The Love of Allah

"One can either love Allah or love the world. But both the loves cannot be contained in one heart. Let us submit our hearts to test. Let us examine our hearts to see whether the love of Allah or the love of this world prevails over them. If the love of Allah prevails over our hearts, let us make it deeper. If, Allah forbid, the love of this world prevails, let us try to save ourselves from this dreadful malady.

Every love which occupies the center of the heart of a person is of either of the two kinds. We call the perfect love the double grade love and the love which is not so perfect, the single grade love. To begin with, (single grade) love becomes the basis of man's sentiments, feelings, emotions and desires. After attending to his job or immediate need, man soon returns to his object of love, because love occupies the center of his thoughts, feelings and sentiments.

In the case of double grade love, man's entire attention is drawn by the object of his love and nothing can divert his attention from it. He is never inattentive to the thought of his beloved.

Both these kinds of love are found in the case of the noble love of Allah. Single grade love appears in the hearts of the pious believers whose hearts are free from the impurities of the base affairs of this world. As soon as they are free from their immediate engagements, they return to the question which is the object of their love.

As for double grade love, it is found in the hearts of the Prophets and Imams. You all know Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (as), in the vicinity of whose tomb we live (Najaf). This great man has said "I never saw a thing but I saw Allah before it, after it and along with it". (Qablahu, wa ba'dahu wa ma'ahu).

In fact, this was because love of Allah occupied his great heart and conscience in such a way that it concealed everything else from him. Even when he saw human beings, he saw Allah. When he looked at Allah's bounties, he remembered Him. This bond with Allah was always present before his eyes, for it was Allah alone whom he truly loved and to whom his hopes and aspirations were directed. He never allowed anyone to divert his attention from Allah.

Love of the world also reaches the stage where man does not see anything but the world before it, after it and along with it. Whatever he does, he does it for some worldly gain. He cannot devote himself to pious deeds for more than a few days. This is double grade love of the world. Imam Sadiq (as) has said, "This world is like sea water. The more one drinks of it, the more one gets thirsty."

It was love of Allah that was the basis of Imam Ali's courage and bravery. His courage was not that of a ferocious beast. It was the courage produced by the faith and love of Allah. He was over 60 when he fought against the Khwarij and in a single engagement killed 4000 of them. He was also at the height of bravery in regard to being patient and not pressing his rightful claim. He kept quiet when he was required by Allah to overlook his right. At that time, he was in the prime of his life. His conscience was aflame with the fire of youth. But Islam had told him to keep quiet and be patient, despite the violation of his rights.

After all what is this world of ours? It is a collection of imaginary and fictional things. Harun-al-Rashid's world was very imposing. We curse him day and night. We say that we are better, more pious and more God-fearing than Harun was. Has the world of Harun-al-Rashid been offered to us and have we rejected it? If not, how can we claim to be more pious than him. The world offered to us is not that of Harun. It is much less limited and comparably insignificant. It is transient and shorter and not as vast and extensive as that of Harun. For the sake of this world, he imprisoned Imam Musa al-Kazim (as). Are we sure that if we get that world, we would not throw the Imam into prison? Have we tested ourselves and put this question to ourselves? Has the world of Harun ever been offered to us so that we know we are more pious?

In our world, there can be no truth except that of Allah's good pleasure. Had the Imam worked for worldly gains, he would have been the most miserable person. Yet when he worked for Allah, he said on his deathbed "By the God of the Ka'aba, I am a successful person". This world is not for the students of theology. A student looking for this world can get neither this world nor the next. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us, as students, to confine our efforts to seeking the next world for this world has no value to us.

We should think any moment as possible for our death. At the time of his death, my father was not as old as I was¹. My brother died at a younger age than I did. I have now completed the span of my lifetime².

We ask Allah to purify our hearts, and to brighten them with faith. May He turn our mind more towards seeking His pleasure and fill or hearts with His love, His fear and belief in Him. May he help us according to the teachings of his book, Ameen.
- Ayatullah Baqir Sadr

¹ Sayyid Sadr was 47 to 48 years old at the time of this statement
² Sayyid Sadr was executed, along with his sister Bint-al-Huda, a few months later

"promoting democracy in Iran"

"The United States could play multiple roles in facilitating a revolution. By funding and helping organize domestic rivals of the regime, the United States could create an alternative leadership to seize power. As Raymond Tanter of the Iran Policy Committee argues, students and other groups “need covert backing for their demonstrations. They need fax machines. They need Internet access, funds to duplicate materials, and funds to keep vigilantes from beating them up.”52 Beyond this, U.S.-backed media outlets could highlight regime shortcomings and make otherwise obscure critics more prominent. The United States already supports Persian language satellite television (Voice of America Persian) and radio (Radio Farda) that bring unfiltered news to Iranians (in recent years, these have taken the lion’s share of overt U.S. funding for promoting democracy in Iran).53 U.S. economic pressure (and perhaps military pressure as well) can discredit the regime, making the population hungry for a rival leadership."
- WHICH PATH TO PERSIA? - Options for a New American Strategy toward Iran (p. 105) by Brookings Institute

On the Tauhid of Allah

"Praise is due to Allah whose worth cannot be described by speakers, whose bounties cannot be counted by calculators and whose claim (to obedience) cannot be satisfied by those who attempt to do so, whom the height of intellectual courage cannot appreciate, and the divings of understanding cannot reach; He for whose description no limit has been laid down, no eulogy exists, no time is ordained and no duration is fixed. He brought forth creation through His Omnipotence, dispersed winds through His Compassion, and made firm the shaking earth with rocks.

The foremost in religion is the acknowledgment of Him, the perfection of acknowledging Him is to testify Him, the perfection of testifying Him is to believe in His Oneness, the perfection of believing in His Oneness is to regard Him Pure, and the perfection of His purity is to deny Him attributes, because every attribute is a proof that it is different from that to which it is attributed and everything to which something is attributed is different from the attribute. Thus, whoever attaches attributes to Allah recognizes His like, and who recognizes His like regards Him two; and who regards Him two recognizes parts for Him; and who recognizes parts for Him mistakes Him; and who mistakes Him points at Him; and who points at Him admits limitations for Him; and who admits limitations for Him numbers Him.

Whoever says in what is He, holds that He is contained; and whoever says on what He is held says He is not on something else. He is a Being but not through phenomenon of coming into being. He exists but not from non-existence. He is with everything but not in physical nearness. He is different from everything but not in physical separation. He acts but without connotation of movements and instruments. He sees even when there is none to be looked at from among His creation. He is only One, such that there is none with whom He may keep company or whom He may miss in his absence."

- Imam Ali ibn abi-Talib (as), Sermon 1, Nahj ul Balagha

More on the informant in the Newburgh 4 case

"In both cases, Malik did not stumble upon active terror cells plotting to bring destruction on American soil. Instead, in both Newburgh and Albany, he needed long periods of time to recruit his Muslim contacts, spin elaborate tales about his terror contacts, and develop solid plans of action, all the while providing the defendants with large amounts of resources and cash incentives.

But in each case, the question remains: Would either set of defendants have done anything remotely like plant bombs or launder money for terrorists if not for the prodding and plotting and encouragement of Malik and the FBI?"

The Alarming Record of the F.B.I.'s Informant in the Bronx Bomb Plot

Of course, CAIR and the alphabet groups will remain silent and continue to gravel at the enforcement agencies feet until the next case pops up...then repeat cycle.

Ali Murtaza Zaidi Analysis on Iran Elections

Votes cast abroad in Iranian elections

The votes cast abroad are in, and reported at PressTV.

A total of 234,812 votes were cast outside Iran, out of which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won 78,300; Mehdi Karroubi won 4,647; Mohsen Rezaei won 3,635 and Mir-Hossein Moussavi won 111,792 votes. 304 polling stations were established in 130 countries outside Iran, including the United States, Turkey, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

The (counted) votes are in favor of Mousavi (56.3%), then Ahmedinejad (39.3%), Karroubi (2.3%), and lastly Rezai (1.8%). Based on the demographics of both the expatriate Iranian community, and some of the city-specific breakdowns, I would argue that the foreign votes give legitimacy to Ahmedinejad victory, and even the accuracy of the numbers.

(This is not claiming to be a scientific examination. Just some observations)

It is undisputable that the Iranians abroad include large numbers of Shah Royalists, and Iranian (Pseudo-)Leftists, and other exiles who were kicked out or left as a result of the Revolution. These groupings would all be major opposers of the Revolution and Ahmedinejad, some for religio-political interests, and other for economic interests, and were expected to have voted for the reformists, if at all. Given the extreme desire by this crowd to throw Ahmedinejad out, many of them who usually boycott Iranian elections were expected to turn out for this election.

