Palestine and Al-Aqsa are the heart of this Ummah and a
barometer of its health.
Do we know how relevant is what Allah (swt) said;
"Whenever they kindle the fire of war, Allāh puts it
out. "And Allāh has full control over His affairs, but
most people do not know."
Abū Dharr once asked the Prophet
( peace be upon him ):
"O Messenger of Allāh, which mosque was built on Earth first?"
He said, "Al-Masjid al- Ḥarām (in Mecca)."
I said, "Then which [mosque]?"
He said, "Al-Masjid al-Aqsa." I said, "How much time was
there between them?"
He said, "Forty years."
Al-Aqsa is no ordinary mosque, and Palestine is no ordinary land.
It served as a venue for the greatest conference to have
ever taken place on Earth!
One that was attended by every Prophet to have walked the
globe, and when the greatest of them —Prophet Muhammad
( ) — was made to lead them all in prayer.
Finally, the Messenger of Allah (saw) arrived in the holy
city of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) and he said, 'When we reached
Bait al-Maqdis [literally 'the holy house' another name for
the Blessed Masjid Al-Aqsa]
Jibril (as) pointed with his finger causing a crack in the
rock, and he tied the Buraq to it [at the western wall of
the noble sanctuary]' (Tirmidhi)
Waiting inside were all 124,000 Prophets (as). Jibra'eel
(as) led the Prophet (saw) to the front, and he (saw) led
them all in prayer in this blessed space.
Some narrations indicate that the Prophet (saw) prayed 'two
units of prayer' (Muslim) to greet the Masjid (known as
Tahiyyat al-Masjid).
This is one of the first examples of this established Sunnah
of the Prophet (saw).
It is also mentioned that Jibril (as) called the Adhan (call
to prayer) before this practice was even established later
in Madinah and that the angels from the heavens descended to
pray behind all the Prophets in this sacred place -
Subhan-Allah
Ibn Abbās mentions:
"Bait al-Maqdis was built by the Prophets and inhabited by
the Prophets. There is not the area of a single hand span
except that a Prophet prayed in it or an angel stood on it."
Al-Masjid al-Aqsa was the first qibla of the Prophet [pbuh]
and his Companions, and remained so for around 14 and a half
months before it was then changed to the Ka'bah.
This venue was unique - when the Prophet ( pbuh ) received
his invitation to visit heavens, Allāh chose Palestine
for his ascension, in order to create within the hearts of
Muslims the unbreakable link between Mecca and Palestine.
"Glory be to Him who took His slave on a journey by night
from al-Masjid al-Ḥarām to al- Masjid al-Aqsa,
whose surroundings We have blessed, in order to show him
some of Our Signs. He is the All-Hearing, the
All-Seeing."
The Prophet ( ) said: "Do not undertake a journey to visit
any mosque but three: this mosque of mine, the Mosque of
al-Ḥarām, and the Mosque of Aqsa."
Your position is an amānah (trust). Your ummah' causes
expect more from you
Be proactive, create solutions.
By all means, sign petitions, lobby congress, boycott,
divest, and attend demonstrations.
Consider the following:
Teach your children about the value of Palestine and the
importance of masjid Al Aqsa.
confront the zionist myths surrounding al-Aqsa. How can
these myths be addressed creatively
Political interaction for al-Aqsa is increasing, but what
about our local cities, many of whom have contracts with
Israeli businesses or support Israeli settlements. How can
this be addressed?
Unlike Zionist charity work, most of our charity work for
Al-Aqsa is reactive. What ways can we make it proactive?
Think out of the box, voice your opinions, and take the lead
on the cause.
Promote optimism
What can I do for Al-Aqsa?
When the Muslim military leader Qutayba b. Muslim looked
into the enemy lines and found himself surprised by their
numbers and weapons. He enquired about the scholar:
Muḥammad b. Wāsi'. He was told that he was on the
right side of the Muslim army carrying his bow, pointing his
finger into the heavens in du'ā. Qutayba said:
"That finger of his is dearer to me than one hundred
thousand swords and strong soldiers."
So dedicate a few minutes for al-Aqsa and Palestine in your dua'a
Pakistan
How did Pakistan become a Nuclear Power?
via Muhammad Afzal Joyia in Pakistan
translated from Urdu
Takbeer day is a big success, big milestone.
The credit for this goes to many people.
The one who started this nuclear program means Mr. Bhutto.
