Yemen: Urgent need to end genocide and ensure justice done

By Yusuf Abdullahi

NIGERIA/ KADUNA - In the name of Allah Who states "And think not that Allah is unaware of what the wrongdoers do. He only gives them respite till the day on which the eyes will fixedly stare" Q14:42

NIGERIA/ KADUNA - In the name of Allah Who states "And think not that Allah is unaware of what the wrongdoers do. He only gives them respite till the day on which the eyes will fixedly stare" Q14:42

May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon His chosen servant, our master Muhammad and his purified progeny.

This article was written at the onset of 2019 by Allah's mercy, when I extended a good will message to all, with more prayers and greater optimism to end the world's incessant crises responsible for chaos and bloodshed. It is unfortunate that those responsible for these atrocities are hell-bent on their heinous acts, hence a reminder and the need for international community to act!

"If JESUS were among us today, he would not spare even a single moment to fight the leaders of despotism and global arrogance". This was part of the statement of the leader of the Islamic revolution in Iran, Ayatollah Sayyid Khamne'i in relation to the oppressed people of Yemen. He also said "... in Yemen, the Saudi regime is committing the crimes. But their accomplice in crime is the US"  

No doubt, Yemen attracts global attention being the worst artificially created humanitarian crisis. Despite the fact that these atrocities against the poor Yemeni people have not stopped, but some positive developments were recorded looking at the level of condemnations and withdrawals from arms deals with the butcher kingdom after the merciless murder of dissident journalist, Jamal Khashoggi. 

With defiant stance against Donald Trump, the US Senate has recently passed a resolution calling on Washington to stop its support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen, during a session in Washington DC. With the world's clear knowledge of the long-existing master-servant relation between US and Saudi Arabia, the development is very encouraging. Last year, for example, Trump has announced a $110bn weapons deal with Riyadh, which he officially visited after he was sworn in. Earlier on, nothing positive came out from several negotiations organized by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) initiative and implementation mechanism since 23 November 2011 in Riyadh with various groups for peace and stability. The situation worsened with escalation of military confrontations in early 2015. Most noticeably, the UN Security Council resolution 2216 of 2015, requested the Secretary-General to intensify efforts and liaise with all parties to achieve the stated goals. However, with the biased Saudi-led coalition aggression against the poorest country in the region, the situation has turned to worst humanitarian crises ever witnessed in history. In the four years of continuous aggression, tens of thousands of Yemenis lost their lives besides of higher number of civilian casualties and wanton destruction of public and private infrastructures worth billions of dollars! Evidently, being the largest world's humanitarian crises, more than 75% of the total population are in need of aid and protection, significant % absolutely has food insecurity and more than 3 million people displaced. 

The worst humanitarian crises

Over the years, countries and organizations that value human life call for end to continued Saudi-led, American-backed strikes against Yemen. The Islamic Republic of Iran and Amnesty International stand distinct on this issue. The figures vary as to death toll due to direct and indirect effect of the aggression. Some non-governmental organizations put the number between 60 to 100,000, while the UN put it at N10,000.  A recent release by Oxfam, an international confederation of 20 NGO's working with partners in over 90 countries to end injustice, it described Yemen as "raged by the over three years pogrom, killing thousands, and leading to world's biggest humanitarian crises, with many considering Saudi Crown Prince, Muhammad bin Salman, the architect. It certified that a civilian is killed every three hours, calling on the United States, Britain, and the other European States to suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia. One civilian has been killed every three hours in fighting in Yemen since the beginning in August with many more people succumbing to disease and hunger".

