The Top Leadership of Islam in the Moment of Greatest
Danger.
"From Bara' bin A'zib, r.a:
[At the moment of the victory of the kuffar at Uhud when the
Prophet, pbuh, was surrounded on a hill top...]
"The leader of the kuffar, Abu Sufian, called out aloud
three times: Is Muhammad among you? At a gesture from the
Prophet, pbuh, the Muslims kept quiet. Then Abu Sufian
shouted twice: Is ibn Abu Qahafa among you? [the pre-Islamic
name for Abu Bakr, r.a., ed]. Then twice he shouted : Is ibn
al-Khattab among you .[[Name for Umar, r.a.]. When there was
silence, Abu Sufyan turned towards his people and shouted.
Looks like we have killed all [three] of them and now we are
rid of their existence. At this Umar, r.a., could not
control himself and shouted back: You lie, you enemy of
Allah. All three are alive and you will have a problem in
the future. Abu Sufyan then shouted: This is revenge for
Badr. War is like a wheel, going up and down. You will find
that the bodies of some of your people have been mutilated.
I did not order it but I did not dislike it either. Then Abu
Sufian started chanting: Long live Hubul. [the idol of the
kuffar- editor]. At the Prophet's, pbuh command, the Muslims
shouted back: Allah is greater and exalted above all. Then
Abu Sufyan started chanting: We have 'Uzza and you have no
Uzza. [Another top idol of the kuffar - editor]. At the
prophet's pbuh, command, the two then should back: Allah is
our Supporter and Friend [mawla], and you have no
mawla."
[Sahih Bukhari, hadith number 3039. Musnad of Ahmad ibn
Hanbal, hadith # 18801.]
Comment by Kaukab Siddique:
It is quite evident from this hadith that the top leaders of
Islam after the Prophert, pbuh, were Abu Bakr, r.a., and
Umar, r.a.,They stood by the Prophet, pbuh, in the most
difficult time and the kuffar too knew they were the top
Muslim leaders.
Nowadays shias on the Internet are busy defaming and abusing
the sahaba, r.a., particukarly Umar, r.a. We should be aware
of the facts of Islam so that the global propaganda of
Shiaism supported by the western powers and Russia does not
succeed in misleading the Muslim ummah. [For the sahaba in
the Qur'an read 9:100].
Also, remember that much later Abu Sufyan, became Muslim,
r.a., and was forgiven by the Prophet, pbuh. After a period
of hesitation, he humbled himself and fought as an ordinary
soldier in the armies of Islam against the Roman empire.
Jamaat al-Muslimeen Activity in Newark, Delaware.
52 received 4 - page document.
Good Khutba on Syria.
On December 16 after juma' at Masjid Ibraheem in Newark, a
4-page document with selections from New Trend was given to
52 Muslims. These were mostly Arab Americans and Bangladeshi
Americans.
The khutba was mostly about the life of the Prophet, pbuh,
as this is Rabi' al-Awwal. In the final part of the khutba,
the imam made a passionate appeal in support of the
suffering people of Aleppo.
The Jamaat document given to 52 people containedf these
items.
Mass rally in Karachi, in support of the Muslims being
victimized in Burma.
Bombing and killing of Muslims in Aleppo by Shias and
Russia. ISIS captures Palmyra.
Week eight of the Shia-American assault on Mosul.
Palestine is the key to American attitudes about
Israel.
Mosul : Week number 9
Massive US-Backed Shia Armada Unable to Advancre
For another whole week, the Shia and Kurdish armadas have
been unable to advance. Instead the small IS force in Mosul
is sending out raiding parties to hit the shias and the
Kurds.
The villages the Shia armada claimed to have captured do not
seem to be entirely conquered.
60 miles south of Baghdad, a Baghdad force ran into an IS
anbush and its commander was seriously injured.
The US air force is busy and has killed scores of Islamic
supporters of IS.
On December 17, the US announced that the bounty on the head
of the Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been increased from
$10 million to $25 million.
One report says, IS is distributing Zakat among the needy
because prices are going up owing to bombing of
infrastructure by the US air force.
In the Syrian branch of the Islamic State heavy clashes are
going on between IS mujahedeen and Assad's elite forces.
Assad is trying to take back what the IS captured around and
in Palmyra.
On Decdember 16, the US air force destroyed the tanks and
missiles which IS had captured from Assad in Palmyra
TURKEY has stabbed the Islamic State in the back again. On
December 17, the Turkish air force bombed the IS stronghold
of El Bab north east of Aleppo. Mercenaries led by Turkish
tanks are again trying to capture El Bab.
