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4 Rajab, 1438 A.H.- April 2, 2017 Issue # 14, Newsletter #1700



Hadith of the Week

Islamic Rule about Rulers.

"Nau'man bin Basheer, r.a., narrates: Once after 'Isha prayers while we were still in the mosque, the Prophet, pbuh, arrived. He looked up at the heavens and then lowered his eyes, We thought something new had happened in the heavens. Then he, pbuh, said: Much after me some lying and oppressive rulers will also come. . One who calls their lies as truth and cooperates with them in oppression, has nothing to do with me. And one who who does not support their lies and does not cooperate with them, then he is of me and I am of him."

[Hadith # 18543 in the Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal.]




 Breaking News

Apache Helicopter [Saudi or US?] Attacked Somali Migrants in a boat.
[Courtesy The Guardian]
published on Friday 17 March 2017 04.51 EDT

At least 42 Somali refugees were killed off the coast of Yemen late on Thursday when a helicopter reportedly attacked the boat they were travelling in.

Coastguard Mohamed al-Alay said the refugees, carrying official UN refugee agency (UNHCR) documents, were travelling from Yemen to Sudan when they were attacked by an Apache helicopter near the Bab el-Mandeb strait.

A senior official with the UN's migration agency confirmed later that 42 bodies had been recovered after the military attack on a boat carrying refugees off the Yemeni coast.

Political Prisoners :

AhmedAbdelSattar.org

FreeZiyadYaghi.info

FreeMasoudKhan.net





 Outreach

Washington DC Islamic Center: Important Document on the passing of the Blind Shaykh, Dr. Omar Abdel Rahman Distributed.

March 31
After Juma, at the famous/notorious Islamic Center of Washington, DC on Massachusettts Avenue, a jamaat al-Muslimeen document wa given to 150 Muslims. Outreach at this center is important because people from all he Muslim embassies come here to pray.

The document contained the following items:

  1. Hadith on those who die in the way of Allah: Re: Shaykh Omar.

  2. Shaykh Omar Abdel Rahman's imprisonment & death in Captivity [Nadrat Siddique]

  3. Betrayal and treachery in the suffering of Shaykh Omar. [Br. Kaukab] Siddique]

  4. Concern & care from Sis. Ayesha & Br. Ali Randall for the Shaykh.

  5. Extreme violence returns to Pakistan. [Media Monitor]

  6. Trump should not scare Muslims. Don't forget Obama's Deception. [Br. Kaukab]

  7. Battles against Assad, Iran & Russia across Syria. [Monitor]






 Palestine

Thousands attend Gaza funeral of slain Hamas official

March 25

Thousands of Palestinians poured into the streets on Saturday in the besieged Gaza Strip for the funeral of murdered Hamas commander Mazen Faqha.

The Hamas movement announced on Friday that 38-year-old Faqha, a former prisoner and senior leader in the al-Qassam Brigades, was "assassinated" by unidentified assailants in southern Gaza City, accusing Israel of carrying out the targeted killing.

Senior member of Hamas' politburo Izzat al-Rishq said the gun used to kill Faqha was equipped with a silencer.

Originally from the district of Tubas in the northern occupied West Bank, Faqha was released from serving a life sentence in an Israeli prison in the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal and exiled to the Gaza Strip.

The Islamic Jihad Movement said Faqha's assassination marked the beginning of "a new offensive" by Israel against the Palestinian resistance, and that the resistance had the right to respond and defend itself.





Latest Khutba



Islam can help and save the Young People of America despite Drug Culture. Why did the Muslim world decline and why is it Rising Again?

On March 31, Br. Kaukab Siddique gave the juma' khutba at Masjid Jamaat al-Muslimeen in central Baltimore. Heavy rain had continued for 4 hours but the attendance was still good.

