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Dr Kaukab Siddique | Editor-in-Chief

Ramadan 12 ,1434/July 21, 2013 # 30

Huge pro-Morsi rallies on Friday, July 19, in several areas of Cairo and other cities were totally censored by US media and even by the BBC. Muslim Brotherhood has not backed down. [Scroll down for best analysis of the coup plot.]

Canada's rulers are mistreating Islamic political prisoners. Recently Momin Khawaja had boiling water thrown on him in prison and has suffered serious burns. Please counter Canada's mistreatment of Islamic prisoners. You can help. Momin did not hurt anyone. It's an outrage that he got such a long sentence. Scroll down to informative article and send out an email or letter. {Canada is with NATO in Afghanistan and is getting whipped.]

July 20. Is Geraldo the only genuine journalist left on corporate media? On Fox TV he strongly questioned the FBI shooting of Ibrahim Todaschev, said to be a close friend of the Boston bombers. He reports that after extensive interviews, FBI shot him mid-interview 7 times, including once in the back of the head. There seems to be a link between Todschev and the murder of three Jew. Were they Israeli agents? Their throats were cut he says. There is much hidden here.

Jamaat al-Muslimeen was the first to speak against the Zimmerman acquittal. See facebook.

Are Black people being fooled by Obama? Scroll down to hard hitting article from Solomon Commissiong.

Rallies Across America for Trayvon Martin. More than 100 cities
[Some of the rallies were backed by the government but most were genuine.]
Here is a report from our friends in DRUM about the first rally in New York
The last few days have been one of national outrage,
and mobilization after the verdict in the Trayvon Martin case. As South Asians, we
express our solidarity with Trayvon's family and the broader call for racial justice. Communities of color continue to fight for equity in the justice system and Trayvon has become an inspiration for many of us.

DRUM members joined over 10,000 in Union Square the day after the verdict was released, spoke at rallies linking our communities, and will continue to organize.

We hope you find out updates helpful and welcome your
tax-exempt donations.

In Gratitude,
Monami Maulik, Founder & Executive Director

Bangladesh
Pro-India Dhaka Regime Sentences Spiritual, non-Violent, Islamic leader Prof. Ghulam Azam

In complete violation of international law and Islamic law, a bogus court in Dhaka, Bangladesh, sentenced a totally innocent Islamic leader of Jamaate Islami to 90 years in prison. He was brought to the court in a wheel chair.

Under international law, no one can be prosecuted for something which happened when the laws did not exist.

Prof. Ghulam Azam stood for a united, Islamic, Pakistan. He did not have a position in the civil administration or in the military or para military forces defending Pakistan. He did not have any authority to conduct any violent acts. In fact he tried hard to restrain the Pakistani military.

Both the Pakistani military and the Mukti Bahini backed by India committed atrocities but in 1973 owing to a tripartite agreement, all charges were taken back by both sides.

Pakistan is ignoring the crime being committed against Prof. Ghulam Azam.

Please scroll down to a report of large scale demonstrations in Bangladesh by unarmed Muslims against the sentence.

Also from Bangladesh: This makes Bashar Assad look like a choir boy:
New Trend has posted 94 photos of the massacre of Hefajate Islam supporters, all unarmed, which was carried out by the Dhaka regime's combined military forces, many of them Hindus and Buddhists. The regime is denying the massacre. The photos spreak for themselves: NewTrendMag.org

A Forgotten Nation
Breaking News: Kashmir: Unarmed Protestors Slaughtered by Indian Occupation Forces
July 18: AFP Report.

SRINAGAR, / Jammu and Kashmir: Indian paramilitary troops Thursday shot dead six people protesting outside a Border Security Force station in Kashmir, two police officers said.The incident happened in Gool, 230 kilometres south of the main city of Srinagar, the officers said on condition of anonymity.

"It is mayhem. Six are dead and dozens injured. The death toll could rise further," said one.

Protesters had gathered outside the Border Security Force (BSF) station to demonstrate against an incident involving troops at a mosque on Wednesday evening, witnesses said.

