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Dr Kaukab Siddique | Editor-in-Chief Sha'ban 24,1427/September 18, 2006 #62

An eyewitness told New Trend, ISNA had a military SWAT team in the parking lot of its Convention. Guess who else was there? Scroll to end for article by famous women's rights advocate

Jamaat al-Muslimeen strongly condemns the attacks on churches in the West Bank. Fortunately, the Hamas government has categorically rejected this illegal activity and moved against it. The attackers are either thoughtless or agents. Jamaat condemns the murder of a nun in Somalia. Looks like Zionist agents are at work to discredit the Islamic power in Somalia. This is a capital crime under Islamic Law, Sharia. Islamic forces have arrested 2 men for the murder. If convicted, they should be executed.
The REAL ISSUES brought up by the Pope are addressed below by Imam Badi Ali, North Carolina, and Dr. Waheeduddin Ahmed, Wisconsin. This Pope is NOT a follower of Jesus, peace be on him.

TWO URGENT MESSAGES from Jamaat al-Muslimeen:
1. The oppressive U.S. government is hoping to send Imam Warith Deen Umar to prison on September 21. It all began when the Wall Street Journal attacked the Imam in a front page article claiming that he is a "wahhabi" lover of terrorism. ["Wahhabi" is Zionist terminology for one who studies the Qur'an and Hadith and takes it seriously.] Later when Imam Umar gave a khutba at the masjid run by ISNA-man Siraj Wahhaj, the tape of the khutba was given to or taken by the FBI. Top Zionists like Senator Schumer participated in the destruction of Imam Umar's job situation. Now they want to convict and sentence him.

It is the duty of all Muslims to support this fearless true believer. Scroll down to his passionate appeal for justice.

2. ISNA [the so-called Islamic Society of North America] is hell bent on violating the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, pbuh, by starting Ramadan without attempting to sight the crescent. This is a big move to create an "American Islam." We urge our readers to look for the crescent and report non-sighting and sighting on September 22 AND 23. Please call and leave your message with name and city you are calling from on:
410-435-5000

LIVE INTERVIEW
Why do we discuss 9.11 but not 9.16? What is the future of U.S. Muslims?

Dr. Hesham Tillawi runs the most important talk show by a Muslim in America which attracts audiences from across the U.S. and Canada as well other parts of the world. He invites discussion of controversial hot button issues and has had guests from around the political spectrum, ranging from Noam Chomsky on the left to David Duke on the right. The program is available on: www.currentissues.tv and comes out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

On September 14, Dr. Tillawi interviewed Dr. Kaukab Siddique LIVE for 50 minutes. There was a steady flow of callers during the interview. The topics discussed were: The interview has been posted on the web site of: currentissues.tv

Press Release
Jamaat al-Muslimeen Condemns the Pope's Lame Excuses: How did a Bigot become Pope?

Greensboro, North Carolina: September 17, 2006. Jamaat al-Muslimeen leader Imam Badi Ali has urged Christians to condemn the bigotry and racism of Pope Benedict XVI and urge him to apologize to the Muslim world. Imam Ali is shocked that a man who dislikes people of African descent has become Christian leader The Pope's explanation of his original statement against Islam shows that he is not sincerely interested in peace, the imam said. The Pope says he is sorry about the reaction to his statement [not for the statement itself]. Imam Ali asked, how did Benedict XVI become the leader of Christians when he does not know the basics of religion. Jamaat al-Muslimeen urges the Pope to do some elementary reading. Here are some basic points:

Statement From Imam Warith Deen Umar, Political Prisoner out on $100,000 bail.

Sunday September 17, 2006

As salaamu alaikum-- Dear Believers

This may be my last opportunity to make a statement before this Federal government makes me an incarcerated political prisoner. I go to court on Thursday September 21st at 4:PM at 500 Pearl St. Floor 21 in downtown Manhattan. I am being brought before the courts to be sentenced for maintaining legal weapons in my home. They are threatening me with a ridiculous sentence of up to ten years!

Their threats don't frighten me. At all! My total dependence is on Allah alone. But I find it quite interesting that the Muslim organization leadership, the Imams, and the Muslim Chaplains here in America have been silent on the mistreatment of me and my family by this lying, thieving, corrupted government.

I have been falsely profiled by the Wall Street Journal. The Muslim leaders remained silent. Politicians spoke out against me. Muslim leaders were frightened into silence. I have been arrested and my home and family raided by the FBI, the ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms unit of the Justice Department) and the NYPD (New York Police Department). Where is the Muslim help?

