Finishing post…

Assalaamu Alaykum to all the Muslim readers of The Islamic Standard,

The title is somewhat misleading as there is no finishing post, we continue our struggle to promote Islam until the day we leave this world of leave islam and the only finishing post is death and we should not wish for death as life is a gift from Allaah to be used and spent wisely in his cause.

But just over a year ago I put up the gold plated advice of the Ibn Qayyim al Jawziyyah on the traps of Iblees and I find it is time to take the advice given by the great scholar of the matters of the heart as well as fiqh and stop this news and current affairs blog for the time being.

OK… He doesn’t literally say ‘stop blogging its wasting your time bro’ but Ibn Qayyim did speak of one of the tricks that shaitan plays upon the believers is that he will distract us from greater deeds with lesser good deeds.

The Islamic Standard – The Traps of Iblees – Imâm Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah

As well as this The Islamic Standard blog and the subjects it covers requires more time than I can give it, even with the help of people sending in articles, may Allaah reward you all for the help you have given.

But story after story has been missed, sometimes ones which are good for Muslims to know about and I couldn’t even find time to spread the news of the death of several important murtadeen in Afghanistan recently, the advances of the Mujahideen in Yemen or the fact that the brothers in Libya continue to march forward a little more each day towards Tripoli and the removal from power of the disgusting Taghoot Gaddafi and his awful clan.

Instead of spreading such news have been reading more, listening to talks and I need to devote more time not less to self development and to Da’wah in person to friends, family and just random strangers in the street.

I just cant give the blog the few hours a week it needs anymore, nor would I want to and I think back at all the untold hundreds of hours I have spent on this blog and know it could have been used more productively elsewhere.

I think it is admit that spreading the news of the Muslims to the believers in the west is low priority.

The munafiqeen dogs who gossip about those who go in the path of Allaah can keep gossiping in the corners of the masjid, it affects not the true believers in the slightest either here in the west of there in the Muslim lands. The time will come we will throw them from the positions of authority in the houses of Allaah but it is not now.

The sincere ones who understand the need to verify the news will keep doing so and find the information they need elsewhere, probably much better than they get here as our attempts to cover the affairs of the whole ummah means I can only gain a little knowledge on each conflict, each issue, each struggle, as well as having a legal need to avoid saying things in the way I might wish due to the restraints of UK law.

Even if every Muslim in the west were to turn against the sincere believers and become like many of our self appointed ‘leaders’ here in the UK, who are in truth nothing more carriers of the traits of nifaq for the most part, the lackeys of the kuffar then what would it matter to our brothers fighting in the path of Allaah who are affected not at all by what happens here?

Yes, by the grace of Allaah I have helped a few people, especially jahil Muslims learn a little about Islam and the affairs of the Muslims around the world but was this the best use of my time? I could have done more just inviting brothers into my home once or twice a week.

Yes it was heart warming to actually meet a couple of brothers in the masjid who thanked me for helping them see the light about those who slander the mujahideen with ‘Al Shabab ate my hamster!’ which remains week in, week out the most well read article on this blog and the blog will remain readable for the forseable future.

But such victories are in truth lesser treasures in terms of deen I could have earned by now doing other things. I could have well been on my way to learning arabic, have memorised whole sections of the Quran, maybe made my goal of Hijrah for the sake of Allaah to the Muslim lands or if not then perhaps if Allaah had let me given shahadah to more new reverts to Islam which is my own speciality in the deen.

Reflecting on matters I know that by the guidance of Allaah I used to bring far more people into Islam than I have managed recently and the fact I spend so much time ‘here’ on the blog not ‘out there’ in the streets inviting people to Islam means by productivity as a believer has fallen.

So for now, the blog is finished as I go back to the books again, spending time giving da’wah in person and online, learning more ilm each day, and just as importantly implementing it in my life and spreading it others.

Self development is key to our work as believers and I know one brother who said his shahadah a month or two after me who is already Talib ul Ilm, a student of knowledge, fluent in arabic and knowledgeable about the deen.

In truth I am envious, though in a good way and want to have what he has. I know the work he put in early on will benefit him and make him a better da’ee (caller to Islam) than me in the long term.

The Islamic revival marches on and I will continue to aid it however I can in my own small way legally here from the UK.

But I have a duty, as do we all to make sure that whilst we do that to make sure our time, which is just another trust given by Allaah, is spent wisely to promote his cause in the best way.

I am sure you have other ways of collecting the news, their are other sites out there, whole forums devoted to the discussion of the continued successful march of Islam that our revival is spreading around the world due to Allaah’s mercy upon us as more and more people self diagnose the disease of al Wahn and seek out its cure.

