Approach to un-Islamic "Muslim" rulers is disruptive.
"The messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, said: One who goes to the door of the sultan gets
involved in fitna and the nearer one gets to the sultan, the
further he gets away from Allah." [Musnad of imam Ahmad ibn
Hanbal, hadith # 8823, narrated by Abu Huraira, r.a]
Comment by Kaukab Siddique: In Islam, the legitimate ruler
is the khalifa chosen freely by the Muslims through shoora.
There are no sultans in Islam and trying to curry favor with
them is extremely harmful. Fitna implies confusion,
misdirection, and disruption accompanied by lack of
faith.
Remember that this warning is about Muslim rulers.
Cooperation with non-Muslim rulers is haram. See sura Hud of
the Quran.
Jamaat al-Muslimeen Activity in Catonsville, Maryland.
Sermon on Fate.
On December 2, 2016 a 7 page Jamaat document was given to
100 Muslims after juma' at Masjid Fatima. Most people here
are Urdu speaking and even the sermon is given in Urdu. [A
brief khutba is also given in Arabic.]
The Jamaat document given to 100 Pakistani Americans had
these items:
Immigrant response to Trump victory [Imam Badi.]
Obama regime was deceptively anti-Islam. Trump will be
openly anti-Islam. [Br. Kaukab]
Mosul: Week 5. Aleppo deluge of bombs: betrayal by
Turkey.
Maulana Wahiduddin's falsehood: by Syed Nadwi.
Mass rally in Indonesia against blasphemy.
The khutba was very educational though in Urdu, urging the
people to realize that the Laws of Allah are FATE but that
does not mean we should stop striving and then blame
fate.
Mosul, Iraq , Week 7.
Shia Armada and Kurdish hordes Facing Defeat at Mosul.
For a whole week the massive Shia armada and the huge
Kurdish juggernaut backed by America has not been able to
advance. The US backed regime has not even been able to do
propaganda.
On the other other side, Islamic State has relesed several
videos showing the dead bodies of Baghdad troops and Kurdish
Peshmarga. One video shows Iraqi Shia militia's camp burning
near Tal Afar.
The US air force has not been able to function well owing to
bad weather, says Baghdad.
The air forces has knocked out Mosul's water supply which
could make the population miserable . However only 7000
people have left the city.Support for ISIS is strong.
12 Rabi' al Awwwal is the birthday of the Prophet, pbuh.
We do not celebrate his birthday. We have two Eids
instead.
We should follow his Sunnah and let women know of his
beloved wife Aisha, r.a.
She was the greatest woman and freed more slaves than anyone
else.
Let us be truthful to Islam and not be swayed by
contemporary fads.
Palestine belongs to the Palestinians.
We urge Muslims to boycott all businesses which support
Israel.
[Jamaat al-Muslimeen]
boycott.htm
Canada's Islam hater in India
Stirring up hate against Muslims, Pakistan and Sikhs on
National Scale finally got an answer from students. Remember
the context is India and the man is a known hater with a
Muslim name.
Beware of Labeling and Attacks on one of the Greatest
Scholars of Islam who Taught strict Adherence to the Qur'an
and authentic Hadith
by Kaukab Siddique, PhD
The re-emergence of Islam as a transformational power began
as a challenge to British hegemony in India, Hindu-Sikh
militancy in what is now Pakistan, and decadent prevalence
of tribal-Turkish rule and Shi'ite sectarianism in Arabia
and Iraq.
Iqbal taught Muslims to focus on Muhammad, pbuh, as the
leader of the ummah. Pakistan exists today owing to his
globalistic intellect.
He attacked western power, capitalism, sufiism and
obscurantism.
Shah Waliullah, 1703-1762, took on the task of unravelling
the diversion created by religious scholasticism. Syed Ahmed
[Shaheed ] 1786-1831, Shah Ismail Dehlavi, 1779-1831 and
their companions met head on Sikh-Hindu fanaticism in
northwestern india [now Pakistan] . Jihad became a relevant
concept again.
Westernizing education and the details of British
exceptionalism were attacked by Maulana Maudoodi. Syed Qutb
undertook that task in Egypt and the Arab world.
