:::True islam:::

By Mahomed Shoaib Omar (Specialist Corporate & Islamic Finance Attorney)
Posted: 21 Dhul Hijjah 1429, 20 December 2008
The meltdown of the global financial system has raised profound questions of its fundamental structural reform. The downward spiral in the US and Western Europe is described by financial experts as deleveraging : the forced reduction of accumulated debt by households and financial institutions. As more assets get dumped into the market, prices are driven down further, which in turn necessitates more deleveraging. This vicious cycle has gained such momentum that even the massive bailout packages may not be sufficient to stop it. The bursting of the debt-fuelled property bubble in the US, together with the crippling losses suffered by banks, has set in motion a chain-reaction that, in a worst-case scenario, (according to Prof Niall Ferguson of Harvard) could lead to a 21st century version of the Great Depression (1).

The immediate cause of the current financial crisis appears to be the excessive and imprudent lending by banks (2). This in turn is attributed to the unbridled power of private bankers to create money out of nothing, and then to loan this bank-created money on interest (described as fractional reserve banking). In this present monetary framework, money is traded as a commodity, instead of performing its true function of operating as a medium of exchange. This system favours the rich against the industrious poor. Despite the fact that deposits are sourced from a broad cross- section of the society, their benefit goes mainly to the rich. James Robertson in “Transforming Economic Life”(3) states that:

“Today’s money and finance system is unfair, ecologically destructive and economically inefficient. The money – must – grow imperative … skews economic effort towards money out of money, and against providing real services and goods”.

A substantial proportion of this privately created bank-money is invested in speculative wagering instruments, such as derivatives based on futures, swaps, and options. Such betting instruments are not connected with transactions in the real economy. According to Prof John Gray of Oxford University, (4) derivatives have created a “virtual financial economy” which “has a terrible potential for disrupting the underlying real economy as seen in the collapse in 1995 of Barings, Britain’s oldest bank”. It is therefore no surprise that George Soros has described derivatives as “hydrogen bombs”. Warren Buffet described them as “financial weapons of mass destruction”. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) currently estimates the notional amount of all outstanding derivatives (including credit default swaps) to be a staggering 600 trillion dollars, more than 10 times the size of the world economy. (BIS, September 2008, pg 20).

Although debt-financing cannot be ruled out, the solution lies in a shift to equity-based financing, posited on profit and loss sharing, which is the primary characteristic of Islamic Finance. In this equitable manner, economic effort would be directed at providing useful goods and services, instead of simply making money out of money. At the same time, the wide gap between the supply of money and the supply of real goods and services would be decisively narrowed. The distinguishing features and benefits of Islamic Banking were aptly summarized by the Islamic Development Bank, based in Jeddah, (established 1975) in the following words:

“Islamic banking is distinctive in two respects: concentrating on the real sector of the economy, it imparts tremendous stability to the economic system by achieving an identity between monetary flows and goods and services, and by operating on a system of profit and loss sharing in its evolved state, it insulates the society from the debt-mountain on the analogy that if the economies enter into recessionary or deflationary phases, the principles of profit and loss sharing protects the states and economic operators from the evils of accumulation of interest and minimizes defaults and bankruptcies.” (5)

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1. See generally the article entitled “The End of Prosperity” by Prof. Ferguson of Harvard, published in Time, October 13, 2008, at pages 18 to 21.

2. Dr M Umer Chapra, economics advisor to the Islamic Development Bank of Jeddah in a paper entitled “The Global Financial Crisis”. (Can Islamic Finance Help? (5/11/2008) (shorter version).

3. James Robertson, Transforming Economic Life : A Millennial Challenge, Green Books, Devon, 1998.

4. John Gray, False Dawn : The Delusions of Capitalism, Grunte Books, London, 1998, p62.
5. See the written submission of the Islamic Development Bank to the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 1999 in connection with its landmark judgment declaring all prevailing forms of interest as unlawful according to Islamic Law. The judgment was delivered on the 23 December 1999.

http://www.albalagh.net/Islamic_economics/0074.shtml

Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani is one of the leading Islamic scholars living today. He is an expert in the fields of Islamic Jurisprudence, Economics, Hadith and Tasawwuf. Born in Deoband in 1362H(1943 CE), he graduated par excellence form Dars e Nizami at Darul Uloom, Karachi, Pakistan. Then he specialized in Islamic Jurisprudence under the guidance of his eminent father, Mufti Muhammad Shafi, the late Grand Mufti of Pakistan. Since then, he has been teaching hadith and Fiqh at the Darul-Uloom, Karachi.

He has authority to teach hadith from his father Mufti Muhammad Shafi, Maulana Idrees Khandhelawi, Qari Mohammed Tayyeb, Maulana Saleemullah Khan, Mufti Rasheed, Moulana Sehban Mahmood, Allama Zafar Ahmed Usmani, Sheikhul Hadith Moulana Zakariya Khandelawi, Sheikh Hassan Meshat (ra) and others.

In tradition to the scholars of Deoband, recognizing the importance of Tasawwuf, he traversed the path under the guidance of Sheikh Dr. Abdul Hayy Arifi and Moulana Maseehullah Khan both khulafa of Hakeemul Ummat Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (rahmetullah ajmaeen). And is authorized by both of his mentors in Silsila e Ashrafia: Chistiyyah, Naqshbandiyah, Qadiriyah and Suharwardiyah. In addition to his busy schedule he is himself a mentor to numerous spiritual aspirants all over the world.

He also holds a degree in law and was a Judge at the Sharia Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan till recently.

He is a consultant to several international Islamic financial institutions and has played a key part in the move toward interest free banking and the establishment of Islamic financial institutions. He is considered to be an authority on this subject.

He is the deputy chairman of the Jeddah based Islamic Fiqh Council of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC).

He has been writing on various Islamic topics and is author of more than 60 books and numerous articles.

Presently he is the Vice-president of Darul-Uloom, Karachi, Pakistan, where he teaches Sahih Bukhari, Fiqh and Islamic economics.

He also conducts a weekly session for the public interested in spiritual improvement.

List of publications.

Here is a partial list of publications authored by Justice Taqi Usmani. (Updated May 2004)

English Books:

1. The Authority of Sunnah
2. The Rules of I'tikaf
3. What is Christianity?
4. Easy Good Deeds
5. Perform Salah Correctly
6. An Introduction to Islamic Finance
7. Historic Judgment on Interest
8. The Language of Friday Khutbah
9. Discourse on Islamic way of Life
10. Sayings of Prophet Muhammad sallalaho alehey wasalam
11. The Legal Status of Following a Madhab
12. Spiritual Discourses
13. Islamic Months
14. Radiant Prayers
15. Quranic Sciences
16. Islam and Modernism
17. Contemporary Fatawa

Arabic Books:

1. Takmala Fathul Mulhim (An encyclopedic work of interpretation of Sahih Muslim in six volumes).
2. Ma Hea An-Nasraniyah? (What is Christianity?)
3. Nathrat 'Abarah Houl At-Ta'limi Al-Islamiyah (About Islamic Education).
4. Ahkamu Al-Auraq An-Naqdiyah (Rulings regarding paper money).
5. Bahouth Fee Qadaya Fiqheyah Ma'asirah (Fiqh discussions on some important contemporary issues).
6. Ahkam uz Zibai’h (Islamic rulings for slaughtering animals)

Urdu Books:

1. Ina’mul Bari (Explanation of famous hadith collection Sahih Bukhari) (9 volumes, 3 published as yet)
2. Asan Nakian (Easy Good Deeds)
3. Undulus Mei Chand Rooz (A Few Days in Andalus/Spain)
4. Islam aur Seasate Hazra ( Islam and Contemporary Politics)
5. Islam aur Jidat Pasandi (Islam and Modernism)
6. Islahe Ma'ashara (Perfecting society)
7. Islahi mawa’iz (Discourses for spiritual perfection) (3 volumes)
8. Islahi Majalis (Discourses on Tasawwuf) (5 volumes)
9. Islahi Khutubat (Discourses on individual spiritual perfection) (13 volumes)
10. Ihkami I'tikaf (The Rules of I'tikaf)
11. Islam aur Jadeed Ma'eeshat wa Tijarat (Islam and Modern Economics & Commerce)
12. Akabir Deoband Kea They? (The Significant Character of Scholars of Deoband)
13. Bible sey Quran Tak (3 volumes)
14. Bible Kea Heh? (What is the Bible?)
15. Pur noor Duain (Radiant Prayers) (Collection of Prayers for all occasions)
16. Tarashey (Excerpts from Islamic works)
17. Taqleed Ki Shari'i Hasiat (The Legal Status of Following a Madhab)
18. Jahaney Deda (Travelogue I)
19. Dunya meray aa’gay (Travelogue II)
20. Hazrat Mu'awiyah (Radi-Allahu anhu) aur Tarikhi Haqa`iq (Hazrat Mu'awiyah Radi-Allahu anhu and the Historical Facts)
21. Hujjiat Hadith (Authority of hadith)
22. Hudhur (Salla-Allahu alayhi wa Sallam) ney Farmaya (Sayings of Prophet Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam)
23. Hakeemul Ummat Kay Siasi Afkar (Political Thoughts of Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi)
24. Durse Tirmidhi (Explanation of famous hadith collection Sunan e Tirmizi)
25. Deeny Madaris ka Nisab wa Nitham
26. Zikr o Fikr (Collection of articles written for Daily newspaper Jang)
27. Zabet-e-weladat (Birth Control: Islamic rulings)
28. 'Iesayat kea hey? (What is Christianity?)
29. 'Uloom ul-Quran (Quranic Sciences)
30. 'Idalatey Faiseley (Court Rulings)
31. Fard key Islah (Individual Reform)
32. Fiqhi Maqalat (Collection of articles on Islamic Jurisprudence)
33. Maasir Hazrat Arifi (Sayings and memories of Dr Adbul Hayy Arifi)
34. Meray Walid Meray Sheikh (My Father, My Sheikh)
35. Milkiate Zamion aur us key tahdid (Land ownership and its limitation)
36. Nashri Taqreerain (Speeches aired on Radio Pakistan)
37. Nuqooshe Raftigan (Obituaries of Islamic Scholars and other dignitaries)
38. Nifaze Shariat aur us key masail (Establishment of Sharia: Problems)
39. Namazein Sunnat key Mutabiq Parhey (Pray Salah according to Sunnah)
40. Hamarey 'A`eli Masa`il (Our Family Issues)
41. Hamara Ta'lemi Nizam (Our Educational System)
42. Hamara Ma'ashi Nizam (Our Economic Sysytem)
43. Dastoorul amal baeraey talibeen e islah (Instructions for aspirants of spiritual improvement)

http://www.mediafire.com/?jtj0ny0wyy3

Hazrat Uthman Ghani (Radi Allah Unho)


ELECTION

Before he passed away, Sayyiduna Umar (radi Allahu anhu) appointed a six-man Committee to elect his successor from among themselves. After long discussions and consultation, they elected Sayyiduna 'Uthman bin Affan (radi Allahu anhu) as the third Caliph of Islam.

EARLY LIFE

Sayyiduna 'Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) belonged to the Ummayah tribe of the Quraish. He was a very rich cloth merchant. He was known as "Al Ghani" or "The Generous." His father's name was Affan and his mother was Urwa.
He accepted Islam at the invitation of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) and migrated to Abyssinia with his wife, Sayyadah Ruqayyah (radi Allahu anha), who was also the daughter of Sayyiduna Rasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam).

After she passed away, he married Sayyadah Umme Kulthum (radi Allahu anha), another daughter of Sayyiduna Rasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam). Because of this, he earned the title "Zun Noorain" or "Possessor of Two Lights." He took part in all the battles with Sayyiduna Rasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) except the Battle of Badr.



CONQUESTS

During the Khilaafat of Sayyiduna 'Uthman (radi Allahu anhu), the rebellion in Azerbhaijaan and Armenia was silenced.
Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (radi Allahu anhu), with the help of Sayyiduna Abi Sarah (radi Allahu anhu), captured Cyprus by naval attack and brought it under Islamic rule. Vast areas of North Africa including Tripoli, Tunisia and Morocco were also brought under the Islamic rule.

The Romans, although defeated several times by the Muslims in the past, made another attempt, during the Khilaafat of Sayyiduna 'Uthman (radi Allahu anhu), to recapture the lands they had already lost. Constantine, the Emperor of Rome, made great preparations and attacked Alexandria with a naval fleet five to six thousand strong. But, the Romans were defeated by the Muslim naval forces under the command of Sayyiduna Abi Sarah and Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (radi Allahu anhuma).


REBELLION

The Governors of the provinces, appointed by Sayyiduna Umar (radi Allahu anhu), were removed and replaced by members of the new Caliph's clan. The majority of the new governors were inspired by worldly means rather than by piety and interests of their subjects. People started to demand the removal of these Governors, but the Caliph did not respond to their appeals. Delegates mainly from Iraq and Egypt, submitted their demands to the Caliph. The situation, however got out of control.


ASSASSINATION

In the turmoil, Sayyiduna 'Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) himself was made Shaheed by rebels while he was reading the Holy Quran inside his house. This happened on Friday, the 17th of Zil Hajj in 35 A.H.. He was 84 years old.


CHARACTER

Sayyiduna 'Uthman (radi Allah anhu) was a very simple and very kind person. His simplicity and kindness did not alow him to take strong action against the trouble makers and rioters. Above all, because of his simple-mindedness, his administration was not as disciplined as it had been during the Khilaafat of Sayyiduna Umar (radi Allahu anhu).
Sayyiduna 'Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) was a generous man. He used to spend a lot of money for Islam and to free the slaves. He was a great and pious man who feared and loved Almighty Allah and Sayyiduna Rasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) above everything else. Although he was very rich, his living was very simple. He did not indulge in luxury. He was ever mindful of death. Major parts of the night were spent in Salaah. He also fasted every second or third day.


THE HOLY QURAN

A major achievement of Sayyiduna 'Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) was the duplication of the Holy Quran from the records kept by Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu), who handed it to Sayyiduna Umar (radi Allahu anhu), who then handed it to his daughter, Sayyadah Hafsa (radi Allahu anha), the wife of Sayyiduna Rasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam).
Sayyiduna 'Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) made copies of the Holy Quran from the original and sent it to capitals such as Kufa, Damascus, Makkatul Mukarramah and Basrah, each accompanied by a Sahabi for the guidance of the readers.

HAZRAT UMR E FAROOQ R.A




2nd Caliph “Hazrat Omer Farooq”
Born: 581 Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Full name: `Umar ibn al-Khattāb
Reign: 634 – 644 (10 and a half year)
Titles: Amir al-Mu'minin Al-Farooq (The Distinguisher between Truth and Falsehood)
Died: 7 November 644 Medina, Saudi Arabia(Age:63 years)
Buried: Al-Masjid al-Nabawi, Medina
Twelve years younger than Holy Prophet (PBUH)



Early Life:


The mission of the Holy Prophet S.A.W was still in the early stage. Islam was still weak and helpless. The chiefs of Mecca were up against it. One night the Holy Prophet S.A.W stood in the Kaaba, lost in thoughts. Presently he raised his
hands and turned his eyes heavenward. "Lord!" he prayed, "make Islam strong with either of the two men, Amr bin Hisham or Omar bin Khattab."
The prayer was instantly granted. Allah chose Omar to serve Islam. Amr bin Hisham was to die as Abu Jahl( Father of Ignorance ). But Omar was to become a great pillar of strength for Islam.
Omar was twelve years younger than the Holy Prophet. He was the son of Khattab. His mother's name was Khatmah. He came of the Adi branch of the Quraish. Banu Adi were held in great respect. They acted as the agents of the Quraish in talks with other tribes. They als acted as judges in their disputes.
In early youth, Omar got training in methods of warfare. He also learnt the art of public speaking. From the outset, he showed unusual courage and frankness of manner. Eager to learn, he was earnest and thorough in whatever he undertook. These qualities won him a name in the country rather at an early age. As a trader, he had to travel to other lands. These travels brought him a wide knowledge and a deep understanding of men and things.



