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Dr Kaukab Siddique | Editor-in-Chief Ramadan 25 ,1434/August 3, 2013 # 32


Spanish Dawa: See below from Br. Solano.


See Imam Badi Ali's comment on Palestine "peace talks" below .


Documentation: Egypt's General Sisi and secularist leader El-Baradei were in contact with Israel before the coup.
Worth reading. Please scroll to end.


Eid prayer based on crescent sighting will be held, inshallah, in Baltimore, Maryland at Masjid Jamaat al-Muslimeen, 4624 York Road, Baltimore, MD 21212. Call these numbers to check on sighting and prayer timing: 443-622-2962 and 610-880-1803


Atlanta: Georgia
A major Effort is underway to help homeless Women and Children.

Remember when we work in unity Allah blesses us more. Help people who are hungry, without a place to sleep, the abused and the ill. Support the Baitul Salaam Network, Inc. go to www.baitulsalaam.org to know more, in shaa Allah.
 Baitul Salaam - Home
Baitul Salaam - Home
www.baitulsalaam.org


Freedom for Palestine: Rally in New York: August 2
by Abu Talib [Jamaat al-Muslimeen, Brooklyn, New York.]

I went to Quds day in New York which was held on 42th and 7th Avenue in Manhattan by the Quds Committee of New York with several organizations including the International action Center. There were about two hundred people there at the rally for Palestine and for oppressed people around the world who are fighting for Justice for their people.

There were several chants saying free Palestine with the Flag of Palestine which was highly visible.

There were members of the Jewish community who were there in support of Palestine.

Jamaat al-Muslimeen had its presence there at the rally in support of Palestine.Many Muslims are not aware as to Quds day around the world but the struggle continues to educate the Muslims and Non Muslims to the issue of Palestine and what we need to do right here inside the Empire.


In Washington:
Al-Quds Day: For the liberation of Jerusalem: On August 2, a well attended rally was held in Washington, DC, starting at Sheridan circle, calling for the liberation of Palestine and the recovery of Masjid al-Aqsa.

Imam Khomeini initiated this activism held on the last Friday of every Ramadan.

[Note from Nadrat Siddique.]


Breaking News: Syria
Children Used by Assad Tanks as Human Shields: Assad troops enter Homs but are blown up.

August 3. Syrian jet fighters raided a refugee camp on the Lebanese-Syrian border killing 9 civilians and wounding several others.

August 1: UN observers have noticed a series of new atrocities by Bashar al-Assad's troops against civilians in Syria.In a village known as Ayn l'Arouz in Idlib province, Syrian troops tied local children on their tanks to avoid mujahideen attacks. The UN has noticed that numbers of civilians have been killed in the area by an Assad tank column. Some of them, including 4 children, were burned alive by the Alawite troops. UN observer Radhika Commarswami said: "I have never seen such terrible atrocities against children."

Meanwhile on July 31, Assad's tank columns supported by Hizbullah fighters from Lebanon finally made it into the major city of Homs where the armed civilian resistance withdrew after almost running out of ammunition. Several thousand civilians have been killed and wounded by the Assad troops using heavy artillery on Muslim areas of Homs.

A video posted on line by the resisters indicated heavy artillery shells landing on the hospitals in Homs to deny medical help to the people.

On August 1, Assad's troops stopped rejoicing when mujahideen said to be from al-Nusra located in another area of the vast city of Homs scored direct hits on Assad's ammunition stores. A huge ball of fire emerged and first reports indicate at least 40 of Assad's troops were killed and more than 100 wounded. [BBC and other observers.]

In the suburbs of Damascus, Assad's attempts to push back the Islamic fighters failed again in fighting lasting from July 30 to August 2.

July 31: Islamic fighters also advanced into the Alawite heartland on the coast. Heavy fighting is reported from al-Haffeh area.

Assad's attempts to advance into Aleppo have failed agan. The mujahideen have established Sharia and are distributing bread to the people through temporary bakeries. About 150 Alawite troops were killed in the Islamic victory in this area. Of these were 30 of Assad's officers who were executed for crimes against the population

Saudi Arabia is reported to be trying to arm the secular opposition to counter the Islamics as demanded by the US.


Breaking News: Egypt
Muslim Brotherhood with Huge Public support defies General Sisi's Treachery & Threats

August 2 and 3:Huge crowds supporting President Morsi paraded through Cairo and other cities even as General Sisi's front organizations threatened slaughter and mass murder. The Islamics came out of mosques after Friday prayers. As they marched through the streets, they held up copies of the Qur'an opened up to key passages teaching the Fear of Allah and the need to speak truth to the Pharoah. Thousands of pictures of President Morsi, glorifying his election, were visible as were portraits of General Sisi with a noose around his neck.

