Domesticating Islam?

Domesticating Islam?

 Blatant interference in internal Islamic affairs: This year, German universities will begin training imams. Yet, should this be a task for the state? The move seems premature and, in the long term, is not viable, says the Islamic scholar Lukas Wick

This fall, courses will be offered to Muslim imams at three universities in Germany. This step was recommend by the German Science Council, welcomed by the press, and even met with the approval of German churches.

The aim of this measure is to integrate Islam into German and European society as well as to prevent the growth of extremism. Amidst all the enthusiasm, an important question has been neglected. Is it really the task of the state to train prayer leaders and religious officials in general?

A concern for Muslims

For one thing, it is justified to ask whether the training of imams conflicts with the constitutional principle of neutrality in religious affairs. According to the German Minister of Education, Annette Schavan, the implicit aim of the imam training programme is to bring Islam into line with enlightened European values – in other words, to domesticate Islam and to deprive so-called radical elements of any influence. Such well-meaning intentions, however, clearly result in interference in internal Islamic affairs.

The aim of the university imam training is to integrate Islam into German and European society as well as to prevent the growth of extremism: Turkish imams in Frankfurt am Main attend German courses The "translation" of Islam to meet German conditions must, in the final analysis, be a matter for Muslims themselves and cannot be achieved through state programmes. Only Muslims can decide for themselves what religious excesses are and which interpretations of their faith are false.

Equally, only they can offer a credible alternative to such deviations in faith. The clear formulation and transmission of Islamic doctrine should be, at the very least, important enough for the various Islamic associations in the country to offer necessary financing. It is namely voluntary, civil society financing that demonstrates an issue is taken seriously.

The development of a critical spirit

It is only the free development of religion that can indicate whether it can adapt to local customs. Disguised state intervention is not viable over the long term, even when the responsible university lecturers propagate a liberal Islam out of their own personal sense of conviction.

According to a study by the Swiss National Foundation, not even a quarter of the Muslims in that country desire such a full university programme for their imams. The majority express the wish that imams complete at least part of their training at an Islamic institution.

It should be mentioned that in Austria, despite the creation of the Islamic Religious Pedagogical Academy (IRPA) in Vienna, it has not been possible to prevent religious teachers and preachers from expressing negative opinions concerning democracy and human rights.

The much complained about integration problems of Muslim imams are homemade. The Turkish religious authorities (Diyanet), for instance, only allow imams to spend up to four years abroad and do not wish to see imams getting to "accustomed" to life in Germany. Research by the Osnabruck-based religious scholar Rauf Ceylan indicates that Turkish imams tend to develop a critical spirit under the influence of conditions in Germany.

And what about the Mormons?

There is also the question as to whether the state should finance the staff of a religious institution not (yet) constituting a statutory body under public law and thereby not able to function as a cooperation partner with the state.

Cultural osmosis: Research by the Osnabruck-based religious scholar Rauf Ceylan indicates that Turkish imams tend to develop a critical spirit under the influence of conditions in Germany In addition, there is the matter of course content, whereby non-Muslims are denigrated with complete disrespect as infidels – or, as was recently the case in a Basel mosque, Switzerland, as swine – and damned to spend eternity in hell, which is not particularly conducive to religious peace in public. The prospect of state intervention also encourages the formation of purely financially motivated alliances and strengthens the position of Islamic associations within the Muslim community.

The state financing of teaching positions and university institutions is a privilege enjoyed by a heterogeneous, yet vocal religious community as opposed to free evangelical groups, whose members often make considerable financial sacrifices in order to train their preachers. To be consistent, the state should provide state educational institutions for them as well. And why not for Mormons, Hindus, Buddhists, and even free thinkers?

Hasty establishment of university posts

In light of the empty pews and an excessive administrative bureaucracy, the established churches are well aware of their privileged positions.

However, instead of undertaking a critical examination of their own situation and perhaps adapting their overblown structures, the churches have been working towards allowing others to share in the fiscal manna – all in the name of interreligious dialogue, or, at least, so goes the official account. It is remarkable that the long overdue debate on the issue of state financing of theological institutes and faculties has still not taken place.

Considering the transformations that have taken place in our society, this issue should no longer remain taboo. And this is not because theology lacks scientific methods or epistemological value, but rather that its confessional orientation finds a steadily diminishing legitimacy within a society marked by increasingly pluralistic lifestyles. The establishment of university teaching posts in Germany for the training of imams has clearly been a hasty decision.

Lukas Wick

© Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung / Qantara.de 2011

Lukas Wick is an Islamic scholar. His dissertation at the University of Bern has been published under the title "Islam und Verfassungsstaat. Theologische Versöhnung mit der politischen Moderne?" (Islam and the Constitutional State. Theological Reconciliation with Political Modernity?).

Qantara.de editor: Lewis Gropp

URL of this Page: http://en.qantara.de/wcsite.php?wc_c=15934&wc_id=16125

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Asadullah Syed

MQM-Altaf was behind 2009 ‘Ashura Bombings’

MQM-Altaf was behind 2009 'Ashura Bombings'
MQM – Indian agent 'Ajmal Pharee' confessed to Joint Investigation Team

By Dr Shahid Qureshi
Sunday 03 April 2011
MQM- Altaf terrorist and Indian agent Ajmal Pharee confessed to the Joint Investigation Team of (ISI, IB, Military Intelligence, CID, Special Branch etc) that, "MQM-Altaf was behind the 'Asura Bombings of 2009' in Karachi. He confessed to the team that he and other MQM city workers were ordered to wear black Shia mourning clothes on the day in a meeting called three days before the Ashura bombings. The orders were to burn the shops and businesses in and around Light House as well as kill the people. The shop owners of that area refused to give extortion money to the MQM-Altaf. These burnings caused losses of billions to the poor Pakistanis and shop owners in Karachi". 

Mustafa Kamal billionaire - poor former mayor of Karachi become abusive when London Post report published on 31st December 2009, was quoted that, 'MQM was involved in Karachi bombings with black water', in a live program by famous anchor Talat Hussain. Faces of the looters were visible on CCTVs footages still available on youtube.

MQM – Altaf terrorist and high value asset   Ajmal Pharee also confessed to the JIT that he has received terrorist training in New Delhi from five Indian Army officers. During this training he was informed about Altaf Hussain's desire to separate Karachi from Pakistan. Altaf Husain is a British Citizen   and considered as high value asset by some analysts.

Ajmal Pharee also confessed murdering 55 people as well as receiving training in India by Indian security agencies. In a video statement he said, "I joined MQM in 1988 arrested in 1989 for fire arms offences imprisoned for one year. He was arrested and sentenced for five years again in 2000 for murdering Iqbal Raad, lawyer of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He told the JIT that his handler Nadeem Nusrat is based in MQM – Altaf's London Secretariat and inner circle man of Altaf Hussain. Ajmal Pharee told the JIT that, 'Nadeem Nusrat told him to escape from Pakistan to Singapore in 1996 with Zeshan a MQM worker'.  He stayed in the Mustafa Market Hotel on his instructions in Singapore, where he was given Singapore Airline tickets and Indian visas by Jamil aka Jimi who lives in South Africa. They travelled to Delhi, stayed there for 15 days and later received terrorist training for one month in a near by jungle  by five Indian army officers. He also met other MQM-Altaf workers Noora of Shah Faiasl Colony, Zafar Tension of Buffer Zone, Raju of Nazim-a-Bad, Shakir Chota of Orangi Town. He received terrorist training of AK-47, RPG, MP-5 LMG, hand grenades. He was transported to India-Pakistan border inserted in from Chawanda area of Shakr Gurh (Sialkot) in Pakistan. They later went to Lahore and than Karachi", said Ajmal Pharee in his confessions.

On 31st December 2009, The London Post, exclusively published the story "Blackwater and MQM's Hallmarks on Karachi Fire – Bombings". The above confession by the MQM Terrorist now confirm that MQM – Altaf was behind the fire bombing and criminal damage in Karachi.

"MQM and Blackwater/Xe are US sponsored mafia style mercenary outfits due to their management structure as it is almost the same both groups' chiefs are out of Pakistan to start with. There is no difference between Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and MQM because both are sponsored by India and USA. Sawat type operation against MQM's 'Clean Shaven Taliban' who are supporting Blackwater/Xe is a must because people will support. 