If Bhutto hadn't started, Dr. Abdul Qadir would have gone
back and we would still be hitting twists and turns..
The biggest part was of of the nuclear scientist who set the
most important phase like uranium enrichment and then made
the entire plan to build an atom bomb as the head of the
Kahuta plant project i.e. Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan. Without
him, this Couldn't have happened.
Credit goes to General Zia and his colleagues especially
Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Zahid Ali Akbar, Ajlal Haider Zaidi and
all those involved in the administrative, financial affairs
of the project. General Zia gave full force to the Atomic
program. He continued with it and endured all the pressure.
If General Zia had gone backwards everything would be over;
atom bomb could never be made.
Somewhere there is a part of Afghan Jihad. The US
administration and the CIA were so restless to defeat their
old enemy Soviet Union that they deliberately kept their
eyes closed to the Pakistani nuclear program. A book titled
Charlie Wilson,s War gives details of this. The Pakistani
nation paid a huge price for the Afghan resistance, but this
is why it was possible to become a nuclear power.
A big portion of credit goes to these anonymous
′′ unsung ′′ heroes, the scientists,
experts, technicians who worked day and night, completed the
project and the nation doesn't even know the names of
ninety-nine percent of them. Many such scientists
deliberately kept themselves away from the media. One such
engineer has now left the world; there are many like him.
May Allah reward everyone for making Pakistan the only
Muslim nuclear force.
The Pakistani army must be credited as an institution that
they have always protected the nuclear program and tolerated
the continuous pressure of a superpower like America. Till
today our nuclear assets are safe, existing, the program is
going on. Big credit goes to the army and establishment
alike.
Not of the nuclear program itself, but a huge credit for the
atomic blast goes to the Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif of
this time. No one can deprive Mian Nawaz Sharif from this
credit.
The fact is that Mian Nawaz Sharif fought immense American
pressures and other world forces at that time. He could have
easily compromised, would have backed out for a few billion
dollars, possible for him personally as well. Million
Dollars perhaps were offered.
Mian Nawaz's credit is even more because many of his own
team were strongly opposed to the nuclear blast; many of his
trusted colleagues advised not to blast otherwise there will
be sanctions.
Mian Nawaz Sharif tolerated all the pressure and took
courage and made nuclear blasts. This is his credit. His
role in history will be written in golden words.
The military leadership of that time was definitely in favor
of these explosions but the decision was of the Prime
Minister.
The army chief, slow minded person like Jahangir Karamat
could not be expected to dictate the decision to the Prime
Minister.
Majeed Nizami and some ministers also spoke in favor of the
blast, but Mian Nawaz Sharif did many things that Majeed
Nizami was against, he did not listen to everything of
Majeed Nizami Sahib; Similarly, what was the political
status of Gohar Ayub etc that he was the Prime Minister. He
could not put pressure on Nawaz Sharif.
Nawaz Sharif decided to do nuclear blast. He should get
credit for it. We are critics of many policies of Mian
Sahib, his political strategy and practices, but that
doesn't mean dishonesty should be done.
Different people have a part in the nuclear program. If
anyone likes it or bad, the part of Bhutto Sahib cannot be
removed. Similarly, no matter how much you abuse General
Zia, the credit is for completing the nuclear program.
Statements of Dr. Abdul Qadir Khan As much as their desire
for fame is disliked, he is a favor to the Pakistani nation.
Criticize the establishment, but he has always protected the
nuclear program and saved it from global conspiracies in
every era.
Mian Nawaz Sharif No matter how bad they say about him, he
did the blasts and then it was not possible without unusual
guts.
Give everyone their right, that's justice, that's justice.
(Written by: Amir Khakwani)
War News + Civil Disturbances.
Syria
100 Russian Air Strikes. IS Advancing.
May 29: Daraa city. A regime security man killed by unknown
gunmen.
May 28. Assad regime's artillery set fire to farmland in the
Sahl al Ghab area of Hama province.
Assad regime and Islamic group traded rocket fire on the
Jabal al-Zawiyah area of Irbid province.
May 27. Northern Aleppo province, Turkish force shelled
Kurdish communist positions around Tel Refaat city. Two
Kurdish killed trying to infiltrate.
In the al-Quneitra area gunmen killed an Assad soldier.
All week Russian bombing continued against ISIS in the
eastern provinces and ISIS attempts to advance continued.
Regime troops killed by ISIS and ISIS killed b y Russian
bombing. SOHR reports growing losses on both sides. 100
Russian air strikes in three days.
