Albanian Muslims Saved Jews during WW2

Muslims putting their lives at risk to save Jews during Hitlers insanity in Europe.



The Persecution of the Jews has existed for thousands of years. This act in Europe was not the first and won't be the last. When hate is the core driving force that wishes to enforce it's way of life, then well most of us see the suffering globally.

Muslim's have had a very long history of living with Jews and Jews living amongst Muslims openly. This has been ongoing for thousand plus years as well. Interesting enough and very important to point out is that the Albanian Muslims did what history teaches us that a vast majority of Muslims did the same thing and that is gave a shelter to the displaced Jews, regardless of where they were forced to leave from.

The Albanian people did something that was truly heroic, by actually putting their own lives, even their own families as well. How much will does that take ? does anyone think even to tamper with a Nazi soldier, they took a major risk and many Jews live today because of their good deeds/action.

Iran second to only Israel in the region, has the next highest concentration of Jewish population. Hmmm and they want to do what to Jews ?? Never believe the lies about Iran's relationship with the Jewish identity for it existed for hundreds of years, before Iran was even Iran. The relationship is very deep amongst the communities.

Islam and the Quran are crucial to understanding how deep giving and sacrifice can lead to. The Jihad the Albanian Muslims was extra ordinarier, but to them it was a duty.

"Whoever saves a human life has saved the life of all mankind"(Quran S5:A32)

Source

Muslim group asks FBI to investigate ‘KKK’ and swastika graffiti

The Minnesota Council on American-Islamic Relations is asking the FBI to investigate “KKK” and swastika graffiti on the home of Somali family in Rochester as a possible hate crime.

“We urge the FBI and state law enforcement authorities to treat this incident as a civil rights violation and to send a strong message that incidents of hate will not be tolerated in our community,” said Lori Saroya, CAIR’s Minnesota president.

The graffiti was written on the side of a home in northwest Rochester with black spray paint on Wednesday night.

“It’s kind of a scary thing to look at,” said Ayan Hilowle, 23, whose mother and father live with six children in the house. “In the beginning, we thought it was kids joking around, but this was a very hateful thing to do. It was like, ‘What’s next? Are they going to burn our house down?’”

Hilowle’s family moved to the United States from Somalia in 1996. They lived in Owatonna until 2004, then moved to Rochester. Hilowle said they’ve had some negative comments from people since moving to the U.S. but have encountered nothing like the recent vandalism.

Hilowle’s mother, Zainab Hassan, said that she would tell the vandals if she could that the family has been in the U.S. for 15 years and it’s their home now. “We’re not going anywhere,” she said.

Neighbors rallied around the family Thursday night, helping scrub the paint off the side of the house.

Saroya said her organization is reaching out to the Rochester Muslim community and will be conducting safety trainings and outreach sessions there.

Hilowle, who considers the spray paint vandalism a hate crime, said her family’s house has been targeted before.

In the first incident last fall, a woman threw a beer bottle from a passing vehicle at a car parked in the driveway and broke a window, Hilowle said. The house was shot by a paintball gun soon after, and a month later Hassan mother noticed slit marks in the mailbox. A police officer said the holes appeared to have been made by a knife, Hilowle said.

“They thought it was a knife because it was really sharp and it had a weird edge to it,” she said.

Shortly after the mailbox incident, the family found a strange set of footprints through the snow that led to a patio door. There was no sign anyone tried to enter the house, Hilowle said, but “it was like, ‘Who would creep up there in the middle of the night?’”

The house of Hilowle’s family was the only one hit by spray-paint vandalism in the area Wednesday night, said Rochester police Capt. Brian Winters. Police canvassed the neighborhood Thursday and looked for evidence, Winters said. It will take further investigation to conclude whether the vandalism incidents are connected, he said.

http://www.islamophobiatoday.com/2011/05/06/muslim-group-asks-fbi-to-investigate-kkk-and-swastika-graffiti/

As protests and defiance spread in Muslim countries, questions are being asked as to whether such conduct is halal.

As revolutions and uprisings sweep the Middle East and North Africa, most Muslims everywhere are energised by a wave of hopeful change in a region that has suffered far too long under the stultifying rule of “presidents for life.” However, some Muslims are more hesitant, and view the protests as unsanctioned rebellions against legitimate rulers.

To begin to analyse the current situation, each of the movements in the various affected countries would have to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Conditions in each country are unique, and therefore any blanket statement would be inaccurate and irresponsible. What follows are some considerations that would have to be part of any meaningful discussion of the Islamic legitimacy of the various movements that can potentially reshape the political map of the Middle East.

Firstly, we have to bear in mind that classical treatises and writings dealing with Muslim political theory will not give us the entire answer to the question of the Islamic legitimacy of the ongoing uprisings in the Muslim world. This is because those writings occurred in a socio-political environment that differs from the current one. Especially significant is the advent of the modern nation-state, and its associated concepts of state sovereignty, legitimacy, allegiance, citizenship, the social contract and the national interest. Each of these concepts, in the modern setting, differs from its pre-modern conceptual counterpart, or was unknown at the time. Hence, the writings of pre-modern Muslim scholars, no matter how brilliant, cannot give us full insight into the social, political and cultural issues that Muslims are currently dealing with.

Secondly, the nature of the neo-colonial arrangements that prevail in many Muslim nation-states, where a “comprador bourgeoisie” “manages” the indigenous masses on behalf of a foreign power renders the entire question of the legitimacy of the state a controversial point. In other words, if the state is merely a front for foreign control, and the policies it pursues are oriented to serve the interests of a foreign elite first and foremost, it is meaningless to discuss the allegiance people owe to the state without asking a deeper question. Namely, if in reality allegiance to the state is a sort of de facto allegiance to a foreign non-Muslim power, how can questions of allegiance to the state have any definitive meaning or relevance from an Islamic perspective?

A third issue of significance is the hegemonic nature of the modern state and its ability to exert control over the lives of its citizens in ways that were inconceivable at the time medieval Muslim political theorists were writing. Generally speaking, the modern state controls the economic life chances of its citizens; it defines the parameters of political participation; it controls the scope and nature of education; it can intrude almost at will into the private lives of its citizens; it can determine the conditions of mass incarceration (ie. the Japanese Internment Act, or the current Drug War in the USA) and, if it chooses, it can tyrannise the citizenry with impunity as, by definition, the state monopolises the legitimate use of force in the society it presides over.