Here is an outline of the khutba for distribution on line:

Text:
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَقُولُ آمَنَّا بِاللَّه¦ فَإِذَا أُوذِيَ فِي اللَّهِ جَعَلَ فِتْنَةَ النَّاسِ كَعَذَاب¦ اللَّهِ وَلَئِن جَاء نَصْرٌ مِّن رَّبِّكَ لَيَقُول¥نَّ إِنَّا كُنَّا مَعَكُمْ أَوَلَيْَ اللَّهُ بِأَعْلَ¥َ بِمَا فِي صُدُورِ الْعَالَ¥ِينَ

Of mankind is he who says: We believe in Allah, but, if he be made to suffer for the sake of Allah, he mistakes the persecution of mankind for Allah's punishment; and then, if victory comes from thy Lord,will say: Lo! we were with you (all the while). Is not Allah Best Aware of what is in the bosoms of (His) creatures? [The Qur'an 29:10]

  1. Look at the pattern of the Prophet's, pbuh, life. He first gave the message of Allah to his wife and she accepted. Then he spoke to his family and most of them did not accept.

  2. He spoke to the tribes and they did not accept. He did not give up.

  3. The Islamic message contained the rejection of slavery [sura 90] and an end to the subjugation of women plus an appeal to reason and the intellect. Thus the entire power structure was side-stepped.

    "On the Day of Judgment 'When the infant girl buried alive is asked,' for what crime she was killed."(Quran, 81:8-9)

  4. Islam is not limited to a territory. Hence the hijra or migration to Madina took place where the message flourished although opposed by hypocrites and Jewish tribes.

  5. The oppressors would not leave him alone. They attacked him even in Madina. Hence came the teachings on Jihad which lead to the defeat of the oppressors. EVERY long chapter of the Qur'an gives the message of Jihad.

  6. The superpowers of the time, Iran and Rome, decided to overwhelm and destroy the forces of Islam but were toppled. Why? Because Muslims were afraid of Allah alone and the slaves and women within the power structure of the oppressors saw Islam as a liberating force.

  7. This is the pattern of the Prophet's, pbuh, mission followed by his true followers. Who were they? See the Qur'an 9:100


Part 2.

  1. When the Muslims gradually stopped seeking guidance from the Qur'an and the authentic example of the Prophet, pbuh, their power declined. Sects and tribalism became strong among them. Kingship became permanent. After a long internal decline, they were defeated by the western powers. Here we see the emergence of colonialism.

  2. The system of western colonialism was weakened by the emergence of Germany and World War 2. The colonial powers withdrew from India and Africa but they left behind rulers who thought and worked like the Europeans.

  3. The power of Guidance from the Qur'an and authentic Sunnah is emerging again. The Jihad against the Soviet Union and the retreat of the Soviets from Afghanistan was a sign that Islam was rising again.

  4. Today Islam is striving against the second superpower America itself and its ancillaries. Look at Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Sinai, Nigeria, West Africa, even Kashmir and Chechnia.

  5. Within America, Islam has emerged peacefully, entirely owing to the power of the Qur'an and the authentic Sunnah. Malcolm took only a little of the Qur'an and it helped him to break out of the mythical teachings he was given. He went to Africa and Makkah. Millions have embraced Islam in America owing to his example and that of Imam Jamil al Amin and others.

  6. There are evil spirits rampaging through America, undermining all that is good. The greatest evil now is the drug culture. America cannot stop it.

  7. Thousands of young people are dying. America tries to use law to stop corruption but law without the guidance of Allah does not work.

  8. Law in America is cold blooded and unforgiving. Young people make mistakes. They are imprisoned. Their errors are put on their records. They cannot start a new life.

  9. Without compassion, love and hope, young people who have erred cannot survive.

  10. Islam is a message of hope and forgiveness. Almost every chapter heading in the Qur'an refers to Allah's Grace and Mercy.

  11. The Qur'an says Allah forgives all sins. All we have to do is raise our hands and seek forgiveness. Stop associating the powers of the world with Allah.

  12. The hadith says, Allah forgives even mortal sins like adultery if our repentance is sincere and we do not associate others with the power of Allah. Focus on the Hereafter. This world is constantly ending.


Du'a: O Allah, help us to study the Qur'an and the hadith every day. Give us spouses and children who will stand with us for the Islamic causes.