The aid group cited data collected by the Civilian Impact Monitoring Project linked to the United Nations global protection clusters that 575 civilians were killed between August 1 and October 15, including 136 children. Therefore, it called on the UK, US and other governments to suspend arms sales to the Saudis because of their disregard for civilian lives in the war in Yemen. Yemen conflict sees one of the deadliest months, 450 civilians were killed in the first nine days of August as the conflict between government forces and Houthis escalated. Saudi Arabia leads a pro-government military alliance that has battled Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis since 2015, pushing the impoverished country to the brink of famine. The UN categorizes Yemen as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, warning on Tuesday that 14 million people now face a serious threat of famine!"  However, with the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post columnist and Saudi critic in the kingdom's consulate, Western nations were advised to suspend arms deals with Saudi. Germany has positively responded pending the outcome of the investigation against the brutal murder. America, which is the largest arms supplier refuses in view of huge financial gains and disregard for human lives. According to the United Nations, more than 10,000 people have been killed since 2015 which the rights and aid groups believe is by far higher. 

On many occasions, concerned individuals and organizations condemned atrocities on the poorest Arab nation by the richest in the Middle-east. The IHRC at the forefront held and influenced such events in London, Geneva, and Indonesia, just as the Islamic Movement stood for the same in Kano and Zaria, Nigeria.  Generally speaking, the rationale behind the campaign was to express solidarity with Yemen as a sovereign nation and to create the much needed public awareness on the urgent need to cease the aggression and quest for justice. The enemies always disseminate misinformation to blackmail Islam and incite Muslims against themselves in the name of Shi'ah/Sunnah. This is what they propagate on the Yemeni crises accusing Iran which is part of the region of supporting Houthis that it denied.  At the same time, Western powers, above all America went the region mingling with their popular allies trading their deadly weapons/consultancy in the name of peacekeeping! Although every Muslim could be likened to one jurisprudential school or the other, the unfortunate crises should be objectively studied.  Muslims must condemn tyranny at all times and places. The issue is not Shi'ah/Sunna or Iran/Saudi but a problem needing judicious attention.  I will briefly conclude from two angles. 

Has the UN any relevance in crises?

The goals behind creation of UN are well designed, judicious and achievable; to maintain international peace and security, and to that end; to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace. (Chapter 1: Purposes and principles - article 1). We don't need to go any further looking at the principal. The question is what purpose does the UN serve on this planet full of oppression, chaos, and bloodshed? In fact, it is high time to run a cost-benefit analysis on the existence or otherwise of the toothless body looking at the colossal amount it consumes from the nation's revenues that could otherwise be used for human and infrastructural development. To be frank and sincere, the UN lacks the moral role to play in the actualization of the most important goals for which it was apparently created. Then, of what relevance is it?   

The Muslim-Ummah must be resolute

Allah states “You are the best community raised for the good of mankind. You enjoin what is good and forbid what is wrong, and you believe in Allah” Q3:110. He also states in Q49.  With this exalted position, we may ask, why can't the Muslims reconcile themselves in the event of any crisis? What is the role of Muslim scholars and intellectuals regarding the situation? Could the massacre in Yemen be regarded as a war between Muslims? We strongly appreciate the moral role of Iran and Amnesty International in this direction. 

In a public event to raise awareness in Iran, Brigadier General Salami said: "If we support Palestine, give moral support to Yemeni people, voice concern for Iraqis and Syrians, and think about Afghanistan, this attitude has been taken from the deep philosophy of Islam"  ... today we have gathered to announce our support for the Yemeni people. What has happened in the Islamic world during the past one hundred years, is due to the United States, the United Kingdom, and Saudi-Arabia, and this is the catastrophic geometry of the Islamic world" 

Iran standing at forefront of anti-Israel battles: Rouhani

The 33rd International Islamic Unity Conference begins in Tehran, Iran, on November 14, 2019. (Photo by Tasnim)

President Hassan Rouhani says the US and its allies have failed in their attempts to portray Israel as a “normal country” just like others in the region thanks to the vigilance in the Muslim world, praising Iran as the flag-bearer of struggles against the occupying entity.

“We should not doubt that the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation are on the front line of the battle against the arrogance and the Zionist regime,” Rouhani told the 33rd International Islamic Unity Conference, which opened in Tehran on Thursday morning.

