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Dr Kaukab Siddique | Editor-in-Chief Shawwal 3,1430/ September 22, 2009, # 45


Scroll to end for extraordinary photo from Chaman, Baluchistan.


SPOTLIGHT from Imam Badi Ali [North Carolina]

Notice how the mosques are filling beyond capacity with new immigrants? A social engineering program is underway. Immigrants are being brought in from Muslim countries without regard for their educational level or understanding of America. They are often dumped in ghettoes and are straining the limited public resources for the needy. They are often bad examples of Islam and are creating problems in the mosques. They park wherever they want to and attract neighbors' complaints, leading to police visits and sometimes closing down of mosques. The new taxi drivers do not keep their taxis clean and tidy on the inside, as earlier ones used to, leaving a poor impression on Americans.

This upsurge of immigrant dumping by the regime could be planned to destabilize America's Muslim communities. We should get involved and try to work with the newcomers. Whoever is plotting and planning should know that Allah is the Best of Planners.


Personal from the Editor: HEALTH NOTES: We should build on the health bonanza given us by a month of fasting. My daughter, whom we call "Hakim" Nadrat, says that breakfast is very important, as a starter. Have a grain meal, like millet, quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth, barley or oatmeal, cooked in water on low heat, till the water dries up. Sprinkle flax seeds on it, with a few almonds, and cut up a banana into it. Take a cup of green tea, drink two glasses of water and have a grapefruit or apple. Take tablets of vitamins A, B1,C, D, E and B3.
Remember: Absolutely no milk, coffee, fatty foods or sugar!

If you can take that breakfast till the next issue of New Trend, I'll tell you more after consulting the Hakim.

The Prophet, pbuh, used to take millet, dates and water [with greens while traveling]. Check out Hadith on our web site.
He walked all the time. Remember the journey from Makka to Taif? It was on foot! Again the Hijra from Makkah to Madinah was mostly on foot. Again, check out Hadith.
[This is not medical advice. See your doctor for medical advice.]


Hizbut Tahrir held an impressive Islamic conference in Chicago before Ramadan. This is one of the very few Muslim groups which are not puppets of the government. The media censored the conference while Fox TV, Cair and ISNA abused it. We have received an inside report by a representative. You'll be surprised at the intellectual level and high quality of Hizbut Tahrir. Scroll down to end.


From New Trend's Media Monitor. 5 items
Our America: By special permission, we have a report by Paul Craig Roberts on what's the reality behind the health care debate. Please scroll way down.


Our America #2: We should thank former President Carter for bringing out the racist nature of Joe Wilson's [R-South Carolina] rebel yell of "you lie" aimed at Obama. Wilson hates undocumented immigrants to the extent that he broke all protocol. Mr. Wilson should know there are 11 million such people. Without health care for them, they will affect the flow of the American economy.

Obama backed off from Wilson's insult. How long will Obama keep retreating? When will he admit that he was elected to be used, like Bush used General Powell and Condi Rice, except that Obama's election was a cover up on a bigger scale owing to the Islamic resistance in Iraq, Afghanistan and Gaza and the American-Israeli debacle in these three areas.


Our America #3: Crimes against women have taken on horrific dimensions. Almost every major crime of extreme violence is aimed at women. These atrocities go across lines of race and class. On September 20, a woman and her 5 children were found murdered in Naples, Florida. Desecration of churches is becoming quite common. A female pastor was raped and murdered in her own church in Oklahoma. The way her body was torn up, even hardened police officers were hesitant to disclose the details.

America's mass culture, with Zionists in control, is presenting women as playthings of men. The most decent women are pressured by mass culture to wear short skirts, have plunging necklines and pretend that rampant sexuality and immodesty does not stress them


Our America #4: Notice that Bernie the Jew Madoff is no longer in the news, in spite of his 65 BILLION dollar rip off through a ponzi scheme? The Jewish community is not being investigated. No one is questioning the greed of prominent Jews who were fooled by Madoff because they wanted 10% profit on their funds. Madoff was quickly sentenced and removed from media attention.

Instead, through Republican entrapment and Fox TV, ACORN has been targeted. It's the biggest community organization of African Americans. Republicans found corruption in ONE of its many offices. It's now facing action both in the House and the Senate! Attack ACORN but forget about Madoff and the Jewish looting of America: That's what happening.


