How American Conservatives think

For the past five years, and even before that, Muslims and Islam have been the target of a sustained campaign of hate and bigotry. The crude,unsophisticated attacks are easy to ignore.What is more dangerous is the insidious campaign being carried out by thinkers on the Right.Cloaked in a garb of intellectualism, these activists are basically peddling the same message as their more outrageous colleagues. It is therefore important that we be aware of their strategies and ultimate game plan.

I am providing a link to a disturbing article that lays bare the ideology that drives and motivates these individuals.It is long but definitely worth reading.Let us never forget that we ignore the threat posed by these individuals at our own peril.

news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article2766040.ece

More hate and bigotry from those 'freedom loving' Danes

Remember the cartoon controversy? And the many breathless denunciations of Muslims who took umbrage? The calls for protection of the concept of Freedom of expression(never mind if it was selectively applied).Well these rabid hate filled extremists have revealed their agenda again.There seems to be no limit to their hatred for Islam and Muslims.Check the link below but be warned that it is bound to cause you a great deal of anguish.

http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2007/06/for-mohammedan-free-denmark.html

The group that is responsible for this piece of garbage is the same one that has called for the banning of Islam.Much like the SANE group in the USA which has embarked on a 'Mapping Sharia Program'.In both cases, these organisations consist of individuals whose visceral animosity towards Islam is well documented.

What should be our response?I strongly believe that a repeat of the violence that followed the publication of the cartoons will only redound to our advantage and play into the hands of our enemies.There will be a small fringe that may resort to intemperate words and action but the vast majority of us must make our disgust and anger known in a dignified and civilised manner.To do otherwise would mean that we are no better than those who revile us.Let us draw inspiration from the Best of all mankind(peace and blessings on him) This campaign of vilification is an old one;what is certain is that those who indulge in it cannot escape chastisement and a grievous punishment at the hands of Allah Subhan Wa Taala.

Khaled Abou El Fadl - A Self-Admitted Mu'tazilah

In a recent posting on my Mere Islam blog, I let my readers know that Khaled Abou El Fadl has publically stated the following:

"I follow a school within Islam called the Mutazila..."

There's now quite a discussion raging around all of this, so please check it out.

Deen On....

Mukhar Mai's book

"I have a message to the women of the world and all the women who have been raped or any [other] kind of violation: that, no matter what, they must talk about it and they must fight for justice." – Mukhtar Mai, author of In the Name of Honor

IN THE NAME OF HONOR
A Memoir
by
Mukhtar Mai


In June, 2002, Mukhtar Mai, an impoverished Pakistani woman, was publicly gang-raped as retribution for the alleged transgressions of her pre-adolescent brother. This painful initiation sparked Mai’s transformation from a silent member of an oppressive society to a powerful leader in the fight for women’s rights and a role model for women around the world. For the first time in the United States , her story is being published in its entirety in her own utterly engaging words.

Humiliated and shamed after her trauma, Mukhtar Mai thought her only recourse was suicide. She even determined how she would take her own life (“I will swallow acid…to put out forever the fire of shame that torments my family and me”). But after Mai’s mother begged her to forego her plans, her anger and thirst for justice propelled her to discard the silent submission she had always been taught. She began using her voice to speak out about the injustices of the Pakistani legal system and in so doing attracted the attention of journalists and human rights organizations around the world. For three years and through many twists and turns of the legal system, Mai kept telling her story--all the way to the Supreme Court of Pakistan. In the Name of Honor recounts every step of the process that finally resulted in the conviction of her tormentors, including how Mai used the international support she received to start a school in her village and to help other Pakistani women who were raped, kidnapped, and threatened with murder. By telling her story, Mai offers many important insights into how to bring about change:

Anger Has Its Purpose

“When I begin this journey into the legal system, a path from which there is no turning back, I’m hampered by my illiteracy and my status as a woman. Aside from my family, I have only one strength to call upon: my outrage.”

Coping with the Seemingly Impossible

“I’d had no idea that speaking about one’s pain, about a secret that feels shameful, can set both mind and body free.”

Furthering the Cause of Women

“Despising men is not the way to win respect. The solution is to try to fight them as equals.”

The Healing Power of Dissent

“I have no intention of leaving my village, my house, my family, and my school. Neither do I have any desire to give Pakistan a bad name abroad. Quite on the contrary, by defending my right to be a human being, I’m convinced that I am supporting the political wishes of my country.”

Creating Hope for the Future

“Knowledge must be given to girls, and as soon as possible before their mothers bring them up the same way they were raised themselves.”

In the Name of Honor is an utterly riveting account of one woman’s triumph over hundreds of years of female oppression, and a stirring tribute to the power each person has to change her circumstances, and the world, for the better.

Mukhtar Mai runs and attends a school for girls in Meerwala, the small and impoverished village where she was raised in the Muzaffargarh District of Pakistan . She has also started a school for boys in Meerwala. In August, 2005 Mai was awarded the Fatima Jinnah gold medal for courage by the Pakistani government. And in November, 2005, Glamour Magazine named her Woman of the Year.