The greatest reformer of them all was Imam Muhammad ibn
Abdul Wahhab 1703-1792. He pointed out that the teachings of
Shiism and aspects of sufiism amount to kufr. We should try
to live according to the Qur'an and authentic hadith and not
seek intercession from the dead. The struggle is today and
the guidance is in the living texts of Allah's final
revelation, the Qur'an and Allah's final messenger and
prophet, Muhammad, pbuh.
The indirect influence on all these scholars specially in
the analysis of Islamic texts came from Ibn Taymiyyah,
1263-1328..
In response to this process of Islamic renaissance, the
British, the Shi'ites and Sufis, the Zionists and now all
the western powers combined have popularized a negative term
"wahhabi." To conceal the re-emergence of authentic Islam,
the attempt has been made to create the impression that
those who strictly follow the Qur'an and the authentic
hadith are a new sect called "wahhabism." The Zionists have
tried to make "wahhabi": a term of abuse almost like the "N"
word for Black people.
A favorite tactic of the abusers is to link the current
rulers of Arabia, the Saudis, with "wahhabis." It is a bogus
tactic like blaming Mohomed Ali Jinnah for the chaos in
Pakistan, or Imam Khomeini for the sectarianism of Iran, or
George Washington for the imperialism of America.
In fact the teachings of Imam Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab were
an attempt to link Muslims with the original Islam of
Muhammad, pbuh, as seen in the Qur'an and in the authentic
hadith of Muhammad, pbuh, and in the ijma [consensus], of
his Companions, the sahabah who are extolled in the Qur'an
9:100.
What was Imam Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab trying to do which
has enraged the groups attacking him? He wanted Muslims to
KNOW the real Islam in its own texts. Here is what he
taught, in his own words:
"You [may Allah have mercy on you], have to know that we are
obliged to learn four issues:
Knowledge: It means true cognition of Allah, His Prophet
and the DEEN of Islam though their evidences.
Acting according to this knowledge.
To propagate it.
Patience in enduring the injurious difficulties of
knowledge and its exigencies.
The evidence for these points is the statement of Exalted
Allah:
'In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. By the
declining day. Surely mankind is in a state of loss, except
those believe and do good works and exhort one another to
truth and exhort one another to endurance,' [103:1-3]
About this Quranic text, al-Shafai, Allah's mercy be on him,
commented: 'If Allah had revealed only this sura as
irrefutable demonstration to His creation, it would be
adequate enough to convince them.'
Al-Bukhari, may Allah's mercy be on him, said with the same
emphasis, 'Knowledge must precede both statement and
action.'
The evidence for for this is the statement of Exalted
Allah:
"So KNOW ye that there is no God save Allah and ask
forgiveness for thy sin.' [47:19]
In this verse, Allah started with the word KNOW before
statement and action."
[us-thalatha usool fit-Tawheed, by Shaykh al-Islam Muhammad
ibn Abdul Wahhab.]
SPOTLIGHTS from Br. Badi
How to Attain Beneficial Knowledge.
The Quran continuously instructs us to observe the Earth and
the heavens.
The Quran invites us to observe and learn natural sciences
as well.
Islam calls us to learn all types of beneficial
knowledge.
And branches of knowledge vary in status. The highest of
which is the knowledge of faith, then other fields such as
medicine.·
Money and curiosity must dictate our educational
objectives
Education is not attained by chance; it must be sought by
a plan in accordance to the need of our nation and community
in compliance with Quran and Sunnah.
-Imam Badi Ali leads a large Muslim community in
Greensboro,NC
PAKISTAN
Large Prayer Gathering in Dir
India is Provoking War
Muslims are under Attack Globally..
by Qaiser Sharif.
Dec. 2; Ameer, Jamaat e Islami, Pakistan, Senator Sirajul
Haq, has said that India's provocations and shelling on the
border and the LoC could plunge the entire region into a war
and warned that this war would not be confined to any
limited area. He was addressing a big Friday congregation in
Dir.
The JI chief said that the Muslims were being massacred like
fodder in Kashmir, Palestine, Burma and many other areas but
the UN and the world community were silent spectators. He
said that peace could not be established in the region in
the presence of the Kashmir issue. He deplored that the
rulers in Islamabad had failed to draw the attention of the
world community to India's provocations and taking it into
confidence on this score as they were busy in self
protection.