The upshot of the preceding passage is that the expanded reach of the modern Muslim state demands an expanded basis for defining allegiance and legitimacy. In earlier times, when the lack of information and security technology limited the scope of state power, it was natural to limit the scope of state legitimacy to questions revolving around primarily religious issues. However, the deepened reach of the state demands that examination of legitimacy and allegiance begin considering questions such as economic security, political participation, and basic human dignity along with related matters. If these issues are motivating Muslims who are challenging the legitimacy and efficacy of their states, they have to be considered by the religious scholars and authorities who are assessing the appropriateness of those challenges.

When we do consider existing Muslim writing on these issues, there are caveats that normally escape discussion. Let us consider, for example, the issue of the legitimacy of revolt against an established “Muslim” ruler. There are those who claim that any rebellion against a Muslim ruler is unsanctioned. However, we do not find this opinion in the writings of the traditional scholars. This opinion is close to the conservative Sunni view. However, even the Sunni view is conditional, and rebellion is sanctioned in the case of the ruler openly rejecting Islam or sanctioning laws or practices that violate accepted Islamic laws or principles, and it is not feared that a greater tribulation will befall the believers should they rise up.

This Sunni position, which gives priority to stability over justice, evolved over time and is informed by well-known historical realities. However, it is not universally accepted among the Muslims. The Shi’a and the Mu’tazila both hold that a rebellion in the pursuit of justice is lawful, and even encouraged in some instances. This is particularly the case when the injustices being challenged are clearly unsanctioned by the laws or principles of Islam. Hence, the scholarly consensus needed to declare the current protests as absolutely forbidden is lacking.

Similarly, a simplistic application of the verse, “If two parties of the believers fight each other make peace between them...” (49:9), to challenge the protests would be difficult in places like Egypt, because two parties amongst the believers were not fighting each other. The protesters were non-violent in their actions and intent. Any violence was initiated by the supporters of the government, or the state security forces, while during the periods the protesters resorted to violence it was clearly in self-defence. As soon as the violence against them abated, they returned to their non-violent ways. Their peaceful protest was guaranteed by Article 54 of the Egyptian constitution, while Article 57 clearly condemned as unconstitutional the violence the pro-Mubarak goons were employing against them. Hence, to declare their movement as illegitimate would be difficult from either an Islamic or a constitutional basis.

This brings up a related point. In that the protesters were speaking out against the excesses of tyrannical, authoritarian powers, they are engaging in the best Jihad. The blessed Prophet mentioned, “The best Jihad is a just word in the face of a tyrannical ruler.” In light of this hadith, what Islamic argument can validly be made to deny the people their right to speak out against the tyranny of their rulers?

Others argue that these rebellions are sowing the seeds of instability in the region. It should be borne in mind that the seeds of instability are sown by the governments themselves and the rapacious elites and foreign powers that benefit from their rule. The political repression of the people and their economic exploitation is the source of any instability, not the action of those protesting against the abuses. The protesters are themselves the fruit of the seeds sown by the ruling elites. Hence, any efforts to identify the source of any instability must go to the source of that instability and not focus on its effects.

Finally, we can add that as Muslims we should not see ourselves as being eternally trapped in a world where we are the helpless objects of the actions of others who have constructed institutions that are antithetical to our values and interests. The nation-state system in the Muslim world is less than one hundred years old. As an institution, it has debatable legitimacy and authenticity according to Muslim political thought. The way its socio-political role in Muslim societies has evolved has been shaped by un-Islamic realities such as colonisation and the Cold War, and by un-Islamic institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and now the World Trade Organisation. To declare this arrangement beyond question, criticism or challenge is not only unjust, it is a betrayal of Muslim history.

This is an issue that requires an analysis beyond the limited space available here. We pray that God blesses the people of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and elsewhere to fulfil their aspirations to enjoy a dignified existence in lands where the nobility and honour conferred upon them by God is celebrated and cherished.

http://www.emel.com/article?id=84&a_id=2330

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Obama names special envoy to global Islamic group

President Barack Obama on Saturday named a White House lawyer as his special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, part of his continuing effort to repair strained U.S. relations with the world's Muslims.

Obama announced Rashad Hussain's appointment during a video address to the 7th U.S.-Islamic World Forum meeting in Doha, Qatar.

As his liaison to the OIC, the president said Hussain will continue working to repair U.S.-Islamic relations and develop the types of partnerships Obama called for when he addressed the Muslim world during a speech last year in Cairo.

U.S. relations with the Muslim world became strained after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the video address, Obama said he called in Cairo for the U.S. and Muslims to start anew "based on mutual interest and mutual respect" because the relationship had "slipped into a cycle of misunderstanding and mistrust that can lead to conflict rather than cooperation."

He said he looked forward to continuing the dialogue next month when he visits Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country. Obama also spent several of his childhood years living in Indonesia with his mother and stepfather.

Obama recounted efforts by his administration to foster partnerships with Muslims on education, economic development, global health, and science and technology. He touched on the plan to remove all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the end of August, and his administration's efforts to return Israelis and Palestinians to the negotiating table to jump-start stalled peace talks.

Obama also announced a summit on entrepreneurship in April with Muslim business leaders and entrepreneurs from around the world.

The president said Hussain's goal, as special envoy to the OIC, will be to deepen existing partnerships and develop others. The OIC represents nearly 60 Muslim states across four continents and promotes Muslim solidarity in social and political affairs.

Hussain is a deputy associate counsel to Obama who focuses on national security, new media, and science and technology issues. He also has worked with the national security staff to help repair U.S.-Muslim relations. Obama said Hussain is a hafiz of the Quran, meaning Hussain has memorized the Muslim holy book.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was scheduled to speak at the meeting in Doha on Sunday.

Obama is not the first president to name a special envoy to the Islamic conference. In his final year in office, George W. Bush named Texas entrepreneur Sada Cumber, a Muslim, as his special envoy.

Read more: Source

Friedman Wrong About Muslims Again

Tom Friedman is a Middle East expert who knows a lot about Islam. Why, then, does he keep saying misleading things? He wrote in his latest column, "To this day - to this day - no major Muslim cleric or religious body has ever issued a fatwa condemning Osama bin Laden."