My personal property and papers have been seized by the local and federal government. My right to maintain weapons in my home to protect myself, my family and my property has been abridged.

I find it unfortunate that Muslim leaders would put themselves in this unconscionable situation of failing to help a deserving Muslim when he is being attacked by their collective enemy, who is also an enemy of Allah.

This weak Muslim leadership will get away with this dangerous behavior and continue on, if I and others are insignificant players in the future. In sha'llah, time will tell.

May Allah bless the courageous of the Muslim Ummah to be victorious over their enemies.

ANALYSIS of WHAT THE POPE REALLY SAID: Is The "Holy Father" a Racist?

By Waheeduddin Ahmed, Ph.D. [Milwaukee, Wisconsin]

Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI to Catholics, has explicitly declared himself to be what he is and has wrapped his declaration in academic jargon. Should we object to this? I think not. Should Turkey withdraw its invitation to him? I think not. Customarily we have welcomed worthy enemies as guests. Should Muslim countries withdraw their ambassadors from the Vatican? I think not, because ambassadorial relations do not depend upon friendliness. Enemies need to talk and need to understand each other. Ratzinger has done us a favor by letting us know what is going on in his mind. In this respect, at least he is better than some European heads of governments.

Ratzinger hails from Bavaria, a part of Germany and has indicated in his past statements that he is a passionate believer in maintaining the Christian/racial purity of Europe. He does not believe that Turkey belongs in Europe. He says that she should apply for membership in the Asiatic Islamic bloc, where she belongs. As the head of the Catholic church, he gave audience in 2005 to Oriana Fallaci, an Italian journalist, who died recently and who wrote: "The sons of Allah breed like rats" and said that Europe was no longer Europe. It was "Eurabia", a colony of Islam, where the Islamic invasion did not proceed only in a physical sense, but also in a mental and cultural sense. Such concurrence immediately secured her an audience with Ratzinger the Pope.

Derogatory remarks about Islam and Muslims are not a new thing. They are to be expected. You cannot expect your enemies to shower flowers on you. Christianity and Islam have had an intermittent adversarial relationship ever since the clash with the Byzantine army. It is interesting to note that Ratzinger has invoked a historical dialogue between the Byzantine emperor in the Fourteenth century and the "Persian interlocutor" and puts the onus on Theodore (Adil) Khoury, a Christian Lebanese writer, to cleverly disguise his own opinion, a dishonesty unbecoming of any Pope but Ratzinger.

His lecture, which is the subject of this controversy, is a discussion of faith and reason. His starting point is the Qur'an, which he says rejects reason in appealing to the soul, instead relies upon physical compulsion. He says that not to act in accordance with reason is contrary to God's nature and in contrast presents Islam to be averse to reason and says that according to Ibn Hazm "God doesn't have to act with reason, is not bound by his own word, and that nothing would oblige him to reveal the truth to us and were it God's will, we would even have to practice idolatry." Ibn Hazm was a Tenth century Muslim scholar of Spain, a protagonist of the Zahiri school of thought. Ratzinger surmises that Christianity was a product of synthesis between the faith of the Old Testament and the Greek philosophy of reason. Here he detaches Christianity from its Hebraic origin and occidentalizes it, thus once again revealing his European partisanship.

His is a scholarly presentation since he is first and foremost a scholar of theology. If he meant to throw a challenge to Muslim scholars to discuss the merits and demerits of the two religions in terms of faith and reason, any third grade Muslim scholar would be most willing to accept it. However, Ratzinger must first give up his post and go back to the academics. In contemporary history, Popes have never indulged in inter-religious debates. At least the last three Popes were the conscience of the world and commanded respect from all the religions. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany was wrong in suggesting that the Pope meant to start a debate. No, he meant to derogate and debase a religion. His statements and his stances vis-a-vis world issues have exposed a racial bias. It is not up to us to say how Christianity should be defined. It is up to the Christians to say what their Pope should represent and it is up to the non-European Catholics to say whether a racially biased Pope is acceptable to them.

Post Katrina and 9/11, Insight Into The Soul of America

By Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III

During the week of August 28, 2006 America commemorated the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the greatest Atlantic hurricane and natural disaster in American history. During the week of September 11, 2006 America is commemorating the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Both of these commemorations allow Americans a unique opportunity to mourn tragic losses and more importantly peer into the soul of America. The national government's response to these events and the manner in which the "refugees" of Katrina and the respondents to 9/11 have been dealt with dramatize a critical shift in the political psyche or mindset in the American body politic.