On July 5 the military killed 51 supporters of Morsi and injured more than 300 as they came out of Fajr prayers. Then on July 27, the military carried out an even bigger massacre killing 120 Islamic people and injuring nearly a thousand. The unarmed and peaceful supporters of Morsi refused to disperse.

August 2 was a day of serous threats from the new Pharoah of Egypt but the peaceful Morsi masses scored a clear victory. A torrent of abuse, lies, slander and conspiracy theories to defame the Muslim Brotherhood has been coming out of Egypt's state owned/controlled media. The secularists and supporters of ex-president Mubarak are very pleased but Morsi supporters have gained much more support as people see a new tyrant in the Israeli agent Sisi.

America's Dilemma: The Americans used the military to overthrow Morsi, After the military opened fire killing 51 at Fajr, the Americans thought Muslim Brotherhood would be scared to death. The opposite happened. Now the Americans face this dilemma: If the military kills huge numbers of Muslims [as Assad did in Syria], many people could give up the peaceful movement and join al-Qaida. Its leader, an Egyptian himself, seems to be ready to take over. On August 2 Dr al-Zawahiri issued this statement as reported by wire services and al-Jazeera:

[Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian-born head of al-Qaeda, accused the US of "plotting" Morsi's overthrow with the Egyptian military and the country's Christian minority.

"Crusaders and secularists and the Americanised army have converged ... with Gulf money and American plotting to topple Mohamed Morsi's government," he said in a 15-minute audio recording posted online.

In his first comments since July 3 - when Morsi was removed from power, Zawahiri also attacked Morsi's secular opposition and Coptic Christians, who he said wanted a secessionist state in Egypt, and called for a mass movement to install Islamic law. ]

[It should be noted that years back Dr. Al-Zawahiri predicted that after the overthrow of Mubarak, America will bring al-Baradei as the "democratic" leader of Egypt.] [Also see below Zawahiri's message on Dr. Aafia and the Gitmo hunger striking prisoners, Distributed by Reuters.]



The roots of oppression of women in America, even when they are in Muslim garb. Important report by Sis. Aisha, Jamaat al-Muslimeen, New York. Please scroll way down


Spanish Da'wah: Hunger among Latinos for Islam
From Br. Robert Solano, Jamaat al-Muslimeen Shoora leader, in Texas

Some eight years ago, The American Muslim Council stated that there are approximately 200,000 Latino Muslims in the United States. It would be interesting to know what the number is in the year 2013. We know that the Hispanic (Latino) population in the US has increased by a few millions in the last eight years but we have no true count as to the number that has reverted to Islam. As it stands now we have over twenty million Latinos in the USA and most of them are bilingual. It is fertile ground for Dawah. The US is the seventh largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. Currently there are 3/4 of a million Muslims in Argentina and over one million Muslims in other Latin American (including Brazil), countries. The local mosque in Brownsville, Texas has copies of the Qur'an in Spanish for those that visit it and would like to keep one. There are also several different types of CD's in Spanish explaining the Five Pillars of Islam. A group from Egypt sends out literature in Spanish about Islam to anybody that requests it. I will go into this in a future article. What is important for us to understand is that there is a hunger among Latinos to learn about Islam and that it is our Islamic duty to help them in this task. We can start by introducing a Surah to our Spanish Speaking friends and ask them if you are pronouncing it correctly. It goes like this in Spanish:

¡En el nombre de Alá, el Compasivo, el Miksericordioso! 1. Di: "Él es Alá, Uno, 2. Dios, El Eterno. 3. No ha engendrado, ni ha sido engendrado. 4. No tiene par".
If they seem interested, explain to them that there are a total of 114 Surah in the "Coran" and that this is 112.
By doing so you have introduced your neighbor or friend to a very important Pillar or concept of Islam.


Jamaat al-Muslimeen Shoora leader Imam Badi Ali [North Carolina] speaks on Palestine "peace talks!"
Israel taking Opportunistic Advantage of Muslim World's turmoil.

July 30: Imam Badi told New Trend that Palestine not only belongs to the Palestinians but to the entire Islamic world. Mahmoud Abbas has no right to carry out "peace talks" with Israel. No one has given him that right. The Kerry initiative seems to be a well thought out opportunistic move to take advantage of the turmoil in the Muslim world and the month of fasting.

Palestine, Imam Badi said, is occupied territory and the First Qibla of Islam, the sacred Masjid al-Aqsa, has been desecrated and is under the heels of the Israeli military.
Not only the people of the West Bank but the people of Gaza have been left out of this so called peace initiative. This activity, Imam Badi concluded, is hurtful to the conscience of the Muslim world and is well coordinated to plot and plan against Palestine while the Muslim nations are busy with their internal conflicts.