A "fatwa" is simply a considered opinion of a Muslim jurisconsult. Such opinions are numerous. First of all, almost all the major Shiite Grand Ayatollahs have condemned Bin Laden and al-Qaeda. You could say that is easy, since Shiites don't generally like Wahhabis. But they are the leaders of 120 million Muslims (some ten percent of the 1.2 billion). So that is one. Tracking these things down is time-consuming, but this should do:
Ayatollah Muhammad Husain Fadlallah of Lebanon condemns Osama Bin Laden.

So then what about the Sunni world? The leading moral authority for Sunnis is the rector or Grand Imam of the al-Azhar Seminary/ University in Cairo, Egypt. Al-Azhar is perhaps the world's oldest continuous university and has been since the time of Saladin a major center of Sunni religious authority. The current incumbent is Shaikh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi. So what about Tantawi and Bin Laden?

Grand Imam of Al-Azhar seminary, Shaikh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, condemns Osamah Bin Laden. And:

The Grand Imam of al-Azhar Seminary, Shaikh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, condemns Osamah Bin Laden.

What about Pakistan? Admittedly, it has some clerics who are fans of Bin Laden, or at least who would avoid condemning him. But the allegation Friedman is making is that no major cleric has condemned him. Try this: Prominent Pakistani Cleric Tahir ul Qadri condemns Bin Laden.

I don't personally care for Yusuf al-Qaradawi. He is an old-time Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood preacher who fled to Qatar and now has a perch at al-Jazeera. But he does have some virtues. He is enormously popular among Muslim fundamentalists. And, he absolutely despises Bin Laden and al-Qaeda. Al-Qaradawi has repeatedly condemned the latter. He even gave a fatwa that it was a duty of Muslims to fight alongside the US in Afghanistan against al-Qaeda! See also:
Yusuf al-Qaradawi condemns al-Qaeda.

There are also substantial Muslim communities in Europe with leaderships that have explicitly condemned Bin Laden. E.g.:

Spanish Muslim Clerical authorities Issue Fatwa against Osamah Bin Laden. There are on the order of 250,000 Muslims in Spain.

High Mufti of Russian Muslims calls for Extradition of Bin Laden. The Russian Muslim community is about 20 million strong, or 15 percent of Russia's 143 million population, and is growing rapidly, so that in a century Russia may be 50 percent Muslim. So this is not a pro forma thing here.

A good round-up on this sort of issue has been put up by al-Muhajabah.

See also Charles Kurzman's page.

Friedman also does refer to a major conference of Muslim clerics, thinkers and notables wound up just Wednesday that made a powerful statement about religious tolerance and condemned everything Osama Bin Laden stands for. But he seems oddly unaware of the significance of having Grand Ayatollah Sistani, Grand Imam of al-Azhar Seminary Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, and many other great Muslim authorities sign off on this epochal statement of Muslim ecumenism.

The statement forbids one Muslim to declare another "not a Muslim" if the believer adheres to any of the mainstream legal rites of Sunnism and Shiism. The whole basis of al-Qaeda is to call the Muslim leaders of countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as well as Shiites, "not Muslims." The statement also demands that engineers should please stop pretending to issue fatwas, which should be left to trained clerical jurisconsults. This para. is also a slam at Bin Laden.

PS As for Friedman's main point, that Muslims haven't done a good job of fighting jihadi ideology and terrorism, it is bizarre. The Algerian government fought a virtual civil war to put down political Islam, in which over 100,000 persons died. The Egyptians jailed 20,000 or 30,000 radicals for thought crimes and killed 1500 in running street battles in the 1990s and early zeroes. Al-Qaeda can't easily strike in the Middle East precisely because Syria, Egypt, Algeria, etc. have their number and have undertaken massive actions against them. What does Friedman want? And, besides, he is wrong that this is only a Muslim problem. In the global age all problems are everybody's. That's part of flat world, too, Tom. SourceInformed Comment

Who will stand up for Noah(pbuh) on Judgment day?

No 549: Narrated Abu Said: Allah's Apostle said, "Noah and his nation will come (on the Day of Resurrection and Allah will ask (Noah), "Did you convey (the Message)?' He will reply, 'Yes, O my Lord!' Then Allah will ask Noah's nation, 'Did Noah convey My Message to you?' They will reply, 'No, no prophet came to us.' Then Allah will ask Noah, 'Who will stand a witness for you?' He will reply, 'Muhammad and his followers (will stand witness for me).' So, I and my followers will stand as witnesses for him (that he conveyed Allah's Message)." That is, (the interpretation) of the Statement of Allah: "Thus we have made you a just and the best nation that you might be witnesses Over mankind .." (2.143)

It's rather intresting that I cam across this Hadith by an email and thought it was very uniqe, yet very truthful because in the Quran it speaks of Noah-pbuh, as a righteous man, who served God and delivered the message to his people, but they rejected and mocked him, that some of them were so arrogant, as it began raining as he told them, it says he was still inviting them to listen and come a board, they were still arrogant to say no his being untruthful and that it will stop. They mostly rejected because of arrogance and Noah-pbuh according to the Quran is not quilty of anything and is one of God's prophets.

In Malta Tourists are welcome (but not them Muslims)

a couple of scores of Muslim men gathered on the Sliema front. They were not being rowdy, they weren't drinking and they weren't swearing. All they had as props were some prayer rugs. Because, in fact, they were only interested in praying together. And they had a police permit to do so.

You would think, Malta being a free democratic country, that this would be a totally non-news event. Bzzz. Wrong answer - not with the racist hysteria gripping the island. For this whole week it's been the most read, most commented and most e-mailed article. Some of the comments to this simple gathering are truly alarming, chilling almost:

"Malta is a Catholic country. They have no right to come here and pray in front of us. I don't care what they do in the privacy of their own home, but not here."

"They should go to a mosque. That is where they belong. Or in some hole somewhere. But not here where I get my children to eat and have a good time."

"I would have had no problem if they were Catholics praying... in Malta we are all Catholics, so it's not a problem, but not them."

"If this happens again there will be trouble."

"I bet that their next step will be to make us remove our icons/crosses and statues from our streets or from schools."