Clash reported near El Bab city between pro-Turkish and
pro-Isis. Two killed on one side, 3 on the other.
May 26. Protests and rallies against the dictator of
Damascus were held in cities free of the regime. Assad
declared himself elected by 95 %.
With the help of Russia, Iran and Hizbullah along with the
Alawite sect, Assad is clinging to power. Here is a
reasonably balanced article published by NPR about Assad's
election "victory."
Syrian Election Shows The Extent Of Assad's Power
Updated May 27, 20215:49 PM ET
RUTH SHERLOCK
Twitter
Men walk in front of a campaign poster for Syrian President
Bashar Assad whose government announced Thursday that he had
won reelection.
Hassan Ammar/AP
It was a decision as symbolic as the Syrian presidential
election itself.
On Wednesday morning, Syrians woke to local television
footage of President Bashar Assad and the first lady, Asma
Assad, casting their ballots. The pair were not in a
loyalist stronghold but in Douma, the satellite town of
Damascus whose residents proved some of the staunchest
opponents to Syria's authoritarian regime.
In the early days of Syria's decade-long civil war, people
from Douma formed some of the first armed groups against the
regime. Civilians there also held mass protests, risking
live bullets from government soldiers to call for an end to
the regime.
They paid a heavy price. In 2013, the regime placed Douma
and other satellite towns in these eastern suburbs of
Damascus under a tight siege, blockading food, medical
equipment and aid supplies. For five years, civilians
survived on mostly scraps and some starved. The regime and
its ally Russia hit the area with airstrikes and shellfire
that rights groups say targeted homes, bakeries and hospitals.
A chemical weapons attack on Douma in 2018 prompted
then-President Donald Trump to take the most concerted
direct action of the war against the regime with airstrikes
in government-held Syria.
Now, with Assad back in control of large parts of Syria,
Wednesday's presidential election was a chance for the
regime demonstrate the extent of its power.
Syrian President Bashar Assad and his wife, Asma, vote at a
polling station during the presidential election Wednesday
in Douma, near the Syrian capital of Damascus.
Hassan Ammar/AP
"Assad casting his ballot in Douma is sending a message
telling the opposition that we are celebrating through your
demise. We are in power here, we are in control," says Danny
Makki, a Syrian British journalist and analyst in Damascus.
"It's a message about who is top dog within Syria."
Late Thursday the government announced the result, claiming
Assad had won 95% of the vote with a nearly 79% turnout, the
Associated Press reported.
The result was expected and served as another projection of
the regime's resilience.
This show of strength is visible in Damascus, where giant
posters of Assad daub the walls of high-rise buildings,
roundabouts and roadsides. In recent weeks, dinners and
dances have been held in support of the Syrian president's
campaign.
Many of these events are organized by Syrian businessmen and
other citizens who see this presidential election - the
first in seven years — as a way to ingratiate
themselves with the regime. Assad's government, with its
sprawling security apparatus, once again tightly controls
almost every aspect of Syrian life — from whom you can
do business with to what you can say.
The U.S., along with Britain, France, Germany and Italy,
released a joint statement calling the Syrian presidential
election "neither free nor fair" and voicing support for
civil society and Syrian opposition groups who have
condemned the process.
Assad's two challengers in the presidential race are
Abdallah Saloum Abdallah, a former deputy Cabinet minister,
and Mahmoud Ahmed Marei, who leads a small opposition party
approved by the government.
Meanwhile, known political opponents to Assad remain in
exile, or are among the tens of thousands of people that the
United Nations says have been arrested, tortured and
disappeared into regime prisons since the start of the
conflict in 2011.
The presidential candidates in this election have lacked
both the funds and time to campaign. That means they have
been unable to mount any significant challenge to Assad,
whose family has ruled Syria with an iron fist for some five
decades.
Makki says Syrian law allowed the candidates only 10 days to
campaign, so many Syrians barely knew who Assad's
challengers were. Instead of a serious presidential race, he
says, the run-up to the election has been a "celebratory
kind of pro-Assad great spectacle that has been played and
replayed in every part of the country."
This fealty was also seen at the polls, with some voters
pricking their fingers with needles at polling stations so
that they could sign their support for the president with
their blood. This was often coupled with the popular
pro-Assad chant: "With our blood and soul we sacrifice our
lives for you Bashar."