Acceptance Of Islam:



Omar was twenty seven when the Holy Prophet began his mission. Young Omar was one of those who did not care to listen to the message of Islam. He was for the old way of life. As years went by, Islam made a slow headway. This made Omar angry. Do what the Meccan chiefs might, people who once went over to Islam never went back to their old faith. One of Omar's own maid-servants became a Muslim. He beat her as much as he could, but she would not give up the new faith.
At last in the sixth year of the Mission, a number of Muslims left for Abyssinia. This made Omar boil with rage. "Here is a man," he thought to himself "who has split the people. People lived smoothly enough. He appeared on the scene He has torn son from father and brother from brother. Now his followers are running away to another land. Surely Muhammad is the cause of all trouble. I must slay him and put an end to the trouble."
With this resolve Omar drew his sword and set out to kill the Holy Prophet. On the way he met a friend who asked him why he looked so upset. Omar told him what he was going to do. "You better take care of your own kin first," said the friend, "Your sister and her husband have gone over to Islam."
These words changed the direction of Omar's anger. He went straight to the house of his sister, Fatima. He knocked at the door. Someone was reciting the Quran inside. Fatima was terrified when she heard Omar's voice. She hid the portion of the Quran she was reading and opened the door.
"What was it that you were reciting just now?" Omar demanded.
"Oh nothing," said the sister.
"Why nothing?" he shouted in rage.
"I have heard it alright. I know you both have accepted Muhammad's faith."
Saying this, he began to beat his brother-in-law, Saeed. Fatima ran to his help and got a blow to the head. The head began to bleed. This made the couple bold. "Yes, we have become Muslims," they shouted at Omar. "Do what you will."
The sight of the bleeding sister deeply moved Omar. Fatima was such a loving sister! Surely there must be some great truth in the Quran which had won her innocent heart. "Would you let me have a look at the Quran?" said Omar.
Fatima handed him the few pages of the book she had.
Omar sat down to study the pages. Soon his face changed. His anger cooled down. The fear of Allah gripped his heart. He wept and declared, "Surely this is the word of Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah."
Omar was again on his way to the place of the Holy Prophet. But he was not a changed man. He was not going to slay him but to embrace his faith.
The Holy Prophet was sitting in the company of some men. He saw Omar coming and asked, "Omar, what brings you here?"
"O Prophet of Allah!" replied Omar, "I have come to embrace Islam."
Great was the joy of the Holy Prophet and his followers. Loud shouts of "Allah is Great" rented the air of Mecca. Soon everyone knew that Omar was no longer an enemy of Islam. It was a great day for Islam because one of its bitterest enemies had become its staunch follower.


The Title of Farooq:



The coming over of Omar made a difference for Islam. Hitherto, the Muslims had lived in constant fear of the non-believers. Some of them had not even made their faith known to the people. They could not say their prayers publicly. All this changed when Omar became a Muslim.
The first thing Omar did was to call together the chiefs of Mecca. Before this gathering he declared himself a follower of Islam. They started at him in silence. No one had the courage to utter a word of reproach.
Omar next requested the Holy Prophet to say prayers in the Kaaba. He himself led a party of Muslims to that place. A second party was led by Hamza. When all had gathered, they said their prayers in congregation. The Holy Prophet led the prayer. This was the first prayer of its kind said in the Kaaba.
When migration to Medina started, the same thing happend again. Most of the Muslims left Mecca silently and secretly. But Omar would not do so. He put on his arms. Then he went to the Kaaba and said his prayer. The chiefs of Mecca looked at him in silence. After the prayer, he shouted out to them, "I am leaving for Medina. If anyone wants to stop me let him meet me across the valley. His mother shall certainly have to weep for him in sorrow."
Despite this challenge, no Meccan would dare to stop Omar. These things earned for Omar the title of Farooq(One who Distinguishes between Right and Wrong.)" Farooq is the one who makes a difference. Omar's acceptance of Islam had made a big difference for Islam and Muslims.



Devotion to the Prophet S.A.W:


Omar stood by the side of the Prophet S.A.W in all battles and expeditions. Great was his love for Allah and His Apostle. He never allowed any blood ties or friendship to stand in the way of this love.
The death of the Prophet was a stunning shock to Omar. He could not believe it, so much so that he drew his sword and swore that he would cut off the head of the man who said the Messenger of Allah was dead. He was overwhelmed with grief. Life without the Prophet was unthinkable, he thought. And if the Prophet was really no more, as people said, what was going to happen to Islam and the Muslims? These dark thoughts blotted out all reason from Omar's head. Not till Abu Bakr had reminded him of the clear verdict of the Quran on the point did he come to himself. Abu Bakr, during his caliphate, depended on Omar for advice. That was because the Master in his life-time, gave great weight to what Omar said.


HAZRAT Omar's Nomination:


As Abu Bakar’s sickness grew, he gave more and more thought to the matter. Who should be the Caliph after him? Should he himself name the best man? Or should he leave the matter to the people? In the latter case, quarrels might arise. These would certainly shake the very foundations of Islam. IT was too great a risk. Abu Bakr was not willing to take that risk.
After careful thought, he chose to nominate Omar. He put his proposal before the leading Companions. Most of them liked the proposal. But someone said, "Omar is no doubt the best man, but he is rather too strict."
To this Abu Bakr replied, "As soon as the burden of Caliphate falls on his shoulders, he will become more mild."
When all Companions agreed, Abu Bakr called Othman. He dictated to him Omar's nomination.


His daur-e-caliphate



Omar was Caliph for ten and a half years. This period stands out as the golden age of Islam. The tender plant which the Holy Prophet left behind and Abu Bakr had protected against storms grew into a huge overspreading tree under Omar's untiring care. Islam became a world power. It could now stand the wear and tear ot time. The thing for which the Holy Prophet had prayed years before was now a fact. Omar had made Islam strong and great! Thereby he had also made his own name immortal.
Sayyiduna Umar (radi Allahu anhu) was a very brave and straight-forward person. He was tough and uncompromising in Islamic principles. He was a great and talented ruler. During his Khilaafat, vast areas of the Roman and Persian empires and the whole of Egypt were brought under Islamic rule. He was also a gifted orator. He was very concerned for the welfare of the Muslims. He left a honourable legacy for Muslims after him. The Holy Koran was given to him by Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) for safe-keeping.
Omar's armies overthrew two mighty empires of the time. But he himself led an extremely simple and hard life. Hurmuzan, the ruler of Ahwaz, came up for an interview with the Caliph of Medina. He was dressed in shining silks and was wearing a crown set with jewels. But he was stunned to see the Caliph in coarse, patched clothes.
Once Omar came to know that one of his governors had cut himself off from the people. At once he was called to Medina. The Calpih made him take off his silk robes. The he sent the fellow into the desert to tend a herd of sheep. No rank was too high to sway Omar's hand of justice.
All citizens, including the Caliph himself, were equal before the law. Once Omar appeared before the court of Medina. Somebody had made a complaint against him. The judge stood up to show respect to the Caliph as he entered the court. "This is the first injustice you have done to the plantiff," said Omar, addressing the judge. Modern democratic states have yet to reach this level of democracy. Their heads cannot be summoned before an ordinary court.
He established the "Baitul Maal" (People's treasury for the state and public).



Era of Conquests:


DEFEAT OF THE PERSIANS:


Sayyiduna Khalid bin Walid (radi Allahu anhu) had left Sayyiduna Muthanna (radi Allahu anhu) in command of the Muslim forces on the Iraqi front when he rushed to Yarmuk. Sayyiduna Muthanna (radi Allahu anhu) was finding it difficult to counter the enemy and went personally to Madinatul Munawwarah to ask Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) for re-inforcements. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) had by that time passed away.
Sayyiduna Muthanna (radi Allahu anhu's) absence from the Iraqi front made things worse there. The Iranians regrouped under the command of Rustam and recaptured the lands taken by the Muslims. Rustam sent 2 columns of his army, one to Hirah and the other to Kaskar.
Sayyiduna Umar (radi Allahu anhu) sent Sayyiduna Abu Ubaidah (radi Allahu anhu), as Commander, to deal with the situation. Both the Persian columns were defeated. Rustam sent an even larger army and defeated the Muslims.
Sayyiduna Umar (radi Allahu anhu) raised another army and defeated the Persians. But the Persian court sent yet another larger army, and forced Sayyiduna Muthanna (radi Allahu anhu) to withdraw. The report of the new situation was sent to Sayyiduna Umar (radi Allahu anhu) and reinforcements under the command of Sayyiduna Saad bin Abi Waqqas (radi Allahu anhu) were sent.
The Persian and Muslim army met at Qadisiyah. After a long battle on several fronts, the outnumbered Muslim army defeated the 120 000 Persian soldiers and recaptured Hirah and their areas in the year 14 A.H. (636 C.E).