"The authorities should never have given permission, much less protection, at the cost of the Maltese taxpayer."

"This is clear case of arrogance by a small group of men."

I'm sorry? Arrogance? Arrogant was the woman who insisted on walking her dog in front of them, twice. The comments get harsher and harsher. You would think that these men were planning a coup d'etat rather than reciting their Qur'an, or that their prayer beads were weapons of mass destruction.

The reaction, were it not in the context of our society's dark skin paranoia, would have been perplexing. These men simply prayed and then went their way: "We are not here to protest or threaten violence but to express our fundamental human right to gather in prayer," one of the leaders, Bader Zina, said.

They resorted to the Sliema front because the Planning Authority sealed off the Sliema flat where they normally gathered as it did not have a licence to be used as a place of worship. Fair enough. But then, they have every right to get a permit and hit the front.

It's not as if it's never been done before by religious groups. Didn't that touchy-feely, hand-clappy charismatic Edward Spiteri guy and his followers hog the Birzebbuga front for summer weekends on end?

Religion is being used as a poor excuse, a cover-up if you want, for racism. Yet again, the Catholic leaders have chosen to remain silent on the matter. They who should be encouraging the embracing of different religions, they who should be at the forefront of promoting tolerance and acceptance, they who should be reminding all and sundry that Christ after all said 'Love your neighbour as yourself.'

Where is the Church when it needs to voice its disapproval of this unacceptable prejudice? More on this

Guantanamo prisoners to be transferred to Baku An Azerbaijani newspaper reported

The Newspaper Musavat Novin, printed in Baku, reported that an agreement was made between the Azerbaijani government and the American government regarding the transfer of Guantanamo Bay prisoners to Azerbaijan at the same time that the country is on the verge of voting for a referendum regarding its constitution.

This newspaper wrote the following about how Azerbaijan is a strategic position for American forces: “American airplanes enter the Azerbaijan Republic every day and then fly to Afghanistan and other countries. But, the information regarding what these planes are carrying remains secret. It is not clear whether they are carrying prisoners or military equipment. This issue creates the conditions necessary to transfer prisoners.”

This report was published when the Obama administration issued a statement saying that they are closing Guantanamo Bay. Source

The following table shows the 50 countries with the highest percentage of Muslims.

Country -- %of Muslims -- Muslim Population
Mauritania - 99.9% - 3,083,772
Maldives - 99.9% - 348,756
Western Sahara - 99.8% - 272,461
Somalia - 99.5% - 8,548,670
Turkey - 99% - 68,963,953
Iran - 99% - 67,337,681
Algeria - 99% - 32,206,534
Afghanistan- 99% - 29,629,697
Yemen - 99% - 20,519,792
Tunisia - 99% - 9,974,201
Oman - 99% - 2,971,567
Comoros - 99% - 664,534
Djibouti - 99% - 471,935
Morocco - 98.7% - 32,300,410
Iraq - 97% - 25,292,658
Libya - 97% - 5,592,596
Pakistan - 96.35% - 156,491,617
Saudi Arabia - 95.7% - 25,281,642
Tajikistan - 95% - 6,805,330
Jordan - 95% - 5,471,745
Qatar - 95% - 819,898
Senegal - 94% - 10,459,222
Azerbaijan - 93.4% - 7,389,783
Egypt - 91% - 70,530,237
Mali - 90% - 11,062,376
Niger - 90% - 10,499,343
Gambia - 90% - 1,433,930
Uzbekistan - 89% - 23,897,563
Turkmenistan - 89% - 4,407,352
Indonesia - 88.22% - 213,469,356
Bangladesh 88% - 127,001,272
Syria - 88% - 16,234,901
Guinea - 85% - 8,047,686
Kuwait - 85% - 1,985,300
Bahrain - 85% - 585,093
Palestine - 84% - 3,159,999
Kyrgyzstan - 80% - 4,117,024
UAE - 76% - 1,948,041
Lebanon - 70% - 2,678,212
Albania - 70% - 2,494,178
Brunei - 67% - 249,481
Sudan - 65% - 26,121,865
Malaysia - 60.4% - 14,467,694
Sierra Leone - 60% - 3,610,585
Burkina Faso - 55% - 7,658,922
Chad - 54% - 5,306,266
Nigeria - 50% - 64,385,994
Eritrea - 50% - 2,280,799
Ethiopia - 47.5% - 34,700,310
Kazakhstan - 47% - 7,137,346

Grand Total is.....My calculator is not handy anyone is welcome to add it :D

References

* US State Department's International Religious Freedom Report 2004
* CIA Factbook
* adherents.com
* Religious Freedom page
* census.gov

This List was compiled by the Works of Religious facts

Report: Prejudice against Muslims on rise

WASHINGTON — Discrimination and hate crimes against Arab-Americans have dropped in recent years after a spike following the 9/11 attacks, but such prejudice is still more common than in the 1980s and 1990s, according to a report by an advocacy group.

The study gives Hollywood some credit for presenting a more balanced view of Arabs and Muslims in recent films. But it said prejudice is worse than ever in popular culture. It particularly faulted the news media for allowing political commentators to inflame fears that Muslims are terrorists.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee released the study Thursday, calling it the most comprehensive look at prejudice and racially motivated violence that Arab-Americans and Muslims faced in the United States between 2003 and 2007.
Full Story

Are reverts to Islam more eager to discover Islam then born Muslims ?

It seems to me that (most) Muslim converts are more religious and eager to know about Islam than a good amount of those who are born Muslims?

