Tim 2:11) should wear a sign on her head of her husband’s authority at all times (1 Corinthians 11:7-9) etc. This of course does not include centuries of Bible-inspired literature along the same vein that is still freely published and adorns the shelves of any corner bookshop. I would not burn the bibles in a pyre in protest because not only is it unIslamic but it would be provocative to those who deeply regard it as God’s word. However would a “selfless champion of women†like Brazau or the local useful idiot Tarek Fatah take on the Holy Bible for its misogynistic content, its influence and consequently demand its ban as they’d like for Thanvi’s book? We have to wonder.
Would they take on the Hindu scripture Manusmriti, a distilled version of the Hindu Vedas out of the mouth of Lord Brahma, which orders wives to worship their husbands like gods? Or that a woman unaccepting of a man’s sexual advances may be raped? (Brihadaranyaka 6.4.6 and 6.4.7) or the Rig Veda which calls women lacking intellect and enjoining widow-burning in words: “Let these wives first step into the pyre, tearless without any affliction and well adorned.†(Rig Veda X.18.7) – all as being indirectly responsible for 16 ‘dowry murders’ and unknown number of female infanticides occurring in India ever day? 50 million women in India are mysteriously missing according to one UN report.
Similarly, when orthodox Jewish men in western countries get up in the morning and thank God every day for not making them a woman but a man (in a prayer called Amidah), or bar women from becoming rabbis, teaching the Torah or praying in a synagogue here in the West would these pro-feminist activists take to the streets in protest against that? If the situation called for it I know I would hold discussions with religious elders of all faiths to try to come to a common understanding. This is a positive approach. Dialogue, not incitement.
Lastly, for any criticism to be valid, it must be fair and balanced.
The Toronto Sun review focuses only on the things in the book unacceptable in western culture for the purposes of cheap sensationalism. Study proper book reviews in academic journals and you will note that they do not try to deceive the reader by showing only one side, but give a balanced perspective of what the author is trying to say. For example, in the Toronto Sun’s report, it states: “In the book’s opening pages, it is written that `it might be necessary to restrain her with strength or even to threaten her.’†There must be a context to this which the critic conveniently ignores. Any man would restrain a woman “with strength†and words if the situation called for it and would expect the same from her.
As far as the founder of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), is concerned, he gave the Muslims the best advice when he said:
The best of you are those who are the best in conduct toward their wives. His wife Ayesha testifies that the Prophet (s) never hit a servant, woman or animal. His example is what we Muslims are to emulate at all times.
We Muslims are also enjoined to lend an ear to criticism. Some criticism however is simply unfair and amounts to propaganda and hate-incitement against one target community by giving the audience an incomplete or a distorted picture. The Toronto Sun review article on Thanvi’s work A Guide for Muslim Couple is guilty of casting suspicion of misogyny and wife abuse singly on the Canadian Muslim community with no mention or regard for the era of the book’s authorship, misogynistic works of other faiths, presenting a distorted, one-sided impression of the book, and failing to mention female abuse as a serious issue confronting society at all levels. This is an example of journalism run by a vile agenda against the Muslim Community.
Sheharyar Shaikh is the former President of North American Muslim Foundation. He is specializing in contemporary Islamic thought and modernity
Dennis Weichel, a National Guardsman from Rhode Island recently sent to Afghanistan, was killed after only 12 days as he saved an Afghan girl from being crushed by a US military vehicle. He was killed by that same US military vehicle. The father of three has been posthumously promoted to sergeant and received the Bronze Star for his heroism. The evening news has seized upon this headline to counteract the bad publicity caused by the recent reports of the US military massacring a family with many children asleep in their home.
A recent poll showed that 69% of Americans want the US to get out of Afghanistan. Reports such as the above may point to why 31% of Americans still support the US occupation: they somehow still believe that Americans are there to help people. This may explain why well-meaning people continue to enlist.
The evening news showed Weichel’s sister repeatedly stating, “That girl is alive because of my brother.†Well, that girl might be the first Afghan female the US military has actually helped. The important thing is, that nameless female has a future, even if Weichel does not. Maybe she could become a symbol of hope in the American dream for Afghanistan.