The Kurdish force known as SDF with US air support is trying
to advance into northern Raqqa province,
Also on December 17, an IS force advanced towards Hama and
was bombed by the Alawite air force.
Editorial
Staunch Supporters of Assad and Damascus Regime Pretend to
be "Independent."
A question from Ajaz Rather in Canada with Response by
Kaukab Siddique with concluding comment by Rather.
Ajaz Ahmad Rather i am concerned about Canadian independent
news outlets headed by Eva Bartlett and British Independent
so called Journalist (actually a traveler /photographer)
namely Veneesa Beeley. They claim that whatever main stream
media claim about Aleppo is just a lie. Their reporst sound
like they are blindly supporting Bashar Al Assad and Russia
in general... brother what do you think about these
independent news outlets ?
Respnse: :They are not independent but are strong
supporters of the Assad regime.
I looked at the interview and writings of Eva Bartlett after
her return from Syria.
She did not meet EVEN ONE person on the Islamic side of the
conflict.. She admitted that her friends are in the NDF,
which most people in Canada would not know is the militia
force set up by Assad which is more vicious against Muslims
than Assad's regular troops.
She took the Assad line blindly by claiming that there had
been no peaceful uprising in Syria but terrorists had come
in and taken over the country.
Her prejudices were further strengthened by her visits to
Christian communities, Again she does not know that Syrian
Christians were staunch supporters of the tyrannical regime
of the two Assads, father and son, for 30 years before the
Islamic uprising.. She did find that a church had been
defaced by Muslim fighters [but it had not been demolished
or burned down]. Compare this with hundreds of mosques
across Syria which have been demolished, damaged or burned
down by Assad's militias.
She spent some time complaining about the al-Wair district
of Homs because its people were resisting Assad's forces for
a very long time. She describes the occupation of Muslim
cities by Assad's forces as "liberation." She does not note
that other than the Alawites/shias and Christian minorities,
no one wants to live under Assad's regime.
In passing Bartlett notices that Russia has come in to help
the "great" regime of Assad. She thinks that military
intervention by a superpower is okay while she constantly
complains about America's support for the opposition.. She
completely ignores the massive military intervention by Iran
and Lebanese Hizbullah.
America has not helped the opposition at all on the excuse
that even if "moderates" are helped, the arms will end up
with the "radicals."
The opposition got weapons from defectors from Assad's
military or those smuggled in by Muslims from other
countries supporting the Islamic uprising or from Turkey
when Turkey was buying oil from ISIS, which has largely
stopped after American bombing of the oil fields..
Assad's supporters in the West blatantly claim that Israel
is behind the uprising. These Assad people know that many
people will be turned off if the word "Israel" is connected
to the opposition.. As the saying goes, if you throw enough
mud, some will stick.
The other "independent" broadcaster I noticed is Corbett. He
is even more bigoted than Bartlett. He picked up one
atrocity committed by a small segment of a tiny Muslim group
and then played with it to claim that just about the entire
opposition is involved in atrocities. Readers might remember
that when an angry militant took out a dead Assd soldiers's
liver and chewed on it, the entire anti-Islamic global media
publicized it. Even Russia's Putin joined in to give the
impression that the entire opposition is a bunch of liver
eaters!
We must remember that a number of journalists in the West
acquired authenticity by opposing Israeli atrocities in
Gaza. Readers did not notice that they were criticizing
Israel's atrocities, not its legitimacy. They were not
supporting Hamas or the Islamic stance of the Palestinian
people.
Now when these people condemn the Islamic opposition in
Syria, readers accept their stories without noticing that
they are opposed to Islam as a dynamic force and a political
ideology.
Vanessa Beeley is the worst of the lot. She is attacking the
White Helmets, one of the very few people who go into the
areas which Assad's and Russia's jets bomb and they help the
injured and evacuate people to safer areas, Beeley appeared
on Russian TV and after abusing and slandering the White
Helmets as workers for France, LOL, she admitted that she
had never met them and she said she got her information from
Assad's civil rescue service in WESTERN Aleppo. In other
words from the worst enemies of the White Helmets. If any
one from the White Helmets meets someone from a western
country, she pretends that such a meeting means White
Helmets are working for France. She is a confused person who
wants to ignore Russian and Iranian intervention with daily
bombing but condemns the White Helmets member for meeting
someone in France. [The White Helmets are doing such a good
job that Bashar Assad personally condemned them.He hates
anyone who helps the Muslims and thinks Russian, Iranian and
Lebanese Hizbullah's military intervention is okay.]
