PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Archdiocese of Philadelphia says
four local churches are closing.
Sacred Heart Church in Phoenixville, Saint Philip Neri
Church in East Greenville, Holy Trinity Church in Old City
and Saint Peter Claver Church in Center City will close.
The archdiocese says these churches won't be used for
worship any more starting Jan. 23.
Christian Academy Administrator Stole $579,000
EAST NORRITON TWP., Pennsylvania -- A former school
administrator is now charged with several felonies, accused
of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the school
she helped run.
Police in East Norriton Twp. say 36-year-old Katherine
Paprocka stole more than $579,000 from Penn Christian
Academy.
She was a senior administrator at the school from July 2020
to December 2021.
The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office says
Paprocka forged signatures to gain access to school money
and even obtained credit cards in the names of some
employees.
Prosecutors also say she used the money to fund family
vacations, pay down her and her husband's credit card debt,
and buy in-vitro fertilization treatment.
According to investigators, Paprocka covered her activity in
part by firing other employees tasked with handling the
school's finances.
The investigation began in 2021 and she was fired a few
months later.
Paprocka is charged with 29 felony counts and is being held
without bail.
Guidance from Sis, Yasmin
Assalaamu `Alaykum wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barakaatuhu.
'The Soul {Nafs نَفْس } Is
Like A Wild Horse'{!}
'And by the soul and He who proportioned it'~
Transliteration...
Faalhamaha fujooraha wataqwaha.
Translation:
'And inspired it [with discernment of] its wickedness
and its righteousness'~
Transliteration...
Qad aflaha man zakkaha.
Translation:
'He has succeeded who purifies it'~
Transliteration...
Waqad khaba man dassaha.
Translation:
'And he has failed who instills it [with corruption]'.
When someone possesses a horse, on which they depend for
their livelihood and transportation,
it becomes imperative that the horse be tamed
so as to display the utmost obedience..
If this horse is, at first, wild then its owner would try to
control it through any means ,by jumping on it, pulling its
reins, tying it, etc.
If this person is successful at gaining
control of the horse,
then the horse will obey their every command.
However, if this person leaves their horse untamed
it will remain wild and disobedient...!
Such is the parable of the Soul~{Nafs}~
The 'Nafs' [soul] must be trained regarding its
inclinations.
The internal struggle that every Muslim faces is
when one has a conflicting goal with their Nafs...!
In other words...
your 'Nafs' wants one thing and your
'Iman' (Faith) causes you to want another thing.
Overcoming the inclinations of your 'Nafs' is
a difficult and sometimes painful process.
Like the person who tames his horse,
one must endure through the difficulty
and struggles in order to gain control.
It is important to remain steadfast in the process;
for, if one was to give up after receiving the slightest
resistance, this trains the horse that
all it needs to do is remain stubborn in order
to get what it wants...{!}
Thus, giving in to the demands of the 'Nafs'
makes the process of taming your
'Nafs' even harder {!}
Instead, one must abide by the principle of
delayed gratification.
Delayed Gratification ...
Putting off some pleasure in order to have
greater gratification at a later point.
{Alhamdullilah}
For example...
you struggle against your 'Nafs'
{which may want to sleep or rest} in order to pray
'Qiyaam' {the night prayer}
At first this is difficult,
but in time a routine is built.
Eventually, the reward you receive from
Allah {Azza Wa Jall }
outweighs any discomfort you may have faced{!}
And the Mercy of Allah is that He continues to make this
process easier as time goes on,
and as your reward increases even further {!}
A Little word of Caution:
The longer we wait to tame our soul,
the harder the process will be.
Purification of the soul is like a bitter pill {!}
At first you hate it- because it causes you pain,
tastes bad, etc etc ~but you tolerate it.
Then, as its positive effects begin to show
you begin to like it...then you begin to love it.
Until finally...you cannot live without it.
{'Subhan Allah'{!!!}}
~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
Honor"
{'Qur`an'- Surah Al-Rahman-55.26-27 }
********************************************
'Wasting time is Worse than Death!
Because Death Separates you from this World
Whereas wasting Time Separates you from Allah'.
Ibn Qayimm Al-Jawziyyah.(r)
*******************************************
I Want to Die With my Forehead on the Ground!
The Sunnah in my Heart, Allah on my Mind,
Qur'an on my Tongue, and Tears in my Eyes!
'In Shaa Allah'!
' Son of Adam! You are nothing but a number of days,
whenever each day passes then part of you has Gone.
{Al-Hasan Al-Basre (r)}
Jamaate Islami Pakistan
Lahore: Dec 10: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) emir Sirajul Haq has
warned the rulers against growing frustration among the
people of Balochistan.