I love all my Muslim brethren for the sake of Allaah, you are all in my du’as and I also pray for the guidance of the disbelievers, even the chavs, neo-cons and EDL types, those who trolled my blog for so long giving me quite a few laughs along the way.

Assalaamu Alaykum,
Abu Khadijah

Muslim snooker player who fears Allaah

It was narrated that Ma’qil ibn Yassaar said: the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “For one of you to be stabbed in the head with an iron needle is better for him than that he should touch a woman who is not permissible for him.”
Narrated by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, 486. Shaykh al-Albaani said in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 5045, that this hadeeth is saheeh.

Often when a brother reaches the top of their career or the heights of fame they fall down in their deen, putting on the cross of St George of the Union Jack and speaking out against Islam and the practicing Muslims in the interests of their new kuffar awliyah.

Mashallaah it is therefore good to see a brother setting a good example to the youth even if it means taking flack for it, when others are quick to turn against the teachings of the deen over even small easy matters nevermind big more difficult beliefs and actions of our deen.

Muslim snooker player, Rory Mcleod has had a big run-in with a top match official after refusing to shake a female referee’s hand after a match.

Brother Rory wouldn’t hands with Chinese referee Ivy Zhu after winning his qualifying match for the Australian Open, prompting top referee Jan Verhaas to criticise the player for what he saw as a snub even though the female referee herself didn’t seem to have any issues with this Rory putting his deen before western customs.

McLeod, from Northamptonshire, was in 2009 the first black player to take part in the world championship at the crucible in Sheffield and reverted to Islam in 2000 and has explained in the past how his faith helps him with his game.

Rather than relaxing to music or chatting up some young female fans like other sports he is instead usually seen listening to verses from the Quran on his iPod, a habit which he claims, “calms me down… I find there are no better words or speech than that to help put me in the right state of mind.”

May Allaah (swt) reward Rory for his courage in putting this small teaching of islam first, ameen.

We are Muslims first and we should be submitting to Allaah first then everything else comes after this, and there is no obedience or pleasing the creation that should be done if it is displeasing to Allaah.

As Muslims we are forbidden to touch women we do not have a close relationship to or are married to, as touching is often the first step leading to flirting, and later fornication and Allaah says in the Quran “Do not come near fornication” meaning stay away from whatever leads to it.

Many Muslims make light of this teaching, or think it is acceptable to go against it just because their boss / lecturer / teacher or kuffar friends may think less of them, but what is worse? that a non-practicing muslim or kafir thinks less of you and is angry with you or that you anger and displease the creator of those beings?

 

Taj Hargey – Publicity Hound and Murtad

Taj Hargey, the ‘Imam’ of the ‘Muslim’ Educational Centre of Oxford (MECO) has been at it again this month deciding he needed a new way to go against Allaah’s teachings if he was going to get into the media, even if only his local rag.

Bring on the latest initiative from the ‘Muslims’ who brought you Gay Imams leading salaat, denying the Shariah and calling the Hijab, Niqab and Jilbab only “customary Muslim female coverings.”

Taj for those who don’t know him is often paraded by the government and media as a liberal, secular, integrated ‘Muslim Imam’ and he is certainly liberal, secular and so well-integrated even the EDL probably call him an uncle Tom for going too far and he is certainly not a Muslim, he is a kafir murtad, an apostate and caller of others towards apostasy.

Taj it seems knows best, it isn’t Allaah knows best its Taj knows best for him and his followers at MECO and any narration from the Sunnah or understanding of the Quran which contradicts the new liberal, secular, integrated interpretation of Taj is rejected even though to reject a single authentic narration is apostasy and Allaah calls it such in the Quran.

But no! by your Lord! they do not believe (in reality) until they make you (Muhammad (saws) a judge of that which has become a matter of disagreement among them, and then do not find any straitness in their hearts as to what you have decided and submit with entire submission.
Quran translation, surah an-Nisa, 4:65

Now he has decided, after 1400 years of consensus that his own understanding of the Quran is best once again and that it is about time to let Kuffar men marry Muslim women, despite the clear Quranic verse forbidding this practice.

And give not (your daughters) in marriage to Al-Mushrikoon till they believe (in Allaah Alone) and verily, a believing slave is better than a (free) Mushrik (idolater), even though he pleases you. Those (Al-Mushrikoon) invite you to the Fire, but Allaah invites (you) to Paradise and forgiveness by His Leave, and makes His Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) clear to mankind that they may remember
Quran translation, Surah al-Baqarah, 2:221

Taj said in his comments to the Oxford Mail local newspaper: “Islam allows Muslim men to marry non-Muslim women and such marriages are common, but I am one of the only people who will do it the other way round.”

So Allaah says don’t marry your daughter to the disbeliever and this was always understood to mean a Muslim woman cannot marry a kafir, period. No matter what category he falls into but Taj knows best… again.

