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Dr Kaukab Siddique | Editor-in-Chief Rajab 19, 1428/ August 3, 2007 #60


Important Corrections:
Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan's Headquarters in Pakistan have objected to the following item New Trend published in the Rajab 7 issue:

"In Swat, the JI went to the extent of condemning martyrdom operations as HARAM [forbidden] in Islam. It is trying to stop local Jihad leader Maulana Fazlullah from using radio to call for Jihad."

Jamaat-e-Islami's message to New Trend says that JI does not issue fatwas and JI is concerned about the source of our information. [New Trend welcomes corrections.- Editor]


Second correction: Jamaat al-Muslimeen's representative in Brooklyn says that the RESPONSE to the government conspiracy story about JFK airport was published by Shia Muslims in TRINIDAD, not in Guyana. Also, the correct position about Siraj Wahhaj's masjid is that the government informant frequently visited it.


Letter: Re: Fund Raising by Native Deen and Fake Letters sent to New Trend. Conflict of Interest & Deception Charged.

Asma Hanif and Native Deen Ties to Joshua Salaam

Dear New Trend : I'm writing to you in ref to your last article about native Deen performing at a abused/ homeless women Fundraising event in Va. From recent sources (please feel free to verify) Joshua Salaam's (who by the way changed his name; real name Joshua Burt) mother Jeanette Hablullah works with/and for Asma Hanif in Asma's clinic in Baltimore. Asma hired Joshua's mother to work for her.

Also in response to reader feedback from New Trend' s first article on Native Deen those who wrote back were all the wives of the group. Example: letter written by Sahra Nadir, wife of Native Deen singer, Naeem Mohamed. Next letter by a Dina Hawa wife of Dawud Hawa, manager of native Deen. Some sources say this Dawud Hawa also manages other singing groups such as Sami Yusuf (unconfirmed). Dawud Hawa has a website which he lists on native Deen's site. Sources say he may have applied for a paid position at Adams masjid.(whether he got the job or not is unknown), the very masjid where his wife Dina Hawa teaches on weekend school. Dawud Hawa, a native of Palestine, also holds a VA realtor's license along with his wife Dina.
Looks like "Much ado about something".

Umm jh


A Letter from the Wife of Imam Jamil, Herself an Activist for Peoples' Causes

As-salaamu'alaikum Brother Kaukab Siddique,

Imam Jamil wanted me to share a Prison Program with you that was devised to organize Muslims throughout the Georgia Prison system and beyond. Insha'Allah, I am forwarding this to the correct e-mail address. Please let me know if I should forward it to another.

Again, Imam Jamil and the family extend salaams to you and thank you, as always, for your continuing efforts to educate people on our case and others.

Hasbunallah,

Sister Karima Al-Amin


See Text of Imam Jamil's Message to Imams below. [Scroll down.]


Jamil Al-Amin has been moved to federal custody!

Correspondence with the commissioner should be put on hold for now, updates will be announced as they occur

Please keep the Imam and his family in your thoughts and prayers

Read the details on his transfer:
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2007/08/02/alamin_0802.html

Jazaka' Allah Khairun
www.myspace.com/freetheimam


"American Islam"

Hamza Yusuf Claims: Holocaust Denial Undermines Islam!

by Kaukab Siddique, Ph.D, Associate Professor of English

Readers of New Trend have our analysis of the new "Islam" the Bush administration is fabricating in America and exporting to the Muslim world. We have seen the activities of Ingrid Mattson and Hartford Seminary, the false witnessing by Siraj Wahhaj, the abuse of Zaid Shakir aimed at those who objected to the "cartoons" of Prophet Muhammad, pbuh, and more recently the global coordination of Native Deen's travels by the State Department. Before that we looked at the machinations of Asra Nomani, Irshad Manji and Salman Rushdie.