Its a very good question to think about

Its easy to think that it can be what your born into, for example if someone is born rich, they tend to not appreciate wealth and spend at will for personal pleasure and not even consider how much they are spending. Money is nothing

People born into Islam in many occasions understand it from whats around them and might not be taking full advantage of what they have in the Quran. Many reverts dig deeper in my opinion to show the more sensible, reasonable, modest, among so many other attribute. for example many great former Christians have inspired many new converted Muslims like yusuf estes. Yet again many Muslims have as well done so, I think its all well balanced and Allah knows best.Full Post

Interpal vindicated for third time-Muslim Charity cleared from ties to terrorism

Interpal vindicated for third time

By Hamed Chapman

Britain’s top Muslim charity has been cleared for the third time by the Charity Commission of any alleged links with so-called terrorist organisations.
“Interpal has been vindicated,” said the Charity’s Chairman, Ibrahim Hewitt, following the publication of the Commission’s 52-page report on February 27 over claims made by BBC’s Panorama over two-and-a-half year ago that Interpal funded partner organisation that promoted terrorist ideology.
“This is the third Charity Commission inquiry into Interpal in 13 years. In each case allegations and accusations made against the charity have been unproven,” Hewitt said. Previous inquiries in 1996 and 2003 also found insufficient evidence to support allegations that have been blamed on the Zionist lobby.
“The inquiry found that given the seriousness of the allegations being made, the material did not reach the standard of proof required under UK civil law,” the Commission said in its latest report. It concluded there was “not enough evidence to support the allegations.”
Hewitt criticised as “totally irresponsible” the BBC Panorama program that triggered the latest year inquiry. “Given the obvious collaboration between the Israelis and Panorama, it is hard not to conclude that we are the target of an ongoing and concerted political campaign designed to bring a halt to our humanitarian work in the region,” he said.
Interpal suggested that the smear campaign grew after the US Government, at the request of the Israeli Government, declared Interpal to be a “special designated global terrorist entity” in August 2003, for allegedly supporting Hamas.
Prior being cleared, Lloyds TSB proceeded in November last year to go as far as to stop clearing cheques for the charity that was seen as an attempt to force it to cease its operations entirely. But the investigation found that Interpal kept clear financial audit trails in its delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians and in its dealings with its partner organisations.
The Commission acknowledged that charities providing humanitarian aid in high-risk situations make a “vital contribution to the communities affected and support people in desperate need.” It cleared Managing Trustee, Essam Mustafa, of any links with terrorism, that were alleged in the Panorama report, but ordered him to resign as the General Secretary of the Union for Good group of organisations working in the occupied territories.
Interpal was also asked to end its membership of the Union, saying that its reputation could be damaged because the Union’s President supported violent Palestinian resistance. “Even in these difficult areas, trustees must discharge their duty of care to ensure the charity’s work is protected from abuse, and must avoid activities that might put charities’ assets or reputations at risk,” said the Commission’s Chief Executive, Andrew Hind.
The BBC program, entitled Faith, Hate and Charity, claimed that many Islamic charities linked with Interpal are an integral part of Hamas, and are crucial to its support amongst the Palestinian people. It further alleged that the Charity’s funds are sent to local partners which promote what it called a ‘Jihadi ethos.’ Material from the Israeli Defence Force was used to claim key figures in the management of certain local partners were members of Hamas.

Source



Sallam Alaykum / Peace be unto you

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Islam Commands Us to Do Good , Avoid Evil and be forgiving to Others

Islam Commands Us to Do Good and Avoid Evil

You who have iman! if you have taqwa of Allah, He will give you discrimination and erase your bad actions from you and forgive you. Allah's favour is indeed immense. (Surat al- Anfal: 29)

Muslims are very well aware of the good and bad as described in the Qur'an, and spend their whole lives implementing that awareness. Yet they have another important responsibility on their shoulders, and that is to invite others to see the truth, avoid evil and live by the morality of the Qur'an. That is why believers spend their whole lives telling people about the difference between good and evil. Allah has given the following command to the faithful, "Let there be a community among you who call to the good, and enjoin the right, and forbid the wrong. They are the ones who have success." (Surah Al 'Imran: 104)
Islam commands us to protect the poor, the orphan, the needy and to do good to others.

Furthermore, Allah also stresses in the Qur'an how those who abide by the commandment are much more auspicious than other people:

You are the best nation ever to be produced before mankind. You enjoin the right, forbid the wrong and have iman in Allah. If the People of the Book were to have iman, it would be better for them. Some of them are muminun but most of them are deviators. (Surah Al 'Imran: 110)

The faithful do not only perform that Qur'anic duty in respect of those people who do not know the difference between right and wrong and have no knowledge of religion, but also in respect of the faithful themselves. That is because people do not only fall into error out of ignorance, but also sometime out of forgetfulness, or by mistake, or because of their earthly desires. That being the case, the faithful also encourage good and prevent evil by reminding each other of the commandments of the Qur'an. They warn each other that only those who do good and devoutly carry out their religious obligations in this world will be rewarded with paradise, and that those who fail to avoid evil will suffer the torments of hell. That delightful responsibility means they never feel wearied or discouraged, and continue to warn others, compassionately and affectionately, no matter what mistakes they might have made. That is because in many verses Allah reveals that he loves those who have patience, and calls on the faithful to be patient when practicing the morality of the Qur'an. He reveals this in these terms in the verses:

You who have iman! seek help in steadfastness and salat. Allah is with the steadfast. (Surat al-Baqara: 153)

Except for those who are steadfast and do right actions. They will receive forgiveness and a large reward.(Surah Hud: 11)

Islam Commands us to Repay Evil with Good

A good action and a bad action are not the same. Repel the bad with something better and, if there is enmity between you and someone else, he will be like a bosom friend. (Surah Fussilat: 34)

Ward off evil with what is better. We know very well what they express. (Surat al-Mu'minun: 96)

As we can see from these verses, Allah has promised the faithful that they will be able to secure positive results as long as they adopt a pleasant attitude in the face of wrongdoing. It is emphasised that even if the person he is dealing with is an enemy the believer can still establish a warm friendship with him. Responding to evil with good is also an essential part of believers' understanding of compassion. When he sees that someone is adopting an attitude that will not be pleasing to Allah, the believer first of all considers how that is going to affect the other person in the hereafter, and approaches him with toleration and humility, refusing to become puffed up with pride.

