By Chris Hedges

The Zapatistas’ Subcomandante Marcos on horseback in the resort city of Playa del Carmen, Mexico, in 2006. AP/Israel Leal

Subcomandante Marcos, the spokesman for the Zapatistas (Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional, or EZLN), has announced that his rebel persona no longer exists. He had gone from being a “spokesman to a distraction,” he said last week. His persona, he said, fed an easy and cheap media narrative. It turned a social revolution into a cartoon for the mass media. It allowed the commercial press and the outside world to ignore traditional community leaders and indigenous commanders and wrap a movement around a fictitious personality. His persona, he said, trivialized a movement. And so this persona is no more.

“The entire system, but above all its media, plays the game of creating celebrities who it later destroys if they don’t yield to its designs,” Marcos declared.

The Zapatistas form the most important resistance movement of the last two decades. They are a visible counterweight to the despoiling and rape of the planet and the subjugation of the poor by global capitalism. And they have repeatedly reinvented themselves—as Marcos has now done—to survive. The Zapatistas gave global resistance movements a new language, drawn in part from the indigenous communal Mayan culture, and a new paradigm for action. They understood that corporate capitalism had launched a war against us. They showed us how to fight back. The Zapatistas began by using violence, but they soon abandoned it for the slow, laborious work of building 32 autonomous, self-governing municipalities. Local representatives from Juntas de Buen Gobierno, or Councils of Good Government, which is not recognized by the Mexican government, preside over these independent Zapatista communities. The councils oversee community programs that distribute food, set up clinics and schools and collect taxes. Resources are for those who live in the communities, not for the corporations that come to exploit them. And in this the Zapatistas allow us to see the future, at least a future where we have a chance of surviving.

“This figure was created, and now its creators, the Zapatistas, are destroying it,” the EZLN spokesman said to roughly 1,000 people who turned out for a May 24 memorial in the village of La Realidad for a Zapatista teacher, José Luis Solís López, who was murdered by Mexican paramilitary members. “And we saw that now, the full-size puppet outfit, the character, the hologram, was no longer necessary. Time and time again we planned this, and time and time again we waited for the right moment—the right calendar and geography to show what we really are to those who truly are.”

The May 2 murder of the teacher—known by his nom de guerre as “Galeano”—appears to have been part of a drive by a government-allied paramilitary group, CIOAC-H, to assassinate rural Zapatista leaders and destroy the self-governing Zapatista enclaves. The Fray Bartolome Human Rights Center said that 15 unarmed Zapatista civilians were wounded May 2. Attacks on that day also saw the destruction of a Zapatista clinic, a school and three vehicles.

The address last month was the first public appearance by Marcos since 2009. He spoke to the crowd in a downpour in the early hours of May 25. He has been the public face of the Zapatistas since the group emerged as an insurrectionary force Jan. 1, 1994, in Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico. Marcos, who is mestizo rather than Mayan, spoke about his rise as a media figure following the uprising and how the movement had catered to the demands for an identifiable leader by a press that distorts reality to fit into its familiar narratives.

Just a few days later [after the uprising], with the blood of our fallen still fresh in the city streets, we realized that those from outside did not see us.

Accustomed to looking at the indigenous from above, they did not raise their eyes to look at us.

Accustomed to seeing us humiliated, their heart did not understand our dignified rebellion.

Their eyes were fixed on the only mestizo they saw with a balaclava, that is to say, one they did not look at.

Our bosses told us then:

“They only see their own smallness, let’s make someone as small as them, so they may see him and through him they may see us.”

A complex maneuver of distraction began then, a terrible and marvelous magic trick, a malicious play of the indigenous heart that we are, the indigenous knowledge challenging modernity in one of its bastions: the media.

The character called “Marcos” started then to be built.

The clandestine movement began, like all rebellions, with a handful of idealists.

“When the first group arrived in 1983, 1984, we were in the densest part of the jungle,” Marcos said in “Remembering Ten Years of Zapatismo,” a documentary produced by the Chiapas Independent Media Center and Free Speech Radio News. “We are talking about a group of four or five, six people that repeated to themselves every day ‘this is the right thing to do,’ ‘the right thing to do.’ There was nothing in the world telling us this was the right thing to do. We were dreaming that someday all of this would be worth something.”

Early Jan. 1, 1994, armed rebels took over five major towns in Chiapas. It was the day the North American Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA) came into effect. The EZLN announced that it no longer recognized the legitimacy of the Mexican government. It denounced NAFTA as a new vehicle to widen the inequality between the poor and the rich, showing an understanding of free trade agreements that many in the United States lacked. It said it had resorted to violence because peaceful means of protest had failed. The Mexican government, alarmed and surprised, sent several thousand members of the military and police to Chiapas to crush the uprising. The military handed out food to the impoverished peasants. It also detained scores of men. Many were tortured. Some were killed. There were 12 days of heavy fighting in which about 200 people died. By February the Zapatistas, who had hoped to ignite a nationwide revolution and who were reeling under the military assault, agreed to negotiate. Most had retreated into the surrounding jungle. The insurgency, Marcos said, faced a fundamental existential choice. He spoke about this choice at last month’s memorial to his assassinated comrade:

Should we prepare those who come after us for the path of death?

Should we develop more and better soldiers?

Invest our efforts in improving our battered war machine?

Simulate dialogues and a disposition toward peace while preparing new attacks?

Kill or die as the only destiny?

Or should we reconstruct the path of life, that which those from above had broken and continue breaking?

… Should we have adorned with our blood the path that others have charted to Power, or should we have turned our heart and gaze toward who we are, toward those who are what we are—that is, the indigenous people, guardians of the earth and of memory?

Nobody listened then, but in the first babblings that were our words we made note that our dilemma was not between negotiating and fighting, but between dying and living.

… And we chose.

And rather than dedicating ourselves to training guerrillas, soldiers, and squadrons, we developed education and health promoters, who went about building the foundations of autonomy that today amaze the world.

Instead of constructing barracks, improving our weapons, and building walls and trenches, we built schools, hospitals and health centers; improving our living conditions.

Instead of fighting for a place in the Parthenon of individualized deaths of those from below, we chose to construct life.

All this in the midst of a war that was no less lethal because it was silent.

