The Legality of Drones as Weapons of War

on Monday, December 31, 2012

America’s Central Intelligence Agency has adopted an innovative strategy to counter the effective guerilla warfare tactics being used by militants in Northwest Pakistan. While these drone attacks have been the source of much criticism and appreciation, few have explored whether this means of combat is actually permitted under international law. A number of questions arise as a result of such an inquiry. Does the drone strikes carried about by the CIA violate Pakistan’s sovereignty? Does the CIA have privilege to carry out such attacks? Is the use of force on non-combatants permitted under international law?

Arguably the biggest criticism about drone strikes has been that they serve as a direct violation of the sovereignty of Pakistan. According to the guidelines laid out by international law, no country is allowed to carry out any attacks, by drones or otherwise, on another country’s soil.  The two exceptions to this rule apply when the country being attacked has consented to it, or if the aggressor is acting in legitimate self-defense. Pakistani officials have continuously requested the United States not to independently carry out drone strikes, ruling out the possibility of consenting to these attacks.

The lack of consent has not hindered the United States government. They have continuously rested on the second exception to extra-territorial attack limitations, arguing that they must destabilize the Taliban – a group which has allegedly carried out a number of attacks on American soil. The application of self-defense in this case is contested because the Taliban are a wide range of people, and many claim that it does not warrant such a blatant violation of another nation’s sovereignty.

Drone strikes are detested by a large proportion of Pakistanis since they feel scores of collateral casualties that occur in killing a small number of alleged militants is a gross violation of international humanitarian law. This is a concern related to the legality of the kind of force that is used by the CIA. Since drones are entirely unmanned, it is difficult to ascertain who exactly is a combatant and who is a non-combatant. The Interpretative Guidance on Direct Participation in Hostilities has laid out that those who provide political and financial support to combatants are not necessarily combatants themselves, and they cannot be legally targeted by any force. In the use of drone technology, the CIA has completely disregarded the differences between civilians and combatants.

The CIA is a division of the government of the United States of America, but it does not come under the United States military structure. Under international humanitarian law, many doubt whether this agency has the privilege of carrying out combative offensives as if it were a military institution. Civilians who take part in such combats do not have the same kind of legal immunity that members of the military have when they are engaging in legal combat. Thus, the unprivileged combatants who operate drones can be prosecuted under Pakistani criminal law for their actions regardless of the legality of drone strikes itself.



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Egypt’s New Constitution: Opposition to ‘One Man-One Party Rule’ of the 1971 Constitution Part I

on Sunday, December 30, 2012

The Arab Spring, as it is now globally called, from its inception represented a strong desire of the people to reclaim for themselves the political system by improving the Constitution. Whether it was Tunisia, Libya or Egypt or the different factions in the political arena itself, the focus of everyone’s demands was projected onto the process of Constitution-writing. It is this major departure from previous upheavals in the Middle East that makes Arab Spring a very special moment in Middle-Eastern history. And by placing emphasis on the current exercise of Constitution-drafting as an exercise of realizing the society’s expectations, we give the movement the dignity it deserves.

It is not surprising that in an age of globalization, the majority of the viewers of the Arab Spring on media channels are not from Middle-East. These viewers are mostly from countries with an established tradition of liberalism and democracy who watch daily the comparison of the nascent Egyptian Constituent Assembly with the robust institutions that have developed in their own countries. This is clearly a fallacy, for how can a new democracy, either in its vision or implementation, compare to democracies that have been established, if not less, then atleast for half a century. Most importantly, this is not how the Egyptians themselves look at the whole process which culminated in the referendum. They do not have in their mind the German Constitution, the Indian Constitution and even less, the American Constitution (the present German and Indian Constitutions are about 60 years old whereas the American one is over 200 years old). They remember what the arbitrary and corrupt regime established under their previous Constitution, that is, the 1971 Constitution, when they engage in debate to shape the new one. And in order to truly appreciate the significance of the entire movement, we must look at the Constitution that was ousted.

The Constitution of 1971 also envisaged a democratic system, guaranteed fundamental rights and declared the Sharia as principal source of legislation. However, the constitutional provisions were sold out by the laws that were enacted by the executive with the help of a rubber-stamp legislature.

The Fundamental Rights (such as freedom of speech and liberty) were qualified by phrases like “according to the law”, whose vagueness created room for the regime to completely deny these protections through the enactment of rigid laws. The entire constitution was an act of skullduggery with all the major rights and provisions being subordinated to laws and thus subverting the very idea of a society having a constitution.

The year 2007 saw Mubarak attempting to become democratic by offering to democratize the society. But why was Mubarak of all people democratizing the society? And if Mubarak democratized the society, then what is happening since the last two years? Besides a slew of amendments, the key amendment was Article 76, which was a 709 word article whose sole purpose was to engineer one of Mubarak’s sons to the Presidency by creating a very high technical requirement in terms of support of officials and registered parties to contest elections. This article also served the purpose of preventing any Muslim Brotherhood member or any other person who could put a serious challenge to the regime from contesting the elections.

It is these reasons that made people wary of the regime and the 1971 Constitution. And it is these actions that have become the background against which the Egyptians are judging their new Constitution.

The next entry will continue the discussion, dealing with role of religion, civilian-military affairs and the nature of State institutions in 1971 Constitution.

References:

http://www.constitutionnet.org/files/Egypt%20Constitution.pdf

http://muslim-academy.com/egypts-new-constitution-writing-the-beginning/

 



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Wait, Egyptians DON’T live in Pyramids?

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دبي حيث يحتضن المسلمين غيرهم

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لعل أن المدن المتعددة الثقافات و الأديان عديدة اليوم، و لكن إذا تأملنا جيدا لوجدنا أغلبها متموقعة في غرب الكرة الأرضية على غرار لندن و بريطانيا ككل التي تعتبر و بشهادة المسلمين و غيرهم البلاد التي يحترم فيها المعتقد إلى درجة أصبح يقال أن فيها ملكة لا يظلم فيها أحد، و توجد دول غربية أخرى تحتضن المسلمين مثل كندا و إقليم كيبيك ناهيك عن التواجد التاريخي للمسلمين في فرنسا و هولندا رغم المضايقات التي تعيشها الجالية الإسلامية مقارنة بالنموذج البريطاني و الكندي السالف الذكر، و لكن الشيء الغير المتعود عليه هو دولة عربية  تفتح أبوابها لغير المسلمين و تتيح لهم فرصة العيش على أراضيها في سلام، مع الضمان الكامل لحقوقهم  شريطة مراعاتهم للآداب، وخصوصية المجتمع الإسلامي المحافظ، ارتأيت في مقالي هذا أن ألقي الضوء على النموذج الإماراتي و بالتحديد تجربة إمارة دبي.

إمارة إسلامية بنكهة أمريكية

الزائر لإمارة دبي سوف يلاحظ لا محالة اللمسة الأمريكية على المدينة، ناطحات السحاب، السيارات الأمريكية، محلات الماكدونالدز و دجاج الكنتاكي و مراكز التسوق الكبرى، ربما شيء غريب للوهلة الأولى أن تحط ببلد إسلامي بصبغة أمريكية غربية و لكن إذا دققت النظر في التركيبة البشرية لسكان إمارة دبي لوجدتها متعددة الجنسيات و الثقافات، شعوب التقت لتتعارف و تعيش في سلام تحت إمرة حكومة مسلمة، فكثيرا ما سمعنا عن إشكالية  قبول الغرب للمسلمين، لكن قلّ ما تحدثنا عن  قبول المسلمين لغيرهم هذه المفارقة تصنعها دبي بامتياز و تجعلها المدينة الأولى في الشرق الأوسط من حيث التنوع الثقافي.

الفرد الغربي في مواجهة الطبيعة و التكيف مع القوانين

الأمر الذي شد انتباهي في إمارة دبي هو قدرة غير المسلمين و أخص بالذكر المقيمين الأوروبيين و الأمريكيين على التكيف مع أجواء العيش في الخليج، ليس فقط التأقلم مع الطقس الحار و الرطوبة العالية، بل أيضا الكيف مع قوانين دولة إسلامية لها خصوصياتها في طريقة اللبس و السلوك الواجب إتباعه، شيء يبدو من الوهلة الأولى صعب فرضه على شخص ولد و ترعرع في بيئة غربية غير مسلمة، و لكن وعلى العموم يمكن القول أن المواطن الغربي نجح و إلى حد بعيد في التأقلم مع نمط العيش الإسلامي مع عدم تجاهل التسهيلات الكبيرة التي منحت لهم من الحكومة المحلية من حريات في إطار جد منظم لحفظ الهوية الإسلامية و العربية في جو ملأه الاحترام المتبادل.