He was talking to party leaders at Mansoorah on Saturday
after returning from a two-day visit to Pasheen and
Karachi.
Haq said the biggest province was presenting a depressing
picture of affairs. The governments had paid no attention to
the problems and kept the people deprived even from basic
health and education facilities for years. Despite having
enormous natural resources, he said the majority in
Balochistan lacked access to even drinking water. Residents
of Gwadar, he said, were protesting for their rights for
months but the rulers were least bothered to address the
issues.
Karachi, he said, on the other side was also facing a
plethora of problems. The metropolitan, he said, was without
basic infrastructure with heaps of garbage could be seen
everywhere. Millions in the city lacked access to drinking
water and faced electricity and gas load shedding, he
added.
Haq held the PDM, the PPP and the PTI equally responsible
for the economic destruction. He said the present and past
governments' ill-conceived policies and bad-governance led
the country towards prevailing crises. He said the foreign
exchange reserves dropped to the lowest 6.7 billion USD, not
enough for five weeks imports. The rulers were making false
claims about the economic situation as they were never at
the losing end, he said, adding the common man had to bear
the burden and face the situation. In the prevailing
circumstance, he said, a white-collar person could not
afford buying food for the family and paying monthly bills
and school fee of children simultaneously. The government,
he said, failed to check inflation and unemployment.
The JI chief said the interest-based economy and corruption
were the root causes of the prevailing situation. The ruling
elite, he said, was least interested in strengthening the
accountability process and introducing riba free economy. He
said the JI believed in rule of law and strict
accountability. If voted to power, he said, the JI would
make the national economy interest free and introduce a
powerful system of accountability. He said the nation must
get rid of the tested parties and choose the honest and
dedicated leadership to build prosperous Pakistan.
Indonesia
Bali Bomber Released
An Indonesian bomb maker convicted for his role in
the deadly 2002 Bali nightclub attacks has apologized to the
victims' families, after his release from prison was met
with outrage in Australia.
Umar Patek, a member of the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah
group, was jailed for 20 years in 2012 after he was found
guilty of making bombs that ripped through two Bali
nightclubs, killing 202 people, including 88 Australians and
38 Indonesians. He was released on parole last week.
"I apologize to the victims and their families, both at home
and abroad, whatever their country, whatever their
ethnicity, whatever their religion," Patek said in an
interview on Tuesday at a de-radicalization center in East
Java province.
"I apologize to the Australian people who have been deeply
impacted by the Bali bombing," he added.
Patek also said he would help the Indonesian government in
its counter-terrorism efforts, adding he was "ready to
become an ambassador for peace."
War News
[We report the war news without taking sides.]
Syria [via SOHR]
Spreading Violence
December 13-18
A large American tank column entered al-Raqqa city, [Dec.
16]
Heavy clashes between Fath al-Mubeen Islamic group [part of
HTS] and Assad troops in Latakia, western Aleppo and borders
of Irbid forced back Assad forces. Casualties reported
including 12 Assadis killed.
Internal killing, A disturbed angry man killed his brother,
who was commander of Assad's army division, his wife and 3
of his sons and injured 3.{Al Ray city]
Large protest rally in Suwaida city remained peaceful.
In Deraa al-Balad a former commander who had joined Assad
was killed by unknown gunmen. [He was dealing with
drugs.]
Imam of a mosque near Deraa was murdered.
A suspected ISIS man was killed.
West of Deraa an Assad regime tank force colonel and his
security man were killed by unknown gunmen.
Assad regime tanks joined ranks with SDF in Manbig area.
Shelling by Turkish artillery.
In the eastern Homs countryside a 100 vehicle Iranian
military convoy arrived, [Dec. 18] Earlier 8 Iran backed
troops and an Assad regime soldier were killed in ISIS raid.
[Homs desert]
Pakistan
TTP [Tehreeke Taliban Pakistan] has launched an offensive
against Pakistani forces. In Lakki Marwat, TTP has killed 4
police and injured others. In the greater Bannu area, TTP
has captured a security post and taken hostages.
At the Afghan border 14 police were killed, and a few more
in a separate attack.
Pakistan is accusing Afghanistan but TTP says attacks are
being launched from within Pakistan. [Daily Dawn]
Iraq
ISIS back in the battlefield.
AFP reports a battle near Kirkuk in which 9 Iraqi regime
officers were killed. [December 18]
Also near Baghdad, 3 regime officers were killed.
Observers say ISIS is resurgent and holds some territory in
parts of Iraq.