Sirajul Haq said that India's troops in occupied Kashmir
were busy in human rights violations against Kashmiris and
the common citizens were not allowed to offer Friday prayers
in many places . He said it was the responsibility of the
international community to take notice of this
situation.
The JI chief also exhorted the Muslim rulers to shun the
slavery of the west and discharge their responsibilities for
solving the Ummah's problems.
War News
Syria
Aleppo Defense facing Heavy bombing & ground assault.
Idlib massacre in FRussian bombing.
Severe clashes near Homs, Hama, Deir ez Zor.
November 28-December 4. Shi'ite forces led by Hizbullah
entered Aleppo and after bitter fighting captured parts of
eastern Aleppo from its FSA defenders. [December 4] Looks
like FSA is breaking and al-Nusra is taking over its
supplies to be able to continue the fight.
Defense of Aleppo is still brisk by al-Nusra [only 300
fighters] who shot down a low flying Assad jet fighter on
December 3 killing both its pilots.
Idlib received its heaviest Russian bombing on December 4
resulting in 58 civilians killed including 20 children and
15 women.
The suburbs around Damascus are also being steadily bombed
by Assad's helicopters dropping barrel bombs.
Islamic State's advance on Homs and FSA on Hama has also
been stopped by steady Russian bombing. Shiite militias are
locked in battle around Homs with Islamic State
fighters.
As civilian populations are deprived of basic necessities of
life, Assad and the Russians offer them peaceful withdrawal
to Islmic Idlib so that Assad can declare victory.
Turkish advance on el-Bab and US-backed Kurdish advance on
al-Raqqa have been repulsed. It appears that both USA and
Russia are raiding Raqqa bu its targets are dispersed and
camouflaged.
IS vs Assad fighting continues around Deir ez Zor.
Content
News Within the U.S.
The Big Business of Women Crying Rape in America!
by Sis. Aisha [Jamaat al-Muslimeen]
New York City - Crying rape is the act of making a false
rape claim against someone. It is no different than crying
wolf when there is no wolf present. I reported on this case
a little while ago.
On October 19th, NBA Star Point guard Derrick Rose and his
three friends (Ryan Allen and Randall Hampton) were all
cleared in an unusual rape case where the "victim", IG
(Instagram) model Monica Los Rios, filed a $21.5 million
dollar civil suit exactly two years to the day before the
statute of limitations were about to expire for her. She
never went to police at all.
In spite of newly discovered sext messages, discovered by
Rose's defense team, stating the contrary, she claimed that
he and his friends drugged her at his place right before she
was about to leave for her home and gang raped her at her
home. Rose's defense team also discovered that Los Rios had
a mountain of debt and had asked Rose for money right after
the alleged gang rape.
Earlier, this summer, a deposition had taken place between
the accuser and the accused. Derrick Rose made some foolish
statements, which did not seem to help his cause. For
instance, when asked by the "victim's" attorney why he and
his friends showed up at her place at 1 am, Derrick Rose's
response was because they were men, which meant that in
those wee hours of the morning (creeping hours) people are
usually expecting sex. Of course, society's belief is that
men are supposed to want and fiend for sex even when they
don't want it!
There are many young ladies on college campuses, all over
America, who have been raped because of these beliefs. They
may have been simply returning a text book to a male
classmate after holding an all-nighter or study session with
friends until early morning hours. However, this male
classmate has other intentions and is willing to risk
serving serious jail time by making an unfair assumption
about this female acquaintance.
In this case involving Monica Los Rios, many people were
suspicious because she never went to the hospital to seek
any medical treatment to be sure there was no pregnancy or
any std's. Unfortunately, in my experience, many actual rape
victims will at least seek medical treatment whether they
pursue the attacker(s) or not. However, I do know there are
some who do not want to seek any treatment and just want to
try and move on.
But, in Ms. Los Rios' case, she claimed to have been drugged
and raped and had awaken to find herself violated. But, when
questioned multiple times on the witness stand she changed
her story numerous times and fumbled her way through her
testimony. The reason is that she did not expect Derrick
Rose to fight her charge. She believed that he would pay her
off to avoid any further trouble from her.