War News

 War News

Iraq

Mosul. Week 24. Trump Week 10

Shia Armada Unable to enter West Mosul. Heavy Fighting Continues. Tel Afar Still in IS hands.

US sending 275 more special forces to fight ISIS. Belgium also bombed Mosul.

This whole week, number 24, has been one of frustration for the huge US backed armada which has surrounded Mosul.

The Baghdad military commander is complaining that the Islamic State has been sending too many truck bombs towards his forces.

Western reports indicate that the Baghdad armada did enter the edge of West Mosul but could not continue into the city owing to "stiff resistance" by the "terrorists."

The population is continue to trickle out and becoming refugees in the displacement camps set up for them. However the BBC admits that only 105000 people have out from a population of 1,000,000. Obviously the people are supporting the Islamic State. Most of the people are coming out owing to terror bombing by the US and the Baghdad-Shia air force.

Belgium has admitted that it too was involved in the bombing of Mosul which resulted in hundreds of civilians killed.

The conditions in the city are bad owing to lack of food and clean water.

Western sources have now admitted that the sugar factory in the city which helped the Islamic State to supply the people has been bombed.

All four bridges have been bombed to stop all supplies of food to the city.

Meanwhile, after 5 months of fighting, Shia extremist forces have been unable to take Tal Afar to the south west of Mosul which links IS in Iraq with Syria.

In a sign of desperation, USA another 275 Special Forces troops to the Mosul area to help the Shia armada. The USA already has 5000 troops "advising" the Baghdad forces.

Meanwhile, this week IS attacked a police check point in Baghdad again killing 17 including three officers.
The quote of the week comes from a Shia army commander who said: Why such a fuss about civilians killed in a US air strike. We have lost thousands of troops in the fighting here.




Syria

Regime Stops Capture of Hama. Bloody fighting at Damascus outskirts.

Kurdish-American advance on al-Raqqa stalled. Fighting in Lattakia & Daraa.

Latest: The Assad regime is making an all out effort to stop the Islamic advance into Damascus from the suburbs of Jobar and the orchards of Barza. The regime fired 25 missiles at the FSA, al-Nusra and other mujahideen groups.

On the southern entrance into Damascus, the regime is using heavy artillery and machine guns to stop the advance by Islamic State fighters in Yarmouk.

Heavy fighting has stopped the capture of Hama by the Islamic forces. It is continuing though the regime recaptured some of the villages it had lost. Russian air force is active.

On April 2, the American coalition carried out 6 strikes on the outskirts of al-Raqqa, the ISIS capital. The advance of SDF [communist Kurds] on al-Raqqa has stalled for the time being. However life in Raqqa is becoming difficult. The Syrian observatory is reporting food shortages and rising prices. Also, well to do families are paying smugglers to take them south of the city by boats on the Euphrates river. The bridges to al-Raqqa have been smashed by the US air force.

Also on April 2, the areas held by the FSA and al-Nusra west of Aleppo were bombed, probably by the Russians.

Al-Nusra/FSA and Assad's forces are in heavy clashes south of Aleppo as the Islamics try to re-enter Aleppo.

Heavy fighting is also reported from Lattakia, the Alawite stronghold.

Two towns supporting the Islamics and two supporting the Shias have been allowed to let their people go in exchange to avoid ongoing suffering through siege and shelling. It's a peaceful exchange because neither side can win

Also the people of al-Waer district in Homs have been allowed to move peacefully by bus to Idlib province which is under Islamic control. The Assad regime had bombed out all the civilian facilities in al-Waer.

Fighting in the Homs-Palmyra regions between ISIS and the regime forces is continuing.

Documentation of death:

March: A Blood Drenched Month in Syria. The Syrian observatory has documented the following deaths in March 2017..

Civilian casualties: 858 including 141 children under the age of eighteen, and 131 citizen women over the age of eighteen, and they were killed as follows:



Losses in the fighting:

Damascus regime: Military and militias: 724 killed
Islamic groups, including FSA, Al-Nusra & ISIS: 762 killed.