However, in this entire process of fabrication of a new "Islam," Hamza Yusuf's "achievement" is unique. He has come out with the claim that the authenticity of the Qur'an and the "authenticity" of the Jewish "Holocaust" story are co-equal. If Muslims deny the "Holocaust," they will thereby be denying the Qur'an and Islam itself.

We should be thankful to Hamza Yusuf for coming out with his true face. Till now he had concealed himself quite well among Muslims. He is presented at almost every annual convention of ISNA [the so-called Islamic Society of North America] as a celebrity. Hundreds of ISNA supporters listen to him spellbound when he speaks. He has that unique lure which immigrant Muslims cannot resist: He is a White convert to Islam who knows Arabic and who is presented as [and presents himself as] a scholar.

He may well have continued to mislead many Muslims for a long time. After all he has an Islamic institute of his own [known as Zaytuna] [funding not clear] in northern California. Alhamdulillah, his article on the Qur'an and Holocaust Denial has brought out the facts of his ignorance of the Qur'an, the Hadith and the "Holocaust" story.

HAMZA YUSUF'S HOLOCAUST CLAIMS are as follows:

"HOLOCAUST DENIAL UNDERMINES ISLAM " Hamza Yusuf, Tikkun http://www.tikkun.org/magazine/tik0708/frontpage/denial

Holocaust survivors have "lived to tell of it."
"Nazis were brought to trial for it" and "convicted."
"Mass graves were found" and "gas chambers were discovered."
"The ovens exist."
"I have personally met many Holocaust survivors and their children."
"I have seen tattoos. I have also heard firsthand accounts of the horrific events."

Hamza Yusuf claims that holocaust denial is a form of lunacy which is tantamount to the idea that "Australia doesn't exist."

These claims are being made about the Second World War in which the White races not only hit each other as hard as they could but also carried out systematic propaganda against each other. The Russians and their West European and U.S. allies won. The Germans lost the war. Our task is to make sure we jettison wartime propaganda and arrive at the facts as far as they can be found. Much of wartime information remained classified till 50 years after the war. Recent research by David Irving has shown that the area bombing of German cities and the mass murder of German civilians by British and American air fleets was part of the Churchill doctrine.

YUSUF MAKES FALSE COMPARISONS with the Qur'an and the Hadith because he does not know two important facts:

The Qur'an was written down during the process of its revelation.
The Hadith was written down by Sahabah [such as Ali, r.a., Abu Huraira, r.a., Abdullah ibn Amru bin al-'As, r.a., and others as the Prophet, pbuh, spoke, though the Prophet, pbuh, took measures to ensure that his words would not be written with the Qur'an.

By contrast:

There is no documentary or WRITTEN evidence of the "Holocaust." As revisionist scholars have shown:

There is no order from Hitler to exterminate the Jewish people.
No gas chambers have been found.
No mass graves related to the alleged scope of the "holocaust" have been found. Minor grave sites have been found but such are available for every nation in a major war.
No ashes related to the burning of millions of bodies have been found.


TESTIMONY:

Again the comparison with the Qur'an and Hadith is absurd. The testimony of German war criminals was forced by the allies under horrendous conditions of torture, beatings and an atmosphere of hopelessness. For instance, Hoss, the commandant of Auschwitz, was starved, beaten and tortured almost to death. He was then ordered to write his "confessions" which were doctored and presented as evidence.

There is no testimony worth the name which could stand up in any court which had an element of impartiality in it. Hilberg, the main "historian" of the holocaust story admits in his extremely one sided The Destruction of the European Jews [1961] that ALL of the top German leaders brought to trial at Nuremburg insisted that they had not known of the mass murder of Jews. Goering insisted, in grueling prison conditions, that the allegations of mass murder were untrue.

Now how does this COMPARE WITH THE QUR'AN? Were the Qur'an and Hadith being written in response to the leaders of Islam being brought to trial? Hamza Yusuf has gone beyond all limits of decency in this matter.