If one examines the foreign city breakdowns closer, similar patterns emerge as in the national polling data. Here are the results taken from PressTV and sorted by Cities in Muslim countries, versus the different parts of the world. Yes, some of these divisions could be argued to be pretty arbitrary, but I think they make sense. (XLS File)

Iranian expatriates settled in Muslim countries favored Ahmedinejad (58%) to Mousavi (44%).

If we narrow this down to Iranians settled, and ostensibly studying or teaching, in religiously important cities (Mecca, Madina, Karbala, Damascus), then Ahmedinejads support is at 72% to Mousavi's 36%.

In the "West" (North America, Western Europe, New Zealand, and Australia), Mousavi holds a whopping 81% to Ahmedinejad's 12% vote.

Across the other regions (Africa, East & SE Asia, South Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America), the number are pretty consistent with around 75% for Mousavi, and ~19% for Ahmedinejad.

One could roughly make some guesses as to how the geographic locations chosen may reflect backgrounds. Both the Royalists and the (Pseudo-)Leftists, being largely uninterested or hostile to Islam, largely settled in the "West." Those in Muslim countries probably make up a mix of religious students/teachers, and business-owners. Those in the religious cities are lkely to be mostly religious students and teachers. Those settled in all the other regions are most likely merchants and business-owners.

Their economic affinity/background within Iran:
I would guess that the Royalists come from the most economicaly well-off.
The (Pseudo-)Leftists probably range working to upper-middle classes.
The business-owners probably range middle to upper-middle classes.
The religious teachers and students probably range from working to upper-middle classes.
I dont know much about expatriate Iranian working-class and migrant labor.

I think its harder to make much of the class origins of expatriates (since they likely dont benefit from Ahmedinejad's policies), but more can extrapolated about the cultural, religious, and social tendencies of these various groups.

If the Iranians settled in Muslim countries and religious cities are more representative, OVERALL, of Iranians at home, then the election results would make sense.

Also, the low number for Rezai and Karroubi also seem pretty consistently low, with Karroubi gaining a bit more (%5) in the "West."

Make your own correlations with what sections of the Iranian expatriates comport with which sections of Iranians at home.

The Islamic Revolution Lives - Peoples Victory in Iran

The results, with provincial breakdowns (Excel file), are in and confirm the landslide victory of Mahmoud Ahmedinejad. (Also available in map)

For the past few weeks, the Western media kept getting giddy as Iranian elections got closer, based on the upsurge of activity and support within the Mir-Hossein Mousavi campaign. They wrote about the Facebook pages, twittering, and blogs that were supporting Mousavi. They went to all the Mousavi rallies and took pictures of the "telegenic" crowds and heralded the coming of "change" in Iran. What they failed to do in the meantime was attend the rallies of Ahmedinejad, and thus failed to ascertain both the extent of his support, as well the composition.

But as the Western media needs to be reminded again and again, there is more to Iran than North Tehran and its wealthier residents. Just because they make you feel comfortable about yourself and reaffirm your own agendas, since they look and talk more like you, does not mean that they are representative of the masses of Iran. This problem becomes amplified when Western media send mainly journalists who do not speak the local languages, in this case Farsi, Azeri, Kurdi, Balouchi, and other regional languages within Iran. Since most of the journalists only speak English, they mostly speak to locals who speak English, which subsequently becomes a self-selecting population of those who can afford and have access to acquire such skills. Great emphasis is also laid on the youth vote, and the womens' vote, but it seems that it is only the youth and women of the privileged classes that matter or count. It was also said that the establishment itself was tired and fed up of Ahmedinejad and wanted to be rid of him, yet somehow this same establishment then collaborated to help him steal the vote.

At the same time, these same privileged classes within Iran also engage in navel-gazing and consider their views, lifestyles, and interests as either representative of the rest of Iran, or more often, as more important. After all, this was one of the causes of the Revolution in the first place. There is little doubt that these same classes look upon the rest of their fellow citizens as backward, stupid, and unable to "read." It is this same class of people (and their erstwhile companions in exile) who make up most of the Iranian presence on blogs, Facebook, and twitter. It is a campaign that represents such people that did not make as much of an effort to go out and campaign in the smaller cities, towns, and rural areas. It is their own narcissism, and the limited scope of coverage of the Western media, that combined to make it appear that Mousavi would be in a position to trounce Ahmedinejad.

It is to be noted that such condescending and dismissive attitudes towards the poorest members of society is also a common trend for the Western media within their own countries.

In the meantime, other Western organizations (with right-wing tendencies) conducted more randomly sampled, and thus more representative, telephone surveys, and rather accurately predicted the election in Ahmedinejad's favor even approximating the final vote rations.

Once the results came in, the Mousavi campaign and its self-absorbed supporters, as well as the Western media were shocked and unwilling to accept reality. However such was the conceit of all of the above, that they did not pause to reflect whether they had missed something, but instead ran out of their houses screaming bloody murder and alleging voter fraud, and AGAIN, the media followed right behind them. All of the post-coverage focused on these, so far at most couple of thousand, disgruntled and delirious Mousavi supporters as if it was a massive uprising. The protests and rioting were by and large limited to North and Central Tehran, and on the second day with some small protests in other big cities. The initial reports from twitter claimed that 50-100 people had been killed, and of course these numbers got bandied about, but never materialized. (They may however reach high as the protests and riots continue onto the third day).

The media again did not stop to ask itself whether these protestants were representative of the rest of the country. They again failed to provide decent coverage of Ahmedinejad's victory rally and the thousands upon thousands who turned out for it to compare numbers. When they did briefly report on this, the sore losers complained saying “It’s too bad CNN’s cameras are focused on the staged sham, while protesters being brutally beaten (and God knows what) elsewhere.”

The above quote taken from the NYTimes running blog, which was completely dedicated to presenting the views and reports of the protesters, had initially listed the actual coverage provided to the protesters with the number of reports from CNN, BBC, Sky TV, among others, and all numbered close to or over a hundred. That tally has been conveniently removed now. But for the sake of fun, one may conduct a brief and rough comparison of the coverage given to the protesters versus the victory rally on the websites of the following news outlets:
BBC - 1 for Victory Rally :: 12 for Protesters
CNN - 2 for Victory Rally :: 23 for Protesters
NYTimes - 0 for Victory Rally :: 11-13 for Protesters (including a very notable article dedicated to the protestation of unfair coverage by CNN of the protesters)
Washington Post - 1 for Victory Rally :: 8 for Protesters

Of course, in the morning the media will still be following behind the protests and repeating the mantra of voter fraud, with no mention or explanation of the massive numbers that turned out for the victory rally in Tehran (which Ahmedinejad still lost).

So what did happen to the vote?

CLASS VOTE - Everybody, from Western media/writers (whether of the right or left persuasion) to Iranian factions (Reformist, Conservative, Revolutionary) fully acknowledge that Ahmedinejad has made efforts in the last 4 years to redistribute income (and wealth, when permitted, through transfer of companies to public ownership through mechanisms such as the justice shares). Many of his critics in fact derided him for such actions and tried to pin it as "bribery," or call him the "potato government," but his efforts on spreading healthcare, education, and housing, etc to those that never had such access before are accepted by ALL parties.

ETHNIC VOTE - There was an ethnic dimension to this vote. It had already been predicted that the outer/non-Farsi provinces would go to the reformists, and West Azerbaijan and Sistan-Balochistan did that, with closer calls in Ardebil and Kordestan. Even those predictions on outer/non-Farsi provinces going to reformers was based on past voting trends (which reflected the historical neglect of those provinces by the centre), but the prediction and trend has been undercut in this election due to Ahmedinejad's policies of going and visiting those provinces and promoting development projects there (education, housing, industry, etc). It would be more interesting to compare Ahmedinejad's percentage of votes in 2005 from Sistan-Balochistan, West Azerbaijan, Kordestan, and Ardebil, to his percentage from 2009 to see how he has made inroads into those ethnic communities. But a cursory glance at rough maps shows the pattern (not percentage) is similar with Ahmedinejad having more solid support in the center both times, and having made some progress in the outer provinces by 2009.




RELIGIOUS VOTE - This is a pretty silly category to argue in Iran. The Reformist, Conservatives, and Revolutionary/Principalists ALL significantly draw from the clergy and identify as religious. Khatami and Karroubi are both (Reformist) clerics. Rafsanjani is also a cleric and in the Conservative camp (which by the way is socially MORE conservative than the others). The Principalists/Revolutionary trend is also equally religious but has a particular understanding of religion ground in the history, ideas, and intellectuals of the Islamic Revolution. All this indicates the complex, vibrant, and diverse discourse taking place on what religion is and what its purpose should be within Iran (and beyond).