DEFEAT OF THE ROMANS:



Muslims laid siege to Damascus during Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu's) rule as Caliph. It continued, after he passed away, and lasted 70 days during the rule of Sayyiduna Umar (radi Allahu anhu). After the long siege, Sayyiduna Khalid bin Walid (radi Allahu anhu) took the Romans by surprise and entered the city. The Governor surrendered and a peace treaty was signed.


CONQUEST OF JERUSALEM:



Meanwhile, Sayyiduna Amr ibn As (radi Allahu anhu) was laying siege to Jerusalem. Sayyiduna Khalid, Sayyiduna Abu Ubaidah and other Sahaba (radi Allahu anhumul ajma'in) also joined him. The Christians had little hope and decided to give in. They also suggested that the keys of Jerusalem be given to Sayyiduna Umar (radi Allahu anhu) himself personally. Sayyiduna Umar (radi Allahu anhu) went to Jerusalem. An agreement was signed that guaranteed the safety of the city and the safety of the Christians.



HAZRAT Omar's Death:


There lived in Medina a Persian slave, Abu Lolo Firoz by name. One day, he came to the Calpih and said, "My master squeezes too heavy a tax out of me. Please get it reduced."
How much is the tax?" asked Omar.
Two dirhams a day," replied the slave.
And what skills do you posses?" was the next question of the Caliph.
I am a carpentar, a painter, and a black-smith," Firoz said.
Then the tax is by no means too heavy," the Calpih remarked. "A person with your skills can easy pay this tax and shall live comfortably."
All right, I will settle with you," grunted the slave as he went away.
Omar took no notice of the words.
I have been rebuked by a slave." he remarked with a smile.
Early next morning Omar went to the mosque as usual to lead the prayer. Abu Lolo was already hiding in the corner, with a dagger in hand. As soon as Omar began the prayer, the slave jumped on him. He gave six cuts with the dagger on the Caliph's body. The horrified worshippers overpowered the assasin. Thereupon the wretch slew himself with the same dagger.
Omar kept lying in a pool of blood until the prayer was over. Then he was carried home.
"Who is my assasin?" he asked.
"Abu Lolo," said the people.
"Allah be thanked!" said Omar. "It is not a Muslim who has shed my blood."
A physician was called in to dress and treat the wounds of the Caliph. He said they were too deep to be healed. At this many people who stood around began to weep.
Please do not weep," implored Omar. "Have you not heard the Messenger of Allah say that the weeping of relatives adds to the torture of the dead person?"
Finding his end in sight, Omar called his son, Abdullah.
My son," he said, "go to Aisha. Give her Omar's greetings. Do not refer to me as the Commander of the Faithful; for I am no longer one. Place before her my wish to be buried in her room, by the side of the Prophet and my illustrious predecessor."
Abdullah found Aisha weeping. He delivered his father's message to her.
I wanted to reserve this spot for my own grave, but I prefer Omar to myself," said Aisha.
Abdullah conveyed Aisha's consent to his dying father.
Allah be thanked!" said Omar. "This was the greatest wish of my life. But look, son, when you take my dead body to Aisha's room, again give her my greetings and ask her permission. If she allows, bury me there, otherwise bury me in the graveyard of Medina.”


PERSONAL LIFE:


Simplicity and devotion were the main characters of Sayyiduna Umar (radi Allahu anhu). He used to wear clothes that had many patches and yet received Governors, convoys and diplomats. He took just enough allowance from the State to have a simple meal and wear simple clothes. At times he was very poor. He used to visit the old people and sick and even do their house work. He used to visit the houses of the soldiers and inquire about their families. He stayed awake at night in Salaah and often kept Fast. He always supported and upheld the cause of Islam, with his wisdom, energy, dynamism, bravery and little wealth.

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Aashooraa

FASTING IN MUHARRAM (THE FIRST MONTH OF ISLAMIC YEAR)

Fasting in the month of Muharram is highly desired, especially on the tenth day, Aashooraa. The Messenger of Allah (p.b.u.h.) has been reported as saying when asked which prayer is better after obligatory prayer: "Prayer in the middle of the night." He was asked again which fast is better after Ramadan. He said: "In the month that is called Al-Muharram." (Ahmed, Muslim, and Abu Dawood)

This Hadith clearly indicates the importance of voluntary fasting in Muharram, among all the months. The Prophet (p.b.u.h.) however, emphasizes the fast of the tenth day, Aashooraa.

The word "Aashooraa" is derived from Ashara, which means ten. The observation of this day goes back to Prophet Moosa Bin Emran (p.b.u.h.). In a Hadith related by Ibn Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) “when the Messenger of Allah (p.b.u.h.) came to Madinah, he found the Jews fasting the day of Aashooraa. He inquired why they did so. They replied that it was a good day, the day which Allah delivered Prophet Moosa (p.b.u.h.) and the children of Israel from their enemy. As gratitude Moosa (p.b.u.h.) fasted that day. The Prophet (p.b.u.h.) responded: 'I have more right to Moosa than you.’ He fasted the day and commanded the believers to fast." (Bukhari and Muslim)

This Hadith indicates that the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) was in complete agreement with Prophet Moosa (p.b.u.h.) as well as the other prophets. The point here is that the Messenger of Allah would always do an act of worship if it was prophecy reported from any of the prophets. Earlier, we see how he told us that the best voluntary fast is the fast of Dawood.
This is why the following Hadith is of great interest to us. Ibn Abbas related when Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) observed the day of Aashooraa and commanded his followers to observe it, they asked him: "O Messenger of Allah (p.b.u.h.) this is the day the Jews, and Christians respect and honor... The Prophet (p.b.u.h.) promised them that ‘Next year Allah willing, we shall fast the ninth, tasuu'aa, along with the tenth.’ By the next Muharram, the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) had already passed away. Because the believers, desire to emulate Prophet Moosa in fasting on Aashooraa do so with the desire not to participate in the festivity of the People of the Book, who have reduced the day to a mere formality. The Prophet (p.b.u.h.) decided to remove this ambiguity with the fast of the ninth day.”
Our Ulama (Muslim scholars), analyzing all reports from the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) regarding Muharram, stated the fast of Muharram can be viewed in three ways:

1. Fasting three days of Muharram, the ninth, tenth and eleventh.
2. Fasting on the ninth and tenth days because of two previous Hadiths.
3. Fasting on the tenth day alone.

Of much interest to us Muslims these days should be the fasting of the 9th and the 10th of Muharram. The Prophet (p.b.u.h.) said about the voluntary fasting on the Day of Aashooraa: "It expiates the sins of the preceding year." (Muslim)

"The day of Aashooraa was the day when Moosa and his men got freedom from the hands of the Pharaoh and it was in the sacred memory of this great event that the Muslims observed voluntary fasting. The idea underlying this is to stress the affinity amongst the messengers of Allah and to show that religious devotion is a constant flow from one generation to another. The Prophet (p.b.u.h.) came not to abrogate all the earlier religious practices but to codify and preserve them for all times to come in ideal forms."

Monday, December 07, 2009
Dr Maleeha Lodhi

The writer is a former envoy to the US and the UK, and a former editor of The News.

President Barack Obama’s much awaited speech announced a military strategy to turn the tide in Afghanistan, but no political plan. The absence – thus far – of a political approach to underpin the military effort makes the new strategy defective. Military escalation in Afghanistan and the expansion of aerial strikes in Pakistan is fraught with great danger for this country, which is already confronted with mounting security challenges — a consequence, not a cause, of the prolonged strife in Afghanistan.

Billing his plan for a fast and furious military surge to be necessary for a quick exit from Afghanistan, President Obama ordered an additional 30,000 US troops to the war zone. By adding more troops to the 22,000 despatched by him early this year, Obama has taken a high-risk gamble in which the scale of the military challenge will be matched by the political and diplomatic challenges, which will include securing cooperation from other nations to execute a plan that several of Washington’s allies as indeed many Americans doubt will succeed.