The recent bombings of a religious procession in Karachi and fire bombings of small businesses miles away from the incident reportedly owned by mostly Sunni Tableghie Jamat a non violent religious group, got all the hall marks of 'private mercenaries' Blackwater with the support of MQM. According to reports it is physically not possible for any one attending the procession to go miles away, get special fire bombing chemicals and equipment to set fire 300 hundred shops in Bolton Market. It is only possible if one already knows the timing of the bombings and part of the plot. They targeted a Sunni areas where it is almost impossible for an angry 'Shia protestor' to reach from the crime scene keeping in the view the distances. So Shia procession was bombed, Sunni business were burnt down and MQM's fire engines did not arrive. Seems perfect Blackwater Inc style operation? 

Blackwater, MQM's Plus plan was meticulous and well timed. (a) Timing of the bombing few days before the end of the term of City Government Term. So City Government building burnt down with the record to cover-up corruption?  (b) Selection of the venues to be fire bombed (c) Torching of Light House Market predominantly owned by the Pashtuns who did not pay extortion money to the MQM – Score settled, Job done (d) Torching of Bolton Market mostly business are owned by peaceful Sunni Muslims Memon Community. They refused to be relocated outside the city because shops worth millions. High ups of the current regime allegedly President Zardari & Co had interest in the land to develop and build flats and plazas. (Job done) (e) Why MQM leaders both reportedly Shias Haider Abbas Rizvi and Faisal Sabzwari not in the Ashura procession? (f) Why police and rangers did not stop the arsonists and terrorists? (g) Who ordered them not to act? (h) Remote control bomb was planted in an ambulance which might be carrying a head too? (i) Who is Hasham Al-Zafar (central) and what is his role in the bombing and burning of Karachi? (j) What is his relationship with Saleem Shezad alleged master mind of the operation and why he only reports to Altaf Hussain?

MQM and Blackwater/Xe are US sponsored mafia style mercenary outfits due to their management structure as it is almost the same both groups' chiefs are out of Pakistan to start with. MQM are the local collaborators of Blackwater/Xe in Pakistan? 

According to sources similar kinds of chemicals and fire bombing equipments have been used in Iraq and Lebanon. Pakistan's security agencies must look into the links between MQM lead City Government and Blackwater.  What kind of assistance they are providing to the mercenaries. City mayor Syed Mustafa Kamal and Governor Sind Dr Ashrat Abad Khan recently visited sensitive institutions of the USA related to protection of US national interests aboard. Why would a mayor of a third world country visit US State Department? Did he inform Pakistani's foreign ministry? He is on the grooming list. "To his credentials it was Mustafa Kamal who opened the door for the assassins came to kill his 'uncle' Azeem Ahmed Tariq, leader of the MQM, as it was an inside job. It sounds like nephew shopped his 'uncle' according to a source.

Altaf Hussain's MQM and his mafia have caused more economic and human losses to Pakistan by strikes and terrorist activities then three wars with India. After the incident on Monday December 28, 2009, three thousand shops were burnt; one thousand were burnt after looting which caused loss of Rs. 60 billion to Pakistani economy. Armed men stopped fire engines for over three hours according to reports. Why?

Elements close to MQM were also allegedly involved in the terrorism, arson, and killings after tragic death of Benazir Bhutto on 27th December 2007. Many analysts believe that it was a dry run by the foreign sponsored elements to separate Karachi from the rest of the country. There is another dimension to the burring of some markets with small business. Some people from land mafia were making hostile offers to these old pre partition businesses.

There are reports that MQM has issued thousands of arms licences to its workers and sympathisers in Karachi and some of the licences might have been issued from other provinces. Disarming of the terrorist groups including MQM in Karachi is necessary to avoid future blackmails.

It is also reported that armed gunmen did not allow fire engines to leave the fire stations. All the fire engines and security cameras are under the control of City Government run by MQM whose leader Altaf Hussain controls this group in a mafia style. Within minutes he blamed 'Taliban' for the bombings. How did he know it was Taliban and not Indian RAW or Blackwater/Xe? Altaf Hussain deliberately tried to make this a sectarian issue in his live TV broadcast on a news channel, which matches the agenda of private mercenaries and India.

Asia Times Online reported few years ago during Musharraf era, sources says that, "only US diplomatic intervention stopped General Musharraf from taking strong action against the MQM after he received the report on the recent unrest in which the MQM was implicated. Washington indeed has a powerful southern ally in Pakistan'. After September 11, the United States identified even more with the MQM as it was the only party in Pakistan that widely mourned the attacks on the US, openly condemned the Taliban and al-Qaeda, and launched a powerful campaign in support of the US attack on Afghanistan".

When President Zardari speak about 'non state & political actors', probably he also meant Altaf Hussain too? His long distance proactive and dramatic telephonic speeches are more or less what Lord Nelson said, "If you can't baffle them with brilliance, dazzle them with bullshit!". He is never been to Pakistan for more then 15 years but did travel to India on his British passport. Most of the members in mafia style 'Rabita Committee' are wanted by Pakistani authorities for heinous crimes.  He hides behind this 'kangaroo committee'. 

A political analyst said, 'to get 'poodle status' in US administration Altaf Hussain exaggerates things beyond imagination. For example, he claimed his supporters in Karachi increased by 10 million in just two years because he claimed to have 20 million supporters in an interview with Edgware Times in November 1998. But in 2001 MQM claimed to have 30 million supporters when MQM send a fax to Reuters on 22 September 2001. "(MQM leader) Altaf Hussain has offered the unconditional support of over 30 million MQM supporters to the U.S. president and the international community," its London-based international secretariat said in a statement faxed to Reuters on September 22, 2001".

According to sources, 'Altaf group is planning and preparing for armed fight with other groups in Karachi. There might be a plan to divide Karachi on ethnic zones as Rehman Malik mentioned in Dera Ismail Khan? The alleged transfer of money from Karachi to London, Germany, Dubai, South Africa, Canada, and United States is alarming. There reports of increase in the arms sale in Karachi seem serious but what are the authorities doing?

So what is Altaf Hussain up to that is a crucial question to political and security leadership to think about. His alleged close links with the Indian agency and also acting like a mercenary force getting orders from foreign masters. It is time for the government of Pakistan to approach its friends and allies to have a clear cut answers about the real Agenda in Pakistan? Crimes of Altaf Hussain and his party MQM are so heinous that he wouldn't dare step in Karachi even the whole period of Musharraf and now Zardari rule?

Until November 1998 Government of Pakistan was reportedly seeking extradition of Altaf Hussain who was said to be wanted in 50 murders and 150 cases of kidnapping and arson. He said in an interview with a newspaper in 1998, "It is my wish that they take me to trial in a British court then I will tell people nationally and internationally what has been happening in Pakistan." It was Altaf Hussain and MQM who issued a memo to his workers saying," if there was war between India and Pakistan, MQM workers will be remain neutral". Why?

MQM's deputy chief organiser of district Thatta and his wife were arrested by the police for trafficking 120 kilos of A class drugs   according to a press report on 16th May 2004. Mohamed Ibrahim and his wife Ayesha Soho who is also member of district government were coming from Bolan area of Baluchistan on Jeep number BC 1248 when they were stopped by Dadar Police who discovered 180 kilos of HASH worth millions of from the secret compartments of the jeep. Police has registered a case number 13/2004 report against deputy chief of MQM and his wife for drug trafficking. Area in charge SHO of the area Police confirmed that suspects have confessed they have been also involved in arms trafficking from Kabul and been to Afghanistan three times. Both were sent to Sibi Jail in Baluchistan.

"MQM has been funded with the drug money apart from the extortion money taken from the top businessmen in the name of support" according to a report published by 

The Frontier Post published on December 25, 1998. The report says, "… What is more alarming is that the Narco dollars have been used for funding the (MQM), a responsible source in the provincial government said. He added that such funding was tantamount to fuelling terrorism." Is the Narco-terror funding still on?

By joining as local collaborator of Blackwater in Karachi MQM has provided the eyes and ears on the ground with smart guns. Even if US-India sponsored 'Pakistani Taliban' claim responsibility of Karachi Ashura bombings, the chemicals and smart guns used in burnings of the over 6000 small businesses and loss of Rs. 60 billion have all the hallmarks of Blackwater/Xe. 

"There is no difference between Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and MQM because both are sponsored by India and USA. Sawat type operation against MQM's 'Clean Shaven Taliban' who are supporting Blackwater/Xe is a must because people will support." 

People must congratulate interior minister Sindh Zulifqar Mirza for his bravery in dealing with MQM-Altaf terrorists on the instructions of President Zardari. The recent murder of the nephew of imprisoned MQM-Haqaqi leader Amir Khan is a clear sign that MQM-Altaf is losing control of the city and panicking. Sooner or later upon the release of the confession videos of the MQM target killers stating the orders were coming from London by allegedly a British Citizen will put British establishment into legal dilemmas as exporting terrorism to Pakistan as well as harbouring terrorists?