But Westerners (and wannabe -Westerners like ones running around Tehran) are too blind to notice these complexities and find it easier for their own respective agendas (of left- or right-wing) to try to fit them into simplistic categories such as secular vs religious, or reformist vs fundamentalist. It is an attempt to classify religion in the same positions that existed and continue to do so in Judeo-Christian Europe, and its progeny, from the Middle Ages till now. If this isn't indicative of Euro-centrism, then I don't know what is.

Furthermore, since both Capitalist and Socialist/Left ideologies developed out of the same historical context, both of these establishment and left viewpoints end up being rooted in the same post-Enlightenment frameworks, which enshrine secularism, “modernity,” and the inevitable teleological narrative of social Darwinian “progress,” and then project these frameworks as universal and inscrutable unto the rest of the world as they have done so for at least the past 200 years. Such racist and prejudiced tactics are expected from those with capitalist and imperialist agendas, yet even Leftists exhibit the same analysis (and arguably the same Imperialist acts if they had the power) of Islamic movements.

It is based on these underlying premises that Secular Leftists see Iran as a reactionary and fascist state, and thus ignore or cannot explain the advances in male and female literacy, and rural literacy, women's access to contraceptives and family planning, expansion of public housing, expansion of health services, access to peer-led drug rehabilitation and needle-exchange programs, expansion of primary, secondary and technical schools, women making up a majority of students in higher education, community-based health clinics, AIDS prevention programs, reductions in infant mortality rates, redistribution of land to peasants, unprecedented availability of commodities to rural poor, opportunities for employment for women, etc.

However, these very same indicators that the Left uses to demonstrate the success of countries like Cuba, are completely ignored by the Left when it comes to Iran, essentially for no other reason that they have beards, wear hijab, and base these ideas and developments on understandings of the Quran and Hadith, rather than Marx, Engels, Lenin, or other white men.

And it is not just Iran, but similar models are successfully being used and developed by Islamic movements of Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Muslim Brotherhood within their communities. But here again, a convergence of the Left and the Imperialists sees these groups equally as fundamentalist reactionaries in the same category as Al-Qaeda, Taliban, Right-wing Christians in the US, etc.

If any of these accomplishment of Islamic movements are recognized by the Left, then either it is due to Islamists having learned from the Leftists, or that it is only a crude populism and only a means to sustain votes. None of these same critics of the Revolution have ever read any of the writings of the scholars that laid the foundations for the Revolution, such as Ayatullah Mutahhari, Ali Shariati, Ayatullah Khomeini, Ayatullah Baqir As-Sadr, Ayatullah Taleqani, to name a few. These same ideas form the basis upon which the Revolution is oriented to issues of economic justice.

For the reasons highlighted above, they are unable to grasp the root of the popularity among the masses of Iran for figures such as Ahmedinejad, and the disdain for the Conservatives and the Reformists (this only after having experiences Reformist economic privatizations under Khatami). It is for this reason, that Western predictions about what is going to happen in Iran prove wrong over and over again, and will continue to do so.

This is not to say there aren't any problems in Iran. There are still severe issues of social rights, womens' rights, worker rights, and especially issues of the police and prison apparatus, which has remained unchanged from how it was inherited from the Shah. There is also still a need to develop a coherent theory and praxis of Islamic economics, rather than a hodge-podge of capitalists, socialist, and Islamic measures. But it is a Revolution in progress, and has been challenged with immense opposition from its very inception with wars, sanctions, interference, and sabotage enforced upon it by imperial powers, neighbors, and internal opponents.

Here is one of the best articles published immediately after the voting results were announced - Wishful thinking from Tehran by Abbas Barzegar

Two articles posted while wrote this blog:
The New York Times and the Iranian election
The Iranian People Speak

Hamas turns to mud to fight Israel's economic blockade

See pictures here

Read another article and pictures here

Hamas turns to mud to fight Israel's economic blockade

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — With Israel refusing to allow building materials across the border, the Hamas-led government in Gaza is pushing a new plan to replace thousands of homes destroyed by Israel's winter military offensive: mud-brick buildings.

To fix a degrading Gaza Strip sewage system, the Red Cross is using thousands of 25-foot cement slabs from the once-towering concrete walls along the Egyptian border that Hamas militants toppled last year.

It's been more than four months since Israeli soldiers left Gaza, but Israel is still blocking cement and other construction material, apparently as long as the Palestinian territory remains in the hands of the militant Islamic group, which doesn't recognize Israel's right to exist.

So Gazans are turning to scavenging to survive.

"We don't need cement," Abu Rami said as he knelt before a growing line of mud bricks for a house he's building on open land not far from the Egyptian border. "We have all the mud we need."

Abu Rami, a 52-year-old father of 12 who was reluctant to use his real name because of how he'd obtained his construction material, said he'd paid about $50 for a truckload of dirt excavated from the nearby smuggling tunnels to Egypt, rented a cement mixer and started building a new home.

Caked in mud as his sons shoveled dirt into the concrete mixer, Abu Rami said that Palestinians were going backward.

"My mother lived in a mud house for 40 years," he said. "Now we're living in mud, too."

The idea is catching on, and Hamas leaders in Gaza City have taken notice.

Sitting in his government office, one of the few that Israeli airstrikes haven't destroyed over the last three years, Ziad al Zaza, Gaza's deputy prime minister, pulled out drawings for a stylish three-story, multi-domed mud-brick building.

"I hope to break the siege by building this model," he said.

In the coming days, Zaza said, construction workers would break ground on the government's first officially sanctioned mud-brick building, which is for a children's charity. The construction site, he said, will double as a classroom for Palestinians who want to learn how to work with mud.

"After that, any Palestinian citizen whose house has been destroyed and wants to rebuild like this, they can," Zaza said.

Eventually, he said, the Israeli restrictions will become irrelevant because Gazans will find other ways to rebuild.

That may be wishful thinking, but Hamas leaders aren't the only ones who are interested in using the alternative building ideas in Gaza.

The United Nations Development Program has sought advice from Rashid Abdel Hamid, a noted Palestinian architect who designed Gaza's first contemporary mud-brick buildings more than a decade ago.

"There are people sitting on the ruins of their homes, so they have to find a solution," Abdel Hamid said.

One of Gaza's two Abdel Hamid mud creations is the signature Al Deira Hotel, an elegant, 22-room, seaside hotel that's long been a favorite of visiting journalists and diplomats.

The ban on sending construction materials into Gaza predates Israel's winter military offensive. Israel imposed it in June 2007, when Hamas militants routed Fatah rivals during a short civil war. Major international development projects have been on hold ever since.

So when Hamas militants toppled the iron and concrete Gaza-Egypt border walls last year, engineers from the International Red Cross, which is based in Geneva, seized the opportunity: They used 2,800 concrete slabs to build the shoreline for two much-needed sewage treatment ponds.

At first, Red Cross engineers said, Gaza government officials were skeptical. Then they saw the potential and started hauling away the slabs for their own use. After weeks of negotiations, the Hamas-led government returned the slabs to the Red Cross.

Last week, the Red Cross flooded the two football field-sized pools, creating surreal new sewage ponds bordered by hundreds of the concrete slabs.

"We are pioneers," said Marek Komarzynski, a Red Cross engineer who worked on the project.

The trailblazer in Gaza's modern-day mud-brick home movement is Jihad Shaer, a 36-year-old father of five, who now lives in a new two-bedroom house in Rafah.

Shaer said he'd seen mud-brick homes years ago in his travels as a salesman to Pakistan, Yemen and other parts of the region. Unable to afford the high-priced cement smuggled in from Egypt, Shaer decided to mix straw into the dirt, fashion sun-dried bricks and build the home.

He proudly took visitors on a tour of his house Wednesday afternoon as Israel's air force carried out airstrikes nearby on smuggling tunnels along the border.

The cracking walls keep the rooms cool, and Shaer said he was confident that they were thick enough not to dissolve in the winter rains.

During the tour, Shaer's friend came by to visit.

"I wish I had land to build a house like this," Mohammed Tawil said. "We were created out of mud; now we live in mud."

"Muslim" orgs - 1 week behind mainstream press

Yesterday, CAIR and MPAC finally issued statements raising concerns about the use and role of informants in the Newburgh 4 "plot."

Apparently they are still "considering" suspending outreach relations with the FBI.