The seeming contradiction in Obama’s surge-and-exit plan reflects a balancing act aimed at mollifying those in America – which is deeply conflicted over the war – who support a deeper military engagement and others, especially war-weary Democrats, who see it as a quagmire. Unlikely to placate either, the politics behind Obama’s decision will confront him with daunting problems down the road. More importantly it makes his strategy subject to exacting timelines and also sends mixed signals.

The implications for Pakistan of further military escalation are unquestionably deleterious. Intensified fighting in Afghanistan, far from diminishing the threat of more instability in Pakistan – being marshalled out as a spurious rationale by US officials in a curious version of the old domino theory – it will enhance it.

This is especially so with the anticipated expansion of the covert war involving drone-launched missile attacks in the country’s tribal areas and beyond. This was the unstated part of Obama’s speech, but it was more than evident from his identification of the border areas as the “epicentre” of the threat that had to be dealt with.

The reliance on military means in Obama’s plan is accompanied by near-silence on a political strategy. This assumes that a military solution can be successfully applied to the dire situation in Afghanistan, without addressing the political causes of the growing insurgency, especially Pakhtun alienation.

The speech refers in passing to US support for efforts by the Afghan government to reach out to those Taliban who abandon violence. But this does not constitute a reconciliation plan. Nor does it square with the aim to squelch the Taliban and “reverse its momentum.” If the surge is expected to strengthen the hand for negotiations later, it is not clear how the strategy will reconcile eliminating the Taliban leaders with talking to them.

A fundamental question that Obama’s plan raises is whether military escalation can be a game changer in the next 18 months when previous troop surges have been unsuccessful in pushing back the Taliban. Will the latest surge reinforce this failure? If the surge is unable to alter the strategic equation is there a plan B?

The surge strategy seems to be an effort to replicate the (principally urban) Iraq experience, but there are fundamental differences between the two situations. The Iraq surge was only one among other, more significant, non-military factors that contributed to improving security. A decisive factor was political accommodation with the insurgents – the critical missing component in the Afghan strategy.

Obama’s strategy rests on questionable military assumptions. The plan to turn over security responsibilities to the Afghan National Army (ANA) in 18 months is unfeasible. It has taken eight years to establish a force of 90,000, of which not one battalion can undertake combat missions on its own. Desertion rates remain high. The ANA lacks the capacity, but more importantly the ethnic balance, to become a genuinely national force. It is unlikely to be miraculously transformed to achieve the projected target of 134,000 by 2010 set under the Obama plan.

The other key assumption on which the new US strategy rests is that the Karzai government can emerge as a competent partner capable of reform. How the failed political project of governance in Afghanistan can be transformed is not explained by the strategy.

The flaw at the heart of the new strategy is that it sees it necessary to take on the Taliban in order to achieve its core objective of defeating Al Qaeda. But Al Qaeda can only be neutralised if it is rejected by, and ejected from, the Taliban “sea” in which it survives. This urges an approach to separate the two by military and political means. Military escalation will push them closer and in fact impede the main goal.

Other factors also raise questions about the sustainability of this strategy. The first is the anticipated rise in casualties, which the top US military commander Admiral Mike Mullen acknowledges will occur “in the short term.” Mounting Western/American casualties will further erode plummeting public support in both the US and Europe. Can Western governments absorb heavy human losses and still count on public support for the war?

Another factor is the escalation in the economic cost of the war. The surge will cost an additional $30 billion a year at a time when the US is spending $3.6 billion a month in Afghanistan. With members of Obama’s own party demanding a new war tax to pay for this, how long will Congress, preoccupied with economic recovery, agree to defray the rising costs of a war whose success cannot be guaranteed?

For Pakistan Obama’s new strategy poses two especially taxing challenges. The first is the risk that the public consensus against militancy forged with so much difficulty and effort can shatter and unravel with the expansion of the war. Stepped up Drone attacks could increase civilian casualties. The covert air war will not just inflame opinion in Pakistan but also unite militants of different stripes. This will compound a fragile security situation.

Second, Washington’s demands on Pakistan to play an active role in its hammer and anvil strategy will stretch the capability of Pakistan’s army, already engaged in operations in a number of tribal areas. Pushing Pakistan into multiple military engagements can undercut its own counter-militancy efforts and jeopardise recent gains.

Military escalation on its border (two additional US brigades are being deployed in southern and one in eastern Afghanistan) is fraught with four more risks for Pakistan.

1) It could produce a spillover of militants and Al Qaeda fighters into Pakistan and an arms flow across the border.

2) It will enhance the vulnerability of US-NATO ground supply routes through the country as supply needs increase exponentially. Protecting these supply lines will overstretch Pakistani forces, at present engaged in quashing the Pakistani Taliban.

3) The surge could also lead to an influx of more Afghan refugees, which can be especially destabilising for Balochistan.

4) It could also provoke a spike in violent reprisals in mainland Pakistan already being rocked by the bloody backlash from the military operations.

It is therefore imperative for Islamabad to seek to minimise the negative fallout and try to persuade the US to modify its strategy to accommodate Pakistan’s concerns. President Obama has described the partnership with Pakistan as the third prong of his strategy that he says is “inextricably linked” to success in Afghanistan.

He can make good on his rhetoric of seeking a partnership based on “mutual respect” by listening to Pakistan. Unless this indispensable partner’s doubts and misgivings about the new strategy are allayed and Washington is prepared to adapt its policy accordingly, the relationship will run into more problems and tensions. Cooperation has to be predicated not just on common objectives but the strategy and tactics needed to achieve them.

Four Muslim Americans discuss the issues facing Muslims in today's post-9/11 landscape, and see a positive future ahead.

BY: Omar Sacirbey


It’s been five years since 19 Muslim hijackers changed the world, not least of all for Muslims in America. Though Muslims as a whole weren’t castigated immediately after 9/11, five years later tells a different story: A recent Associated Press poll finds 40 percent of Americans harboring prejudice against Muslims, who often are seen as enemies. Media stereotypes and inattention to Muslim efforts to condemn and fight terrorism have only fueled those negative views.

Yet many Muslim Americans, rather than retreating from public life, turned a tragedy into motivation to educate non-Muslims and unify Muslims against a shadowy, internal enemy. Others, facing hostility at home and watching Muslims suffer abroad, grew frustrated and angry. Many wonder if that anger can lead to violence. Beliefnet gathered four unique Muslim Americans to address these complex

Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur lives in Atlanta and is active in the Muslim women’s movement and editor of the recently released book about Muslim women, “Living Islam Out Loud.”


Dr. Muzammil SiddiqiDr. Muzammil Siddiqi has watched the Muslim-American community evolve since coming to the United States in 1968, and is chairman of the North American Fiqh Council and director of the Islamic Society of Orange County in Garden Grove, California.

Shahed AmanullahShahed Amanullah, who resides in Austin, Texas, is the editor of altmuslim.com, a popular website featuring news, analysis, and discussion about Muslim issues.

Five years after 9/11, are Muslim Americans still “taking back Islam,” or is the job done?

Amanullah: The general lay population within the Muslim community has reacted admirably. I know many personal examples of people who were completely apolitical, who isolated themselves, but after 9/11, they really took it upon themselves to reach out.

But notwithstanding these efforts, as long as people define our Islam by what people do overseas, it’s unfortunately going to be a losing battle. I think the hatred and the distrust of Muslims now is even worse than post-9/11. I think the polls will even bear that out. I still am hopeful but I’m starting to worry a little bit.

Siddiqi: Nine-Eleven shocked the Muslim community. We were not prepared. We were living quite comfortably--building our community and our mosques, raising our children, developing our schools. But now we realize that many of our neighbors don’t know us, and they are suspicious of us. So people have opened their homes, their mosques. I feel our community has done good work. The Muslim community in America is a very useful community, and they realize their responsibility.

Abdul-Ghafur: What I’ve found, particularly in interfaith circles, is that there’s this seeking of knowledge that was not there before September 11th. All of a sudden people understood that Islam and Muslims exist, and neighborhoods are meeting about these interfaith issues and really wanting to learn about Islam and Muslims.

I resist the whole defensive mentality of saying ‘do I need to take back Islam,’ because I think that’s a very reactionary and flawed perspective.