The movement’s shift from violence to nonviolent civil disobedience was evidenced during the memorial. Zapatista leaders said they knew the identities of the vigilantes who had carried out the attacks. But those in the crowd were cautioned not to turn their vengeance against the killers, who, they were told, had been manipulated to murder in the service of the state. The focus had to remain on dismantling the system of global capitalism itself. The shift from violence to nonviolence, one also adopted half a world away by the African National Congress (ANC), is what has given the Zapatistas their resiliency and strength. Marcos stressed this point:

Small justice looks so much like revenge. Small justice is what distributes impunity; as it punishes one, it absolves others.

What we want, what we fight for, does not end with finding Galeano’s murderers and seeing that they receive their punishment (make no mistake this is what will happen).

The patient and obstinate search seeks truth, not the relief of resignation.

True justice has to do with the buried compañero Galeano.

Because we ask ourselves not what do we do with his death, but what do we do with his life.

This transformation by the EZLN, chronicled in some astute reporting by the Mexican novelist Alejandro Reyes, is one that is crucial to remember as we search for mechanisms to sever ourselves from the corporate state and build self-governing communities. The goal is not to destroy but to transform. And this is why violence is counterproductive. We too must work to create a radical shift in consciousness. And this will take time, drawing larger and larger numbers of people into acts of civil disobedience. We too must work to make citizens aware of the mechanisms of power. An adherence to nonviolence will not save us from the violence of the state and the state’s hired goons and vigilantes. But nonviolence makes conversion, even among our oppressors, possible. And it is conversion that is our goal. As Marcos said:

Maybe it’s true. Maybe we were wrong in choosing to cultivate life instead of worshipping death.

But we made the choice without listening to those on the outside. Without listening to those who always demand and insist on a fight to the death, as long as others will be the ones to do the dying.
We made the choice while looking and listening inward, as the collective Votán that we are.

We chose rebellion, that is to say, life.

16-24

By Laura Fawaz, Contributing Reporter

Last week NBC Nightly News’ Brian Williams met in Moscow with Edwards Snowden, in his first public interview since he leaked NSA, National Security Agency, secret documents last year.

Edward Snowden

Even before this interview aired, members of the Obama administration already launched a frontal attack on Snowden, based then only on the portions of the interview NBC released as promo, prior to the one-hour broadcast.  Over time, Snowden says he started thinking it was a perversion of the war on terrorism.  He came willingly to this interview, knowing that there would be no compensations for him, and that no questions were off limits; he just wanted to tell his side of the story.

“I’m not going to be scrabbling jets for a 29-year-old hacker,” said President Barack Obama.

Snowden, have being called the most wanted man in the world, now 30, has been exiled overseas, wanted for espionage in United States for steeling and downloaded classified documents from the NSA, and then handing them over to journalists.  This blew the lid off data-minding programs that were done in the name of 9/11.  As a result of the NSA data steeling, the government is now able to vacuum up phone and internet data from companies such as Verizon, Google, Apple and Yahoo, done to zero in on any and all Americans.

In the name of 9/11, the U.S. government was now able, if they wanted to, to use our computers and phones.  They were now able to reach into American lives and American homes, unbeknownst to their citizens.  “Being a patriot means knowing when to protect your country, knowing when to protect your constitution, knowing when to protect your country men … and those adversaries don’t have to be foreign countries, they can be bad policies, they can be officials who need a little more accountability,” said Snowden.

The NSA, or any intelligence service in the world that has significant funding and a real technological research team, can own that phone the minute it connects to their network.  As soon you turn it on, they can turn it into a microphone, they can take pictures with it, and they can take the data off of it.  Even if the phone is turned off, the government can still access it.  Even minuet details such as getting the scores to a hockey game are an interest to the government.  Because, as Snowden explains, it tells a lot about you and “your pattern of life,” your routine.  It will show if you are you engaged in any activities that the government disapproves of, such as cheating on your spouse.  Even if it’s not technically illegal, all of these things can raise your level of scrutiny.  “The problem is that the capabilities themselves are unregulated, uncontrolled and dangerous,” said Snowden, all because you checked the sports score.

On 9/11, Snowden was outside of the NSA building; his grandfather was in the pentagon as an FBI agent at the time.  So he knows the threat of terrorism personally, but says that it is “disingenuous for the government to invoke and scandalize our memories” as they exploit the national trauma. 

In 2004, Snowden joined the U.S. Army, but was injured very early on in the training program, and left after breaking both of his legs.  “The fact is that I tried, I saw what was going on in the world, I believed the government’s arguments that we were gonna do good things in Iraq, that we were gonna free the oppressed, and I wanted to do my part, and help share the national burden and create not just a better America, but a better world,” Snowden said. 

Though according to Snowden, the problem quickly escalated as he rose to higher levels within the NSA, thus gaining more and more access.  “I realized that so many of the things that were told by the government simply aren’t true.  Much like the arguments of aluminum tubes, and weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Colin Powell’s speech with the vile of anthrax that Saddam was going to bring against us.  The Iraq war that I signed up for was launched on false premises.  The American people were mislead; now whether that was due to bad faith, or simply mistakes of intelligence, I can’t say for sure, but I can say that it shows the problem of putting too much faith in intelligence systems, without debating them in public,” said Snowden, as he explained where it all began.

The main question that everyone is asking is why didn’t he go through the proper channels and become a whistler bowler instead.  Snowden claims that he did, in person and in writing, “many of these supervisors either did not know of this at all, or were not aware of the severity and details of how much the government can actually do.  But then they followed it up with, ‘if you say something about this, their going to destroy you.  Do you know what happens to people who stand up and talk about this.’”

“There were real problems with the way the NSA was interrupting its legal authorities,” Snowden explained, and continued with “I’m so sure that these communications still exist that I’ve called on congress to write a letter to the NSA to verify that they do, write to the office of general council and say did Mr. Snowden ever communicate any concerns are the NSA’s interpretations of its legal authorities.”

NBC News has learned from multiple sources that Snowden did in fact report his findings to his supervisors, so under the Freedom of Information Act, they requested to receive this, and all other information pertaining to Snowden’s attempts to alerts his superiors of the misuse of intelligence by NSA officials.  Former NSA Agency Chief General Keith Alexander even admitted in recent interviews that they don’t truly know how many documents Snowden had in his possession.  Snowden says that the audits done at the NSA were so poorly managed that any private contractor, not just employee but private contractor, can come in and take what they want from the NSA building.  This is shocking yes because the NSA is a government building, but even worse because they also had the personal, stolen, private information of every single American.