Nicholas D. Kristof, a multiple Pulitzer-prize winning columnist for the New York Times, is renowned for his coverage of the Tiananmen Square student protests in China and the genocide in Darfur. He was instrumental in bringing the world’s attention to Maukhtar Mai’s case, and contributed the foreword to this book.

In the Name of Honor: A Memoir
Atria, October 2006 Hardcover, 192 pages
ISBN-10: 1-4165-3228- 5
ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-3228- 6

What You Can Do about the Middle East Crisis

FROM CAIR IMMEDIATE ACTIONS REQUESTED:

1) CONTACT YOUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES (includingPresident Bush) and ask them to publicly condemn Israel’s “disproportionate and excessive” attacks oncivilians and civilian infrastructures in Gaza andLebanon.Point out that such attacks only serve to strengthen extremism in the region and that the United Statesmust adopt a Middle East policy that is in our nation’s, not Israel’s interest.

TO CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS,
GO TO:http://capwiz.com/cair/dbq/officials/

2) PUT YOUR CELL PHONE TO GOOD USE. Call all of your friends and family members and ensure that they contact their elected officials. Act as a facilitator.You can enter their zip code into our website at http://capwiz.com/cair/dbq/officials/ and get the names and contact information of their Senators.

3) CONTACT THE MEDIA. Call in to radio talk shows andwrite letters to the editor to express your views. Tofind local media contact information, go to:http://capwiz.com/cair/dbq/media/

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
CAIR Government Affairs Director
Corey P. Saylor,
E-Mail:csaylor@cair-net.org,
Tel: (202) 488-8787 x6413, (571)278-4658

Bill and Warren

Even the jaded observer was jolted by a series of announcements made by the sage of Seattle and the oracle of Omaha as Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are known.Bill recently declared that he would gradually withdraw from the daily administration of Microsoft to concentrate on the Melinda Gates Foundation while Buffett announced that he would donate more than 30 billion dollars to the same organisation.Between the both of them,more than 60 billion dollars or more than 80% of their wealth has been pledged to charity!In this day and age, when crass consumerism and ostentatious spending(sadly a weakness that many Muslims have fallen a prey to)reign supreme,it is truly a noble gesture on their part.

But what is the moral of the story for Muslims here?I believe that though not Muslim, both these individuals have unleashed the power of Zakah.One may not agree with all their aims or support every receipient of their aid, but the fact is that in one stroke of the pen, they have laid down the gauntlet.Are we, as Muslims, and more importantly as a community that loves the Sunnah, rise to the challenge?Where is the Muslim version of Bill Gates? Which one of us will have the magnanimity to donate the bulk of his wealth? And by God, if there ever was a community in need of help, it is our Ummah.Palestine,Somalia, Kashmir,the list is endless.Do we need to be shamed into action by these two men?

Do not get me wrong;there are men and women in our Ummah who spend in the way of Allah.But there are on the other hand, Muslims who hesitate or downright refuse to help,while having no qualms about spending money on worthless baubles.Ask me how difficult it is to get funds to construct a medical clinic, or to clothe the inmates of a madarsa, or to build a mosque and I will talk till the cows come home.Why should it be so torturous to get people to spend on the Deen? The only favor they are doing is to their own souls.Islam has never been against making money, and lots of it, in a manner that is halal.But spend wisely and in accordance with the Quran and the Sunnah and Inshallah get rewarded on the day of Judgement.A simple trade off but one that many of us barely grasp.After all, we are being asked to donate only 2.5% of our wealth,not 80%!

Bill and Warren have joined the likes of Rockfeller and Carnegie in taking the concept of philantrophy to a new level.It is time our community produced people who will make the whole Ummah proud.I long for the day when those who build 600 room palaces will get the Hidayah to construct a 600 room hospital instead.Or when those who spend millions on racing horses at Ascot will utilise that kind of wealth to provide drinking water to thirsty Africans.And to paraphrase MLK I have a dream that one day my Ummah will stand tall and proud in the comity of nations based on its deeds and nothing else.Ameen.

Will Tarek Fatah scream for Haditha?

A few days ago, one of my favorite pro regressives Tarek Fatah took part in a 'Scream for Darfur'rally,ensuring as always that he got dollops of publicity.He took it even further when he accused mainstream Muslim organisations of being unconcerned about the killings there.Never mind that a quick 'google'search would have revealed that he,as in most instances,was wrong.But then Tarek and his friends have never been too concerned with the facts have they?And their not too subtle references to racism in the Muslim community were unpardonable to say the least.Our friends at MWU have more of the spiel if anyone can bear to digest their sanctimonious, self serving agenda.

I want Tarek to read this story and let me know when he plans to organise a 'Scream for Haditha rally'?I am outraged by this report and so should you.But then what else can you expect from these noble men in uniform who serve in the world's 'finest'army?

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/05/18/murtha.marines/index.html