CAIR "questioned" (that'll scare em!) the FBI's tactics, and cited mainstream press articles from the past week. How is a national self-proclaimed civil rights organization one week behind MAINSTREAM press in speaking out about the bogus nature of this case? How does such an organization stay silent about such cases, then decides to speak out about use of informants and threatening to cut off relations on April 1, then applauds the FBI for busting a terror case on May 21, and then raises "questions" about the same case on May 26? How many times will this cycle be repeated over?

MPAC, on the other hand, decides to send a letter (gasp!), to the FBI (gasp!), about the FBI!

The above points raise two interesting questions:
1. How is it that mainstream press knows sooner and more (we'll leave aside the issue of backbone on speaking out) about the role of the informants that Muslim "civil rights" organizations? What does this indicate about the level of communication and presence of these orgs within grassroots communities? How is it that mainstream media interviewed the Imam and community members of the masjids, yet these orgs either did not contact them, or did not issue their statements on that basis?

2. How is it that these orgs are quick to speak out on issues of "hate crimes" or incident perpetrated by isolated civilians, and for the most part insignificant (in damage to the community), but stutter in speaking out about racist targeting perpetrated by the state and its apparatus? (see above link for backbone issue)

For the record, ISNA too issued a "condemnation" of the plot and "commend[ed] the FBI" for busting the plot on May 21.

CAIR's priorities

In addition to the last few posts about the role and priorities of CAIR, there was a brief mention of CAIR preparing to send a delegation to Iran to persuade for the release of Roxana Saberi, Esha Momeni, and Robert Levinson.

this is at the same time that CAIR has refused to take up the cases or provide ongoing support to families of Muslims here who have been targeted by the US government - Matin Siraj, Fahad Hashmi, the Miami 7, Ehsanul Sadequee, Syed Haris Ahmed, and now the Newburgh 4, among many others. Many of these cases involved the use of informants, or have been based on flimsy evidence, had serious lack of government transparency, or the suspects have been kept in atrocious conditions. Yet, CAIR has not taken up their cases, in some instances outrightly refused to help the families, or taken the side of the government.

Aside from the issue of Robert Levinson being a former FBI agent, who was unlikely to have been in Iran for tourism, there is nothing wrong with CAIR participating in building bridges of goodwill and trying to get clemency for American citizens in Iran. However, the cases in Iran are not divorced from larger political agendas, to which CAIR ends up contributing by highlighting cases in Iran, while remaining silent about similar cases in the US.

These actions again raise the question of what the priorities are of these so-called Muslim civil rights organizations. Is it to defend the rights of Muslims? Or is it to ingratiate themselves to the US government and law enforcement agencies in order to have a place at the table with those in power? Increasingly, there remains little doubt...

READ:
Roxana Saberi's plight and American media propaganda

CAIR/MPAC: Spurned lover still professes love for the abuser

So after some public displays of a spat a few months ago, CAIR has returned to kissing the boots of the continually abusive lover - the US government and law enforcement agencies. this confirms that the earlier protestations were in fact just ploys to appear "hard to get," and having failed, now returning to original tactics of begging to be loved. MPAC on the other hand, never really participated in the spat, and immediately expressed its undying loyalty.

So with this new case breaking, where even several mainstream media outlets are raising concerns about the use of informants, CAIR and MPAC did not hesitate to issue public statements applauding the FBI and NYPD for preventing the attacks. All of the sudden, the concerns they raised a few months ago are not enough significant to warrant waiting a bit to determine the genuineness of the case, or even a mention in the statements. CAIR issued its statement by 9AM the next morning, and MPAC also issued their statement sometime the day following the arrests. Both statements are recorded here for record-keeping, in case they try to take them off.

These actions again raise the question of what the priorities are of these so-called Muslim civil rights organizations. Is it to defend the rights of Muslims? Or is it to ingratiate themselves to the US government and law enforcement agencies in order to have a place at the table with those in power? There remains little doubt...

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CAIR's statement:
Posted 5/21/2009 9:17:00 AM

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/21/2009) -­ The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today applauded efforts by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies that apparently thwarted an alleged plot to attack Jewish institutions in New York.

Four men were arrested Wednesday for allegedly plotting to bomb a synagogue and a Jewish community center. The men also allegedly planned to shoot down military planes.

SEE: Synagogue Targeted in NY Plot, Four Charged (Reuters)

In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:

“We applaud the FBI, the New York Police Department and the other law enforcement agencies that took part in the investigation for their efforts in helping to prevent any harm to either Jewish institutions or to our nation’s military.

"We repeat the American Muslim community’s repudiation of bias-motivated crimes and of anyone who would falsely claim religious justification for violent actions. Members of the American Muslim community should remain vigilant in reporting any activities that could harm the safety and security of our nation or its citizens.”

CAIR also requested that media outlets and public officials refrain from linking this case to mainstream Islam and to challenge those who will inevitably exploit this disturbing incident to promote anti-Muslim fear and stereotypes.

Along with innumerable condemnations of other terror incidents, CAIR has in the past launched an online anti-terror petition drive called “Not in the Name of Islam,” initiated a television public service announcement campaign of that same name and coordinated a “fatwa,” or Islamic religious ruling, against terrorism and religious extremism.

SEE: CAIR’s Anti-Terrorism Campaigns

[NOTE TO EDITORS: American Muslims are often accused of not speaking out forcefully against acts of terror committed in the name of Islam. This statement, along with the many other past anti-terror statements by mainstream Muslim groups, reaffirms the American Muslim community’s unequivocal condemnation of terrorism in all its forms.]

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 35 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

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MPAC's statement:

MPAC Outraged Over NYC Synagogue Plots
May 21, 2009

The Muslim Public Affairs Council is outraged over the alleged plan of four men to carry out attacks against Jewish houses of worship in New York City. The four men were arrested after planting what they thought were explosives near a synagogue and community center. MPAC applauds the FBI for foiling the group's plot to bomb New York City synagogues and use surface-to-air missiles to attack U.S. military planes.

SEE: "4 Accused of Bombing Plot at Bronx Synagogues" (New York Times)

Earlier this morning, MPAC Executive Director, Salam Al-Marayati, wrote to Rabbi Schneier, President and Founder of the New York based Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, and other Jewish leaders stating:

"I write to you today with shock and dismay over reports that four Muslims planned to bomb synagogues in the New York City area. This criminal attitude is reprehensible and wretched. On behalf of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, I want to demonstrate solidarity with you and all Jewish Americans against any attack motivated by anti-Semitism. We, Muslims and Jews, are all believers in the One God who wants justice in our society. We are all American citizens who band together to protect our country against any threat. We are all members of humanity who want to work for the betterment of society, in building bridges of understanding, against those who want to destroy those bridges. Thank you for all the work you do at the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding. I hope to be with you in the near future by the will of God."

Islam considers the use of terrorism to be unacceptable for any purpose, and MPAC reaffirms the position of condemning acts of violence against any faith group in the name of Islam. Additionally, those seeking to carry out acts of violence should be swiftly brought to justice.

MPAC is calling upon members of the American Muslim community to be on alert and take pro-active measures to protect the security of our religious institutions, communities, and nation.

Another frame up plot

It is amazing that the enforcement agencies are unable to even be creative in fabricating "terror" plots, and keep using the same modus operandi every single time. Now they allege that four Muslim men planned to attack two synagogues in the Bronx, and an Air National Guard base upstate NY. Here a review from some of the articles:

LENGTH OF INVESTIGATION
The supposed "investigation" has been in the works since June of 2008. However, the alleged suspects did not begin to plan anything until October of 2008, when they began to meet in a house in Newburgh to start planning. This raises the question of what exactly happened between June and October of 2008. This is usually the time that the informants use to radicalize and provoke the would-be suspects to get them to point of wanting to do something. It is at this point that the informant brought them to a house of his choosing which was fitted with audio and video recording equipment. Convenient.

ROLE OF INFORMANTS
From the very first reports, it was clear that the informants in this case played a clear role. The very first articles, from the morning after the arrests, indicate that the informant was the one to provide "weapons" for this plot. It is hard to imagine that the person providing such highly sophisticated weapons, stinger missiles and explosive devices, would have been playing a backseat role in the other parts of the formation of the plot. Without a doubt, the offer to provide weapons cannot occur without incitement or encouragement to conception and planning of such a plot. In fact, the informant claimed to be a member of Jaish-e-Mohammed. Now, which one of these person would be more likely to suggest, and be looked up to, to perpetrate a terror plot? The informant(s) who claims to be a member of Jaish-e-Mohammed, offers weapons and explosives for the plot, or the four men who lacked basic Islamic knowledge, and one of whom was smoked out and high on the night of the arrests, had long rap sheets, and possible psychological problems? (No offense intended to recent converts, potheads, people with rap sheets, people with mental issues, or dumb folk - just an indication of who the enforcement agencies go after).