In 2001, feminists led by Hillary Clinton proclaimed that the US invasion of Afghanistan was for the liberation of women. Cries that bombing villages and starving civilians would not improve the lives of women fell on deaf ears. Internet “jokes†continue to abound, implying that female US military personnel are “showing†Afghan men, stereotyped as women-abusers, what it feels like to be abused by women. Of course no one mentions that every Afghan man tortured or killed in war is some woman’s beloved son. The fact that patriarchy remains in force even in a country of widows and orphans points to the probability that mothers are still raising their children according to old-fashioned thinking.
Human rights reports show that as of 2012, problems such as forced marriage, physical abuse, and incarceration of rape victims have not gone away, yet new problems such as forced prostitution are on the rise.
US-friendly President Karzai has pledged to increase educational opportunities for girls, but according to the Daily Beast, in March just two days before International Women’s Day of 2012, Karzai sent out a “code of conduct†issued by the government-supported Ulema Council on how women should act and behave. “Men are fundamental and women are secondary,†the statement posted on the website of the presidential palace read.
No Muslim man, no matter how conservative, would normally ever say something so offensive out loud even if he might practice it in his daily behavior. Islam teaches us that “Paradise lies at the feet of the mothers.â€
The Taliban was originally formed by vigilantes seeking to make Afghanistan safe from rape. The entire reason for the Taliban taking over Afghanistan in previous decades was to uphold the honor of the mothers! Afghan militias allied with the Soviet Union had used rape as one of their weapons of war and that news made the teenagers decide to leave their studies to become Afghanistan’s barefoot soldiers – to defend the women and girls from the abuse of the godless warlords! Despite their many flaws, the Taliban laid down their lives for women, and they are still respected as the only militia that does not rape.
There has been a lot of ongoing talk about Karzai fluctuating between trying to work with the US and talking with the Taliban, who apparently have not actually been toppled. They seem to be more like a ragtag group of armed farmers, who are not going to go away.
I have no idea what Afghan women are going to do about their general situation, and it looks like they are on their own with that decision. According to my Women’s Studies classes in college, the status of women improves with economic stability. Men without a stable income are more likely to abuse their wives, while women with a stable income are less likely to be abused by their husbands. It’s a pretty simple mathematical/psychological formula really. But the majority of US efforts seem geared at taking any kind of financial freedom away from the Afghan people, including laws forcing farmers to buy genetically modified seeds from the Monsanto Corporation, which do not reproduce – forcing Afghan farmers to buy seeds on a yearly basis from the US.
Americans that want to help Afghan girls and women are going to have to do more than “support the troops.†They will have to organize to defend their own gardening and farming communities against government control of seeds and other outrageous abuses.
Since the US set up heroine processing plants in Afghanistan, it has become completely impossible for Americans to access the flower sap Afghan housewives reportedly use to quiet their children. This is the exact opposite of capitalism! Heroine will kill you dead and spread AIDS through needles. Opium is less harmful than cigarets, even if it’s just as addictive. Legalizing drugs might go a long way towards ending the CIA involvement and violence associated with growing opium, and would provide safer and more natural forms of the drug to consumers of painkillers.
Ultimately, cessation of war would provide Afghan farmers some respite to explore other crops to make a living.
Respect Party candidate George Galloway gestures from an open top bus outside his campaign office in Bradford, northern England, March 30, 2012. Galloway, an anti-war campaigner in the small, left-wing Respect party, beat Labour’s Imran Hussain in a result announced on Friday with more than 18,341 votes from a by-election on Thursday for the seat of Bradford West.
REUTERS/Darren Staples
The Respect Party’s George Galloway has taken the Labour safe seat of Bethnal Green & Bow in east London.
Oona King was deposed as the MP after former Labour MP Mr Galloway forced a 26.2% swing in his favour, following a bitterly fought campaign.
Mr Galloway, who attacked Tony Blair in his acceptance speech, fought on an anti-Iraq war manifesto that appealed to the large local Muslim population.