Imam al-Tabari said: “What is said concerning the interpretation of the words “And give not (your daughters) in marriage to Al-Mushrikoon till they believe (in Allaah Alone) and verily, a believing slave is better than a (free) Mushrik (idolater), even though he pleases you” is that what Allaah meant by that is that Allaah has forbidden the believing women to give birth to a mushrik, no matter what kind of shirk he believes in. So, O believers, do not give your daughters in marriage to them, for that is forbidden to you. For you to give them in marriage to a believing slave who believes in Allaah and His Messenger and that which he brought from Allaah is better for you than to give them in marriage to a free mushrik even if he is of noble descent and honourable origins, even if you like his descent and background…

It was narrated that Qutaadah and al-Zuhri said, concerning the phrase “And give not (your daughters) in marriage to Al-Mushrikoon”, It is not permissible for you to give them in marriage to a Jew or a Christian or a mushrik who is not a follower of your religion. (Tafseer al-Qurtubi, 2/379).

This is because the Jew or Christian, though referred to usually as Ahlul Kitab, part of the people of the book is also a disbeliever and an idolitor as their false gods are their rabbis and priests, as well as the trinity and ahlul kitab is not contradictory to Mushrik or kafir in any way.

The problem is, despite constantly appearing on TV as ‘Taj Hargey – scholar and imam’ he is anything but a scholar, and is only an ‘imam’ to those who follow him into disbelief.

They have taken their doctors of law and their monks for lords besides Allaah, and (also) the Messiah son of Marium and they were enjoined that they should serve one Allaah only, there is no god but He; far from His glory be what they set up (with Him).
Quran translation, surah at Tawbah, 9:31

To follow a person in contraction of the Quran and Sunnah is a form of disbelief, this is why fatwah shopping is so dangerous as it leads to people following man not the creator, the desires of mankind as found in man-made rulings not the divine system brought about through the Quran and Sunnah.

‘Muslim’ Sana Majeed McMillion, 27, and Christian-born Andrew McMillion, 32, were ‘married’ by Dr Hargey earlier this month in Oxford despite needing to travel 1,500 miles from their home in Oslo.

Mr McMillion, said: “Generally speaking it seems to be totally accepted for men to marry non-Muslims, but not women. When we talked to Dr Taj we finally met someone who had a different understanding of that.”

‘Mrs’ McMillion tried to defend her actions by stating that had already had a civil ceremony and were expecting their first child so needed to get an Islamic nikkah done but shouldn’t it perhaps be a clue to her that not a single Imam anywhere else in europe would permit this that perhaps it is going against the teachings of Islam? – Just a little bit maybe?

I feel perhaps though I should apologise for being too harsh and comparing Taj to a dog…
Publicity hound just means someone constantly chasing attention and so though this is the correct term I feel this is uncalled for as he actually less than this and calling him a publicity hound is insulting to canines.

Man can become greater than the angels, as the good he does is from his free will but he can also descend to be less than the beasts and may Allaah guide this disgusting man and his followers or if not let them fall into the custody of an Islamic state so  Taj and Co. can no longer cause this fitnah in our community but instead be dealt with under the Shariah law he denies is part of Islam.

Afghan Apostate Regime to go Bankrupt?

One consequence of the current world-wide financial crisis is that the west is no longer so keen to get into wars, in fact the western nations are desperate to get out of the ones they have already entered with the UK and US governments both promising to have troops home from Afghanistan by Christmas… Christmas 2014 that is, but better late than never.

The Afghan government, which has always relied upon the backing of its kuffar alwiyah to prop it up financially is also facing the strain and increased oversight of western taxpayers money lead to a massive financial crisis as it was revealed that Kabul Bank, the largest in Afghanistan and part owned by the Karzai family of the President had systematic corruption at all levels, with over half of the near $1Billion which passed through it declared missing or mis-spent.

Now the Afghani government will ‘within the month’ be forced to cancel wages, cut jobs and default on its payments to local businesses after the International Monetary Fund rejected proposals for resolving the Kabul Bank scandal.

All this at a time they need to increase spending to bribe more and more people onto their side, to join their army and police forces in the face of increasingly aggressive Taliban attacks against them and government workers.

Seriously, who would stick around as an Afghan soldier or Policeman when faced with almost daily attempts on your life if the government cannot even pay your wages on time? The Taliban can pay their forces on time, and even pay the same as the government now.

Kabul Bank nearly collapsed last September over the scandal and still, several months later the government and the international community are at loggerheads over plans to fund the $820m (£507m) bailout, nevermind what is to be done with the disgraced former managers and shareholders who helped themselves to hundreds of millions of dollars including Karzai’s own brother and other family members and warlords allied to his administration.

The IMF refuses to declare the plans as adequate, meaning many countries including the UK are barred from sending more money to prop up the failing Afghan regime.

