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Tuesday, September 14, 2010

[ALOCHONA] Pentagon tries to buy entire print run of US spy expose Operation Dark Heart



Pentagon tries to buy entire print run of US spy expose  Operation Dark Heart
 
US defence department attempts to prevent book by former intelligence officer Anthony Shaffer from reaching the shops
 
Chris McGreal in Washington
 
An aerial view of the Pentagon Building in Washington DC
Officials at the Pentagon are scrambling to buy the whole 10,000 print run of Operation Dark Heart – and then pulp them.

It's every author's dream – to write a book that's so sensationally popular it's impossible to find a copy in the shops, even as it keeps climbing up the bestseller lists.And so it is for Anthony Shaffer, thanks to the Pentagon's desire to buy up all 10,000 copies of the first printing of his new book, Operation Dark Heart. And then pulp them.

The US defence department is scrambling to dispose of what threatens to be a highly embarrassing expose by the former intelligence officer of secret operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and of how the US military top brass missed the opportunity to win the war against the Taliban.

The department of defence is in talks with St Martin's Press to purchase the entire first print run on the grounds of national security.The publisher is content to sell the books but the two sides are in a grinding dispute over what should appear in a censored version and when it should be released.

Now St Martin's Press says it will put the partly redacted manuscript on sale next week whether or not the defence department likes it – and there doesn't appear much the authorities can do.The army had cleared the book by Lieutenant Colonel Shaffer, about "black ops" in the Afghan war when he was based at Bagram in 2003, for publication after relatively minor changes.

But when the intelligence services and defence department officials saw it they were alarmed.They said it contained highly classified material including the names of American intelligence agents and accounts of clandestine operations, and demanded the book be withdrawn on the grounds it "could reasonably be expected to cause serious damage to national security".

The Pentagon is using Shaffer's status as a reserve officer to block him from speaking to the press, but a source close to the publication of the book said that some of the sensitive material had been removed but the defence department was still seeking to purge it of other information that is 20 years old or even in the public domain.

For that reason, there is suspicion that the defence department is less concerned with the nitty gritty of classified material than its broader story of intelligence forays in to Pakistan and his claim that top US military leaders blew an opportunity to win the war years ago.

Shaffer describes in the book how he was part of the "dark side of the force" that operates outside the usual constraints of the military system. He led a group that called themselves the Jedi Knights and specialised in "black ops" including "striking at the core of the Taliban" inside Pakistan. He says that US forces were gaining the upper hand until the military brass involved itself, curbing operations in Pakistan and permitting the Taliban to strengthen again.

Shaffer, who used the pseudonym Christopher Stryker, fell foul of his superiors several years ago after claiming that an intelligence programme he was working with identified Mohammed Atta as a terrorist threat to the US before he led the attacks on 9/11. He was later sacked by the DIA over alleged violations of rules and excessive expense claims.

Joseph Rinaldi of St Martin's Press said that it had offered to sell the first print run to the Pentagon but the details are still being worked out. The Pentagon may yet regret wading in at all. Its plan to pulp the book has provided the kind of publicity that advertising cannot buy and the redacted but still unpalatable version of Operation Dark Heart is charging up the best seller lists even before it is released.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/13/pentagon-afghanistan-spy-book-pulp



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Re: [ALOCHONA] Burqa can't be forced: High Court



The link did not bring any web page. Like you I do not think one should be force to follow any specific religion ( Islam or otherwise). Having said that, we need to understand that men or women should NOT be forced to go against religion either (Like the previous military regime in Turkey). Turkey,UAE and Malaysia are good role models we can follow when we talk about religion. All citizens of those countries have freedom to follow or not follow any particular religion.

As far as burqa is concern, most scholars of Islam says covering face is NOT mandatory  in Islam. However  almost all  prominent scholars of Islam says  "hijab" is required by Islam. Those who want to be "Practicing Muslims" need to observe hijab [ Source: Al Qur'an 24:30-31] for modesty (Certain rules applies for men as well). The first command about hijab was directed towards men. Albeit we generally think it is only at women, men needs to follow hijab [ etiquette] as well.

Please click here to get answers to frequently asked questions on this topic. [ Source: http://www.islam101.com/women/hijabfaq.html]

For related information, please click here.

As I said multiple times before, Islam (Or any other ideology) should not be forced but it is also important for Muslims to have clear understanding of their own religion.

Shalom.

--qr



-----Original Message-----
From: Farida Majid <farida_majid@hotmail.com>
To: Alochona Alochona <alochona@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tue, Aug 31, 2010 4:05 am
Subject: RE: [ALOCHONA] Burqa can't be forced: High Court

 
            Many people think that secularism is a grey (as opposed to the 'black' of the burqa) burlap sack that you can whack over a person's head.
 
           A black burqa is a very good thing for Muslims, they say. 
          It can put a ink-blot over the person's existence and obliterate the person's humanity. That is supposedly a very Islamic thing to do,
          though there is no Qur'anic injunction or dress-code for the purpose of blotting out the humanity of a person.
 
             This grey burlap sack called secularism, they say, is an evil thing that can be 'imposed' and can make you look like
             the devil incarnate otherwise known as Hindu. This sack is rumored to be outfitted with a devilish mechanism
             that can make the whole religion of Islam disappear from the realm in a twinkle of an eye!
 