Siddiqi: I have to give a lot of credit to a large number of our fellow Americans who have been quite understanding and wanted to learn more about Islam. But [there are others] who are working very hard to spread hate against Islam and Muslims. They are using every opportunity to create misunderstanding. They have accused our Prophet, our Qur’an, our religious practices, our prayer, our fasting, our religious leaders, our organizations [of being evil]. They have not left anybody out. We have to see that. There is a lot of hateful propaganda against Islam and Muslims.
How do Muslims turn this hostility and suspicion around?

Magid: I think by engaging the American public in an open dialogue about Islam and who Muslims really are. Reaching out to people of other faiths is always of help. And we need to engage our youth in activities to make them understand that being an American Muslim means learning how to engage in civic and educational responsibility.

From my experience I know that when a person who is not Muslim meets practicing Muslims, how they look at them changes tremendously. And Muslims have to be open to receive tough questions about who they are.

Amanullah: I’ve always thought that if every American just had a Muslim friend, not just knew a Muslim at work or whatever, but had a friend who they would invite to dinner and vice versa, we would not have these problems.
I just had my 20th high school reunion, and I believe that because they knew a Muslim, over the course of 20 years it has completely shaped how they think about Muslims in general. And if every Muslim kid in this country was encouraged to make friends with their non-Muslim neighbors, more Americans can say, “Well, I know a Muslim, and they’re not like that.” That’s the only thing that’s really going to eradicate this. So really, the challenge goes out to all American Muslims.

Siddiqi: Islam teaches us that where we live we should help the people and area. We should not just expect others to do something for us, but we should do what we can. We should participate in society.

Is homegrown terrorism a legitimate threat here in America? If so, what can Muslim Americans do beyond simply condemning terrorism?

Magid: Muslims do need to address this kind of fear because it really became a legitimate concern for Americans after they read about the incidents in France and Madrid and London. The way to respond is by engaging our youth in a true dialogue, and to make sure that our youth are not targeted by extremists.

But we have to have in mind that the American experience is different from the European experience. The Muslim youth in America are very much integrated into society. Nevertheless, it’s still Muslims who have to be alert and vigilant to make sure their mosques and organizations are not being used as platforms to promote hatred or intolerance.


Do these radical Muslims exist in America? How do we identify them and weed them out of our communities?

Siddiqi: The North American Fiqh Council, after London, immediately issued a strong fatwa that said very clearly--from Islamic teachings from the Qur’an and the hadith--that it is haram (forbidden) to be involved in any act of violence. It is a duty of every Muslim to cooperate with law enforcement, and to protect people in the society in which we live. In California, we established a Muslim Homeland Security Congress involving many Islamic organizations, ethnic organizations, youth groups, Muslim Student Associations, and the Sheriff’s Department in Los Angeles and other law enforcement bodies.

So, you have to work on different levels--on the level of what Islam teaches and also be vigilant and be aware that this infection may not come to our community.

Amanullah: First, I think we have to admit that there are people with extremist thoughts within the community. They do exist. Traditionally, before 9/11, whenever mainstream Muslims found somebody with extremist thoughts, we would never confront them, and unfortunately that would allow them to keep talking.

I think we’ve done better after 9/11, but we have to keep in mind that people are susceptible to extremist thoughts when they are isolated from the mainstream community. And these days, you don’t even need a ring leader, you just need an internet connection.

Once again it comes down to the grassroots level. If we notice people in our communities that are kind of falling through the cracks, I think we need to make more of a community effort to bring these people back in, to find out what’s isolating them. If we let the extremist side grow more, then it might actually metastasize into something actual.

Are Muslims a persecuted minority in America, or are they citizens as free as any other minority group?

Magid: I do worry that people of other faiths, or the government, might look at Muslims who criticize their government as not being loyal to this country. But it’s very important for us to have that opportunity to be able to raise our voice and to object foreign policies and so forth and not feel intimidated.

Siddiqi: Muslims are not a persecuted minority. Muslims have some difficulties and problems, but they are much better off than Muslims in many other places, including the Muslim world itself. We should be really thankful to God and thankful to our fellow Americans with whom we are living, because this is a good society.

But at the same time, we must acknowledge that our government’s actions in some parts of the Muslim world have been terrible. And since 9/11, people are asking, “How much revenge is America going to take? How many Muslims have to lose their lives? How many thousands have to be killed in order to satisfy this anger of America?”

Muslim women enjoy a lot more freedom in this country than elsewhere. What are the most important things happening in the Muslima-American community?

Abdul-Ghafur: Most important, there is a dialogue. A couple of years ago there was no public discourse on women and gender relations within our communities. Most people I spoke to said, “I don’t want to create a problem in my community about it. But I am concerned about the way women are treated.” I heard that so often.

Now I see Muslim communities wrestling with gender. Beyond what you think about a Muslim woman being a prayer leader or being the president of a mosque, what is healthiest is that there now is a debate. I completely support a Muslim woman’s right to lead prayer and to be a full and equal partner in communities. But I am an even bigger supporter of communities making holistic and transparent decisions around this.

Siddiqi: A lot of things have to be done. Muslim women in America are highly qualified and very educated. They’re professionals. Their talent must be properly utlilized in our communities.

But some people are still struggling with their old ideas and prejudices and don’t give women their proper place. There are many mosques where women are not participating on the board. There are many places where they do not have proper facilities for their prayer and for their meeting. So a lot of improvements have to be done.

Amanullah: You have to acknowledge that in the last ten years there has been quite an improvement in the way that our society has treated women. Ten years ago I helped start an organization called Muslims Against Family Violence, and we were universally shunned from every mosque we tried to do business with. But now, those same communities, you have Muslim women’s shelters that have the full support of the community.

Unfortunately, I think this is one of those areas where I think the leadership is more enlightened than in a lot of mosques. There are so many mosques where the treatment is just abhorrent. We still have a long way to go. After 9/11, on a very practical level, men said, “We need your help.” I think we need to take that kind of practical acceptance of a woman’s place in our society and turn it into a really heartfelt one.

Do Muslim Americans accept dissent and criticism from within their own community? How room space is there for tolerance?

Abdul-Ghafur: Terrorism can still be within our communities. It was so surprising to me when we hosted the woman-led prayer [in New York in 2005] and we got death threats. People actually called my house and my parents. And they were Muslims--people who knew me, who threatened my physical safety and threatened the physical safety of my friends and family. Somebody traced one of the emails and it was a 16-year-old Muslim kid who lived in the same state. We need to rigorously not be allowing that type of stuff.


Magid: We need to accept pluralism and disagreements. Islam has debated so many issues. Even the Qur’an has reported the debate. Therefore we need to have open minds on both sides.

Amanullah: It’s good that there’s internal debate and good that America sees it because one of the fears Americans have about American Muslims is that we’re automatons that do what people tell us to do. When Americans see our internal debates, I think that reassures them that we’re human, and we’re trying to resolve our issues.

But it has to happen in a very civil manner, and there’ve been instances where people really cross the line. We have to remember people are watching us, and we have to be very careful about the way we resolve our internal issues. We cannot call for people to respect our opinions and beliefs while at the same time we’re internally threatening or belittling each other. We have to be consistent.

Siddiqi: Freedom of expression is fine, but sometimes people in the name of freedom of expression abuse the community, saying that a majority of the people are terrorists and extremists, and that truly hurts people.

You will find that if somebody is contributing to the community and has served the community, if that person makes some criticisms, people listen because he’s a part of the community. But if such a person uses his status to abuse the community, that’s an entirely different issue.

Abdul-Ghafur: There was a lot of discussion about how terrible Irshad Manji was for the community and how she was just doing it for book sales. But consider her story: What we know is that she was abused at the hands of Muslims, and the Muslim community did not come to her aid and in fact condoned that abuse. So that is what happens when we don’t do the internal work that we need to do. That’s the lesson I take from her.

Mid-term elections are coming up in November, and there isn’t a single Muslim congressperson currently in office. Why aren’t Muslims winning in politics?

Amanullah: I think most people are aware of Keith Ellison’s campaign in Minnesota. His is a very good example of a Muslim who put in his dues and gained the trust of the community. We can’t just toss our hat in the ring and expect people to vote for us. We’ve got to gain trust.

Magid: As long as Muslims think that our important issues are the concerns of what happens overseas, they will not become successful politicians. It’s not only about what’s happening in the Middle East, but also what’s happening in our local community:taxes, education, and environmental issues.

Does the gap between African-American Muslims and other Muslim Americans still exist?