Snowden’s limit on what information he provided to the journalist was only what he thought was necessary for the American public to know, and that would not cause harm to anyone.  He said that a good gauge of what information was provided to the journalist is a representation of what you see in the press.  “Now, the NSA and the defense intelligence agency and some of these other organizations have claimed that lives were at risk, that all this information was out there, that I took all this information about missiles and warheads and tanks, but we don’t see any of that in the newspapers, we haven’t seen any of that,” said Snowden.

Snowden turned over these classified documents to Glenn Greenwald; a lawyer turned journalist, as well as Lara Poitras, a documentary filmmaker.  Greenwald then published his book No place to hide, after he first met Snowden in Hon Kong.  “It was the most real point of no return.  The moment you talk to a journalist, on camera, there’s really no return from there,” exclaimed Snowden.

Snowden said that with him as the source, he made sure that there was the agreement that that Greenwald and Poitras agree to consult with the government so that no individuals or specific harms could be caused by the release.  When asked if Snowden feels as if he is performing a public service, he referred to American history.  “We’ve seen that what is right isn’t always legal, the key is in terms of civil disobedience, you have to make sure that what your risking, what your bringing onto yourself does not serve as a detriment, does not hurt anyone else.  If you’re volunteering yourself to be used as a negative example, if your volunteering to spend a lifetime in prison, rather to spend time in prison, a short time where you’ll advocate, you will emerge stronger and will be able to inspire other people to resist these policies, are you doing good or are you doing bad,” responded Snowden.

So when asked if he should return to the United States to face the music, Snowden said that home is the place he wants to be most in the world, but since we have seen more espionage charges from Presidential Obama’s administration then from all other administrations combined, creates an environment Snowden cannot return to.  The Espionage Act changes the procedure of a typical trial, one where you are not allow you to speak in your defense, and you are not allow you to argue with any of the evidence that is in your favor because it may be classified.  “You have to understand that the music is not an open-court and a fair trial,” said Snowden.

Snowden says he’s a patriot, and that upsets government, especially Secretary of State John Kerry who said “what he’s [Snowden] done is expose for terrorist a lot of mechanisms which now effect operational security of those terrorist and make it harder for the United States to brake-up plots,” hitting why isn’t he home to own up to what he did.

When asked what Snowden thinks should happen to him when if he were to return to the United States, he was reluctant to answer, but said, “I’m not gonna give myself a parade, but I’m not going to go to walk into a jail cell and serve as a bad example for other people in government who see something happen, a violation of the constitution, and feel they have to say something about it.”

Snowden’s legal team is having talks with the United States government, but there have been no negotiations as of yet.  “It’s really frustrating for someone working so hard to expand the domain of our rights and our privacy, to end up stuck in a place where those rights are being challenged in a way that I would say are deeply unfair,” said Snowden when discussing him being stranded in Russia.

Most news agencies and members of government believe that the anger at Snowden does not have to do with not the theft itself, but the undermining it has caused for America’s standing in the world.  Specifically, in terms of the diplomatic standing between America and countries such as Germany for example.  Germany was one of the many countries affected by these NSA documents leaked as it exposed that the United States government was even tapping the phone of Angela Merkel, German Chancellor.  Secretary Kerry travels to such places that were hit by these surveillances, many of which are now even more cautious when dealing with U.S. relations. 

“I may have lost my ability to travel, but I’ve gained the ability to go to sleep at night, to put my head on the pillow, and feel comfortable that I’ve done the right thing, even when it was the hard thing, and I’m comfortable with that,” Snowden said.

16-24

By Ramzy Baroud

On May 16, Libya’s rogue general Khalifa Haftar staged several bloody attacks against other Libyan militias in the name of eradicating terrorism by leading a paramilitary force evasively named the Libyan National Army. His well-equipped brigades were rapidly joined by officers from national army bases in the eastern parts of the country.

Units from the air force also joined in, along with tribal gunmen and other militias, particularly the strong and notorious Zintan militia. The well-coordinated attacks, named Operation Karama, or Dignity, resulted in heavy casualties.

When Karama is Not Dignity

Then, with unprecedented audacity, on Thursday he struck the parliament, sending Libyan lawmakers from the General National Council (GNC) fleeing for their lives. Among his demands: the dismissal of the parliament and the judiciary to take control of the country’s affairs until the next elections scheduled for 25 June. The man is supposedly a proponent for a democratically elected civilian government, a contradiction that is becoming quite common in post-‘Arab Spring’ Middle East.

During the attack on the parliament and the seizure of government buildings, Haftar’s forces were backed by warplanes and helicopters. The show of force was massive, even for post-rebellion and NATO-led war Libya where guns are available in abundance.

Needless to say, Haftar is not a rogue general acting alone. He is supported by former Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, and has strong, rich Libyan and Arab backers. His long history of relations with the CIA is neither “misleading” or “old news” as suggested by a recent article in the UK’s Guardian newspaper. But what is his story? And will he succeed in becoming the Libyan equivalent of Egypt’s General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi?

The February ‘Coup’

Haftar has been actively pursuing a similar media discourse to that of Egypt’s Sisi, who seized power after overthrowing the democratically elected government of Mohammed Mursi in July 2013. Sisi had masked his action in a lexicon that is predicated on a very simple logic: associating the Muslim Brotherhood with terrorism, and vowing to crush the “terrorists” who are supposedly threatening Egypt’s national security.

In a series of interviews, including one with US network Fox News, Sisi warned of the danger of Islamic terrorism coming from eastern Libya, and called for US military support. The “national security” argument is helping Sisi shift the focus from urban centres where Egyptian youth has staged daily and nightly protests demanding the restoration of democracy to the periphery – as in Hamas in Gaza, militants in Sinai, terrorists in Libya, and even Sudan.

Haftar is also out to crush the Islamists, but the problem is that Libya’s Muslim Brotherhood is hardly the dominant political force in that country. Haftar knows well that Islamic-leaning parties in Libya are not all one and the same. Yet, he seemed keen on emphasising the Brotherhood as a target behind his ongoing war.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat. newspaper in an interview published in May that he intends to “purge” Libya of Muslim Brotherhood members. They are a “malignant disease that is seeking to spread throughout the bones of the Arab world”. He even formed a Libyan counterpart of Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.