The troops had entered the mosque in Gool to complain about the loud recitation of prayers by worshippers during the holy month of Ramazan, the witnesses told AFP.

Worshippers gathered outside the security force station from early Thursday to protest at the incident.

"The BSF soldiers fired indiscriminately, downing protesters left, right and centre," one witness who declined to be identified told AFP by phone from the nearby village of Dharam.

Thoughts on Media Coverage of Trayvon Martin's Murder: Editor

On the day Egyptian military supported by the US killed 51 Muslims in fajr prayers in Cairo, CNN
spent ALL day discussing the Zimmerman case although it had not reached its concluding drama.

The media brought the Black-White confrontation into EVERY home in America. It was essentially divide and rule: Zionist Jews sitting in comfortable offices inciting two races against each other.
Now that the dirty job has been done, the government is comong forward as the defender of Black people's rights. Blacks can sense that they are helpless. Guns are everywhere. Any white man can shoot a Black person and get away with it.
All Black people are not fooled by these tactics. Scroll down to a report sent by Solomon Commissiong who challenges Obama's claims. Strong stuff but worth reading.

Scroll down to a superb eyewitness account of Egypt BEFORE the revolution vs Mubarak. See photo of Coptic churches shimmering in the night. Then read Esam El-Amins article on the overhrow of President Morsi..

Esam Al-Amin's article on Egypt.
The new manipulation: The oppressors have learned to pull the strings of the oppressed.
President Morsi was victim of a well-organized plot.

We have the best article on the coup in Egypt with thanks to Counterpunch via a reader in Chicago. Esam El-Amin has analyzed it down to a T. New Trend was the first to note the network which brought President Morsi down but this goes into details. The TV images of "millions" of anti-Morsi protestors was a fraud inflicted by the Zionist media. The author shows that mathematically no more than 500,000 people could have fitted in that space.
The military-US-Israel plus Mubarak's people with funding from Saudi and Kuwait did it. This is astounding expose. Lengthy but a MUST READ. Please scroll to end.

Are we fasting Islamically? [Imam Ghazzali, died 1111 CE, knew this problem way back.]

"How could anyone expect to overcome the enemy of God and subdue his own appetite through fasting if, when he breaks his fast, he compensates himself for what he had missed during the day and even helps himself to more food and drinks of diverse kinds. It has thus become the custom to store up all the food for the month of Ramadan, wherein more food and drink are devoured than in several months. Yet it well known that the purpose of fasting is hunger and the suppression of lust so that the soul might be able to attain piety."
[From Imam Ghazzali's Kitab Asrar al-Sawm, translated by Nabih Amin Faris.]

Our America: Focus on Baltimore, Maryland
Outreach
Jamaat al-Muslimeen message on Key Issues to 200 Muslims at Rahmah masjid

On July 19, 2013, four pages of Jamaat al-Muslimeen literature was given to 200 Muslims after juma' salat at Masjid Rahma in western Baltimore, the biggest mosque in this state.. These were:

Clemency urged for Lynne Stewart [who defended Shaikh Omar Abdel Rahman].
Syed Qutb on power in Islam plus Allama Iqbal on Ibrahim's idol breaking mission.
Stalemate in Syria: Assad beaten back from Aleppo but reaches Homs. Pak Taliban arrive.
&. Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood did not run. 51 martyrs in a day. America's dilemma.
Islamic contributions of Asim Hussain & betrayal by ICNA.

Most people were Indo-Pakistanis, a few Arabs and some African Amereicans.

The khateeb was young and spoke well about Kaab ibn Malik. r.a., but missed the main point or was a typically depoliticized American Muslim.
Ka'ab. r.a., was boycotted till he repented because he missed jihad at Tabuk. The khateeb focused on a marginal aspect of the story: procrastination. Too scared to stay on the main point? Why not focus on the Prophet's, pbuh, life in Makka rather than distort jihad events in his life?

Focus on Baltimore: #2
Iftar at masjid Jamaat al-Muslimeen, Baltimore:
Focus on Badr and Ayesha, r.a. + Bilal, r.a., and the slave master.

On July 18, Br. Kaukab and the local imam spoke after Maghrib prayers at this small masjid in central Baltimore.