"26 target killers belong to MQM-Altaf Hussain based in London said", Home Minister Zulifqar Mirza who considered as the right hand man of President Zardari and Rehman Malik left hand man. Every one knows what most people do with their left hand in Pakistan? 

(Dr Shahid Qureshi writer on foreign policy & security based in London)

URL of this Page: http://www.thelondonpost.net/April03201100039.html

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Asadullah Syed

Jewish & Christian Leaders to Rally at Mosque against Quran-burning Pastor

Pastor Terry Jones has been condemned worldwide for his act of buring the Quran.

20 April 2011

Religious leaders from various backgrounds -- Protestant, Jewish, Catholic, Muslim and others -- plan to rally Thursday at the Islamic Center of America (pictured), where Pastor Terry Jones says he'll protest Friday against "radical Islam". The clergy and others plan to link hands in a circle around the mosque to symbolically shield it from Jones, whom they describe as divisive.

Among he participants are Catholic Archbishop Allen Vigneron and Episcopal Bishop Wendell Gibbs.

"This is an opportunity to show a different vision than the one he's bringing," said the Rev. Daniel Buttry, a Baptist pastor from Hamtramck with the Interfaith Leadership Council.

The council created an online petition that garnered more than 1,500 signatures. It reads, in part: "We ... stand together in condemning the actions of those who spew hate and fear, and who misuse and desecrate holy books of faith. Instead we call on people to carry out the best traditions of all religious faiths, embodied in the idea of doing to others as we would have them do to us."

But Qur'an burning Pastor Terry Jones (pictured right) says he's coming to Dearborn this Good Friday to peacefully protest against jihad and Shari'a, which he says threaten non-Muslims with violence, and to demand that Muslims submit to U.S. laws.

"They are more than welcome to worship freely, to build mosques," Terry Jones told the Free Press. "The only thing we ask of Muslims is that they honor, obey and submit to the Constitution of the United States."

The idea that Sharia precepts are infiltrating Western institutions has become increasingly popular in recent years among social conservatives and culture warriors. The growth of the idea has, in turn, led to counter informational campaigns like the one Saturday.

"It's absurd," said Michael W. Hovey, coordinator of interfaith relations for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit. "There is no Sharia law in Dearborn or anywhere else in the United States. I mean it's not a conversation to be had. It's ridiculous."

The head of the mosque bristles when he hears about Jones' plan to demonstrate outside his Islamic center, which sits off Ford Road.

"Who is he to question our loyalty?" said Imam Hassan Qazwini, a Shi'a cleric known for his moderate views. "Muslims are as American as he is. He has no right to question the loyalty of American Muslims in this country. We are peaceful, patriotic citizens who love this country and care about it as much as any citizen."

Qazwini heads a mosque that is one of the older Islamic centers in the region. It has Arab-American members who go back several generations in the U.S. Born in Iraq, Qazwini has met and spoken with President George W. Bush, whom he embraced in Dearborn during the Iraq war, and President Barack Obama. His mosque has done extensive interfaith and community outreach, a sign of the center's inclusive and temperate nature, supporters say.

During the last week, Qazwini has drawn a wide range of supporters: government officials, religious leaders and law enforcement. On Thursday and Friday, they plan to hold public interfaith rallies in support of the center and against Jones.

At 10:30 a.m. Friday, interfaith clergy will hold a press conference at the Islamic Center concerning Jones' unwelcome appearance. City and religious leaders are asking anyone who wants to demonstrate against Jones to gather at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center between 4-7 p.m. Friday.

Sources:

Niraj Warikoo, "Metro interfaith leaders to unite against Quran-burning pastor" Detroit Free Press April 20, 2011

J. Patrick Pepper, "Terry Jones' planned visit sparks fears of violence, hopes for solidarity" Dearborn Press & Guide April 19, 2011

URL of this Page: http://islamonline.com/news/articles/2/Jewish-&-Christian-Leaders-to-Rally-at-Mosque-agai.html
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Asadullah Syed

Islamic finance can fuel regional economies - economist

Great opportunity to create entrepreneurial middle class in Mena for long-term progress

• By Samihah Zaman, Staff Reporter
• Published: 00:00 April 26, 2011

• Image Credit: Alex Westcott/Gulf News
• Shaikh Nayhan with Dr Volker Nienhaus at the 19th International Conference on Investment Rules and their Impact on Economic Development being held in Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi: The current political transformation in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) has created a historic opportunity for economic and financial change guided by Sharia-compliant instruments, a leading economist said in the capital Monday.

The Islamic instruments should be invested towards the development of an entrepreneurial middle class so that long-term economic progress and job creation can be guaranteed, Dr Volker Nienhaus, economic adviser and former president of the University of Marburg, said at 19th International Conference on Investment Rules and their Impact on Economic Development.

The conference, which runs in the capital till tomorrow, yesterday saw government representatives, academicians and university students from across the Mena discuss the present global investment climate, the suitability of government rules and regulations for attracting foreign direct investment, and opportunities for economic growth.

Confidence

Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, who inaugurated the event, said the provision for an appropriate investment climate was a "fundamental requirement for instilling confidence in an economy and establishing it as a vital part of the global economy".

On the sidelines of the conference, Dr Nienhaus told Gulf News that the promotion of enterprise among the middle class was the key to ensuring regional stability.

"Middle-income entrepreneurs usually run family businesses which do not sell speculative shares on a stock exchange, and they are also less indebted. So if these entrepreneurs receive finance backed by real goods, as investments coming from Islamic instruments ideally should be, there is a real chance for long-term job creation. In addition, a middle class is integral to the creation of a sustainable knowledge economy," he explained.

Liquid capital

"In countries like Algeria and Morocco for instance, the colonialist system of capitalism still remains so that the elite are responsible for most of the enterprise and investment. In Egypt, private monopolies controlled by the wealthy replaced the public monopolies of yore. However, this elite segment is prone to shocks and volatility, which also hampers the job market greatly," Dr Nienhaus said.

A strong middle class that can provide a large proportion of the economy's total number of jobs, as is the case in the EU and the US, therefore protects against job market volatility and subsequent civil unrest.

"For Egypt to create an entrepreneurial middle class might take decades, and this is where countries like the UAE, which has an abundance of liquid capital, has an opportunity to both step in as well as benefit from the returns of the investment," he added.

He also advised the use of Sharia-compliant finance to develop Mena region economies.

URL of This Page: http://gulfnews.com/business/investment/islamic-finance-can-fuel-regional-economies-economist-1.799174

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Asadullah Syed

Most Egyptians want an end to peace treaty with Israel

An American survey reveals some known and stark truths about Egyptians with 54 per cent saying they are opposed to the Egyptian Israeli peace treaty, while 71 per cent say democracy is their preferred political system

Ahram Online, Tuesday 26 Apr 2011

About 54 per cent of Egyptians do not want to keep the peace treaty with Israel and do not want the Israeli embassy to remain in the country, according to a US survey.

The survey was conducted by the Pew Research Center and published on Tuesday. Researchers conducted personal interviews with 1,000 Egyptian adults between 24 March and 7 April.

The survey has sent shockwaves among Israelis with one Israeli official describing the results as a catastrophe for Israel.

According to the poll, many Egyptians view the peace between Egypt and Israel as one of the negative aspects of the Mubarak era for his perceived favouring of Tel Aviv in his economic, security and political policies.

The Israeli daily Haaretz responded to the results of the survey by saying that the danger of these results is that they reflect the fact that many Egyptians do not trust Israel and do not want to deepen relations between the two countries. The newspaper also pointed out that the two countries share a bloody history that Egyptians have not forgotten.

The report also revealed that most Egyptians feel that the peace treaty was pursued by both late president Anwar El Sadat and ousted president Mubarak purely for the sake of regional and international benefits.

Another Israeli daily, Yedioth Ahronoth, added that the survey is a slap in the face to Israelis and shows that strong relations between the two neighbouring countries will not resume after the revolution. The paper asked Israeli officials to prepare for a cooling off of relations.

The poll also showed changes in the Egyptian attitude towards democracy with 71 per cent describing it as the preferred form of governance, compared to 60 per cent who held the same view a year ago. Additionally, 34 per cent of Egyptians rated the economy as good, as opposed to 20 per cent last year.

Regarding the military, 88 per cent of those interviewed described its influence on the country as good. Ninety per cent rated military chief Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi favourably.

The court system and religious leaders were also viewed positively with 67 per cent and 81 per cent respectively seeing them as having a positive influence on the country.