SURVIVOR STORIES:

In his brilliant research work, Dissecting the Holocaust, Germar Rudolf has a chapter on the "growing critique of 'Truth' and 'Memory'" related to the stories told by survivors. There are no real eyewitness accounts of gassings or burnings. Instead there is hearsay, rumor and fear-motivation. The basic stories of the holocaust, says Rudolf, were started by a group of Communist inmates inside Auschwitz who later let it known that

"The whole propaganda which started about Auschwitz abroad was initiated by us with the help of our Polish comrades." [Widerstand in Auschwitz by Bruno Baum, 1957, p. 97.]

Of course Jews were tormented and oppressed by Hitler, as were Germans hunted, oppressed and slaughtered by the friends of the Jews. No holocaust denier says that the Jews did not suffer under Hitler. The Jews first declared war on Germany. Only then did Germany declare war on them. Today, the German witnesses are not allowed to speak while the Jewish witnesses continue to hog the media and to repeat wartime fears and stories.

By contrast, the Qur'an and Hadith were recorded by people who wanted success in the Hereafter. They wrote and they memorized. They were not being used, nor were they fearful of anyone other than Allah.

CENSORSHIP speaks against the Holocaust story. Germar Rudolf is in prison, Ernst Zundel is in prison, David Irving spent months in prison, thousands of Germans are or have been in prison for bearing witness to the German side of the story.

By contrast, Muslims have studied and answered vicious attacks on the Qur'an and the Hadith in the most scholarly fashion. Only when it came to abuse of the Prophet, pbuh, by Salman Rushdie, and the insulting cartoons, did the Muslims 'lose their cool.'

Finally Hamza Yusuf complains that Muslims do not allow Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl to be taught to Muslim students. Perhaps Yusuf does not know that this Diary's authenticity is seriously in doubt. By comparison, the writings of David Irving are not taught in American universities and not allowed into American bookstores and libraries. The recently published book FIRE [by an avowed anti-Nazi] which details the destruction of German cities, libraries, churches, schools, museums and gardens by the British and U.S. air forces has been strictly censored and kept out of book reviews by the U.S. media.

NOW A LITTLE ABOUT HAMZA YUSUF and ISLAM:

As noted above, he does not know that the Qur'an was written down DURING the process of revelation, not after the Prophet, pbuh, passed away. So there is absolutely no comparison with Jewish stories which have developed AFTER the war.

Hamza Yusuf's knowledge of Hadith too is negligible. He writes:

"One of the greatest achievements of the Islamic scholastic tradition is 'ilm ar-rijaal, the science of narrators. It is the study of reports of events in the life of the Prophet, especially of his sayings and deeds. Its formulators established a rigid set of criteria to validate the truth claims of those who asserted they saw or heard the Prophet do or say such-and-such."

Yusuf must be the first to make the baseless claim that 'ilm ar-rijal is "the study of events in the life of the Prophet." [pbuh] He has confused Hadith and the criticism of Hadith narrations. Plenty of evidence is available to show that Hadith were memorized and written down before the books about the narrators were written.

The books about the narrators became necessary owing to the efforts of "scholars" linked to the kings to fabricate Hadith. Yusuf confuses them with Hadith itself. In addition, Yusuf does not know that Islamic Law is based on Hadith which are Mashhur and not always on those which are Mutawatir.

Yusuf also claims that "Islamic jurisprudence is largely based upon solitary evidence." I would like to know how he got this idea. It could be that he read Imam Shafi'is defense of solitary narrations and thought that his entire school of thought was based on such narrations.


TEXT of Imam Jamil's Message

From: Allah's Slave, Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin
To: The Imams of Allah's Ummah


As-salaamu'alaikum:

Labbaik wa sa'daik (I respond to your call and I am obedient to your orders).