Such must have been the role of the informant, that he was able to bring the suspects into a house of HIS choice, which was equipped with concealed audio and video recording devices. It is also telling that the FBI and NYPD were able to drive in and use an 18-wheeler to block the suspected vehicle, which is no minor feat on a Bronx street even on a Sunday night, and indicates the level of infiltration and coordination. The words of one of the law enforcement officers, "it was fully controlled at all times," take on more than one meaning.

The Imam of the masjid that the suspects and informants attended, indicated that there had been widespread suspicions about the informant. Many in the congregation suspected that he was a government informant and provocateur, who kept inviting people to their houses and tried to engage them in radical discussions, and even offered them money to engage in violent acts.

The owner of the restaurant that the group met at noticed when the informant joined the group at meals. He also noticed that the informant usually paid for the meals, and assumed that he was the "boss" of the group.

This article in the NYT indicates that the informant is in fact Shahed Hussain, the same informant who was used in in the setting up of an Albany Imam and pizzeria owner in 2004. There is demand for professional informants apparently and experience counts. This guy is reported to have tried to recruit young members of the masjid, particularly African Americans, to join his team. The informant, as in many other cases, started to work with federal authorities, to work off a fraud charge from 2002, and to avoid deportation.

The Imam of the masjid raises an important point - “How do you go to the government about the government?”

TIMING OF ATTACKS
It must be noted that these tactics instituted under the Bush administration continue under the Obama administration, despite many public grievances against such tactics by Muslim communities, Muslim organisations, and even mainstream media. As usual, the timing of such plots often seek to serve a function within larger political debates and decisions. The "Herald Square Plot" was seized upon days before the 2004 Republican national Convention in NYC. This plot was timed, at the behest of the informant no doubt, to result in arrests the day before Obama's speech on national security and on his strategy for Guantanamo Bay prison. The arrests also took place on the same day that Obama revealed intentions to use "preventative detention" in cases related to terrorism. Such tactics, however, have already been in practice with regards to the Muslim community, where suspects are immediately charged with terrorism, and slowly over time those charges peter out to minor charges like credit card fraud or identity theft, or in many cases outright dismissal of all charges.

CONTEXT
The would-be suspects in this case, and the comments of notorious anti-Muslim politician Peter King indicate the shift or expansion that Domestic War of Terror will take in the coming future, to assert that "there’s a real threat from homegrown terrorists and also from jailhouse converts.” This shift to extend this racist targeting to include African American Muslims and convert communities has been part of the planning of law enforcement agencies for quite a while, and also from the NYPD's report.

Additionally, this indicates the shifting of law enforcement involvement to earlier and earlier stages, as was indicated and suggested by the NYPD report, which suggested law enforcement involvement and intervention at or even before suspects become radicalized. This same notion was then unsuccessfully attempted to be enshrined into law with HR 1955. All of this is clearly indicated by the words of the mayor himself: “I’ve always thought of our police department’s primary job, not as first responders but as first preventers.”

The NYPD report also mentioned that NYPD was involved in training of police and enforcement agencies in other countries. Indeed the fruits of such training are bearing out in the use of the same tactics in other countries including the UK.

For additional context for the purpose behind such tactics, read at the end here.

Reads:
- Informer’s Role in Bombing Plot
- At N.Y. Mosque, Many Suspected an Informant Before 4 Were Arrested in Plot
- FBI ‘lured dimwits’ into terror plot
- How MI5 blackmails British Muslims: ‘Work for us or we will say you are a terrorist’
- NYPD's report on Muslims

Offer

"For your brother, offer your blood and your wealth, for your enemy your justice and fairness, and for people in general your joy and your good favor."
- Imam Ali (as) (The Scale of Wisdom, Hadith #4254)

Enduring legacy of a leader

Quotes taken from AhlulBayt Islamic Mission

How true Islamic leadership speaks:
“I know that these demands will cost me dearly, perhaps even my life, but these are not demands that could die out with a person’s death. They are the yearnings of an Ummah, the will of an Ummah, in whose psyche the spirit of Muhammad, Ali and the chosen descendants of Muhammad and his companions, and that will never die.”
Address to the Iraqi people, 20 Rajab 1399 HL (1978 CE)

“I confirm to those at the helm that the oppression directed against the Iraqi people, through the force of iron and fire, which deprived them of the simplest rights and freedoms to observe their religious rites, cannot continue. Not can it always be handled by force and repression. If force were a permanent and decisive remedy, the pharaohs and tyrants would have survived.”
Address to the Iraqi people, 20 Rajab 1399 HL (1978 CE)

“The duty of each one of you and of every individual whose good fortune leads him to be part of this pioneering Islamic experience is to spare no effort or means in the service of this experience; nor should he spare any effort while construction for the sake of Islam is underway. No limit should be imposed on efforts while the force of Islam hoists high the banner of the cause. This new constructive project is in need of the efforts of all individuals, no matter how small. It should also be clear that all should embrace, pay allegiance to and protect the interests of Sayyid Khomeini’s religious authority, which has embodied Islam’s hopes in today’s Iran, and should desire to become assimilated into its great existence for the sake of its great goal. The good religious authority is not a person, but a goal and path to it. Any religious authority that attains that goal is a good one, in which case it should be served with all devotion.”
Letter of Shaheed Al-Sadr to his students and followers

“O great Ummah! Today you are experiencing hard times at the hands of assassins and butchers, who are astounded by the wrath of the awakening masses, after they have chained them in irons and instilled fear and terror in their hearts. The bloodletting villains imagine that they have robbed the masses of their esteem and dignity, and stripped them of their great faith, the religion of Muhammad, so as to turn these brave, believing millions of proud Iraqi people into toys and tools to manipulate as they wish, into which they feed forcibly allegiance to Aflaq [the founder and theorist of the Ba’th party] and his like – agents of missionaries and imperialism – in place of allegiance to Muhammad and Ali. Yet the masses are always stronger than tyrants, no matter how harsh their tyranny becomes. Thus, the tyrants were surprised to discover that the Ummah still pulsates with life and retains the ability to speak its mind.”
Address to the Iraqi people, 10 Shaban 1399 HL (1979 CE)

“O my dear people of Iraq! O you great Ummah, in this difficult and turbulent moment and at this juncture of your jihad, I would like to address all groups and sects, Arabs and Kurds alike, Sunni and Shi’a alike, because the calamity that has been inflicted upon us knows no sectarian or ethnic divide; the calamity is universal.”
Address to the Iraqi people in his last appeal

“I have lived my existence for nothing other than Islam, which is the road to salvation and the goal of all. I am with you O my Sunni brother and son, just as much as I am with you, O my Shi’a brother and son! I am with you both in the same measure you are with Islam, and in just as much as you bear this great flame to salvage Iraq and rid it of the nightmare of oppression, subservience and persecution. The despite regime [taghut] and its followers try to suggest to our noble Sunni sons that it is a matter of Shi’a and Sunni, so as to separate Sunnis from their real struggle against the common enemy.”
Address to the Iraqi people in his last appeal

measure of life

"I also ask Allah to accept our conviction in his way and to give us success in protecting the beliefs of this Ummah; for the life of any being is not measured except by how much he can give to his Ummah, by his presence, his life, his thought"
- Shaheed Baqir Al-Sadr

War against Islam? Debatable. War against Muslims? Certainly!

Obama: "The United States is not, and will never be, at war with Islam"

While that is debatable, the War against Muslims, at home and abroad, is still ongoing and in full-force...

Florida Student Arrested by Immigration Three Days After Acquittal on Bomb Charges
Immigration officials have arrested a twenty-three-year-old Florida student just three days after a jury acquitted him on federal explosives charges. Youssef Megahed was arrested in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart store Monday, where he had gone shopping with his father. He had just begun a fast to celebrate his acquittal. Megahed’s attorneys say he now faces deportation proceedings, apparently on the same charges for which he was found not guilty.

When the first attempt to frame-up this young Muslim fails, Immigration moves in 3 days after his acquittal to arrest, detain, and ostensibly deport him on immigration charges, based on the same charges he was just acquitted from.

Immigration enforcement has long been used as tool to target the unwanted (read: people of color), the dissenting, those the state would like to silence, and against those who could not be targeted under the criminal system.

Of course, the subservient Muslim leadership and organizations are running are enthusiastically to welcome Obama's comments, lets wait and see any changes in actions. Here are some guiding words by Dr. Hatem Bazian:

• "Equality of all mankind regardless of race, gender, nationality or religion."
• "All are equal under the law, both domestic and international law. We have had a double standard in our application of international law."
• Bazian insists Obama should distance himself from the policies of his wartime predecessor and embrace the principle that "war is not an option," but rather a "last resort".
• "Military intervention can delay or shield us from the real problems. But it alone can't change the conditions on the ground.
• "The Muslim world needs less militarism, less troops, no occupations, no more torture, less double standards, no more dictators, no kings and no despotic governments."