Many athletes do pay their extortionists to keep adulterous
affairs, gay relationships or unwanted pregnancies quiet and
out of the press. However, if and when these athletes do not
fulfill these demands, these whores can get rather nasty and
vicious. Many believe this to be the case surrounding
comedian Bill Cosby, who never delivered on his promises to
make the women he slept with stars.
What is so despicable is that there is the average guy, the
non-celebrity, doing a 5 year sentence for a rape he never
committed and once the truth is discovered, his false
accuser is never brought to justice.
Brian Banks had a promising college football career end
while in high school after classmate Wanetta Gibson decided
to falsely accuse him of raping her in a school stairwell.
She decided to admit her false rape accusation after
receiving $1.5 million from the Long Beach, CA school
district and after Banks spent 5 years in prison and another
5 years on probation! It must be noted that he pleaded
guilty and did the 5 year bid rather than face 41 years
imprisonment should he have lost his case. Inadequate
attorneys usually pressure clients into taking such horrific
plea deals.
Number one rule: Never admit to something you NEVER did!
There is a stigma associated with being accused of sexual
assault. Although, Brian Banks was exonerated, in May 2012,
it was still difficult for him to get into the NFL. However,
he did have tryouts with two teams but, never made the
rosters. Now, he works for the NFL in New York City.
There is a saying: "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."
There are many women who have proven this quote true.
Karrine Steffans, a hip hop video vixen, is the most famous
woman scorned. In 2007, she wrote a tell-all book,
Confessions of a Video Vixen, exposing her sexual
relationships with various married men in the entertainment
industry only after they had refused to assist her
financially when she fell on hard times. They used her and
now they were through with her and she did not take that
well.
After Monica Los Rios' relationship with Derrick Rose ended
she also fell on hard times having lost several jobs and
went into serious debt. She even filed for bankruptcy. This
happens to these women who are often supplied with money and
gifts for as long as the sexual encounters last. As one
source told Robert Littal, founder of BlackSportsOnline.com,
the false accuser went after Rose because he had the most
money out of all of the athletes she had sexual encounters
with but, he also treated her "crappy."
However, a false rape charge ruins lives and Derrick Rose is
fighting back. He is now suing his false accuser, Monica Los
Rios, for $70,000 in court costs. However, I believe that
the prosecutor should make an example out of her for lying
about having been gang raped.
I am glad that Derrick Rose, who Monica Los Rios thought was
an easy mark, is fighting back. However he still perpetuates
the cheating dumb jock stereotype. The newest girl he is
dating is, yes.....an IG model. What exactly does an IG
model do? It is a group of young girls who put suggestive,
half-naked or naked poses of themselves on Instagram. They
get a lot of "dates" this way. This latest girlfriend is
Alaina Anderson, who loves taking 50+ selfies a day and
posting them to Instagram.
The entertainment world is incredibly superficial and the
kuffar victimize each other in it routinely.
(Source: BlackSportsOnline.com)
RESEARCH
Kashmir
The Simla Agreement: Help or Hindrance
By
Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai
December 2, 2016
The mass uprising of the people of Kashmir against Indian
military occupation has evoked two reactions from the
Government of India. One is extreme repression and the
second is the threat of war. On September 24, 2016, Mr.
Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India made a formal
statement with full authority: "Pakistan's 'awam' (people),
I want to say to you, India is ready to fight you." He
added, "We will isolate you. I will work for that."
The world powers, including the U.S. has exerted no
influence in restraining this belligerent rhetoric. There is
also not the slightest sign yet of even a beginning being
made towards a meaningful peace process, eliminating the
danger of war between these two nuclear countries. The
present situation has made it abundantly clear that the
status quo in Kashmir is both unjust and untenable. It has
thus thrown into sharp relief the urgent need for India and
Pakistan to settle the 69-year old Kashmir dispute on a just
and lasting basis.
The question arises: what should be the point of departure
for determining a just and lasting basis? The answer
obviously is (a) the Charter of the United Nations which, in
its very first article, speaks of "respect for the
principles of equal rights and self-determination of
peoples" and (b) the international agreements between the
parties to the dispute.