Ya Imam; Istaqaamu (Stand firm);

"When comes the help of Allah, and Victory, and you do see the people (masses) enter Allah's religion in crowds, celebrate the praises of thy Lord, and pray, for His forgiveness: For He is oft-returning (in Grace and Mercy)." (Qur'an: 110)

"How often, by Allah's Will, has a small force vanquished a large one." (Qur'an: 2:249)


The Prophet (pbuh) said, "A good Muslim is like a good riding camel, you find one in every hundred." Ya Imam, be not dismayed, for men won't believe you…but it's never the many, but often the few.

Allah has structured His deen to develop believers with strong character; our concern is fisa-bilil-lah, not numbers, for He is Al-Jaami. Islam is consciousness of the Will and plan of Allah and joyful submission to that Will and plan—conscious struggle.

Umar bin Khattab (R.A.A.) reported: The Prophet (pbuh) said, "That intention (Niyaat) determines the worth of a person's actions and he will attain what he intends. If by immigration his aim is to please Allah and His Messenger (SAW), then his migration is for this purpose; and if he migrates seeking the attainment of some worldly object, or for the sake of marrying a woman and as such his migration will be reckoned for that particular object." (Bukhari and Muslim) (1) Niyaat expresses consciousness; every thought and action by a Muslim should be framed by intention. In teaching the basic, as Imams, this is fundamental. This is the difference between struggle (kabad) and conscious struggle (jihad).
(2) Salah (prayer): Every instruction must proceed from and return to this pillar. It always should be emphasized and encouraged. Fard and sunnah are the Imam's discipline, and his advice to those who would like to increase their remembrance of Allah. In every khutbah, and every dawah effort, this is the point of your remembrance, never relax this. It is based upon this that Allah allows us to give naseeha. Abu Ruqaiya Tamim bin Aus-ad-Dari reported that the Prophet (pbuh) said: "The basis of Imam (faith) is sincerity. We ask: "O Prophet of Allah! For whom? He said: To Allah, the Qur'an, His Prophet and the Muslims—both leaders and masses." (Muslim)
(3) Fasting: In addition to the fast of Ramadan, the Prophet would do voluntary fasting. He fasted on Mondays and Thursdays; for the Imam, this should be a discipline, and a good advice to those who would like to increase their remembrance.
(4) Charity: "If you choose to spread love among the Brotherhood, train men to give little things, if no more than the greeting." (Qur'an 3:92) Therefore, compete with each other in doing good. Anas (R.A.A.) said that the Prophet said, "A person cannot be a good Muslim unless he desires for his brother (in faith) that which he desired for himself." (Bukhari and Muslim).

The Imam's mandate for leadership is based upon his practice. The role of the leader is to lead, but you can't lead something that will not move. To develop movement, the leader must be active, and he must teach by example. His strength is his kindness. He understands that Ibaadah (worship) is just for Allah alone, not himself. So, he is patient and understanding with his brothers as he teaches. His teaching never strays from the basics, no matter how much he knows or thinks he knows, i.e., shahadah, prayers, fasting, zakat, hajj. Everyone will not and cannot learn or practice it to the same degree. All worship is for Allah…Qur'an and Hadith are the source of ilm (knowledge) for the Ummah. Fard Allah bi-li ibaadah (worshipping Allah alone), ijmaa and ijtihaad (consensus and informed reasoning) must be rooted in Shariah (Islamic law).

Based upon our collective niyaat, we are the Ummah (community) of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). He never named the community, so we don't name it. We are the Ummah, and this is sufficient. Imams and jamaats may name masajids and jamaats, but Allah and His Messenger has named the community, Ummah.

The Imam must be prepared to do most of the work without thanks from those who benefit, and without compensation. Your reward is with Allah. Stay away from making up and giving out offices of authority…amir of this and minister of that, etc. The Prophet only appointed authority, as he needed it. Men were tested in their practice before being given authority. Allah will raise from the ranks those who are fit to lead. If you doubt me, then name the positions of authority before the year of deputation.