“This, of course, does not mean that the nations of Palestine, Syria, Iraq and Yemen are not on the front line, but Islamic Iran is the establishment that has paid the highest price for resistance and standing up to the US and Zionism over the past 41 years.”

PressTV-Leader: Palestine will eventually be liberated

Ayatollah Khamenei says Palestine will finally be freed from the grip of enemies with Jerusalem al-Quds with its capital.

Rouhani also said enemies have in recent years tried to consign to oblivion the issue of Palestine and Jerusalem al-Quds as the main problem facing the Muslim world, but Muslim scholars have not allowed and will not allow such a thing to happen.

The enemies, he added, have also sought to make Muslims forget the crimes committed by the West — led by the US — against the Islamic world.

“They wanted Israel to be accepted by all Muslim people in the region, even by the Palestinians, as a normal and typical country,” he said.

“Today, no one in the region and the Islamic world has any doubt that ... the US and the Zionist regime have been the root cause of all war, massacre, bloodshed and division in our region at least over the past three decades,” he said.

Rouhani also cited the massacre of people in Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen as well as disputes among Muslim countries as examples of “ominous” US plots in the region.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (C) delivers a speech at the 33rd International Islamic Unity Conference, Tehran, November 14, 2019. (Photo by Tasnim)

Addressing the conference, Bahrain’s top Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim urged the Muslim nations to tighten their ranks and not to abandon the Palestinians in the face of the Zionist regime’s oppression.

He further enumerated Palestine, Jerusalem al-Quds and the al-Aqsa Mosque as the ideals of the Muslim Ummah, adding that some Arabic establishments have turned their back to Palestine by submitting to the already-failed US deal.

Naim Qassem, the deputy secretary general of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement, also delivered a speech at the event, saying it is a “collective responsibility” to work towards liberating Palestine.

He highlighted the need for the Muslim world to put up resistance in the face of Israel, saying it was “resistance that saved us from tribal and sectarian rifts.”

The conference marks the birth anniversary of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. Themed “Ummah unity in defending the al-Aqsa Mosque,” the event will run until November 16, with 350 personalities from 93 countries in attendance.

 The International Islamic Unity Conference is held annually in an effort to lay the ground for stronger unity and solidarity among Muslims and provide solutions for their problems.

Utter Confusion in Mentally-Retarded White House

By: Kayhan Int’l 

Washington, or more properly the administration of the quixotic Donald Trump, is in the grip of utter confusion, following failure of the "mentally-retarded” White House’s policy of economic terrorism against Iran, as well as its futile attempts to frighten the Islamic Republic through flexing of the US’ old, aching, and over-inflated military muscles.

Frantic senior US officials, having lost their mental equilibrium following Iran’s dexterous display of its defence capabilities in downing their most advanced and expensive radar-evading drone by the very missiles it was designed to dodge, are uttering nonsensical remarks against Tehran as they make desperate dashes around West Asia, to assure their scared clients in Riyadh, Tel Aviv, Abu Dhabi and elsewhere of Washington’s waning power.

These utterances, whether by the gangster Mike Pompeo or the bespectacled bozo John Bolton, betray the political and intellectual bankruptcy at both the State Department and the National Security Department, as well as at the Pentagon, the war headquarters of the US.

Donald the Dotard appeared the most delirious of them of all on Tuesday, when he used the last obsolete option on his rusting table by signing what he called sanctions on the assets of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

He then went on to threaten Iran with total obliteration from the face of the earth.
What a harebrained fool! Trump is neither aware of the current international affairs nor does he know the history, geography, culture, and spiritual power of Iran.

First of all, the most revered person in the Islamic Republic doesn’t have any dollar or foreign currency account.

Secondly, senior commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), at the mention of whose name, the CENTCOM terrorists violently shake with fear, are not persons to play pranks with.

It seems the whole US apparatus, including its military, are on the horns of dilemma on having seen a single instance of Iran’s defence capabilities in downing the drone, and are wondering what other powerful deterrents the Islamic Republic possesses to ward off any would-be aggressor.