The Libyans are certainly not Haftar’s target audience. Their contention is with the security chaos that has afflicted their country due to warring militias following the NATO-backed victory over Muammar Gaddafi. In fact, Haftar is himself leading some of these militias, and his “army” has contributed to the political uncertainty and violence in Libya.

The former Libyan general is clearly attempting to exploit Egypt’s woes to his advantage, but is also vying for attention from various western governments – especially Washington that until now seems rather reluctant to criticise Haftar’s attempted coup.

In fact, Washington’s indecision is similar to its silence when Haftar had attempted to stage the first coup last February, but failed. Afterwards, in a televised speech, Haftar denounced the government, and announced his own “initiative”, a roadmap of sorts that saw the disbanding of parliament. Few took him serious and top government officials mocked his coup attempt. One described it as “ridiculous”. But consequently, many discovered the name Haftar, and some became keenly interested to learn more.

Did the Americans Know?

Ashour Shamis is a former partner of Haftar. Both were members of the US-funded Libyan National Army in the 1980s. In a recent interview with The Guardian he remarked, “I don’t think something like this can happen in Libya and the Americans would not know about it.” According to Shamis, the Americans “want to see how much momentum Haftar has and how far he goes.” Indeed, Haftar is doing a great deal to get Washington’s attention, which has somewhat divested from Libya since the killing of its ambassador there and three others in September 2012.

To win favour with Washington, Haftar’s list of enemies also includes Ansar al-Sharia, which along with other militias in Benghazi was accused of plotting the attack against the US embassy. But it shouldn’t be too difficult for Haftar to gain Washington’s trust. In fact, he already has. It is no secret that Haftar has had strong backing from the US Central Intelligence Agency for nearly three decades.
The man has been branded and rebranded throughout his colourful and sometimes mysterious history. He fought as an officer in the Chadian-Libyan conflict, and was captured alongside his entire unit of 600 men. During his time in prison, Chad experienced a regime change (both regimes were backed by French and US intelligence) and Haftar and his men were released per US request as he was moved to another African country. While some chose to return home, others knew well what would await them in Libya, for reasons explained by the New York Times on 17 May, 1991.

“For two years, United States officials have been shopping around for a home for about 350 Libyan soldiers who cannot return to their country because American intelligence officials had mobilised them into a commando force to overthrow Col. Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader,” NYT reported. “Now, the Administration has given up trying to find another country that will accept the Libyans and has decided to bring them to the United States.”

Haftar was then relocated to a Virginia suburb in the early 1990s, where he settled very close to the CIA headquarters in Langley. The news is murky about his exact activities living near Washington DC, except for his ties to Libyan opposition forces, which of course operated according to US diktats.

In his thorough report, published in the Business Insider, Russ Baker traced much of Haftar’s activities since his split from Gaddafi and adoption by the CIA. “A Congressional Research Service report of December 1996 named Haftar as the head of the (National Front For The Salvation of Libya) NFSL’s military wing, the Libyan National Army.

After he joined the exile group, the CRS report added, Haftar began “preparing an army to march on Libya”. The NFSL, the CSR said, is in exile “with many of its members in the United States”.

It took nearly 15 years for Haftar to march on Libya. It also took a massive war that was purported to support a popular uprising. Although he clearly attempts to brand himself as a potential Sisi, Haftar, per Baker’s description, is the Libyan equivalent of Iraq’s Ahmed Chalabi, a discredited figure with strong allies in Washington DC, Chalabi was sent to post-Saddam Iraq to lead the “democratization” process. Instead, he helped set the stage for the calamity under way there.

It is no wonder why Haftar’s return was a major source of controversy. Since the news of his CIA affiliation was no big secret, his return to Libya to join the rebels in March 2011 caused much confusion.
Almost immediately, he was announced by a military spokesman as the rebels’ new commander, only for the announcement to be dismissed by the National Transitional Council as false. The NTC was largely a composition of equally enigmatic characters that had little presence within Libya’s national consciousness. Haftar found himself as the third man on the military ladder, which he grudgingly accepted.

The Right Man for Libya?

Haftar’s legacy has been linked to military coups as early as 1969, when he, along with a few soldiers, helped Gaddafi overthrow King Idris. Between then and the last two coups, he was, and perhaps still is, affiliated with the CIA.

But Libya is gripped by extreme violence and is hostage to the whims of militias, some tribal, others affiliated with small towns and large cities – Misurata, Zintan and so on – and others are loosely affiliated with government ministries. In times of such befuddling strife, some people might be ready to accept feeble alternatives. Despite his dubious legacy, Haftar might oddly enough appear to some as Libya’s strong man.

As expected, many are not convinced. Powerful militias are also lining up against Haftar. Misurata’s 235 militia brigades are ready to fight. They have already deployed near Tripoli. If this showdown is allowed to carry on, a bloody civil war will be awaiting Libya, one that might prove even bloodier and lengthier than the NATO-led war against Gaddafi.

This time around, however, neither NATO nor the US seem willing to get involved again, at least not until one warring camp proves worthy of their support. In all cases, Libya’s suffering is likely to linger.

(Ramzy Baroud is the Managing Editor of Middle East Eye. He is an internationally-syndicated columnist, a media consultant, an author and the founder of PalestineChronicle.com. His latest book is My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza’s Untold Story (Pluto Press, London).

16-24

Review By Mohammad Yunus*

Author: S. Irfan Habib

200pp. Harper Collins $18.00

In his book, S. Irfan Habib pulls the reader into the world of Muslim orthodoxy, suggesting that the majority of Muslims now blindly follow the mullahs and have ceased thinking for themselves. He laments that the role of rational science is diminishing as the interpretation of faith is simultaneously becoming more rigid and inflexible. He questions the belief that “Islamic Science” is a distinct category separate from “Western,” “Modern,” and “European” science. Assiduously exploring the lives and works of famous Muslim visionaries of the 19th and 20th centuries such as Muhammad Abduh, Syed Ahmad, Mohammed Iqbal, and Maulana Abu Kalam Azad, Habib shows the reader how, “the modern-day promulgation of Islam and its followers as ‘anti-modern’ and ‘anti-science’ is a myth that leads, quite literally, to explosive consequences.” Overall the book is a work of great diligence, scholarship, and insight – a great resource to the inquisitive minds of general readers, as well as scholars.