Our America: #5. September 21: Obama Day 244
On Eid, did we forget Islamic brotherhood/sisterhood?

Can we be happy and celebrating when the best Muslims are in US prisons? Did most of us forget Imam Jamil, Shaikh Omar Abdel Rahman, Ahmed Abdel Sattar, Dr. Ali Timimi, Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, Dr. Kifah al-Jayyousi, Jose Padilla, Prof. Sami al-Arian, Masoud Khan, Abu Ali, Seif Chapman, Siddique Abdullah Hasan and a whole list of other innocents? Would you feel wonderful if a member of your family were in prison? Think of Guantanamo Bay [still open despite Obama's promises], Bagram, Abu Ghraib, Florence [Colorado], Terre Haute [Indiana] and the sprawling American Gulag with prisons behind every forest and hill?


Jamaat al-Muslimeen [News] [Next 3 items only]
P.O. Box 10881
Baltimore, MD 21234

A Sorry Eid Gift from the Obama Administration: Three Afghans Arrested and twisted story released to the Media!

An Afghan American Najib Zazi and his father were arrested just before Eid. Both are from Denver. A masjid imam in Flushing, New York who talked to Zazi was arrested for "lying to the FBI" [he was an informant]. Three apartments in Queens, New York were raided by security.

All this drama was released to the media leading to a new wave of fear among US Muslims. The case against Zazi is being "constructed." His attorney has categorically rejected all claims of Zazi's alleged connection to al-Qaida.

The government forgot that under US law, a person is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.These raids, arrests and media campaign against Afghans are violations of the rights of US Muslims and were carried out during the holiest days of Ramadan.


Protest General Musharraf's Visit to the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore

On September 29, Tuesday, at 7.30 PM Jamaat al-Muslimeen will hold a symbolic protest at the Meyerhoff, inshallah. All are welcome to join us. All three segments of the Jewish community in Baltimore have joined hands to welcome Musharraf. These are: Villa Julie College [now called Stevenson university], National Public Radio and Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. These are the same people who invited and honored Medeleine Albright [bloodsucker of Iraq], Rushdie [who insulted the Prophet, pbuh] and now Musharraf who helped put hundreds of innocent Muslims in Guantanamo Bay and bombed an Islamic women's seminary in Islamabad.

Place: 1212 Cathedral St
Baltimore, MD 21201-5556
Date: September 29, 2009
Time: : Musharraf's speech starts at 8 PM [Be there are 7.30 PM]

Call the Meyerhoff to protest at this phone number: (410) 783-8100
Protest to Stevenson University's President at: 410-486-7000 [ask for Sue Penny.]


September 22: Maulana Maudoodi's Anniversary
Rational Approach to Islam: Opposition to Dictatorship and Westernization.

Muhammad, pbuh, as Example and Leader. Islamic Pakistan's Basic Ideas.
by Kaukab Siddique, Ph.D

"... the militaries in Muslim countries realized that the real source of dictatorial power lay with the military. This awareness brought military officers into the arena of politics and they started a whole process of intrigues and destabilization of governments and the establishment of military regimes. These armies have become a calamity for Muslim countries. They are not interesed in fighting external enemies or in defending their countries: they are focused on 'conqering' their own countries and using the weapons provided them for national defense to enslave their own nations." [Maulana Maudoodi speaking in Arabic to a large gathering of young men in Makka after the Hajj, Zulhijja 16, 1382 AH, 48 years back. See Tafhimat, vol.3, pp.358-359, published 1969.]

Syed Abul 'Ala Maudoodi, a soft spoken scholar from Hyderabad, India, was discerned as an extraordinary thinker by Allama Iqbal and invited to move to the Punjab. Thus a new chapter began in the saga of the Islamic movement in South Asia.

Much has been written about Maudoodi, both by his legion of enemies as well as by his countless friends. One of the best books in Urdu is by his second-in-command Mian Tufail Muhammad titled Mushahidat: Maulana Maudoodi, Jamaate Islami awr Pakistan [compiled by Saleem Mansur Khalid and published in 2000, 2001 and 2003 by Idara-e-Ma'arife Islami, Mansoora, Lahore, Pakistan].