News Within Bangladesh
Bangladesh: A Tale of Success of a Robber and the Failure
for the Opposition
By Dr. Firoz Mahboob Kamal
Shaikh Hasina: A Robber
Shaikh Hasina -the ballot-robber Prime Minister of
Bangladesh has proved to be the most successful robber in
the whole history of mankind. In the past, robbers could
only rob a few banks, shops and homes. They could never rob
the ownership of a country. But Hasina could make space for
her in history. She could rob the statecraft of a country of
170 million. She could successfully engage the country's
police, army, judiciary and bureaucracy in the robbery. Not
once, twice. Firstly in 2014 and secondly in 2018.
On 10 December 2022, in a more than million people's rally
in Dhaka, the country's largest opposition party -Bangladesh
Nationalist Party (BNP) announced a one-point mass movement
for ending the criminal rule of fascist Shaikh Hasina. It is
indeed too late to take such a bold strategy by BNP. By 15
years' of criminal rule since 2008, Hasina has already
inflicted tremendous damage to the country's economy,
politics, education, judiciary, army and police.
Hasina has almost destroyed the country's civil and military
institutions. She has made them servile only to her
corruptive and coercive power. It came to the press that 7
billion dollars disappeared from the country's reserve. It
is also reported that billions of Takas are looted from the
government and private banks. 7,500 thousand crores of Taka
is looted only from Islamic Bank -the largest bank in
Bangladesh. These are done by Hasina's cronies in the name
of fake companies, fake documents and fake addresses. So
far, there is no government initiative to make any
investigation on those allegations. Neither there is any
denial by the government.
The criminal inaction
BNP and other political parties must do their own audits of
the past mistakes that caused such a prolongation of
Hasina's criminal rule. In a country with strong opposition,
such prolongation of evil rule never happens. An opposition
strategy for her removal should have been taken just after
the one party election robbery in 2014. But BNP and other
opposition parties failed to do that. The opposition's awful
failures led to Hasina's huge success in pursuing her
criminal policies. In 2013, there was a huge anti-Hasina
country-wide mass movement. The government was near to
collapse. But BNP and its allies utterly failed to lead the
movement towards success. This was indeed the opposition's
leadership failure.
Hasina's motive was never hidden. In order to remove the
barriers against the robbery on people's votes, Hasina used
the subservient judiciary to annul the non-partisan
care-taker government system that could hold three credible
general elections in 1991, 1996 and 2001. It is worth
mentioning that the non-partisan care-taker government for
holding the parliamentary election was an all-party
consensus formula adapted in 1991 after the end of General
Ershad's autocratic rule. Hasina's Bangladesh Awami League
(BAL) was a signatory to it. But BAL betrayed its own
promise for the sake of its election robbery strategy. All
opposition parties objected to such dissolution of
care-taker government system.
It was the common perception in the opposition camp that
while Hasina stays in power, the state institutions will be
allowed only to do the robbery on people's vote to keep her
in power. The participation in such electoral robbery would
have given legitimacy to the robbery. This is why all the
opposition parties boycotted the Hasina-engineered election
in 2014. The opposition parties proved to be right on
Election Day. No election booth was set up for casting votes
in more than half of the parliamentary constituencies. All
MP seats were taken by Hasina and her cronies. In democratic
countries, elections are held to give voting rights to the
people. But in Bangladesh, election is held to legitimise
the robbery on the statecraft by a rigged election or
thievery on people's votes.
It is highly disappointing that the opposition parties
almost silently tolerated Hasina's such illicit electoral
victory in 2014. They were not seen on the streets as they
are now. For 5 years, they utterly failed to launch a united
movement to end her rule. When a country is taken by the
enemies, inaction is a crime. Such inaction was seen in the
opposition camp. After such a successful robbery in 2014,
Hasina turned more ruthless and more confident to commit
more crimes against the people. She continued with her plan
of extra-judicial killings, forced disappearances, hanging
of the opposition leaders and genocidal massacres against
unarmed Islamists. Hundreds of Islamic scholars are still
languishing in jails.
The greatest and the ugliest robbery in history
On the 30th December 2018, Shaikh Hasina committed a crime
that was never done in the annals of the whole mankind. On
the night before the election, in every polling centre, her
police forces and the party thugs robbed the ballot papers
and stamped in favour of Hasina's party candidate. The
robbery of ballots was done all over the country. This way
Hasina and her cronies could easily rob 293 parliamentary
seats of a total of 300. She kept only 7 seats for the
opposition. The government of India supported the robbery.
It is a huge disappointment that BNP took 15 years to reach
the conclusion that it needs a one-point movement for her
removal. Whereas in a civilised country, a thief or robber
is not tolerated even for an hour. A thief is never employed
even as a cleaner of a house or sweeper of a street. He or
she has to stay behind the bar. A proven thief is never
tolerated even for a moment to stay as a member of the
parliament. Thievery or robbery is the violation of law. And
every such violation is punishable. He or she is put on
trial. But in Bangladesh, an established thief has usurped
the highest seat of power. And she could remain in power for
15 years. It is a sheer disgrace for a country and its
people.