The vote took place only in parts of Syria that are back
under government control. It excluded the millions of
citizens living in the rebel-held province of Idlib and in
the northeast of Syria that is controlled by U.S.-backed
Kurdish forces, which together make up almost a third of the
country.
After 10 years of war, more than half of Syria's population
has fled the country or been internally displaced. The war
in Syria has left an estimated half a million people dead
and has devastated entire cities.
Just as Syrians try to start to piece back together their
lives in government-held parts of the country, they have
been sent back into spiraling poverty by an economic crisis
caused by the war, Western sanctions and the effect of the
economic collapse in neighboring Lebanon.
In regime-held Syria, now mostly home to loyalists or people
who lack the political or economic freedom to leave, it was
expected that most of those going to the polls would cast
ballots for Assad.
"The people inside Syria right now believe that the best
solution for them is the current president," a Syrian
businessman in Damascus tells NPR, asking not to be named
because he fears that speaking with Western media could
upset the regime.
He says Syrians want to use this election to be a starting
point to "build a better Syria," and are desperate for
stability and a new era of peace, even if it means living
under the current regime. "People want hope."
The election result is a foregone conclusion, and does
little to build relations with Western governments. But it
is a useful tool for the Syrian regime to project legitimacy
with governments in the region.
There are new signs of rapprochement between Syria and Saudi
Arabia, which backed opponents of Assad in the war. Saudi's
intelligence chief reportedly met with his Syrian
counterpart in Damascus this month. Syrian state media say
the country's tourism minister, Muhammad Rami Martini, is
visiting Saudi Arabia for the first time in what is
reportedly the first trip there by a Syrian regime minister
in a decade.
Beyond the pomp and demonstrations of support for Assad,
there are other Syrians for whom the election is symbolic of
everything they have lost.
"The regime stole our lives. They destroyed our lives," a
Syrian from the city of Homs tells NPR from the U.K., where
he now lives. He fled there in 2011 after seeing his friends
killed and arrested in government crackdowns on peaceful
demonstrators.
He didn't want NPR to use his name for fear it could
endanger his family members who still live in Syria.
"If you look at Syria's cities, they are in ruins, and these
are really the ruins of our lives and dreams and hopes," he
says. "People just wished for a better future to live in
dignity, freedom and justice."
He says the regime has won at the cost of the country. In
this collapsed economy, his family in Syria, like so many
others, struggles even to put meals on the table. "The
regime turned Syria into a society that is built on
despair."
Sri Lanka
Large scale Buddhist move against Muslim Minority.
[Excerpted from a report by Prof. A.R.M. Imtyaz in Eurasia
review of May 29.]
Muslims in Sri Lanka are a minority, constituting about 9.2
per cent of the population. The community is divided into
three main ethno-social backgrounds: Sri Lankan Moors,
Indian Moors and Malays. The other groups include the Memons
and the Bohras. Though most Muslims (62 per cent) live
outside the north and east of Sri Lanka where the Sinhalese
majority predominantly live, 38 per cent of the Muslim
population live in Tamil-dominated areas.
The government's announcement to ban the burqa and close
madrasas was not received positively by Sri Lankan Muslims.
The announcement constituted an assault on Muslim identity.
The burqa ban and closure of madrasas will badly impact the
lives of ordinary Sri Lankan Muslims. The majority of Sri
Lankan Muslims have fallen behind in terms of education and
economic achievement.
For many Muslim women in Sri Lanka, the practice of wearing
a burqa helps them not only to abide by their faith but also
to pursue education and work outside of the home and local
village. Banning the burqa will remove the ability for some
women to seek economic opportunities as they would not be
able to adhere to their values while doing so.
The government is also looking to shut down some 1000
unregistered madrasas.
News Within the U.S.
Not Oppressed by anyone but Hated by many.
by Sis. Aisha
[Jamaat al-Muslimeden New York]
On May 20th dual protests for and against Israeli aggression
in Palestine took place that evening in Midtown
Manhattan.
A Zionist-Jewish man, leaving the train station to attend a
protest, was attacked by what appeared to be five people of
Arab descent. Two have already been taken into custody:
Faisal Elezzi, 25 years old, and Waseem Awawdeh, 23 years
old. They are both charged with assault as a Hate Crime
solely based on the Jewish man's account of what occurred.
There is a manhunt on for the other three people.