The western press reported that the failure to reach a deal by a deadline of last Saturday also meant a $70m payment from the World Bank’s Afghan reconstruction trust fund was automatically withheld meaning Afghan salaries paid into Kabul Bank accounts cannot be paid.

Omar Zakhilwal, the country’s finance minister, told the Guardian that suspension of aid payments “has already had an effect on us, no doubt about it”. He insisted that the Afghan government had done “95% of what was asked of us” by the IMF, including effectively nationalising Kabul Bank, stripping the shareholders of their rights and putting all uncovered loans into receivership.

The IMF sees two aspects as crucially important and will not sign off the deal without agreement from Kabul.

The First is an agreement that Afghan taxes, not foreign aid, will repay the $820m taken out of central bank reserves last year to prop up the bank but this means the poor of Afghanistan will be forced to pay large usury based loans off.

The second issue is that the IMF want to see serious criminal investigations against managers and shareholders, but this is a political impossibility with all of them enjoying high level political support, being the family members and friends of the many warlords who make up the Afghan regime.

The Guardian reported that ‘Although a $10m forensic audit by Kroll may help identify many deliberately hidden assets, most western experts doubt more than half of the outstanding $910m will be recovered. So far just $61m has been retrieved.’

Not only does Afghanistan face a cash crunch, the showdown with the IMF also threatens to derail plans, pushed hard by Hamid Karzai, for a far greater proportion of international aid to be spent through official channels, rather than on projects outside the control of the government to show the people that the Afghan government, which now controls little more than central Kabul can run the whole nation.

Meanwhile Taliban forces have continued their offensive, taking key northern districts from the Afghan Army and Police and killing General Mohammed Daud Daud, a key northern alliance commander who despite being heavily implicated in the heroin smuggling industry at the same time as being charged with its destruction, was still considered key to ensuring the Taliban were kept out of northern Afghanistan.

It is hoped by western diplomats and Afghan officials that if spending is cut in not security services then the army and police can still be paid for the next two months, but this will leave tens of thousands of Afghan civil servants in desperate poverty and more likely to be influenced by Taliban information campaigns that a non-Shariah government, in thrall to the West can never run Afghanistan successfully.

If the Afghan government continues to be considered unworthy of international investment by the IMF the country will have to return to patchwork of bilateral funding agreements with little or no chance of being ready to take over the administration come the end of 2014 when the US and UK are penciled in for withdrawal.

Eco-friendly Masjid planned in Germany

The Prophet Muhammad (saws) said “The world is beautiful and verdant, and verily God, be He exalted, has made you His stewards in it, and He sees how you acquit yourselves.”
Recorded in Saheeh Muslim

Whilst the oil-cash crazy Gulf Sheikhs compete to build the world’s tallest phallic substitute, a small Muslim community in Norderstedt, in northern Germany are showing the way with plans being submitted for an eco-friendly Masjid.

Noderstedt’s Muslims are pioneering renewable energy sources by planning to build a Masjid which will not only be energy-efficient but with wind turbines built into the minarets.

The Mineret was traditionally the place the Muazzin would climb to call the faithful to prayer, though these days we make do with sound systems and speakers, especially with the noise of modern life making any traditional call inaudible.

But the €2.5m Masjid in Norderstedt, near Hamburg would see the traditional architectural feature have a new energy generating role with a wind-fuelled power source.

The plans are the work of the Hamburg architect Selcuk Ünyilmaz, a Turkish Muslim who has long incorporated energy efficiency into his work. “I thought about how we could give sacral architecture an ecological focus,” he said. “My design combines the modern with the traditional, so I wanted to give the minarets a contemporary function.”

A pair 1.5m glass rotor blades, as seen on the latest eco-friendly offices are to be placed in both of the 22m high minarets though perhaps the energy producing measures will be reduced somewhat by the beams of light which will be projected onto the blades to produce light shows at certain times of the day.

The Turks, once the leaders of the Islamic world declined from the 17th Century onwards as their scholars misinterpreted Islamic prohibitions on ‘Bidah’ literally newly innovated matters to mean a prohibition on many forms of technology including the printing press, whilst at the same time allowing many innovations in belief and practice of Islam led to sharp decline.

Classically the word always meant newly innovated ways of worshipping with new technologies and sciences being welcomed in the Islamic world from the times of the early Muslims onwards and this misunderstanding.

This period of stagnation ended with the destruction of the Ottoman state in 1918 and the final vestiges of the Khilafah abolished in 1923 by the Secularist Kufr Government of Mustafa Kamel and his allies, one of the most notorious apostates in the history of Islam.