             They also say that this devil incarnate Hindu should be eliminated from the land by any means. The means
             may take the form of mass murder but if that is what it takes to do the job there should not be any hesitation .  
             Anybody showing tendencies like a Hindu should be eliminated. This Hindu Hasina should take heed. Her father was wiped out.
              "Did not hindu hasina learned anything from her Father"?

Did not hindu hasina learned anything from her Father?

              However, the people who speak in the above language have not been able to provide a sample of the grey burlap sack
               called secularism that can be 'imposed' over people's head and that can make Islam disappear in a twinkle of an eye.
 
              Until they do, we have the Holy Qur'an to turn to for guidance, solace and fortitude. In this holy month of Ramadan,
               time for penance and self-purification, we should recognize that the above talk is itself a kind of 'covering' or clothing
              or 'lebas'.  And the Qur'an warns us to be wary of these attempts at falsehoods:
 
               "Wa la talbisu al Huqqa bi-l batili wa taktumoo ul Huqqa wa antum taAlamuna"  2:42.
               (And cover not Truth with falsehood, nor coceal the Truth when ye know whar it is)
             
              For those who want be sure that there is no Qur'anic mandate for women to wear the burqa or the hijab,
              please read the following article which was published in the Daily Star, and then archived by the Islamic
              Reasearch Foundation Information.
 
  • Farida Majid As the hijab issue heats up in France and Germany, and the psychological pressure and the brainwashing of women intensifies all over the Muslim world, the feverish ...
    irfi.org/articles/articles_201_250/fashioning_lies.htm · Cached page

     

To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
From: qrahman@netscape.net
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:38:27 -0400
Subject: Re: [ALOCHONA] Burqa can't be forced: High Court

 
I think burqa should not be forced but the new law does not have some "Common sense" exceptions. For Islamic institutions "Islamic" dress should be enforced (That may include Burqa if the local community feels right about it). Albeit there are difference of opinion among scholars if Burqa is mandatory in Islam or not. Most scholars think "Hijab" covers Islamic requirements for women.

While I agree Burqa should not be forced but secularism should not be forced on our people either. Maybe  experts should be looking into the verdict more to ensure some "Activist" judges going overboard or not. There are some concerns from liberal groups about civil rights in another ruling regarding Shaheed minar.

Personally I feel that, God created us as "FREE" men and women and gave us freedom to obey or disobey Him. Therefore, we should encourage honest and open discussions/debates about religion. Blaming everything Islamic TODAY for what some Jamaat-e-Islami leaders did 40 years ago does not seem fair or logical to me.

Peace.



-----Original Message-----
From: Mo Assghar <moassghar@yahoo.com>
To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tue, Aug 24, 2010 9:02 am
Subject: Re: [ALOCHONA] Burqa can't be forced: High Court

 
But Secularism can be forced? Give me a break!!

Did not hindu hasina learned anything from her Father?


--- On Mon, 8/23/10, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com>
Subject: [ALOCHONA] Burqa can't be forced: High Court
To:
Date: Monday, August 23, 2010, 2:36 AM

 
Burqa can't be forced: High Court

 
The court also ordered relevant officials to explain why forcing girls to wear burqa (veil) and keeping them out of sports and cultural activities were illegal.


Dhaka, Aug 22 (bdnews24.com)—The High Court has ruled that no women can be forced to wear burqa at work and educational institutions. In it's ruling The High Court on Sunday in a suo moto order directed the government to ensure that no women were forced to wear veil or religious dress in the educational institutions and offices.

The court also ordered the government to ensure that the cultural activities and sports in the educational institutions are not restricted.The orders came in the wake of a public interest petition filed by Supreme Court lawyers Mahbub Shafi and A K M Hafizul Alam on Sunday. The bench of justices A H M Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Sheikh Mohammad Zakir Hossain also ruled that they cannot be barred from taking to culture and sports

The court also ordered relevant officials to explain why forcing girls to wear burqa (veil) and keeping them out of sports and cultural activities were illegal.

The A Bengali daily news item said that principal of the college in Natore ( Northern Bangladesh ) has stopped any cultural activities and sports at the college and forced female students to wear Borka or veil in the college.The HC also directed principal of the college Mozammel Haque to appear before the HC bench on August 26 to explain the matter.

It also issued a rule upon the government to explain why imposition of restriction on cultural activities and sports in the educational institutions and offices and forcing the female students to wear veil should not be declared illegal.

Secretaries to the ministries of home, education, social welfare and women affair and principal Mozammel Haque has been made respondent to the rule and orderThe education, home, social welfare, and women and children affairs secretaries and principal of Rani Bhabani Mohila College Mozammel Huq were asked to reply to ruling. Following a brief hearing, the court also asked the principal to appear before it on Aug 26.

The lawyers in their petition on Sunday cited a report carried by a Bengali newspaper the same day headlined, 'Burqa mandatory at Rani Bhabani Mohila College'. The lawyers stated such enforcement was discriminatory.




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[ALOCHONA] American Muslims Nine Years After 9/11



American Muslims Nine Years After 9/11

By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
 

The seven-million strong American Muslim community, under siege since the ghastly tragedy of 9/11, is challenged in recent months with a growing anti-Islam and anti-Muslim bigotry sparked by the opposition to the planned Park51 project popularly known as the Ground Zero Mosque in Manhattan, New York. The inflammatory rhetoric surrounding the project, actually a cultural center and already approved by the New York City Planning Commission, has stirred hatred toward Muslims in America.