India and Pakistan have concluded multiple agreements which
fall in this context. The first is embodied in the
resolutions adopted by the United Nations Commission for
India and Pakistan (UNCIP) on 13 August 1948 and second on 5
January 1949. These resolutions constitute an agreement
because, unlike most resolutions of the Security Council,
their provisions were first negotiated with the parties and,
in written statements, explicitly accepted by them.
The first resolution is written out in detail and is
self-explanatory. Since it binds both India and Pakistan to
respect the verdict of the people of Kashmir to be obtained
through a free vote under the impartial supervision of the
United Nations. India seeks to propagate the impression that
it has been superseded by the Simla Agreement. That the
implication is false can be readily seen from a comparison
of the two texts. But even if it were true, it would run
counter to a standing principle of international relations
which is set out in Article 103 of the Charter of the United
Nations (accepted by every Member of the United Nations,
including India). The Article says:
"In the event of a conflict between the obligations of the
Members of the United Nations under the present Charter and
their obligations under any other international agreement,
their obligations under the present Charter shall
prevail."
What, then, is the relevance of the Simla Agreement as far
as instituting a peace process between India and Pakistan,
fully recognizing Kashmiri's inherent right of
self-determination, is concerned?
The pertinent facts about the Simla Agreement are:
It was concluded in the aftermath of the India-Pakistan
war of 1971 over what is now Bangladesh. Pakistan had
suffered a decisive military defeat and 93,000 Pakistani
prisoners-of-war were in Indian captivity. The factor of
duress in thus obvious.
Despite this circumstance, the Agreement nowhere
precludes a settlement of the Kashmir dispute along the
lines laid down by the United Nations with the consent of
both India and Pakistan. Nor does it require that the United
Nations be by-passed in the effort towards a settlement. On
the contrary, it expressly says that the relations between
the two countries shall be governed by the principles and
purposes of the Charter of the United Nations. One of the
basic principles of the Charter (Article 33) is to seek a
solution of any dispute by negotiation, enquiry,
conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to
regional agencies or arrangements or other peaceful means.
The linked principle (Article 34) is that the Security
Council may investigate any dispute and (Article 36) at any
stage recommend appropriate procedures or methods of
adjustment. The Simla Agreement thus reinforces the
obligations of both parties to achieve a settlement in
accordance with the resolutions endorsed by the Security
Council and, if their bilateral efforts fail, to turn to the
United Nations for assistance. Nothing would be more
contrary to the Charter -- and, therefore, to the Simla
Agreement itself -- than to bar recourse to the United
Nations.
The Simla Agreement makes mention of "a final
settlement of Jammu and Kashmir" as one of the objectives of
the two parties.
It provides that, pending the final settlement of any of
the problems between the two countries, neither side shall
unilaterally alter the situation. This obviously is not a
license for leaving problem unresolved. If anything, it
implies a commitment to making efforts towards a final
settlement.
The Simla Agreement says that "in Jammu and Kashmir, the
line of control resulting from the cease-fire of 17 December
1971 shall be respected by both sides without prejudice to
the recognized position of either side". To " respect" the
line means not to cross it militarily; it dose not convert
the line to a legally accepted international frontier. This
is clear from the words that the "respect" will be "without
prejudice to the recognized position of either side".
The position consistently maintained by Pakistan that
the status of Kashmir shall be decided by an impartial
plebiscite has been recognized by the United Nations and, as
it is identical with the position which India itself
originally assumed at the world body, it is reflected in
more than dozen substantive resolutions of the Security
Council. A position safeguarded by the phrase "without
prejudice to" can hardly be deemed to have been
abandoned.
In its preamble, the agreement states the resolve of
the two governments to establish durable peace in the
subcontinent. Durable peace results from setting the
outstanding disputes, not from denying its existence.
It is thus a misconception that the Simla Agreement has in
any way superseded the resolutions of the United Nations
accepted by both parties. Nor can it be supposed to have
narrowed the gulf between them and, to that extent,
simplified the task of evolving a settlement. Even if it has
done so, its impact on the Kashmir situation would have been
open to question. Nothing in international law confers on
two parties the authority to make decisions or conclude
agreements which adversely affect the rights of a third. The
third party here is the people of Kashmir.