URL of this Page: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/10776/Egypt/Politics-/Most-Egyptians-want-an-end-to-peace-treaty-with-Is.aspx

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Asadullah Syed

Kashmir resolution possible only by UNO resolutions

America

Written by MTT News

Monday, 25 April 2011 16:05

Washington, MTT News Desk: The Executive Director of Kashmir Center Washington, Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, has said that the Kashmir dispute should be resolved in accordance with the Kashmiris' aspirations by implementing the relevant UN resolutions. According to Kashmir Media Service, Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai addressing a function organized by the Kashmir Center in Springfield, Virginia, said that the UN resolutions had emphasised that the future of Jammu and Kashmir must be ascertained in accordance with the wishes and the will of the Kashmiri people. He maintained that the US President, Barack Obama, French President, Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister, David Cameron wrote an Op-Ed in International Herald Tribune on April 15, 2011, wherein they mentioned that they would support a solution to the crisis in Libya that respected the Will of the Libyan people. Dr Fai said that the Will of the people must prevail in all international situations including Jammu and Kashmir. Dr Fai pointed out that the Indian military and paramilitary forces in Kashmir were using brute force to crush the genuine and legitimate struggle the people of Kashmir for securing their right to self-determination. He emphasized that even the US State Department's recently released Country Report on Human Rights said that "Estimates of the number of missing persons varied. Human rights organizations stated there were 8,000 to 10,000 people missing in custody in Jammu and Kashmir." He hoped that the world powers would use their influence to persuade India and Pakistan to initiate a peace process involving the UN and the people of Jammu and Kashmir to bring about a just resolution of the lingering dispute. Lieutenant General Agha Muhammad Umer Farooq, President National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, who was the chief guest on the occasion, praised the people of occupied Kashmir for keeping the freedom movement alive despite heavy odds and suppression by hundreds of thousands of Indian armed forces. "The Indian army is responsible for many untold atrocities but one thing is quite clear that it could not break the will of the people for their right of self-determination," he said. The NDU President stated that freedom struggle had gone through various phases but the people of Kashmir never accepted Indian rule in the territory. He also admired the Pakistanis and Kashmiris living in the US for highlighting the issue of Kashmir at the international level. Dr Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema, Dean, Faculty of Arts, NDU and a scholar of international repute, said that Kashmir was one of the oldest disputes on the records of the United Nations. "It was expected by many that it would loose its intensity over the years. This indeed has been proven wrong. On the contrary the recent developments inside Kashmir once again reinforced the notions that the Kashmiri peoples' devotion towards the realization of their right to self-determination was still as strong as it was in the beginning of the struggle," he said. He pointed out that New Delhi had miserably failed to suppress the sentiments of the Kashmiri people. Back in Srinagar, the Tajikistan's ambassador to India, Saidov Saidbeg Boykhonovich, has said that his country shares strong bond with Kashmir over the centuries. According to Kashmir Media Service, Saidov Saidbeg Boykhonovich talking to the newsmen in Srinagar on the sidelines of a religious conference, said, Kashmiris are their brethren. "Kashmiris have been awakened and educated by Mir Syed Ali Hamdani (RA). His preaching improved the education, culture and religion here," he added. Earlier, the envoy during his address at the conference used Persian poetry to point out the long relationship between Tajikis and Kashmiris. Thousands of people from different parts of the Valley and religious scholars from across the globe participated in the daylong conference.

URL of this Page: http://www.markthetruth.com/america/1666-kashmir-resolution-possible-only-by-uno-resolutions.html

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Asadullah Syed

Pakistan values its cordial relations with Saudi Arabia: Zardari

Pakistan

Written by MTT News

Monday, 25 April 2011 15:19

Islamabad, MTT News Desk: President Asif Ali Zardari has said that Pakistan values its cordial and friendly relations with the brotherly country, Saudi Arabia. The President further emphasized upon augmenting socio-economic, trade and defence ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Vice Admiral Dakheel Allah Bin Ahmed Al Waqdani, Commander, Royal Saudi Naval Forces called on President Asif Ali Zardari at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Monday. The Saudi Commander was accompanied by Rear Admiral Ghasham Bin Manahi Al Qahtani, COS (Log & Supply), Jasim Al Khaldi, Deputy Head of Mission Saudi Embassy Pakistan and other members of Commander's delegation. Pakistani side included Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo, Federal Minister for Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan Affairs and Defence Production, Admiral Noman Bashir, Chief of Naval Staff, M. Salman Faruqui, Secretary General, Mrs. Nargis Sethi, Secretary Cabinet, Lt Gen ® Syed Athar Ali, Secretary Defence, Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar, besides other senior officials. Pak-Saudi bilateral relations including defence cooperation between the two countries were discussed during the meeting. The President hailed the contributions of Commander Royal Saudi Naval Forces in promoting and giving further impetus to existing relationship between the Defence Forces of the two countries. Vice Admiral Dakheel Allah Bin Ahmed Al Waqdani thanked the President for meeting and expressed the hope that the existing close cooperation in defence and other areas between the two countries would continue to grow to the mutual benefit. The President later conferred the award of "Hilal-i-Pakistan" on Vice Admiral Dakheel Allah Bin Ahmed Al Waqdani, Commander Royal Saudi Naval Forces in recognition of his endeavors for strengthening cooperation between the Saudi Naval Forces and Pakistan Navy. Vice Admiral Dakheel Allah Bin Ahmed Al Waqdani, a graduate of Pakistan Naval Academy received his commission in 1969 as Ensign in the Royal Saudi Naval Forces. He was promoted to the rank of vice admiral and appointed as Commander Royal Saudi Naval Forces on May, 9, 2010.

URL of this Page: http://www.markthetruth.com/pakistan/1662-pakistan-values-its-cordial-relations-with-saudi-arabia-zardari.html

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Asadullah Syed

US, NATO attempt assassination of Gaddafi

26 April 2011

With the attack Monday morning on the Bab al-Azizyah complex in Tripoli, the US-NATO war on Libya has entered a criminal new phase that incorporates the policy of state-organized assassination.

Two large precision-guided bombs reduced buildings in the complex to rubble. Libyan officials reported three people killed and 45 wounded, 15 of them critically.

This was the third such attack on the complex where Libya's Colonel Muammar Gaddafi lives and works. The compound was hit by a cruise missile fired from a British submarine on March 20, the second day of the US-NATO assault, and again on April 23, when warplanes struck a parking lot just outside of Bab al-Azizyah that reportedly was above an underground bunker.

With each strike, the objective is ever more naked: the murder of Gaddafi and members of his family.

The building struck on Monday housed the Libyan leader's offices and library and a meeting room where earlier this month he had held talks with South African President Jacob Zuma and other African leaders on an African Union proposal for a ceasefire in Libya's ongoing civil war. The proposal was quickly quashed by the US-NATO alliance and the so-called rebels who are being backed by the US and Europe.

Despite claiming legitimacy for their military actions on the basis of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which authorizes "all necessary measures" to protect civilians, Washington, London and Paris have made no secret of the fact that their real aim is "regime change," i.e., the imposition of a puppet government that will be more subservient to their interests (and those of the energy conglomerates) than the Gaddafi regime. To that end, they are prepared to carry out whatever bloodletting is required.

After five weeks of bombing, and with the US military command claiming to have "attrited"—in plain English, slaughtered—up to 40 percent of the military forces loyal to Gaddafi, they appear no closer to realizing their aim. The "rebels," a fractious coalition of ex-Gaddafi officials, aging CIA "assets" and Islamists, have proven wholly incapable of advancing west toward Tripoli. Moreover, the openly stated hopes of the imperialist powers that the bombs and missiles dropped on Tripoli would trigger a palace coup resulting in Gaddafi's ouster have gone unanswered.

Last week, the top US uniformed military commander, Adm. Mike Mullen, warned that the US-led intervention in Libya was "moving towards stalemate."

The Obama administration and its European accomplices, increasingly frustrated by the failure of their tactics, are not willing to accept such an outcome. This is what has placed the policy of assassination at the center of their calculations.

Mullen's warning was accompanied by the announcement that armed US Predator drones have been deployed over Libya. The pilotless warplanes have been employed with ever growing frequency by the Obama administration to carry out its dirty war against the population on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Pakistan's Conflict Monitoring Center in Islamabad has documented 2,200 civilian deaths over the past five years from drone attacks.

The CIA and its apologists defend the drone attacks as remote control extrajudicial executions of "terrorists," simply dismissing evidence of the horrific civilian death toll. Now, these same methods are being employed in Libya under the pretext of protecting civilian lives.

Meanwhile, within official Washington, there has been a steady drumbeat for Gaddafi's assassination, with leading US senators going on television talk shows and sounding as if they had cribbed their remarks from the script of "The Godfather."