Concluding comment by Ajaz Ahmad Rather Thanks bro for
providing detailed info about these so called journalists or
to be more accurate pro Assad/Iran/Russian elements in the
west ..actually a year before Veneesa Beeley was in my
friend list and after checking her account i went thru her
posts I keenly observed she is pro Iran/Assad ...even I saw
some of her pics in her account like of Nasrullah & Moqtada
Al Sadar ..on seeing those images I thoroughly checked her
posts on facebook but what I observed she never condemned
Assad or Russia over bombing civil area in Syria ..I inboxed
her and asked her what's the problem in condemning Assad as
he is killing innocent babies /children /women/but she
clearly replied that she is against American imperialism etc
but she failed to convince me why she is so pro Iran /Assad
...soon after that she blocked me ...
SPOTLIGHTS from Br. Badi
Give Love Even Where it is not Deserved.
Education Cannot be Obtained by Chance. Plan it.
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 cannot
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.
As a Muslim community, we have to master the English
language because it is the language of communication and
sciences of our modern world.
Ignorance is the greatest danger facing the Ummah.
According to the perspective of the Quran, knowledge is the
prerequisite for building and establishing a just and a
peaceful world.
We need to teach our children how to be effective,
productive as well as how they can influence others.
The best teachers are those who show you where to look,
teach you how to think and analyze, and teach you how to
connect the dots.
Education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or
even how much you know. It's being able to practice what you
have learned.
9/10 of education is reading.
The key to education is patience.
We need to understand and value our children's creative
expressions, as well as praise and encourage their unique
abilities.
Teaching our children to grow independently is perhaps the
greatest service that we can do for them.
Education is the key to success.
A small key will open a heavy door.
Punishment is the lowest and worst tool for education.
Learning without a teacher is a labor that is lost.
Learn how to motivate yourself.
Children need love, especially when they do not deserve it.
It is only as we teach others that we succeed.
A righteous teacher affects eternity; no one can tell where
his influence stops.
The mind grows by what it feeds on.
The only way to be free is through education.
To teach is to learn twice.
The man who does not read good books has no advantage over
the man who can't read
-Imam Badi Ali leads a large Muslim community in
Greensboro,NC
PAKISTAN
Rulers have learnt nothing from Dhaka tragedy.
Prime Minister and family have no record of their property
for 30 years!
by Qaiser Sharif
LAHORE, Dec. 16: Ameer, Jamaat e Islami, Pakistan, Senator
Sirajul Haq, has said that the rulers had not learnt a
lesson from the fall of Dhaka nor had they mended their ways
after the breakup of the country.
Addressing the Friday congregation at Mansoora mosque, he
said that even today, the smaller provinces of the country
had a feeling of deprivation due to inequitable distribution
of the resources. He said that if the mandate of the
Bengalis had been accepted, the debacle of East Pakistan
might not have occurred.
Sirajul Haq said that the enemy exploited the hatred among
the Bengalis and as a result, East Pakistan turned into
Bangladesh. He said that the rulers would have to remove the
sense of deprivation among the people of the small provinces
to prevent such tragedies in the future.
The JI chief said that some people still hoped that they
would succeed in hiding their illegal wealth and escape the
Panama leaks scandal, but they were mistaken as the nation
was anxious to recover the illegal wealth from the corrupt
rulers.
Sirajul Haq said that the JIT report on the Quetta tragedy
had exposed the incompetence of the government and this had
further shaken the people's confidence in the rulers.
He said that five amendments moved by the JI in the Panama
leaks Bill in the Senate had been accepted. The amendments
included demand for the trial of the accused alongside their
enquiry, making the commission report public, and allowing
the masses to provide information to the commission.
He said that even after the passage of eight months of the
Panama leaks, the government had made no legislation in the
National Assembly to curb corruption. In fact, the rulers
wanted to plunge the mega scandal in the dust bin only to
complete their tenure. He said the JI had moved four bills
in the National Assembly in this direction but the NA
Speaker had put these to cold storage.
Sirajul Haq said the state counsel had conceded in the
Supreme Court that the Prime Minister and his family did not
have a record of their property for the last thirty years.
The State counsel had also stated that the Prime Minister's
statement in the National Assembly on the issue was only a
political statement. He said this assertion had done
irreparable harm to the democratic system.
War News
Syria: From New Trend's Media Monitor
[For Iraq and latest news from Palmyra, see our segment on
Breaking news.]
Understanding the Tragedy of Eastern Aleppo. What Persuaded
Russia & Iran to let Aleppo's people go, though it is not
over yet?
As the area under control of FSA mujahideen became smaller
and smaller, the Shia military pouring into eastern Aleppo
under cover of Russian bombing committed a wave of
atrocities including about 200 "extra judicial executions"
of women, children and old men seeking to surrender to the
shias. [Imagine a scene in America of Black people coming
out with their hands up chanting: Hands up! Don't shoot! and
the police opened fire. That didnt happen in America but it
happened in Aleppo.]