Why is the Simla Agreement put in the forefront rather than
the resolutions of the United Nations? There can be several
explanations. One is deference to India because of its
superior might. If this motivates the current diplomatic
stance of the world powers, including the United States, it
is, to say the least, undignified and contrary to the
enduring principles of U.S. policy towards all situations
which involve inalienable human rights. Another reason can
be the impression that the Simla Agreement, being of more
recent origin than the resolutions of the United Nations,
might be more effective in activating the process. This is
wrong in view of the fact that, for 44 years, the Agreement
has signally failed to shake India out of its obdurate
refusal to negotiate a settlement of the Kashmir problem.
The current Indian position is that India is prepared to
talk but there is nothing to talk about except how to crush
the popular resistance in Kashmir and perpetuate the status
quo.
If non-implementation were to render an agreement defunct,
then the Simla Agreement is in no better state than the
earlier, far more concrete and comprehensive resolution
painstakingly worked out by the United Nations and concluded
under its auspices in 1948-49. If passage of time were
allowed to extinguish solemn international agreements, then
the Simla Agreement has already suffered the same fate as
the resolutions of the United Nations. If agreements are to
be revived, then why one and not the other?
It may also be that the Simla Agreement is being invoked
because of lack of knowledge about its actual terms and the
circumstances in which it was signed. India is taking full
advantage of this factor to spread the misinformation that
the Simla Agreement sanctions the perpetuation of the status
quo in Kashmir and absolves her from the responsibility of
striving for a settlement of the dispute. By citing the
Simla Agreement at this stage, or encouraging others to do
so, India obviously seeks to prevent those basic issues of
the dispute being addressed that were fully taken into
account by the United Nations. The Simla Agreement is
pressed into service as a formula for evasion.
A sincere and serious effort towards a just settlement of
the Kashmir dispute must squarely deal with the realities of
the situation and fully respond to the people's rights
involved in it. The Simla Agreement does neither. Indeed, it
was not intended to do so; at best, it is reticent on the
issues that need to be grappled with. A peace process
mounted on its fragile platform is bound to collapse.
Indeed, any process that ignores the wishes of the people of
Kashmir and is designed to sidetrack the United Nations will
not only prove
to be an exercise in futility but can also cause
incalculable human and political damage.
Dr. Fai is the Secretary General of World Kashmir Awareness
ANALYSIS
Pakistan: What is destroying this country from within?
[From our Pakistan monitor. A number of politically savvy
people in Pakistan support New trend and provide inside
views which often cannot be expressed in Pakistan itself.
Here we have compiled and consolidated this insider
information Ed.]
Pakistani masses are united and solidly behind some basic
perceptions of what Pakisztan should be. They agree that
Pakistan cannot exist without Islam which means justice,
equality and national honor.
There are tense of thousands of mosques, medressas and books
dedicated to Islam. The Schools of Though differ vehemently
on details but in the basics they are solidly together. The
slightes hint that the Quran has been desecrated or the
Prophet, pbuh, has been insulted can make ordinary
Pakistanis become frantic even in humble little
villages.
The question then arises why is Pakistan so chaotic and so
deeply steeped in financial corruption and why are women so
often victimized. Here are some answers:
The rulers are not answerable to the people. So the
people become frustrated and use bribery and flattery to
get what they want.
The rulers are insensitive to the aspirations of the
people because the rulers have gradually been infiltrated
by little groups which are secretly and sometimes openly
hostile to the beliefs of the great majority. Some of these
are:
Shias, most of whom are upper and middle class, about 5
to 10 %, have been emboldened by the Shia state power in
iran. They oppose the beliefs of the majority at every
;point. There have been no shia rallies against American
drone attacks or military ventures into sunni communities
which demand Sharia law.
Shias insist on taking out processions depicting their
beliefs in Mohurram which blatantly ignore the beliefs of
the majority. The government protects and encourages these
public expressions of hostility.
Qadianis ["Ahmeddis"] who abhor the basic Muslim belief
of the finality of prophethood. Agha Khanis also fall into
this category but they are very careful not to express their
contempt for Muslims openly.
Secularists who live in Pakistan but have relatives in
Europe and America [steadily growing in numbers]. This is
like a transmission line for flooding Pakistan with western
ways of thinking. They have serious contempt for the masses,
including for the Urdu language and other non-English
languages.