Thus, one program had Senator Lindsey Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services committee demanding that the US-led intervention "cut the head of the snake off" and urging, in reference to Gaddafi, "Let's get this guy gone."

What is striking is that such language evokes not a hint of disagreement, much less protest, from within the US political establishment and the corporate-controlled media.

One would hardly guess that such methods mark a fateful shift from what had long been considered essential tenets of international law. While the assassination of foreign rulers as a tool of statecraft was well known in the Middle Ages, from the 18^th century and the dawn of the bourgeois revolutions it was regarded as beyond the pale.

There were, of course, wholly pragmatic considerations, among them the fear of "chickens coming home to roost," with the resort to assassination by leaders of major powers legitimizing the practice and creating the conditions for someone to murder them as well. There was also the calculation by those with the world's more powerful militaries that the use of assassination would tend to level the playing field with their less well-armed rivals.

But there were also, particularly in the history of the United States, other arguments, rooted in principles of democracy.

Thomas Jefferson in a 1789 letter to James Madison described assassination as one of the "legitimate principles in the dark ages which intervened between ancient and modern civilizations, but exploded and was held in just horror in the eighteenth century."

The US Army's code of conduct signed by Abraham Lincoln at the height of the Civil War in 1863 warned that "civilized nations look with horror upon" the method of assassinating one's enemies, regarding such practices as "relapses into barbarism."

This prevailing attitude toward assassination—defined as "treacherous killing"—was written into the international laws of war adopted at the Hague Convention of 1907 and has been continued in largely the same form in subsequent treaties and conventions.

As recently as 1976, the Church Committee, which conducted the US Senate investigations into the CIA's organization of assassination plots against world leaders ranging from Cuba's Fidel Castro to Patrice Lumumba of the Congo, concluded that this bloody practice "violates moral precepts fundamental to our way of life…[and] traditional American notions of fair play."

Today, the outlook expressed in the committee's reports seems, in the context of official discourse in Washington, as anachronistic as if it had been written in the 18^th century.

After nearly a decade of the so-called "war on terror," begun by Bush and escalated under Obama, assassination—together with wars of aggression, torture, extraordinary rendition, detention without charges—has become just one more accepted tool of American foreign policy.

Indeed, the executive order issued in the wake of the Church Committee probe that barred US-sponsored assassinations was overridden by the Bush administration in the name of eliminating alleged terrorists—a right to kill that has been extended under the Obama administration to US citizens. Now, the case is being made that assassination is a legitimate tool for pursuing "humanitarian" missions or whatever other pretext is invented for imperialist looting.

The ongoing war in Libya marks a further escalation in the criminalization of the American ruling elite, which extols the methods of murder and thuggery to achieve its aims abroad while relying on financial swindling, political fraud and state intimidation to enforce its interests at home.

Its open embrace of assassination stands as a stark warning. There is no section of the financial and corporate oligarchy that rules the United States that maintains the slightest adherence to democratic principles. Under conditions of an unrelenting crisis of the world capitalist system, combined with an unprecedented polarization between its obscene accumulation of wealth and the increasingly desperate conditions facing masses of workers, it is compelled to defend its class rule through the use of unrestrained violence.

The struggle against war and the fight against the increasingly grave threats to democratic rights within the US itself can be waged only through the independent political mobilization of the working class in its own party, fighting for workers' power and the socialist transformation of society.

Bill Van Auken

URL of this Page: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/apr2011/pers-a26.shtml

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Asadullah Syed

Uphold Islamic tradition of peace in Kashmir: clerics

Srinagar, April 24 (IANS) An international conference of Islamic scholars here Sunday laid emphasis on the need for unity, cohesion and preservation of the Sufi traditions among the local Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir.

First of its kind in Kashmir after separatist violence started here in 1990s, the conference was organised by a local group called 'Karwaan-e-Islami' which supports the propagation of peace, tolerance and Sufism among the local Muslims.

More than 10,000 local Muslims attended the conference.

Karwaan-e-Islami's Amir (chief) Maulana Haami said that with the full support of people from all shades of life, their 'tehreek' (movement) is progressing to achieve the objectives of universal brotherhood, peace and unity among people of all faiths by spreading the teachings of the Prophet of Islam.

Tajikistan's ambassador in India Syed Ahmad Beigh Sayeedi, who also attended the conference, said: 'Such conferences prove helpful in spreading the message of 'Aulia Kirams' (scholars, saints and Sufis) in the real sense.'

He said Tajikistan is organizing a conference on Islamic scholar and cleric Mir Syed Ali Hamdani – credited with having brought Islam to Kashmir in the 14th century – and said that the shrines of Hamdani and others at Khatlan province of Tajikistan have been renovated and maintained in a befitting manner in his country.

He invited the people to visit these shrines.

Other Islamic scholars who also spoke at the conference included Al-Sheikh Shah Al Hamid Shafaee (Cairo) and Maulana Abdul Gafoor Ibrahimi (Saudi Arabia).

Many local clerics at the conference laid stress on the history and the great traditions of Islam in Kashmir whose tolerant, Sufi approach to purity and penance had allowed a wonderful symbiosis between followers of different faiths here.

The speakers voiced concern at the government's inaction towards the establishment of the Sheikh-ul-Alam University here whose creation had already been announced by the authorities.

Sheikh-ul-Alam, the 15th century patron saint of Kashmir, was fondly called 'Nund Rishi (sage)' by both local Muslims and Hindus.

It is due to thos reverence for the saints and Sufis that the Valley has historically been known as the 'Rish vaar' (Abode of sages and Sufis

 

URL of this Page: http://www.inewsone.com/2011/04/24/uphold-islamic-tradition-of-peace-in-kashmir-clerics/45688

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Asadullah Syed

World Islamic Conference held in Kashmir

Sunday, 24 April 2011 22:45 KDNN

Srinagar: A grand Dawat-ul-Sunnah International Islamic Conference, first of its kind in the state, was held here today. The conference was organized by Tehreek Karwaan Islami in which about one lakh devotees from all parts of the Kashmir reached Srinagar to attend this grand Islamic Conference.

The conference was attended by not only the Ulema of J&K State and country but also from various parts of the world. The conference commenced with Quraan Khawaani and Naat Khawaani. Later the religious scholars delivered their conscience inspiring and thought provoking speeches with regard to Islam, Faith and Teachings of Prophet Mohammad (SAW).

These religious scholars in their speeches said that the Islamic teachings are very much relevant in this modern and scientific age also. They also highlighted the teachings of Prophet and appealed the people to follow the teachings of Prophet in letter and spirit, which is the only solution for the human sufferings. They said that "Aulia Kirams" have always shown the path of truth, brotherhood and tolerance, that is why these Aulias travelled thousands of kilometers to reach the people and apprise them about the teachings of Islam and Prophet Mohammad (SAW). The Ulemas said these Aulias sacrificed everything to achieve this goal. They unanimously demanded establishment of Shiekh-ul-Alam University in valley forthwith and also appreciated Moulana Ghulam Rasool Haami for translating this dream into reality.

Addressing on the occasion, the Ameer of Tehreek Karwaan Islami Moulana Haami said that with the full support of people from all shades of life this Tehreek is progressing to achieve the objectives of universal brotherhood, peace, unity among people of all faiths by spreading the teachings of our Prophet (SAW). He promised that Shiekh-ul-Alam University will be established soon and said 200 Kanals of land has been donated by the people in Ganderbal particularly Wakoora. He expressed his gratitude to these people for the purpose. He also thanked the Ulemas who attended this conference.

The ambassador of Tajkistan in India Mr. Syed Ahmad Beigh Sayeedi on the occasion said that such conferences prove helpful in spreading the message of Aulia Kirams in real sense. He said Tajkistan is in near future organizing a conference on Mir Syed Ali Hamdani (RA) and said that the shrines of Mir Syed Ali Hamdani and other Aulia Kirams have been renovated and maintained in a befitting manner. He invited the people to visit these shrines in Khatlan.

The Ulema who spoke on the occasion include Moulana Javid Rabani, Moulana Wali Mohd Rizvi, Moulana Fazal Haq Qadri, Al-Shiekh Shah Al Hamid Shafaee, Moulana Abdul Rashid Dawoodi, Syed Nadeem Kirmani, Syed Basharat Hussian Rizvi, Qazi Abdul Quyoom, Moulana Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, Ghulam Kibriya Chasti, Moulana Ghulam Rasool Haami, Moulana Taj Mohammad Azhari, Moulana Ghulam Mohi-ud-din Naqeeb, Moulana Riyaz-ul-Haq, Syed Ahmad Biegh Sayeedi (Ambassador) and Moulana Abdul Gafoor Ibrahimi (Saudi Arabia).