Maudoodi lived at a time when entire generations of Muslims were becoming secularized and westernized. Tufail Muhammad himself was a westernized lawyer in coat, tie and hat. Maudoodi's writings led Mian Tufail to give up the entire context of westernized ideals and aspirations. He died recently permeated with the virtues of Taqwa and deen.

Nowadays the idea that "Islam is a complete way of life" has almost become a cliche and stands unchallenged. This was Maudoodi's contribution. He put the westernizers on the defensive and helped Muslim intellectuals become comfortable with the idea of the SUPERIORITY of Islam over all other ways of life. I consider the following to be his most important contributions to the resurgence of Islam:

1. Muslims and non-Muslims are separate nations. Muslims have the right and the obligation to self-determination and the implementation of Islam within their communities and nations. Peace, tolerance, compassion and coexistence are important but they do not mean that Muslims should assimilate into the non-Islamic ethos. Separatism based on self-determination was the seed of Islamic Pakistan which was sowed by Maudoodi and pre-dates the contributions of others. Perhaps this factor attracted the attention of Allama Iqbal.
2. Islam has within itself the framework of Law and the Constitutional Process as well as the methodology of revolution which precedes the implementation of Law.
3. Islam has its own economic and social system.
4. Authentic Hadith is essential to Islam. The attempts of anti-Islam forces to separate the Qur'an from the Hadith, if successful, would be fatal for the Islamic ethos.
5. Kingship is alien to Islam. We do not need to defend the crimes of Muslim kings or extol their achievements as if they are part of Islam. The title of Caliph does not legitimize rule based on absolute power and hereditary succession. Shoora is a form of democracy which is essential for Islamic polity, and shoora is required in ALL aspects of life and by ALL Muslims.
6. Jihad is essential to Islam.

Maudoodi was repeatedly imprisoned by various Pakistani governments. Owing to his writings against "Ahmeddis" [known as "qadiyanis" in Pakistan] he was sentenced to death by the secularist regime which was trying to undermine Islam. He refused to beg for mercy and barely evaded execution as the governmrent of the time fell.

His love for Pakistan as a putative Islamic state was so great that he repeatedly put his own life in danger to save Pakistan. He attempted to heal the differences between East and West Pakistan but was thwarted by the army's actions and by the India-backed mass murders and extreme violence.

On another occasion, the regime's gangsters tried to shoot him down in front of a large gathering. His supporters asked him to take shelter. His response is famous: "If I sit down, who will remain standing."

Today one of Maudoodi's greatest students, Syed Munawar Hasan, is leading the movement against American intervention in Pakistan. The universities of Pakistan are full of new generations of Muslims learning from Maudoodi's writings that Islam is applicable in all walks of life.

I was blessed to meet him on many occasions. He used terms of deep affection for me which a true teacher does for a good student in our Islamic culture.
Later, I often differed with him. Sometimes, owing to my restless questioning about kings, I upset him.
In spite of all the support he had at the end, he did not want us to see him as the last word in Islamic scholarship or to make a faultless saint out of him as many schools of thought do with their leaders. He gave us the foundations required to build the edifice of Islam in modern times and to defeat westernization and cultural imperialism.


Send more troops otherwise the Taliban will Win: McChrystal, Top U.S. Commander
21 Sep 2009 The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan warns in an urgent, confidential assessment of the war that he needs more forces within the next year and bluntly states that without them, the eight-year conflict "will likely result in failure," according to a copy of the 66-page document obtained by The Washington Post. His assessment was sent to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Aug. 30 and is now being reviewed by President Obama and his national security team.




What does Mullah Omar say about American occupation and a long war? Scroll down to legendary Taliban leader's Eid message.




This will surprise, even shock you: New al-Qaida leader in Germany reveals himself. Scroll down to photo.




Ayatollah Khamene'i says Iran is not fooled by U.S. moves. Please scroll down for important excerpt.