Latest Khutba by Br. Kaukab Siddique, Ameer of Jamaat al-Muslimeen
The Qur'an, the Night of Power and the Four Idols of the West: Pray for Spiritual Values.

On August 2, Br. Kaukab gave the juma khutba at Masjid Jamaat al-Muslimeen in Baltimore, Maryland. The mosque was packed owing to the last Friday of Ramadan. Here are the main points of the khutba.

Part 1 of the khutba

Laylatul Qadr is the night in which the Qur'an was revealed to Muhammad, pbuh. This greatest event in human history calls us to the message of the Qur'an. It is a transformational message to bring justice and Islamic, God oriented, values to the world.

Hadith tells us that we should seek the blessings of this night in the odd numbered nights of the last 10 days of Ramadan: 21, 23, 25, 27,29 although some narratives favor 27.

Ask Allah for the best needs we have but refrain from material demands because material things pass away and can sometimes be harmful to our well being. Instead pray for spiritual enrichment, such as:
  1. Compassion.

  2. Love for the oppressed.

  3. Fearlessness against oppression.

  4. Taqwa [constant connection with Qur'an and hadith.]

  5. Forgiveness.

  6. Repentance and contrition.

  7. Generosity.

  8. Health.

  9. Virtuous and loving spouses.

  10. Children who want to be good Muslims.


Part II of Khutba
Islam has come to break the idols of human authority and tyranny and to accept authority only from Allah and his righteous servants who follow the Sunnah of Muhammad, pbuh.
The Qur'an teaches us that Ibraheem [Abraham], pbuh, broke the idols of his father. The hadith teaches us that Muhammad, pbuh, smashed the idols placed by the oppressors in the holy Ka'aba.
The West in our own world worships idols but often we don't recognize them as idols to be dismantled. The biggest are:
  1. Racism. Islam does not accept the inferiority or superiority of any race. We are all from Allah and we have the choice to go for Good or Evil. Malcolm X recognized this when he went to Makka that "white" is a mental condition. Many White people embraced him as a long lost brother. We must deal with people as individuals, not as groups,

  2. Nationalism. Allah made us into nations and tribes . It is okay to help our nations, but if we value our nation above others regardless of whether our nation is doing right or wrong, then we are violating Islamic values. I must see what Pakistanis are doing; not support them simply because they are Pakistanis and I am from them.

  3. Zionism. This great evil has been plunged like a dagger into the heartland of Islam. Many Americans worship this idol without even knowing what is Zionism. We must educate our Ummah about the twisted mindset of this ugliest of idols.

  4. Imperialism. Those who have power in the West go into Africa and the Muslim world to control and exploit our resources. When our people resist, the western militaries go in and occupy our lands.


We must understand that if we keep praying and fasting but do not break these idols, we are ignoring the reason why the Qur'an was revealed, which was to put an end to human authority and to replace it with the authority of Allah. In its essence the Night of Power is telling us that Power and Authority belong to Allah alone.


Our America:
Fascism Rising Led by Zionists & Obama
Snowden revealed unauthorized spying on the entire American Public

Source: Citizens for Legitimate Government [CLG]

XKeyscore: NSA tool collects 'nearly everything a user does on the internet' --XKeyscore gives 'widest-reaching' collection of online data --NSA analysts require no prior authorization for searches --Sweeps up emails, social media activity and browsing history 31 Jul 2013 A top secret National Security Agency program allows analysts to search with no prior authorization through vast databases containing emails, online chats and the browsing histories of millions of individuals, according to documents provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden. The NSA boasts in training materials that the program, called XKeyscore, is its "widest-reaching" system for developing intelligence from the internet. The latest revelations will add to the intense public and congressional debate around the extent of NSA surveillance programs. They come as senior intelligence officials testify to the Senate judiciary committee on Wednesday, releasing classified documents in response to the Guardian's earlier stories on bulk collection of phone records and Fisa surveillance court oversight.


Please Send Eid Good Wishes to top Islamic Political Prisoners. One of them is:

Jamil Abdullah Al Amin 99974555
USP Florence Admax/US Penitentiary/
P.O. box 8500
Florence Co 81226.

AhmedAbdelSatter.org

FreeMasoudKhan.net

FreeZiyadYaghi.info


Egyptian American Tarek Mehanna's sentence is being appealed. He spoke forcefully against occupation of Muslim lands and was sentenced to 17 plus years!

50 supporters and parents came to the hearing. {His friend turned informer!]

He was convicted as "terrorist material supporter" on the basis of his videos of 9.11 and "suicide bombings." Scroll to end.