PAKISTAN

 Pakistan

Parachinar
Why this terror Attack in Pakistan's Shia Bastion Abutting Afghanistan?

[Special report by New Trend's Media Monitor.]

This is how the March 31 attack was reported by Pakistan's Geo TV

"Terror returned to Kurram Agency on Friday when a blast outside an imambargah located in a busy Parachinar market claimed the lives of 24 people and left 90 others injured.

Eyewitnesses told Geo News a vehicle parked by an unknown person outside the imambargah exploded at approximately 11AM.

Survivors described hiding inside shops after hearing a "huge bang" - then stumbling through dust-choked air filled with the sound of screams, tripping over bodies as they searched for the wounded in the busy market in Parachinar, the capital of Kurram tribal agency."

Pakistan is aghast at the return of "terror" despite the all out offensives by the army against "extremists" in North Waziristan, South Punjab and various areas of Karachi. Several thousand opponents of the military have been killed in these offensives. The entire population of North Waziristan was deported from their homes.

The Pakistani military offensives are linked to American initiatives in the region. Washington feels threatened by the intense loyalty of the frontier people to Islam. Pakistani generals are frequent visitors to the American CIA and to NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Russian troops too have appeared in Pakistan and have been treated as honored guests recently.

In the meantime, the Shias of Pakistan have consistently supported the military's moves against the Islamic populations. Jet fighters, helicopter gunships, heavy artillery, tanks and torture have been used against the frontier peoples.

A further development has been the movement of Shia Pakistanis to Iraq and Syria to support the regimes in Baghdad and Damascus. Shias also support the regime in Kabul which has NATO backing.

The bombing of Islamic cities by Assad, Iran, Hizbullah and Russia has resulted in tens of thousands of civilian casualties as well as deaths of thousands of armed Islamic militia men trying to topple Assad and the Baghdad regime.

Twenty four weeks of Shia attacks on Mosul too have resulted in massive Iraqi Muslim casualties.

It is feared that the influx of Shias from Pakistan, Afghanistan and India, armed and trained by Iran, have brought recurring renewal of reinforcements for the Baghdad and Damascus regimes. These are badly needed because Iran has admitted to the death of 2100 of its troops in Syria alone.

Pakistani public opinion in the cities is cut off from the war in Syria and Iraq as if it is happening in some other planet. Shia support for the Kabul regime too is not understood in Pakistan.
Parachinar is strategically located right on the Afghan border to provide a steady supply of Shias to Kabul, Baghdad and Damascus.




Army's Takeover of the Country.
by Shaikh Mohommad·
[F.C.A at Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales]

It is high time that Military personnel are treated as employees of Pakistan Army when they retire. Pakistan was formed by the struggle of ordinary people and sadly the country has been high jacked by the Army. What we see is that the Army has virtually taken over the country. Top civilian posts of Government departments are held by retired Army personnel. Pakistan Army has a bank and it carries out business activities. It is high time that the Army stays in barracks as in other countries.





SC orders NAB to de-notify three retired military officials
By Hasnaat Mailk
Published: March 29, 2017
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1368565/sc-orders-nab-de-notifythree-retired-military-officials/#comment-4953672

ISLAMABAD: The top court on Wednesday ordered National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman to immediately de-notify the service of three retired military officials who were inducted in the body without due process and were refusing to opt for premature retirement.

A three-judge bench of the apex court headed by Justice Amir Hani Muslim also formed a committee headed by secretary establishment division to review the appointments and promotions of 232 NAB officials. The committee has been directed to complete the task within two months.

Three NAB officials refuse to heed SC advice

Advertisement

Further, the bench expressed hope that all vacancies will be filled with merit and in view of Article 240 of the constitution.

NAB chairman apprised the country's top court on Tuesday regarding the induction of the three officials. In compliance with the previous order, Qamar Zaman Chaudhry told the three-judge bench that Lahore DG Buhan, Quetta DG Tariq Mahmood, and Director Shakeel were not willing to leave their posts.