FSA retreated from district to district as Russian bombing
and Iranian artillery smashed Aleppo's streets into
rubble.
Finally the 1500 Muslim defenders and 50,000 civilians were
crowded into a ONE SQUARE MILE area. Iran wanted all of them
to be killed. Iran advised Assad to "use the military
option." Russia wanted some of the people, specially the
wounded civilians to be let go. However, the first convoy
was stopped by the Iranians who forced people to strip and
ordered them to lie down and killed 4 of them. They were
then allowed to go back to the only remaining enclave in the
hope of creating fear and panic.
However the civilians remained disciplined and become
steadfast after the first moment of panic.
Suddenly the situation changed and now [December 16 and 17],
several convoys have left Aleppo safely with 3000 wounded
civilians and hundreds of women and children.
If you look at a war map of Aleppo, the huge shia army with
Russian air support and Assadi helicopters and Iranian
artillery completely enveloped Aleppo. There was no
escape.
However, just beyond the death ring around Aleppo with shias
from Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and even Pakistan,
there is the western Aleppo countryside which is controlled
by small but very organized al-Nusra forces. They started
attacking the Alawite stronghold in western Aleppo.
Further to the West and northwest is the province of Idlib
which is completely under the control of al-Nusra, various
Turkish related groups and other Islamic groups. North east
from there are two small Shi'a villages, Kafria and al-Fuah.
They have been under siege by the Islamic groups and are
defended by heavily armed Lebanese Hizbullah. Now after the
huge tragedy of Aleppo became evident, al-Nusra and others
tightened their siege of the two villages. Iran soon realize
that if the people of Aleppo are slaughtered en masse, the
Shias in the two villages, about 4000, too could be killed
in retaliation. So, Iran called for safe withdrawal of Shias
from Kafria and al-Fuah. in exchange for withdrawals of the
people of Aleppo to the Islamic areas in western Aleppo
province and Idlib province.
Iran also decided to lift the siege from the town of Medyan
in exchange for the two villages.
Al-Nusra is now waiting to see how well the Shias will
behave in the continuing withdrawal from Aleppo.
News Within the U.S.
Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust
Holiday Message from CODOH
The members of CODOH would like to send out the warmest
Holiday Wishes to all who visit our website. Winter Solstice
has been observed in many cultures for thousands of years as
people have celebrated the defeat of darkness and the
coming of light and Truth.
Whatever your faith or creed, CODOH shares these values and
welcomes all people to support the basic values of being
human; free thought, free speech and the urge to seek the
Truth.
Without these values, society will remain in the darkness of
ignorance.
This is the first year that CODOH has operated without its
founder, Bradley Smith. We have tried to continue the
innovative educational approach of Bradley. This last year
CODOH has:
Published 25 titles, including new books, new editions of
old books, and reprints.
Printed 4 informative issues of Inconvenient History along
with a single volume for the year.
Produced several powerful new videos including the
excellent Questioning the Holocaust: Why We Believed.
Maintained and expanded the CODOH Revisionist Forum. It is
more popular than ever and is the biggest such forum in the
world. It has become, in essence, an enormous database of
all the arguments from both sides of the aisle concerning
the 'holocaust' narrative, complete with references /
citations / links. It is a nice compliment to the search
function at the CODOH main page.
Continued the Campus Project running ads in some major
universities such as NYU and Stanford U among other campuses
across USA.
In Social Media CODOH now has a strong presence on Face
book, and has started Twitter and YouTube postings.
We have also created a blog at CODOH which provides
constant news updates, articles, videos and all Codoh
activities as well as a weekly update send through a mass
mailing company to our mailing list subscribers like
you.
We think that Bradley would be proud of our work and hope
that you would like to support CODOH.
Thank you!
The CODOH Team of Volunteers
CODOH, PO Box 20774, York, PA 17402
ANALYSIS
The Government violated all semblance of Justice, Decency
and Law, and sentenced this Innocent Bangladeshi-American
youth to 17 Years to be fiollowed by Decades of
Monitoring.
This is the Epitome of Victimless "Crime."
The Story of Ehsanul "Shifa" Sadequee.
As told by Shifa's Supporters.
[Courtesy shifa.com]
Childhood Innocence
Ehsanul "Shifa" Sadequee was born on July 30, 1986 in
Reston, Virginia. As a new-born infant, Shifa traveled to
Bangladesh with his parents where, in his first year of
life, he began experiencing acute respiratory illnesses such
as chronic asthma and bouts of broncho- pneumonia. Because
of these health issues, well-respected doctors in Bangladesh
advised Shifa's parents that they should not remain in
Bangladesh but return to the U.S. where Shifa could receive
the best medical care and thrive in a better climate.