Suggestions for the Imams

(1) Review with every Muslim in the Jamaat, prayer in English and Arabic. Take your time and be kind, and according to each Muslim's ability go over this until they learn it. Do not set time limits because this is an ongoing program. Sabr. Teach and review the rules of purification (wuduu, ghusl, istinjaa). Stress the importance of praying in congregation.
(2) Hold yourself and your teachings to Qur'an and Hadith. Any other information must be verifiable and based on Qur'an and Hadith.
(3) Bayt al Maal: Encourage Muslims to give sadaqa for this purpose. Those who meet the criterion for zakat should be encouraged to pay it. This sadaqa should be given to those who ask and those who ask not. Make sure that those who have no means are provided for. Those on lockdown, hospital, and any who ask should not be turned away or forgotten. Encourage all who go to commissary to purchase an item for this purpose every week.
(4) Establish a Suk: (Islamic business, Qur'an 4:29). This should be a private enterprise; a business for the Imam or some Muslim who is able to purchase items (commissary items as well as Islamic arts and crafts, and anything lawful) to be resold at a profit. Arts and crafts items include Islamic cards, Eid cards, calligraphy, dhikr beads. Learn to make kufis and train Muslims and non-Muslims to make these items for you. We may be able to develop a market outside of prison or in other prisons.
(5) Islamic Theater: Train Muslims to write and act to make this effort a learning and dawah tool.
(6) Islamic Athletic Teams: Encourage Muslims to come together to compete in athletics as Muslim teams; a means to put your way of life on exhibit—win or lose, good behavior, teamwork, remembrance of Allah in action.
(7) Community Meals: Time set aside when the community comes together to eat and relax with each other. Guests can and should be invited.
(8) Sahaabah System: The Prophet paired the Ansaar and the Muhajaruun with each other. The Imam may want to establish brothers in pairs, based upon strong and weak, ilm, age, or by the Imam's discretion.

And know O Muslims, anything that I have said that was wrong, this was from myself and the shaytan! And anything that I may have said that will be of benefit to you, it was from Allah (Ta'Ala). I ask Allah to give us the guidance to see that we must accept to work with all who say Kalima La ilaha illa-llah, Muhammadan Rasulullah (SAW). Ya Allah, give us the desire for community life; give us the wisdom to make Islam relevant to all that we come into contact with. O Allah, remove the poison of malice and hatred for other Muslims that consumes the good that we do. O Allah, give us the vision to see what we need for community life; put love and confidence, trust and faith into our hearts; Ya Allah, increase our love for what has come to us from our Prophet (SAW), the Qur'an and his Sunnah. Ya Allah, grant victory to Islam and the Muslims.

Wa salaam.

Ibadillah! Yar-ha-ku-Mullah!
Allah's Slave: In Peace Strong!
In Battle Strongest!!!


Peace groups host Interfaith Hiroshima-Nagasaki Day Prayer Vigil

The Peace with Justice Center of the Pomona Valley will be organizing its Eighth Annual Hiroshima - Nagasaki Memorial on Friday, Aug. 3. This event will be hosted at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 435 Berkeley Ave., Claremont, in conjunction with Churches, Synagogues, and Mosques.

The event from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. will include speakers, music and the lighting of candles. The public is invited to join members of other local religious and community organizations to commemorate the victims of the first atomic bomb attack on Aug. 6, 1945.

Participants will renew their commitment to help end the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and find non-violent ways to resolve conflict among nations, says Doreena Wright of Peace with Justice. She is available to answer questions at 593-4966.

Please contact Event Coordinator, Imam Ali Siddiqui at 951-734-4599 for any further information.

PEACE WITH JUSTICE CENTER OF THE POMONA VALLEY
2425 E. Street, La Verne, CA91750, 909-621-9143;
Mail@peacewithjusticecenter.net .
Chairperson: Prof. Doreena Wright; Vice Chair: Imam Ali Siddiqui; Secretary: Connie Weir

2007-08-04 Sat 19:46:27 cdt
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