Sheer failure as a Muslim
For a Muslim, eradicating thievery, robbery and injustices
has another significance. It is a faith-found obligation on
every Muslim. In the Holy Qur'an, in sura Al-Imran verse
115, Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala labelled Muslims as the best
people on the earth. In the same verse, Allah -the All-Wise
has also mentioned the reason why such highest appreciation
must go only to Muslims. It is not for their five times
prayers, month-long fasting, haj or charity. But only for
the Muslims' prime reason of survival. They survive to
eradicate all forms of evils and enjoin good deeds and
justice in lands where they live. No other people and
followers of no other religion live with such a mission in
life.
It is a shame that Bangladesh -a land of 91 per cent Muslim
has taken the opposite path. Instead of eradicating thievery
and robbery, they have tolerated a robber cum thief as the
head of the government! It is the path of huge disgrace. It
is a shame the country has gone so low.
BNP's past failures and the future challenges
It also looks very ridiculous that after staying 4 years in
the illicit parliament, 7 BNP MPs have recently resigned.
The resignation is announced on 10 December, 2022. If they
had love for democracy and hatred against the robbery of
votes, they would have resigned from their seats on the next
day of the stolen election. It shows how BNP leaders are
immature and dishonest politically.
BNP and other opposition parties should have started a
one-point movement of removal of fascist Shaikh Hasina since
2014's fraudulent election. It is a shame that they failed
to discharge such political responsibility. This is why,
whatever cruelties and injustices now overwhelm Bangladesh
owes not only to the criminal rule of fascist Hasina, but
also to the unwise and failed leadership of BNP and other
opposition parties. Such failure can generate only
frustration in common people.
Disunity will lead only to failures
Whenever a country is under the occupation of evil forces,
unity is crucial to end the occupation. It is everybody's
job; and it must be done unitedly. Disunity will lead only
to more failures. It is a reality that Bangladesh now stands
occupied by anti-democratic evil forces. Unfortunately, the
opposition parties still stand divided. BNP -the largest
party in the country looks less interested in the unity of
all opposition parties. They only engage in some fruitless
discussions. So, till now, there is no united front. BNP
leaders look over-confident. Possibly, they feel they can do
the job alone. Such a feeling can only breed more failures
in the opposition camp -as seen in the past.
Do the BNP leaders believe that they can do the job of
evicting Hasina alone? If they think so, they must have a
full assessment of all the anti-democratic fascist forces in
the country. These evil forces occupy the deep state of the
country and stay united. They are the direct beneficiary of
Hasina's robbery on public money. They are also the
collaborating partners in Hasina's crimes. Hasina spends
billions of Taka to finance their luxury. So it will be
unwise to think that these cronies will easily betray their
paymaster. These people dominate the politics, the police,
the Army, the bureaucracy and the judiciary. How can BNP
fight against this huge coalition of all evil forces
alone?
The BNP leaders must know that if Hasina is removed, they
will be the highest beneficiary. Therefore they need to be
in the front line of the movement and also must sacrifice
the most. The BNP leaders must realise that the removal of
Hasina can never be done by the BNP alone. It needs the
united efforts of all opposition parties.
BNP also must know that Shaikh Hasina is not like President
General Ershad. She is much stronger than Ershad. In his
last days, Ershad lost the support of the Army -his only
reliable constituency. But the Army still stands with
Hasina. There is a reason for that. The Army is the largest
beneficiary of the robbery on public money. The Army didn't
enjoy such booty even in General Ershad's era. Moreover,
Ershad didn't have a strong backer like India. The Indian
Hindutva ruling forces will never wish that their own player
should lose the game. Moreover, there is an ideological
connection. The Awami fascists are the ideological cousins
of Hindutva fascists of India. This is why the Awami
fascists didn't condemn the destruction of Babri mosque or
genocidal massacres against Muslims in India in the past.
Therefore, only an alliance of all opposition parties can
remove Hasina.
The way forward
Bangladesh doesn't belong to a single political party. It
belongs to all parties and all people. Any divisive policy
is detrimental. It is haram in Islam. Since the country is
under the occupation of evil forces, it is the duty of every
citizen to do his or her best to get rid of Hasina's evil
rule. Division in the opposition rank will only give extra
mileage to Hasina. But, we are yet to see such realisation
and wisdom in BNP leaders. Instead, some BNP leaders and
some BNP-aligned intellectuals are mongering ugly hate
speeches against other worst victims of Hasina's rule. They
are vomiting their filth against their one-time close ally
Jamaat-e-Islam. This is utter foolishness. It is a pure
suicidal strategy. Such a strategy didn't work in the past,
and will not work in the future. At this crucial point, any
vilification of any opposition party will only help
Hasina. She loves to see that division in the opposition
camp.