إمارة تكتسي أبهى الحلل للإحتفال بالأعياد الدينية  

و من الأمور الأخرى التي أراها جد مميزة في دبي هي مظاهر الاحتفال بالأعياد الدينية، فبالنسبة للمسلمين و في رمضان تغلق المقاهي و المطاعم نهارا، و تقام صلاة القيام ليلا و تتزين المدينة لعيد الفطر، و كذلك للهندوس و السيخ نصيبهم فيزينون شرفاتهم بالأضواء الملونة احتفالا بديوالي أو عيد الأنوار في فصل الخريف، وهو الأمر كذلك للمسيحيين عند حلول رأس السنة الميلادية فتزين أشجار الميلاد المحلات وتقام الصلوات في الكنائس بعيدا عن الاحتفالات الصاخبة.

في الأخير يمكن القول أن الفرد الغير مسلم سواء الغربي أو غيره يمكن له العيش إلى جانب المسلمين و في بلادهم في سلام، إذا فتحت له قنوات  الحوار المباشر  وأتيحت له إمكانية الزيارة و التعرف على الثقافة الأخرى عن كثب و من دون حواجز،  بعيدا عن ما تنقله وسائل الإعلام، كما تجدر الإشارة إلى أن تجربة إمارة دبي أبطلت فكرة كره المسلمين لغيرهم و عدم قابليتهم لاحتضانهم ، مع أن الجانب القانوني أرى بأنه كذلك جد مهم لتوفير المناخ المناسب للتعايش السلمي عن طريق سن قوانين ردعية لمحاربة كل أشكال العنصرية بسبب العرق أو اللون وهو الشيء نفسه التي تنص عليه تعاليم الدين الإسلامي الحنيف.

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KGB, Innocence of Muslims, and the Clash of Civilizations

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The life of Alexander Litvinenko is movie material. In November, 2006 he fell gravely ill in London from what would turn out to be Plutonium poisoning, and died shortly thereafter. British authorities traced a radioactive trail back to Russia, leading to a request for the extradition of two former KGB officers, which was refused.

Litvinenko, himself a former Soviet KGB, and later FSB (Russian federal security service) agent was granted political asylum in England after fleeing Russia in fear of arrest. While in Great Britain he was highly critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Among the nefarious accusations Litvinenko leveled against the Putin government was provoking the Danish Mohammed Cartoon controversy in a revenge operation carried out by the FSB through the hosting of proxy servers that disseminated the cartoon throughout the internet. This accusation has yet to be corroborated, but go with the idea, and in any case the result of the cartoon is not in doubt: outrage and weeks of protest across Europe and the rest of the world. Video clips of protesting Muslims were shown across media networks, and many Judeo-Christian Westerners had no idea what was going on or why some Muslims had been so provoked.
Or take the “Innocence of Muslims,” the youtube video that most recently stirred up controversy and protest. This had been available online since July 1st, and it was not until September 8th (timed to coincide with the September 11th anniversary) that it began to gain attention after being posted on a cleric’s website. This controversy was also orchestrated.

Again Muslims throughout the world would demonstrate against the insult and blaspheme this movie brought against Islam, and again the issue of relations between Muslims and non-Muslims was discussed throughout Western media as images of protest flashed across television screens.

What was the result of these episodes? Perhaps there were a few inroads made and some took this as an opportunity to create better cultural understanding. But most chose a team from the two distinct sides in an unresolved and misunderstood conflict. Nothing was settled, and it’s only a matter of time until the next provocation comes and the cycle will begin all over again. For some it’s a matter of respect for something dear, and for others it’s a matter of freedom of speech. But actually it is neither. In fact the crux of the issue is power and those who want to have and keep it.

Unfortunately the main benefactors of these two controversies are proponents of the “clash of civilizations” narrative. Their story is all to familiar: Islam and Christendom have been nemeses ever since the Crusades and are presently fighting each other for world domination. This narrative is epic and would make for a great show in a theater, but unfortunately these people aren’t film directors.

And reality is no movie, especially to people who suffer the consequences in conflicts inflamed with a religious narrative. Proponents of the clash of civilizations are looking for epic ways to describe local and regional conflicts that have much more to do with economics and its offshoots, politics and resources, than with religion, and they are the ones who gain. Religious provocations are disguised grabs for, and maintenance of, power, and they take advantage of peoples’ passionate feelings against their own advantage. When we inadvertently think of things in this narrative the primal “us” versus “them” instinct is engaged, and it becomes that much easier to support the next military action or disregard a civil war.



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George Galloway condemns council's rejection of Newham 'mega mosque' plan

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George Galloway took to the stage last night to re-launch his Respect party in Newham and try to force a local election after the council rejected plans for a so-called mega mosque.

Mr Galloway vowed to put a petition up on the Downing Street website, as soon as parliament resumes after its Christmas break, demanding Newham Council changes its decision on the mosque or changes its leadership.

Mr Galloway, a former MP for Bethnal Green and Bow and now the MP for Bradford West, said he believed Newham is ready for a political revival after Newham councillors voted down a planning application for a mosque holding more than 9,000 people in Canning Town, run by followers of the controversial Tablighi Jamaat movement.

More than 50 people turned out for the public meeting in Plaistow which also saw Lee Jasper, a former advisor to previous London Mayor Ken Livingstone and Yvonne Ridley, a war correspondent who converted to Islam after being captured by the Taliban, take to the stage.

Dressed all in black Mr Galloway told people gathered inside Harold Road Centre, off Green Street, that he would send one of his top people to challenge Newham Mayor Sir Robin Wales' leadership in Newham at the next local election. He did not rule out that he might take on the challenge himself.

If the Respect party does not succeed in forcing an early election in Newham, following the refusal of the mosque, then the party plans to put up a Mayoral candidate and councillors in 2014 when elections are due.

Mr Galloway said: "Newham is ready for a political revival and as far as we're concerned it begins here tonight. We know there is something rotten in this borough. New Labour has far too much power for the good of the borough.

He then hit out at the councillors decision to reject the mosque. "It's a big mosque because a lot of people want to pray to the almighty. What is wrong with praying?"

Mr Galloway went on to say that you can lend money at high interest rates at a time when "destructive" aspects of society such as alcohol and gambling is rife. "But you can't build a mosque," he said.

"There are 90,000 Muslims voters in Newham as Labour is going to find out at the next local election. And they have all just got a slap in the face by their own leadership."

He asked the audience if they thought the council would have turned down plans for a Catholic church or Jewish synagogue. "They did it because the people involved are Muslims. And because they thought they could get away with it," he said

And he warned New Labour they could suffer the same fate as in Tower Hamlets where he defeated their MP Oona King in 2005.

Mr Galloway said: "Oona King, who is now skating on ice, voted to attack Iraq when 90 per cent of her electorate where against the war because she thought she could get away with it because who else would they vote for in Tower Hamlets. There was only me so she thought there would just be a bit of rocking of the boat."

He branded the decision to reject the mosque an insult to Muslims in Newham. "We can't take the decision on the mosque lying down. All my experience in Bradford and Tower Hamlets tells me that if you fail first time try again. The leadership in Newham must be changed."

Newham previously had three Respect councillors but all sitting councillors are Labour.

Newham Recorder, 29 December 2012



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Man charged in connection with Thurnby Lodge pig's head incident

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A 23-year-old man has been charged in connection with an incident where a pig's head was left at a community centre being used as a Muslim place of worship.

The man was arrested at around 9:15pm yesterday (Friday December 28) and has tonight been charged with religiously/racially aggravated harrasment, alarm or distress under section 4 of the Crime and Disorder Act. He will appear in court in the New Year.

Three people, a woman age 40-years-old and two men aged 37 and 46, arrested earlier in the day on Friday remain on police bail pending further investigations.

The incident happened on Boxing Day at around 7.30am in the morning at the Community Centre on Thurncourt Road in Thurnby Lodge.

Officers would like to thank members of the community for their assistance in this investigation.

Leicester Police news report, 29 December 2012



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Gang Rape In India – Murder Charges Filed Against the Suspects

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New Delhi- The Indian police have charged six men for gang-raping a girl on a bus. The girl was thrown out of the moving bus and later died at a hospital in Singapore. A bus driver and six other people have been taken into custody at a police station in New Dehli.

This incident happened around two weeks ago, and it created quite an uproar amongst the people in India. Many protesters have hit the streets and they are demanding for protection for women not only in India, but all over the world. There is a high security alert in New Dehli and the police have barricaded some areas where rallies have already been held. The police banned protesting in Raisina Hills and closed off many roads. The authorities also ordered to close down ten of the metro stations.

The victim of this violence was taken to Singapore so that she could be treated for the injuries. After the medical team conducted the autopsy they reported, “She is in critical condition and has been treated brutally”. The chief executive of Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Dr.Loh stated “She suffered from organ failure also there were severe injuries on her brain and her body. She is a fighter to have survived the attack, but the extreme trauma was too much for her body to overcome”. Doctors reported that she had an abdominal infection and she was too weak to carry on living her life.

The authorities have kept the name of the woman a secret, but many protestors are calling her by the name “Damini”. This word is a Hindi word and it means “lightning”. They have named her this because there was also a Bollywood movie released in 1993 that had a similar story.

