Book Review
Islam & Muslims in the 21st Century
Islam & Muslims in the Post-9/11 America
Trump formally recognises Israeli sovereignty over Golan Heights
Attacks on Mosques in New Zealand & U.K.
April 2019
Trump vetoes congressional resolution to end Yemen war
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: President Donald Trump has rejected a resolution from the Congress to end the 4-year old Yemen war which has killed tens of thousands of people and spawned what the United Nations calls the world's most dire humanitarian crisis, with the country on the brink of famine. The resolution passed the House of Representatives in April and the Senate in March, marking the first time both chambers of Congress had supported a War Powers resolution, which limits the president's ability to send troops into action. Read More
Quranic ecological imperatives: A new global perspective
By Arthur Kane Scott: Native People in particular have made me aware of the Majesty/Beauty of Mother Earth and the intimated connection that existed between her and all her creatures. Their reverences to the planet awaken me to the message/poetics of the Quran which literally drips with suras/ ayats that explore the qualities of Jalal and Jamal or Awe/Intimacy of Creation! Read More
The Significance of ‘Isra and Miraj in Islam
By Habib Siddiqui: ‘Isra and Miraj were the most miraculous and dignified journeys of the Prophet, which took place in the Shab-e-Miraj (or the Night of Miraj) in the month of Rajab before his migration to Madinah. This blessed journey of ‘Isra and Miraj is of great significance for Muslims for its miraculous nature and, among other things, for its establishment of the second crucial pillar in Islam: prayer five times a day. It is also important because it clearly shows Islam’s connection to and importance to Masjid Al-Aqsa, which is located in Jerusalem and is Islam’s third holiest mosque in Islam. ‘Isra and Miraj is celebrated in all Muslim-majority countries when devout Muslims offer extra prayers and feed the poor. Read More
More than seven years after Gaddafi’s brutal murder, Libya remains in turmoil
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: More than seven years after the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s overthrow and brutal murder (on October 20, 2011) the situation remains in flux as former CIA-asset General Khalifa Haftar's forces launched an offensive against the forces loyal to the western-installed Libyan government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), at least 4,500 people have been displaced since the clashes erupted six days ago, when General Khalifa Haftar ordered his forces to march on Tripoli. Read more
A tale of three Islamic parties
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: Syed Sadatullah Hussaini has been elected Ameer (National President) of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (India). In Pakistan, Senator Sirajul Haq, Monday began second term as Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan. Ironically, in Bangladesh, the High Court declared in August 2013 as illegal, ruling that the party is unfit to contest national polls because its charter puts God above democratic process. Read More
Trump declares Iranian Revolutionary Guards a terrorist group at Netanyahu's request
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, facing a hotly contested bid for a fourth term, tweeted Monday (April8) that the Trump administration designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization at his request, Los Angeles Times reported from Jerusalem. In response to Washington’s decision, the Iranian Supreme Security Council declared the US a “terrorist government” while calling the US CENTCOM a terrorist group as well. Read More
U.S. poised to designate Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a foreign terror group
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali:The Trump administration is preparing to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization, the Wall Street Journal Friday quoted U.S. officials as saying.The WSJ said this step that would vastly escalate the American pressure campaign against Tehran but which has divided U.S. officials. Read More
In the aftermath of New Zealand Mosques massacre: UN General Assembly condemns Islamophobia