There has been so much fear-mongering and so much misinformation in the debate peddled by bigots and rightwing politicians. The constant vilification of Islam and Muslims over the air on radio talk shows, in newspapers and the Internet is contributing to the rise in anti-Muslim sentiment across the country.

The hate speech and fear-mongering has resulted in hate crimes against Muslims and their prayer centers. At least three anti-Muslim acts were reported in one day, on August 24. In New York, taxi driver Ahmed H. Sharif was stabbed after the passenger asked the driver "Are you Muslim?" When the driver said yes, the man slashed him with a knife on the throat, arm and face. The same night a drunk man barged into a Queens (New York) mosque and shouted anti-Muslim slurs at the congregation during the nightly Tarawee prayers. He then proceeded to urinate on the prayer rugs. Anti-Muslim acts are not limited to New York. Several thousand miles away in Madera, California, a mosque was vandalized with a sign reading 'Wake up America, the enemy is here.' Tellingly, earlier last month, a mock pig inscribed with "No Mosque in NYC" was left at a California Islamic center. It was also inscribed with "Remember 9-11" and "MO HAM MED the Pig."

Amid growing anti-Muslim sentiment—stirred up by a raging debate over the Ground Zero mosque, at least two more incidents were reported till August 31. In New York State's tiny town, Carlton, five teenagers harassed worshippers at the town mosque. The teenagers were charged with disrupting religious services at the mosque after they honked their car horns and yelled obscenities during one prayer service, and fired a weapon outside of another. In the Nashville suburb of Murfreesboro (Tennessee) a fire was reported at the site of a planned Islamic center and mosque. More alarmingly, gunshots were fired when the community members arrived to inspect the site.

All these hate incidents come in an atmosphere of near anti-Muslim hysteria that is currently being generated by the feverish discourse and manufactured controversy over the Ground Zero mosque. It is generating anti-Muslim and anti-Islam public sentiments. A poll on August 29 by the extreme right San Diego, California 760 KFMB AM talk radio station indicated that 70% of those polled are in favor of forced registration for American Muslims in a national database. The same day a poll conducted by Chris Matthews show at the MSNBC revealed that more than half of Republicans polled say they have a negative attitude toward Islam, this compared to only 27% of Democrats. A PEW Institute poll result released on August 24 corroborated the findings of Chris Mathews show. By more than two-to-one (54% to 21%), Republicans expressed an unfavorable opinion of Islam and by more than four-to-one (74% to 17%), Republicans say they agree more with those who object to the building of the Ground Zero Mosque. By contrast, more Democrats agree with the center's supporters than its opponents (by 47% to 39%).

One may ask. If the feverish discourse about the so-called Ground Zero mosque is only about the building of a new mosque or something else? To borrow, Stephan Salisbury of Tom Dispatch, the mosque controversy is not really about a mosque at all; it's about the presence of Muslims in America, and the free-floating anxiety and fear that now dominate the nation's psyche. The dark stain of anti-Islam and anti-Muslim bigotry or Islamophobia had spread far and wide long before the controversy erupted. As Salisbury pointed out, "those opposing the construction of the center in New York City are drawing on what amounts to a decade of government-stoked xenophobia about Muslims, now gathering strength and visibility in a nation full of deep economic anxieties and increasingly aggressive far-right grassroots groups."

Since 9/11, there has been a steady rise in Islamophobia, however recent months have seen exponential rise of anti-Islam and anti-Muslim bigotry. Many Religious Right leaders and opportunist politicians assert over and over that Islam is not a religion at all but a political cult, that Muslims cannot be good Americans and that mosques are fronts for extremist 'jihadis.' Over the course of the past year there has been a substantial increase in the number of political candidates using Islamophobic tactics in an effort to leverage votes, and use such tactics as a platform to enhance their political visibility.

Few examples: A Minnesota Republican congressional candidate, Lynne Torgerson, says that the religion of Islam cannot be protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, one of three Republican candidates running for governor, says Islam may be called a "cult" instead of a religion. Ron McNeil, a Florida congressional candidate tells local high and middle class students that Islam is against everything America stands for. Another Florida Republican candidate for Congress, Dan Fanelli, runs television ads in which he points to a white man and asks, "Does this look like a terrorist?" and then turns to an Arab-looking man and asks, "Or this?" A Texas congressional hopeful, Canyon Clowdus, wants no more Muslim immigration to America. The American Family Association also wants a halt to the immigration of Muslims into the U.S. to "protect our national security and preserve our national identity, culture, ideals and values." In Oklahoma an anti-Muslim measure is being pushed for November ballot.

Alarmingly, allegations of anti-Muslim bias are being leveled against the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, that advises the president and other government officials on issues related to religious freedom worldwide. The Washington Post has quoted some past commissioners, staff and former staff of the Commission as saying that the agency is rife, behind-the-scenes, with ideology and tribalism, with commissioners focusing on pet projects that are often based on their own religious background. In particular, they say an anti-Muslim bias runs through the commission's work.

Burning of the Quran stunt

Desecration of the Quran, Islam's holy book, is another method of bigotry. Anti-Islam and anti-Muslim Pastor Terry Jones of a tiny Florida Church, known as the Dove World Outreach Center, planned to commemorate 9/11 by burning copies of the Holy Quran. He abandoned the Quran burning stunt when US Secretary of Defense phoned him saying that his provocative act would inflame the Muslim world and jeopardize the lives of American troops now deployed in many Muslim countries. However, Jones message was not lost to many. Torn pages of the Quran were found on Saturday (9/10) at the front of the Islamic Center of East Lansing, Michigan. Some of the pages appeared to be smeared with feces.