URL of this Page: http://www.kashmirdispatch.com/headlines/24042962-world-islamic-conference-held-in-kashmir.htm

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Asadullah Syed

Kingdom: Role model for Islamic finance

Al-Rajhi Bank CEO Abdullah S. Al-Rajhi, right, NCB CEO Abdulkarim Al-Nasr, left, Mutlaq Al-Morshed, executive vice president, corporate finance, SABIC, second from right, and Humayon Dar, MD, BMB Islamic, take part in a panel discussion on Islamic finance and banking at the Jeddah Economic Forum on Tuesday. (AN photo by Ghazi Mahdi)

By KHALIL HANWARE | ARAB NEWS

Published: Mar 22, 2011 22:35 Updated: Mar 22, 2011 22:35

JEDDAH: The present status and future of Islamic economy, especially finance and banking, was the focus of deliberations on the final day of the 11th Jeddah Economic Forum on Tuesday.

The panelists of a session on Islamic finance and banking were of the view that Saudi Arabia, which has made rapid strides in Islamic finance, could be a role model in promoting it among both Islamic and even non-Islamic countries.

They said the global economic slowdown, witnessed in the past couple of years, was an eye-opener to most of the advanced countries as they felt that they might not have been in such a mess if they had adopted Islamic finance.

They all agreed that Islamic finance is growing but it needs a regulatory authority to ensure full Shariah-compliance.

Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Saleh Kamel felt that Islamic economy had not been treated fairly. "Islamic economy cannot find the place that is due to it unless it is introduced as a subject in schools and universities," Kamel said.

"It (Islamic economy) is ordained by Allah and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the rules and regulations are there to guard against malpractices like usury and conduct Shariah-compliant financial and banking transactions," Kamel said.

He said that Islamic banks had been in operation for 38 years but a shortage of experts had delayed their worldwide expansion.

"We require scholars and experts so that all the rules and regulations related to Islamic finance and banking are unified and individual banks or institutions do not have their own interpretations," he said.

He was, however, hopeful that the value of Islamic financial assets would reach $4 trillion from the current $1 trillion by 2020.

He appealed to the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) to set up a Shariah control supervisory board in line with measures adopted in countries such as Malaysia and Sudan.

He hinted that the giant Islamic bank, Al-Kabeer Islamic Bank, will be launched by the end of this year.

Al-Rajhi Bank CEO Abdullah S. Al-Rajhi said the challenges include the lack of institutional framework, expansion of market and difficulty in managing short-term liquidity.

He agreed with Kamel that there is wide disparity in the application of Islamic banking principles.

"Every Islamic bank has its own Shariah board. That's why there is contradiction in the number of Islamic products, which reduces the confidence of customers. So, we have to unify Shariah parameters, which now number over 40," he said, emphasizing the need for a unified Shariah board.

According to Al-Rajhi, the volume of finance provided by Islamic banks in Saudi Arabia amounts to more than $100 billion.

Al-Rajhi said the recent royal decrees would add a major thrust to the Saudi economy in the coming years and ensured that the banking sector would support implementation of the decrees.

He also confirmed that all of the Kingdom's banking transactions are Shariah-compliant.

National Commercial Bank CEO Abdulkarim Al-Nasr said Islamic finance had expanded globally and not just in Islamic countries.

It had expanded from $260 million in 2000 to more than $1 trillion now and is expected to grow up to $4 trillion by 2020. Islamic insurance alone is expected to reach $25 billion by 2015.

"In fact, Islamic banking represents 95 percent of banking activities for individuals in the Kingdom. They represent 30 percent of the entire banking assets here," he said, adding that the recent global financial crisis had made Islamic banking more relevant.

Al-Nasr also shed light on services provided by Saudi banks to small and medium enterprises through the Kafalah program. More than SR1 billion worth of loans have been already given to young men and women, he pointed out.

Calling for applying social responsibility in Islamic banking, Zakat and waqf was Humayon Dar, managing director of BMB Islamic.

He said a majority of Saudis backed financing in line with Shariah principles.

"However, the future of Islamic finance products depends on its conformity with Shariah regulations, as that is the fundamental factor for its success," he said.

Ahmed Mohieldin Ahmed, secretary general for economic affairs, Islamic Chamber of Commerce, and Iqbal Khan, CEO of Fajr Capital, moderated two separate sessions on the future of Islamic finance and banking.

Mutlaq Al-Morshed, executive vice president, corporate finance, Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), also gave an overview of how SABIC was committed to Islamic finance and banking transactions. He pointed out innovative ideas such as the CDS (credit derivatives) that J.P. Morgan launched recently would strengthen the Islamic finance sector.

The legal framework needs to be standardized, he added.

He also referred to the need for experts of Islamic finance who understand Shariah and finance.

"There are a lot of Shariah scholars and financial scholars. But they don't seem to elated to each other. However, it is being pursued and requires time to be fully witnessed, he added.

URL of This Page: http://arabnews.com/economy/article326197.ece

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Asadullah Syed

Geelani demands arrest of Moulana Showkat's killers

TopNews

Written by MTT News

Friday, 22 April 2011 17:20

Srinagar, MTT News Desk: The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and the President of Jammu & Kashmir Tahreek e Hurriyat (TeH), Syed Ali Shah Geelani, while addressing a Juma congregation in Baramulla, demanded an impartial probe to expose the killers of Maulana Showkat Ahmed Shah. Syed Ali Shah Geelani said that the Kashmiris' liberation struggle was totally indigenous and was in no way sponsored by any neighbouring country. The APHC Chairmand the President of Jammu & Kashmir Tahreek e Hurriyat (TeH), Syed Ali Shah Geelani had also led a big procession in the area and people on the occasion raised anti-India slogans. In other instance, in Occupied State of Jammu & Kashmir (OSJK), senior APHC leader and the Chairperson of Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Khawateen Markaz (JKMKM), Yasmeen Raja, has demanded immediate release of all illegally detained Kashmiris including pro-freedom Hurriyat leaders and Hurriyat activists languishing in different jails of Occupied State of Jammu & Kashmir (OSJK) and through out India. Yasmeen Raja who was recently released from unlawful detention, addressing a party meeting at Rajbagh in Srinagar, said that India could not suppress the Kashmiris' just freedom struggle through use of brute force and continued detentions of innocent people. She said that the resolution of Kashmir dispute was vital to establish peace and stability in South Asia. "Pakistan and India should take immediate steps to settle the lingering dispute," Yasmeen Raja added. Vowing to continue the freedom struggle till its logical end despite all odds, the APHC leader asked India to fulfil its promises made with the people of Kashmir to give them right to self-determination. Senior Hurriyat Leader and Vice Chairman Jammu Kashmir Peoples League, Mukhtar Ahmad Waza while addressing a Juma congregation at Bejbehara Jamia Mosque, today said that the solution of the Kashmir dispute can no longer be delayed or hijacked by political maneuvering, urges for inclusion of Kashmiri leadership in the dialogue process to address the long-standing issue. The APHC Leader said that the Kashmir dispute was the main obstacle in the cordial relations between Pakistan and India. He added that durable peace in the region was impossible without an amicable settlement of the dispute. Waza said that both the countries should talk on the Kashmir dispute because all other problems including water, Cir Creek and Siachen would automatically be resolved after solution of the Kashmir dispute. Waza has appealed to the world community particularly the USA to play an effective role in resolving the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the Kashmiris' aspirations.

URL of this Page: http://www.markthetruth.com/topnews/1650-geelani-demands-arrest-of-moulana-showkats-killers.html

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Asadullah Syed

The Education of an Iranian Revolutionary

In 1978, the future Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi helped storm the justice ministry in Tehran in protest against the shah. 'The future appeared full of promise.'

By DAVID FEITH

APRIL 23, 2011

'At the time I really believed that an Islamic Republic would bring us independence and liberty." The time was 1978 and the belief belonged to Shirin Ebadi, then a 31-year-old judge on the Tehran city court. So strong was her revolutionary fervor that she helped storm the justice ministry, one of many acts of revolt that eventually toppled the shah and installed Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as Iran's supreme leader.

"What would happen to our beloved Iran? No one knew," Ms. Ebadi writes in "The Golden Cage," her new book out next week, "but the future appeared full of promise."

The future, it turned out, was full of 7th-century religious fanaticism and brutal political repression. Now 63 and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate for her work defending the Islamic Republic's victims, Ms. Ebadi is no longer a revolutionary. She is subversive and brave, to be sure. But in this season of Middle Eastern uprisings, when a new Iranian revolution would be the most important to date, she conveys caution and gradualism.