This Jewish man, 28-year old Joseph Borgen, stated that he
did not know why he was attacked with so much hatred. The
video only caught the attack and not what may have
precipitated it. Meanwhile, Borgen claims he was texting a
friend when he realized he was being chased. He stated that
he was beaten with crutches, kicked, and pepper sprayed.
Usually, prosecutors are very slow to charge White men with
Hate Crimes when they involved are in physical altercations
with non-Whites or gays, including mass shootings.
Investigators wait until they get all of the details, which
could take weeks or months.
The media claims that there has been an uptick in
anti-Jewish attacks across America. Usually, when a
synagogue is defaced, a Jewish youth is the culprit,
however. But, the Anti-Defamation League has claimed to have
received 193 possible anti-Jewish incidents one week after
the "crisis" in Occupied Palestine began, an increase from
131 reported incidents. This indicates that there was
already anti-Zionist sentiment in existence.
Now, Joseph Borgen is giving interviews on various networks
about his ordeal. He continues to be baffled about the
hatred he is seeing around the country. I noticed in his
interview with CNN's Don Lemon, Borgen was trying to liken
anti-Zionism to the victimization of Asians across the
country.
What you sow is what you shall reap (Qur'an 2:134). Zionism
is a form of oppression secular Jews have inflicted on the
entire World. Borgen is correct when he calls the so-called
anti-Semitic behavior hatred because Zionists are not
oppressed by anyone but, they are hated by many. Their
narcissism prevents them from admitting this truth and the
reasons why to themselves or anyone else.
I will keep you posted with any updates.
(Sources: NBCNews.com, Yahoo! News & CNN.com)
Invitation to Think
Nuremberg: The Last Battle
by David Irving
Using the unpublished diaries and papers of the principal
actors David Irving takes a close-quarters look at the trial
which finally ended World War Two. There would be few crimes
listed in the indictment at Nuremberg of which one or other
of the four prosecuting powers was not guilty of itself. In
the cause of defeating Adolf Hitler, civilian populations
had been burned and blasted, murdered, brutalised,
intimidated, deported, and enslaved; aggressive wars had
been launched, neutral countries occupied by pretext and
deceit, and the unalterable paragraphs of international
conventions flagrantly violated.
Guidance
From Sis. Yasmin
Ikhlas
'Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim'
'Assalaamualaykum Wa Rahmatuallahi WaBarakatahu'.
'Ikhlas' [Sincerity] is probably the most difficult
of all actions in Islam...!
Sincerity in seeking Allah's pleasure alone in all
our deeds requires a high-level of consciousness
of our Creator that must be consistent over time.
More often than not,
we fall into the problem of 'Riya'
[showing off ] where our deeds are really
for the sake of people than for the sake of Allah.
Sheikh Abdul Malik Ar-Ramadani (Allah have mercy on him)
mentions some narrations
on this subject from the righteous people of the past in his
book 'Sittu Durar'
'Ikhlas' is "when the servant's internal and external actions
are the same... And 'Riya' is when the external actions are
better than the internal actions (of the heart).
Truthfulness in one's sincerity is when the internal
is better (developed) than the external."
{ Source~ Madarij-us- Salikeen ~ # 2/91 }
Bilal Bin Sa'd (Allah have mercy on him) said...
"Do not be a 'Wali' (friend) of Allah outwardly,
yet an enemy to Him internally."
{Source ~Ahmad in Az-Zuhd, Abu Nu'aym in Al-Hilyah}
It has been stated, "Ikhlas is that you
do not request anyone to witness
your actions except Allah...!
and that you do not seek anyone to
reward you except Him...!"
Salamah Bin Dinar~(Allah have mercy on him) said...
"Hide your good deeds (from the people)
just like you hide your evil deeds".
{Source~ Abu Nu'aym, Bayhaqi}
And in a narration in Al-Bayhaqi...
"Hide your good deed like you
hide your evil deed...
and do not be delighted at your own action,
for you do not know whether you are happy
or wretched (in the Hereafter)."
It has been stated in a definition of 'Ikhlas'....
"It is to single out Allah in one's intention
{Qasd} in one's obedience (to Him)."
Hammad Bin Zaid ~ (Allah have mercy on him) said...
'I used to walk with Ayyoob As-Sakhtiyani
(Allah have mercy on him)
and he would take
me through different routes...!
I would be surprised at how he would
guide himself through them, fleeing from
being seen by the people who might say,
'This is Ayyoob... !'
he also said...
"Ayyoob used to take me via a route that was
the longest and I would say
"But this one is closer."
he would reply...