Amid heightened hate speech and fear-mongering mosques in California, Tennessee, New York, Illinois, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Texas, and Florida have faced vocal opposition or have been targeted by hate incidents in recent months. In the most recent incidents, on 9/11 eve, vandals spray-painted "9-11" on windows and countertops at the Muslim owned Jaffa Market in Columbus, Ohio. Some cash and a laptop computer were stolen, while several display cases were vandalized. Just after midnight on Wednesday (9/8), back wall of the Hudson Islamic Center in New York was pained with slur "sand n**gers" and an obscenity. Last week also, a Phoenix mosque under construction was vandalized. Paint was spilled on the floor and several tall, arched glass windows were broken by what appeared to be gunshots. There was also anti-Muslim graffiti. The same mosque was vandalized in February last.

The presence of mosques and the building of new mosques have become a divisive issue in several communities across the country in recent years. A church may be a church, and a temple a temple, but through the prism of emotion that grips many Americans, a decade after 9/11, a mosque can apparently represent a lot of things.

Eid Al Fitr celebrations scaled back

This year the seven million strong American Muslim community scaled back the Eid Al Fitr celebrations at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, which fell just one day before the 9/11 anniversary. Islamic civic advocacy groups worried that the proximity of Eid Al Fitr with 9/11 anniversary will increase suspicion and hostility towards Muslims at a time when feelings towards their religion are already running high.

The Council of Muslim Organizations in Washington DC called on all US Islamic centers, schools and organizations to refrain from holding Eid Al Fitr celebrations. The Council said the move was out of respect for the victims of the 9/11 attacks.

Muslim leaders feared that the celebrations might have been mistakenly -- or deliberately – misconstrued. "Definitely there are people who would like to make us look like we are celebrating on 9/11 and we are not going to let them," said Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, Director of Outreach at the Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center, Washington DC.

Many Muslims believed that sensitivity toward the anniversary of September 11 is crucial since this has been a tense summer for Muslims in the US due to the controversy over the Grand Zero mosque.

The Islamic Cultural Center of Fresno, California announced cancellation of its Eid al-Fitr carnival on Sept. 11. For the past several years, the Islamic Cultural Center had celebrated Eid al-Fitr with a carnival on the first Saturday after the holiday, when the potential is greater for large attendance. Center officials said the cancellation was an acknowledgment that any celebration could be misinterpreted and also could be seen by some as insensitivity to the remembrance of 9/11.

With anti-Muslim rhetoric reaching epic proportions in broader U.S. society -- largely tolerated, rarely condemned – the American Muslim community remains optimistic that the current campaign which is partly driven by the forthcoming elections will eventually subside since the religious freedom is a founding principle of this country and the main catalyst for its origins in the early seventeenth century. This principle was emphatically reiterated by President George Washington in his 1790 letter to the Jews of Rhode Island who built the Touro Synagogue:

"The citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy -- a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship….The Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support."

When President Washington wrote this letter 220 years back, he must have been aware of the effect it would have on the fledgling nation.

Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the Executive Editor of the online magazine American Muslim Perspective: www.amperspective.com Email: asghazali786@gmail.com



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Re: [!! SPAM] RE: [ALOCHONA] Burqa can't be forced: High Court



Just as religion is NOT forced upon anyone, so is BURQA, not forced, but should be followed if one wants to remain a good muslim, otherwise the result is obvious.
There is the freewill, you can do the right thing or the wrong thing and you get the reward or the penalty in equal proportion.
abdeen
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, August 30, 2010 7:53 PM
Subject: [!! SPAM] RE: [ALOCHONA] Burqa can't be forced: High Court

 

Mo Assghar wrote,

'Did not Hindu Hasina learn anything from her Father?'

What a solidly stupid comment. Not surprised, we can't expect reason from an ignorant and dogmatic person. He must know that when religion is governed by thugs, civilised nation should regulate and stop them. A 7th century pagan Arab culture can't be a part of any faith.

           

Akbar Hussain






To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
From: qrahman@netscape.net
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:38:27 -0400
Subject: Re: [ALOCHONA] Burqa can't be forced: High Court

 
I think burqa should not be forced but the new law does not have some "Common sense" exceptions. For Islamic institutions "Islamic" dress should be enforced (That may include Burqa if the local community feels right about it). Albeit there are difference of opinion among scholars if Burqa is mandatory in Islam or not. Most scholars think "Hijab" covers Islamic requirements for women.

While I agree Burqa should not be forced but secularism should not be forced on our people either. Maybe  experts should be looking into the verdict more to ensure some "Activist" judges going overboard or not. There are some concerns from liberal groups about civil rights in another ruling regarding Shaheed minar.

Personally I feel that, God created us as "FREE" men and women and gave us freedom to obey or disobey Him. Therefore, we should encourage honest and open discussions/debates about religion. Blaming everything Islamic TODAY for what some Jamaat-e-Islami leaders did 40 years ago does not seem fair or logical to me.

Peace.



-----Original Message-----
From: Mo Assghar <moassghar@yahoo.com>
To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tue, Aug 24, 2010 9:02 am
Subject: Re: [ALOCHONA] Burqa can't be forced: High Court

 
But Secularism can be forced? Give me a break!!