The attackers not only attacked her, but even caused harm to her male friend. They robbed these two of all of their possessions before they dumped them on the road. The friend is still recovering and will be discharged from the hospital soon.

The rape cases have increased day by day in India. The figure in 1921 was 2,487 and in 2011 it was 24,206. This shows that there are no strict rules that are being enforced and women are not being protected. There were around 572 rape cases reported in 2011 and this year there are over 600.

“Damini” may have left this world, but she will get justice. Women in India have reported that men do abuse women on public transport and it has become hard to travel in such times. India really has some work to do to protect the female population. Women are not treated equally in this country and the authorities can be blamed to some extent. Where are they when things like this happen? However, the Cabinet in India has planned to set up measures for the safety of women, so there may be some changes that we will see in a couple of months.



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Burma and What is Happening Now

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In the midst of fast-moving events in Syria and in the shadows of tyranny, oppression, lethality and massacres practiced by the Syrian regime, the Nation of Islam has been stabbed once again. Another waterfall of Muslim blood has been shed without any humanity. These stabs have been hurting the Muslim nation often and raise many questions about our disbanding and enemy’s plots and plans from all sides.

In the past weeks, Muslim advocates have been exposed to a gruesome massacre after being attacked by a Buddhist group that killed many Muslims. The media have posted terrible images of the victims of this massacre. The Myanmar government  turned a blind eye, and it seems that they agree with the criminal killers. Things did not stop at this massacre but transcended to burn homes and farms of a large number of Muslims and killed dozens by fire. All this happened with the help of police junta Buddhism. On  July 10, 2012 a curfew was imposed on villages that was inhabited by the Muslim minority, then the Buddhist groups covered by the Myanmar government started a campaign of ethnic cleansing and religious preference that killed 100 Muslims and injured about 300 people and burned nearly a thousand homes. Also, in this awful campaign they have been targeting scientists, doctors and intellectuals. Away from these events and tension, the main thing that everyone knows is that the Muslims there have been suffering for decades from the oppression and persecution of Buddhists via systematic violations. The group of Buddhists are committed against the Muslims there at different intervals, and force displacement, removal of citizenship, and the sophistication in the torture and “ethnic cleansing.” Unjust arrests and the demolition of mosques and Islamic schools have deprived Muslims from the lowest human rights.

This crisis situation suddenly forces us to call out to the face of the Islamic world to do their duty in helping these Muslims. It is the need that all humanitarian organizations, human rights preservation authorities, the Muslim World League, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and other organizations interested in the issues of Muslims take notice. To do their duty towards this growing injustice, the whole world needs to be with these people helping and supporting this Muslim minority so as not to be erased from existence. Muslim writers should not let this issue pass without reaching the world. Do not let the Muslim people be displaced, or exposed to extermination or persecution again.



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The Impact of Facebook on the Youth of Pakistan

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Facebook is a top social networking site that is used all over the world. This website allows people to get in touch with friends and family members near or far, and people are addicted to using it. It not only allows a person to contact people, but it helps an individual stay informed about the world around them. However, parents in Pakistan believe that this website has a negative impact on the youth.

The negative impact of Facebook is that it is distracting students from their school work. It is something that kids can spend hours and hours on. Facebook allows kids to play games, chat with their friends, and like their favorite pages. This addiction is the problem that is the concern of many Pakistani people. Pakistan has a very competitive environment. Students here compete to get into top colleges, universities, and to get the top jobs. In order to get these things you must have good results from your exams, and you must have some extracurricular activities. Facebooking does not count as an extracurricular activity. Kids have to strive and they work their bottoms off day and night, so that they can get to where they need to go. There are not equal opportunities for every student, so the children in this country have to push their studies to the limit. The more knowledge they have, the higher they will be able to score on their exams.

Parents are concerned because Facebook is distracting kids from what is really important.

Shenila, the mother of two sons who often use facebook says, “They are not paying any attention to school because they find Facebook entertaining. Facebook cannot help them earn big bucks. Not only are they neglecting their school work, but they do not listen to a word I say. I told both of my kids to turn off the laptop and offer their daily prayers. Both of them acted as if they had not heard me. This Facebook is ruining my children. Neglecting school work is one thing, but not offering prayers or respecting my authority is something serious!”

Facebook is affecting Shenila’s sons negatively; however, not everything is bad about this social network. Students can learn about Islam on Facebook, they can get help from friends on homework and so much more. This website should not be taken in a negative sense because networking and getting in touch with people is also very important for survival. However, if parents in Pakistan are having serious problems, then there is always the option of setting strict limits or blocking Facebook for good. These strict measures may not seem fair to your child now, but they will soon learn that the competitive environment in this country does not give opportunities to time wasters.



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New York Woman Charged with Anti-Muslim Hate Crime – Do Hate Crime Laws Stop Hate?

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A 31-year old woman, Erica Menendez of the Bronx in the United States, will be charged with second-degree murder a in connection with the death of a Muslim man who was pushed onto the tracks of a Queens subway station and crushed by an oncoming train.  According to the New York Times article, Ms. Menendez pushed the man onto the tracks because of the September 11th terrorist.  A question that has shown up recently on the Muslim Academy website and the comments is: what exactly is a hate crime?  I would like to take the question one step further and ask: Are hate crimes meaningless?

The United States has had a long and checkered past when it comes to civil rights.  From the beginnings of the native American genocide, through Slavery and anti-Chinese exclusion acts, through Japanese internment camps and the civil rights struggles of the 1960′s, America has had to come to grips with her reality as a melting pot of different cultures and religions.  The result hasn’t always been pretty, with crimes committed against different races, genders, and religions.  In order to protect special classes of people, various states and the Federal Government have enacted hate crime legislation.

Hate crime legislation makes it a federal offense to commit an act against a protected group out of hate.  That is to say, burning a church down because you are crazy is a normal crime, but burning a church down because you hate Christians is a ‘hate crime’.  Killing a Muslim man in the course of a robbery is a normal crime, but what Ms. Menendez did, by killing him because he is Muslim, raises the bar to a hate crime, with additional penalties that come with the fact that it is, in fact, a hate crime.

It is my humble opinion that hate crime legislation is useless and should be abandoned.  It is not our place to legislate hate.  A crime is a crime.  If you kill someone because you don’t like his outfit, is that somehow ok?  But killing him because of reasons that society has deemed inappropriate raises the bar so that you should receive extra punishment?  If Ms. Menendez had pushed the man onto a train because she thought it was funny, she should receive less punishment?  No.  A woman who pushes a man in front of a train for fun or spite should be given the exact same punishment as a woman who pushes a man in front of a train because he is Muslim.

Hate crime legislation is nothing more than an attempt by legislators to let the populace know that they are trying to do something about crimes like this.  But the legislation is a mere facade, an illusion with no real substance.  You can’t change people and you can’t punish people for hating.  You can punish acts but you shouldn’t punish a person any differently because you want to placate a certain subset of society.  We live in a new world where America says all people are created equal.  Well then American should really treat people equally, and not judge whether one type of murder is better than another.



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عرفنا مشاكلنا الاقتصادية.. أين الحل؟

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هل مصر مصابه بسرطان يصعب علاجه؟ أم ربما يكون تكون مصر مصابه بنزلة شعبية حادة تحتاج الى اهتمام خاص؟ أم تكون مصابة بفيروس الانفلونزا الذى يحتاج الى راحة؟من وجهت نظرى الشخصية مصر ليست مريضة بالمرض الأول ولا المرض الثانى فقط مصر تحتاج الى علاج رشيد من خبراء الاقتصاد متمكن بجانب الى قيادات سياسية متمكتة ولا غريب فى ذلك فقد تخرجت العديد من دول العالم من عصر التخلف الى عصر التنمية خلال الفترة من 1965 الى عام 2005 الأمر الذى لابد و أن نتوقف عنده هو أن هذة الدول تبنت استراتجيات متشابهة الى حد كبير ولقد ذكرت هذا من قبل فى أحد المقالات السابقه.

ثم جاء بعد ذلك عدد كبير من الدول الاخرى التى تعلمت منها و أضافت الى استراتجيات جديدة و ابداعات أخرى يجب دراستها و فهمها جيدا و على رأسها الصين و البرازيل و الهند و بتسوانا مثلا كانت من أفقر الدول فى العالم عام 1966 لكنها الان الأولى بين دول أفريقيا على مستوى التنمية.

هناك العديد من النقاط التى يمكن ذكرها باختصار:

أولا:لابد من وجود مخطط استراتيجى لبرامج التنمية فى الدولة.المهم أن هؤلاء يمتلكون خصائص علمية و تجارب حياتية تجعلهم العقل المفكر للدولة فى المجالات التنمية الاقتصادية و اجتماعية بشكل جيد وتكون عضويتهم فى هذا الفريق هى العمل الذى يعلمونه لابد أن هؤلاء العلماء يفكرون طوال الوقت فى كيفية النهوض بالمستوى الاقتصادى لمصر هذا النهوض الا بمشاركة فعالة من الحكومة المصرية و رئيس الدولة و جميع المؤسسات فى مصر.