The author S. Irfan Habib is a renowned historian and scholar who has written and edited more than 25 books, including the classic The Agrarian System of Mughal India (1556-1707). He is the recipient of India’s prestigious award Padma Bhushan, and also the Watumull Prize (1982) from the American Historical Association. He earned his doctorate from Oxford University. He currently holds the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Chair at the National University of Educational Planning and Administration in New Delhi.

In his book Habib argues that modern science is neutral and not the possession of any specific religion or culture.  Modern science is sometimes called “Western” science simply because it was developed by people and groups living in the western hemisphere. These scientists were not of one mindset or belief system but were Christians, Jews, atheists, and others. In our times, Chinese, Japanese, Russians, and Indians have made significant contributions to scientific creativity. During the early centuries of Islam’s development, while Europe struggled through the intellectually fallow period known as the “Dark Ages,” science and philosophy flowered in the Islamic world. Muslims rightfully speak with pride the names of Al-Kindi, Al-Farabi, Al-Khawarizmi, Ibn Rushd, al-Razi Ibn Sina, and Omar Khayyam. Indeed, the rich Greek philosophy of critical thinking that inspired modern rationalism in Europe was first introduced to the West by Arab philosophers and scientists. According to George Sarton, the father of the modern history of science, “‘they (Arabs) did not only transmit ancient knowledge, they created a new one…. The superiority of Muslim culture say in the eleventh century, was so great that we can understand their intellectual pride.”

Given such a progressive and powerful starting point, what then led to the decline of scientific creativity among Muslims? Habib hypothesizes that science thrived in early Islam because Muslim rulers of that era created a culture that nurtured pluralism, independent thinking, and the pursuit of knowledge in diverse fields. The House of Wisdom (Bait-ul-Hikmah) during the Abbaside period laid the foundation for modern scientific research. Scholars of all creeds, beliefs, and religions freely and candidly shared their perspectives and thoughts on diverse religious, social, and academic matters without fear of censure or retribution. Unfortunately, this glorious era in the Muslim history of scientific accomplishment abruptly halted a few centuries ago when ulemas closed the door on ijtihad (independent thinking) and instead vigorously advocated and enforced taqlid (blind obedience).

We are now free to recite and memorize the Quran but forbidden to interpret it. Independent thinking, a hallmark and a right of early lay believers, has now become ungodly. The paradigm of taqlid (blind obedience) has led Muslims across the world to a life of ineptness, mediocrity, and despondency. To resuscitate past glory and success, Muslims must now create an environment that fosters independent thinking (ijtihad) and promotes modern knowledge.

Professor Habib is a prominent historian and scholar who writes with imagination and authority, and his book is a distinguished work and a valuable addition to the ongoing debate between rational thinking (ijtihad) and blind obedience (taqlid). However, in his book the author fails to suggest a means or method by which Muslims can and should re-institute rational thinking (ijtihad) and modern science as key components in Muslims’ psyche and mentation.

*The author is currently teaching at the John Sperling School of Business, University of Phoenix. Previously, he was the CEO and Hospital Administrator at the State Psychiatric Hospital in Illinois. He served on many national committees and task forces, including the Higher Learning Commission of North Central Association of Universities and Colleges, US Department of Health and Human Services, and the White House Office of National Drug Policy. H

16-24

By M. Ayub Khan

Civil rights groups and supporters of Imam Jamil-Al Amin are raising concerns about his deteriorating health and have called on the authorities to attend to his medical needs immediately. A note released to the public by the Muslim Alliance in North America states that Imam Jamil has several dental and medical issues and should be promptly seen by a physician. He was once a leading figure of the Black Panthers and Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. He accepted Islam in 1971 in pirson  and became a stalwart Muslim leader and community leader

Imam Jamil is currently in jail after being found guilty of shooting at two deputies who had come to serve him a sub-subpoena. One of them died. His supporters contest the official version of the events leading up to the shootings.

Since 2007 he has been incarcerated in a supermax prison in Florida.

“His jaws were still swollen from an obvious abscess or two which they had witnessed on their previous visit in October 2013! He waited 10 months to see a dentist, and after seeing one the condition worsened. He now has been waiting an additional five months since submitting another dental request and has not received any care,” said El-Hajj Mauri’ Saalakhan of the Peace And Justice Foundation in an e-mail.

The Peace And Justice Foundation and the Jericho Coalition are calling for writing letters of concern to Charles E. Samuels, director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Those who wish to respond to this latest injustice can also call Mr. Samuels to express their concern about the imam’s unanswered request for urgently needed medical care. Call Mr. Samuels at (202) 307-3198.

“Supporters have also suggested calling Governor Nathan Deal to request that Imam Jamil be transferred back to Georgia. Given Imam Jamil’s age and declining health, placement at the Federal Medical Center in Butner (North Carolina) may address his condition. Governor Deal’s number is (404) 656-1776,” added the Peace and Justice Foundation.

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Mahfuz Ahmed, founder and CEO of Digital Intelligence Systems,(DISYS), a  global technology services firm, has been appointed to the Board of Visitors (BOV) for George Mason University by Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe.

Board of Visitors of George Mason University was established in April 1972 by an act of the General Assembly after the university became an independent institution. The Board of Visitors exercises its authority principally in policy-making and oversight. Members of the Board serve four-year terms. Among Governor McAuliffe’s goals for the latest appointees in their roles is to use their positions to draw upon their experiences and networks to “prudently…manage our colleges and universities…to find cost efficiencies in order to keep tuition rates as low as possible and to embrace innovation…to prepare every Virginia student to compete in a 21st century economy.”

An alumnus of George Mason University, Mr. Ahmed’s professional background along with his understanding of the local greater Washington D.C. market, enables him to provide unique insight and consultation to the Board of Visitors and fellow members of the Board.

In 2011, Mr. Ahmed was applauded by former Virginia Governor McDonnell for his trailblazing efforts to continue to rejuvenate and grow the local job market around the company’s corporate headquarters in McLean. As a result of his efforts, DISYS was inducted into the Virginia Jobs Investment Program, a workforce incentive provided by the Virginia Department of Business Assistance (VDBA).