Now the 200-strong congregation, part of the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs, is building the new state of the art Masjid, after having made do with an old 100-year-old building which was difficult to modify into a place of worship

Despite some tensions between Muslims and the indigenous Germans, local authorities approved plans for the project, which will measure about 1,300 sq metres and comprise two parts, the mosque and a larger building containing shops meant to be used by the whole community, whether Muslim or not.

“We want to create a meeting place for people from all religions and nationalities,” Ugur Sütcü, the chairman of the Norderstedt congregation, told the Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper. “There will be advisory services on offer, as well as social, cultural and sporting activities.”

The Guardian reported that the The German design will not be the first of its kind, however, ‘as the Islamic missionary group Tablighi Jamaat is also planning to build an environmentally friendly mosque with wind turbines in its minarets in time for the London 2012 Olympics.’

It also added ‘The coastal town is perfectly situated for wind energy production, and the minarets will help cover the building’s overheads, providing about a third of its energy.’

Ünyilmaz told the press that was one of the reasons he opted for turbines instead of solar panels, which would not produce electricity at night. “We are in the north and I don’t think there’s a day here that isn’t windy,” he said.

As Muslims we are meant to do everything we do to the best of our ability, and Inshallaah this new Muslim will set a new standard in Islamic environmental activism as we are meant to be keepers of this world, as a trust from Allaah not just to feel free to use and abuse it thinking there are no consequences to such actions.

Corruption has appeared in the land and the sea on account of what the hands of men have wrought, that He may make them taste a part of that which they have done, so that they may return.
Quran Translation, Surah al Rum, 30:41

Censuring Modern Britain

Muslims do not believe in freedumb of speech, it’s not part of our deen. Yes people have freedom of being able to stay as a disbeliever if they choose but this is not the same as allowing them or indeed fasiq Muslims to promote evil in society.

So I am not surprised that H&M have been having a little difficulty with their latest pornographic advertisement campaign, which features a series of almost naked pictures of models wearing only underwear and swimwear.

Up and down the country, in both Muslim and non-Muslim areas, the posters have been defaced, burnt and in Normanton, Derby one of the posters on the side of a bus stop acquired a full-length Burkha leaving only the eyes of the female model uncovered.

Similar adverts in Balsall Heath, Birmingham, Sheffield, Luton and Tower Hamlets, London, have been blacked out – reportedly by outraged Muslims, feminists and others who see the poster as being a step to far in Britain’s moral decline and why wouldn’t they?

Isn’t this meant to be a Christian country? are the Christians so far removed from their faith that they allow the public spaces of this nation to be covered in filth, polluting our society?

We are only talking a matter of a decade or two ago that such an advert would have attracted widespread condemnation in the tabloid press as too much sex on show to make sales in the Shops.

Maybe as Muslims we need to wake up our misguided cousins in the Christian faith that on some matters we have shared values, that there is no difference between us or shouldn’t be but when protesting against such matters the only Christian figures I have seen are trendy vicars twisting their already man-altered book to justify their support for evil.

Say (O Muslims), “We believe in Allaah and that which has been sent down to us and that which has been sent down to Ibrâhim (Abraham), Ismâ’il (Ishmael), Ishâque (Isaac), Ya’qûb (Jacob), and to Al-Asbât [the twelve sons of Ya'qûb (Jacob)], and that which has been given to Mûsa (Moses) and ‘Iesa (Jesus), and that which has been given to the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we have submitted (in Islâm).” Quran translation, Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:136

The only condemnation found in the press though was that towards the people who have defaced this disgusting immoral advertisement not those who put it there.

But even the Daily Mail, ever ready to attack Islam couldn’t find a single person to condemn these acts.

Gulfraz Nawaz, from the Jamia Mosque, close to the defaced advert in Derby, said: ‘Some people of the Muslim community could find an advert like that offensive and react to it, which clearly someone has.

‘Firms behind advertising campaigns like that should be a little more sensitive about the location of posters.’ He added.

Azher Rehan, 36, who works close to where the poster is displayed, said: ‘I wouldn’t have noticed it if it hadn’t been pointed out. I think whoever did it has a good sense of humour.’

A spokeswoman for Derbyshire police said officers were aware of the incident of ‘criminal damage’.

A spokeswoman for H&M said it was ‘regrettable’ that people had chosen to vandalise the bus shelter. She said: ‘This is not something that H&M commonly encounters. With our campaigns we want to surprise and inspire our customers, not upset them.’

Well H&M upset people you clearly have, and not just Muslims or believers of other faiths and The Islamic Standard, though not encouraging people to take the law into their own hands is glad that people – whether Muslim or otherwise felt driven to act to defend Britain’s moral values from this clothes chain and their pornographic advertising.

There are also other legal ways of forbidding such open evils in society, many Muslim areas have major roads that run through them, some often plastered in bright coloured posters advertising the latest raves and nightclubs.