90 immigrants have died in US custody in last 5 1/2 years

Revealed: 90 immigrants have died in US custody in last 5 1/2 years
by John Byrne

At least 90 immigrants have died while in US custody since October 2003, a document obtained under the Freedom of Information Act revealed Friday. At least 32 deaths occurred at facilities run by private contractors.

The document -- which has received little to no attention -- also displays an apparent carelessness on the part of prison officials, whose records of the deaths change and omit inmate deaths over time.

Moreover, it shows that prison officials are now recording even fewer details about immigrants' deaths, possibly in response to periodic scrutiny of the list. A previous list that covered the period up until 2007 included the locations of deaths; the current list records either the location or the facility where the inmate was held, without any evident pattern.

The list also reveals that one private company, the Corrections Corporation of America, had at least 18 deaths under its watch, and that 32 of the 90 deaths occurred while immigrants were held in private prisons. 37 of the deaths occurred at regional facilities and 20 at federal centers.

"That breakdown differs from one provided at a March 3 House subcommittee hearing that cited only six deaths in private facilities," the New York Times, which printed the document, said. "That low figure was based on a classification supplied by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which reflected who owned the jail building and the type of government contract in effect, not the operator."

In addition, information about some deaths has been obscured.

"Some information has been changed without explanation," the Times added. "For example, the cause of death for Boubacar Bah, 52, who was held at the Corrections Corporation of America detention center in Elizabeth, N.J., previously was listed as 'brain hemorrhage, fractured skull' and now reads 'undetermined.'"

The full list is available here.

In an effort to collect more information surrounding the detainees' deaths, the New York Times has created a tipline: if you have any knowledge of the incidents, email the Times' Nina Bernstein (ninab@nytimes.com)

US Muslim organizations (grudgingly) coming to their senses or maybe playing hard to get (PT IV)

Follow-up from: PT I & PT II & PT III

For a list of out and out sellout organizations claiming to be Muslims, and modern day Haman, read this article:

Some Muslims Support FBI's Stand Against CAIR
By Matt Coker in A Clockwork Orange, Main, OC Media

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which has an office in Anaheim, has been in the news (and on this blog) a lot lately following official confirmation that the FBI has been spying on the Islamic Society of Irvine mosque.

CAIR and the Islamic Educational Center of Orange County were among several Muslim advocacy groups that signed on to a statement saying they are considering breaking ties with the feds over such snooping and the FBI's previous breaking of ties with CAIR. But not every Muslim group supports that stand. A different coalition of American Muslim groups has issued a statement of its own commending the FBI.

We, the undersigned American Muslims, have long known the true character of CAIR and its allies. Therefore:

• We observe that they denounce "terrorism" in general terms but not the specific actions of Islamist groups like Hamas or Hezbollah. They denounce violence but not the ideologies behind it.
• We observe their commitment to radical aims, their attempts to chill free speech by calling critics of radical Islam "Islamophobes," and their false, ugly accusations against moderate American Muslims who disagree with their agenda.
• We reject any claim that CAIR and its supporters are legitimate civil liberties advocates or appropriate partners between the U.S. government and American Muslims.
• We congratulate the FBI for adopting a firmer attitude toward CAIR, as a defense of Americans of all faiths from the menace of radical Islam, including Muslims of all backgrounds - Sunni, Shia, Sufi, secular, etc.
• We call on the U.S. Department of Justice to affirm and continue this decision.
• We call on the entire United States government to follow suit in rejecting relations with the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The statement is signed by Kemal Silay, president of the Center for Islamic Pluralism; Supna Zaidi, assistant director of Islamist Watch; M. Zuhdi Jasser of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy; Imaad Malik, fellow with the Center for Islamic Pluralism; Ahmed Subhy Mansour with the International Quranic Center; Khalim Massoud, whose email address is Reform Islam; Nawab Agha Mousvi of the American Muslim Congress; Kiran Sayyed of the Council for Democracy and Tolerance; Stephen Suleyman Schwartz, executive director of the Center for Islamic Pluralism; a group called Shia Protest; and Jalal Zuberi, Southern U.S. director with the Center for Islamic Pluralism.

US Muslim organizations (grudgingly) coming to their senses or maybe playing hard to get (PT III)

Follow-up from: PT I & PT II

From this article, if there were one statement that could encapsulate the crux of the issues of accountability, and whose interests the alphabet Muslim organizations really represent, it would be this:

“If a Muslim leader of any of our national groups supporting full maintenance of engagement is to be detained today, these groups would inevitably no longer stay on the table for continued so-called engagement. Therefore, the question is where do you draw the line? The line for grassroots movements is drawn when an average individual such as (Ahmad) Niazi is affected or in solidarity for all those families who have been harassed by recent intrusions but for others, the threshold may be much higher.”
- Faisal Qazi

On the other hand, these are the positions of Muslim organizations:

“We believe that we have to keep our place at the table in this discourse.”
- Salam Maryati, MPAC Director

“ISNA believes that communications with law enforcement agencies should remain open and it is not in favor of ending contacts with the FBI.”
- ISNA statement

The Islamic Shura Council of Southern California polled local Muslims in March, and these are the results they yielded:

In the poll, 78 percent of respondents said American Muslims should have “no relationship at all [with the FBI] until they stop unfairly targeting” Muslims or “end outreach relationship and limit communication to ‘as needed.’” The remaining 22 percent said Muslims should maintain an ongoing relationship with the FBI, “no matter what.”

Even, Agha Saeed, the chairman of the AMT, who spearheaded the statement threatening breaking off of ties with the FBI, still continues to insist that it is not an effort of disengagement, and suggests resumption of this abusive relationship:

“It is instead designed to truly engage top Justice Department officials on these critical issues. It is also designed to help restore respect and equal rights for American Muslims after eight years of being treated as suspects rather than partners.”

It is absolutely clear that there is a disconnect between the vast majority of the Muslim grassroots, and the variety of alphabet Muslim organizations which claim to represent Muslims. It indicates not only issues of accountability, but also issues of transparency and representation.

In what ways are the Muslim organizations accountable and responsive to the grassroots?

In what ways to they make clear to the Muslim communities the nature, extent and content of their relationship and interactions with law enforcement agencies and the government?

What is the relationship between the demographics (and interests) of the people in leadership positions in the Muslim organizations, and demographics (and interests) of the most of the individuals and families that have been targeted by enforcement agencies?

The CAIR representative makes this statement:

“The problem is that many in the Muslim community no longer feel confident that the FBI is pursuing an honest dialogue with the Muslim community,” Ayloush said. “This was the result of confirmed reports that, while the Muslim community engaged in honest partnership building and dialogue with the FBI for eight years, the FBI was paying convicted felons to ‘infiltrate’ mosques to radicalize Muslim youths and instigate talks about terrorism action. Integrity and honesty are the foundation of any relationship.”

Why is it only now that CAIR is arguing to cut off the relationship? There exist only three possibilities:

1. They are discovering the tactics that the FBI has been using
2. They feel there is more space to criticize the government and enforcement agencies under the new administration
3. They are bitter and upset about the FBI cutting off relations with them in late 2008

The first reason is clearly eliminated since these tactics used by the FBI and enforcement agencies have been quite apparent for many years, including immediately after 9/11 (and even before then). From local interactions and exchanges of information between individuals masjid members, and grassroots organizations such as DRUM, to very explicit mentions of these cases from prominent Muslims and activists, such as Dr. Hatem Bazian.

The second reason, while recognizing very real risks and hostile climate, undermines the very premise of such Muslim organizations. If the regional and national Muslim organizations are afraid to speak out on behalf of their communities, and against the government, then what good are they? How can they seek to protect the rights of Muslims if they are afraid to speak up? And finally, what kind of Islam do they represent if they are afraid to speak up?

The third reason is firmly affirmed, not only by logical deduction, but also by the very statements of CAIR and other Muslim organizations' statements. It is this gatekeeper role, which the Muslim organizations are seeking to hold on to, and resent being sidelined and not being invited to the table by those in power.

One last point in response to this in the article:

Muslim leaders observe that the fate of American Muslims mirrors that of other minorities who they say were intimidated by government forces and stripped of their humanity yet continued to stand up and eventually gained respect and their true place in society.

Really? Which communities of color have gained respect and their "true place" in society?