Shifa's parents immediately complied, returned to the United
States, and took extra care of their youngest child,
continuing to feed him through a tube to avoid aggravating
his delicate respiratory system.
In spite of facing serious medical challenges, Shifa shared
a playful and happy childhood growing up in Atlanta, Georgia
with two older sisters, Sharmin and Sonali and an older
brother Amimul.
Friends remember him as a kind, jolly and moderately shy
little boy who enjoyed drawing, painting, and learning new
languages like Arabic and translating ancient Arabic
religious text into English. He was also an avid reader
delving into books of poetry, religion and spirituality,and
history. At home, Shifa gladly performed household chores
and enjoyed receiving guidance from his older brother and
two older sisters.His siblings, in turn, enjoyed taking care
of their little brother and often bought him books to read.
His favorite gifts were books of riddles and jokes which he
liked reading aloud to his family in order to make them
laugh. Shifa also cared for a menagerie of pets including
cats, dogs, guinea pigs and rabbits.
As Shifa grew and his health improved, he was able to take
part in outdoor activities and,as a teenager, he
participated in several sports such as soccer, tennis, and
swimming.
Shifa's sister, Sharmin, recalls that, as a little boy, her
brother was concerned about the plight of living things,
often reminding his big sister to keep her eyes on the
ground or pavement when
she walked to make sure she didn't step on small bugs. One
day, when Sharmin tried to give her
11-year old brother a sandwich, some fruit, and several
other snacks he said that he only needed the sandwich
because "it is a good thing to keep our stomachs a little
empty, so we can feel the people who are hungry in this
world."
Shifa attended a parochial Muslim high school in Canada,
taking classes in religious and classical Arabic studies as
well as standard high school courses. Soon after, in 2001,
he returned to Bangladesh to live with his parents and
finish high school. Once again, however, he fell ill
from
environmental pollution in Dhaka so his parents decided to
keep him at home where they home-schooled him.
When he returned to the U.S. in 2004, Shifa worked with his
sister Sonali at a women's rights organization dedicated to
the eradication of violence against women. He volunteered
and co-organized social justice events with Men Stopping
Violence and many local social justice and civil rights
organizations. During this time, he started learning how to
cook, how to drive a car, how to budget funds with his new
part-time income, and how to make phone calls to
institutions of higher learning to inquire about college
prep courses for his future. He also developed an
appetite
for television variety shows finding pleasure in the comedic
skills of Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien.
The Kidnap
Shifa traveled to Bangladesh to get married in 2005. On
April 17, 2006, he and his wife were returning home when he
was kidnapped by Bangladesh authorities at the request of
the U.S. government. His family did not know where he was
for four days. The family learned later that
the FBI kidnapped Shifa and flew him via Alaska to New York
aboard a "secret" CIA plane, stripping off his clothes and
wrapping him in a plastic-like material during the
flight.
The High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh
later declared Shifa's detention, deportation, and handover
to U.S. authorities illegal because it violated
international laws.
In New York, Shifa was charged with making a false statement
to the FBI. However, in pre-trial hearings several years
later, the FBI revealed Shifa had never lied to them;
rather, it was the FBI who had lied in the initial
indictment to capture him. While he was in Bangladesh, FBI
agents had
communicated with him via e-mail and chat forums, pretending
to be his teenaged friends.
In addition, the government searched his luggage and found a
map of Washington, D.C. This, coupled with his sending
videos of tourist sites in Washington, D.C. to his online
friends, apparently caused the government to reinterpret
these normal activities as something sinister, although
prosecutors conceded that Shifa was not discussing a
terrorist plot. They claimed that he was trying to get in
contact with people who the government considered
"terrorist" abroad, and that he was in some way "associated"
with the Toronto 18, since he and Syed Haris Ahmad had met
with some of the young men who were entrapped in Canada by a
Canadian government informant.
The Case
Shifa and his friend Syed Haris Ahmed were involved in
online chatrooms with youth, although no plans were formed
to do anything illegal. Based on evidence from 2004 and
2005, Shifa was chargedcwith supporting a foreign
organization that was not listed on the U.S. Department of
State's
list of terrorist organizations, Lashkar E Taiba (LET), a
group struggling to liberate Muslim-dominated
Kashmir from India. The organization did not exist in 2004
and 2005, however, and was not designated
as a terrorist organization in the U.S. until after Shifa
was apprehended in April 2006.