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By Roze S. Alex-Kadri

Around my birthday at the age of 50 years I received my retired person old age membership card, gray hair became noticeable, and soon after that menopausal symptoms began presenting themselves.  How depressing.  Could these be some very good reasons why heaven is purportedly under the feet of mothers (women)?  Regardless, my gray hair was easily attended to and I easily dismissed the old retired persons card with as much pomp, circumstance, and expression as I could muster; however, I could not easily dismiss menopause.  Contrary to popular culture, I found menopause neither humorous nor amusing.  To that end, I developed this Menopausal Reference-Response, and Survival Guide (MRS Guide) to alleviate the physical and emotional effects of menopause on us and those around us.  It is hereby presented to support my sisters in distress.

Contrary to the thinking that it is an affliction or disease, menopause is a natural, universal condition that will occur in every woman’s life.  There are occurrences, however, of unnatural surgical menopause which are a sequela of having both ovaries removed due to medical reasons.  Although it varies, the average age of menopausal onset is 51 years old and the average duration of symptoms is 4.5 years.

Menopause is something like the converse of puberty.  The onset of puberty for both males and females is characterized by the release of the hypothalamus hormone, Gonadotropin, which stimulates the pituitary gland to release Follicle Stimulating Hormone and Luteinizing Hormone which in turn stimulate the ovaries to begin releasing eggs (in females) every month.  In females, this subsequently leads to the production of estrogen and progesterone hormones by the ovaries. The release of ovarian eggs leads to the thickening and then sloughing/shedding of the uterine lining which presents as bleeding – the first period is known as menarche.  These activities are cyclical – occurring every month if egg fertilization does not occur.  Menopause is defined as the beginning of the absence or cessation of ovulation.

Menopause has three stages:  peri, menopausal, and post.  The peri-menopausal stage is the transitional stage between menstrual cycling and menopause.  It is characterized by the episodic menstrual periods and slight hormonally induced discomfort.  It usually lasts for about one year.  In post-menopausal, the body has ceased ovulation with menopausal hormones are greatly decreased and leveled off with the ratio of estrogen to progesterone being re-established for the duration of life.

In between these stages is the true menopausal stage which is actually the adjustment of the body to the cessation of ovulation.  Menopausal symptoms are due to: 1. Decreasing levels of estrogen, especially, and progesterone; 2. Varying proportions of estrogen to progesterone; and 3. Compensatory surging levels of Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Luteinizing Hormone (LH).  The lack of a menstrual period for at least one year and high levels (greater than 10 times the normal amounts) of the pituitary gland hormones FSH and LH serve to definitively identify a menopausal state. 

Menopausal symptoms usually vary from day to day and from woman to woman and from society to society.  There are studies that demonstrate that Western society women experience much stronger menopausal symptoms than their non-Western society counterparts.  It has been hypothesized that this difference may be a manifestation of the increased mental demands and decreased physical demands of Western women. 

My personal symptoms included:  sleep disruptions resulting from hot body temperatures (or high metabolic activity); headaches; uneven body temperature (hot torso but cold extremities); difficulty communicating (verbal and written);  difficulty handling my emotions-especially the sad ones; heart palpitations; higher blood pressure; higher cholesterol levels; not being cognizant of dreaming; not being able to nap regardless of how tired I always felt; a racing mind that was foggy brained and forgetful; reduced ability to memorize or concentrate (recall was a challenge); a voracious appetite; and a swollen face.

As appealing as being a dazed over-weight pseudo-pubescent blast furnace may be to some, I found the menopausal experience to be very distressing and disturbing.  I was having great difficulty effectively and efficiently managing my daily activities.   Like most “young” women, the rigors of my family life, employment, and schooling disallowed me from having the luxury of waiting it out for 4.5 years until my body adjusted to its new homeostatic state.   I, therefore, began searching for ways to counteract the negative effects of the hormone reduction and imbalance referred to as menopause.  Regardless of how natural menopause supposedly is, my approach to handling it was similar to how one would approach a combat mission: it was serious business and not fun; I had to get through it; I needed to minimize the adverse effects and protect myself as much as possible; I needed to reduce the collateral damage to my family and friends; I needed a plan of attack; and I needed tools (remedies) to handle the circumstances. 

I, therefore, resolved to try to find ways of addressing and attending to my symptoms in as natural and effective a manner as possible.  My pursuit of a natural course was important because of wanting to avoid the adverse side effects of other remedies.  My inspirational guidance came from Islam that says that there is a cure for every malady that afflicts us.   The following remedies and practices were what I have used to address the negative effects of menopause.  They helped ease my discomfort and dysfunction from menopause.  This guide is not presented as a panacea – complying with the suggestions will not completely counteract the signs and symptoms.  Hopefully, however, these suggestions will alleviate them.  There are many other remedies and products that I have not presented here but that are assuredly effective and beneficial and should be considered.  Also, keep in mind that this suggestion guide has not been empirically tested nor peer reviewed.  Therefore, before beginning this or any regime, have your physician evaluate it with and for you.  This is very important since each body is different and your body’s responses and needs will most likely also be different. 

Pomegranate for cardiovascular issues:  Fresh pomegranate seeds (≥1/2 cup) should be eaten every day or 2 T. of concentrated juice which may be mixed with 2 ounces of regular juice or water for taste.  The reasoning for this predates all of the research about the antioxidant and other positive effects of pomegranate which are, of course, beneficial.  My reasoning stems from a story that has been passed down many generations regarding the beneficial effects of pomegranate for improving the cardiovascular health.  My blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and heart palpitations decreased.  This worked great for me. 
Cucumbers as an antipyretic: Eat at any time but have one especially after dinner time to reduce hot flashes and reduce body temperature as a sleep aid.  I keep the skin on for most varieties.  Any variety was effective for me except the short, slender, smooth kind.  The pickling kind is fine to eat.  My experience with this remedy was based on a hadith that recommends consuming cucumbers to lower body temperature.  This was very effective for me.