One needs only look at the historical role of the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to know that it is a racist and anti-democratic organization which has repressed any and all communities of color, or dissenting communities, and in particular during times of Imperial wars abroad. In fact, the tactics being used by enforcement agencies against the Muslim communities, were practiced and perfected on the Black, Latino, Asian, Indigenous, labor-rights, and civil rights communities under the auspices of COINTELPRO in the 60s and 70s, not to mention the general racism and repression doled out from before and since then.

The only respect gained has been for the very similar gatekeeper and collaborationist organizations which have sold out the rights of their communities in exchange for having a "place at the table" with authorities.

At a time when the US government is waging war in multiple Muslim countries, directly, covertly, or by proxy, and acting like a modern-day pharaoh, is the duty, and moral obligation, of Muslims to be like Musa (as) or to be like Qarun?

The need for changes within the Muslim communities is long overdue, and this change can only come when Muslim community members, Imams, activists, and masajid start making it clear that not only do these Muslim organizations not represent us, but also that we seek our source of power and security from Allah, and in conjunction with other oppressed communities, like Musa (as) and not from those in power, like Qarun.

"And certainly We raised in every nation a messenger saying: 'Serve Allah and shun the oppressor.' So travel through the earth, and see what was the nature of the consequence for the deniers!"
- Quran 16:36

Apartheid and Occupation under International Law by John Dugard

Read transcript here

Hisham B. Sharabi Memorial Lecture
“Apartheid and Occupation under International Law”

with

Professor John Dugard
Former U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Visiting Distinguished Professor of Law, Duke University

26 March 2009

While the international community continues to posture and push for a settlement to the decades-long Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory, international legal institutions are positioned to offer insights based on developed international treaties and customs. They are underutilized to the detriment of peace. Drawing on his experience as the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Professor John Dugard, who returned from a fact-finding mission to Gaza early this month, will discuss how international law and the institutions charged with upholding it can enable a break in the Israel-Palestinian impasse.

Professor Dugard is a member of the Institut de Droit International. Since 1997, he has been a member of the U.N. International Law Commission and was, from 2000 to 2006, the Special Rapporteur on Diplomatic Protection to the Commission. From 2002 to 2008, he was a judge ad hoc in the International Court of Justice. From 2001 to 2008, Dugard served as Special Rapporteur to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. His present principal interests are international criminal law and diplomatic protection.

US Muslim organizations (grudgingly) coming to their senses or maybe playing hard to get (PT II)

followup from PT I.

The fallout from the potential breakup of this abusive and dysfunctional relationship between Muslim leadership and the FBI (and other law enforcement agencies) continues...

In response to the serious criticism by the Muslim organizations (of lack of honesty and integrity by the FBI, the use of informants and agent-provocateurs, the FBI cutting of relations and accusing CAIR of being unindicted co-conspirators, and use of "McCarthy-era tactics"), a spokesperson from the FBI responded to none of the allegations and made this statement:

"Limiting honest dialogue, especially when complex issues are on the table, is generally not an effective advocacy strategy," spokesman John Miller said in a statement. "The FBI has continued our outreach efforts, across the board, with a number of concerned groups and where we agree -- or disagree -- most have concluded the best results are achieved through continued conversation. We believe that, too."

This should clearly be a sign to the Muslim organizations that the FBI and the government are not at all sincere in their intentions and efforts, and absolutely refuse to acknowledge ANY of their actions.

In today's article, "Muslim Americans at Odds Over FBI Contact," on the same issue in the Washington Post, the fault lines among the different Muslim organizations are starting to become more apparent. Some selections from the article:

"Disengagement does not enable mutual understanding. It does the exact opposite," said Aakif Ahmad, who is on the board of advisers for two Muslim American organizations. "Emotive terms like 'McCarthy-era tactics' undermine the hard work on the part of many people seeking to find common ground."

First, who is Aakif Ahmad, and what organizations he represents is not identified in the article. It appears that he is involved with Muslim Advocates, Search for Common Ground, Corporate Executive Board Company, U.S.-Muslim Engagement Project, and a contributor to the Democratic Party. Foremost, he represents no Muslim organizations that represent (or even claim to represent) US Muslims. Secondly, a quick glance at the disturbing personalities involved at the US-Muslim Engagement Project yields current and former State Department officials (Madeleine Albright), neo-cons and key figures in Bush administration (Richard Armitage), AIPAC officials (Thomas Dine), Arab and Muslim sellouts (Ziad Asali, Vali Nasr), Oil Industry (Red Cavaney), military officials (Daniel Christman), and an assortment of industrialists and capitalists with relationships to the Rockerfeller Foundation, World Economic Forum, EastWest Institute, Council on Foreign Relations, among others. A quick glance at the personalities on the various boards and funders of Search for Common Ground shows a lot of the very same, if not similar types of figures.

Secondly, two questions to be posed to Mr. Ahmad are:

1. What have been the concrete results and benefits of "engagement" over the past 8 years, asides from community fragmentation, trumped up cases, racial and religious profiling, informants, agent provocateurs, and creation of fear within the Muslim community?
2. By what standard is the use of "McCarthy-era tactics" an emotive, rather than very real and descriptive, term? (See above list and previous posts)

Carrying on...

But now, the coalition says it may halt that. It is aiming its ire at the FBI over two issues: the decision last fall by the FBI to cut off contact with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, one of the nation's largest Muslim American advocacy organizations; and allegations that the FBI is sending informants into mosques to entrap members into making violent statements against the United States.

CAIR Director Ibrahim Hooper said the group used to organize town hall meetings between the FBI and Muslims and offer diversity training workshops for agents.

It was through these very same town hall meetings that the law enforcement agencies established most of the contacts and relationships which later blossomed into becoming informants. All of this resulted as the legitimacy provided to them by groups like CAIR within the community, and thus they should also hold themselves accountable for the havoc wrecked upon and within our communities.

FBI spokesman John Miller said that the FBI operates within appropriate guidelines. "The FBI does not investigate mosques, we investigate people, and we do that based on predicates that are defined by law and FBI guidelines," he said.

Again, if the Muslim organizations have any doubts remaining about the bold-faced lies of the FBI, then the statements by their spokespersons should clear them up.

But whether to stop cooperating with the FBI has been the subject of hot dispute among Muslim leaders. Some are critical of the agency's treatment of CAIR and use of informants but say they don't agree with the threat to cut off contact with it.

The Islamic Society of North America, a large umbrella group of American mosques, said in a statement that it has met with the FBI and urged it to open an investigation into the infiltration of the mosques. However, it said, it does not condone ending contact with the FBI.

Ah, ISNA seems to enjoy the abusive relationship. What will an "investigation" accomplish, when it is clearly apparent from the FBI's tactics, and their subsequent statements, which clearly indicate that these tactics were intentional and deliberate?

And Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said his organization would not suspend talks with the FBI.

"We think we need to intensify our dialogue on these very important issues that would advocate for the community's interests and, we believe, would help strengthen America's mechanisms for protecting our country," he said.

MPAC has to be the worst and most two-faced on all the Muslim organizations. It issues strong statements when people in the community are angry, and then is the first to reconcile and reassure the enforcement agencies of cooperation immediately afterwards.

In the past, MPAC accidentally did this reverse and then attempted to make up for it when the plans of the Los Angeles Police Department to do a "mapping" of all the Muslims in LA was exposed, and the complicity of certain Muslim organizations in that plan.

Not all Muslim groups in the area object to Mr. Downing’s idea.

“There has been a lot of discussion on the issue of ghettoization and counterghettoization,” said Salam al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, which is considering being the Police Department’s partner in the project. Mr. Marayati said his group supported anything that would help integration as long as it safeguarded civil liberties.

When people in the community were outraged, MPAC responded with the claim that they were opposed to the mapping project, and that the media mischaracterised their position. However, if the previous statement by Salam Al-Maryati to the NY Times was unclear, other statements by MPAC staff were more straight and to the point:

“While we think mapping is a good idea to understand the demographics of a community, law enforcement should not be looking at the problem of extremism only from an intelligence standpoint,” said Safiya Ghori, director of government relations at the Muslim Public Affairs Council.

...

In addition to mapping, Ghori said, there should be community dialogue because “establishing trust is not just about identifying risks. It’s about working to develop more dialogue and understanding between law enforcement and the Muslim-American community.”

Ghori said reading Downing’s written testimony about the mapping project made her a “little nervous.”

“This sort of study should look at characteristics and behaviors rather than ethnic and religious groups as a whole,” she said.

So MPAC only differed to how the mapping project was going to be carried out, but otherwise supported it? Right. Gotcha!

For a thorough history on the LAPD mapping project, check here.