War News: Somalia
Occupation Troops Hit by 2 Martyrdom Operators: Islamic Group Claims it is Revenge for US Special Forces killing of Nabhan

September 17, 2009: The al-Shabab Islamic movement sent two fighters into the headquarters of African troops from Burundi and Uganda who are supportng the US-backed "government" in Mogadishu. Heavy losses were inflicted. The regime has admitted 21 killed [including the deputy commander of the troops from Burundi] and 40 wounded [including the deputy commander].

Al-Shabab says it does not want any non-Muslim troops in Somalia. It claims that the attack was in revenge for the US helicopter assassination of a Kenyan Islamic leader. The following al-Shabab statement and comment appeared on al-Jazeera:

"Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, a spokesman for the anti-government al-Shabab group, claimed responsibility on Thursday for the attacks.
He said they were to avenge the death of Salah Ali Saleh Nabhan, a Kenyan-born al-Qaeda suspect, who was killed in southern Somalia on Monday during a raid by US special forces.
"We have got our revenge for our brother Nabhan. Two suicide car bombs targeting the AU base, praise Allah," Rage said.
"It took place at noon on the 27th of Ramadan, the best blessing. We knew the infidel government and AU troops planned to attack us after the holy month. This is a message to them."
Nabhan, 28, had been allied with al-Shabab, which the US accuses of being al-Qaeda's proxy in Somalia.
Witnesses said two vehicles with UN markings entered the coastal airport base of the Amisom mission - comprised of troops from Burundi and Uganda - unchallenged before blowing up."


War News; Afghanistan

NATO Troops in Kabul Hit by Martyrdom Operator

September 21, 2009: On Eid fday, in the Gereshek district of Helmand province, Taliban raiders hit a British patrol. There was an explosion and a British soldier was killed.

September 19: A NATO patrol [Danish troops] came under light weapons Taliban fire. One Danish soldier was killed and another wounded.

September 17, 2009: According to wire sevices [Reuters, etc] a "suicide bomber" hit a NATO military convoy travelling from the US embassy in Kabul to the airport. The powerful explosion tore apart several NATO vehicles including a humvee. The troops were Italian and Italy admitted 6 troops killed and 10 wounded in the attack. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujadaddi called media to claim responsibility for the spectacular attack in NATO's stronghold. Several civilians were also killed and scores wounded in the explosion, and scores of shops in the nearby area were demolished.


Mullah Omar's Eid Message: Taliban leader says, Jihad will contnue as long as it takes to Expel NATO Forces.
See Excerpt below photo

"We fought against the British invaders for 80 years from 1839 to 1919 and ultimately got independence by defeating Britain," the voice says.
"Today we have strong determination ... we have preparedness for a long war and ... we will continue to wage jihad until we gain independence and force the invaders to pull out." Mullah Omar categorically rejected western propaganda campaign that Taliban are against women's rights and education. [Source al-Jazeera]


Ayatollah Khamen'ei Rejects Western Propaganda: Says Iran is Alert, undaunted. [See Excerpt.]


Ayatollah Khamenei said US accusations that Iran was "producing nuclear weapons" were "false".
"Despite friendly messages and words", the current US government was anti-Iranian, he said.
He also said the West must revise its policy.
"They must correct this," he said. "The Iranian nation is alert".
"They see and understand animosities and stand against them. The Islamic republic will not retreat."
[Source: BBC]


New Leader of al-Qaida in Germany Demands Withdrawal of German troops form Afghanistan

Bekkay Harrach Converted to Islam from Bonn Germany. [Courtesy Der Spiegel, Germany]

A screenshot from the new al-Qaida video

[From Der Spiegel]: "In a new video message, the terrorist network al-Qaida has warned of attacks in Germany during the two weeks after the Sept. 27 election, if there are no signals of a withdrawal of German troops from Afghanistan. Authorities are taking the threat seriously and have raised the level of security precautions.

If the sender of the video released on Friday afternoon was not in all likelihood al-Qaida, it would be difficult to take it seriously: The speaker has dressed for the occasion in an atypical style, in a black suit and blue tie. Standing in front of a red curtain, the Islamist Bekkay Harrach, who is originally from the German city of Bonn, utters his threats. Nothing in the video is reminiscent of the style of previous publications of this kind."