Rosemary tea with cinnamon and honey every night to combat inflammation and help with mental clarity and memory.  Add ½ cup of rosemary leaves and a stick of cinnamon to 3 cups of water.  Wash and simmer on low heat until liquid turns dark-ish.  I add herbal tea such as orange or lemon for taste.  The tea leaves can be re-used five times by simply adding more water to the pot and boiling.  Drink an 8 ounce cup of tea at night with a teaspoon or tablespoon of honey after dinner.  One downside is that if this is drunk late at night, it seems to give bad breath the next day.  Another down-side of the tea is that it stains the teeth so I recommend teeth whitening treatment.  My reasoning for first using this remedy was that rosemary tea is used in the Middle East to reduce swelling for various reasons and to ease intestinal discomfort.   The cinnamon is known for its anti-pyretic effects and the honey is a natural sweetener.  I drink the tea regularly as a way to improve the clarity and memory of my mind.

Fasting for physiologic stability:  Fasting Islamic-style (no food or drink from sunrise to sunset) greatly alleviates the overall symptoms and discomforts of menopause.  The reasoning for even considering this treatment is based on a hadith encouraging us to fast if we have sexual urges on our mind that we want to control.  I reasoned that if fasting is prescribed to control sexual urges, the glands related to sexual activity may also be controlled in this way.  This was wonderfully helpful.

Ice chips / cold water in nose – in mouth:  This may seem bizarre or extreme but such measures may help when your mind feels like it is racing off a hot cliff.  The focus of this remedy is the hypothalamus and pituitary gland activity which are located near the center base of the skull – interior to the naso and oropharynx area.  The reasoning is that the coldness constricts the blood vessels in the area, thereby reducing the blood flow to those organs which theoretically should lead to a reduction in menopausal hormone stimulation and production.  I occasionally used this remedy at night when I felt that my body was out of control and tired but unable to sleep, with a racing mind, and/or a very overheated body.  This remedy helped stabilize me.

Iron supplements:  High body temperature from infection and/or inflammation is associated with iron sequestration (leading to possible anemia) in the body.  High menopausal temperatures may present as an analogous situation whereby iron is sequestered by the body in a natural process.  Discuss with your physician the need to determine your iron levels and if supplements are needed. 
Calcium supplements:  Calcium products and supplements should be taken daily beginning in peri-menopause and thereafter.  Estrogen protects against bone loss so decreased estrogen levels leads to a concomitant decrease in calcium absorption.  A total of 4000 mg or more of calcium should be ingested every day with vitamin D (to ensure calcium absorption).  A combination of milk products and calcium supplements should be taken (e.g., two 1000 mg supplements plus two 8 ounce glasses of milk per day).

Physical exercise:  Engage in moderate to brisk daily physical exercise (at least 30 minutes per day).  Such exercise supports bone strength, serves as a sleep aid, and stimulates the release of endorphins (“happy hormones” neurotransmitters) – all of which helps diminish some of the symptoms of menopause.

Miscellaneous suggestions:  Pajamas-: Sleep in light cotton or silk pajamas (breathability).  You would be surprised at how such a simple thing can make a difference in sleep comfort.  Notes:  Write notes and reminders.  Such items alleviate the distress of forgetting and the anxiety of thinking that you will forget.  Do not overtire yourself. Go to sleep early and get as much sleep as you can when you are able to so as to compensate for the sleepless times. 

The aforementioned remedies may seem bothersome or arduous and I do not disagree with such an assessment but in my experience the benefits outweighed the costs.  You may find that you only need to implement some instead of all of them.  Be sensitive to what your body is experiencing for guidance as to what needs to be addressed and remember these aids during those times when you feel like you are going to spontaneously combust. 

As temporary as menopause is, it can greatly and negatively become your world.  Moreover, as natural as menopause is, it can cause personal and collateral “damage”.  Therefore, to prevent the exacerbation of menopausal symptoms, if at all possible, I recommend against the following:  multi-tasking, starting an educational program, changing jobs, raising children, being responsible for anything, and/or entering a beauty contest.  If you can avoid or postpone these activities, then the effects of menopause on your life should hardly be noticeable.

Thank you for giving me the respect of reading this article.  I wish you good health and happiness.

(Gratitude goes out to DAA and MRK for reviewing this article and providing helpful suggestions.)

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In the human digestive system, the process of digestion has many stages, the first of which starts in the mouth (oral cavity). Digestion involves the breakdown of food into smaller and smaller components which can be absorbed and assimilated into the body. The secretion of saliva helps to produce a bolus which can be swallowed in the oesophagus to pass down into the stomach. Saliva also contains a catalytic enzyme called amylase which starts to act on food in the mouth. Digestion is helped by the mastication of food by the teeth and also by the muscular contractions of peristalsis. Gastric juice in the stomach is essential for the continuation of digestion as is the production of mucus in the stomach. Peristalsis is the rhythmic contraction of muscles that starts along the wall of the stomach. This initially results in the production of chyme which when fully broken down in the small intestine is absorbed into the blood. Most of the digestion of food takes place in the small intestine. Water and some minerals are reabsorbed back into the blood, in the colon of the large intestine. The waste products of digestion are defecated from the anus via the rectum.
There are several organs and other components involved in the digestion of food and the largest structure of the digestive system is the gastrointestinal tract (GI). This starts at the mouth and ends at the anus, covering a distance of about nine metres.[1] The largest component of the GI tract is the colon. Other components include the mouth, teeth and epiglottis, and the accessory digestive glands, the (liver, gall bladder and pancreas).

The oral cavity that is the mouth, is the first part of the alimentary canal and is equipped with several structures that begin the first processes of digestion. These include salivary glands, teeth and the tongue. Most of the oral cavity is lined with oral mucosa a mucous membrane that produces a lubricating mucus, of which only a small amount is needed. Mucous membranes vary in structure in the different regions of the body but they all produce a lubricating mucus, which is either secreted by surface cells or more usually by underlying glands. The mucous membrane in the mouth continues as the thin mucosa which lines the bases of the teeth. The main component of mucus is a glycoprotein called mucin and the type secreted varies according to the region involved. Mucin is viscous, clear, and clinging. Underlying the mucous membrane in the mouth is a thin layer of smooth muscle tissue and the loose connection to the membrane gives it its great elasticity.[2] It covers the cheeks, inner surfaces of the lips, and floor of the mouth.[3] The roof of the mouth is termed the palate and it separates the oral cavity from the nasal cavity. The palate is hard at the front of the mouth since the overlying mucosa is covering a plate of bone; it is softer and more pliable at the back being made of muscle and connective tissue, and it can move to swallow food and liquids. The soft palate ends at the uvula. The surface of the hard palate allows for the pressure needed in eating food, to leave the nasal passage clear.[4] The lips are the mouth’s front boundary and the fauces (the passageway between the tonsils, also called the throat), mark its posterior boundary. At either side of the soft palate are the palatoglossus muscles which also reach into regions of the tongue. These muscles raise the back of the tongue and also close both sides of the fauces to enable food to be swallowed. Mucus helps in the mastication of food in its ability to soften and collect the food in the formation of the bolus.