كل عنصر من عناصر هذة النماذج التى تم الاشارة اليها ابتكر فريق عمل له هدف محدد و مساحة من العمل مرسومة بدقة يمكن تسميه هذا الفريق بفريق التخطيط الاستراتيجى الذى كان يسمى فى ماليزيا بفريق وحدة التخطيط الاقتصادى الذى بدأ فى أوائل الستينات بعدد 15 عضوا من مختلف المجالات نصفهم كان من الاشخاص المالزين المهاجرين.

هناك العديد من الدول كونت مثل هذة المجالس أو هذا الفريق من الخبراء وأصحاب العقول المتفتحة مثل شيلى التى كانت تطلق على هذا الفريق بفريق شيكاغو أيضا فى دولة مثل جورجيا فى عام 2007 احتلت قمة الاصلاحيين فى تقرير عالمى أشار فى هذا التقرير أن وزارة الاصلاح لديها 20 شخصا هدفهم هو التخطيط الاقتصادى و الاجتماعى لدولة جورجيا لم تفعل هذة الدولة الا شيء بسيط جدا و هو وضع أفضل العقول فى أماكن صنع القرار و الأفكار.

لا يمكن انكار دور هذا الفريق لكن هذا الدور محدد بدقة عالية فلا ينبغى أن يتسع أكثر من المسموح فيتحول هذا الفريق الى حكومة موازية أو أن يضيق هذا الدور الى أن يصبح مثل مجلس استشارى بلا أى دور ولا فائدة من وجودة على الاطلاق هذة هى مهارة صانع القرار.

فى مصر نحن فى حاجة مثل هذا الفريق للتخطيط و وضع الأفكار لتقدم هذا الوطن الذى يمر بظروف اقتصادية حرجة على من فى السلطة فى مصر أن تدرك حجم الأزمة الاقتصادية لمصر بدلا من التحدث فى وسائل الاعلام عن التقدم فى النمو و أن الأقتصاد يتقدم لأن هذا الكلام غير صحيح و من يريد معرفة الحقيقة الاطلاع على كافة التقارير التى صدرت من مؤسسات حكومية و غير حكومية و كلها تشير الى أزمة أقتصادية أن لم نقدم الحلول و نفكر فى حل الازمة بدلا من الكذب و التضليل فى أرقام أقتصادية غير صحيحة.

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Woman accused of hate crime murder on New York City subway

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A 31 year old woman was charged on Saturday 29th December of second-degree murder as a hate crime following the death of a man who was pushed onto the tracks of a subway station in Queens.

The New York Times reports:

"In a statement released by the district attorney's office, Mr. Brown quoted Ms. Menendez, 'in sum and substance,' as having told the police: 'I pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers I've been beating them up.' Ms. Menendez conflated the Muslim and Hindu faiths in her comments to the police and in her target for attack, officials said."

We have reported earlier on Pamela Geller's anti-Islam advertising campaign on the New York subway, a campaign that has deliberately attempted to generate racist fear and hatred.

Defending their right to be as offensive as possible to Muslims, Geller et al constantly claim the right to 'freedom of speech'.

Imraan Siddiqi of CAIR, who runs the Stop Islamophobia Now website, took this up on Twitter: "Since when did the subway become the existential battleground, which to fight ones' ideological battles?"



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West Bank Barrier – A Brief Story

on Friday, December 28, 2012

Since June 16, 2002, the Israeli Government has been constructing a West Bank Barrier in Jerusalem. The concrete wall is 750 kilometers in length and eight meters high. Thick concrete walls are equipped with trenches, barbed wire, electrified wire, watch towers, electronic sensors, video cameras, unmanned aircraft, sniper towers, and roads for patrol vehicles. The point is: there is no possibility to penetrate the wall.

The barrier wall was built in a zig zag shape through ten of 11 districts; across all cities in the West Bank. Construction of the first phase started from the west to north of Jerusalem along 145 kilometers and was completed in July, 2003. The second phase is underway, ranging from eastern West Bank to southern Jerusalem. This wall needed a lot of funding, but the total cost of construction was never made public. For the barrier wall maintenance alone, Israel has to spend U.S $4.7 million/mile. So the total funds needed for the maintenance of the West Bank Barrier along the 750 kilometers is U.S. $ 3.4 billion.

Construction of the barrier wall was not without argument. In 2004, the International Court in The Hague issued a resolution stating that the barrier wall was illegal and should be dismantled. But Israel did not heed the resolution and kept continuing the construction. The argument was that the West Bank Barrier limits the mobilization of the Palestinian people. Not everyone can get out of the barrier wall. If they can, they must go through a lot of inspection procedures in layers which are strictly guarded. The residents inside the wall were blocked.

Moreover, the results of the Palestinian elections in 2007 were won by Hamas, which upset Israel greatly. Because of this, Israel closed across the borders of sea, air, and land between the Gaza Strip with the surrounding area since mid June, 2007. This included the Erez crossing and Sovia (Gaza-Israel), Rafah (Gaza-Egypt), and Karen Shalom (Gaza-Egypt-Israel). Passenger traffic, goods, and services are very limited. The supply of food, water, electricity, medicine, and other materials were depleted. The same thing also happened in West Bank.

It not only blockades daily needs, the barrier wall separates lovers from their partners. It also separates fathers from their families. It separates people from their work to earn a living. It blockades the water way that causes the water crisis in the West Bank. Most importantly, Israel is basically building a ‘prison’ for the innocent residents of Palestine.

The construction of the West Bank Barrier is not without protest. The first argument came from the territory surrounded by the Barrier Wall. Residents do not want to be blocked. The second challenge comes from the international community. Of course, Israel’s isolation is irritating humanity.

The Berlin Wall, which separated Germany into West and East Germany, closed long ago. The fall of the Berlin Wall was considered as the start of a new democratic world. But actually it wasn’t. Israel commits the same behavior as the NAZI’s with repression, dictators, tyranny, and cruelty by building a blockade wall that divides Palestinian territory.

Bibliography:
Assegaf, Faisal. Ironi Palestina. Jakarta: Hamas Lovers. 2010.
http://www.atjehcyber.net/2012/04/tahukah-anda-tembok-pemisah-palestina.html diakses pada tanggal 20 Desember 2012



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Friday Prayer in the U.S. Capitol building

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The U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C. is a prominent place for Friday Prayer (Salat al-Juma’). At first, it may be surprising that a country like the United States, which is sometimes said to be at war with Islam, has arranged for Friday Prayer to be held in its national capitol building. But America is home to people of all faiths, and Islam is respected here the same as in the Muslim world.

Islam mandates that noon-time prayer on Friday should be performed by a congregation of worshippers in a mosque or another suitable facility. This practice is reported by the Muslim source al-Tabari to have begun in Medina, rather than Mecca, and made obligatory by the Prophet Muhammad. In countries with predominantly Muslim populations, communal business can be temporarily suspended during Friday Prayer. Although this is not often the case in America, the importance of Friday Prayer for practicing Muslims is the same.

The growing number of Muslim-Americans also means that Islamic practices are growing in prominence in American society. Professional life in America is fast paced and this can make it difficult for Muslim employees to perform daily prayers due to scheduling conflicts. Increasingly, companies are recognizing the significance of Islamic prayer times, and employees are allowed paid breaks to perform religious duties. In those instances where companies have forbidden employees from these breaks, legal suits have resulted, with the courts invariably supporting the Muslim employees.

The U.S. Government employs more than 1.6 million workers, many of whom are Muslim. In the U.S. Capitol building, which contains the House of Representatives and the Senate that comprise the U.S. federal legislature, Muslim employees began holding Friday Prayer regularly in the 1990s. Today, this is a celebrated event open to everyone in the community.

Islam in American Politics: An advertisement by the Democratic Party.

Islam in American Politics: An advertisement by the Democratic Party.

Like at other locations in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries, I have attended Friday Prayer in the U.S. Capitol. Men and women come from throughout the city to congregate in a central conference room. Some arrive in everyday clothes, others in suits or executive dress attire. When the prayer service begins, the khatib speaks in English and Arabic. Afterwards, many people move into the nearby cafeteria, where they sit and converse with their non-Muslim co-workers and friends. Officially, Islam is now as American as apple pie.



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Islam Di Belanda #2: Masjid Komunitas Turki

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Dalam artikel sebelumnya diceritakan bahwa di Belanda, khususnya kota Groningen terdapat dua masjid, yaitu masjid komunitas Turki dan masjid komunitas Maroko. Pada artikel ini, akan diceritakan tentang masjid komunitas Turki dan pada artikel selanjutnya akan diceritakan juga mengenai masjid komunitas Maroko.

Masjid komunitas Turki sebenarnya memiliki nama resmi, yaitu “Eyup Sultan Camii: Turkse Islamitische Culturele Vereniging”, yang mana tertulis di pintu gerbang masjid tersebut. Nama Eyup Sultan Camii merujuk pada masjid terindah dan termegah yang ada di Turki. Orang Indonesia biasa menyebut masjid ini dengan sebutan masjid komunitas Turki karena jamaah di sana didominasi oleh warga Turki.