The iftar was multinational with delicacies cooked in the style of Ivory Coast, Senegal, Pakistan and USA.

Most people forget these two essential anniversaries during Ramadan which were brought up by the two speakers::

The Battle Of Badr: "And Allah has already made you victorious at Badr, when you were a weak little force . So be aware of Allah that you may be grateful." [The Qur'an 3:123.] [Badr is one of the very few historic events mentioned by name in the Qur'an.]

The anniversary of Ayesha, r.a.: She passed away on Ramadan 17, year 58 after hijra. So many people came out for her funeral as had not been seen in Madinah. Women were there in large numbers as well as villagers from the rural areas. Her funeral prayers were lead by Abu Huraira, r.a., after tahajjud . [Tabqat al-kubra, by Muhammad ibn Sa'ad, vol. 5, translated from Urdu.]

This was the greatest woman in the life of the Prophet, pbuh, as far as scholarship and leadership are concerned. Sections of the Qur'an sura 4, sura 24 and sura 33 are related to her as well as segments of Sahih Bukhari.

Br. Kaukab narrated how Ummaya. the slave master who used to torture Bilal, r.a., during slavery in Makkah, was slain by Bilal. r.a., at the battle of Badr.

The local imam pointed out that 313, the number of mujahideen at Badr, has become part of zikr in west Africa where people recite the names of Allah 313 times. He also pointed out that in West Africa, the muezzin is often called Bilal.

Fascism Rising in USA
Indefinite Detentions Approved
from Committee for Legitimate Government [CLG]

Obama wins back the right to indefinitely detain under NDAA
17 Jul 2013 The Obama administration has won the latest battle in their fight to indefinitely detain US citizens and foreigners suspected of being affiliated with terrorists under the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012. Congress granted the president the authority to arrest and hold individuals accused of terrorism without due process under the NDAA, but Mr. Obama said in an accompanying signing statement that he will not abuse these privileges to keep American citizens imprisoned indefinitely. These assurances, however, were not enough to keep a group of journalists and human rights activists from filing a federal lawsuit last year, which contested the constitutionality of Section 1021, the particular provision that provides for such broad power. On Wednesday this week, an appeals court in New York ruled in favor of the government and once again allowed the White House to legally indefinitely detain persons that fit in the category of enemy combatants or merely provide them with support.

[Obama, Sharpton, Beyonce, J-Z are exploiting public outrage like the generals did in Egypt.. Editor]

Black Voices Rising against Obama: Killing Children Globally but Sad about Trayvon?

Urworld Newz [via Solomon Commissiong]
Yesterday near Washington, DC [July 18]
Its interesting to see the giddy reactions of Obamites because Barack Obama said,"Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 yeas ago,". Any reason to believe their president actually gives a damn about the innocent murder of youth.
Question for you Mr. Barack Obama---can you envision yourself (whether 35 years ago or otherwise) as one of the thousands of Libya, Somalian, Yemeni, Afghan, or Pakistani children YOUR direct drone attacks have killed? YOUR direct orders have sent drone missiles to obliterate their communities and have destroyed thousands of "Trayvon Martins" throughout those areas. However, we should all know that Obama does not truly give a damn about the universal destruction of innocent youth----his direct orders kill youth. Are you that socially blind to only see the crime that took Trayvon Martin's life and NOT see the crimes that Obama has committed in taking the lives of countless youth in other parts of the world?

Meanwhile countless Obamite cult members are running around posting s..t on their twitter and Facebook pages celebrating as if their president has done something aimed at eviscerating the legacy of state sponsored brutality that targets people of color. And these cult members certainly don't seem to give a damn about the mass suffering inflicted upon innocent children throughout the globe, by their president.

And what has your president said about the Stop and Frisk epidemic? S..t, he is about to nominate Ray Kelly as the new Homeland Security head----this is the man who popularized and developed NYC's racist stop and frisk program. Obama is the same man that called the US a place of just laws right after the acquittal of the murderous police that killed Sean Bell in cold blood! Do you really think he gives a damn about justice and police brutality and institutional racism?