Top court summons graft watchdog chief

Earlier, the Establishment secretary and the NAB chairman admitted that nine officers were illegally inducted in the institution.

Chaudhry said that that two of the illegally inducted officers had already retired, while two officers availed early retirement, and two others rejoined their parent departments.




RESEARCH

 Research

Great Rise in Heroin Use is Among Whites, Study Says.
By Nadia Kounan
Wed, March 29
CNN)The numbers are startling -- in2015, 52,404 people died from drug overdoses according to the U.S.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sixty-three percentof those deaths involved an opioid. More people die from drug overdoses than from guns or car accidents. At the peak of the AIDS epidemic in 1995, 43,115 people in the United States died from the disease.

25% of all overdoses are from heroin
 Heroin

Furthermore, since 1999, the number of overdoses from prescription opioids like oxycodone and hydrocodone, as well as illicit drugs like heroin, have quadrupled. In fact, heroin now accounts for one in four overdose deaths in the United States.

Now, a new study in the journal JAMA Psychiatry looks beyond the total number of overdose deaths to get a better picture of how heroin use patterns have changed since 2001. Since then, the number of people who have used heroin has increased almost five-fold, and the number of people who abuse heroin has approximately tripled.

The greatest increases in use occurred among white males.

Heroin use on the rise

'Deaths of despair' fuel rising midlife mortality for white Americans
The authors evaluated the responses of 79,402 individuals, as collected from the 2001-2002 and the 2012-2013 National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, a longitudinal study conducted by the National Institutes of Health to evaluate alcohol and drug use and abuse. While heroin use between whites and non-whites was fairly similar in the 2001-2002 results, at 0.34% and 0.32% respectively, by 2012-2013 the percentage of whites who had used heroin jumped to 1.90%. Just 1.05% of non-whites in 2012-2013 used heroin. Heroin use also increased significantly among those with ahigh school education or less, as well as those who lived at less than 100% of the federal poverty line.
The authors of the new reportwrite "these trends are concerning because increases in the prevalence of heroin use and use disorder have been occurring among vulnerable individuals who have few resources to overcome problems associated with use."

 Senator McCaskil

Senator McCaskill opens investigation into opioid manufacturers

According to a 2016 Surgeon General's report on alcohol, drugs and health, only one in 10 of those with a substance use disorder receive any treatment.

"The good news is that among all drugs of abuse, heroin and opioids have by far the best treatment medications available. Methadone and buprenorphine have proven effectiveness data, they not only reduce the chances of dying from an opioid overdose by 50%, they support people being in recovery from their addiction and reduce health care costs and improve a wide array of other outcomes," said Caleb Banta-Green, an associate professor of health services at the University of Washington. Banta-Green was not involved in the study.

Starting with prescription drugs

The study also confirmed the idea that many heroin users start by using prescription opioids like oxycodone and hydrocodone. Approximately one-third of all white heroin users reported using prescription drugs for non-medical purposes in 2001-2002. By 2013 more than half of all white heroin users started by initially using prescription drugs. For non-whites, the number of people who started by using prescription drugs before heroin actually dropped in the same time frame.

This is America on drugs: A visual guide

An accompanying editorial by Bertha Madras, a psychologist at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts and former deputy director in the White House's Office of National Drug Control and Policy pointed to the shift in treating pain as a major factor in understanding the current crisis. She noted that in the past two decades, the number of opioid prescriptions has risen three-fold.

"This shift in practice norms was fueled by acceptance of low quality evidence that opioids are a relatively benign remedy for managing chronic pain," she wrote. "These vast opioid supplies created a risk for diversion, opioid misuse and disorder, and overdose death."

The study did not find any significant difference when looking at what age groups were using heroin, but heroin dependency and addiction was significantly higher for those below the age of 45 than those above. That should be a cause of concern, said Banta-Green, who noted that one of the costs of overdoses and abuse to society is lost productivity.