Abdul-Ghafur: I think immigrant Muslims come to this country and just adopt the stereotype that nescient Americans have about African-Americans, and it creates major bumps.

But there are more inroads with second generation Muslims than our parents, particularly when I look at African-Americans marrying people of Indo-Pakistani or Arab descent, which was a huge no-no one generation back, and still continues to be a huge no-no among [many of] my peers. But they’re willing to fight that battle.

And as Muslims are being profiled and are struggling with illegal detention and things like that, I see more immigrant Muslims reaching out and saying we need to draw on the experience of our African-American brothers and sisters.

Magid: It seems today that Muslims are doing more to integrate. American Muslims are reaching to their African-American brothers and sisters; and I see a lot of leadership among African-American Muslims. Times have changed, and I believe the immigration of African-Americans to the suburbs and some immigrants to the city have created that mix in the mosques.

One year from now, how do you think the Muslim-American community will be different than it is today?

Amanullah: Muslims are going to continue to reach out to their neighbors. I think we’re going to continue to make progress in this internal dialogue that we’re having about what our American-Muslim values are.
And I’m hoping that we’ve seen the worst of the mistrust of Muslims. I’m really hoping that a year from now that we will have changed that a little bit.

Siddiqi: There will be more programs and activities, more mosques and schools, and more interaction with non-Muslims and involvement within the community. I think what we are seeing is a trend. I hope there is no other 9/11. May God forbid that. We have to be very careful, very cautious, that nobody does anything that will destroy everything we have created--because we’re living in a very vulnerable time.

Abdul-Ghafur: It’s all good, as we say. I think you’re going to see more Muslims who were previously alienated from their communities coming back because we have our mosques that are open and inviting. And we’re in the process of purging the things that don’t work for Muslims and that, quite frankly, don’t work in Islam either.

http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Islam/2006/09/The-Challenge-Goes-Out-To-All-American-Muslims.aspx

The U.S. began as a haven for Christian outcasts. But what religion fits our current zeitgeist? The answer may be Islam.

by Michael Wolfe

Americans tend to think of their country as, at the very least, a nominally Christian nation. Didn't the Pilgrims come here for freedom to practice their Christian religion? Don't Christian values of righteousness under God, and freedom, reinforce America's democratic, capitalist ideals?

True enough. But there's a new religion on the block now, one that fits the current zeitgeist nicely. It's Islam.

Islam is the third-largest and fastest growing religious community in the United States. This is not just because of immigration. More than 50% of America's six million Muslims were born here. Statistics like these imply some basic agreement between core American values and the beliefs that Muslims hold. Americans who make the effort to look beyond popular stereotypes to learn the truth of Islam are surprised to find themselves on familiar ground.

Is America a Muslim nation? Here are seven reasons the answer may be yes.

Islam is monotheistic.

Muslims worship the same God as Jews and Christians. They also revere the same prophets as Judaism and Christianity, from Abraham, the first monotheist, to Moses, the law giver and messenger of God, to Jesus – not leaving out Noah, Job, or Isaiah along the way. The concept of a Judeo-Christian tradition only came to the fore in the 1940s in America. Now, as a nation, we may be transcending it, turning to a more inclusive "Abrahamic" view.

In January, President Bush grouped mosques with churches and synagogues in his inaugural address. A few days later, when he posed for photographers at a meeting of several dozen religious figures, the Shi'ite imam Muhammad Qazwini, of Orange County, Calif., stood directly behind Bush's chair like a presiding angel, dressed in the robes and turban of his south Iraqi youth.
Islam is democratic in spirit.

Islam advocates the right to vote and educate yourself and pursue a profession. The Qur'an, on which Islamic law is based, enjoins Muslims to govern themselves by discussion and consensus. In mosques, there is no particular priestly hierarchy. With Islam, each individual is responsible for the condition of her or his own soul. Everyone stands equal before God.

Americans, who mostly associate Islamic government with a handful of tyrants, may find this independent spirit surprising, supposing that Muslims are somehow predisposed to passive submission. Nothing could be further from the truth. The dictators reigning today in the Middle East are not the result of Islamic principles. They are more a result of global economics and the aftermath of European colonialism. Meanwhile, like everyone else, average Muslims the world over want a larger say in what goes on in the countries where they live. Those in America may actually succeed in it. In this way, America is closer in spirit to Islam than many Arab countries.
Islam contains an attractive mystical tradition.

Mysticism is grounded in the individual search for God. Where better to do that than in America, land of individualists and spiritual seekers? And who might better benefit than Americans from the centuries-long tradition of teachers and students that characterize Islam. Surprising as it may seem, America's best-selling poet du jour is a Muslim mystic named Rumi, the 800-year-old Persian bard and founder of the Mevlevi Path, known in the West as the Whirling Dervishes. Even book packagers are now rushing him into print to meet and profit from mainstream demand for this visionary. Translators as various as Robert Bly, Coleman Barks, and Kabir and Camille Helminski have produced dozens of books of Rumi's verse and have only begun to bring his enormous output before the English-speaking world. This is a concrete poetry of ecstasy, where physical reality and the longing for God are joined by flashes of metaphor and insight that continue to speak across the centuries.
Islam is egalitarian.

From New York to California, the only houses of worship that are routinely integrated today are the approximately 4,000 Muslim mosques. That is because Islam is predicated on a level playing field, especially when it comes to standing before God. The Pledge of Allegiance (one nation, "under God") and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address (all people are "created equal") express themes that are also basic to Islam.

Islam is often viewed as an aggressive faith because of the concept of jihad, but this is actually a misunderstood term. Because Muslims believe that God wants a just world, they tend to be activists, and they emphasize that people are equal before God. These are two reasons why African Americans have been drawn in such large numbers to Islam. They now comprise about one-third of all Muslims in America.

Meanwhile, this egalitarian streak also plays itself out in relations between the sexes. Muhammad (P.B.U.H), Islam's prophet, actually was a reformer in his day. Following the Qur'an, he limited the number of wives a man could have and strongly recommended against polygamy. The Qur'an laid out a set of marriage laws that guarantees married women their family names, their own possessions and capital, the right to agree upon whom they will marry, and the right to initiate divorce. In Islam's early period, women were professionals and property owners, as increasingly they are today. None of this may seem obvious to most Americans because of cultural overlays that at times make Islam appear to be a repressive faith toward women – but if you look more closely, you can see the egalitarian streak preserved in the Qur'an finding expression in contemporary terms. In today's Iran, for example, more women than men attend university, and in recent local elections there, 5,000 women ran for public office.
Islam shares America's new interest in food purity and diet.

Muslims conduct a monthlong fast during the holy month of Ramadan, a practice that many Americans admire and even seek to emulate. I happened to spend quite a bit of time with a non-Muslim friend during Ramadan this year. After a month of being exposed to a practice that brings some annual control to human consumption, my friend let me know, in January, that he was "doing a little Ramadan" of his own. I asked what he meant. "Well, I'm not drinking anything or smoking anything for at least a month, and I'm going off coffee." Given this friend's normal intake of coffee, I could not believe my ears.

Muslims also observe dietary laws that restrict the kind of meat they can eat. These laws require that the permitted, or halal, meat is prepared in a manner that emphasizes cleanliness and a humane treatment of animals. These laws ride on the same trends that have made organic foods so popular.
Islam is tolerant of other faiths.

Like America, Islam has a history of respecting other religions. In Muhammad's (P.B.U.H) day, Christians, Sabeans, and Jews in Muslim lands retained their own courts and enjoyed considerable autonomy. As Islam spread east toward India and China, it came to view Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, and Buddhism as valid paths to salvation. As Islam spread north and west, Judaism especially benefited. The return of the Jews to Jerusalem, after centuries as outcasts, only came about after Muslims took the city in 638. The first thing the Muslims did there was to rescue the Temple Mount, which by then had been turned into a garbage heap.