The connection of the imperialist killing of youth in places like Libya, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, must be attached to the brutal conditions people of color are subjected to here in the US. We must unite with our global neighbors to eradicate all forms of injustice, not just what you see going on within the imperialist country you dwell. Become an internationalist!!!!

Remember it was Martin Luther King Jr., who accurately stated, "Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere". My brothers and sisters----Barack Obama is currently one of the greatest threats to global peace and justice. He is a willing architect of injustice, building monuments of war and imperialism on the foundations of his followers' apathy.
Demand, Peace, Justice, Equality-----Everywhere!!!!!

Our America: Philadelphia, Pa.
Rally Decries 30+ Years of Unjust Detention for Mumia Abu Jamal
Also, Support for MOVE and Dr. Omar Abdel Rahman
By Nadrat Siddique
July 3, 2013

MOVE and other supporters of Mumia Abu Jamal rallied at 5th & Market Streets in Philadelphia on the eve of American Independence Day, to draw attention to the gross injustice against the political prisoner. While tourists from around the nation lined up to view the Liberty Bell a few hundred feet away, MOVE and Mumia supporters rallied in the 90 degree heat to draw attention to the irreparably broken Just-Us System, highlighting the case of Mumia. MOVE children, including some on skateboards, handed out literature to passersby on the case.

Using educational postcards handed to me by Pam Africa, I approached some of the tourists waiting to enter the Liberty Bell exhibit on the Mumia case. Many of the Asians did not speak English (or claimed not to), and eschewed the literature. A few--particularly young Caucasians--seemed genuinely interested when I reminded them that they were about to enter an exhibit symbolizing liberty, but that there was no liberty when journalists like Mumia could be held for exposing police brutality and governmental misdeeds.

The rally was supercharged by Pam Africa, spokesperson for International Concerned Friends and Family of Mumia Abu Jamal. In locks and khakis, she is a firebrand, affectionately called Queen Mother Pam, who worked tirelessly for over a decade for Mumia's freedom before it became cause célèbre. Seeing her reminded me how much I wished more Muslims had her consistency in working on political prisoner issues.

Pam Africa's sister, Ramona Africa, was a keynote speaker of the rally, calling powerfully for Mumia's freedom. Ramona is the sole survivor of the May 13, 1985 MOVE house bombing. On that day, a government helicopter bombed the MOVE house from the air—something one would expect in Bagdad, not in the Philadelphia neighborhood where it occurred. The attack killed five beautiful black children who were being raised in intact families and in accordance with MOVE's holistic, self-reliant lifestyle, designed to instill self-pride and historical awareness in the children. The leader of the group, John Africa, was also murdered in the attack, as were a number of other adults. It is difficult to argue that the government's aim was other than to terrorize and destroy the organization and its principles.

Short of stature but tall on courage, Ramona bears prominent scars on her forearms, testament to the fact that the government attempted to murder her and her entire extended family--for their espousal of a drug-free/alcohol free, self-sufficient, naturalist life style, which shunned subservience to the White Supremacist Power structure and honored all living beings. Incredibly, Ramona, after seeing so many of her family members perish in the resultant fire, remained undaunted and continued to speak forcefully for the release of the MOVE 9 (members of the MOVE organization captured in the government's long-running vendetta against the organization, and held political prisoner for decades), as well as for the freedom of Mumia Abu Jamal and others held unjustly by the U.S., usually for their political beliefs.

The July 3 rally was further addressed by Theresa Shoatz, daughter of Russell Maroon Shoatz. Russell Maroon Shoatz is a Black nationalist and political activist held by the U.S. government on concocted charges for over 30 years. Sr. Shoatz delivered what was perhaps the most poignant address of the gathering, saying that as long as her father was in solitary confinement, so remained her spirit in solitary; and that as long as her father was subjected to tasteless and nutritionally-devoid food presented by his captors, so tasted she only that horrid prison food.

Br. Shabazz, a representative of UNIA-ACL, spoke powerfully against the oppressive U.S. power structure. A Muslim woman who grew up in Mumia's neighborhood spoke on his integrity and strong stance for the rights of the oppressed even as a youth.