All these advertisements have been placed illegally on lampposts and road signs and as they are not legally there then what is the problem in removing them?

Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining Al-Ma’rûf (i.e. Islâmic Monotheism and all that Islâm orders one to do) and forbidding Al-Munkar (polytheism and disbelief and all that Islâm has forbidden). And it is they who are the successful.
Quran translation, Surah Al-Imran, 3:104

The Islamic Standard – a Change in Direction

Assalaamu Alaykum brothers and sisters,

To the non-Muslims – peace be upon those who follow righteous guidance.

Some of you may have noticed the massive lack of content on this blog lately, a major failing in a current news site I have to admit…

But due to some changes in my personal life, a few days of sickness over the past 2-3 weeks, as well as doing more street Da’wah, I have seen I cannot keep struggling and failing to keep this up even with the few writers we know have helping us out from all over the UK and indeed the world.

Therefore, even though we may occasionally bring breaking news affecting the Muslims around the world The Islamic Standard is going to have a slight change of direction and concentrate more on bringing Islamic reminders and commentary upon current affairs from an Islamic perspective.

I hope our readers will stay with us, there will be less content most likely but inshallaah what there will be will be better quality.

Assalaamu alaykum,
peace be upon those who follow righteous guidance,

Abu Khadijah
Editor, The Islamic Standard

Cleric for U.S. Muslims to Embrace Islam and Wage Jihad Against Government

Disclaimer: First I need to point out that The Islamic Standard does not agree with the following viewpoint though we do respect it as a valid difference of opinion on how Muslims living in Darul Kufr should react when confronted with a clear breach of the covenant of security, such as their host nation allowing the insulting of the Prophets (as) or going to War with Muslims elsewhere and fighting against Islam.

Radical U.S.-born Yemeni scholar, Sheikh Anwar Al-Awlaki has called for the U.S. Muslims Monday to embrace Islam and wage Jihad against their own government due to their governments continued attacks against Islam.

For its part the US government has designated Al-Awlaki as a key leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula AQAP after he went to ground in Yemen and started to produce videos calling for Jihad teaching it is an individual duty incumbent upon every Muslim during this time.

On Monday he distributed a letter addressed to Muslims in the US saying: ‘how your consciousness accepts to co-exist with a country that has committed crimes against your Muslim brothers and sisters.’

‘How you declare your loyalty to a government waging a war on Islam and Muslims,’ he said, pointing out that the Muslim community in the U.S. is continuously violating the most basic Islamic principles, spying for the U.S. against Muslims which has always been considering taking the kuffar as your awliyah which is a matter of kufr known by necessity.

‘I was a Muslim cleric and non-combatant activist, but after invading Iraq and with continuous U.S. attacks against Muslims, I can’t live and be a Muslim at the same time in the U.S.’ he said.

‘The U.S. is a cursed country because of its arrogance and illegal acts including carnage, invasions and occupation,’ he argued, adding that ‘it will not be able to continue amid its draining wars.’

This is a clear reference to the tactics of al-Qaeda as formulated by the recently Shaheed (inshallaah) Sheikh Osama bin Laden which was three-fold – to stretch and cause over reach in the US armed forces, to drain their finances and leave them bankrupt and instigate political disunity over the American body politic.

Moreover Sheikh Anwar al Awlaki lauded the unsuccessful bombing on a Detroit-bound passenger airplane in late 2009 by a Nigerian young man and the shooting at a Texas base by a U.S. army doctor of Muslim origin who was disgusted and unable to continue treating those who had been mentally injured fighting against his brothers and sisters in Islam.

The U.S. froze last Friday the assets of Al-Awlaki on the ground he is a dangerous leader in the AQAP, sought to encourage his supporters to give money for terrorists and is involved in recruiting operatives.

Though this is only a symbolic move, as the Sheikh is way beyond keeping money in bank accounts given he has had to live in the Yemeni countryside since the US government started dropping bombs from drones on his head and attempting to take him ‘dead or alive’.

Yemeni security sources said the hunt for Al-Awlaki and other Al-Qaeda suspects is continuing in Shabwa Province, though anyone who knows Yemen knows this is probably just another laughable security statement for US consumption when the Army cannot even patrol many parts of the country due to in continued uprisings, the Shi’a in the north, those who want a state ruled by Quran and Sunnah in the east and a mixture of seperatists and islamists in the south.

Under American pressure to silence him Sheikh Anwar Al-Awlaki was jailed in Yemen in 2006 after he was charged with kidnapping for ransom and released in 2007 before coming to trial under the regular freeing of prisoners that the Yemeni government is forced to undertake to please various tribes and other interests.