War News: Pakistan
Kayani's Pak Army Death Squads at Work: Local Taliban Commander, 4 sons killed in Custody: 355 Bodies of Executed Muslims Found so Far.

As New Trend pointed out earlier, Pakistani General Kayani's troops are carrying out murders of Muslims suspected of being Pak Taliban in Swat. These killings are taking on the level of massive crimes against humanity. The latest is the murder of a local Taliban commander and his 4 sons. Here is the comment of Asian Human Rights Commission [AHRC] [located in Hong Kong] on Kayani's latest crime:

"According to a brief statement released by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) and the Swat Media Cenre (formed by the army at the local level) on September 20, Sher Muhammad Qassab died of multiple injuries on Sunday morning after the doctors failed to resuscitate him. Further details as to why Qassab had suffered fatal injuries while in army custody, or why his body was disposed of on the roadside instead of being handed to his family, remain unknown.

The shocking news also draws attention to the rising number of mysterious deaths of Taliban militants in North West Frontier Province. The situation is particularly worrying in the Swat valley where reportedly a total of 355 bodies of militants had been found on the roadside since July 13, as thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Swat valley returned home. The army claimed that the militants were killed when combating security forces during army operations, but in most cases the bodies were found after the victims mysteriously disappeared for a few days. It is highly suspicious that the army is abusing its power to commit extra-judicial killings.

The AHRC urges the Pakistani government to immediately initiate a thorough investigation into the mysterious deaths of militants in North West Frontier Province, especially in Swat valley. The government must intervene to ensure that all Taliban militants arrested by the army are brought before the court according to legal procedure for a fair and open trial. The present lack of transparency in operations conducted by the army is unacceptable and the truth behind these acts of mysterious killings must be brought to light.


It is the War in Afghanistan Obama Declared a "Necessity," Not Health Care
The Health Care Deceit

" ...the most likely outcome of a health care bill will benefit insurance companies..."

By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS [By special permission to New Trend.]

The current health care "debate" shows how far gone representative government is in the United States. Members of Congress represent the powerful interest groups that fill their campaign coffers, not the people who vote for them.
The health care bill is not about health care. It is about protecting and increasing the profits of the insurance companies. The main feature of the health care bill is the "individual mandate," which requires everyone in America to buy health insurance. Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont), a recipient of millions in contributions over his career from the insurance industry, proposes to impose up to a $3,800 fine on Americans who fail to purchase health insurance.
The determination of "our" elected representatives to serve the insurance industry is so compelling that Congress is incapable of recognizing the absurdity of these proposals.
The reason there is a health care crisis in the US is that the cumulative loss of jobs and benefits has swollen the uninsured to approximately 50 million Americans. They cannot afford health insurance any more than employers can afford to provide it.
It is absurd to mandate that people purchase what they cannot afford and to fine them for failing to do so. A person who cannot pay a health insurance premium cannot pay the fine.