The evidence against Shifa included online chats between
teenagers about religious literature that he had
translated from Arabic to English and published online. He
was also accused of sharing videos of tourist
sites with his online friends, but the photos were never
posted anywhere online. During the trial in 2009,
the government could not demonstrate a single conversation
or sentence from the online chats that included plans or plots.
Prosecutors offered him a plea bargain in exchange for
dropping three charges, he could plead guilty
to one count of material support for terrorism, agree to
identify other teenagers from the chats, and testify
against Syed Haris Ahmed and other Muslims who were also
facing similar charges. Shifa refused.
Torture in Prisons
Shifa was imprisoned in solitary confinement at the
Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) for three and half
months before the government transferred him to the Atlanta
Penitentiary in August 2006.
In Atlanta, he was placed in solitary confinement for over
1,300 days (over 3 years). During this time, his health
declined significantly and subjected to prison violence.
Since 2010, after his conviction, he has
been held in the Communications Management Units (CMUs) in
Marion, Illinois, and in Terre Haute, Indiana.
CMUs are known as "Guantanamo North" where Muslims convicted
of "terrorism" related charges are
segregated from the rest of the prison population. Muslim
prisoners in the CMUs do not have access to the
outside world and regular communication with their families.
Their religious and spiritual services and
observances are severely restricted and controlled.
The Trial
The evidence at trial demonstrated that Shifa did not send
videos to LET; that he did not send his co-defendant, Ahmed,
to Pakistan to join LET; and that Ahmed never joined LET
despite multiple opportunities to do so. Information related
to Shifa's kidnapping in Bangladesh was not presented to the
jury during the trial. The majority of government witnesses
were FBI agents who did not participate in the online chats
between teenagers but were allowed to present and interpret
the "evidence." No actual participants in the chats were
brought to testify at trial to interpret the chats for the
jury. Jurors admitted being prejudicial towards Islam and
Muslims but were approved to participate in the trial. Some
jurors slept as evidence was being presented. Their
deliberation lasted only a few hours. No act of violence was
committed by Shifa, his co-defendant, nor anyone else. The
connections to other teenagers abroad were used as evidence
only because they too were Muslims.
The word "jihad" and quotations from the Qur'an with
mistranslated interpretations were also used as evidence at
the federaltrial. Religious expression and the debates of
teenagers were taken out of context by the government to
paint them all as "terrorists" and to prosecute them
preemptively. The full transcripts of the actual chats
remained classified and were not presented to the jury.
Shifa was convicted on all four counts of conspiracy to
provide material support to terrorist organizations and
sentenced to seventeen years with 30 years of surveillance
to follow the full prison term. The judge granted
prosecution all their requests and suppressed key evidence
requested by the defense. Information related to the
kidnapping of Shifa in Bangladesh, the physical assault on
him in prison, the torture during pre-trial solitary
confinement, and the persecution of his free speech and
expression were not allowed to be brought forward for
consideration.
Shifa represented himself at his own trial with no legal
background. The prosecution took advantage of Shifa's lack
of knowledge of the law and submitted evidence that had no
connection to Shifa or the case. Shifa is a US citizen and
his rights to read, write and translate materials, freedom
of expression and speech were violated by his own
government.
The Community
A diverse representation of multiple communities came out
every day to support Shifa and his family. The Muslim
community was joined by African-American, white, and Latino
activists who believed in Shifa's innocence and condemned
the government's attempts to malign and indict Shifa's
character despite the lack of criminal activity. Shifa
addressed the court directly throughout the four-year legal
proceedings and represented himself at his trial from jury
selection to sentencing. Through his self-representation,
Shifa challenged the federal court, the American judicial
system, the foundation and narratives of the U.S.
government's War on Terror, and hidden aspects of the U.S.
Empire. His case and trial exposed that these preemptive
prosecution cases bend the existing legal framework and use
flawed, manufactured logic to further the need for expanded
national security systems.
Shifa did not commit any crime. The government simply
manufactured one based on guilt by association and used him
as a scapegoat to establish precedent for future domestic
terrorist cases
Prison address:
EHSANUL SADEQUEE # 15240006
FCI YAZOO CITY LOW
FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION
P.O. BOX 5000
YAZOO CITY, MS 39194
VIEWPOINT
Leaving Ismailism:
From Darkness to Light
[24 points against Ismaili theory of "the living imam" and
how the writer found the truth.]
by Furqan A. M. Virji
Many times my friends and people I came across ask me about
the specific clear verses of the Qurʾān which
guided me from the darkness of shirk and kufr to
noor-e-hidaya. Instead of giving a long list, I would like
to go by the episodes that occurred in my life and how did
these events help me to achieve the enlightenment of the
Qurʾān.