Did not hindu hasina learned anything from her Father?


--- On Mon, 8/23/10, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com>
Subject: [ALOCHONA] Burqa can't be forced: High Court
To:
Date: Monday, August 23, 2010, 2:36 AM

 
Burqa can't be forced: High Court

 
The court also ordered relevant officials to explain why forcing girls to wear burqa (veil) and keeping them out of sports and cultural activities were illegal.


Dhaka, Aug 22 (bdnews24.com)—The High Court has ruled that no women can be forced to wear burqa at work and educational institutions. In it's ruling The High Court on Sunday in a suo moto order directed the government to ensure that no women were forced to wear veil or religious dress in the educational institutions and offices.

The court also ordered the government to ensure that the cultural activities and sports in the educational institutions are not restricted.The orders came in the wake of a public interest petition filed by Supreme Court lawyers Mahbub Shafi and A K M Hafizul Alam on Sunday. The bench of justices A H M Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Sheikh Mohammad Zakir Hossain also ruled that they cannot be barred from taking to culture and sports

The court also ordered relevant officials to explain why forcing girls to wear burqa (veil) and keeping them out of sports and cultural activities were illegal.

The A Bengali daily news item said that principal of the college in Natore ( Northern Bangladesh ) has stopped any cultural activities and sports at the college and forced female students to wear Borka or veil in the college.The HC also directed principal of the college Mozammel Haque to appear before the HC bench on August 26 to explain the matter.

It also issued a rule upon the government to explain why imposition of restriction on cultural activities and sports in the educational institutions and offices and forcing the female students to wear veil should not be declared illegal.

Secretaries to the ministries of home, education, social welfare and women affair and principal Mozammel Haque has been made respondent to the rule and orderThe education, home, social welfare, and women and children affairs secretaries and principal of Rani Bhabani Mohila College Mozammel Huq were asked to reply to ruling. Following a brief hearing, the court also asked the principal to appear before it on Aug 26.

The lawyers in their petition on Sunday cited a report carried by a Bengali newspaper the same day headlined, 'Burqa mandatory at Rani Bhabani Mohila College'. The lawyers stated such enforcement was discriminatory.




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[ALOCHONA] Violence in Kashmir :No end in sight



Violence in Kashmir :No end in sight

EVERY date to have inspired hope that the cycle of protest in the Kashmir valley might be about to end has instead proved to mark another intensification in the unrest. It was hoped that by the beginning of Ramadan, families would have had enough of living in a state of siege. Since the protests began in June life in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has been disrupted most days by hartals, or strikes, called by anti-Indian separatists and by government-imposed curfews that have shut shops, schools and public buildings. But the movement kept going unabated through the fasting month. Then optimists looked to the Eid festival at the end of Ramadan as a potential turning-point.

So it has proved, but only for the worse. In the bloodiest encounters since the stone-throwing protests against Indian rule began, at least 19 people have been killed. They included a policeman, run over by a lorry, the first member of the security forces to have died in the unrest. About 90 Kashmiris, some of them very young, have been killed.

In a big protest march, some government buildings were set ablaze. The police have accused a separatist leader, Umar Farooq, the Mirwaiz, or hereditary spiritual leader of the valley's Sunni Muslims, of inciting the arson and violence. The Mirwaiz, who is known as a moderate, has denied it, and blamed Indian agents provocateurs. His harder-line rival Syed Shah Geelani, now 81, has come to his defence. One feature of the recent protests is the unity they have forged between the many frequently feuding anti-India factions in the valley.

The latest protests have two new, linked elements. The first is that they were partly prompted by outside events. Up to now, the Kashmiri protests have been self-perpetuating—every time a clash led to a death, it would provoke a new protest. This time one factor was a report of the desecration of the Koran in America. India has banned broadcasts from the Iranian television station that spread the story.

The second is the sectarian cast to some of the violence. A Christian-run school was attacked; and a crowd was stopped from attacking a church. Many Kashmiris pride themselves on the syncretic generosity of the valley's Sufi-influenced Islam. But in recent years less tolerant strains of the religion have made ground.

India's government still seems at a loss as to how to respond. The local chief minister, Omar Abdullah, has appealed for the lifting of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, a self-explanatory, draconian and much-detested piece of legislation in force in 14 of J&K's 22 districts, from four districts in the valley. The army, however, is adamantly opposed to this, as is the main federal opposition party, the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. A cabinet security meeting ducked making a decision, so the law remains in effect.

This will fuel the resentment of many Kashmiris who see the 500,000 or more Indian troops in Kashmir as a force to be feared rather than trusted. Unverified video footage apparently showing detained Kashmiris being stripped and humiliated has been removed from YouTube and other sites. But, as Amnesty International has pointed out, it will do little for India's image in Kashmir that its police seem more interested in finding who was guilty of uploading the footage than in investigating its authenticity and contemplating action against the paramilitaries apparently involved.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2010/09/violence_intensifies_kashmir



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[ALOCHONA] The lunar lunacy



The lunar lunacy

 

Javed Ahmad

 

Let’s begin with some hadiths regarding the crescent -

 

Narrated Ibn `Umar: I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "When you see the crescent (of the month of Ramadan), start fasting, and when you see the crescent (of the month of Shawwal), stop fasting; and if the sky is overcast (and you can't see it) then regard the month of Ramadan as of 30 days."" (Bukhari 3.124).