Trump and his thugs have sent the cream of their naval and air forces to the Persian Gulf region, but now as an old English adage says about a shivering pigeon at the sight of an approaching falcon, they are: "Afraid to stay and afraid to fly.”

Anyone with some knowledge of history and the current developments are fully aware that Iran and the Iranian people have withstood the test of times in the face of heavy odds for the past two-and-a-half millenniums of cultural glories. 

Islam bestowed Iran with spiritual power that helped the Iranian people triumph over some of the most bloodthirsty marauders, including the modern day Ba’thist tyrant Saddam and the macabrely murderous Takfiri terrorists.

Under the circumstances, the best thing for the US and its president to avoid further defeats and humility that will surely drag them to the abysmal depths of the eternal inferno, is to pull back their forces from the entire Asia-African region, and accept the fact that the Islamic Republic system of government will stay even after the US ceases to be a superpower. 

It is the Muslim Ummah which has assured by God of final victory, as Iran has been saying by advocating Islamic unity, which means neither Israel will remain on the map of West Asia for long nor the fiefdoms that Britain created after World War.

Adopting lessons from the Seerah: a radically new way of marking the Prophet’s birthday

Zafar Bangash

 ZAFAR BANGASH, director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought, suggests another way to mark the birthday in this Islamic month of Rabi al-Awwal of the Last and Seal of all Allah’s Messengers (as).

Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala describes the noble Messenger, Muhammad, upon whom be peace, as the "best of exemplars" (al-Qur’an 33:21). His Seerah (life-history) and Sunnah (life-example) are guides for humanity till eternity because he embodied, in his life, all the teachings of the Qur’an. Long before his formal commission by Allah as the last and final Messenger, he led such a pure and clean life that he earned the title of al-Amin ("the trustworthy one") even from the tribalism-ridden, quarrelsome society of Makkah. He was soft-spoken, kind and compassionate. Allahsubhanahu wa ta’ala, in His Infinite Wisdom and Mercy, calls him a "mercy to all the worlds" (21:107). The Creator has also commanded His faithful servants to "Obey Allah and obey the Messenger" (4:59) in all matters. In fact, Allah reminds us that when we obey the Messenger, we are actually obeying Him (4:80).

Muslims are generally aware of these lofty qualities of the noble Messenger because these are repeated in jum’ah khutbas every week as well as in khutbas on other occasions, especially in the month of Rabi al-Awwal, when the birthday of Allah’s Messenger (saw) is celebrated with great joy and fervour. There are elaborate programmes of nasheed and na’at recitals, as well as passionate speeches highlighting the great qualities of the Prophet. The idea is to express love for the Prophet as well as remind Muslims of his qualities in order for us to emulate them in our own lives. By approximating our behaviour as closely as possible to that of the noble Messenger, we Muslims hope to achieve Allah’s Pleasure, and thus nearness to Him.

Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says in the Qur’an that He sent His Messenger (saw) to bring those who commit themselves to Allah, and do good deeds, out of darkness into light (65:11). One great Muslim thinker and writer, Syed Qutb Shaheed (d.1966), said that any action or behaviour that does not conform to the command of Allah must of necessity belong to the domain of darkness; similarly, all action and behaviour that is in conformity with Allah’s prescribed path is good and wholesome. Thus a simple act of kindness to one’s family, friends, relatives or even total strangers becomes an act of ibadah (worship) because it is pleasing to Allah. But Rasool-Allah’s Seerah is much more than an aggregate of instructions about individual behaviour. As the last and final Messenger, his example embodies all aspects of human existence, whether it relates to private or public life, to the individual or society and state. Thus the Seerah must be looked at in its entirety and not confined to the aspects of taharah (purity) and najasah, important though these are in the life of a Muslim. The Seerah must be studied beyond the aspects of miswak and perfume.