"I fear (passing by these) gatherings."
When he would pass by them and give 'Salaams',
they would reply to him with more than what
(they would do for) others !
... so he would say...
'O Allah, you know that I did not desire this' !
{Source~ Ibn Sa'd, Al-Fasawi }
Abu Zur'ah Bin Abi Amr (Allah have mercy on him) said...
'Ad-Dahhak~(Allah have mercy on him) Bin Qays
came out and made the prayer for rain with the people,
but they were not granted rain, and nor did they see
any clouds come.
Ad-Dahhak~ (Allah have mercy on him) said...
"Where is Yazeed Bin Al-Aswad?" (And in another
narration...
"But nobody answered him!". He then said again,
"Where is Yazeed Bin Al-Aswad Al-Jurashee ? "
And I was insistent on calling him that if he was to
hear my words he would get up.)
"Here I am," he answered...
So Ad-Dahhak~(Allah have mercy on him) said...
" Stand and intercede with Allah on our behalf,
that he should grant us rain."
So Yazeed stood up, made his face pointed in the direction
of his feet, and made his head sink into his shoulders
(out of humility)..
he then said...
"O Allah, these servants of yours
sought Your intercession through me.
he had not called upon Allah three (3) times except
that the people were granted rain in such abundance
that they almost drowned on account of it...!
Then Yazeed said...
" O Allah, this one made a show of me ( Ad-Dahhak )
[ by asking for him and calling out for him ....]
so grant me freedom from this (fame)."
Yazeed did not live except
until the next 'Jum'uah'...{!}
[Source~ Sheikh Abdul Malik Ar-Ramadani ~ Sittu Durar ]
~ My 'Salaams' to all ~
Y a s m i n.
"All that is on earth will Perish. But will abide
{Forever}
the Face of thy Lord, full of Majesty, Bounty and
Honour"
{'Qur'an'- Surah Al-Rahman-55.26-27 }
Abingdon, Maryland.
Person to Person.
A six page document from New Trend magazine was given to 18
Muslims after Juma\' salat.
This was a very important document.
It has been sent on a large scale via facebook.
Please scroll down to see what was in it in the large scale
distribution through facebook.
Please scroll down to see major outreach via facebook.
Du'a and Message
from Imam Badi Ali
May 29.
As-slamu alaikum,
Make dua for your children.
Tell your children that you love them, tell them how
beautiful they are and how important they are to you. Hug
them, its a sunnah to kiss your children.
Your children will become what you are; so be what you want
them to be.
May Allah protect our children whenever and wherever they
are, Ameen..
Terrible History
[Excerpted from Detroit Free Press]
One hundred years ago, one of the worst instances of racial
violence in U.S. history erupted in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
On May 31 and June 1, 1921, a white mob attacked the city's
Greenwood district, dubbed the "Black Wall Street," and
inflicted two days of terror. It's not known exactly how
many people died, but historians estimate that hundreds were
killed. Several dozen city blocks were destroyed. Thousands
of residents were left homeless. Low-flying planes and
machine guns were among the weapons used to devastate the
prosperous Black community.
For decades, the white establishment tried to erase the
story from school lesson plans, local newspapers and history
itself. Then in 2019, the Emmy-winning HBO series "Watchmen"
sparked a wave of interest in the little-known tragedy.
TURKEY
[May 28. A hostile article from the BBC
as Erdogan reveals the Islamic challenge to secularists of
Turkey.]
Taksim Mosque
The Taksim Mosque has capacity for 4,000 people
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has inaugurated a
mosque in Taksim Square, Istanbul - the plans for which
sparked a wave of protests in 2013.
Thousands attended the ceremony, with some praying in the
square itself because the mosque was full.
The mosque features prominently next to a public space
traditionally seen as a symbol of the secular Turkish
republic.
It also dwarfs a monument to the republic, and its founder
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
"Taksim Mosque now occupies a prominent place among the
symbols of Istanbul," Mr Erdogan said after saying Friday
prayers at the site. "God willing, it will stay until the
end of time."
He also told crowds that the mosque's construction was a
victory over protesters who had objected to Taksim Square
having any sort of religious tone, adding that "nothing can
stop this initiative now".
Mr Erdogan first talked about wanting a mosque in Taksim
Square when he was the mayor of Istanbul in the 1990s.
"There wasn't even a prayer room and the faithful had to
make do with praying on newspapers on the ground," Mr
Erdogan told the crowds on Friday.