Ms King was one of Tony Blair’s most loyal supporters and backed the war.
Taking to the podium after his victory was announced, Mr Galloway said: “Mr Blair, this defeat is for Iraq and the other defeats that New Labour has received this evening are for Iraq. “All the people you have killed and all the loss of life have come back to haunt you and the best thing that the Labour Party can do is sack you tomorrow morning.†He then attacked returning officer Christine Gilbert saying she had presided over a “shambles of an election which would disgrace a banana republicâ€.
Tower Hamlets council electoral office was also criticised for publishing an electoral roll “so shot through with errors and anomalies… as to be almost meaninglessâ€. A council spokesman said allegations of electoral malpractice were being investigated.
Council leader Helal Abbas added it was “ironic†that he was criticising the very system that had elected him.
In April, Mr Galloway claimed he was the victim of death threats by a gang of Islamic extremists as he canvassed in the constituency.
Ms King had her car tyres slashed and was pelted with eggs and vegetables.
Mr Galloway, who has said he will stand down at the next election, said the result was “sensationalâ€.
Mr Galloway, 50, overturned a 10,057 majority for Ms King at the last election, polling 15,801 votes to Ms King’s 14,978.
Mr Galloway was gracious towards Ms King, thanking her for her eight years of work in the constituency and describing her as an “able person who will be back in politics and Parliamentâ€.
“It was not her defeat. It was a defeat for Tony Blair and New Labour for all of the betrayals,†said Mr Galloway.
Ms King said: “It has been the best job in the world and I have been so proud of what Labour has achieved.
“Labour Members of Parliament working with a Labour council, working with a Labour government to make real improvements in the lives of people here.â€
It’s no secret that bulging bellies and expanding waistlines are on the rise in the Middle East. The oil-rich nation of Kuwait has the highest diabetes rate in the world and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is not far behind. The influx of both European and American fast food chains, as well as processed food products on grocery store shelves, is one of the reasons why. Case in point, tt used to be that Americans were best known for smothering everything, even donuts, in melted cheese. These days, more and more restaurants in the wealthy Gulf region are adding vats of melted cheese to the menu since it has proven to be a hit with diners.
Wealthy Arab nations continue to enjoy surplus oil wealth and have so far evaded a catastrophic economical meltdown. However, the downside of having a strong economy is that people have more expendable wealth. In addition to being able to afford luxury items, people are eating more. And the food choices are not always the healthiest. Staples like kababs and deep-fried falafal are just a few of the fattening foods appearing on most dinner tables. Greasy pizzas and cheeseburgers with the works are other popular choices imported from America. In scores of families – husbands, wives and children are all suffering from rapid weight gain that is difficult to shed.
Everyone knows that losing weight through diet and exercise is the best option to drop extra pounds. However, surgery is the quickest option for people wanting to transform their bodies seemingly over night. In the UAE, weight-related surgeries are becoming the popular choice for weight loss. Carried out by private hospitals and often with a hefty price tag, an increasing number of obese patients are seeking to go under the knife to lose weight quickly.
UAE citizen Kareem Shaheen shared his own story recently with a local newspaper. After years of suffering with weight gain and failing health, he decided to undergo gastric bypass surgery in 2008. With high blood pressure and an elevated heart rate, at the age of twenty-two years, Shaheen knew that surgery was the only way to save his life. Since the surgery, he has lost 23 inches around his waist and has adopted a healthy lifestyle. According to Rashid Hospital, located in the UAE municipality of Dubai, there has been a substantial rise in the number of patients seeking to lose weight surgically. Similarly, the state of Kuwait is also experiencing a similar increase in weight loss surgeries.
The Southern California chapter of the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) cordially invites the community to a banquet on May 26th at Dandana’s Restaurant in Glendora, Ca. The event will begin at 6:00 pm.
In addition to great food and companionship, there will be a panel discussion on the work of PCRF.
The three panelists will be volunteer nurses who have taken an active part in the missions of PCRF The moderator will be one of our veteran activists.
A quartet of dancers who specialize in Lebanese dance steps will entertain the guests.