I was invited to the dais by Pam Africa, and had the privilege to speak on behalf of Jamaat al-Muslimeen. I offered solidarity to Mumia, reminded the Muslims and others in the audience that Islam was a faith which commanded its adherents to fight for justice and against oppression, and in particular to ally oneself with the struggle to free political prisoners ("Free the captive"). As an Asian and a Muslim, I apologized to the audience for the absence of "my people" from such vital actions, and the fact that their brainwashed status and alliance with the oppressive power structure would lead them to stand in long lines to view the Liberty Bell (at the very site--the original White House--where George Washington, owner of 316 slaves, had kept 9 of them!), rather than to stand up for a man--Mumia Abu Jamal--imprisoned solely for speaking the truth.

I lamented the failure of the Muslim community at large to come forth in the case of elderly Muslim cleric, hafiz-e-Quran, and political prisoner Dr. Omar Abdel Rahman at the time of his railroading on bogus terror/conspiracy charges, despite the fact that he was extremely well known and respected on the mosque speaking circuit, was entirely peaceful, and his criticisms were directed strictly at the dictatorship in Egypt (and against the looting of Egypt by American multinational corporations). The silence of the Muslim community in this very clear cut case of injustice--the effective live burial into the American Gulag of a blind, diabetic, Muslim elder and Qur'anic reciter, PhD from the most prestigious of Islamic universities, Al-Azhar--was, I said, a green light to the government to launch further broad spread attacks against the Muslim community, targeting anyone who was vulnerable or exhibited a measure of independent thinking. I ended with a prayer for the many political prisoners being held unjustly by the U.S.

A former Black Panther and Philadelphia journalist who reported on police brutality, Mumia has been held on very shoddy charges by the U.S. government for over 30 years, much of this on death row. Vast numbers of people have called for his release, including Hollywood celebrities and Nobel laureates, to no avail.

As I left the gathering, I was overwhelmed by the fact that I had just shared a dais with Pam and Ramona Africa. How many U.S. Muslims, faced with death, destruction of their families and their homes, and the long-term imprisonment of their family members--not for any wrongdoing, but for their beliefs and failure to succumb to the system--would respond with such patience, perseverance, and courage. It is the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims—a good time to reaffirm our commitment to the cause of the mustazafeen.

Ottawa, Canada
In Search of Justice for Mohammad Momin Khawaja in Canada
Supreme Court of Canada final verdict of December 14, 2012

At issue:
In March 2004, when arrested on bogus accusations of "terrorism', M. Momin Khawaja was 23 years old, recent graduate in computer science and active community worker. Momin was kept imprisoned for 5 years without a trial. The Government wanted to hold a secret trial without presenting evidence to the Defense Team. But strong public opposition to this draconian strategy, the Government agreed to hold a public court trial. In March 2009, the trial judge sentenced Momin Khawaja to 10.5 (ten and half years) with 5 years to serve for parole eligibility accused of "terrorism" in Canada and abroad. The prosecution failed to prove any accusations of terrorism ever happened in Canada. There was no tangible evidence except his e-mails to prosecute him in a court of law. When in 2008, his trial started in Canada; he had already spent almost five years in detention but was not credited for this time as most inmates are under the laws. The trial Judge acquitted him of terrorism charge related to the London Bomb accusation due to lack of evidence - this was the focal point of the prosecution. A US informant turned witness Junaid Babur testified in the trial that Momin Khawaja had no involvement in any bomb making nor had knowledge of the London Khyam group terrorist plan. Momin is kept in Guantanmobay type facility in Canada. In 2012, even in a high security prison, one inmate attacked Momin with boiling water and burnt good part of his body. The prison official did not investigate the attack nor laid charges against anybody. Contrary to the principles of law and justice, Momin Khawaja was put in a segregation cell for 1.5 years and remains there devoid of basic facilities. Momin has not committed any act of terror nor harmed anybody on this planet.