There are three pairs of main salivary glands and between 800 and 1,000 minor salivary glands, all of which mainly serve the digestive process, and also play an important role in the maintenance of dental health and general mouth lubrication, without which speech would be impossible. The main glands are all exocrine glands, secreting via ducts. All of these glands terminate in the mouth. The largest of these are the parotid glands – their secretion is mainly serous. The next pair are underneath the jaw, the submandibular glands, these produce both serous fluid and mucus.They produce about 70% of the oral cavity saliva. The third pair are the sublingual glands located underneath the tongue their secretion is mainly mucous with a small percentage of saliva. Within the submucosa of the mucous membranes lining the mouth and also on the tongue and palates and mouth floor, are the minor salivary glands; their secretions are mainly mucous and are innervated by the facial nerve, the seventh cranial nerve. The glands also secrete amylase a first stage in the breakdown of food acting on the carbohydrate in the food to transform the starch content into maltose. There are other glands on the surface of the tongue that encircle taste buds on the back part of the tongue and these produce a serous fluid which contains lipase (lingual lipase). Lipase is a digestive enzyme that catalyses the hydrolysis of lipids (fats). These glands are termed Von Ebner’s glands which have also been shown to have another function in the secretion of histatins which offer an early defense (outside of the immune system) against microbes in food, when it makes contact with these glands on the tongue tissue.[5] Sensory information can stimulate the secretion of saliva providing the necessary fluid for the tongue to work with and also to ease swallowing of the food.

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Dr. Mohammad Hamdani honored

The American Cancer Society’s annual Evening of Hope Gala fund-raiser honored Dr. Mohammed P. Hamdani with the Omar T. Pace M.D. Award. The award is given to recipients who have made a difference in the lives of cancer patients and their families throughout Western Massachusetts.

Hamdani is a general surgeon at New England Surgical Group in Springfield, and a clinical instructor of surgery at Tufts University School of Medicine. He is a cancer survivor, and long-time supporter of the society, according to a gala release. He has attended and supported the gala for many years, and has also been a member of the planning committee for the Relay For Life of Wilbraham, serving as the mission chair as well as a team captain.

Dr. Fauzia and Mansoor Khan awarded Immigrant of the Year award

Dr. Fauzia and Mansoor Khan, founders of Alere Analytics, were awarded with the Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year during  the Immigrant Learning Center, Inc.’s 2014 Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards Dinner at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge.

Husband and wife Mansoor and Fauzia Khan founded Alere Analytics (formerly DiagnosisONE) in 2003. In 2012, it was purchased by Alere Inc. Mansoor Khan currently serves as chief executive officer, and Fauzia Khan is the chief medical officer of this medical informatics company. Alere Analytics provides the health care industry with the world’s largest library of evidence-based medical knowledge. Featuring more than 30,000 clinical rules, the platform ensures improved patient care, fewer errors and better clinical outcomes.

Prior to founding DiagnosisONE, Mansoor Khan was the founder and CEO of KeyCommerce, and Fauzia Khan was the director of informatics at UMass Memorial Medical Center where she wrote the definitive text on the subspecialty of medical informatics, Guide to Diagnostic Medicine. She is one of the first physicians in the United States to receive board certification in the subspecialty of Clinical Informatics from the American Board of Pathology.

Dr. Shafiq Khan led cancer research center gets funding

Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta was awarded a $7.4 million renewal grant for the Center for Cancer Research and Therapeutic Development (CCRTD). The five-year grant, which was awarded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), a component of the National Institutes of Health, supports cancer research infrastructure including technical research core laboratories and funding for the recruitment of researchers and for pilot studies.The center is led by Dr.Shafiq A. Khan who is the principal and director, CCRTD, and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar.

Dr. Khan said,”“This award will help to build the most comprehensive prostate cancer research and educational program in the country, and help to sustain vital partnerships required to address this disease and its disproportionate impact on [black] men.”

Hiba Ahmed elected Student Senate President of Knox College

GALESBURG,IL–Junior Hiba Ahmed has been elected as the next president of the Knox College Student Senate. She will be the first woman to hold the office since the 2010-2011 academic year.
Ahmed came out on top in a three-candidate race.

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By Dr. Aslam Abdullah, TMO Editor-in-Chief

The most prestigious science research competition for US high school seniors is Intel Science Talent Search. Within the lists of 300 semifinalists for each year (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014), there are 49, 56, 46, 60, and 62 names of high school students of Hindu-American community respectively. There are many more from Chinese community among the semi-finalists. However, there are only 1, 3, 5, 3, and 4 Muslim sounding names in the list of Intel Science Talent Search Semi-finalists during the same period. This year in President’s scholarship scholars for Arts, there is not a single Muslim student.

These figures are quite revealing. If we are not competitive in science and arts we should be prepared to play a secondary role in the emerging new world. Excellence is the essence of a Muslim life. It is not built around mediocrity. Yet, it is this mediocrity that has dominated our community life. The US offers an excellent opportunity to students regardless of their background to out-excel each other in the competitive world. It opens all the avenues for them to walk to the destination of excellence. Yet, if we remain lethargic to these opportunities, we do not have to blame anyone but ourselves.

We must understand that as Muslims our struggle is to achieve excellence in whatever field humanity needs our services, be it medicine, engineering, social work or arts and humanities. This is called true jihad. Only when we show our real intellectual mettle to people will we be appreciated for our contributions, otherwise we will remain dependent upon others for own survival.
We must also understand that the Divine guidance should inspire us to explore the world created for all of us and make it as good as we can. Every knowledge that benefits human beings is Divinely guided.

We have thousands of talented young men and women who must be encouraged through our religious institutions to move forward in every field of work–and give their best in that field for the betterment of humanity.

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