Guests will also see video clips of two of our recent patients who arrived in Southern California with grievous injuries and, after treatment, were able to look forward to a full life. The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund was created in 1991 to provide otherwise inaccessible medical treatment for Middle Eastern children. PCRF treats children with war injuries, physical ailments, and congenital problems. Most recently PCRF announced the opening of a Pediatric Cancer Center in the West Bank named in honor of Huda Al Masry Sosebee, the late wife of its President, Steve Sosebee.
To name but a few of the fields covered by the PCRF: pediatric cardiology; pediatric urology; pediatric plastic surgery; dental care; motorized wheelchairs, and a summer camp for disabled children. Each and every service is provided free of care to the children and their families. PCRF sends teams of medical personnel to treat the children and to instruct local medical teams . PCRF covers the travel costs of these teams. If this is deemed not feasible, the child is flown free of charge – with perhaps an adult companion – to a hospital in the United States, Europe, Chile or the UAE for treatment at no cost.
To learn more about PCRF, please access their web site at: www.pcrf.net .
PCRF has become one of the most effective children’s charity in the world and has won high praise from such humanitarians as Bishop Desmond Tutu and former President Jimmy Carter.
Tickets are $40 per person and may be obtained by calling (562) 432-0005 or (562) 243-0392. Alternately, one might use the e-mail address: www.pcrfsc@pcrf.net. PCRF suggests that you purchase your tickets in advance due to limited seating.
We look forward to seeing you and getting to know you, and we are sure you will enjoy getting to know us.
In California, in a Christian college, an evangelical Christian student killed seven of his fellow students one by one. Seven is a high number in casualties, yet our media decided no to publicize or analyze it. Remember Muhammad Merai, the French shooter who killed three Muslim paratroopers and three Jewish children. Words such as Islamic terrorists, Muslim terrorist wre used to denounce him and his faith. Yet no one even mentioned about the religious beliefs of the killer. No one asked, why such a violence in a Christian college? No one questioned, how come those who swear by Jesus are so violent that they would not even spare their co coreligionists. Imagine, if it were a Muslim college and the shooter were a Muslim, the world might have been brought upside down and the media pundits may have concluded that Islamic colleges promote violence.
Let us admit. Many of those who are working in the media either hate Muslims or dislike them. You cannot expect any fair coverage from them, any rational analysis, Some of them are liberals and they do not view Islam no different that any other religion. Others are Zionists who cannot view Muslims without their biases. Then, there are Christian evangelists who view Islam anti-Christ. How is it possible that people with these biases would ever be willing to give a decent coverage to any world issue. They would inject their biases and vices in any coverage they give to issues related with Islam.
This does not mean that there are no good journalists, but their goodness is often controlled and manipulated by those who control their purse.
If we really want to have a decent coverage of Muslim affairs, we have to rely on our own media to not only analyze Muslim events but also the world and local events from our own perspective. It is not difficult for us to develop our own media and we all recognize this. Yet we are unable to translate our ideas into action by promoting, subscribing and spreading our media. Let us hope that popele would look at the Muslim Observer with a futuristic view and ensure that it succeeds to become a leading media in the US for Muslims and for the country.
Detroit–April 8–The Muslim Scholastic Tournament (MIST) is a nationwide tournament designed to test the skills of Muslim high school students in separate regions around the country. The MIST Tournaments occurr at about ten locations nationwide (and Toronto).
This past weekend hundreds of local high school kids participated in the scholastic tournament, which tests such eclectic areas as school spirit, web design, tajweed, memorization, poetry, original oratory, short fiction, fashion design, photography, and prepared essay writing.
The competitors must compete in teams, and one strength of the teams was their group loyalty (whenever any individual from a team won an award immense amounts of screaming and applause arose from their team members).
The teams displayed a wide variety of styles also, some displaying incredible poise and good character while others were a little less reserved. All the students showed sincerity and enthusiasm. In each competition area three prizes were awarded, first second and third.
All of the students, however, won, because they met for the first time the leaders of their generation in the Muslim community.
Several business helped sponsor the Detroit MIST meeting, including The Muslim Observer.