These groups often intersect and increasingly live in the
most affluent areas of the major cities which further cuts
them off from the majority of people.
Why are Pakistani women victimized? There is an increasing
sense in Pakistan that women are being targeted by western
propaganda about "freedom." Pakistani men are in a defensive
mode and do not know how to deal with ideas of equality for
women. Rape is punishable with death, based on Sharia, in
Saudi Arabia and Iran but not in Pakistan. [Our informants
do not understand the editor of New Trend that hadith
teaches the death sentence for rapists.]
Islamic teachings about the consent of the woman in marriage
are being ignored. Cousin marriages are prevalent although
the Prophet, pbuh, did not teach cousin marriage. Here again
the Shia influence can be seen from the highly praised
marriage of Ali, fr.a., and Fatima, r.a. Women are
recognized in laws of inheritance but various methods are
used to bypass these sharia laws, such as by cousin
marriages.
[InshaAllah we will continue as and when we collect more
information.]
VIEWPOINT
Castro's Legacy:
Health & Education:
The envy of Many.
[Courtesy The Guardian UK. Via Br. Shaikh Hyder in
Canada.]
To his critics, the late Fidel Castro was a totalitarian
despot, an opponent of free speech and a man determined to
preserve his hard-won revolution whatever the cost.
But to his defenders and admirers, he was a leader whose
enlightened and practical approach to social care provided
Cuba with enviable health and education systems.
Figures from the UN children's agency, Unicef, show that
Cuba's youth literacy rate stands at 100%, as does its adult
literacy rate. In Mexico, youth literacy is around 98.5%,
while adult literacy is at 93.5%. In the Dominican Republic,
meanwhile, youth literacy is at 98.1% for females aged
15-24, 96.1% for males of the same age, and adult literacy
is at 90%.
Many of the educational gains were made in the early years
of the revolution, not least during the 1961 literacy
campaign that saw hundreds of thousands of Cubans, including
schoolchildren, mobilising to educate their compatriots.
The statistics, however, tend to mask today's commonplace
shortages of housing, food and transport and the high costs
of such basic items as books, soap and clothes.
Fidel Castro: leader proves as divisive in death as he was
in life
Havana mourns as brother and successor president Raúl
announces death of Cuba's revolutionary icon - but leader's
enemies celebrate
Read more
Perhaps even more vaunted are claims about the standard of
Cuba's healthcare. The island's reputation for medical
excellence - a boon long enjoyed by allied governments and
countries struck by natural disaster and medical emergencies
- was most recently boosted by the deployment of Cuban
medical staff to parts of west Africa during the Ebola
crisis.
In October 2014, 15,000 medical workers volunteered to
participate in the relief effort. More than 450 specially
trained Cuban doctors and nurses arrived in Liberia, Guinea
and Sierra Leone to combat the disease, making them the
largest single national medical force.
One doctor told Reuters at the time that he and his
colleagues felt they had a responsibility to help: "We know
what can happen. We know we're going to a hostile
environment. But it is our duty. That's how we've been
educated."
Fidel Castro's dark legacy: abuses, draconian rule and
'ruthless suppression'
Castro hounded critics, scorned elections and ran a police
state - facts which impressive statistics about literacy and
life expectancy cannot erase
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The country's high ratio of doctors to patients and its
proactive, community-centred approach to healthcare has long
been the envy of many western countries - not least the UK,
which sent 100 GPs and a delegation from the Department of
Health in 2000 to discover how it managed to deliver care on
a far smaller budget. Despite serious shortages of food and
drugs, the country has consistently managed to keep its
population of 11 million people healthy into old age.
Life expectancy in Cuba is 81 years for women and 77 for
men. In the UK, it is 83 years and 79 respectively. And
while the former spends $2,475 per capita on healthcare, the
latter spends $3,337. Cuba dedicates 11.1% of its GDP to
health; the UK 9.1%.
Some, however, argue that the success of Cuba's social care
owes as much to politics and pragmatism as to equality and
governmental magnanimity.
As a senior western diplomat told the Guardian in 2007:
"Health and education are the revolution's pillars of
legitimacy so the government has to make them work. If they
don't, it loses all its moral authority."