Believers may come across people with very different characters over the course of their lives. Yet they will not change their view of morality in line with the attitudes of the people they meet. The other side may speak mockingly, or use ugly words, or get angry and even behave in a hostile manner. Yet the true believer never stops being polite, modest and compassionate. He will not respond to ugly words with more of the same. He will not laugh at those who laugh at him, nor answer anger with anger. He will be patient and tolerant. In the face of insulting behaviour he will behave in such a way as to symbolise proper morality and with such compassion that the other side will be ashamed. That is the morality recommended to us by our Prophet. In one of the hadiths, he says, 'Be tolerant, so that others may be tolerant of you.' (Ahmad) In another hadith, he called on the faithful in these terms: 'None of you must be the kind of weak person who says, 'I go along with other people. If other people behave well, then so will I. If they behave badly, that is what I will do.' On the contrary, you must curb your passions to do good if others do so, and not to behave unjustly if others behave badly.' (Tirmidhi)

In the Qur'an, our Prophet was told to be forgiving in the face of the betrayal by some of the children of Israel:

...They have forgotten a good portion of what they were reminded of. You will never cease to come upon some act of treachery on their part, except for a few of them. Yet pardon them, and overlook. Allah loves good-doers. (Surat al-Ma'ida: 13)

As we have seen from this verse, Allah commanded our Prophet to be forgiving, even in the face of betrayal by one part of the children of Israel. One must also not forget that poor morality being displayed by someone else is no justification for doing the same thing oneself. Each individual is solely responsible to Allah for his actions. What is more, being with compassion, affection and proper morality in the face of bad behaviour by someone else is, according to the Qur'an, itself a sign of superior morality. That is because it reveals the extent of a believer's devotion to God. One verse reveals the reward that such a pleasing attitude will bring:

Those who do good will have the best and more! Neither dust nor debasement will darken their faces. They are the Companions of the Garden, remaining in it timelessly, for ever. (Surah Yunus: 26)

Islam Commands The Faithful Always To Be Forgiving

One of the important signs of compassion is for a person to be able to be forgiving. This is how Allah calls upon His servants to be forgiving in the Qur'an:

Make allowances for people, command what is right, and turn away from the ignorant. (Surat al A'raf: 199)

This is something that people may find difficult, but is an attitude that will be well rewarded in the sight of Allah. People may well be caught up in anger and refuse to forgive a mistake. But Allah has revealed to the faithful that it is better to forgive, and has recommended this morality to them:

The repayment of a bad action is one equivalent to it.But if someone pardons and puts things right, his reward is with Allah... (Surat ash-Shura: 40)

In another verse, Allah reveals that "But if someone is steadfast and forgives,that is the most resolute course to follow." (Surat ash-Shura: 43) and emphasizes that this is a very superior form of morality. In the words "Those of you possessing affluence and ample wealth should not make oaths that they will not give to their relatives and the very poor and those who have made hijra in the way of Allah. They should rather pardon and overlook. Would you not love Allah to forgive you? Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Surat an-Nur: 22) Allah encourages the faithful to consider their own position when it comes to being forgiving. That is because everyone wants Allah to forgive and protect and show him mercy. In the same way, we all hope that other people will excuse and forgive us if we make a mistake. Allah has thus commanded the faithful to treat others in the same way that they would like to be treated themselves. That is an important responsibility, and one that encourages the faithful to be forgiving towards one another. Our Prophet encouraged the faithful to be forgiving in the words, 'Allah has not failed to exalt any man who has forgiven unfairness or cruelty.' (Ahmad)

Since believers know that they may make a mistake at any moment, they behave tolerantly towards others. That is because those verses in the Qur'an that deal with repentance make it clear that the important thing is not making a mistake but rather being determined not to repeat a mistake as soon as one realizes one has done so. One of these verses reads:

Allah only accepts the tawba of those who do evil in ignorance and then quickly make tawba after doing it. Allah turns towards such people. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. (Surat an-Nisa': 17)

Under these conditions, that reveal the sincerity of the individual, the faithful behave most forgivingly and compassionately towards one another. If someone who has committed an error sincerely repents having done so, then they cannot judge that person for his past deeds. Furthermore, even if the faithful are totally in the right and the other side completely in the wrong, they still have no compunction about forgiveness. That is because Allah recommends such behaviour as an example of proper morality, "Those who give in times of both ease and hardship, those who control their rage and pardon other people - Allah loves the good-doers - " (Surah Al 'Imran: 134)

When it comes to forgiveness, the faithful do not distinguish between great and small errors, and do not tailor their view of forgiveness accordingly. Someone may have committed an error and led to great loss of life or great financial loss, thus inflicting severe harm on others. Yet the faithful know that everything that happens does so by the permission of Allah and as part of His destiny, and therefore place themselves in the hands of Allah when it comes to such things, and feel no personal anger.

Alternatively, someone may have transgressed this Qur'anic rule and exceeded the bounds set by Allah. Yet it is only Allah who can judge that person's behaviour. That means that it is never up to the faithful to judge or refuse to forgive anybody on any matter. If a person is truly sorry and repentant then he will have his reward only in the sight of Allah. In fact, Allah has revealed in many verses that apart from 'ascribing partners to Him,' he will forgive the errors of the faithful if they sincerely repent. Since the faithful cannot know that, they simply forgive in the manner revealed to them By Allah, and if the Qur'an has anything to say on a particular subject they treat the person who has committed an error in the light of that.

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Sallam Alaykum / Peace be unto you

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Brazilians Join 3 Million Pilgrims Reenacting Abraham's Journey to Mecca

The tradesman Nagib Smaidi and his wife Soraia, from the city of Taubaté, in the interior of the southeastern Brazilian state of São Paulo, traveled to Saudi Arabia just before Christmas.

In the suitcase Nagib took large and light colored towels and Soraia the long dresses worn by Muslim women. As is the asked by the Islamic religion, Nagib is going to wrap himself in the towels and Soraia will cover her whole body, except for the face and hands, to visit the holy places in Saudi Arabia where the prophet Abraham went in the past.

The couple is part of the group of Brazilian Muslims who are going to make, at the beginning of next year, the pilgrimage to Mecca, holy city in Islam.

Every year between two and three million people from the whole world travel to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj. The next Hajj will be on the 7th of January, followed by a four-day holiday. On these days the Muslims repeat the rituals made by Abraham about two thousand years before the birth of Jesus Christ.

The Brazilian Muslims normally travel in groups. The sheikhs Mohamad Amame and Yasser Hussein, from São Paulo, for example, organized a group of about 40 people. The majority of the members of the group are travelling to Mecca for the first time and are about 50 years old or more. This is the first time the sheiks organize the trip.

The pilgrimage is a re-enactment of the journey made by Abraham after building, where Mecca is located today, the Kaaba. According to the Muslim religion, the Kaaba was erected by the prophet by divine order to become a place of adoration.