The original sentence was based that he donated $859. to a Pakistan-based afghan charity fund of displaced women and children that the prosecution claim had link to al-qaeda. There was no evidence to prove this assertion except a theory. He attended one day camp in northwest Pakistan, traveled to UK to meet some youngsters who were later charged with certain crimes. This was appealed at the provincial court and three judges extended the original 10.5 years into life time and 24 years sentence without hearing any evidence or facts of the case. The same formula is being used by the Supreme Court to authenticate the previous appeal's verdict and gave him consecutively one life sentence and 24 years to start consecutively with 10 yrs to be served for parole eligibility. There is no surety, he will be allowed for parole. The Supreme Court used the official myth of Islamic terrorism, asserting to be sending a strong message to all concerned. There is no "terrorism" flourishing in Canada except propagated by the few warmongers and the war industries. Momin Khawaja has not committed any crimes of terrorism nature, nor harmed anyone anywhere on this planet. His e-mails were used to prosecute him essentially based on thought crime. One of the Supreme Court judges hearing the appeal, made it known that there was no crime committed by him (Momin) nor charged to be given the life sentence. Few others judges had similar questioning of the previous unfair verdict. Yet, all have signed the final verdict.

It demonstrates built-in prejudice and unfair treatment towards Muslims and the people of Arab origins mostly covered by the term "terrorism."

We request all concerned citizens of the global humanity to write to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and to the Prime Minister of Canada asking to revisit the case for a an impartial REVIEW or retrial of the case or to free Momin Khawaja without any conditions. The important points should be:

What evidence-based or justifiable criteria is implied to deliver an exceptionally harsh and unfair sentence to Momin Khawaja? The original sentence of 10.5 yrs was increased to a life plus 24 years consecutively to be served with 10 years for parole. The final judgment lacked any evidence-based reasoning to substantiate the conclusion except political and religious animosity.
Momin Khawaja was acquitted by the trial judge of involvement in the London bomb plot. He has no criminal record and never posed any threat or violence to anybody on this planet.
Momin was not considered for double credits of the time served (almost 10 years) as it is applicable to all inmates under the Canadian laws and justice system.
There were wide range of opinions and discussions amongst the judges at the final Supreme Court hearing in June 2012, questioning the previous unfair verdict of the Ontario Appeal Court. But at the end, they all signed the document full of injustice.
There is no balancing act between the original sentence of 10.5 (ten and a half years sentence with 5 years for parole) and unusually increased harsh sentence to Life with 24 years to be served consecutively - 10 years for parole. This is clearly a travesty of justice.
Currently, M. Momin Khawaja is kept in a high security prison where there is no provision/system to apply for legally sanctioned parole after 10 years. This shows that the Canadian authorities are denying his basic legal rights to justice.
The writer should ask the Chief Justice and the Prime Minister (politely and logically) to have an impartial REVIEW of case / a retrial or to free Momin Khawaja..

Surely, public concerns will have direct impact. Both addresses are as follows:
Right Honorable Beverley McLachlin, P.C.
Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Canada
301 Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0J1 Canada
Fax: 1- 613-941-5817
Right Honorable Mr. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
Office of the Prime Minister 80 Wellington Street Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2 Canada
Fax: 1- 613-941-6900
E-mail: pm@pm.gc.ca

Weekend Edition July 19-21, 2013.From Counterpunch
With thanks to a reader in Chicago.
Detailed Analysis of US-Israel-Military Plotting of Egypt Coup with Saudi-Kuwaiti Backing
[Lengthy but it will show you how American public was mislead by coup plotters.]
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/07/19/the-grand-scam-spinnig-egypts-military-coup/

Travelogue: Eyewitness account of Egypt before the revolution.
Coptic Churches everywhere & Hosni's Palace! Who could have thought the people would rise up!

Dreaming in Egyptian..........**

By asqfish February 4, 2011

Image via Wikipedia
**The Dreaming is a term used by Aborigines to describe the relations and balance between the spiritual, natural and moral elements of the world.

I have arrived in Cairo alone. I am a day ahead of the tour that is supposed to take me on an educational tour of the Middle East.

At the airport a man from the tour company dressed in a suit is waiting for me in a limousine. I am seated and we are off to a hotel on the Nile...I drift to thirty years ago when I had arrived with my newly wed husband in the middle of Ramadan and were on our way also to a hotel on the Nile.