MPAC has a pretty thorough history of wanting to be the favored Muslim lapdog of enforcement agencies in this country. There seems to be a repeating pattern which cannot be denied a statement here or a statement there.

Why the Islamic Republic Has Survived

An good article by Ervand Abrahamian on Why the Islamic Republic Has Survived. One of the very (VERY) few articles by left-leaning sources that acknowledges the gains made by the Revolution. At the same time, the article still conveys a deep sense of Islamophobia which refuses to credit these gains to Revolutionary Islam, and tries to ascribe them to anything and everything else. An excellent analysis and deconstruction of the article at AlMusawwir.

Uncle Sam Goddamn - Brother Ali

Uncle Sam Goddamn - Brother Ali

Watch the video here

be free

"If you do not believe in any religion, and do not fear the Day of Resurrection, at least be free in this world."
- Imam Husayn (as)

Brotherhood of the Devils

Brotherhood of the Devils
by Shaikh Saleem Bhimji

Buy one, get one free! No down payment and no payment for 90 days OAC! Buy today and pay no interest for one full year!

We are incessantly bombarded with such "promises" on TV, radio, Internet, billboards and any other medium which advertisers have in their arsenal in a concerted and carefully calculated ploy to get us to buy more "stuff" – regardless if we need it or not.

At the same time that consumerism is on the rise, people are discussing the need to safeguard our natural resources and protect the environment. Some speak about limiting our consumption of fossil fuels, reducing the number of "obsolete" products which make their way into the landfills, and looking for "greener" alternatives to power our vehicles and to heat and cool our homes. They also talk about the need for us to break our dependence on oil (especially from the Middle East) and to develop our own sources of energy and to seriously think about 21st century dangers such as global warming, green-house emissions, and other threats.

Through a careful reading of the Noble Qur'an, we see that over 1,400 years ago, like many other things, Islam warned us about these issues as they are interrelated – consumerism and the need to protect our environment and natural resources – and this has been taught to us through one initiative: MODERATION. In Surah Isra (17), we read, "And give to the near of kin his due and (to) the needy and the wayfarer, and do not squander wastefully. Surely the squanderers are the brothers of the Satans, and indeed Satan is ever ungrateful to his Lord." (v. 26-27)

Undeniably, one of the most essential values of Islam which we as Muslims need to explore, comprehend, execute, and educate others about is moderation – in all areas of life.

The dictionary defines moderation as, "the quality of being moderate; showing restraint; avoidance of extremes and excesses; temperance." Most often than not, when secular sources employ this word, they refer to "moderation" in expenditure and in the usage of natural resources. However, Islam and its wide-ranging outlook on life gives us a much more detailed insight on moderation, and we are told that any God-given gift is a type of wealth and trust from Allah, and thus we are not permitted to squander it! The Qur'an refers to decadence as a quality of the Devil and that one who indulges in this as being demonic – the only time that the Qur'an employs the term "Brothers of the Devils" (Ikhwanush Shayateen)!

How does Islam define immoderation - as the verse of the Qur'an states, "…and do not squander, wastefully"? There are numerous traditions which explain this idea; however, for our discussion, contemplate over the following maxims from the Infallibles (peace be upon them).

The Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) has stated that this verse means, "Spending one's wealth in an inappropriate way is extravagance and immoderation."

Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (peace be upon him) is even more direct in his wordings and has stated, "A person who spends anything in the way of disobedience of Allah is considered as going towards extravagance."

Through these two traditions, we come to the conclusion that wasting anything we have – whether it be wealth, time, knowledge, ability, etc. – is a sin and places us in the category of becoming "brothers of the devils", and that "wastage" refers to using these God-given gifts in other than His obedience.

Consumption and profligacy are not only related to our personal selves and the money we squander on our own "luxuries" and "things" we want such as the latest cell-phones, TVs, cars, clothing, etc. Just ponder upon the amount of money, food, and other things which are wasted during "community" events! It is not only birthdays and weddings where people squander thousands of dollars, but even something as solemn as a funeral have become events of reckless spending! In addition, programs to mark the birth and death anniversaries of the Infallibles and other noble personalities are also drowned in the usage of hundreds if not thousands of dollars in extravagance. Now, we are not saying that we should not celebrate and commemorate such events, but rather, we need to draw the line between "love of the Ahlul Bayt" and "extravagance in the name of the Ahlul Bayt".

Some may be thinking, "Well, I am very well-off and am able to spend thousands of dollars on a lavish wedding for my children or in marking the birth anniversary of one of the Infallibles or in the pursuit of the latest gadgets, so why shouldn't I?" The answer to this question is that the traditions tell us that even if a person has unlimited resources at his disposal, he still needs to be careful not to gravitate towards extravagance, immoderation, and wastage!

Consider the time when the Noble Prophet saw Sa'd, one of his companions, performing the ritual ablution (Wudhu) using an excess amount of water. The Prophet asked Sa'd what he was doing, and he replied he performing the Wudhu. The Prophet replied that even though he was performing the Wudhu, it was not a valid justification to waste water. The Prophet then made a powerful statement and told Sa'd that even if he was sitting at a running stream of water, he was still not allowed to waste water!

Today, step foot in almost any mosque in the North America and you'll see the level of wastage first-hand. Walk into the bathroom to make Wudhu, and sometimes you feel as if the person before you performed a full body Ghusl in the sink! Taps are kept on for the entire process of Wudhu, wasting liters of water, whereas in all actuality a believer should be able to perform Wudhu with a 12 oz cup of water!

Statistics show that the daily per capita use of water in North America is a staggering 350 liters of water, whereas in Sub-Saharan Africa, it is a mere 10 to 20 liters! Consider this that by going for a shower, you consume 7.56 liters of water per minute; to brush your teeth, you use 3.78 liters of water, and something as necessary as flushing a regular sized toilet uses up 11.34 liters of water! Add to this the performance of Wudhu a minimum of three times per day, and as Muslims, perhaps we go over 400 liters of water usage in one day! We won't even begin to discuss the amount of food that we as a society waste every year, but suffice it to say that statistics show that the average North American family throws away $580.00 worth of good food every year! How about the food that fast-food chains, coffee shops, restaurants, and other eating establishments throw away every day? Just imagine how many people die of hunger throughout the world every day while we throw away their next meal!

So what's the big deal, you ask? We have "unlimited" resources in North America, right? Our taps always flow with clean, sparkling water; we (almost) never have blackouts; there are no fuel shortages and we are living on opulence. So why not enjoy life?! Why should we be conscious of this issue when we have so many other things to worry about?

To answer these questions, let us reflect on the Qur'anic narrative of the people of Saba from Surah Saba (34), verses 15, 16 and 19, in which God has mentioned, "There was for Saba aforetime a sign in their homeland – two gardens to the right and to the left. Eat of the sustenance (provided) by your Lord, and be grateful to Him: a territory fair and happy, and a Lord Oft-Forgiving! But they turned away (from Allah), and We sent against them the flood (released) from the dams, and We converted their two garden (rows) into 'gardens' producing bitter fruit, and tamarisks, and some few (stunted) lote-tree… But they said: 'Our Lord! Place longer distances between our journey-stages': but they wronged themselves (therein). At length We made them as a tale (that is told), and We dispersed them all in scattered fragments. Verily in this are signs for every (soul that is) patiently constant and grateful."

The nation of Saba had a strong, vibrant economy, was looked upon with favor in the "international community", were custodians of a large pool of natural resources, and were producing their own food with a very minimal trade deficit – in summary, they were self-sufficient. However, due to their ungratefulness towards their Creator and wasting the bounties of the All-Merciful, they ended up being deluged by a flood and losing everything. What was their outcome? Well, back in those days, there was no IMF, World Bank, G8 or others to bail them out; thus, they were forced to go to neighboring cities to beg for their minimal requirements – what we refer to today as incurring a "national debt".

They say that "history repeats itself", and that "those who do not know the past are condemned to repeat it." Could we be in such a situation today with this "global financial meltdown"? Only He knows…

In closing, one thing which we as Muslims need to understand is that when it comes to "going green" and conserving water, electricity or other natural resources, we need to ensure that we do not do these things simply because they will cut down on our utility bills at the end of the month or because it is the "in" thing to do; rather, we need to do these things because they are religious commandments, and that we will be held accountable by God for such things.

Today, we have two options: we can either jump on the "Qur'anic bandwagon" of moderation and leading a simple life and thus earning His blessings and the continuation of the lifestyle we are accustomed to, or we can become brothers of the devils (Ikhwaanush Shayateen) and be ungrateful to our Lord for the countless bounties He showers upon us day and night and indulge in waste, immoderation, excessiveness, and the devilish trait of consumerism. It is up to us to decide.