The Islamist forces have their own duty too. In a war
against the enemies of Islam, staying neutral and inactive
is a crime. Hasina has proved herself as the enemy of Islam
and friend of the Hindutva forces. Hence, staying as a
silent observer in this crucial war moment is not an option.
Fighting against the criminals is not politics for a Muslim.
It is a great ibadah. It is jihad in Islam. The people are
closely watching their role too. Their alienation from the
mass movement will only increase their alienation from the
people. This way they can only lose their space in
politics.
The recent upsurge in mammoth gatherings owes to people's
strong anger against the Hasina government's immense
corruption, crimes and extremely bad governance. The crimes
of the Hasina regime have done enough to awaken the people.
The opposition leaders couldn't do such homework on such BAL
evils in the last 15 years. So Hasina has done their job.
Now the opposition leaders must do their job.
The motivated common people of Bangladesh now need brilliant
and courageous leadership from the opposition, not mere
lectures. This public anger can be a powerful weapon to
dismantle Hasina regime if the BNP and other opposition
leaders show their political brilliance, courage and
sagacity. The people of Bangladesh are eagerly waiting for
that. They must not be disappointed. Otherwise, the people
will never forgive them. 12.12.2022
International Kashmir Congress
[Against Indian Occupation]
Ankara, Turkey. December 12, 2022
"International Kashmir Congress is something that we should
be very proud to have been associated with. Hopefully, we
can look back on this conference as a turning point in the
struggle for Kashmiri liberation. It became clear in the
course of the many excellent presentations that
International Law and the UN authority should be effective
in liberating Kashmir. But a realistic view is that
International Law and the UN cannot be effective unless they
are politically implemented.
Under these circumstances the civil societies throughout the
world have a huge role to play in shaping a political
strategy that complements the legal analysis, and finally
brings justice to the people of Kashmir. To achieve
liberation for Kashmir depends above all on fulfilling the
inalienable right of self-determination, which has been
withheld by India for 75 years." Prof. Richard Falk
Three days international Kashmir Congress was held in Ankara turkey.
I have the honor of releasing the " ANKARA
DECLARATION" to the press as the chairman of congress as
well as the Executive Director of Legal Forum for
Kashmir. Advocate Nasır Qadrı
We the representatives of the people of Indian Occupied
Jammu & Kashmir, along with those in solidarity in Ankara,
Turkiye, as well as academicians and researchers and
particularly victims of occupation, oppression and settler
colonialism in Palestine and elsewhere, solemnly declare
that:
From 9th December to 12th December 2022, we participated in
the conference titled 'The narrative of occupation and
scopes of international law: A preview of Occupied
Kashmir' organized under the auspices of International
Kashmir Congress held in Ankara, Turkiye.
That international community has failed the people of Indian
occupied Kashmir for many decades.
That India has flagrantly violated international law, norms,
conventions, and treaties in the course of implementation
and its unlawful occupation, with the criminal intention of
colonizing and annexing Kashmir.
That the Indian state is aggressively pursuing a fascist
agenda in occupied Kashmir and has been perpetrating the war
crimes, crime against humanity and crime of aggression and
doing so with total impunity and zero accountability.
India, which is an electoral autocracy, has been cynically
deceiving the world by adhering to the empty forms of
democracy, peace and justice without any intention of acting
in conformity with these ideals, it has done this to
hoodwink international community into believing that the
fate of Kashmir is subject to India's legitimate authority
which in reality is manipulated by its fake
constitutionalism.
That India in continuation of its colonial project has
deprived the Kashmiri people of the mirage of limited
safeguards that were derived from United Nation Security
Council resolutions (UNSC);
That India had long been brutally repressing the movement
for exercise of Kashmirs' human rights, above all the
inalienable Right to Self-determination; India has relied on
intense coercion ever since 1947, these policies were
intensified by the decrees put into effect by India in
August 2019.
We reject India's aggression, illegal occupation, coercion,
and denial of the sacred right of self-determination in all
forms.
That we implore the international community finally to act
in accord with the principle of 'Injustice anywhere is
threat to justice everywhere'.
That we, the Kashmiris, victims of India's aggression are
duty bound to protect our land, people, culture and freedoms
and uphold rights as guaranteed by international law.