Our America
Clear Qur'an & Hadith on Moon Sighting for Eid Dumped by ISNA.
White House Oriented Group Uses Funds to Mislead Muslims Across America


The following information is from Dr. Omar Afzal debunking ISNA's attack on the Sunnah Muhammad, pbuh

Dear All, Salaam
ISNA Fiqh Council announcement about Eid al-Fitr 2013 date (August 9, Thursday) is a marvel of WHATEVER SUITS US - right or wrong.
Islamic Month

  1. The Qur'an says: Shahru Ramadan... (2: 183-185) counted by Ahilla (2:189) "Mawaaqeet-u lin-Naas...

  2. The Prophet instructed: La Tasuumu Hatta tara-wul-Hilaala wa la-Tuftiruu Hatta Tarauhu. (Bukhari, Muslim)
    ISNA Fiqh Council says: Ahilla are NOT MAWAAQEET; astronomical calculations (of the conjunction) are.
    A Hadith says: Every Islamic month is to be counted from the sighted moon to the next sighted moon.
    ISNA says: Calculate the days of the month

  3. When a companion of the Prophet, pbuh, claimed a sighting from the outskirts of Medina (not seen in the city) the Prophet (PBUH) asked:
    Did you see the Hilaal?
    The answer was: Yes. I visualized (I saw by my own eyes) (Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Daud, etc.)

ISNA Fiqh Council says: No sighting required.
Astronomical calculations are a VALID method of lunar month's affirmation.
Ru'yah (Visualize, by Human Eye)
The word Ru'yah when used in the Qur'an and Ahadith for physical objects like the sun and the moon, always meant "visual"
affirmation - its primary meaning (al-An'aam:76-78, 20:10, etc).
Its secondary use for "To perceive" is when the object is a non-physical entity.
Z. Shah of FCNA is not the first to hoodwink. Kahf also did it earlier in 1978 to justify Saudi dates for N. America.
ISNA Fiqh Council says: Ru'yah NOT REQUIRED.
Calculated Moon

  1. The Jews in Medina (during the Prophet's time) knew exact astronomical calculations and practiced their feasts by their lunar calendar, based on the conjunction (New Moon at Jerusalem).

The Prophet (PBUH) asked the Muslims to look for a Hilaal, (and not depend on the calculated dates)
ISNA Fiqh Council says: "Scientifically guaranteed astronomical calculation" is "the valid method."
Local or Global Sighting (Hadith of Kuraib)

  1. The earth is a GLOBE, and not FLAT.

  2. The Hilal is SEEN over the entire globe in 3-4 evenings.

The Hadith affirms: A Moon sighted LOCALLY cannot be counted as SEEN all over the world.
Local sighting (in Syria) was DISCOUNTED for Medina when the moon was NOT SEEN in Medina.
ISNA Fiqh Council says: Chile, Brazil sighting on August 8, 2013 is a Valid Sharai Dalil for celebrating Eid on August 9
(the last day of Ramadan by the sighted Hilaal in North America).


Letter from UK.
Huma Abdein's Marriage with Jewish pervert Weiner: Haram activity or Apostacy?

I have been a keen reader of your online magazine for many years now. The fresh news contained therein, both US and international, has been of great benefit to me. Unfortunately, I had a (mis)conception that most Muslims in the US were completely defeated mentally, especially after 9/11. NTM, gives a clear Islamic perspective each and every time, challenging unorthodoxy with the Islamic evidences, regardless of what the prevailing powers at large may say.

Here, I would like to discuss the Huma Abedin case. I'm sure that you are aware that this individual has not only disgraced the Muslim community with her openly flaunted 'relationship' and HARAAM marriage to a perverted zionist jew, but also her late father; Dr. Zayn ul Abedin, a distinguished scholar who tirelessly fought for and campaigned for the rights of Muslim minorities in the world.

Firstly, from what little I understand, Huma's 'marriage' is definately HARAAM. Now, as to the question whether she is an apostate or not (as you stated in the Ramadan 18 ,1434/July 27, 2013 of NTM) , specific information needs to be established. Does Huma DENY the clear Islamic hukm on Muslim females marrying kuffar? If she does then without a doubt she is an apostate. NB. the Western media consistently salivate when describing this whore's as being a 'practising/devout Muslim'! As she was raised and educated until her late teens in Saudi Arabia, I find it untenable and inconceivable that this woman is ignorant of the clear Islamic ruling on this issue. What I cannot fathom is her mother; Saleha's, attitude! I have emailed both the Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, where both her mother and brother; Hassan, are on the board of directors, demanding redress on this issue, to no avail! Dr. Saleha (a muhaajiba) is a prominent member of faculty of the prestigious 'Dar Al Hekma' school in Jeddah.