Join the conversation

A county-by-county study released Wednesday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, calculated that drug overdose deaths resulted in a 778 years of potential life lost for every hundred thousand people. This report also found that most of the increase in premature deaths in 15- to 44-year-olds is due to drug overdoses. And while no community is immune to this crisis, suburbs, which used to have the lowest rates of premature deaths from drug overdoses now have the highest rates.

The authors of the longitudinal study note that "heroin use appears to have become more socially acceptable among suburban and rural white individuals, perhaps because its effects seem so similar to those of widely available [prescription opioids]."

The findings of these new reports are in line with earlier research over the past two decades about increasing heroin and opioid overdoses. "The trend isn't a surprise -- the takeaway is what matters. Heroin use disorder is a serious medical condition with which individuals are likely to struggle for the rest of their life. We need to give them the tools they need to survive and thrive," said Banta-Green.




News Within the U.S.

 News within the US

Atlanta, Georgia
Three Drugees Set fire to centrally located Elevated
Highway
[Courtesy Washington Post. April 1]

Traffic in Atlanta was reported backed up for miles as fire crews battled a major fire along a stretch of highway. The fire also caused a section of freeway to collapse. (Reuters)

Three people have been charged in connection to a Thursday fire north of downtown Atlanta that resulted in the collapse of an elevated span of Interstate 85, a major city thoroughfare that connects five states.

Basil Eleby is charged with first-degree arson and first-degree criminal damage to property, a felony. His bail was set at $200,000. Sophia Bruner and Barry Thomas were charged with criminal trespass, and investigators said more charges could be pending.

The three had gathered under the bridge to smoke crack, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Eleby told investigators he regularly passes through the area on the way to his job at a nearby tire shop, according to the affidavit. Although Eleby denied setting the fire, Thomas said he watched Eleby place a chair on top of a shopping cart near fiber optic wire stored in PVC pipes under the bridge and ignite the piece of furniture. Then they scattered.

The fire was "maliciously set," Sgt. Cortez Stafford, a spokesman for the Atlanta Fire Department, told The Washington Post. Investigators spoke with the suspects Friday night but have not released more details on what the threesome was doing before the fire broke out. The fire quickly grew out of control as the flames consumed the pipes that had been under the elevated highway for more than a decade. Storing pipes under highways is neither dangerous nor uncommon, Stafford said.




AFRICA

 Africa

Serious Drought in Kenya, East Africa.
Muslims Helping the Suffering Communities.


Assalaamu Alaykum WaRahamtullahi WaBarakatahu,
HHRD CEO Dr. Farrukh Raza is currently touring Africa visiting drought victims and assessing the situation alongside our HHRD Africa team. With the threat of starvation, malnutrition, water borne diseases, and death looming overhead the citizens of these countries are relying on the international community to stand together and send aid. The world can not wait to see hundreds dying due to famine and drought before collectively doing something.

Dr. Raza arrived in Nairobi earlier this week with the welcomed sign of rain. His tour led him to cities which had not received rainfall for over two years! The hardest hit countries of Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania are currently facing the threat of starvation if aid does not come in.

 Kenya

"It was a wonderful opportunity for me to help out today in drought affected areas. Alhumdulillah they had a few showers on the eve of my visit which made the dirt road stable enough for us to drive on with aid," shared Dr. Raza of his trip thus far.

Food and water distributions in Kilifi county Kenya were also conducted. Food packages contain rice, sugar, tea, cooking oil, maize meal or wheat flour, beans, and salt. For $100 a family of 5 will have enough food for over two weeks!

 Kenya

Water trucks bring clean drinking water to drought victims where there are limited to no water sources. The containers Dr. Raza filled will help provide clean water for 300 families or 1,800 individuals.

Over 300 people lined up to collect assistance from Dr. Raza and our HHRD Africa team bringing with them their young children and elderly parents. Consecutive years of drought have plagued the continent with generation of families suffering together.

 Kenya

This beautiful child is struggling to survive, and is waking up each morning not knowing if there will be a meal for the day. We can not allow this to happen on our watch.

Wasalaam Walaykum WaRahmatullahi WaBarakatahu,
-HHRD Team

2017-04-03 Mon 04:29:03 ct

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