That the indigenous population is under threat and has every
right and duty to resist oppression and uphold the rights of
self-defense against the perpetrators of 'Crimes against
humanity', 'War crimes' & 'Crimes of aggression.'
That the failure of international community and its
institutions in occupied Kashmir are discrediting the UN,
drawing into question its very existence and validity.
That India disregards and undermines the international
justice system which is encouraging fascists, autocrats and
aggressors throughout the world, likewise, to oppress
freedoms and violate International human rights,
international humanitarian laws and International criminal
law.
That the UN Charter which describes and mandates
intervention in case of violation of international peace and
security should abandon double standards and discriminatory
enforcements and it is long overdue that the Charter be
implemented in occupied Kashmir to the full extent of the
law.
That in Kashmir's rightful and long struggle for
self-determination we appeal and advocate unconditional
solidarity by the International community and urge an
immediate end in aiding and abetting India's atrocities,
crimes and Human rights violations and act in accordance
with its moral and legal responsibilities, not only for the
sake of the long-suffering people of Kashmir, but for the
benefit of all peoples throughout the world that seek a just
world order based on the observance of the rule of Law and
respect for the rights of all.
"Ankara Declaration" was signed by the following and adopted
unanimously by all the participants of the Congress.
Professor Richard Falk, Professor Emeritus of International
Law, Princeton University
Dr. Hilal Elver, Fellow at the Resnick Center for Food Law
and Policy
Mr. Zaid Shuaibi, Coordinator and Policy Member, Civil
Society Palestine
Ustaaz, Attiq Agdag, Vice President, ESAM
Advocate Nasir Qadri, Executive Director, Legal Forum for
Kashmir
Dr. Ghulam N. Mir, President, World Kashmir Awareness
forum
Mr. Ghulam Muhammad Safi, All Parties Hurriyat
Conference
Professor (Dr.) Niaz A Shah, Professor of Law, University of
Hull, U.K.
Professor Shamim Shawl, All Parties Hurriyat
Conference
Advocate Abdul Rashid Turabi, Parliamentarian, Azad
Kashmir
Sheikh Abdul Mateen, All Parties Hurriyat Conference
Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, President, World Forum for Peace &
Justice
Editorial
by Kaukab Siddique
PhD
Why was the Qur'an Revealed for Prayers towards the
Ka'aba?
Muslims have Turned a political Issue into a ritual.
When the Prophet, pbuh, migrated from Makka to Madina he
looked for guidance from Allah for a qibla towards which
people should face in prayer. The Jews of Madina considered
themselves superior to the Arabs because they were
considered people of the Book.
When the Prophet, pbuh, came and also started praying
towards Jerusalem, the Jews were overjoyed that their
superiority was now affirmed. The Muslims were tested in
following in a direction which they did not like. [Maudoodi
thinks the nationalism, Arabism, among the Muslims was thus
negated.] Once this test was over, the revelation came for
the Ka'aba, thus affirming the original message of
Islam.
This revelation completely defeated the superior mindset of
the Jews. Please read this carefully:
"We see the turning of your face [for guidance] to the
heavens: Now shall We turn you to a Qibla that shall please
you. Turn then your face in the direction of the Sacred
Mosque [in Makka] : Wherever you are, turn your faces in
that direction. The people of the Book know well that that
is the truth from their Lord. Nor is Allah unmindful of what
they do," [The Qur'an 2:144]
"Even if you were to bring to the people of the Book all the
Signs together, they would not follow your Qibla ...."
2:145
Then in verses 149 and 150, the Qur'an forcefully reaffirms
this change of Qibla.
Now in our days a corrupt family has started behaving as if
the holy land is their property and they have named the
country after their tribe.
The holy land is beginning to look like Paris. The
pilgrimage for most Muslims has become a ritual for
forgiveness of their sins. Most have forgotten that the Jews
tried to destroy the community of the Prophet, pbuh, and
tried to kill him.
The Muslims of the world should unite to make the holy land
what it was meant to be. The ruthless tyrant who rules the
holy land got one of his critics pulverized and turned into
powder. It is a shame that this tyrant and his corrupt
family is cunningly hooking up with the occupiers of
Palestine. His friends in Bahrain, UAE, Egypt and Jordan
have already openly accepted the enemies of the Prophet,
pbuh, as their friends.
Political Prisoners
Video: Pakistani Woman Runs Dallas Marathon for Dr Aafia
Siddiqui
Muslim marathoner Nadrat Siddique of Jamaat Al-Muslimeen
recently ran her 50th marathon in Dallas. Dallas is the
nearest big city to FMC Carswell, the infamous prison where
Aafia is held. Nadrat dedicated her race to Dr. Aafia
Siddiqui, and prayed for Dr. Aafia's release as she ran.