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: In the wake of the horrific attack at two New Zealand mosques, in which 50 people were killed and 50 others injured, the UN General Assembly Tuesday (April2, 2019) unanimously adopted a resolution strongly condemning Islamophobia. The UN General Assembly convened a special session to adopt the resolution. The resolution, titled ‘Combating terrorism and other acts of violence based on religion or belief’, was presented by Turkey and co-sponsored by countries including Pakistan. Read More
Countering Islamophobia Rally in San Francisco
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: A major rally was held Sunday (March 31) at the Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco to focus on the impact of killing of 50 worshippers in Christchurch, New Zealand on the seven-million strong American Muslim community. The rally was addressed by the mayor of San Francisco, London Breed and Mayor of Belmont Davina Hurt as well as Sam Hindi, theMayor of Foster City. David Chiu, member of California State Assembly, also spoke at the rally sponsored by the Northern California Islamic Council (NCIC) and co-sponsored by more than two dozen Muslim organizations, Islamic Centers and mosques. Dr. Hatem Bazian, the founder of the Islamophobia Research at Berkeley University, told the rally: Islamophobia is not a problem of Muslims alone, Islamophobia is a problem for all the society because some are trying to say that the America and the world belongs to a particular racial group. “Islamophobia is about white supremacy from the White House to all the way across the continent of Europe and other places.” Read More
Rise of white supremacy discussed at Istanbul seminar
Anadolu Agency: The rise of anti-Islamic tendencies and white supremacy across the world were discussed at a seminar in Istanbul on Wednesday in the wake of the recent New Zealand terror attacks. The Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA) at Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University (IZU) hosted the seminar, titled “Islamophobia, New Zealand and Hate: The Rise of White Supremacists.” In his speech, Sami Al-Arian, director of the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA), said white supremacy is “something that has to be taken seriously because of the damage [it has caused] around the world.” Read More
Whither Pluralism in the USA?
By Dr. Habib Siddiqui: Pluralism still remains a far cry in the USA where Christian evangelism and conservatism got rejuvenated by the presidency of Donald Trump. More than a quarter of Americans identify themselves as evangelists who see themselves as JesusChrist’s soldiers for making the USA a Christian nation. Eighty percent of white evangelicals voted for and, by and large, continue to support President Trump. While such a support from the conservative wing of Christianity may seem like a fundamental contradiction, but to Trump’s faithful supporters, it is Providence at work in human history. They believe in Trump,and like any blind believers, they will not change their allegiance to himno matter what the ‘liberal’ media say about their beloved president. Read More
After Golan Heights, is the West Bank next?
Abdullah Muradoğlu: U.S. President Donald Trump signed a presidential proclamation recognizing Israel’s annexation of the “Golan Heights” on Mar. 25. Attending the signing ceremony were Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as Trump’s chief advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner, Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Advisor John Bolton, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and Trump’s Middle East Ambassador of Peace Jason Greenblatt. The Israel Lobby played a major role in the decisions regarding moving the U.S.’s Israel embassy to Jerusalem and the recognition of Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights. Now, the lobby is after the West Bank. Read More
March 2019
Fallout of New Zealand Mosque massacre? Christchurch attack note left at fire at California mosque
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: Perhaps in the first attack on a mosque in the USA directly linked to the massacre of worshippers in Christchurch, New Zealand on March 15, a mosque in the Southern California city of Escondido was briefly lit on fire on Sunday (March 24) in an apparent arson attempt. The blaze was extinguished by members of the Islamic Center of Escondido, and no one was injured. But police said that a note was found in the mosque’s parking lot that referenced the recent shootings at two mosques in New Zealand that left 50 people dead. Read More
Christchurch shooting: Why are we not using the word Islamophobia?