 

Narrated `Abdullah bin `Umar: Allah's Apostle mentioned Ramadan and said, "Do not fast unless you see the crescent (of Ramadan), and do not give up fasting till you see the crescent (of Shawwal), but if the sky is overcast (if you cannot see it), then act on estimation (i.e. count Sha'ban as 30 days)." (Bukhari 3.130).

 

Narrated Aisha: We set out along with Allah's Apostle shortly before the appearance of the new moon (crescent) of the month of Dhi−l−Hijja and he said to us, "Whoever wants to assume Ihram for Hajj may do so; and whoever wants to assume Ihram for `Umra may do so..." (Bukhari 3.11).

 

Every year we face a problem in determining the beginning of Ramadan and Eid days as the decision is subject to visibility of the new moon. If we could begin Ramadan on a correct date then we could also find some luck in finding the Night of Qadr. For instance, if we begin Ramadan on a wrong day then the odd and even numbers of the last ten days of Ramadan would vary. In that respect the safest strategy would be to look for the Night of Power in the last ten days and not only on odd nights.

 

Similarly, if the moon is not sighted on the expected date then we cannot celebrate the Eid, which means at that situation we are risking keeping an extra fast that may fall on an Eid day if we err in our calculations. And fasting on the days of Eid is prohibited!

 

Narrated Abu `Ubaid: (the slave of Ibn Azhar) I witnessed the `Id with `Umar bin Al−Khattab who said, Allah's Apostle has forbidden people to fast on the day on which you break fasting (the fasts of Ramadan) and the day on which you eat the meat of your sacrifices (the first day of `Id ul Fitr and `Id ul−Adha)." (Bukhari 3.211).

 

Islam follows a lunar calendar to determine the days of rituals and celebrations (but depends on the solar or sun’s position to determine the prayer times). As a result, the celebrations falls in different seasons in different years in compared to solar calendar. That allows a Muslim to taste the rituals in different weather conditions.

 

“It is He Who made the sun to be a shining glory and the moon to be a light (of beauty), and measured out stages for her; that ye might know the number of years and the count (of time). Nowise did God create this but in truth and righteousness. (Thus) doth He explain His Signs in detail, for those who understand.” (Qur’an 10:5).

 

“And He hath made subject to you the sun and the moon, both diligently pursuing their courses; and the night and the day hath he (also) made subject to you.” (Qur’an 14:33).

 

In early days when there were not many high rise buildings in the city, we used to get on the roof tops of our residence right before the iftar and maghrib time to see if we could have a glimpse of the new moon on the western sky (in Bangladesh) immediately after the sunset. In a short duration it is very difficult to see the crescent as it is too thin and stays only for a short while. But, we did manage to see the moon in most times except on the cloudy or rainy days. Today, we could no longer see the western horizon because of the high rise buildings. So, we no longer go to our roofs to look for the moon ourselves.

 

Today, we have a national “Moon Sighting Committee” that has members scattered around the country with the responsibility to see the moon. In some areas, our air-force lends some of their choppers to fly high in the sky to find the moon. But often this committee fails to see the moon no matter how many people are sincerely trying to see it.

 

When we were East Pakistan we had another part- the West Pakistan. At that time we could also depend on the visibility of the moon if it was sighted there. Ideally, if Muslim sees the moon anywhere is good enough reason to settle for Eid day. However, majority prefer a local sighting.

 

It is often seen that different areas in the same country are following Eid days on different days. It is mainly because some follows the moon sighting in Saudi Arabia, and do not depend on local sighting. They also begin their Ramadan fasts following the moon sight in KSA. Thus ending up in disunity with the rest of the Muslims in the country, which is not desirable.

 

“…ye should remain steadfast in religion, and make no divisions therein…” (Qur’an 42:13).

 

It is probably possible to overcome the problem if we take astronomical science into consideration. The following verses in the Qur’an reveals that the planets and sub-planets follow a fixed time table in their own orbits -

 

“They ask thee concerning the New Moons. Say: They are but signs to mark fixed periods of time in (the affairs of) men, and for Pilgrimage. It is no virtue if ye enter your houses from the back: It is virtue if ye fear God. Enter houses through the proper doors: And fear God: That ye may prosper.” (Qur’an 2:189).

 

“God is He Who raised the heavens without any pillars that ye can see; is firmly established on the throne (of authority); He has subjected the sun and the moon (to his Law)! Each one runs (its course) for a term appointed. He doth regulate all affairs, explaining the signs in detail, that ye may believe with certainty in the meeting with your Lord.” (Qur’an 13:2)

 

“It is He Who created the Night and the Day, and the sun and the moon: all (the celestial bodies) swim along, each in its rounded course.” (Qur’an 21:33).

 

“The sun and the moon follow courses (exactly) computed;…” (Qur’an 55:5).

 

Therefore, taking help from an astronomical chart for possible lunar visibility could reduce our hassle. If we know what would be the position of the moon and at what angle or point it could be seen then we could narrow down our search and increase our chances of seeing it. Similarly, the chart could also tell us before hand when the moon would not be visible at all, so that we do not look in vain for it. The moon follows a mathematically traceable path that could be predicted accurately. The visibility coordinates would vary from different positions of the globe. We could definitely use this science to our advantage to look for the moon.

 

Those who are strictly following the Saudi moon sighting are risking missing a compulsory fast of Ramadan by not fasting the last day (i.e., the 30th) when the moon is not locally seen. As normally, in most cases, a Ramadan in Saudi Arabia does not go beyond twenty nine days.