I am willing to be corrected on this issue, but Huma's mother ATTENDED her 'wedding' to Weiner! I have read with amusement the numerous conspiracy theories by 'haters' who claim that Huma is a 'MB spy' deep undercover! This line of 'discussion' is as legitimate as their (the 'haters) claiming that Obama is a 'closet Muslim'! I am saddened that I have yet to read an open and clear denunciation of this women and her 'zina' with the jew Weiner (I have yet to read or hear that Weiner had converted to Islam prior to the wedding!). If this Munkar is allowed to stand unopposed then it is will give card blanche to Muslim females the world over to conduct similar 'relationships'.

In my limited capacity I have responded to any article which has discussed this issue and the allegations that Huma is 'deep undercover'! For one thing, this supposed 'super Taqiyya' hasn't brought ANY benefit for Muslims! Infact, with 'weeny Weiner's' long track record of sexual perversity (including the recent revelations); amongst his other behavioural inconsistencies, coupled with Huma's disgraceful shows of support, have only humiliated Muslims further! I wonder what CAIR have got to say? In the UK we have the 'Muslim Council of Britain' (a British version of CAIR), the MCB very often 'apologise' and 'beg for forgiveness' even BEFORE being orderd by the authorities, to do so!

I apologise for the length of my email.
Your brother in Islam
Was Salaamualaykum Wa Rahmatuallah!
Aziz


For both Men and Women, Islam applies the same law.
Does Islam Allow Muslim Men To Marry Non-Muslim Women in America?
This is one of the most widely distributed Islamic articles in America since 2008.


Published from Asqfish's March 22, 2008 issue by permission.
Q. I have been told that Muslim women are not allowed to marry non-Muslim men but Muslim men are permitted to marry non-Muslim women. What does Islam say?

Answer by Professor Dr. Kaukab Siddique:

Islam teaches that marriage is half the faith. Marriage is one of the most powerful means for the spread of Islam. It turns hostile communities into friends. The Qur'an used it to break up the well-established system of slavery in pre-Islamic Arabia and then in the rest of the Islamic commonwealth.

Islam does not permit a Muslim, male or female, to marry a non-Muslim, especially in countries like the U.S., China and India where Muslims are minorities.

In a fully developed Islamic state, where Islam is dominant, Muslim men are sometimes allowed to marry non-Muslim women who are chaste and follow the original teachings of Moses and Jesus, pbuh.

In America, people coming in from Arab countries have propagated the view that Muslim men are allowed to marry non-Muslim women. Not only is this an incorrect view it has seriously damaged the Islamic cause in America.

This country has become more pagan than Christian and a non-Muslim woman who comes into a Muslim home is backed by the entire power of the secular State system and the children of such a marriage are educated by a secular education system. Other than in very exceptional cases, such a marriage is very damaging.

Tens of thousands of American and African-American women have embraced Islam during the last two decades. These men who are marrying non-Muslim women are denying marriage to those women who have embraced Islam. Racism and nationalism are often involved in the Muslim male's decision to marry non-Muslim [usually White] women.

Why have U.S. Muslims been so misled? It has to do with inability to study the Qur'an in CONTEXT and the desire to study the Qur'an WITHOUT the help of the Hadith of the Prophet, pbuh. If we were to know HOW to study Islam, such questions would not arise.

The Qur'an makes it very clear that marriage is to be based only on FAITH in ALLAH and that one of its purposes is to UNDERMINE SLAVERY. Marriage based on CLASS STRUCTURE and NATIONALISM is a clear violation of Islam. Here is what the Qur'an says:

"Do not marry women who associate others with Allah [mushrikat] until they believe. A slave woman who believes is better than one who associates others with Allah [mushrika] even though she allures you. Nor marry men who associate others with Allah [mushrikeen] until they believe: A male slave who believes is better than one who associates others with Allah [mushrik] even though he allures you. They [associaters] beckon you to the Fire but Allah beckons by His Grace to the Garden [of Bliss] and forgiveness, and makes His Signs clear to mankind that they may receive admonition." [2:221]

Notice that I have written the Arabic word in brackets. It is often incorrectly translated as "disbelievers" and "idolaters" although mushrik is one who associates others with Allah.

All interpretations must end when there is a clear Hadith of the Prophet, pbuh, on the issue. He never recommended marriage with non-Muslim women. Addressing men, he makes it quite clear that Islamic integrity and faith is the requirement for marriage:

"The messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, said: Women are married for 4 reasons: for wealth, for family nobility, for beauty and for Deen: You should marry for Deen, otherwise may your hands be rubbed in the dirt." [Narrated by Abu Huraira, r.a., in the Sahih of Bukhari and the Sahih of Muslim.]

Deen is a comprehensive term for piety, knowledge and practice of Islam, and Fear of Allah.