It is at this level that one finds a huge gap in the understanding of Muslims when deriving lessons from the Seerah. Today the Muslim Ummah finds itself in a cleft stick; Muslims are oppressed, persecuted and terrorised everywhere, yet they are the ones who are blamed for almost all the problems in the world. If there is violence in Palestine, it is the Palestinians who are blamed; there is seldom even a hint that it might have anything to do with the alien occupiers of Palestine. There is an astonishing degree of intellectual dishonesty and hypocrisy in dealing with the root causes of the world’s problems, almost all of which affect the Muslims. One can, however, berate the rest of the world for its hypocrisy and injustices, yet that will not help the Muslims unless we also understand what we are required to do with regard to applying the teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah of the noble Messenger (saw).

Let us consider two ayaat from the noble Qur’an that clarify the role of Rasool-Allah (saw):

[He is] a Messenger reciting unto you the revelation of Allah made plain, so that he may bring those who make a faith-commitment to Allah and do righteous deeds, out of darkness into light. (65:11)

He [Allah] it is Who has sent the Messenger with clear guidance and the Deen of Truth, so that it becomes dominant over all other systems and beliefs, however much the mushrikeen may detest it. (9:33).

These ayaat, among many in the Qur’an, establish the centrality of Allah’s Messenger in reorganising and guiding the affairs of Muslims. They highlight his role as the one who brings humanity out of darkness into light (65:11). If "darkness" is that state in which human beings are not in conformity with Allah’s principles and purposes, then light would place them mentally, physically, emotionally and intellectually in tune with Allah’s commands and in a state when they are consciously striving to adhere to them at all times. Allah has also promised that He will make Islam dominant in the world (9:33). This was realised during the lifetime of the Messenger but did not end with his earthly mission; this promise is also made to those who follow the Prophet’s Sunnah and Seerah. As Dr Kalim Siddiqui has observed, the role of Abu-Qasim (saw) as the last and final Messenger of Allah (33:40) and as the "best of exemplars" (33:21) was not confined to a specific time period (KS: Political Dimensions of the Seerah, ICIT, 1998, p.1); his method is applicable to all times and in all situations. This is Allah’s infinite mercy because we Muslims can always hope to emerge from whatever darkness we may have fallen into, provided that we follow the Qur’an and the Prophet’s Sunnah and Seerah.

We Muslims must, however, first have a clear understanding of our present situation. While we declare endlessly that we are one Ummah, the sad reality is that the Muslim world is divided into nation-states although there is no provision for nation-states in the divine scheme. Allah says in the noble Qur’an that He has created humankind from a single male and female and spread us into tribes, communities etc, "so that they may recognise each other" (49:06); this does not mean that people should then divide themselves along cultural, linguistic or racial lines or consider one group superior to another. There are many ayaat in the Qur’an referring to Muslims as one Ummah; this imposes certain obligations upon us but, far from living up to these, we accept our division into nation-states, like cages in a zoo, and then wonder why Allah’s promised help does not come when we face difficulties. Our energies and resources are not only divided but at the disposal of the kuffar, who use them to terrorise Muslims.

The other sad reality is that, for the first time in history, many of us find ourselves in a minority situation under non-Muslim rule. In the past, even as minorities, Muslims were the rulers. This was true in Spain as well as in India, for instance. The Muslim rulers guaranteed the rights of other people, and ensured that they were neither exploited nor molested. One would be hard-pressed to find any parallels to that situation in the world today. In fact, most people who benefited and thrived under Muslim rule, are today the most hostile to the Muslims; the Brahmin rulers of India, the zionist occupiers of Palestine and the Serbs in the Balkans come readily to mind. Their record of barbarism against Muslims is atrocious.