It is still in the original place, but was rebuilt many times throughout the years. The peregrines, as well as praying before the Kaaba, go to other holy places such as Mount Arafat, visited by Abraham in his time for being the place where, according to Islam, Adam and Eve met.

"The peregrination is a form of coming closer to God, to turn yourself to God," said sheikh Jihad Hassan Hammadeh, vice-president at the World Assembly of Muslim Youth.

This, according to the sheikh, is the second holiday in the year for the Muslims. The other is at the end of Ramadan, period in which the followers of the Islamic religious fast from sunrise to sunset.



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Spanish Muslims

Never has history "chosen" to eliminate a race of people as in the Spanish Inquisition. One wonders why the silence has remained so steadfast for a people, who brought glory and art to Europe for over nine centuries. When the students of the West open their history books and read the title given to the "Moors", few are ever taught that what they are reading has relevance to "Islam". Today, on architecture frames found in Spain, one can still see the secretive inscriptions in Arabic, written during the days of the Inquisition: "La ghalab illa'illah", "There is no conqueror except Allah."

Long after the Inquisition, the resurgence of the Islamic community in Spain occurred in 1976 in the city of Cordoba. Five young men became Muslims through the da'wah of Shaykh Abdalqadir as-Sufi. They were the first Spaniards to enter Islam since the time of al-Andalus. The Shaykh instructed them to spread Islam among their people. Their efforts drew large numbers of new Muslims and the establishment of a Muslim community in the city of Granada. Through the initiative of Shaykh Abdalqadir as-Sufi, the community bought land in the very heart of the old Islamic city, Albaycin, with the intention to build a mosque, the first mosque built by Muslims since the Inquisition.

Although their efforts to build the mosque were hindered by public and governmental opposition for 18 years, their project has recently pulled through, and are now a respected community on the brink of establishing a whole Islamic institution. The project consists of not only the establishment of a mosque but an attached school, Islamic college, and da'wah and training center.

Regardless of the fact that the Inquisition wiped out almost the entire Muslim community in Spain, a resurgence of Islamic identity traveled from this torn land to the land of another conquest under the same name to Latin America in the 15th century. Slaves, brought by the conquerors from the north and west of Africa, were those who first introduced Islam, newly residing in the countries of Brazil, Venezuela, Columbia and some islands of the Caribbean. These Muslim slaves were obligated to abandon their beliefs under fear of execution, and as a result, Islam disappeared without a trace in Latin America. This trend was reversed at the end of the 16th century, as slaves were liberated. More recently, the community has a new revival with the wave of immigrants from India and Pakistan. source

Latin Muslims

Islam in Latin world.

This article appeared in the L.A. Times Monday, March 15, 1999

New Islamic Movement Seeks Latino Converts;
Religion: Leaders estimate there are more than 15,000 Spanish-speaking Muslims in the U.S. Many say they were confused by Catholicism.;

By: MARGARET RAMIREZ
TIMES RELIGION WRITER

Slipped inside a strip mall across from Exposition Park where the smell of incense mingles with Arabic swirls on the wall, Muhammad Gomez absorbs the message of Allah. Sitting beside him in this storefront Islamic center, Domy Garcia raises her hand and asks why she and other Muslim women are obliged to cover their heads with the hijab. Mariam Montalvo takes diligent notes at the Sunday afternoon Islamic lesson with the holy Koran by her side.

Here at the ILM Foundation, a new Islamic movement is being born. Yet it lies far from Mecca, where the faith was founded more than 1,400 years ago. And the language of choice for this group of Islamic followers is not Arabic. These Muslims worship Allah in Spanish.

Montalvo, who immigrated to Los Angeles from Mexico in 1996, left the Catholic faith three months ago, frustrated by what she called contradictions within church teachings and preoccupation with the saints. After research and contemplation, she took the shahada, the simple declaration of faith by which one becomes a Muslim.

I had a lot of problems with the church. One Bible says one thing, and another Bible says something different. Then there are people who call themselves Catholics and drink and smoke, said Montalvo, 21. With Islam, it was so pure. I found there were no intermediaries. Everything goes straight to God.

If you were inclined to believe that most Muslims are Arabs, you would be wrong. Over the past 10 years, Islam has become one of the fastest-growing religions, with an estimated 1 billion adherents worldwide and 6 million followers in this nation. About half of the Muslims in the United States are African American converts. But, in recent years, Islamic teaching has begun gaining acceptance among members of the Latino community. Though precise statistics do not yet exist, Islamic leaders estimate that there are at least 15,000 Latino Muslims across the nation.

Last month, about 30 Southern California converts founded the Latino-Muslim Movement with the intent of educating Spanish-speaking Muslims and spreading Islam to other Latinos. After meeting informally for the past seven years, the group appointed officers and elected to meet at the ILM Foundation once a week.

Scores of Latinos throughout the country--specifically in New York, New Jersey, Chicago and Miami--have fled the church of their birth and embraced Islam as their newfound faith.

In New York, a group of Puerto Rican Muslims opened an Islamic center in the heart of East Harlem called Alianza Islamica, where hundreds of Latinos have converted since 1992. The center, the first of its kind, includes a small mosque where the Friday sermon is heard in Arabic, English and Spanish. Islam has adherents throughout Latin America and the Caribbean as well, with especially strong followings in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Panama.

Reymundo Nur, a Panamanian who became Muslim at the age of 12 and studied Islam in Saudi Arabia, helped organize the Los Angeles group. Two years ago, Nur co-founded a national nonprofit organization called Asociacion Latina de Musulmanes en las Americas, which focuses on translating Islamic books and literature into Spanish.

He said one of his group's main projects is translating the Koran into contemporary, conversational Spanish. At least two Spanish translations of the Koran exist, but Nur said they use a more formal, Castilian Spanish.

There have always been Latino Muslims. It's only now that they're coming to the forefront, said Nur, vice president of the Latino-Muslim Movement in Los Angeles. We have a strong Islamic legacy, and people are rediscovering that part of their heritage. Many learn about it and say, 'Hey, I have more of this in me than I ever realized.'