On May 22, 1964 President Lyndon Johnson addressed the graduates at the University of Michigan and gave what is now known as "The Great Society Speech." In this address President Johnson spoke about the future of America. He asked if American's have the wisdom to use America's wealth "...to enrich and elevate our national life, and to advance the quality of our American civilization." President Johnson told those graduates that they had the opportunity to move America forward to become not only a rich and powerful society "...but upward to the 'Great Society.'"

He went on to say that the "Great Society" was not a ultimate goal but an ongoing challenge to ensure that "...the meaning of our lives matches the marvelous products of our labor." To accomplish this President Johnson called upon America to use its wealth and resources "...to create new concepts of cooperation, a creative federalism, between the National Capital and the leaders of local communities." What has become of our "Great Society," what has become of the soul of America?

As we reflect upon Katrina and peer into the mirror of history, seeing those mostly poor people of all colors, ethnic groups, the elderly, and children sitting on roof tops, floating on mattresses, and huddled under highway overpasses in the searing heat without food and water we must ask, at the height of the greatest National disaster in American history, where was our National government? Where were the resources of the wealthiest nation in the history of the world when its citizens were in their gravest hour of need? Where was the leadership of those sworn to protect the public good? Two days after the greatest National disaster in America was playing out before our vary eyes on national television this nations leader was 3,400 miles away playing the guitar at a country and western show in San Diego, CA. President George "Nero" Bush fiddled while the Gulf Coast drowned!

As we reflect upon the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and peer into the reality of now, we praise but fail to assist those selfless individuals, the "first respondents" to the scene who now, five years out find themselves suffering from lung disease and dying from the toxic mixture of pulverized cement, asbestos, paper, glass, and other unknown particles and contaminants. They inhaled that air born cocktail of death in order to save lives. Now many of their lives hang in the balance while the resources of the wealthiest nation in the history of the world are not being made available to assist them. For their acts of heroism we embrace them and sing praise; for their physical suffering and mental anguish we cast them aside to fend for themselves.

As we peer into this mirror we see a culture that has changed, a paradigm that has shifted, a script that has been flipped. Forty-two years ago President Johnson called upon this nation to use its vast resources in order to help the least of us. He prescribed that we redistribute income and wealth so that those with the least could have a safety net, a provider of last resort. The President asked if American's have the wisdom to use America's wealth "...to enrich and elevate our national life, and to advance the quality of our American civilization." Today we are a corptocracy. We redistribute wealth but not to the least of us, now, it goes to those with the most. We've ended "welfare as you know it." Now your taxes fund corporate welfare, billion dollar defense contracts to Lockheed-Martin, no-bid contracts to Halliburton, and greater profits for Bechtel and the Carlyle group.

The poem "The New Colossus " is engraved on the Statue of Liberty, its final lines read, "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, lift my lamp beside the golden door! What happened to that "kinder gentler nation" and those "thousand points of light" that President George H.W. Bush called for? Where is the compassion from those "compassionate conservatives" that President George W. Bush called for?

I ask what has happened to the soul of America? Has the light of that lamp been extinguished; has the golden door been closed? God Bless America? No,... God Help Us All!

Dr. Wilmer Leon is the Producer/ Host of the nationally broadcast call-in talk radio program "On With Leon", Producer/Host of the television program "Inside The Issues With Wilmer Leon" and a Teaching Associate in the Department of Political Science at Howard University in Washingto, D.C. Go to www.wilmerleon.com or email: wjl3us@yahoo.com.

© 2006 InfoWave Commuications, LLC.

Homeland Security were allowed into ISNA Convention: Ingrid Mattson Quiet on Major Issues. Muslim Leaders Silent about Domestic Abuse

by Hadayai Majeed [Atlanta, Georgia]

As Salaamu Alaikum,
I went to the ISNA Convention as a speaker. I enjoyed the event overall but was very disturbed by the presence of Homeland Security in the Bazaar. They were vendors. We are Americans; however we do not have to entertain those who spitefully hurt our innocent Muslim brothers and sisters frequently. There is a brother in Atlanta who had his truck driving permit to carry hazardous waste taken away with no reason about three years ago. The community fought for him and finally after just over a year or so the ban was lifted without much in the way of explanation. They never gave much of an explanation for why the license was revoked. It cost him a lot. He lost his career of about 20 years, much financial hardship to his family and you could see the hurt in his eyes. A very moral man had his reputation tarnished for nothing.