Though we don’t agree with all of the Sheikhs views, believing other scholarly viewpoints are stronger in this matter – such as Imam Shafi’s viewpoint on how to deal with the kuffar when living amongst them and they break their covenant of security, but we do respect him and make du’a he is protected from the bombs and bullets of the forces of kufr and that he and the other sincere believers are successful in Yemen in establishing a Shariah state ruled by the Quran and sunnah, ameen.

Osama Bin Laden and the Moral Paradox

Written by Yamin Zakaria for Radicalviews.org

“Despite the religious rhetoric and the bloody means, Bin Laden is a rational man. There is a simple reason why he attacked the US: American Imperialism. As long as America seeks to control the Middle-East, he and people like him will be its enemy”

– (Michael Mann, Incoherent Empire)

The conflict between Osama Bin Laden and the US President, reminds me of the parable of Alexander the Great and a captured pirate, narrated by St Augustine in the “City of God”. The Emperor places the pirate on trial and angrily demanded of him, “How dare you molest the seas?” To which the pirate replied, “How dare you molest the whole world? Because I do it with a small boat, I am called a pirate and a thief. You, with a great navy, molest the world and are called an emperor”.

If Osama the Pirate was captured and put on trial, one can imagine the eloquent and rational Osama retorting to the simplistic allegations of terrorism, by pointing out that it is a small reaction to the greater terrorism of the state (state-terrorism), which is euphemistically termed as “foreign policy”. The pirate effectively turns the table and puts the emperor on trial, and asks: I kill 3000 in response to your orgy of killing hundreds of thousands, and that makes me a terrorist, whilst your act is somehow moral and lawful, how can that be the case, it is you who should be on trial, but the world is governed by might is right; thus, leaving the emperor speechless.

The US made no effort to apprehend the frail and unarmed Bin Laden; they could have given him the option to surrender, instead, the unlawful execution on a foreign soil was preferred. Surely, by putting Bin Laden on trial, the US could have exposed the fallacy of AL-Qaeda’s ideology and methods. However, deep down the US knows its guilt, and the fear was Bin Laden would have managed to put the US on trial. From the onset, the US violated international laws by the terrorist acts of bombing Afghanistan, instead of following the due process of law like the Taliban, who offered to hand over Bin Laden, provided the US could furnish evidence. Subsequently, the US continued to act as a pirate state, it invaded Iraq on a false pretext and killed at least 100 times more than the 3000 killed in 9/11. Hence, execution made sense, because the US feared Bin Laden’s tongue.

A similar policy is being pursued with the numerous attempts to execute Anwar al-Awlaki, rather then apprehend him and put him trial, as one would expect a civilised nation to do. Why does the US resort to such crude methods given that it claims to have intellectual superiority over the ideology of the ‘terrorist’? It could easily provide a challenge to Anwar al-Awlaki and demolish his ideas, which would do far more damage than simply killing the man, and giving strength to his ideas and inspire others to follow. A series of debate on TV would generate huge interest, but the US fears loosing the ideological battle, even though it would have the advantage having full control over the media coverage. Such an exchange would probably perturb lot of the audience in the US, and some left in a state of confusion, as they are not used to open debates on such matters.

How ironic, that after lecturing about free speech, the US pursues a policy to silence someone through execution, rather than have the courage to debate the issues even in their own territory. The whole point of free speech is permitting the opponents right to be heard, as Professor Chomsky stated, unless you permit your opponents a fair and equal voice, then you do not really believe in free speech.

The conflict has been portrayed by the US in the simplistic image of Hollywood; simply we Americas are the good guys, against the bad guys (Al-Qaeda). Why are they bad? Because, the bad guys are needed to make the case for the heroes, just like the movies! There is no serious attempt to elaborate on the causes the drive the bad guys. If you shift through the puerile name-calling, paradoxically, Al-Qaeda seems to have the higher moral grounds, as shown by the following points:

a)    9/11 and 7/7 – the immediate response to the unlawful execution of Osama Bin Laden was to selectively highlight the victims of 9/11 and 7/7 as justification. However, if they were certain of Osama’s guilt, then why not capture him and put him on trial? Simply because, the US do not have sufficient evidence to convict him in an independent court of law. For the argument sake, let us assume Osama was guilty. If human lives are valued equally, then why the selective outrage for the victims of 9/11 and 7/7? Where is the outrage when the innocent civilians were killed daily in the Islamic world prior to 9/11 and it continues post 7/7? Oh we know, for the emperor that’s just “foreign policy”, otherwise such acts are terrorism!

b)    Torture – the US has been systematically incarcerating and torturing innocent people; Abu-Ghraib is a reminder of such inhumane behaviour, where prisoners were tortured just for the fun of it, even young children were raped and sodomised. In contrast, the few prisoners captured by Jihadi groups that are related to Al-Qaeda were treated in accordance to the Sharia principle, thus you can exclude: children, gang rape, sodomy, porn-torture, etc. If they were executed, it was in response to the US actions – but never for some sadistic reason or some form of sexual perversion or xenophobia which the US soldiers and civilians display.