"Some people believe that we have to throw out [Iran's] constitution and come up with a new constitution—this means revolution," Ms. Ebadi says. "Of course deeply I believe that this is not a democratic constitution, but I am looking for pragmatic ways. . . . We have to bring power to the people gradually."

Over two conversations this week in New York City and Washington, D.C., Ms. Ebadi says through an interpreter that she fears a Libya scenario in which Iran's leaders act like Moammar Gadhafi. Any attempt to end their rule, she worries, "is going to call for blood-shedding. . . . I am for solutions with less blood-shedding. I am a defender of human rights. That's why I don't want to find ways that would hurt people."

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Terry Shoffner

Ms. Ebadi prefers to focus political and legal pressure on getting the Iranian government to begin respecting the many existing constitutional rights that it ignores. For example, the right of ethnic minorities—the Azeris, Baluch, Arabs and others—to teach their mother tongues to their children. "This is the first step, to ask for the implementation of these laws. After that people will naturally become stronger. Then they can take other steps."

Dogged persistence, not grand action, is this lawyer's way. The Khomeinists kicked her off the bench for being a woman in 1980, mandating that she work as a secretary in the court over which she once presided. By the early 1990s, she established a law practice that focused on representing the weak—refugees, women, children. She took on the cases of intellectuals, students and others whom the regime had targeted as zedd-e enghelab, counter-revolutionaries. Often that meant representing the families of individuals whom government agents had stabbed to death in their home, for example, or shot in their university dormitory.

The work got her thrown in jail for 23 days in 2000, and it nearly cost her life: That same year, while reviewing intelligence ministry files to prepare for a case, she found her own name on a list of intellectuals to be targeted for extrajudicial killing. Her death warrant was cancelled by Iran's then-President Mohammad Khatami before it was carried out. Now, a decade later, she lives in exile (mostly in Atlanta, Ga.), having not returned to Iran since June 2009, fearing certain arrest. Her husband and sister remain there and have been arrested as a means of pressuring Ms. Ebadi. They are now out of prison but can't leave Iran.

Ms. Ebadi nonetheless calculates that the best way to change Iran is to work within the system, as she once did navigating the country's courts and ministries. In this regard her outlook is similar to that of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, Iran's most prominent opposition figures. Both former regime officials, Messrs. Mousavi and Karroubi ran for president in June 2009. Since the election was stolen by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, both men have advocated deep reform but not revolution.

Both have been under house arrest since February, when they tried to lead marches in solidarity with the democrats of Tunisia and Egypt. In the 10 weeks since their confinement and effective silencing, the Iranian opposition has appeared to be in remission, with no high-profile protests or diplomatic defections.

But Ms. Ebadi says the Iranian opposition has actually "become stronger." She claims that "dissatisfaction is increasing every day" and points specifically to the economy: "The price of food in Tehran is twice as much as it is in New York." She mentions a recent International Monetary Fund report that Iran's economy is experiencing no growth and 22% inflation, and also a parliamentarian's recent statement that unemployment exceeds 30%.

What's more, she says, the Ahmadinejad government has hurt itself by cutting food and fuel subsidies. Others have interpreted the subsidy cuts—which were bound to be unpopular—as a sign of government confidence. But, says Ms. Ebadi, they sent the price of natural gas up 20 times and caused angry protests in front of parliament.

Ms. Ebadi also expresses optimism about opposition from organized labor, which was crucial to dislodging the shah in the late 1970s. "For the last two weeks, the workers at the Mahshahr petrochemical company have been on strike and the plant has not worked at all. . . . During the shah's reign, when the workers went on strike that was political—their salaries were paid but they didn't want the shah. But now they say 'We are hungry.' And I think that a hungry worker speaks stronger."

The point is surely debatable. As the political scientist Francis Fukuyama has written, channeling Samuel Huntington, the successful revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt fit a classic model, driven "not by the poor but by upwardly mobile middle-class people who find their aspirations stymied." By this reasoning, bread riots are less likely to yield the fundamental change that Iran needs. When that change looked possible in the summer of 2009, Iran's protesters were generally not the poor and their motivations appeared more political—"Where is my vote?"—than economic.

Another advantage for Iran's opposition, says Ms. Ebadi, is that the government's nuclear program is increasingly unpopular. "Ahmadinejad talks about nuclear energy as national pride . . . but that's not true. People don't care."

This is a reversal for Ms. Ebadi. In a 2006 Los Angeles Times op-ed, she wrote that "Although a vast majority of Iranians despise the country's hard-liners and wish for their downfall, they also support its nuclear program because it has become a source of pride for an old nation with a glorious history."

That was true "at the time," she now says. "But after the Security Council of the United Nations placed economic sanctions on Iran, and the violence of the government increased, and poverty was increased, then the people found out that the policies of the government in this regard were wrong. Now they don't care at all. Remember that people don't always think the same, they change."

The most convincing plank in Ms. Ebadi's generally optimistic view is Syria. "People are very happy about the uprising of the people of Syria. . . . If there is democracy in Syria it's like the arms of Iran are cut off," she says. "The people of Iran would be very happy if Bashar Assad is toppled because that's the beginning of the toppling of the Iranian government."

As for U.S. policy, Ms. Ebadi first states pointedly that "A military attack or a threat of military attack is the worst thing." This answer is of a piece with Ms. Ebadi's statements since winning the Nobel in 2003. Along with the dissident Iranian journalist Akbar Ganji, she has for years represented a view that the U.S. could do little right in Iran.

In 2007, after the Bush administration allocated $75 million to support freedom and human rights in Iran—through TV and radio broadcasts, exchange programs and support for civil society groups—Ms. Ebadi wrote in the New York Times that "Iranian reformists . . . believe that the best Washington can do for democracy in Iran is to leave them alone."

Now, with a new U.S. president and Iran's enduring postelection crackdown, she's tempered that view. She underscores that she would never accept non-Iranian funds for her work, but she wants the U.S. to "provide access to the news for the [Iranian] people. . . . What I'm talking about is the Internet more than anything else."

This sounds a lot like the Bush administration's program, so I ask if informing the Iranian people should extend to supporting Iranian journalists and civil society groups. "Of course," she replies.

She also supports U.S. and international sanctions against Iran's energy industries, though in 2006 she wrote that "imposing U.N. sanctions on Iran would also be counterproductive, prompting Tehran to leave the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty."

Then there's her call, which she has sounded consistently, for the West to prioritize human rights and press Iran to respect its own laws and treaty obligations. That agenda includes promoting the newly appointed U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in Iran; demanding the release of political prisoners like her personal lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, the student activist Bahareh Hedayat, and the leaders of Iran's Bahai community; and calling for Iran to suspend its (sometimes public) executions of criminals and political prisoners, which numbered nearly 100 in January alone.

This would require some major U.S. rethinking. The State Department talks about Internet freedom, but for years it has sat on $30 million allocated by Congress for the promotion of "scalable, field tested" firewall-circumvention tools. On sanctions too, a strong law is now on the books, but the Obama administration hasn't seriously enforced it. Just this week, more than 450 foreign companies attended the Iran Oil Show in Tehran to explore opportunities in Iran's oil, gas, refining and petrochemical industries.

As recent events have shown, the main actors in the Middle Eastern drama will be the people of the region, not the U.S. So what advice does Ms. Ebadi have for the Tunisians and Egyptians now building their own postrevolutionary states?

"Usually in any revolution people are focused on who wants to have the most power. But the most important thing is the laws that are written during that time," she says. "What happened in Iran? . . . Numerous of the bad laws were passed within the first months. But then we thought that's not that important, if the president's good we can change it or make it good later. And we had a good president, [Mr. Khatami], but he couldn't do anything with the bad laws."

Ms. Ebadi, the cautious lawyer, may yet live to see the day when she can rewrite those laws.

Mr. Feith is an assistant editorial features editor at The Journal.