Today, of course, the long discord between Israel and Palestine has acquired harsh religious overtones. Yet the fact remains that this is a battle for real estate, not a war between two faiths. Islam and Judaism revere the same prophetic lineage, back to Abraham, and no amount of bullets or barbed wire can change that. As The New York Times recently reported, while Muslim/Jewish tensions sometimes flare on university campuses, lately these same students have found ways to forge common links. For one thing, the two religions share similar dietary laws, including ritual slaughter and a prohibition on pork. Joining forces at Dartmouth this fall, the first kosher/halal dining hall is scheduled to open its doors this autumn. That isn't all: They're already planning a joint Thanksgiving dinner, with birds dressed at a nearby farm by a rabbi and an imam. If the American Pilgrims were watching now, they'd be rubbing their eyes with amazement. And, because they came here fleeing religious persecution, they might also understand.
Islam encourages the pursuit of religious freedom.

The Pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock is not the world's first story of religious emigration. Muhammad and his little band of 100 followers fled religious persecution, too, from Mecca in the year 622. They only survived by going to Madinah, an oasis a few hundred miles north, where they established a new community based on a religion they could only practice secretly back home. No wonder then that, in our own day, many Muslims have come here as pilgrims from oppression, leaving places like Kashmir, Bosnia, and Kosovo, where being a Muslim may radically shorten your life span. When the 20th century's list of emigrant exiles is added up, it will prove to be heavy with Muslims, that's for sure.

All in all, there seems to be a deep resonance between Islam and the United States. Although one is a world religion and the other is a sovereign nation, both are traditionally very strong on individual responsibility. Like New Hampshire's motto, "Live Free or Die," America is wedded to individual liberty and an ethic based on right action. For a Muslim, spiritual salvation depends on these. This is best expressed in a popular saying: Even when you think God isn't watching you, act as if he is.

Who knows? Perhaps it won't be long now before words like salat (Muslim prayer) and Ramadan join karma and Nirvana in Webster's Dictionary, and Muslims take their place in America's mainstream.

Michael Abdul Majeed Wolfe is the author of books of poetry, fiction, travel, and history. His most recent works are a pair of books from Grove Press on the pilgrimage to Mecca: "The Hajj" (1993), a first-person travel account, and "One Thousand Roads to Mecca" (1997), an anthology of 10 centuries of travelers writing about the Muslim pilgrimage. In April 1997, he hosted a televised account of the Hajj from Mecca for Ted Koppel's "Nightline" on ABC. He is currently at work on a four-hour television documentary on the life and times of the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.).

Extracted 12/09/2005 from http://www.beliefnet.com/story/69/story_6982.html

His latest publication, The Atlas of Creation, was published by Global Publishing, Istanbul, Turkey in October 2006.[42] The book contains over 800 glossy pages and weighs 12 pounds (5.4 kg). Tens of thousands of copies of the book have been delivered, on an unsolicited basis, to schools, prominent researchers and research institutes throughout Europe and the United States.[3][43] Some of the schools that received copies were in France as well as prominent researchers at Utrecht University, University of Tilburg, University of California, Brown University, University of Colorado, University of Chicago, Brigham Young University, the University of Connecticut, the University of Georgia, Imperial College London, Abertay University and several others.[3][44] When the book was sent to French schools and universities, controversy resulted and the book sparked further concern about Islamic radicalism in France.[3] In 2007, Harper's Magazine contributor Scott Horton reported that 35th U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez had Oktar's Atlas of Creation on a stand at the entrance to his US government office.[45]

The arguments used by the book to undermine evolution have been criticized as not logical while evolutionary biologist Kevin Padian has stated that Oktar has no understanding of the basic evidence for evolution.[2][3] Biologist PZ Myers wrote: "The general pattern of the book is repetitious and predictable: the book shows a picture of a fossil and a photo of a living animal, and declares that they haven't changed a bit, therefore evolution is false. Over and over. It gets old fast, and it's usually wrong (they have changed!) and the photography, while lovely, is entirely stolen."[46]

Richard Dawkins reviewed the book (later translated into Turkish) noting that it contains a number of factual errors, such as the misidentification of a sea snake as an eel (two unrelated species) and in two places uses images of fishing-lures copied from the internet instead of actual species. A number of other modern species are mislabelled. However, Oktar himself claims that Nicolas Sarkozy, Jacques Chirac and Tony Blair were influenced by his book.[47] [48][49]

Oktar has had written for him, by ghostwriters, numerous books under the name Harun Yahya (Harun (Aaron) and Yahya (John)), arguing against evolution. He also asserts that evolution is directly related to the claimed evils of materialism, Nazism, communism, and Buddhism[38]. Most of his anti-evolution resources are identical to Christian creationist arguments.[39]

He also has produced various works on Zionism and Freemasonry, accusing Zionists of racism and arguing that Zionism and Freemasonry have had significant negative effects on world history and politics.

Oktar's books on faith-related topics attempt to communicate the existence and oneness of God according to the Islamic faith, and are written with the main purpose of introducing Islam to those who are strangers to religion. Each of his books on science-related topics stresses his views on the might, sublimity, and majesty of God. These books attempt to display for non-Muslims what Oktar claims to be signs of the existence of God, and the excellence of his creation. A sub-group within this series are the series of "Books Demolishing the Lie of Evolution", a critique of the ideas of Materialism, Evolution, Darwinism, and atheism.

Many of Oktar's books have been made into high-resolution videos which are freely downloadable on the Internet[40].

Oktar asserts that Buddhism as being a false religion built upon idolatry and falsehood.[38] He calls Buddhist rituals "meaningless" and "empty". He has also charged that intelligent design is a tool of Satan.[41]

Adnan Oktar (born Ankara, February 2, 1956)--also known by his pen name, Harun Yahya--is a prominent advocate of Islamic creationism in the creation-evolution debate[1] and, more particularly, supports Old Earth creationism[2][3]. He is against Zionism and Freemasonry and sees them as very interrelated movements, though he denounces anti-Semitism[4] and terrorism[5], which he says are products of Darwinism[6]. Oktar had defended his views by litigation; he is responsible for the blocking of numerous, high-profile Web sites in Turkey.

Oktar runs two organizations: The Milli Değerleri Koruma Vakfı (Foundation to Protect National Values), which focuses on "moral issues", and the Science Research Foundation (Bilim Araştırma Vakfı, or BAV), which promotes creationism[7]. Oktar founded the Science Research Foundation "to [establish]...peace, tranquility and love"[8], though some media describe the BAV as "a secretive Islamic sect"[9] and a "cult-like organization, that jealously guards the secrets of its considerable wealth"[10]. In 2008, Oktar was sentenced by a Turkish court to three years in prison for "creating an illegal organization for personal gain"."[11]




Biography

Born in Ankara in 1956, Adnan Oktar lived there through his high school years. Oktar started his activities in 1979, while he was trying to finish his Interior Design-education at Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts.[12] Three years later, he decided to go on with the philosophy department in Istanbul.[13]

In the early 1980s, he gathered young students around him to share his views of Islam. According to his former mentor, Edip Yüksel, Oktar was attempting to "[mix] mysticism with scientific rhetoric".[14] These students belonged to socially-active and prosperous families of Istanbul.[15] From 1982 to 1984, a group of 20 to 30 was formed.

In 1986, Adnan Oktar published the book, Judaism and Freemasonry. The book suggests that the principal mission of Jews and Freemasons in Turkey was to erode the spiritual, religious, and moral values of the Turkish people and, thus, make them like animals, as stated in what Oktar refers to as the "Distorted Torah."[15][16] Oktar asserts that "the materialist standpoint, evolution theory, anti-religious and immoral lifestyles were indoctrinated to the society as a whole" by Jews and Freemasons.[15]

Following the publication of Judaism and Freemasonry, Adnan Oktar was arrested and imprisoned.[14] According to his official biography he was released after 19 months.[17] In a 2007 interview on Al Jazeera, he blamed Freemasons saying it was a "message" for him not to write about them anymore.[18] According to the New Humanist, Oktar was arrested, charged with promoting a theocratic revolution for which he served 19 months, though he was never formally charged.[19]

In 1990, he founded the Scientific Research Foundation (SRF, or, in Turkish, Bilim Araştırma Vakfı, or BAV), through which he still effectively functions. Members of the SRF are sometimes referred to as Adnan Hocacılar ("Adherents of Adnan the Hodja") by the public[20]. Then in 1995, he founded Millî Değerleri Koruma Vakfı (Foundation for Protection of National Values), through which he networks with other traditional Islamist and nationalist organizations and individuals. Adnan built his organizations and by the mid-1990s his "Followers were especially active in the swanky summer resorts along the shore of the Sea of Marmara.[19]