The roads are the same but the inhabitants on the road are different. I am stuck in rush hour traffic in Cairo. In the one and half hour drive to my hotel I enjoy the scenic route at a slow pace.

Multiple crosses lit up on a huge Coptic Church

I notice unlike thirty years ago, most of the women drivers and passengers in the cars are in hijab (head covering). The second major change is that the Coptic orthodox churches are very prominent and have an "in your face" visibility.

Isn't this the city of 2000 mosques?

Now traversing the highway it feels more like the city of churches. Every Coptic Church is lavishly lit up with neon sign crosses galore.

The third not inconsequential difference is popping up of the luxurious, handsome opulent buildings of the armed forces and the Government. They look elegant, solidly permanent with beautifully manicured gardens.

Hosni Mobarak's palace

The driver points out in a cynical tone to a barricade where the entry road and all surrounding roads are barricaded "That is the road to Hosni Mobaraks palace"

I arrive at the Hotel and opt to pay extra to get a room with a Nile view.

The Bell boy (man) is extremely polite and engaging. He is of that indeterminate age somewhere between 35 and 45, strong enough to lift my luggage but has aged with the lines of worry and strife written all over his face.

We exchange pleasantries in the traditional Muslim way I ask about his family and he asks about mine. He tells me he has two sons and his eyes light up in the tired lined face. He asks me what sort of a Doctor I am, and then promptly shares his concerns about one of his sons and asks for advice.

From my hotel window, the sun sets on the Nile

He tells me wistfully that he does not get to see them awake as he travels one and half-hour by bus to get to the hotel at 6 am, and when he returns they are already in bed asleep.

He is of the few who are fortunate to have a paying job.

"Why don't you live in Cairo?" I ask thinking about downtown housing at home.

A look comes over his face, "I cannot even dream of it" he says, a firm and accepting look on his face, unquestioning of the impregnable divide between the have's and the have-nots and resignation to that fate................

That night at 9 pm he will take the bus for one and one half hour to his home in the outskirts of Cairo and his boys will be asleep.

That was before Jan 25, 2011.

I meet a young college student, who tells me that when she goes to the mosque for Jumma she is followed and later questioned as to her relationship with other Muslim political groups, she thus gave up going to the mosque.

For Eighty years the older generation of Egyptians stopped dreaming and kept adjusting to what ever oppression was foisted on them. The fatalistic cynicism that comes with atheistic thinking has overtaken them.

Others feel that either God has forsaken them or that God has allocated them oppression and more oppression and this is their fate. yet others feel that their only way out is to immigrate to another country.

However immigration to the most popular country in the world (USA) is not possible, as it does not want Egyptians anymore. Right wing TV News has already drummed into the mind of the American TV Watchers that Egyptians are Arabs and that is another word for terrorists.

However I was all wrong..........about every thing and everyone in Egypt. Historically Egypt has grown strong, steadfast levelheaded practical men and women in the past. Why not now?

What I did not know that unbeknownst to all, a generation of Egyptian men and women were growing up in the land of oppression, who were dreaming of a life of dignity. They had set their sights for a nation without oppression, without fear of no one except God and a lack of attachment to things.

With the New Year 2011, came the drawing of the first blood. The Dictator of Tunisia crossed the line and the public took him down!

On Jan 25..............the generation of Egyptians who were dreaming decided to take action and make their dream come true.

Egypt against Mobarak: courtesy:http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/74500,in-pictures,new-in-pictures,egypt-million-man-protest-pictures-
To the horror of their elders who were well entrenched in the service of the establishment, these youth picked up the first stone to cast at the huge photo of Hosni Mubarak and the Egyptian dreaming morphed into the Egyptian Intifada................

Egypt: The first stone: Courtesy: http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/74629,in-pictures,new-in-pictures,egypt-protests-mubarak-fights-back-pictures,2

I wonder if the sons of the bellboy at the Hotel will grow up with out the fear of oppression. Whether the girl I met will be able to go to Jumma at the mosque without being harassed, and whether for once in eighty long years Egypt will rise as a Phoenix instead of being held down in stone near the Pyramids of Giza and show the way to other oppressed nations?