Today, the morning of December 16th, 2022, Dr. Mutulu Shakur
was released from prison on parole! The decision to grant
parole is based on federal law guidelines for "old law"
prisoners, finding that Dr. Shakur poses no threat to the
community, taking into consideration his exemplary conduct
in prison, his medical condition and how much time he has
served. Mutulu is now with his family. This victory was
secured by the steadfast support of his legal team, his
family and his community comprised of all of you.
Family & Friends of Mutulu Shakur (FFMS) is greatly
appreciative of everyone's support over the course of
Mutulu's decades in prison. We ask that everyone respect Dr.
Shakur's privacy while he spends the holidays with his
family and concentrates on his health and healing. Any
inquiries to FFMS can be directed to info@mutulushakur.com,
and we will be sure to release more information as it is
available. May everyone celebrate the achievement of
securing his release and deepen our commitment to a more
just future.
See the Ways to Support page for the most up-to-date
information on how you can reach out to and support Dr.
Mutulu Shakur.
Thank you Br. Rich.
Outreach
66369 hits
In November 2022, Jamaat al-Muslimeen's web site received
66369 hits.
Iran: A Country Which Fights its Women and Punishes Men Who Support Women
Courts in Iran's capital have handed prison terms of up to
10 years to 400 people arrested at anti-government protests,
a judiciary official says.
Tehran's prosecutor-general said 160 "rioters" were
sentenced to between five and 10 years, 80 to between two
and five years, and 160 to two years or less, the Mizan news
agency reported. Another 70 were fined, Ali Alqasimehr
added, without providing any details. It comes a day after
authorities hanged a second man convicted over the
unrest.
-BBC
India
Widespread Murders and Dismemberment
(Excerpted)
When Dr Gupta began his career as a forensic surgeon in
India three decades ago, he would come across cases where
the victims were called out of their homes, murdered in
desolate areas and their corpses were thrown in the
jungles.
As the country urbanised and more families became nuclear,
more murders were committed in less-crowded homes, and, in
some cases, the corpses were dismembered and disposed
off.
"Forensic reconstruction of the events leading to the murder
and identification of the victim can become a challenge when
corpses are dismembered," says Dr Gupta. "But even a
detailed examination of human bones can tell us the gender,
age, date of death and even the probable case of death."
International studies offer some clues about "dismemberment
murders".
A study of 13 cases from a sample of cases spanning 10 years
in Finland found that none of the victims were strangers to
the offenders, and nearly half were partners or family
members. At the time of the killing, the study found, the
majority of the offenders were jobless, and none had been in
any occupation that required knowledge of human bodies or
handling of corpses.
Another study of 30 homicide cases involving dismembered
bodies over half a century by the department of forensic
medicine in Kraków, Poland found that these murders were
usually not planned, and were committed by offenders who
were in "close relationship with victim (family or friend)
in the same place as the killing - the home of the
perpetrator". A separate study by the Boston University
school of medicine showed that 76% of dismembered crimes
were committed by men.
Very little is known about the patterns of such
"dismemberment" killings in India. What is also not known is
how many murderers end up surrendering to the police after
the act, and how many try to conceal evidence by
dismembering or mutilating a corpse.
"But what we know is that many of the these killings reveal
the infirmities in modern-day social relationships in India,
like tensions in troubled marriages, extra-marital affairs,
live-in relationships," says Mr Pathak. "That is when things
often go out of control."
BBC-
Pakistan
Pravalli (بھائی
چارہ)welfare Trust (22nd year of
service to humanity
Newsletter November 2022
Flood Relief.......
Phase 3
In third phase we are building houses for widows and poor
folks. We have started work on 67 such houses in 4 different
Tehsil of Baluchistan, 2 of Punjab and in 6 of Sind. 32
houses were completed and handed over. Donors are being sent
step by step progress on these houses.
Due to cold weather we have distributed 900 blankets and
1800 jackets in different areas of Sind, Baluchistan and
Rajanpur/ Dera Ghazi khan in Punjab in last one month.
Phase 2.
Rs 25000 have been paid to 492 families whose houses were
damaged. More families will be paid if we receive more
funds. Photos of distribution with donor names on it are
shared with donors.
Phase 1
Rs 5000 being given for immediate relief to buy thing they
need + tent + mosquito nets+ food packages + Temporary
Toilets.
In that 1034 families were given Rs 5000 each to meat
immediate needs in Balochistan, Sind and Punjab. Photos of
distribution with donor name on it are shared with the
donors.
In addition 1105 food pkgs were distributed.
308 tents and 200 mosquito nets distributed.
One medical camp held.