Our Arab brothers try to take advantage of a permission granted in chapter 5 of the Qur'an to marry women from the People of the Book: These brothers [conveniently?] ignore the fact that the verse they are using was revealed after the victory of Islam when Islam had become the dominant force in Madinah: " ... [lawful unto you in marriage] are not only chaste women who are believers but chaste women among the People of the Book revealed before your time ...." [5:5] This is a legal "permission" within a context of Islamic dominance. The Prophet, pbuh, does not recommend it. What is legal is not necessarily the best course. And Allah knows best.


Zawahri vows Al Qaeda to free Aafia, Guantanamo inmates

Reuters
 Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri. — Photo by AFP
Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri. — Photo by AFP
Published 2013-07-31 12:07:03

DUBAI: Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri said the group would spare no effort to free Aafia Siddiqui as well as the hunger striking inmates at Guantanamo Bay, according to an audio recording posted on the Internet on Wednesday.

"The (hunger) strike by our brothers at Guantanamo unmasks the true ugly face of (the United States of) America," Zawahri said in an audio recording posted on an Islamist website and whose authenticity could not be verified.

"We will spare no effort to free all our prisoners, on top of whom are Omar Abdel Rahman, Aafia Siddiqui, Khaled Sheikh Mohammed and every oppressed Muslim everywhere...," he added.

He did not elaborate on what Al Qaeda intended to do, but militants have in the past kidnapped Westerners and sought to trade them for jailed associates.

Al Qaeda has also claimed responsibility for simultaneous raids on two Iraqi prisons last week in which they said more than 500 inmates had been set free. And in Pakistan, Taliban broke over 175 prisoners out of a jail on Tuesday.

Some 166 men, most of whom were rounded up in counter-terrorism operations since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, are currently being held at a US military base in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

Many have been on hunger strike to protest their indefinite detention, with some being force-fed.

Zawahri also denounced Washington's use of drone strikes targeting Islamists, saying it was a sign of the defeat of US campaigns in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen.

Drone strikes have been widely criticised by rights groups who say the strikes often miss their targets and hit civilians.

"These spying planes will not protect you from defeat, but rather are a sign of your failure and the repeated failure of your government," Zawahri said, addressing US President Barack Obama.


Grand Ayatollah Sistani Calls for Shia-Sunni Unity.
[Message from Iraq posted on the Internet.]

 Sunnis not our brethren, but our souls, says Ayatollah Sistani
Great Iraqi Shiite cleric (Marja) has stressed that Shiites should assume the Sunnis as their souls.
In 2007, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Iraqi Shiite marja issued a landmark message on Shiite-Sunni unity. Recently, with the outbreak of unrest in Iraq, he has reissued the message.

"There is no real difference between Shiite and Sunni beliefs, and I am the servant of all Iraqis [either Sunni or Shiite]," he emphasizes. "I love everyone, and this religion [Islam] is the religion of love," he adds. He expresses his surprise that how the enemy could have succeeded to divide Islamic sects.

Sistani's message, also sent to first Conference of Sunni and Shiite Scholars, asserts that " this kind of conferences are highly important, since they help Shiites and Sunnis find out that there is no real difference between their beliefs, and the difference simply is on legal (Fiqh) issues."

"Shiites should defend Sunnis' social and political rights before defending their own rights, and we call [everyone] for unity," Ayatollah Sinstani adds. "As I have said before, Shiites should not call Sunnis their brethren, but their 'souls.'

"We should attend Sunnis' Friday prayers more than Shiite's. We do not discriminate between Arabs and Kurds, and Islam has collected all of us [under common umbrella]," he asserts.

Sistani also points to Sunni legal issues and says that "we [Muslims] are united in Kaaba (Holy Shrine), prayer, and fasting."

"During Saddam's era, I saw many Sunnis' conversion to Shea'ism. When asked why they converted, they answered that they converted to Shea'ism in order to attain Ahlul-Bayt friendship," Sistani accounts, and "I was telling them that Sunni Imams (four Sunni Scholars) had defended Ahlul-Bayt.


From Jamaat al-Muslimeen Representative in New York.
Male Dominance & Female Lack of Self-Respect: Islam is the Solution, not just formal Islam!

Today, 08/01/2013, I was just watching an episode of People's Court with Judge Milian. I believe it was a repeat. An older Muslim woman, whose husband committed adultery and gave her an STD, was suing Marquita Tilley for assaulting her car. This Muslimah was married to a man named Khalif Freeman, who has been in and out jail. He was in jail at the time this court episode aired. The Muslimah was dressed from head to toe in Islamic dress, including a hijab! I believe she was a Black American.