I was born in the decade of twenties of the last century in
a family which was a staunch believer in
Ismāʿīli tenets of faith and rituals.
Ismāʿīlism was drilled into our brains from
the very formative years. I had to attend religious night
school at the Jamatkhana with strict compulsion from my
father. Through many years of brainwashing, I too became a
staunch believer in Ismāʿīlism.
I was in my final year of my High School studies when
Imām Sultan Muhammad Shah had come to Bombay for the
celebration of his Diamond Jubilee festival. My family also
reached Bombay to participate in this festival. Here on 29th
December 1945, a religious decree (called a 'farman') was
pronounced in which Aga Khan III, Sultan Muhammad Shah
ordained that Ismāʿīlis do not have a book
for guidance or hidaya and instead of a book, they have
living Imām for guidance or hidaya. This was in
accordance with the religious teachings provided in the
religious night school.
Scanned page from Kalam-e-Imam-e-Mubin
Translation:
Haq Mawlana Dhani Salamat Datar Sultan Muhammad Hazar
Imām ordained that:
"You are aware of the fact that the life and the world are
under constant changes. In such situation only Hazar
Imām can provide the proper guidance. There is no
written book for guidance for the Ismailis, but, there is
living Imām."
Reference: Farman No.530/II/p-393 Bombay, Wadi D/-29-12-1945
Kalam-e-Imām-e-Mubin: Holy Farmans of Mawlana Hazar
Imām Sultan Muhammad Shah, Part 2 from 1911 A.D. to
1951 A.D. Published by Hon. Secretary; Mr V N Huda Press and
Publication Department on behalf of Ismailia Association for
India. Ismaili Printing Press, Bhimpura Dongri Mumbai, 1951
A. D.
Everyone present in the gathering concluded the following
key messages from the above speech of the Aga Khan III:
The Final Holy Quran Revealed by Allah is not a book of
divine hidaya or guidance.Only Hazar Imām can provide
divine hidaya or guidance
I was very enthusiastic to practice upon this farman and was
actively conveying this message to other members of the
Ismāʿīli community.
After graduation, I migrated to Pakistan. As I had no money
with me it took some years to settle down in Karachi. The
tenets of the faith and rituals here in Karachi were the
same.
In 1956 a new Ismāʿīli prayer (called
duʿāʾ which Ismāʿīlis offer in
lieu of the Muslim ṣalāt) was introduced and the
old one was abrogated. To my astonishment this prayer was in
Arabic while the previous one was in Gujrati language. All
the parts of this Ismāʿīli prayer began with
an āyah or verse of the Qurʾān.
This posed a great question to me: How it is possible that
the same Imām in December 1945 who issued the farman
that Ismāʿīlis do not have any written book
for guidance, and thus played down the Qurʾān,
comes back after a few years and imposes a new
Ismāʿīli prayer (duʿāʾ) in
which he picks up verses from the same Qurʾān?
From this point, Allāh guided me to study the
Qurʾān that enlightened and illuminated my soul
and changed my thought process.
I went back to what Aga Khan III had claimed earlier as
himself being 'guidance' and compared it with the following
in Qurʾān 2:2-7:
Allah has set a seal upon their hearts and upon their
hearing, and over their vision is a veil. And for them is a
great punishment.
In the above verses, Allāh is clear that this book is
guidance wherein there is no doubt (that is from Allah).
Therefore, it is perfect and eternal for the whole of
humanity. But this guidance is only for the muttaqi, who
have been defined as defined as those who have faith in the
unseen viz. Allah, the Angels, Heaven and Hell, etc., and
secondly those who offer ṣalāt regularly, and
thirdly who spend money in the way of Allāh.
Allāh says that it is these people who are on the right
path and are successful in this life and the hereafter. For
those who deny any of these six points cannot be faithful to
Allah even if the Prophet (pbuh) directly preached to them.
Their Soul and Mind, Their Hearing and visual capability get
sealed through their own deeds and unwillingness.
These are just the first 7 verses of the Qurʾān
after the al-Fatiha in which it is clear that the only
guidance is the book. There is no room for any 'Living
Imām' in this chapter or anywhere else in the
Qurʾān. In addition, there are over 20 proofs in
the Qurʾān that the Qurʾān itself is to
be followed for guidance:
Proof #1
Say, "Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel - it is [none but] he
who has brought the Qur'an down upon your heart, [O
Muhammad], by permission of Allah , confirming that which
was before it and as guidance and good tidings for the
believers." (2:97)
Proof #2
And We have certainly revealed to you verses [which are]
clear proofs, and no one would deny them except the
defiantly disobedient. (2:99)
Proof #3
And never will the Jews or the Christians approve of you
until you follow their religion. Say, "Indeed, the guidance
of Allah is the [only] guidance." If you were to follow
their desires after what has come to you of knowledge, you
would have against Allah no protector or helper. (2:120)
Proof #4
This [Qur'an] is a clear statement to [all] the people and a
guidance and instruction for those conscious of Allāh.