Bangunan masjid ini dulunya adalah gereja, tapi karena gereja ini kekurangan jamaah, maka bangunan ini pun disewakan pemerintah kota kepada warga Turki. Di Groningen  sendiri (dan Belanda pada umumnya) terdapat banyak sekali gereja yang kekurangan jamaah. Kondisi ini mirip dengan Indonesia yang memiliki banyak masjid, tapi sepi peminat (baca: jamaah). Kita berharap semoga tidak ada satupun rumah Allah di Indonesia yang gulung tikar dan disewakan menjadi gereja.

Bangunan masjid ini terdiri dari dua lantai. Lantai satu yang disewa oleh warga Turki digunakan untuk tempat ibadah, sedangkan lantai dua (disewa pihak lain) digunakan untuk tempat bermain futsal. Maka jangan heran jika sedang sholat, anda akan mendengar suara hentakan kaki yang cukup keras di atas kepala anda. Masjid ini terdiri dari beberapa ruangan, yaitu toko, tempat wudhu, toilet, ruang menonton tv, ruang kantor, ruang rapat (pertemuan) sekaligus ruang olahraga, dan ruang utama untuk sholat.

Toko di masjid ini tidak buka setiap hari, hanya hari tertentu saja ketika jamaah sedang banyak berdatangan, misalnya hari Jumat. Toko ini menjual berbagai macam makanan, buah-buahan, dan sayuran yang semuanya halal. Penjual di toko ini adalah orang Turki. Dia hanya berbahasa Turki dan Belanda. Jika anda tidak bisa keduanya, maka anda bisa menggunakan bahasa isyarat.

Tempat wudhu di masjid Turki sangat kecil, hanya berkapasitas tiga orang. Uniknya, tempat wudhu di sini berbentuk wastafel yang tingginya sudah disesuaikan. Di depan wastafel disediakan kursi untuk duduk. Jadi, jamaah berwudhu dalam posisi duduk. Di sini juga disediakan tisu untuk mengelap kaki agar tidak basah ketika memasuki ruang sholat.

Ruang menonton tv biasa digunakan jamaah untuk kumpul-kumpul setelah atau sebelum sholat. Masjid Turki ini hanya buka pada waktu-waktu sholat, biasanya setengah jam sesudah dan sebelum waktu sholat. Di luar waktu itu, masjid akan dikunci dari luar. Maka dari itu, jamaah tidak bisa berkumpul lama-lama di ruangan ini, kecuali pada hari Jum’at. Pada hari ini, masjid dibuka hampir seharian sehingga jamaah bisa bersilaturahim lebih lama. Setiap selesai sholat Jum’at, biasanya takmir atau DKM (Dewan Kemakmuran Masjid) menyediakan makanan ringan dan buah-buahan gratis yang bisa disantap bersama-sama. Selain itu, satu hal lain yang menarik pada hari Jum’at di masjid ini adalah khutbah Jum’atnya yang menggunakan bahasa Turki. Sekali lagi, karena jamaah di masjid ini didominasi oleh warga Turki dan masjidnya pun sebenarnya adalah “milik” mereka, maka khutbahnya pun menggunakan bahasa mereka. Kadang hal ini bisa disalahgunakan menjadi argumen kuat bagi para jamaah non Turki yang suka tertidur ketika khotib naik mimbar.

Ruang selanjutnya yang ada di dalam masjid ini adalah ruang kantor. Ruang ini sebenarnya jarang digunakan karena masjid pun jarang dibuka, meskipun tetap ada kegiatan operasional yang dilakukan. Sedangkan ruang pertemuan biasanya digunakan untuk acara-acara khusus (biasanya dipakai untuk pertemuan orang-orang Turki). Di ruangan ini juga ada beberapa alat olahraga, seperti meja billiard, meja ping-pong, dan permainan sepak bola mini yang dimainkan dengan tangan.

Terakhir, ruang utama masjid. Ruang ini berkapasitas cukup besar, yaitu sekitar 200 orang. Di bagian belakang ada ruangan lagi untuk jamaah perempuan. Ruang utama ini beralaskan karpet merah yang sangat tebal. Typically Turkish (sangat Turki sekali). Ruangan ini sangat bersih dan nyaman. Jamaah yang mau masuk ke ruangan utama diharuskan memakai kaos kaki. Peraturan ini secara jelas dituliskan di pintu masuk ruang utama. Bagi jamaah yang berani melanggar akan ditegur oleh takmir baik dalam bahasa Turki atau pun Belanda.

Di dalam ruangan utama ada ruangan kecil yang digunakan oleh imam untuk mengganti pakaian. Imam di masjid ini memiliki seragam khusus untuk memimpin sholat berjamaah. Seragam yang digunakan bentuknya seperti jubah sultan dalam film-film. Ditambah dengan penutup kepala yang khas, penampilan imam tak ubahnya penampilan seorang sultan. Performa Turki memang terlihat sedikit berbeda daripada umat Islam lainnya. Mereka terlihat lebih mewah. Performa seperti itu bisa jadi merupakan sisa-sisa peninggalan kejayaan kesultanan yang telah runtuh.

About the author

Sulung dari tiga bersaudara. Sedang belajar Psikologi. Hobinya belajar dan main sama anak-anak.



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Operasi Timah Panas: Hari Ini Empat Tahun Lalu

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Lebih dari 1.300 penduduk Palestina di Jalur Gaza tewas selama 22 hari serangan Israel dari laut, udara dan darat. Penduduk Palestina di Gaza tidak punya tempat lagi untuk melarikan diri karena Israel telah menutup perbatasan sejak dua tahun sebelumnya. Serangan Israel merupakan bencana bagi 1,5 juta penduduk Gaza yang mayoritas merupakan pengungsi perempuan dan anak-anak.

Tepat empat tahun lalu, dimulai pada 27 Desember 2008 hingga 18 Januari 2009, militer Israel melakukan serangan di Jalur Gaza, yang disebut Operasi Cast Lead – Operasi Timah Panas. Kerugian yang diderita masyarakat setempat belum pernah terjadi sebesar ini sebelumnya dalam satu kali operasi serangan: 1.390 jiwa penduduk Palestina tewas, padahal 759 orang di antaranya tidak mengambil bagian dalam permusuhan. Dari jumlah tersebut, 318 nya adalah anak-anak yang berumur di bawah 18 tahun. Lebih dari 5.300 penduduk Palestina terluka, 350 orang dari mereka luka serius. Israel juga menyebabkan kerusakan besar pada perumahan, bangunan industri, pertanian, infrastruktur pembangkit listrik, sanitasi, dan kesehatan, yang tadinya pun sudah di ambang kehancuran sebelum serangan. Menurut angka yang dirilis PBB, pada Operasi Timah Panas ini Israel menghancurkan lebih dari 3.500 pemukiman sehingga sekitar 20.000 orang kehilangan tempat tinggal.

Selama diserang, pihak Palestina yang diwakili Hamas juga menembakkan roket dan mortir ke Israel. Serangan balasan ini menewaskan tiga warga sipil Israel dan satu anggota pasukan keamanan Israel, dan membuat puluhan orang terluka. Sembilan tentara Israel tewas dalam Jalur Gaza. Lebih dari 100 tentara terluka, satu kritis, dan 20 terluka serius.

Satu setengah tahun pasca Operasi Timah Panas selesai, daerah yang terkena dampak paling luas di Jalur Gaza belum dibangun kembali. Pada Juni 2010, Israel melakukan pembatasan masuknya produk ke Gaza termasuk bahan konstruksi. Bahan konstruksi hanya diperbolehkan untuk proyek-proyek pembangunan yang berada di bawah pengawasan internasional. Pembatasan ini mencegah pembangunan kembali rumah-rumah yang hancur dan rusak, dan lebih dari 20.000 orang harus terus hidup dalam kondisi penuh sesak di dalam apartemen sewaan, tenda-tenda, atau menumpang. Pembatasan masuknya bahan konstruksi juga mencegah rehabilitasi infrastruktur listrik yang rusak sehingga 90 persen warga Gaza saat itu menderita pemadaman listrik hingga 12 jam sehari. Pemadaman ini terjadi sejak Israel membom pembangkit listrik Gaza pada tahun 2006 dan ditambah lagi selama Operasi Timah Panas telah terjadi perselisihan antara Hamas dan Otoritas Palestina mengenai siapa yang menanggung tanggung jawab untuk menutupi biaya bahan bakar.