These proposals are like solving the homeless problem by requiring the homeless to purchase a house.
In his speech Obama said "we'll provide tax credits" for "those individuals and small businesses who still can't afford the lower-priced insurance available in the exchange" and he said low-cost coverage will be offered to those with preexisting medical conditions. A tax credit is useless to those without income unless the credit is refundable, and subsidized coverage doesn't do much for those millions of Americans with no jobs.
Baucus masquerades as a defender of the health impaired with his proposal to require insurers to provide coverage to all comers as if the problem of health care can be reduced to preexisting conditions and cancelled policies. It was left to Rep. Dennis Kucinich to point out that the health care bill ponies up 30 million more customers for the private insurance companies.
The private sector is no longer the answer, because the income levels of the vast majority of Americans are insufficient to bear the cost of health insurance today. To provide some perspective, the monthly premium for a 60-year old female for a group policy (employer-provided) with Blue Cross Blue Shield in Florida is about $1,200. That comes to $14,400 per year. Only employees in high productivity jobs that can provide both a livable salary and health care can expect to have employer-provided coverage. If a 60-year old female has to buy a non-group policy as an individual, the premium would be even higher. How, for example, is a Wal-Mart shelf stocker or check out clerk going to be able to pay a private insurance premium?
Even the present public option--Medicare--is very expensive to those covered. Basic Medicare is insufficient coverage. Part B has been added, for which about $100 per month is deducted from the covered person's Social Security check. If the person is still earning or has other retirement income, an "income-related monthly adjustment" is also deducted as part of the Part B premium. And if the person is still working, his earnings are subject to the 2.9 percent Medicare tax.
Even with Part B, Medicare coverage is still insufficient except for the healthy. For many people, additional coverage from private supplementary policies, such as the ones sold by AARP, is necessary. These premiums can be as much as $277 per month. Deductibles remain and prescriptions are only 50% covered. If the drug prescription policy is chosen, the premium is higher.
This leaves a retired person on Medicare who has no other retirement income of significance paying as much as $4,500 per year in premiums in order to create coverage under Medicare that still leaves half of his prescription medicines out-of-pocket. Considering the cost of some prescription medicines, a Medicare-covered person with Part B and a supplementary policy can still face bankruptcy.
Therefore, everyone should take note that a "public option" can leave people with large out-of-pocket costs. I know a professional who has chosen to continue working beyond retirement age. His Medicare coverage with supplemental coverage, Medicare tax, and income-related monthly adjustment comes to $16,400 per year. Those people who want to deny Medicare to the rich will cost the system a lot of money.
What the US needs is a single-payer not-for-profit health system that pays doctors and nurses sufficiently that they will undertake the arduous training and accept the stress and risks of dealing with illness and diseases.
A private health care system worked in the days before expensive medical technology, malpractice suits, high costs of bureaucracy associated with third-party payers and heavy investment in combating fraud, and pressure on insurance companies from Wall Street to improve "shareholder returns."
Despite the rise in premiums, payments to health care providers, such as doctors, appear to be falling along with coverage to policy holders. The system is no longer functional and no longer makes sense. Health care has become an incidental rather than primary purpose of the health care system. Health care plays second fiddle to insurance company profits and salaries to bureaucrats engaged in fraud prevention and discovery. There is no point in denying coverage to one-sixth of the population in the name of saving a nonexistent private free market health care system.
The only way to reduce the cost of health care is to take the profit and paperwork out of health care.
Nothing humans design will be perfect. However, Congress is making it clear to the public that the wrong issues are front and center, such as the belief of Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) and others that illegal aliens and abortions will be covered if government pays the bill.
Debate focuses on subsidiary issues, because Congress no longer writes the bills it passes. As Theodore Lowi made clear in his book, The End of Liberalism, the New Deal transferred law-making from the legislative to the executive branch. Executive branch agencies and departments write bills that they want and hand them off to sponsors in the House and Senate. Powerful interest groups took up the same practice.
The interest groups that finance political campaigns expect their bills to be sponsored and passed.
Thus: a health care reform bill based on forcing people to purchase private health insurance and fining them if they do not.
When bills become mired in ideological conflict, as has happened to the health care bill, something usually passes nevertheless. The president, his PR team, and members of Congress want a health care bill on their resume and to be able to claim that they passed a health care bill, regardless of whether it provides any health care.
The cost of adding public expenditures for health care to a budget drowning in red ink from wars, bank bailouts, and stimulus packages means that the most likely outcome of a health care bill will benefit insurance companies and use mandated private coverage to save public money by curtailing Medicare and Medicaid.
The public's interest is not considered to be the important determinant. The politicians have to please the insurance companies and reduce health care expenditures in order to save money for another decade or two of war in the Middle East.
The telltale part of Obama's speech was the applause in response to his pledge that "I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits." Yet, Obama and his fellow politicians have no hesitation to add trillions of dollars to the deficit in order to fund wars.
The profits of military/security companies are partly recycled into campaign contributions. To cut war spending in order to finance a public health care system would cost politicians campaign contributions from both the insurance industry and the military/security industry.

Politicians are not going to allow that to happen.
It was the war in Afghanistan, not health care, that President Obama declared to be a "necessity."


Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He is coauthor of The Tyranny of Good Intentions. His new book, War of the Worlds: How the Economy Was Lost, will be published next month by AK Press/CounterPunch. He can be reached at: PaulCraigRoberts@yahoo.com


Hizbut Tahrir Conference in Chicago: Censored by the Media: Abused by Fox News, Cair & ISNA
by Abu Talha
The Khilafah conference was convened in Chicago at the Oak Lawn Hilton. The conference was held to commemorate the 88th anniversary of the abolishment of the Khilafah in Istanbul in 1924. The theme of the conference was "The Fall of Capitalism and the Rise of Islam". The theme was chosen to reflect to parallel trends in the global arena. On one hand, Capitalism as an ideology and system of economy is experiencing serious problems which have hit the financial backbone of the system. On the other side, the world is also witnessing a steady revival of Islam as a way of life, to the extent that a prominent commentator in the US, Patrick Buchanan, called the phenomenon "An Idea Whose Time Has Come".
The conference drew more than 800 attendants from the Chicago area as well as from other cities in the US. It also drew more than 50 protestors who showed concern about the liberty and freedom in the US. The Hilton management, the police department, and village of Oak Lawn provided an outstanding atmosphere of security and discipline throughout the day. Scores of media reporters and journalists covered the event of the conference and participated in a press conference provided by the conference organizers.

Six lectures and a keynote speech were presented at the conference. Maruf Abuatallah, an African American Muslim outlined the core reasons behind the current failure of capitalism. His speech was followed by Dawoud Selim, who demonstrated how the people in the US and in the world at large have suffered under the dominance of capitalism. In the second session, after a lunch was served by the organizers, Raza Imam and Idrees Tevris presented an outline of the economic system in Islam and how this system inherently avoids the catastrophes of Capitalism. In the third and the last session, Burhan Hanif and Jaleel Abdel-Adil discussed the roles of the Muslims worldwide in delivering a just and fair system to the peoples across the globe. Question and answers sessions were provided at the end of each section. Unlike the practice in many Muslim conferences, this one provided the audience with ample opportunity to comment and ask questions. The conference organizers invited the attendees to post any of their comments and unanswered questions to the conference site at www.khilfahconference2009.com.

The press conference was led by Ben Asad the spokesman of the conference, and his deputy Mohammad Malkawi. The reporters asked few questions related to the nature of the conference and the call to the revival of the Khilafah. However, the major emphasis was on claims associating the organizer of the conference, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, to names implicated in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The claim which was repeated time and again by Fox news is that Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and Zarqawi were X-members of Hizb-Ut-Tahrir. This claim is absolutely false and baseless, the spokesman of the conference insisted. Furthermore, it was explicitly stated that HT is a non-militant organization from the days of its inception in the early 1950's. It was explained that this is not a tactic by HT, rather it is a firm belief that the Islamic method of achieving a political objective of the type the group is pursuing can only be achieved via political and ideological means.

The conference, the theme, and the organizers have been criticized by several representatives of prominent Islamic organizations in the US including CAIR and ISNA. Part of the criticism is that the vision and goals of HT are not shared by the mainstream Muslims. It is the policy of HT not to engage in counter attacks and criticism with Muslim groups. However, HT is willing to debate, discuss and present its views and vision about Islam at any platform. HT had outlined its ideas, thoughts, and concepts in many books available for free off the party's website and thousands of leaflets and brochures which can be obtained through party's representatives worldwide. HT will not respond to rhetoric and attacks; but it will respond to criticism of ideas, concepts and issues.
HT-America invites Muslims in the USA to participate in the political dialogue which is increasing every day on the plight of Capitalism and the aftermath of the collapse of this old and crumbling system. The Muslims can not stay outside the political dialogue. Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), while he was in Mekkah, he engaged in the most civilized and intellectual manner in debating, discussing and criticizing the ailing practices of the elites of Mekkah. When he migrated to Medinah, he engaged the Jewish and Christian erroneous beliefs and practices. We believe that America and the world at large are going through a major political and economic transformation. If Muslims stay out of this transformation, and leave the world to drop into yet more fallacies and catastrophes, then the sins of the world will fall upon the shoulders of those who know.


Chaman, Baluchistan [Pakistan]
A passerby reading a night letter posted by the Taliban calling for Jihad. [Published in an Urdu language daily.]

This kind of posting was done by revolutionaries under Mao. Later it was called Samizdat when the resistance to the USSR spread and the media was in Soviet hands.


2009-09-22 Tue 19:58:01 cdt
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