There is one other point from history worth considering. When Muslims found themselves as non-ruling minorities, they made every effort to return to the larger reality of the Islamic state. There is a hadith of Allah’s Messenger (saw) stating that Muslims must either live in the Islamic state or strive to establish one. The option of living in an Islamic state is not available at the moment, because although most of the 1.5 billion Muslims live in states with Muslim majorities, they are not governed there by Islamic law. Similarly, Muslim minorities in other countries have no place to return to because, under the divisive system of the nation-state, nobody will take them in or give them shelter. So we Muslims have to make some painful intellectual adjustments in our understanding of the present reality.

We need, however, to return to the contemporary situation, in which the power of kufr has become so totally dominant that Muslims feel weak and vulnerable. There were instances in the past as well when Muslims found themselves in such a predicament. Even in the life of Allah’s Messenger (saw) there were many years, especially in Makkah, when he was isolated and vulnerable; one is reminded of his lament to Allah after the chiefs of Taif rejected his message and set the hooligans of the town on him: he turned to Allah (swt) to complain of his helplessness. But this was not because he was worried about his personal comfort; his larger concern was that Allah not be displeased with him. Today we Muslims lament our helplessness but fail to consider whether we are striving for Allah’s pleasure or for our own comfort and ease. Although Muslims’ concern for the plight of their brothers and sisters in Palestine, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Chechnya and Iraq is genuine, we fail to take the next logical step: to support them properly. This is especially true of the attitude of regimes in the Muslim world. Most Muslims know that these regimes are an impediment to our efforts to solve the problems of the Ummah, yet we do not support and help those struggling to remove them from power to usher in responsible Islamic government.

Seldom or never in history has any ruling class voluntarily relinquished power or accepted responsibility for the injustices of the system it has set up (or taken over and reorganised). Whenever the inequities of a system are exposed, the elites of that system react violently to suppress attempts to rectify those inequities. The struggle to transform a society, based on man-made laws, into an Islamic state cannot be without human or material costs. It demands great sacrifices because those who have vested interests in the established order will use every means at their disposal to crush any challenge. But the Seerah shows us that, by sustained effort, change can be brought about. We Muslims need to make the mental leap from passivity to activity, based on a clear understanding of the Seerah.

The Prophet (saw) faced numerous difficulties and challenges in his quest to convey the message of Islam and to establish the Islamic state. A reign of terror was unleashed against him and his small group of followers, including a three-year siege in Shi’b Abi-Talib, leading to a plot to kill him; yet he persisted and eventually triumphed. Much the same thing is happening against committed Muslims today; those who are terrorising and killing Muslims accuse their victims of indulging in ‘terrorism’. The situation is made worse by the fact that almost all means of communication are also controlled by the kuffar. But the Seerah shows that the struggle for truth and justice will not be easy; in fact, Allah points out in the Qur’an: "do people think they will be left [at ease] and will not be tested once they say they have believed?" (29:02). The test of those who are truly committed is precisely to bring out their strength of iman and shed any lingering doubts in their minds. It is like forging steel; it has to go through phases of hot and cold and much beating before its true strength comes out. Our struggle with numerous difficulties is meant to bring out the best in us, not to depress or discourage us.

Just as the Prophet’s declaration of Islam at the popular level was necessary to deconstruct the socio-political order in Arabia, in order to pave the way for the Islamic order with its own ideology and power-base, so too must Muslims go through a similar process today. We will have to mount an ideological challenge to kufr because it has come to dominate much of the world today. Without such a challenge, the true potential of the Ummah will not be realised. Islam requires total commitment, not half-measures. Some Muslims recoil in horror from the suggestion that the Prophet had anything to do with politics, but this is based on a lack of understanding of the Seerah. If we believe that he was sent as an exemplar and leader for all of human history, then his life must encompass every aspect of life, political activity included.

In this month of Rabi al-Awwal, as we Muslims celebrate the birthday of Allah’s Messenger (saw), it would do us immense good to go beyond the ritualistic and formalised representation of his virtues, and to begin to address the struggle that he went through and the difficulties that he dealt with and overcame in establishing the Islamic state in Madinah, and then in extending it to the whole of the Arabian Peninsula.

 

Zafar Bangash