Islamic ties to Hispanic culture date back to 711, when the Muslim general Tariq ibn Zayid conquered Spain, and the Christian Visigothic domination of Roderick came to an end. Under Moorish rule, Christians, Jews and Muslims coexisted in Spain. Conversion was encouraged but never forced. Because the Arabs did not bring women with them, they took Spanish wives, and within a few generations the Muslim population was more Spanish than Arab.

For the next 700 years, Al-Andalus, as the Muslims refer to Spain, enjoyed an era of political and cultural splendor, becoming one of the most intellectually advanced countries in medieval Europe. Islamic influence penetrated almost every facet of Spanish life, especially music, architecture and literature.

But, gradually, Christian armies advanced. After the fall of the last Moorish stronghold in Granada in 1492, the cross replaced the crescent on Spain's minarets and Muslims were forced to convert to Christianity or be exiled. Many Latino Muslims in Los Angeles see their conversion as a return to their Moorish roots.

Today, Southern California has the third-largest concentration of Muslims in the country, including 58 mosques and Islamic centers in Los Angeles County.

Like Christians and Jews, Muslims are monotheists believing in one God known as Allah. They revere biblical prophets including Noah, Isaac, Abraham and Moses. Jesus is also considered a prophet, but unlike Christians, Muslims do not accept him as the son of God. Muhammad is believed to be the last prophet to whom Allah revealed the Koran.

For former Catholics like Guadalupe Martinez, 26, it is this comprehensive set of beliefs that makes Islam appealing.

In Islam, there is no separation. You accept the Torah and the Bible, said Martinez, who converted in 1997. We love Jesus, we dress like Mary. It's like we're putting all the faiths together. It really touched me.

In Catholicism, there are just so many ways to go. Why am I going to pray to the saints? she added. When we find Islam, we don't have to waste energy. It's like if I call the operator to get a number, I waste energy. But with Islam, I have the number. I get connected directly to God.

Along with the formation of more Latino Muslim organizations, conversion stories have begun burning up the Internet.

Ali Al-Mexicano, a 25-year-old Pomona computer technician, created his own World Wide Web page account of how he became Muslim that includes the first time he read the Koran.

It was so clear and written in a simple, understanding way, he said. "It just hit me. This has to be the truth."

Though Al-Mexicano family accepted his conversion, several other young Latinos who have begun searching outside the traditional confines of Catholicism have found conversion to be a heart-wrenching affair, often tearing families apart.

A 1998 Georgetown University study of people ages 20 to 39 found that 8% of the Latinos had joined another denomination or religion. Of those, at least 65% left for evangelical Protestant groups, Pentecostal churches or Mormonism. A smaller percentage accepted other religions, including Islam and Buddhism.

Some relatives see conversion to other faiths as rejecting family and tradition.

Domy Garcia said her family in Mexico was confused and upset by her decision to leave the church. The Buena Park mother converted to Islam two years ago after rejecting the religion she said was forced on her Mexican ancestors. Undeterred by her family's reaction, Garcia said her main concern now is raising her children as Muslims and introducing more Latinos to Islam.

My family just would not accept it. They said, 'What happened? You've changed so much,' " she recalled. But it's all right, because on Judgment Day, my family won't be able to help. It will be God.

The Latino-Muslim Movement meets every Sunday afternoon for discussions at the ILM Foundation, a community center managed by Saadiq Saafir, a prominent African American prayer leader, or imam.

About 2 p.m., Elizabeth Chawki, a Native American who is fluent in Spanish, usually begins the sessions, which have focused on women, preparation of food, marriage and Islamic divorce. Despite the perception that all Muslims are Arab, Chawki said, converts see the distinction between religion and ethnicity.

This is about pure religion, not culture. We still eat our tamales and frijoles," said Chawki, referring to some Latino dishes served after the discussions.

Gomez, a native of Nicaragua with no prior religious affiliations, said it was after reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X that he began to explore Islam. Like several other converts, Gomez spoke with resentment about the Catholic Church's involvement in Latin America.

Viewing Jesus as a prophet and a political leader, and not a God, made more sense to me, he said.

The Latino-Muslim Movement also aims to bring together Muslims regardless of race. At a recent meeting, Saafir reflected on the emerging phenomenon of Latino conversions as similar to the time when African Americans began accepting Islam 50 years ago. In allowing the group to use the Islamic center, Saafir hopes to tear down the barriers that divide blacks and Latinos.

We all realize that we're Muslim first, Saafir said. This religion is going to bring us together.

Nur nodded.

"Inshallah, he whispered. God willing

List of the mentioned Prophets of Islam ( pbut )

Peace be unto you Along with God's Mercy and Blessings/ Alsallam alaykum wa Rahmet Allah wa Barakato

The mentioned prophets in the Quran.

Adam (pbuh)

Idris/Enoch (pbuh)

Nuh/Noah (pbuh)

Hud (pbuh)

Salih (pbuh)

Ibrahim/Abraham (pbuh)

Ismail/Ishmael (pbuh)

Ishaq/Isaac and Yaqub/Jacob (pbut)

Lut/Lot (pbuh)

Shuaib (pbuh)

Yusuf/Joseph (pbuh)

Ayoub/Job (pbuh)

Dhul-Kifl (pbuh)

Yunus/Jonah (pbuh)

Musa/Moses and Haroon/Aaron (pbut)

Hizqeel/Ezekiel (pbuh)

Elyas/Elisha (pbuh)

Shammil/Samuel (pbuh)

Dawud/David (pbuh)

Sulaiman/Solomon (pbuh)

Isaiah (pbuh)

Aramaya/Jeremiah (pbuh)

Daniel (pbuh)

Zakariyah/Zechariah

Yahya/John (pbut)

Isa/Jesus (pbuh)

Muhammad (pbuh)

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Mohammed Ali on Islam and his pilgrimage

"I have had nice moments in my life. But the feeling I had while standing on Mount ‘Arafaat on the day of 'Hajj' (pilgrimage), was the most unique. I felt exalted by the indescribable spiritual atmosphere there, as over a million and a half pilgrims invoked God to forgive them of their sins and bestow on them His choicest blessings. It was an exhilarating experience to see people belonging to different colors, races and nationalities, kings, heads of states and ordinary men from very poor countries all clad in two simple white sheets praying to God without any sense of either pride or inferiority. It was a practical manifestation of the concept of equality in Islam." Cassius Clay (Mohammad Ali).