Distribusi setengah juta liter bahan bakar ke Jalur Gaza pada 25 Agustus 2010 berhasil mengurangi durasi pemadaman listrik, yang sekarang berlangsung selama 4-6 jam sehari. Pemadaman listrik sangat memengaruhi kualitas pelayanan kesehatan di Jalur Gaza, karena menyebabkan kerusakan pada peralatan medis dan terbatasnya ketersediaan listrik untuk pengoperasiannya. Sistem kesehatan tidak dapat berfungsi dengan baik karena kurangnya peralatan medis maupun aliran listrik. Sehingga pasien yang kritis mengalami kesulitan menerima perawatan medis yang diperlukan. Kurangnya infrastruktur juga mengganggu akses ke pengolahan air minum dan air limbah. Sekitar 3.000 penduduk Palestina di bagian utara Jalur Gaza tidak memiliki akses terhadap air, dan 80 juta liter aliran limbah mentah disalurkan melalui saluran terbuka.

Saya sedang tidak ingin menghakimi siapa yang bersalah dalam hal ini. Saya hanya ingin mengatakan bahwa operasi semacam ini tidak boleh terjadi lagi di pojok manapun di muka bumi.

Sumber: http://nevercastleadagain.wordpress.com/

About the author

Writer is a free-writer and free-reader. Avoids imported foods and capitalist products. Works at radiobuku.com.



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New York: veiled Muslim woman sues over exclusion from buses

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A Muslim woman claims she's being booted off city buses because of the way she dresses.

Maria Louis, of Hollis, Queens, says she has twice been kicked off buses by MTA and NYPD personnel – the agencies she's suing in Brookyn federal court – after people berated her for her religious garb. Her clothing, which she calls a "bolka," is a "long, flowing black garment that covers her completely – including a mesh section over her eyes that allows her to see," the suit says.

The first incident happened April 3 in Jamaica, when a passenger yelled at her and the driver refused to move until she got off, the suit says. The next month, she claims, a passenger hit her in the face after another lectured her, and police forced her to get off the bus.

New York Post, 27 December 2012



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Thurnby Lodge: Pig's head left outside community centre

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After facing months of harassment the Muslims of Thurnby Lodge faced a new horror in the campaign of hatred against the proposed prayer centre at the abandoned scout hut in Thurnby Lodge when a pig's head was left for them on Wednesday morning.

Muslims have faced nightly protests at the community centre they use for prayers at the moment, sometimes attended by the BNP and EDL. These are racist, anti-Muslim organizations known for their extreme views and violence at which 9 people so far have been arrested.

Though local Muslims have every sympathy for the feelings of non-Muslims in our community who feel neglected by the authorities and powerless to stop things getting worse on our streets, we do feel they are being manipulated by far right groups active in Thurnby Lodge recently.

One of the organisers of the anti-Muslim campaign is EDL member Chris Hopewell and who is pictured in the Leicester Mercury handing in a petition. Though he looks respectable in the picture, he is normally more than willing to bare his nationalist tattooed chest when trying to intimidate Muslims in Leicester city centre.

The Imam, Moulana Mohammed Lockhat said: "So far 9 arrests have been made which just goes to show the kind of people we are dealing with."

"There are protests almost daily around Isha (evening prayers) time just to intimidate & harass brothers who come for salaah (formal prayers). We are shocked and saddened by this development which is indeed a discriminating and hurtful act of religious intimidation", he added.

The pig's head did not stop fajr (early morning) prayers going ahead at the community centre, and it is a common misconception amongst the ill-educated thugs who make up far right anti-Muslim movements that the presense of pig remains or blood will some how stop Muslims from building mosques or Muslim community centres.

"Very sadly for those who tried to offend the Muslims, this has just increased our commitment to stay right here," said the Imam.

Volunteers for Outreach4Islam as well as other Leicester based Islamic groups are planning on increasing their efforts to call the non-Muslims of Thurnby Lodge to dialogue and understanding, and to separate those with understandable worries and complaints from the narrow minded violent organisations like the EDL.

Outreach4Islam press release, 27 December 2012

The racist minority among the white population of Thurnby Lodge is not only filled with hatred towards Muslims but is openly hostile to any non-white presence on the estate. Before Christmas, when Leicestershire's only female black firefighter, Velma Simms-Stewart, was on the estate collecting money for charity, one white inhabitant told his daughter not to give money to "the darkie".

Update:  The EDL's Leicester division have offered their own explanation of the appearance of the pig's head – it was the work of anti-fascists!

Update 2:  See "Pig's head dumped at Thurnby Lodge centre used for prayers by Muslims", Leicester Mercury, 28 December 2012



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Athens – the only EU capital city without a mosque

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Golden Dawn anti-mosque posterMark Lowen has an interesting piece at BBC News on the struggle by the Muslim population of Athens to build the first mosque in the city.

As things stand, Muslim are forced to pray in cramped underground prayer rooms, in breach of the law and facing the threat of attacks by the anti-migrant fascist party Golden Dawn.

"It is a very big tragedy for us Muslims that there is no mosque here," Syed Mohammad Jamil of the Pakistan-Hellenic Society is quoted as saying. "Greece produced democracy and civilisation and the respect of religion – but they don't respect our Muslims to provide us with a regular, legal mosque."

While the Greek Church is increasingly sympathetic to Muslims' need for a proper place of worship, Lowen interviews Bishop Seraphim of Piraeus who claims that "Greece suffered five centuries of Islamic tyranny under Turkish rule and building a mosque would offend the martyrs who freed us". Seraphim, who is notorious for his far-right views, adds that "most Muslims have come here illegally" and their aim is to "Islamise Europe".

In response to the suggestion that his position appears Islamophobic, out of touch with a multicultural EU, Seraphim says: "We are not a multicultural country. We are one Greek nation and everything else is an invention of the 'new order' and of Zionism. They are trying to corrupt our character."

On the streets of Athens, Lowen finds that opinions are mixed. One interviewee opines: "We must not have a mosque here. This is a Christian country and if they want a mosque, they can go back to their own countries and have one." Another responds: "Muslims should have their temple. Greek immigrants in other countries build their own churches and perform their own religion, so it's hypocritical."

A disused army barracks near the city centre has now been chosen as a site for a mosque that could accommodate 500 people. The government insists the state-funded project will go ahead. Stratos Simopoulos, the secretary general of the ministry for development, states: "In the past, there was a fear in some segments of Greek society about constructing a mosque but we must overcome that fear."



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Norway Massacre due to Islamization

on Thursday, December 27, 2012

A tragic massacre occurred in Norway recently, the reason was the fear of Islam prevailing in the minds of the people. Islam is being considered a ruthless and violent religion and is thought to be dangerous for other communities who don’t care for the fundamentals of Islam. The massacre happened in Oslo and nearby Utøya, and took the lives of at least 92 innocent people.

Anders Behring Breivik (32) made his confession statement for the deadly massacre which he had deliberately planned in Oslo and Utøya. Anders Behring Breivik published a manuscript over the internet where he shed light upon the significant points regarding the killing of the innocent people.

Anders Behring Breivik confessed that it took him nine long years to plan the deadly act, the act included the bombing and brutal killing of at least 92 innocents in Oslo and nearby Utøya. Anders Behring Breivik, Christian by belief, launched a 1500 page manuscript in which he explained all of the detailsof his act and the reasons why he did it.

The manuscript he published over the internet explained his intentions. Breivik called himself as  a patriot Christian and was unhappy with the Islamization prevailing in Norway and the Western countries. The manuscript explained the following terms in his eyes:

Western European patriot,

I’m hereby sending you my new compendium (3 books); “2083 – A European Declaration of Independence”, in Word 97 format, which includes the following main topics:

1. The ongoing Islamization of Western Europe

2. The current state of the Western European Resistance Movements (anti-Marxist/anti-Jihad movements)

3. Solutions for Western Europe and how we, the cultural conservative resistance, should move forward in the coming decades

4. And covering all, highly relevant topics including solutions and strategies for all of the 8 different political fronts

The compendium/book presents advanced ideological, practical, tactical, organizational and rhetorical solutions and strategies for all patriotic-minded individuals/movements. The book will be of great interest to you whether you are a moderate or a more dedicated cultural conservative/nationalist.

Further down in the manuscript it says:

Multiculturalism (cultural Marxism/political correctness), as you might know, is the root cause of the ongoing Islamisation of Europe which has resulted in the ongoing Islamic colonization of Europe through demographic warfare and conquest. This compendium presents the solutions and explains exactly what is required of each and every one of us in the coming decades. Everyone can and should contribute in one way or another, it’s just a matter of will. 

Anders Behring Breivik, in his manuscript, detailed his agendas. According to him, the sprawling of Islam will be dangerous for the future lives of the people in the Western world. Behind the outrageous act of massacre by Anders Behring Breivik, the main reasoning happens to be the fear of Islam. We mustn’t deny the fact that the media has portrayed Islam so negatively that the general public encompasses fear regarding them, and they are bound to take such measures to kill innocent people in their self war.



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Mubarak’s Men are out of Jail and Egyptians can’t Trust President Morsi

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Muslim Brothers Showed Their Christmas Spirit

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Giving out their colleague Filipinos the character of sharing, Muslim physicians from different regions have helped to take over employment swings throughout Christmas celebration voluntarily, presenting their Christian fellow citizens a chance to commemorate the special event.