 

Personally I would not depend on moon sighting news from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) as I have witnessed a case during my hajj in 2004 when our Hajj fell on a Friday (making it a Akbari Hajj), but the king there decided to shift the day one day later to avoid making it a special hajj. All of us who understood the matter were very upset, not because we did not get the Akbari Hajj, but to see the audacity of the king to rule over Shariah. Therefore, in KSA the king dictates the days of rituals which is not necessarily on the basis of sighting of the moon rather fitting his own interests (if not in all occasions).

 

Some Muslim scholars suggested that as an alternative solution to this problem we could break the last day fast as soon we see the moon on the 30th day and if it looks larger than the crescent implicating that it would be the moon the second day, which is actually the Eid day. But they did not say anything about what to do with the missed Eid day prayer due to this problem. Not sure what is the basis of this alternative solution as I could not find any hadith supporting this idea.

 

From our discussion above, I guess it is safe to conclude that we could try using the astronomical science to see if it delivers anything useful to solve this problem and liberate us from this catch 22 situation. Mathematical calculations do not lie; so we have a chance. Our Moon Sighting Committee could work together with our Astronomical Societies and Associations to come up with a feasible plan to get rid of the dilemma that we face every year.

 

References:

 

Moonsighting Committee Worldwide (MCW): http://moonsighting.com/

 

Moon sighting News, Analysis and Articles: http://www.islamicmoon.com/

 

moonsighting.net: http://www.moonsighting.net/

 

Crescentwatch: http://www.crescentwatch.org/cgi-bin/Cw/cw.cgi

 

Hilal Sighting Committee: http://www.hilalsighting.org/

 

Al-Ghazzali Centre- Australian National Crescent Sighting Coordination Centre: http://alghazzali.org/events/calender

 

Bangladesh Astronomical Society: http://www.bangastrosociety.org/

 

Bangladesh Astronomical Association: http://astronomybangla.com/

 

 



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[ALOCHONA] Muslim, American, and Silent



 
 
September 13, 2010. How was your 911 this year? Mine was awful! Because for the first time I could not relate to the America I have lived now for thirty years! Because  I hated being a Muslim-American nine years after the tragedy! I am Omar Huda, and many of you have read may mail before, or know me, or not!
 

Rev. Deborah Lindsay
on Islamophobia
http://www.fcchurch.com/

 
Would CNN or Fox interview this Rev. Deborah Lindsay from Texas?? They did give over 20 minute each  to Pastor Terry Jones of Florida who wanted to burn the Koran, and Rev. Robert Jeffress of Texas who chanted "False Religion, false Book, false Prophet" as he cursed Muslims!  I will tell you, "No they won't". Now ask them why. They will not answer you either. Try it. And then, think!!
 

Injustice Cannot Defeat Injustice

 
Did you hear these Muslim American Imams? No? Why not? They spoke as loud as they could! Again, think!
 
My friend, when you think of "Muslim people", think of the doctor you visited. Or the woman who nursed your mother at the hospital. Or the engineer who lives next door. Or the co-worker who smiles at you everyday and says 'Hi'. Or the sixty Muslims who died on 911 at the WTC, among them an ambulance driver who died while busy pulling people out of the rubble. Or think of Melissa Massom, a twenty six years old Bangladeshi-American-Muslim mother. She is of the same origin as the fifty five (of the sixty) Muslims who died on 911 at WTC. She is also the same origin as the Muslim New Yorker taxi driver whose throat was slashed just the other day by another New Yorker who just came back from Afghanistan as an embedded photographer with an army unit and had heard Newt Gingrich. She is also the same origin as I am. I thought we were all Americans, just like you.  That's what Melissa thought too. Read her blog, and then, be silent for a moment and take a deeeeeeeep breath!!

Muslim, American, and Silent



Years ago, when the sun came up on Eid (the end of Ramadan), my sister and I used to get up, shower, put on our new clothes that my parents had saved up for and bought and that we had carefully laid out the night before. My mother used to make a breakfast spread full of delicious fritters and milky, caramelled sweets. We had tea and exchanged presents. This was our tradition, what my parents had carried over from Bangladesh. We couldn't afford much in our shoebox apartment in Queens, New York. But this was absolutely best part of the year for us. We didn't get Christmas or Easter like all our classmates did. We didn't even get the whole week off for Eid--but we DID get to skip school and get to continue the day going from house to house, eating, hugging, exchanging presents.

"This is your culture as well as it is your religion," my parents told me over the years. I didn't get what that meant then but at twenty-six I'm beginning to understand. My family isn't very religious, thrusting Allah and his words into my sister's and my every day life. But we embraced the Muslim culture. that meant I didn't need to have the answers as much as I needed to enjoy and practice the little traditions--the fried pakoras and samosas, sweet date fruits, new salwar kameezes to wear, accepting money from uncles and aunts, and of course, the endless hugging and "Eid Mubaraks." These are living, breathing practices, changing with time and as new members from other countries and religions were welcomed in. We are all spiritual, respecting how each of us in the family approach Islam. There are about a hundred of us now in Houston, ranging from newborns to senior citizens. And every year we do what we always do--cook all day, gather in different houses for different meals, and just have a damn good time.

"This is your culture as well as your religion."