He is a veteran of the military, no criminal record and he was born and raised in America. He is African American. ISNA and all the nation groups need to be very concerned about the FBI and Homeland Security wanting to have booths at their events. Believe me they are not there just to recruit people for jobs or just educate people about what they do. They have another motive. The motive is to openly spy on people. In many cases the spies actually tempt people to say and do things they normally would not say or do and then use the actions against them. Most of the so-called accusations of people being involved in terror related activities or behavior is very questionable at this time. Most are held long periods of time without being brought to trial. The longer the wait the easier it is for people to forget or just become tired of protesting and give in or plead out for lesser charges just to bring closure to the nightmare they are living due to the inappropriate actions of organizations such as Homeland Security and the FBI.

Innocent Muslims were at the Homeland Security booth just chatting. I pray they did not get comfortable enough to say something that could be taken out of context. All it takes is one comment that could be twisted and any of the people at the booth could find themselves in grave danger.

Our leaders must learn you can not please everyone. You can never please your oppressor. The American system of justice in theory has great values in general; however at this time there are too many scared, racist and ugly people in positions of power for the values to be truly protected by them and for Americans of color, women and any white person who dares dissent to be safe. Homeland Security and the FBI are not friends of anyone especially Muslims. No matter how much you kiss up to them they are going to find a way like poisonous snakes to strike.

I congratulate Dr. Mattson for her being voted as the new President of ISNA. However I have not seen much from her in the way of championing for social justice in general. She has been very, very, very quiet on some very important issues. She has had very little to say or do to assist women and anyone else who is working in the area of social justice. When women who have positions such as Dr. Matson are quiet, it does not help the rest of us. We need leaders in general who are smart, brave and not overly concerned about the politics of standing firm for what Allah says in the Quran. When we can get a woman in a position of power, she needs to be double smart, extremely brave and lean firmly on Allah and Allah alone. I am not asking her to be the avenger for any of us; however Dr. Mattson needs to be more vocal and use her position to bring a voice to social justice issues in general and those issues that pertain to women in particular.

I wish we could disagree in the Islamic community without unnecessary name calling. Muslims are under attack and we need to find ways to come together as much as possible. Some of the assertions made may be correct; however the name calling just alienates most people and they become defensive and do not listen to what could be very valuable information. We must learn to follow Prophet Muhammad's example of disagreeing with people (especially Muslims) for us to be heard and have a positive impact on people. I am not telling anyone to shut up or anything. Nor am I suggesting that we sugar coat or cover up the blatant wrongs in our community. However if we can just find more ways to say what we need to say in a way most people will at least give a listen to it will help all of us. I am including myself when I make this statement.

National Islamic leaders across the board are too quiet about major social justice issues, especially about domestic abuse. The leaders silence tells perpetrators they can operate in safety in our communities. This must stop if we are going to see true progress in the way of propagating Islam in America. We can no longer make domestic abuse a women's problem only and do not morally support charities and individuals who assist families who are in need due to domestic abuse. We can no longer continue to treat domestic violence advocates like they are a negative element in our community during the day. However at night when someone is in trouble and comes to a masjid for help the leaders call the domestic violence advocates without regard to the fact most communities do not morally or financially support prevention, intervention nor advocacy activities initiated by those of us who work in the area of domestic abuse prevention, intervention or advocacy.

When domestic abuse spills into the community, it is Communal Abuse. Now we have abuse perpetrated on individuals in communities the same way we have domestic abuse in the home. It (Communal Abuse) is rampant in most Islamic communities. Our national leaders being quiet are just as guilty as the perpetrators on the local level. We have sanctioned abuse to others by our own leaders. I ask how long do they (our leaders) think anyone is going to tolerate such blatant ill treatment and be quiet?

I am very concerned about the mind set and reasoning of some of our leaders in general and especially concern about the mind set of many of our major leaders. It is not healthy for them or us to ignore social justice issues, allow behavior in the community that is contrary to Islam in their communities locally on a consistent basis and then be naive or just plain stupid not to address it. It is not wise to court Homeland Security or the FBI at this time.

As we approach Ramadan let us take our concerns as individuals and as a community sincerely to Allah and after we fast celebrate this Eid Al Fitr as a community that has come out of denial about all abuse, political ignorance state support and community supported violence and neglect of using the Holy Quran to guide our lives.

May Allah forgive us all for our errors.

ma salaam
Hadayai Majeed
Humble Servant of Allah
1000 Peace Women Across the Globe

2006-09-18 Mon 19:31:12 cdt
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