The defendant, Marquita Tilley, looked to be in her twenties and had revealed that she gave birth to a son with Khalif Freeman. Basically, this Muslimah shared her husband with this other woman. She even referred to Marquita Tilley as his co-wife! After the cheating and the STD giving, she still had a relationship with him. However, Marquita stated that she had a copy of the Muslimah's divorce decree. Judge Milian asked the Muslimah why did she keep referring to this man as her husband, if they were divorced? The Muslimah responded that Islamically he would always be her husband because they got married twice!

This Muslimah looked so pathetic! She did win her case against the defendant in the amount of $1,683, I believe, for the damage done to her car. It was so asinine that she chose to sue in this matter rather than let it go. She has serious low self-esteem issues!

I, definitely, understand the reason for adultery being a deadly sin in Islam. You have these spouses wandering around and consorting with the kuffar, picking up their diseases, and infecting their families with them! Plus, they sire or bear children outside of marriage. This affects all of society, negatively! It destroys it! What encourages this behavior on the part of men is male chauvinism and the belief that many women have that they MUST accept this from their husbands. They are taught this nonsense by their mothers.

Research has shown that as boys grow older their self-esteem increases and that a girl's decreases as she gets older. There is such a disparity in how both sexes are raised in America. This society not only had racism to contend with but, sexism as well. It used to be that a husband could paddle or use corporal punishment on his wife if she engaged in unsatisfactory behavior. The husband was also seen as the provider and maintainer of his family.

However, though this is still a male chauvinistic society, the men hide behind their women. She must handle the familial and financial affairs. More is expected of girls in school and at home. They are given instructions on how to conduct themselves like young ladies and discouraged from engaging in premarital sex. However, if she should express any concerns or complain about the noticeable disparity in how she is treated compared to her brothers, she is told by her mother that is just the way things are and to deal with it. This happens in the classroom, too! Females who voice their concerns, especially mothers, are labeled nags!

It's no wonder that a woman's self-esteem is non-existent! She is told most of her life that her feelings do not matter.

The boys, on the other hand, are never given any instruction, now. They are not told about their bodies, the immorality of premarital sex, or even about the manipulative women lurking around for them. What usually happens is that these boys start engaging in sexual promiscuity without any stern warning from their parents, especially fathers. Instead, the common response regarding young male promiscuity is either boys will be boys or the boys don't bring the babies home. They grow up to become irresponsible young men who are incapable of taking care of themselves or their families.

It is very common to have an unemployed, male adult living at home with his parents. This is not due to financial issues. They just weren't given the tools they'd need to become independent. Women, be it their mothers or unlucky wives, pick up their slack.

As with any form of oppression, whether it's racism or male chauvinism, the oppressor believes that he should be accommodated by the very people he oppresses. Mothers accommodate and reinforce their sons poor behavior. What these young men expect are for women to swoon at their feet ready and willing to accommodate in every way that their mothers did! When these young, self-empowered women scoff at them then, comes the insults and the questioning of their sexual orientation.

The answer to male chauvinism is not feminism. Feminism has driven a further wedge between men and women plus, it emasculates men.

Fortunately, the text for how Muslims should conduct themselves is laid out in the Holy Qur'an and authentic Hadith. Unfortunately, Muslim converts and their offspring, be it in America or elsewhere, are not submitting themselves to Allah, completely. We cannot give our children Muslim names and send only the wife and kids to Jummah and let that be it! The first step is to finally realize that these chauvinistic traditions of our well-meaning parents, grandparents, etc are un-Islamic and benefit no one. Only then can we move to embrace and incorporate Islamic concepts when raising our children. Muslim men and women should be on the same spiritual level, in general.

People watching this particular episode of The People's Court would rather believe that this misguided Muslimah behaved the way she did because of Islam but, she is really the product of an American male chauvinist society.

Salaam,
Sis. 'Aisha


With thanks to Linda Richard
Accused "Terror plotter" Mehanna wants convictions overturned
By Alyssa A. Botelho

Relatives, supporters, and attorneys for Tarek Mehanna were both hopeful and skeptical today as a federal appeals court was urged to overturn the former Sudbury man's 2011 convictions for conspiring to kill American soldiers in Iraq and supporting Al Qaeda.

Attorney Sabin Willett asked a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to throw out the convictions. He said Mehanna had only expressed his views, which he had a right to do, and there was insufficient evidence to show his client was linked to the Al Qaeda terror group.

"Our view is that if the government cannot tie the knot between Mehanna and Al Qaeda, this is simply speech, just protected opinion," Willett said after the oral argument at the Moakley courthouse in South Boston. "We think this is a powerful argument. ... All he has done is talk a lot, and talk loudly."