That is the phrase I have carried with me since, believing in the spiritual connections between me and a higher power rather than the five pillars most Muslims believe in. I've accepted that I am a Muslim in a very loose sense, a Bangladeshi in the racial sense, and American in every aspect of the word. So I have never understood how just being Muslim--a small part of who I am--put me in the same box as those "other" Muslims--the ones who hate Christianity and Americans, hate this country, disrespect anyone--including me and my family--who does. We do not even call them Muslims. We refer to them as "oy gula"--"those others."

When a very conservative, Republican, and Christian co-worker of mine recently asked me why "my people" tend to be terrorists, I tried explaining to her the different aspects of Islam, the different cultures, the different people that are put under that umbrella. When she still insisted that all Muslims needed to take responsibility for that small group of extremists, I finally told her, "No, you're right because you should admit Christianity breeds pedophiles." Her stammered and shocked response was that she was Christian, but not Catholic--which is a small part of Christianity--and those were a small group of individual priests and they were extreme--and then she stopped mid-sentence and I let the argument rest.

A few weeks ago when we first heard of the "Ground Zero mosque" in the news my family did not discuss it. We were silent on the topic. We claim being Muslim, yes, but we also have become Muslim Americans. And when an angry (white and presumably "Christian") man on the news shouted, "This is OUR Ground Zero!" I remember thinking to myself, "It's my Ground Zero too." but I couldn't say that out loud--I felt like I wasn't allowed to. We all felt like we weren't allowed to. And then of course it came out that it was not a mosque but a community center. And it was not at ground zero but several blocks away. And the imam in charge of it was a Sufi, a spiritual, less strict version of Islam. "'Real Islam,' he has been quoted saying (and by this he meant Sufism), 'is about experience, not Shariah (law). It is about a heart-and-soul connection between the individual believer and God—the sort of love that sets your whole being into dance." (CNN.com ) The men and people who support the terrorism of 9/11, I can tell you right now, would NOT agree with him.

He too, like my family and me and probably about 99% of the other Muslims living here in America, believe there is us, the Muslims who came here for a better life freely, with dreams and toddlers and our lives in suitcases, and then there are the "others." and we don't accept the others, we don't claim them as our own. But here we are, fighting tea baggers and pastors who tell us that we are "others" too. We apparently don't belong on the side with the non-Muslim Americans.

Then came the Bangladeshi cab driver (something my own father was at one point) who was stabbed for saying he's Muslim and it was like we were under war just for being, for existing as we always have—and how does one fight that?

When the planes crashed on 9/11, every Muslim American I knew was just as devastated and frozen in fear early that morning. But that was before we knew that the culprits were people who claimed to be Muslim like us. We were on the same outraged, angry, scared side as every other American glued to tv's at the beginning. We were just as in shock as everyone else, crying, waiting, shaking our heads. It wasn't until the names of the terrorists surfaced and the reports of al-Qaeda involvement came out that we were silenced. All of a sudden, the country we had made our own, the country we brought our traditions into freely and without fear, was a place of hate and criticism. All of a sudden, our anger at the twin towers falling, at the murders of all those people, was no longer valid. Our houses were getting egged, people looked at us in disgust at grocery stores, and our children couldn't even go to school.

It has been nine whole years and yet we're still not allowed to be American because we're Muslim. In fact, the ideology that if you're Muslim, you cannot also be American has been a fight our own (rather Christian) president has been faced with. (discovery.com) I stop myself from saying, "So what if he is Muslim?" all the time because the part of me that is still hurting from 9/11 realize that there are several hurt Americans who cannot and will not distinguish the "others" from the rest of us. Take that pastor down in Florida. This past week General Petraeus warned that if Pastor Terry Jones from Gainesville, FL burned those Qurans, there would be backlash across the ocean on our troops. A CNN poll showed that over 80% of Americans agree. And yet Pastor Jones insists it's to show radical Muslims "that we will not bow our knees to them." (cnn.com)

Really? Is that the message burning those Qurans is going to send? REALLY?

The Quran isn't the enemy, Mr. Jones. No one is blaming the Bible for your stupidity. Burning those Qurans will be like making fun of a bully's mother, a bully who has weapons and was already circling the playground waiting to beat the crap out of you. It's simply NOT a good idea. And the bully's peaceful siblings may not condone the bully's actions but will still hurt when you insult their mother too. And that's not a good idea either.

"I don't pick up the Quran everyday and I can't recite it to you line by line," an aging relative told me the other day, "but someone burning it--no, no. that would hurt my HEART. It would hurt all of our hearts."

Tonight, Friday, September 10, 2010, my family and I--all 40-something cousins and second cousins and aunts and uncles and family friends--will put on our new clothes, eat amazing meals, and hug each other, thankful we're together, that we have homes and love and jobs and health. But underneath it there might be a tiny bit of fear and the feeling that we are doing something wrong. This growing Islamiphobia in this country is going to dampen what has always been a wonderful celebration of faith, of culture, of who we are. But then again, maybe it won't. Maybe for one day at least we'll forget the intolerance and the hate we keep hearing about and just be--just be Muslim, American, and not silent about any of it.

And on September 11th, just like any other American, we will remember what those "others" did, how they caused us to be part of a fight we never agreed to. We will pray too for the lost lives and families left behind. But we may do this silently. Whether those Qurans burn or not, whether Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf gets to build his community center or not, we as Muslim Americans are already heartbroken. And we are, quite frankly, tired of fighting a fight we never signed up for.
 
 
 
 
 


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