Of course I may just be Dreaming in Egyptian

A Bangladeshi show trial sentenced Prof. Ghulam who has not harmed anyone
Four Bangladeshis die in latest Azam unrest

Girl, nine, among victims, as police kill two protesters at rally for Ghulam Azam, spiritual leader of Jamaat-e-Islam.

Bangladeshi social activists took part in a nationwide strike over the conviction and sentencing of Azam [AFP]

Police have killed two people when they fired on demonstrators marching in southwest Bangladesh during a day-long nationwide strike in protest against the conviction of former Islamist party leader Ghulam Azam for war crimes. Al Jazeera's Tanvir Chowdhury, reporting from Dhaka, said that the protesters were among four people to die, including a nine-year-old girl, in the latest violence to hit Bangladesh over the war crimes tribunal verdict District deputy police chief Tajul Islam said on Tuesday that thousands of protesters from Bangladesh's largest Islamic party, Jamaat-e-Islami, rampaged with sticks and machetes, as well as throwing homemade, bombs in Satkhira district. Islam said Jamaat supporters attacked a police officer as officers tried to clear a main road blocked by fallen trees in the town of Kaliganj, as part of protests over the conviction of Azam Jamaat's spiritual leader, by a court on Monday. "They hacked him with a machete," Islam said of the attack on the police officer. "We opened fire at them to rescue the officer. Two Jamaat activists were hit by bullets and they died." He said that several people were injured in the melee. A Bangladesh war crimes tribunal found Azam guilty of masterminding atrocities during the 1971 war of independence against Pakistan. The 90-year-old was found guilty by the International Crimes Tribunal on five charges including murder and torture. Nationwide strike Jamaat, a key member of the opposition, called a nationwide strike to protest against the verdict, saying the war crimes trials were aimed at eliminating its leaders. Chowdhury said that two people, including a nine-year-old girl, were killed in separate incidents of picketing in the industrial town of Gazipur, on the outskirts of Dhaka, and Dinajpur in northern Bangladesh on Tuesday. At least three people died on Monday in clashes after the verdict was announced. Azam supporters said the trial was politically motivated, while opponents are furious that he was not sentenced to death. Three tribunal judges announced their verdict in a packed courtroom in the Dhaka. They said that he deserved the death sentence, but a jail term was preferred due to his advanced age and health complications. Azam's lawyer Toby Cadman said in a written statement that the defence team would immediately start in its preparation to mount an appeal.

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Extensive coverage of war crimes trials and calls for blasphemy laws that have divided the nation.

Deadly street violence erupted across Bangladesh before and after the judgement, handed down by the International Crimes Tribunal. In Dhaka, Azam supporters used homemade bombs in clashes wirh police, who fired baton rounds. Local media said that at least three Jamaat-e-Islami activists were killed in Bangladesh on Monday. Two were beaten to death by opposition activists in southwestern Kushtia district as they tried to block a road. One was killed in northwestern Chapainawabganj district when paramilitary border guards opened fire after a bomb was thrown at police. Police also fired baton rounds at protesters in the cities of Bogra, Comilla and Rajshahi after activists went on the rampage, attacking and burning dozens of vehicles, police officials told AFP.

Azam's lawyer lashes out on Al Jazeera against war crimes verdict

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty for Azam, describing him as a "lighthouse" who guided all war criminals, and the "architect" of the militias which committed many of the 1971 atrocities. When India intervened at the end of the nine-month war and it became clear Pakistan was losing, the militias killed dozens of professors, playwrights, filmmakers, doctors and journalists. Azam was described as the "mastermind" of the massacres of the intellectuals. Many of their bodies were found a few days after the war at a marsh outside the capital, blindfolded and with their hands tied behind their backs. Azam is the fifth person convicted by the International Crimes Tribunal. Three people have been sentenced to death for their role and one was given life imprisonment. Previous verdicts by the tribunal have sparked widespread and deadly violence on the streets of Bangladesh.

2013-07-21 Sun 19:36:35 cdt
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