“They supposed Muslims never commemorate Christmas in any case, thus Muslims preferred those days so that physicians and health workers in these districts will be able to have a rest and expend Christmas with their relatives”, hospital worker Mary Divene Hilario told to the media on December 17.

Distressed through the tropical storm that knock Mindanao prior to this week, health examinations have been place on soaring awareness, that makes it complicated for Christian physicians to acquire holidays to observe Christmas with their folks. However, the circumstances twisted subsequent to Muslim physicians from Provincial Health Office in Mindanao who take over.

In the region of Davao, a group of physicians and nurses from Maguindanao, a region that also developed into the target for health operations throughout the wars of 2000’s. The missions were traveled by as far as 200 miles in eleven hours of travel by bus just to conduct health duties to the victims of the typhoon Pablo. Headed by Dr. Tahir Sulaik, a provincial health officer, he brought a squad of almost 100 and 6 of them undergone a car misfortune in Baganga in the noon of December 18 and had to be treated in the hospital. The six members, five doctors and a driver were treated first in Cateel regional hospital and transferred to Davao City during that night, travelling almost 7 hours.

A number of health squads from the administration divisions outside the district have arrive to offer medical services, as well, to the tropical storm victims for example squads from Iligan City, Pagadian City, Metro Manila, and Sorsogon Province. Squads from not-public clusters have as well been performing their individual health tasks.

In spite of the Muslim venture, general practitioners’ deficiency continues to be a crisis in the areas of tropical storm victims. Tablets and medications aren’t a dilemma, “We have more than enough, but we still need doctors.” Hilario added.

Tropical storm Bopha, or named Pablo in Philippine territory of responsibility, has knock Philippines from December 3-10, exterminating more than a thousand inhabitants. It was the toughest typhoon to ever strike the Southern Philippines, formulating landfall in 5th category tremendous tropical storm with speed of 259 kilometer per hour.
Nurses made clear that there are zero occurrences of sicknesses, however recognized there were 3 alleged cases of measles in a small town of Compostela Valley region. They uttered immunization squads from the local headquarters and positioned to the district on December 15 and to the small towns of New Bataan on December 16.



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Mga Sayaw ng mga Pangkat Etnikong Muslim sa Mindanao

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Bukod sa mga makukulay na kontribusyon ng ibat-ibang rehiyon nito, ang Mindanao ay tahanan ng mga pinakamalaking pang-kultural na minorya sa Pilipinas, ang mga Muslim. Dala ito ng mga Javanese at mga negosyante ng Gitnang Silangang Asya, ang Islam ay ang rehiyon na may tinatayang 20 porsyento ng populasyon ng Pilipinas. Sila ay kilala dahil sa kanilang mistisismo, pang hari o reyna, at ganda na nakikita sa kanilang mga musika at mga sayaw. Sinamahan ng agong at kulintang, ang mga sayaw ng Muslim sa Pilipinas ay minarkahan sa pamamagitan ng buhol-buhol na mga kamay at paggalaw ng mga braso na may mga kumikunang na mga kasuotan.

Isa ang Pangalay sa mga katutubong sayaw ng mga Badjao, minsan kilala sa pangalang “ Sea Gypsies”. Ang Pangalay ay isang sayaw na binigyang-diin ang liksi ng itaas na katawan. Ang maindayog na pagtalbog ng mga balikat na may sabay-sabay na alternatibong pag-alon ng mga balikat ang pangunahing kilusan ng sayaw na ito. Ito ay karaniwang ginaganap sa kasalan at iba pang mga sosyal na pagtitipon.

Ang Asik ay pang-isahang aliping sayaw na ginaganap sa pamamagitan ng isang aliping may dalang payong na kinukuha ang loob ng kanyang among sultan. Ang babae ay may suot na mahabang kuko at sumasayaw at pumuwesto na parang manika ang galaw. Karaniwang sinasayaw ito bago sumayaw ng Singkil.

Ang sayaw na Singkil ay kinuha ang pangalan mula sa mga kampanilya na sinusuot sa mga bukong-bukong ng muslim na prinsisa. Marahil isa sa pinakamatagal sa mga totoong pilipinong sayaw, ang Singkil ay isinalaysay ang mahabang tulang “Darangan” ng mga taong Maranao ng Mindanao. Ang mahabang tulang ito ay sinulat noong ika-14 siglo na nagsasabi tugkol sa tadhana ni Prinsesa Gandingan. Siya ay nawala sa gitna ng kagubatan sa panahon ng isang malakas na lidol na sanhi ng mga diwata ng gubat. Ang magkasabay na palakpak ng magka-ekis na kawayan ay kumakatawan sa mga punong bumabagsak, na kanyang matikas na iniiwasan. Sa katapusan, siya ay iniligtas ng isang prinsepe. Ang mga mananayaw ay nakasuot ng taimtim na mukha at dakilaing paggalaw at sumasayaw ng mabagal sa simula at dahan-dahang bumibilis na may mga apir na sumisimbolo sa mga hangin na nagpapatunay na mapalad. Kapag ginaganap na ito ng mga mayayamang prinsesa ng Lanao, sila ay karaniwang sinasamahan ng isang naghihintay na babae, na siyang may hawak sa magandang pinalamutiang payong na nakapayong sa ulo ng prinsesa saan man siya magpunta. Ngayon, ang mga prinsesa ng kapuluan ng Sulu ay kinakailangan upang magturo ng pinakamahirap at marangal na sayaw na ito.

Ang mga Yakan ay mga muslim ng pangkat etniko sa kabundukan ng Mindanao. Sila ay nakasuot ng mga pinagbuting habing kasuotan na mahigpit sa kanilang katawan. Kasama sa kanilang sayaw ang kumplikadong galaw ng mga kamay at paa. Sa sayaw na ito, ang lalaki ay kanyang kakalasan ang mga nakabalot sa katawan ng kanyang mapapangasawa habang nakasayaw. Ang kanilang mga mukaha ay parehong puno ng putting pintura upang itago ang kanilang mga pagkakakilanlan mula sa mga masasamang espirito.



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Isang Pinoy at Tatlong Iba Pa, Nahuling Nakipagsabwatan sa Terorista

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Ang isang reklamong kriminal ay binuksan ng mga awtoridad na nagbigay ng akusasyon sa apat na lalaking naninirahan sa California na nakipagsabwatan sa mga bahagi ng mga gawaing terorista na may layuning maghanda para sa pag-atake nito sa mga Amerikano sa ibang bansa, kabilang na ang mga tauhan ng militar ng Estados Unidos.

Ang pinaghihinalaang pasimuno ay kinikilalang si Sohiel Omar Kabir, 34 taong gulang, ang siya ring inakusahan na nag-recruite kay Ralph De Leon, isang Pilipino na may edad na 23, at si Miguel Alejandro Santana Vidriales, 21 taong gulang. Ang dalawang ito ay nagbalik Islam sa ilalim ng impluwensya ni Kabir at sila rin ang nag-arkila sa ikaapat nilang kasapi na si Arifeen David Gojali, 21 taong gulang.

Sa mga pag-uusap na ikinalat o itinala sa pamamagitan ng isang hindi nagpakilalang impormante ng FBI, si De Leon at Santana ay nagsalita tungkol sa paglalakbay nila sa Afghanistan upang sumali kay Kabir at makipag-ugnayan sa isang marahas na “jihad”. Sabi nito na kanilang inilarawan ang mga potensyal na target para sa pag-atake kabilang na ang mga kampo ng militar ng Estados Unidos.

Ayon sa FBI, si De Leon at si Santana, kasama si Gojali, ay gumawa ng ilang pagbisita sa pasanayan ng pagpapaputok at sa pasilidad ng “paint ball” sa Los Angeles upang makapagsanay bilang bahagi ng paghahanda para sa teroristang pagsasanay.

Si Kabir, isang mamamayan ng Estados Unidos ay naninirahan muna sa isang bayan ng Pomona, Los Angeles bago pumunta sa ibang bansa nitong 2011. Siya ay ipinanganak sa Afghanistan at naninilbihan sa Pwersang Panghimpapawid ng Estados Unidos noong taong 2000 hanggang 2001. Siya ay nahuli sa Afghanistan at nananatili sa kustodiya doon.
Ang tatlong kasamahan, lahat ay nakalista na nakatira sa Katimugang California sa Inland Empire, ay naaresto sa labas ng isang apartment sa bayan ng Chino, dalawang araw bago sila balak na lumipad mula Mexico patungong Turkey at doon na lilipad patungong Afghanistan. Paliwanag ng FBI na walang posibilidad na makakasakay sila ng eroplano doon. Ginawa nila ang paunang pagharap sa hukom noong araw ng kanilang pagkadakip bago sila hinusgahan ng pederal na hukom sa Riverside.