(3:138)
Proof #5
Certainly did Allah confer [great] favor upon the believers
when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves,
reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching
them the Book and wisdom, although they had been before in
manifest error. (3:164)
Proof #6
O mankind, there has come to you a conclusive proof from
your Lord, and We have sent down to you a clear light.
(4:174)
Proof #7
And thus do We detail the verses, and [thus] the way of the
criminals will become evident. (6:55)
Proof #8
Or lest you say, "If only the Scripture had been revealed to
us, we would have been better guided than they." So there
has [now] come to you a clear evidence from your Lord and a
guidance and mercy. Then who is more unjust than one who
denies the verses of Allah and turns away from them? We will
recompense those who turn away from Our verses with the
worst of punishment for their having turned away.
(6:157)
Proof #9
And when Our verses are recited to them as clear evidences,
those who do not expect the meeting with Us say, "Bring us a
Qurʾān other than this or change it." Say, [O
Muhammad], "It is not for me to change it on my own accord.
I only follow what is revealed to me. Indeed I fear, if I
should disobey my Lord, the punishment of a tremendous Day."
(10:15)
Proof #10
Alif, Laam, Meem, Raa: These are the verses of the Book; and
what has been revealed to you from your Lord is the truth,
but most of the people do not believe. (13:1)
Proof #11
Alif, Laam, Meem, Raa: [This is] a Book which We have
revealed to you, [O Muhammad], that you might bring mankind
out of darknesses into the light by permission of their Lord
- to the path of the Exalted in Might, the Praiseworthy
(14:1)
Proof #12
Alif, Laam, Meem, Raa: These are the verses of the Book and
a clear Qurʾān [i.e., recitation]. (15:1)
Proof #13
Indeed, it is We who sent down the message [i.e., the
Qurʾān], and indeed, We will be its guardian.
(15:9)
Proof #14
[We sent them] with clear proofs and written ordinances. And
We revealed to you the message [i.e., the QurÕŒn] that
you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them
and that they might give thought. (16:44)
Proof #15
And We have not revealed to you the Book, [O Muúammad],
except for you to make clear to them that wherein they have
differed and as guidance and mercy for a people who believe.
(16:64)
Proof #16
[All] praise is [due] to Allāh, who has sent down upon
His Servant [Muúammad ()] the Book and has not made
therein any deviance. (18:1)
Proof #17
And recite, [O Muhammad], what has been revealed to you of
the Book of your Lord. There is no changer of His words, and
never will you find in other than Him a refuge. (18:27)
Proof #18
Blessed is He who sent down the criterion (the
Qurʾān) to His servant, that it may be an
admonition to all creatures (25:1)
Proof #19
These are Verses of the Book that makes (things) clear.
(28:2)
Proof #20
Alif, Laam, Meem. These are verses of the wise Book, as
guidance and mercy for the doers of good who establish
prayer and give zakah, and they, of the Hereafter, are
certain [in faith]. Those are on [right] guidance from their
Lord, and it is those who are the successful. (31:1-5)
Proof #21
And those who have been given knowledge see that what is
revealed to you from your Lord is the truth, and it guides
to the path of the Exalted in Might, the Praiseworthy.
(34:6)
Proof #22
By the clear Book. Indeed, We sent it down during a blessed
night. Indeed, We were to warn [mankind]. Therein [i.e., on
that night] is made distinct every precise matter - [every]
matter [proceeding] from Us. Indeed, We were to send [a
messenger]. (44:2-5)
Proof #23
This [Qurʾān] is enlightenment for mankind and
guidance and mercy for a people who are certain [in faith].
(45:20)
Proof #24
But those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, and
believe in the (Revelation) sent down to Muhammad - for it
is the Truth from their Lord, He will remove from them their
ills and improve their condition. (47:2)
Conclusion
There is no reference in whole of the Qurʾān, in
any one ayah that there can be a living Imām as
providing guidance. Everywhere, only the is Qurʾān
the guidance. Therefore, I earnestly request
Ismāʿīli brothers not fall in the trap and
deception of the myth of a 'living Imām'. Believe not
any one but believe in the words of Allāh for the
guidance of humanity that are in the Qurʾān where
there cannot be any misguidance.