By Donna Miles-Mojab: Make no mistake, it was not just one man and his gun that killed 50 innocent worshippers in Christchurch, the whole Islamophobia industry had its finger on that trigger too – and yet, in much important commentary about the terrorist attack in Christchurch, the word Islamophobia is often missing. Yes, it is true that Islamophobia is deeply connected with racism and xenophobia but unless we acknowledge its specificity in the mode of operation and the group of people it targets, we won't be able to fulfil our moral responsibility to tackle it. Read More
Violent white supremacy is nothing new, especially in America
By Sher Watts Spooner: The terrorist attack by a white supremacist who killed 50 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, is just the latest in a series of attacks by angry white bigots, whether they identify as neo-Nazis, white supremacists, white nationalists, anti-Semites, the alt-right, or whatever new label they’re claiming, even as Iowa Rep. Steve King (R-Bigotry) wonders how those terms became offensive. The Southern Poverty Law Center reported that the number of hate groups in the U.S. is at an all-time high of 1,020. The FBI saw a rise in the number of domestic terrorist arrests in late 2018. White supremacists committed the most extremist killings in 2017, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Read More
More than 40,000 sign petitions backing NZ Premier for Nobel Peace Prize
as NYT says "America Deserves a Leader as Good as Jacinda Ardern"
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: More than 40,000 people had by Sunday morning signed two petitions calling for New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to get the Nobel Peace Prize. As Ardern has been widely praised for her leadership in response to last week’s terrorist attack on two Christchurch mosques, The New York Times has published an editorial, titled "America Deserves a Leader as Good as Jacinda Ardern." Read More
Donald Trump doesn’t think white nationalism is on the rise, data show otherwise
By Amy Sherman: It’s becoming a pattern with President Donald Trump: downplaying the seriousness of violence associated with white nationalism. A reporter asked Trump if he saw a global rise in white nationalism following reports that the Christchurch, New Zealand, shooter was steeped in the ideology. Trump responded: "I don’t really. I think it’s a small group of people that have very, very serious problems. I guess, if you look at what happened in New Zealand, perhaps that’s a case. I don’t know enough about it yet." Documenting incidents of white nationalism can be challenging. Nevertheless, data from multiple sources suggest extremist attacks associated with white nationalism and far-right ideology is on the rise. Read More
Racism in our time: can it be defeated?
By Habib Siddiqui: How pervasive is the race problem in the USA? To find an answer we don’t need to look beyond the latest revelations from Virginia where Governor Ralph Northam, a Democrat, has been accused of posting about a racist image that appeared on his 1984 medical school yearbook page. He admitted to darkening his face to portray Michael Jackson in a 1980s dance contest in San Antonio.Later the State Attorney General Mark Herring also admitted to dressing in blackface during his time at University of Virginia. Read More
American Muslims alarmed at White Supremacist terror attacks in New Zealand Supreme Court Integrity
The seven-million strong American Muslim Community was alarmed at the White Supremacist terror attacks on two mosques in New Zealand where gunmen entered the mosques and began to shoot and kill Muslim parishioners indiscriminately during the Friday prayer services. At least 49 Muslims were killed and another 48 injured. New Zealand Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed children among shooting victims. Read More
The age of tyrannical surveillance: We’re being branded, bought and sold for our data
By John W. Whitehead: To be technically accurate, Big Brother—aided and abetted by his corporate partners in crime—wants your data. That’s what we have been reduced to in the eyes of the government and Corporate America: data bits and economic units to be bought, bartered and sold to the highest bidder. Those highest bidders include America’s political class and the politicians aspiring to get elected or re-elected. As the Los Angeles Times reports, “If you have been to a political rally, a town hall, or just fit a demographic a campaign is after, chances are good your movements are being tracked with unnerving accuracy by data vendors on the payroll of campaigns.” Read More
Supreme Court Integrity
Arthur Kane Scott: To sustain the rule of law, fairness requires that the courts be objective and impartial in their discernment. The independence of the judiciary goes back to John Marshall, first Supreme Court Justice, who argued that the judiciary was the third branch of government, equal to and wholly independent of the other two branches. Part of its independence was guaranteed by life-time appointments. Its role was to act as arbiter and umpire over the constitution and mores/laws of the nation. To do its task of adjudicating, its membership ideally must be beyond reproach. Read More
What a week for the New Troika!