c)     The killing of innocent civilians – this is main accusation laid against Al-Qaeda, as if they are the only ones who are guilty of this. You hear the constant name-calling, Bin Laden the ‘mass murderer’. If Bin Laden earned this title by killing 3000 or more, then what do we make of Bush and Blair over Iraq? What about their client, the Israelis who have murdered thousands of Palestinians? Anyone examines the accumulated figure of Palestinian casualty from 1948 (Israeli casualty figures are insignificant in comparison), it points to a policy of systematic genocide of an innocent population. If you delve into history, the killing of innocent civilians started with the use of explosives and air raids over populated cities, here the West has excelled.

After the demise of Osama Bin Laden, they ask: is the world a safer place. Of course it is – it is safer for the Anglo-American-Israeli axis to bomb and invade more countries with impunity! The roots of the conflict are not embedded in the ideology of Al-Qaeda, but the injustices felt by the actions of Western countries. In fact, it was this injustice that gave birth to Al-Qaeda.

The price of peace and security is justice for the victims. Nobody has asked about compensating the Iraqis for the criminal invasion built on lies. Or is this only reserved for the victims of 9/11 and 7/7? What about the killing of innocent civilians in Pakistan and Afghanistan by the drone attacks and the casual Israeli raids that continues to kill Palestinians? They are just statistics, whereas each victim of 9/11 or 7/7 is a tragedy, a story to be told. It’s this type of double standard that inflames the situation; the most obvious one is the preferential treatment given to Israel, who are constantly urged and requested to follow UN directives that has been sitting on the shelf. In sharp contrast, the Muslim countries are bullied and bombed into compliance in the name of UN resolutions. There can be no peace without justice, and the resistance will continue regardless of the death of Osama Bin Laden.

Yamin Zakaria (yamin@radicalviews.org)

YouGov Poll – West no Safer Since Osama Death

Information taken from YouGov polling research – linked here

Is the west any safer since the death of Usama Bin Ladin (or Osama bin Laden, or which ever spelling you prefer)? US President Barack Obama certainly believes so, or at least says he does and specifically said “the world is a safer place.”

But he’s a lying scumbag and a politician, so lets not take his word for it, after all they still haven’t fixed their lies about the execution / assassination / killing of Sheikh Usama have they?

Did it take 2 hours or 40 minutes?
Was there a massive firefight or was their only a single guard on duty?
Did the state of the art stealth helicopter used in the raid break down or was it shot down as reported by a Pakistani tweeter or witnessed the whole thing?
Did his wife get shot being used as human shield or when she rushed the soldiers?
Was Sheikh Usama armed or unarmed?
Was he shot on the spot or taken captive then executed a few minutes later in front of his children as alleged by his family who are still being held by Pakistani secret services?

Most importantly why does the story keep changing over and over again? Wasn’t the US president and his staff, including his press relations staff watching the killing live on camera as it happened so how can they all become so confused over such basic facts within only a few hours of the event?

These are all tricky questions, especially from an international legal perspective and the Indian Government has already set Pakistan on a war footing by stating it too has the right to go into Pakistan and take out those it sees as responsible for the Mumbai attacks.

It is quite possible the US has opened a whole Pandora’s box of problems which could lead to massive diplomatic problems and quite possibly nuclear fallout over the whole planet should the two regional powers of Pakistan and India go to war and resort to their using their atomic missiles.

So are we any safer? This is the question YouGov asked the British public in a survey published on the 5th of May and a combined 83% said that the UK was either no safer or was in fact more at risk.

Only 10% said Britain and the west was indeed more safe since the assassination of Sheikh Usama.

The break down of those who disagreed with President Obama and the British government that the west was safer due to this killing broke down further, 31% saying the west was no safer and 52% saying the thought it made no difference.

It is quite clear that militant Islam has not done with the West, how could it be?

Are the Muslim lands still not occupied by British, American and other western troops?

Isn’t nearly every single Muslim country ruled by corrupt, tyrannical apostate puppet regimes placed there at the end of the Colonial rule by the western powers and supported by them ever since?

Is not the Zionist colony state of Israel, built by western settlers on Muslim lands and supported by western tax payers money ever since still in existence?

The public needs to know and every Muslim should tell them the attacks came against the west because you brought it upon yourselves by the support for your own Governments and their policies – this is just a matter of chickens coming home to roost.

And whilst we don’t necessarily all agree with all of the tactics used by all the different groups within the mujahideen in their struggle, their aims of ridding the Muslim lands of foreign occupation is a just cause and one we supplicate to Allaah that he allows them to succeed.