Egypt
General Sissi's Game in Gaza Cease fire
after Horrific Human Rights Violations.
Observers wonder why General Sissi rushed to support
ceasefire between Israel and Gaza. Indications are that he
was pretending to be a peacemaker!
Sissi is worried that the Biden administration could turn
against him because Trump had declared that Sissi was his
"favorite dictator."
Egyptians living in the US had been clamoring for a review
of policies favoring Sissi.
USA gives $1.3 billion to Sissi every year apparently to
suppress Islamic opposition and to publicize moves in favor
of Israel.
Human rights organizations strongly uncovered Sissi's
blatant human rights violations. Sissi was worried but his
campaign for the cease fire gave the impression that he is
for perace in Palestine.
Was the Biden administration fooled by Sissi or, more
probably, used his "peace" move to ignore his
atrocities.
The US not only ignored the the outcry of the human rights
organizations but has affirmed that its alliance with Sissi
is "strategic" and not tactical.
Earlier this year, in February, US sold several million
dollars worth of missiles to Sissi.
Reports indicate joint Israeli-Egyptian military operations
in the Sinai against groups supporting the Islamic State and
opposing Israel.
Al-Jazeera reports that more than 60,000 Egyptians are in
Sissi's prisons. Arbitrary arrests and torture are
common.
Last month Sissi carried out a mass execution of Islamic
opponents.
Africa
Namibia
Germany offers atonement for 1904-08.
[Why not USA for slavery and Israel for occupation?]
27 May 2021
Germany has agreed to fund projects in Namibia worth 1.1
billion euros ($1.3bn) over 30 years to atone for its role
in mass killings and property seizures in its-then colony
more than a century ago, according to a Namibian government
spokesman.
Thousands of Herero and Nama people were killed by German
colonial forces between 1904 and 1908, after the tribes
rebelled against German rule in the colony, then named
German South West Africa.
Survivors were driven into the desert, where many ended up
in concentration camps to be used as slave labour and many
died from cold, malnutrition and exhaustion.
Namibian presidential spokesperson Alfredo Hengari on
Thursday said a joint declaration outlining the agreement
was made by special envoys of both countries on May 15, at
the end of a ninth round of negotiations over the issue.
Hengari said an official apology from Germany was expected,
adding that "implementation modalities can only commence
after the president has spoken to affected communities", the
news agency Reuters reported.
Herero paramount chief Vekuii Rukoro told Reuters the
reported agreement was a "sellout".
28/05/2021
A sinister camera system that uses AI and facial recognition
software to detect emotions has been tested on China's
Uyghur Muslim population.
The BBC reported that a software engineer claimed to have
installed the systems in police stations throughout China's
Xinjiang province, home to a sizeable population of Uyghur
Muslims and concentration camps which human rights group
Human Rights Watch claims are used to indoctrinate and abuse
Uyghur inmates.
The AI system is allegedly used to detect and analyse minute
changes in facial expressions and skin pores, generating a
pie chart with data from the AI system which supposedly
indicates a person's state of mind through various colours.
Red allegedly suggests a 'negative' or 'anxious' state of
mind.
The software engineer, speaking to the BBC, claimed that: We
placed the emotion detection camera 3m from the subject. It
is similar to a lie detector but far more advanced
technology.
"Your wrists are locked in place by metal restraints, and
[the] same applies to your ankles."
The engineer claimed that the software is intended for
"pre-judgement without any credible evidence".
The abhorrent development and use of the system ties in with
comments made by Microsoft president Brad Smith, who warned
that George Orwell's 1984 "could come to pass in 2024" if
laws to protect the public against artificial intelligence
are not passed.
Speaking to BBC Panorama, Smith said: "If we don't enact the
laws that will protect the public in the future, we are
going to find the technology racing ahead, and it's going to
be very difficult to catch up.
"I'm constantly reminded of George Orwell's lessons in his
book 1984. You know the fundamental story...was about a
government who could see everything that everyone did and
hear everything that everyone said all the time. Well, that
didn't come to pass in 1984, but if we're not careful that
could come to pass in 2024."
via facebook:
The May 23 issue of New Trend
reached 41947 Muslims
including 7080 women.
There were 3321 clicks..
Some of the articles in it were:
Germany: David Irving;s research on SS leader Himmler.
Huge Jamate Islami rallies in Pakistan for Palestine & Kashmir.