By Dr. Habib Siddiqui: This past week has been a very exciting week globally. At home, in the USA, there was the much-anticipated House hearing of Michael Cohen, President Trump’s one-time personal lawyer, the ‘fixer’. He appeared fully prepared, genuine, believable and remorseful for his previous support and lying on behalf of his former boss whom he described as a con-man, liar and cheat. Trump is also a racist and a bigot. None of these epithets for Mr. Trump is, however, new. He is worse. Perhaps the most important event last week was Pakistan’s magnanimous release of the captured Indian pilot. Prime Minister Imran Khan announced Thursday to release captured Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan on Friday as a ‘gesture of peace’. However, in the same breath he warned India that any ‘miscalculation’ may prove disastrous for the whole region. The two nuclear-armed countries came very close to a major conflict when Indian warplanes used Israeli-made SPICE 2000 precision-guided bombs (weighing 1 metric ton each) in airstrikes targeting a suspected hideout for the Kashmiri freedom fighters belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM). The group allegedly had claimed responsibility for a suicide attack in Indian-Occupied Kashmir earlier in February that killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary troopers. [Note: SPICE (smart precise impact and cost effective) bombs are the largest conventional bomb in the Indian Air Force's arsenal.] Read More
India and Pakistan tobogganing toward a catastrophic war
By Keith Jones: India and Pakistan, South Asia’s rival nuclear-armed states, are teetering on the brink of a full-scale military conflict. Early Tuesday (Feb 26) morning, Indian warplanes attacked Pakistan for the first time since the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War. Striking deep inside Pakistan, they destroyed what New Delhi claims was the principal “terror base” of the Jaish-e-Mohammed, an Islamist group involved in the separatist insurgency in Indian-held Kashmir. Read More
Kashmir: What Would Gandhi Say?
By John Scales Avery: What would Mahatma Gandhi say about the threat of war between India and Pakistan, which has brought the two nations and the world to the brink of a nuclear catastrophe? Throughout the struggle for Indian independence, Gandhi was faced with the serious problem of avoiding conflict between religious groups once independence had been achieved. He made every effort to bridge the rift between the Hindu and Muslim communities. Read More
India-Pakistan Conflict & the U.S. Strategy for South Asia
By Qamar-ul-Huda: Indian and Pakistani forces have been engaged in cross-border clashes since Feb 26 after New Delhi’s unprecedented airstrikes in Pakistan targeting a facility of the Islamist militant group, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). The fact that India has now abandoned its decades-old policy of restraint in the face of cross-border terrorism means that the risk of long-term conflict in South Asia has greatly increased. Such an outcome is a major threat to U.S. interests in the region and at a time when the Trump Administration is trying to find an exit from neighboring Afghanistan. Therefore, Washington needs to exercise diplomatic leadership to steer the two nuclear rivals towards de-escalation, but more importantly, mediate a new bilateral security arrangement. Read More
Kashmir crisis: Tempers run high, but India & Pakistan will avoid all-out war – analysts
Despite growing tensions over Kashmir and cross-border skirmishes, the two nuclear-armed rivals don’t want to take the conflict to a new stage, choosing instead to keep a safe distance from the point of no return, analysts told RT. The simmering conflict between India and Pakistan returned to front-page news in late February when India launched air strikes on what it claimed was a terrorist training camp located in Pakistan after a deadly attack by a jihadist group, prompting Islamabad to retaliate. Read More
Urges ‘Calm’ While Stoking India-Pakistan Conflict
Strategic Culture Foundation Editorial: Trump’s national security advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have both issued statements which “support India’s right to self-defense against terrorism”. The US officials have also laid the blame on Pakistan for sponsoring acts of terrorism by militant groups in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The northern territory of Kashmir has been the cause of bitter dispute between India and Pakistan ever since they gained independence from Britain in 1947. That reckless advocacy by Washington is predictably leading to a spiral of violence which ultimately could result in an all-out war between two nuclear states. Read More
Who would win? India has army advantage over Pakistan, but nuclear stocks assure mutual destruction
RT News: Realizing its, probably insurmountable, disadvantages, Pakistan has poured much of its money into creating a nuclear deterrent. Both countries conducted their first official weapons tests in 1998, and according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Pakistan has built up an arsenal of 140-150 warheads, more than India’s 130-140. India, however, enjoys superior delivery mechanism capacity, with its Agni-3 rockets capable of hitting targets 5,000km (3,107 miles) away. In contrast Pakistan’s longest-range Shaheen 2 can strike 2,000km targets. Read More
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Abdus Sattar Ghazali
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