After a closely watched trial, Mehanna was sentenced to 17½ years in federal prison following his convictions on seven counts of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, conspiring to kill in a foreign country, and of lying to authorities in a terrorism investigation.

Mehanna, a pharmacy college graduate student from Subdury, was convicted of providing material support to the terror group Al Qaeda for seeking out paramilitary training in Yemen so he could carry out jihad, or holy war, against US soldiers in Iraq. He was also convicted of using his knowledge of Arabic to translate and distribute documents promoting Al Qaeda's ideology, in an effort to inspire others to violent jihad.

More than 50 family members and supporters attended the hearing today, including Kate Bonner-Jackson, 30, of Jamaica Plains, an organizer for the Tarek Mehanna Support Committee

"To me, it's a case about Islamophobia and our dominance over other countries," said Bonner-Jackson. "Tarek was vocal about people's right to self-defense, especially in countries that the US invades."

As was true when Mehanna was tried in the same courthouse in 2011 and then sentenced to prison in early 2012, Mehanna's parents, Ahmed and Souad, and his younger brother, Tamer, were at the courthouse today.

"It was hard for me to come back to this [court] room again and see their [the prosecutors'] faces," said Souad Mehanna. "My son is innocent and they're still locking him away from me."

After the oral argument, where the judges grilled federal prosecutors about the legal underpinnings and evidence in the case, Souad Mehanna was slightly hopeful.

"We can't wait for him to come out and live his life, for all of us to live our lives,'' she said, then added, "if we don't win this time, we will keep fighting."

But US Attorney Carmen Ortiz's office urged the three-judge panel to leave Mehanna's convictions intact. Assistant US Attorney Elizabeth Collery said the jury that convicted him heard "what his beliefs originally were, how he talked about them with other people, and [tried to] recruit others to his cause."

During his trial, FBI agents testified about videos of suicide bombings and of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that were found on Mehanna's computer, following a secret search of his Sudbury home in 2006. Mehanna also possessed videos and documents produced by Al Qaeda, and prosecutors said he used his knowledge of Arabic to translate them, following the terror group's call for followers to spread its message in the West.

Prosecutors say the information showed Mehanna's state of mind in 2004, when he traveled to Yemen with a friend, Ahmad Abousamra. A third man, Kareem Abuzahra, joined them but returned halfway through the trip after his father had reportedly gotten ill.

Abuzahra was also investigated, but he cooperated with authorities and testified under immunity that the three of them discussed going to Yemen to seek paramilitary training, so they could fight in Iraq.

Abuzahra testified that Mehanna had told him once he returned to the United States that he failed to find a terrorist camp, and he said they agreed to tell investigators a cover story that they went to Yemen in search of further schooling in their Muslim faith.

Defense attorneys sought to impeach the testimony of Abuzahra, who was seen as the government's key witness. The lawyers got him to acknowledge that he was the one among his friends who inquired about obtaining weapons and who discussed the possibility of a domestic terror attack at an Air Force base or shopping mall.

Alyssa A. Botelho can be reached at alyssa.botelho@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter at @AlyssaABotelho.


Document
General Sisi & Al-Baradei were in Contact with Israel before the Coup in Egypt

The Egyptian military (and opposition) were in contact with the Israeli government prior to the coupIsraeli military analyst Roni Daniel revealed on Sunday that the Egyptian General Abdul-Fattah al-Sisi informed Israel of his efforts to remove President Mohamed Morsi three days before the coup. Speaking to the Israeli TV channel 2, Daniel said that Al-Sisi asked Israel to monitor the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip. He said Al-Sisi was afraid of Hamas, but his fear faded after the Israeli assurance that everything in Gaza has been under strict surveillance. Israel advised Al-Sisi to destroy the tunnels.

Daniel asserted that the military coup in Egypt is useful to Israel and it had been an "urgent demand" for Israeli and its security. Military analysts did not hesitate to confirm news about contacts between Al-Sisi and Mohamed El-Baradei from the Egyptian side and government officials from the Israeli side. He said that El-Baradei met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once before the coup and again after the coup. According to Daniel, Israel promised Al-Baradei to help lobby for Western recognition with the new government (after Morsi). The Egyptian army started damaging tunnels to Gaza several days before the coup took place. The tunnels are the main lifeline for Gaza residents who have been living an Israeli, internationally backed siege since 2006. Despite frenzied defamation campaigns against them by the Egyptian media and the Egyptian anti-Morsi elite, Hamas asserted its longstanding position towards what is happening in Egypt. They have said that they do not interfere with any of the state's internal affairs. -

See more at:
http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/6575-al-sii-informed-israel-of-the-coup-three-days-prior#sthash.OXN6c6o.dpuf

2013-08-03 Sat 14:40:01 cdt
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