Si Deleon, isang legal na permanenteng resident e ng Estados Unidos, ay ipinanganak sa Pilipinas. Si Santana rin ay isang legal na permanenteng resident eng Estados Unidos, taga Mexico na may nakabinbing mga aplikasyon ng pagkamamamayan ng Estados Unidos, habang si Gojali ay isang Vietnamese na mamamayan narin ng bansa. Ang tatlo ay haharap sa hatol na labing limang taon ng pagkakabilanggo kung napatunayan na sila ay nakikipagsabwatan upang magbigay ng materyal na suporta sa mga terorista. Habang ang lider na si Kabir ay hindi pa malaman kung kailan ang unang paghaharap sa korte at nananatili pa hanggang ngayon sa Afghanistan.



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Colorado faith leaders combat anti-Muslim ads with 'Love Thy Neighbor' campaign

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Standing in Denver's main mosque on Christmas Eve, Christian, Muslim and Jewish community leaders launched an ad campaign promoting understanding and tolerance between the religious groups. "Love Thy Neighbor" ads on Denver buses are intended to combat anti-Muslim ads produced by the American Freedom Defense Initiative. The controversial group attracted attention with hateful posters in New York subways and DC metro stations.

The Colorado Muslim Society paid $5,000 for the "Love Thy Neighbor" ads, which focus on love as "a shared concept in the three religions." Other religious leaders and interfaith groups then publicly embraced the message:

They said the ad they unveiled — at a time on the calendar devoted to love and understanding — is meant to respond to recent national tragedies and to replace anti-Muslim ads placed on buses last month.

"Our country is in the midst of a lot of divisions," Temple Emanuel Senior Rabbi Joe Black said. "Hatred is only going to further violence and the breakdown of society."

Denver's tolerance initiative follows the lead of many faith groups around the country protesting the Islamophobic ads. The Denver ads proclaim: "9,757 Deadly Islamic Attacks Since 9/11/01. It's Not Islamophobia. It's Islamorealism." Colorado's religious leaders also stood together in solidarity after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

Public renunciation of anti-Muslim bigotry is much needed, as hate crimes against Muslims have held steady at a record high. Meanwhile, anti-Islamic rhetoric has become commonplace in mainstream media.

Think Progress, 25 December 2012



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Islamification of USA still some way off: Gallup poll finds 77% of Americans are Christian, 0.6% Muslim

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America is largely a Christian nation with 77 percent of adults identifying themselves as Christian, according to a Gallup survey, while only 0.6 percent identified as Muslim.

"The United States remains a largely Christian nation; more than 9 in 10 Americans who have a religious identity are affiliated with a Christian religion," reported Gallup on Dec. 24. "There has been little change in this portrait of religious identity in the U.S. from last year."

Gallup interviewed more than 326,000 Americans between January and November 2012 and found that 77.3 percent identified with a Christian faith: 51.9 percent Protestant/Other Christian; 23.3 percent Catholic; and 2.1 percent Mormon.

Another 1.7 percent identified as Jewish; 0.6 percent identified as Muslim; and 2.6 percent as "Other/non-Christian."

The number of American adults who said they had no religious identity was up over last year, from 15.0 percent to 15.6 percent.

CNSNews.com, 26 December 2012

This is the same CNSNews.com that published a comment piece in 2010 titled "Is Obama a Muslim?" It concluded that while the president was not in fact a Muslim he might just as well have been, since "he does support the islamification of America that is taking place".



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Wilders to step up international anti-Islam campaign

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PVV leader Geert Wilders is to step up his campaign against Islam in 2013, the parliamentarian told Nos television in an interview.

The fight against Islam is a mission for life, Wilders told the broadcaster. Wilders said he would step up his fight against "the biggest sickness" the Netherlands has had at home and internationally, "from Australia to America, from Switzerland to wherever".

Wilders also again renewed his statement that the Netherlands has a "Moroccan problem". It is Moroccan racism that they rarely rob each other, Wilders said.

Dutch News, 27 December 2012

See also Xinhua, 27 December 2012



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Breaking the Discrimination Chain

on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

“… The term ‘discrimination’ includes any distinction, exclusion, limitation or preference which, being based on race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, economic condition or birth, has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing equality of treatment in education..” Article 1 of the Convention against Discrimination in Education, UNESCO, Paris, 14 December 1960.

” O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another.” Surah Al-Hujurat (49:13)

Discrimination as a theory has been widely known. Every human being deserves a chance to life just like everybody else regardless of innate traits he had. Lessons about pluralism and discrimination themselves even been taught since elementary school. Everyone agrees that they want to be respected as human beings. Everyone have the right to live freedom from fear and pressure, the right to study within the educational system, the right to work, the right to choose the best, and the right to express opinions responsibly.

But how is the reality? Discrimination is still a major problem of mankind today. There are a lot of wars in the name of faith differences in many corners of the earth. Slavery still happening just because of the skin color differences. Education and health care services among different social classes just like heaven and earth. Even people with limited physical abilities who has special needs may never considered to exist. Here, in the world we live in today, there almost no one who has never experienced discrimination in his life.

The elimination of discrimination has been started since the Prophet Muhammad came with Islam. Al Quran states that Arabs are not more superior than non-Arab, and white is not more superior than black. Islam emphasizes equality and apply it in the community since 1400 years ago. Eliminating racism is one of the most extraordinary achievements of Islam. Martin Luther King, Jr. did the same thing. He was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience. There was Malcolm X who spread anti-racism vision and values of the humanist side of Islam, evocative of the Afro-American and the world. There was Nelson Mandela who eliminated Apartheid discrimination in South Africa. He reconciled victims of discrimination without creating new discrimination against perpetrators.

But discrimination continues to happen. Maybe discrimination is being born simultaneously with the human rights itself. Sometimes people are not aware that they unconsciously discriminate others. For example, people unwittingly being rude to beggars and polite to politicians. For example, people assume that only women allowed to cry and men shouldn’t. For example, people enjoy the physical discrimination that showed in TV comedy programs. Even the question about the origin race of the newly friend can lead into clustering and grouping people. This tendency to grouping others has to be eliminated.

Well yes, there are too many Anti-Discrimination Acts that created by human. When actually only one solution for that: break the discrimination chains now. The only and the most potent way against discrimination is to not discriminate itself. Don’t discriminate others, by ourselves. If not, no one knows how many decades more human race will be struggling only with the difference. The world will not change as long as people do not want change themselves. [Nad]

” Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.” (Surah Ar-Ra’ad: 11)

About the author

Writer is a free-writer and free-reader. Avoids imported foods and capitalist products. Works at radiobuku.com.



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Nawaz Sharif — true democratic leader

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Nawaz Sharif the magnificent founder of Pakistan Muslim League has been ruling the hearts and minds of the people of Pakistan despite several vague efforts to shake his confidence, determination and passion to bring prosperity to Pakistan.

Born on 25 December 1949, Nawaz Sharif has mattered the most in Pakistan for his endless efficacious efforts and galore dedication to help the people; surely he’s a lion who never falls reluctant in roaring at the grave problems of Pakistan.

Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif a true democratic political leader, steel mill industrialist and great human being who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and again from February 1997 until the brutal military coup staged to end his government in 1999.

Pakistan Muslim League is the dominant political party which has been winning galore raves for its services for the people of Pakistan genuinely. People; by far have been given the paramount importance by Pakistan Muslim league and due to which it has made its remarkable mark.

Nawaz Sharif was born in Lahore, Punjab Province of Pakistan; he belonged from a dignified upper middle class family. His family is of Kashmiri-Punjabi origin; his father was an upper middle-class businessman and iron industrialist who had migrated from Amritsar district to Pakistan during the 1947 Indian partition. Muhammad Sharif, his father has always known for his prestigious goodwill.

Nawaz Sharif is being seen as the best choice for the next President of Pakistan, majority are singing his praises extensively and wishing out to be governed by his presidency. Sharif family has many members stepped into the politics, Shahbaz Sharif; his brother is currently Chief Minister of Punjab province while his nephew Hamza Sharif is a member of the National Assembly. Nawaz Sharif’s reflection, his daughter Maryam Nawaz Sharif has inherited the wisdom and generosity of her father, although she is novice but greatly motivated to offer her valuable services for Pakistan.

One of the best achievements of Nawaz Sharif were the Nuclear tests, although he was under pressure by both foreign and domestic parties but he cared a fig and took up the challenge, on May 28, 1998 was culmination of crucial phase of the programme, it was due to Nawaz Sharif’s determination and great decision that Pakistan became the only Muslim country which engulfed atomic power.

Today, Pakistan walk tall and it was not a simple decision to take it through the rough patches, Pakistan has been poured with many elements which is helping it to progress by leaps and bounds. For sure, much time shall be required to meet the mounting demands of the people of Pakistan, to resolve the grave problems and stabilize the pertaining issues.

Today, people hold a firm belief in the unswerving anti-establishment stance and democratic credentials of Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif. The soft spoken traits are always vibrant even when his dignities are pinched, people adore him for his dead honestly and surely he’s the undisputed winner of hearts and minds of the people of Pakistan.

 



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