3 temporary toilets made
This was not my money. Cooperation and support of our worthy
donors has made all this possible. Thank you very much.
Jazak Allah Khair
Water supply Schemes.
In year 2021 we completed 460 water supply schemes. This
year 285 schemes were completed. In total 2671 schemes have
been completed in the last 22 years. These are spread all
over Sind, Baluchistan, KPK and Punjab.
Education in Thar and Baluchistan.
Pravalli Trust is running 12 schools in Thar areas, in which
878 children are getting free education. 13 more have
started working in Baluchistan. Total 24 schools with free
education. Cost of school for Donors is Rs. 10,000 per
month, which is the salary of the teacher in Thar and Rs.
12000 in Baluchistan where salary is higher due to
non-availability of teachers.
Trees Plantation
This year in Aug/ September 12000 trees have been
distributed in Thar and other areas of Sind and Jafar Abad
in Baluchistan. Also with the help of our donors this year
in Feb 4170 Trees were planted in KPK and Thar Desert areas.
In total 36,000 fruit/ other trees were distributed in last
many years.
Rozgar Scheme for widows and invalid with Goats
2655 goats have been given to widows and destitute. Lady
Fatima trust gave 400 goats with 400 child goats among 100
widows last year. This year again they gave 400 goats with
child goats to 100 families. Forgotten women UK are also
giving 5+5 goats to 10 families this year.
Adopt a Widow & her Children. Send money directly to her
account.
You can help widows by sending money directly to widow's
bank account.
Till today 132 adoptions have been made. Donors send money
directly to the accounts of the widows. We only indicate the
deserving widows to them.
Roshan Thar.
People are living in darkness even today in Thar desert
areas. With the help of our worthy donors a total of 1084
Huts of poor people were electrified in Thar with solar
electricity so far. There is no electricity in those areas
and none is expected in next many years.
Helping most vulnerable with small Monthly Help.
With the help of our very benevolent friends we have started
a program through which very distressed families are given
Max Rs. 5000 per month. Till now 45 such families are being
helped.
Tricycles and Wheel chairs.
518 tricycles/ wheel chairs were given to invalids till
to-date. These help them to get from one place to another
respectably instead of dragging themselves on ground.
Distribution of Sewing Machines/ Training Centers.
Total no of sewing machines distributed till now are 411. We
are also running 5 Sewing center in which 58 women are being
trained in stitching clothes. This helps widows to sustain
themselves by stitching clothes of people on payment.
Help in marriage of orphan girls.
Till now 763 orphan girls have been helped on behalf of our
worthy donors. Max help that we offer is Rs. 30,000.
Agriculture with Solar Pumps in Thar Desert areas.
Total schemes completed so far are 290. Out of these 195
were donated by Lady Fatima charitable Trust and 20 by Sumar
Lakhani Foundation/ RRAI.
Toilets for poor families. Forgotten women Trust has
started this program through us in Pakistan. 41 Toilets have
been made so far for most poor families in Thar Desert
areas.
Ramzan Package for widows and poor
Thanks to our donors this year we reached out to 3631 widows
and some very poor disable people. Each one was given Rs.
5000 in District Skardu in Galgit. Khuzdar, Awaran and
Jaffar abad in Balochistan. Abbottabad, Haripur, Malakand &
Mardan in KPK. Rawalpindi, Rajan pur and DG Khan of Punjab
and 13 Tehsils of Sind.
Child Care scheme.
Through the efforts of S. Nazim Ali from USA, child care
centers have started working in Hyderabad areas in Sind. 20
camps have been organized in which pregnant women are seen
and advised. In addition 107 Med Camps were done before by a
Lady Doctor and her brother from Canada. In total 127 camps
were held till today.
Distribution of Chapals/ Jackets
1360 Jackets and 1511 Chappals were distributed among
barefooted children in Thar.
Karobar.
42 people were helped to start their own business.
In addition we trained 97 boys in AC/fridge repairs, 53 as
Electricians, 11 as Motor cycle mechanic, 39 in computer, 62
as plumbers and 40 as Auto Electricians. We have two
computer centers running. One in Khipro, Sanghar in which 36
boys and 18 girls learnt computer handling and second in
Hydarabad in which 18 boys and 12 girls learnt computer.
www.pravalli.org
It is better to light a candle than to curse the
darkness.
(''Pravalli'' is pothohari language word, spoken around
Islamabad, meaning ''brotherhood'')
These works are being done through donation. My contribution
is almost nil. I am only a facilitator. Allah's blessings be
on donors. We do not have trust office/ transport or
employees to ensure that max of donations reach the
needy.
Warm regards,
Col (R) Mushtaq Ahmad
Mobile: 0333 519 59 33