URL of this Page: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703983704576277373280750408.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

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Asadullah Syed

The Arab Risings, Israel and Hamas

By George Friedman There was one striking thing missing from the events in the Middle East in past months: Israel. While certainly mentioned and condemned, none of the demonstrations centered on the issue of Israel. Israel was a side issue for the demonstrators, with the focus being on replacing unpopular rulers. This is odd. Since even before the creation of the state of Israel, anti-Zionism has been a driving force among the Arab public, perhaps more than it has been with Arab governments. While a few have been willing to develop open diplomatic relations with Israel, many more have maintained informal relations: Numerous Arab governments have been willing to maintain covert relations with Israel, with extensive cooperation on intelligence and related matters. They have been unwilling to incur the displeasure of the Arab masses through open cooperation, however. That makes it all the more strange that the Arab opposition movements - from Libya to Bahrain - have not made overt and covert cooperation with Israel a central issue, if for no other reason than to mobilize the Arab masses. Let me emphasize that Israel was frequently an issue, but not the central one. If we go far back to the rise of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and his revolution for Pan-Arabism and socialism, his issues against King Farouk were tightly bound with anti-Zionism. Similarly, radical Islamists have always made Israel a central issue, yet it wasn't there in this round of unrest. This was particularly surprising with regimes like Egypt's, which had formal relations with Israel. It is not clear why Israel was not a rallying point. One possible explanation is that the demonstrations in the Islamic world were focused on unpopular leaders and regimes, and the question of local governance was at their heart. That is possible, but particularly as the demonstrations faltered, invoking Israel would have seemed logical as a way to legitimize their cause. Another explanation might have rested in the reason that most of these risings failed, at least to this point, to achieve fundamental change. They were not mass movements involving all classes of society, but to a great extent the young and the better educated. This class was more sophisticated about the world and understood the need for American and European support in the long run; they understood that including Israel in their mix of grievances was likely to reduce Western pressure on the risings' targets. We know of several leaders of the Egyptian rising, for example, who were close to Hamas yet deliberately chose to downplay their relations. They clearly were intensely anti-Israeli but didn't want to make this a crucial issue. In the case of Egypt, they didn't want to alienate the military or the West. They were sophisticated enough to take the matter step by step.  Hamas' Opportunity  A second thing was missing from the unrest: There was no rising, no intifada, in the Palestinian territories. Given the general unrest sweeping the region, it would seem logical that the Palestinian public would have pressed both the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and Hamas to organize massive demonstrations against Israel. This didn't happen. This clearly didn't displease the PNA, which had no appetite for underwriting another intifada that would have led to massive Israeli responses and disruption of the West Bank's economy. For Hamas in Gaza, however, it was a different case. Hamas was trapped by the Israeli-Egyptian blockade. This blockade limited its ability to access weapons, as well as basic supplies needed to build a minimally functioning economy. It also limited Hamas' ability to build a strong movement in the West Bank that would challenge Fatah's leadership of the PNA there. Hamas has been isolated and trapped in Gaza. The uprising in Egypt represented a tremendous opportunity for Hamas, as it promised to create a new reality in Gaza. If the demonstrators had succeeded not only in overthrowing Hosni Mubarak but also in forcing true regime change - or at least forcing the military to change its policy toward Hamas - the door could have opened for Hamas to have increased dramatically its power and its room to maneuver. Hamas knew that it had supporters among a segment of the demonstrators and that the demonstrators wanted a reversal of Egyptian policy on Israel and Gaza. They were content to wait, however, particularly as the PNA was not prepared to launch an intifada in the West Bank and because one confined to Gaza would have had little effect. So they waited. For Hamas, a shift in Egyptian policy was the opening that would allow them to become militarily and politically more effective. It didn't happen. The events of the past few months have shown that while the military wanted Mubarak out, it was not prepared to break with Israel or shift its Gaza policy. Most important, the events thus far have shown that the demonstrators were in no position to force the Egyptian military to do anything it didn't want to do. Beyond forcing Mubarak out and perhaps having him put on trial, the basic policies of his regime remained in place. Over the last few weeks, it became apparent to many observers, including the Hamas leadership, that what they hoped for in Egypt was either not going to happen any time soon or perhaps not at all. At the same time, it was obvious that the movement in the Arab world had not yet died out. If Hamas could combine the historical animosity toward Israel in the Arab world with the current unrest, it might be able to effect changes in policy not only in Egypt but also in the rest of the Arab world, a region that, beyond rhetoric, had become increasingly indifferent to the Palestinian cause. Gaza has become a symbol in the Arab world of Palestinian resistance and Israeli oppression. The last war in Gaza, Operation Cast Lead, has become used as a symbol in the Arab world and in Europe to generate anti-Israeli sentiment. Interestingly, Richard Goldstone, lead author of a report on the operation that severely criticized Israel, retracted many of his charges last week. One of the Palestinians' major achievements was shaping public opinion in Europe over Cast Lead via the Goldstone Report. Its retraction was therefore a defeat for Hamas. In the face of the decision by Arab demonstrators not to emphasize Israel, in the face of the apparent failure of the Egyptian rising to achieve definitive policy changes, and in the face of the reversal by Goldstone of many of his charges, Hamas clearly felt that it not only faced a lost opportunity, but it was likely to face a retreat in Western public opinion (albeit the latter was a secondary consideration).   The Advantage of Another Gaza Conflict for Hamas  Another Israeli assault on Gaza might generate forces that benefit Hamas. In Cast Lead, the Egyptian government was able to deflect calls to stop its blockade of Gaza and break relations with Israel. In 2011, it might not be as easy for them to resist in the event of another war. Moreover, with the uprising losing steam, a war in Gaza might re-energize Hamas, using what would be claimed as unilateral brutality by Israel to bring far larger crowds into the street and forcing a weakened Egyptian regime to make the kinds of concessions that would matter to Hamas. Egypt is key for Hamas. Linked to an anti-Israel, pro-Hamas Cairo, the Gaza Strip returns to its old status as a bayonet pointed at Tel Aviv. Certainly, it would be a base for operations and a significant alternative to Fatah. But a war would benefit Hamas more broadly. For example, Turkey's view of Gaza has changed significantly since the 2010 flotilla incident in which Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish civilians on a ship headed for Gaza. Turkey's relationship with Israel could be further weakened, and with Egypt and Turkey both becoming hostile to Israel, Hamas' position would improve. If Hamas could cause Hezbollah to join the war from the north then Israel would be placed in a challenging military position perhaps with the United States, afraid of a complete breakdown of its regional alliance system, forcing Israel to accept an unfavorable settlement. Hamas had the same means for starting a war it had before Cast Lead and that Hezbollah had in 2006. It can still fire rockets at Israel. For the most part, these artillery rockets - homemade Qassams and mortars, do no harm. But some strike Israeli targets, and under any circumstances, the constant firing drives home the limits of Israeli intelligence to an uneasy Israeli public - Israel doesn't know where the missiles are stored and can't take them out. Add to this the rocket that landed 20 miles south of Tel Aviv and Israeli public perceptions of the murder of most of a Jewish family in the West Bank, including an infant, and it becomes clear that Hamas is creating the circumstances under which the Israelis have no choice but to attack Gaza.  Outside Intervention  After the first series of rocket attacks, two nations intervened. Turkey fairly publicly intervened via Syria, persuading Hamas to halt its attacks. Turkey understood the fragility of the Arab world and was not interested in the uprising receiving an additional boost from a war in Gaza. The Saudis also intervened. The Saudis provide the main funding for Hamas via Syria and were themselves trying to stabilize the situation from Yemen to Bahrain on its southern and eastern border; it did not want anything adding fuel to that fire. Hamas accordingly subsided. Hamas then resumed its attack this weekend. We don't know its reasoning, but we can infer it: Whatever Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Syria or anyone else wanted, this was Hamas' historic opportunity. If Egypt returns to the status quo, Hamas returns to its trap. Whatever their friends or allies might say, missing this historic opportunity would be foolish for it. A war would hurt, but a defeat could be turned into a political victory. It is not clear what the Israelis' limit is. Clearly, they are trying to avoid an all-out assault on Gaza, limiting their response to a few airstrikes. The existence of Iron Dome, a new system to stop rockets, provides Israel some psychological comfort, but it is years from full deployment, and its effectiveness is still unknown. The rockets can be endured only so long before an attack. And the Goldstone reversal gives the Israelis a sense of vindication that gives them more room for maneuver. Hamas appears to have plenty of rockets, and it will use them until Israel responds. Hamas will use the Israeli response to try to launch a broader Arab movement focused both on Israel and on regimes that openly or covertly collaborate with Israel. Hamas hopes above all to bring down the Egyptian regime with a newly energized movement. Israel above all does not want this to happen. It will resist responding to Hamas as long as it can, but given the political situation in Israel, its ability to do so is limited - and that is what Hamas is counting on. For the United States and Europe, the merger of Islamists and democrats is an explosive combination. Apart, they do little. Together, they could genuinely destabilize the region and even further undermine the U.S. effort against jihadists. The United States and Europe want Israel to restrain itself but cannot restrain Hamas. Another war, therefore, is not out of the question - and in the end, the decision to launch one rests with Hamas.

Stratfor

2011.04.12 13:20

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Asadullah Syed