KL Summit 2019 is to improve Muslim lives, says Dr M

KUALA LUMPUR: The Kuala Lumpur Summit 2019 is aimed at improving the lives of Muslims, overcome Islamophobia and address the shortcomings in the Muslim world, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The Prime Minister said Malaysia wanted to hold the summit because it felt that it had to do something to improve the lives of Muslims the world over.

"We feel that we need to overcome Islamophobia. We need to find a way to address our shortcomings, our dependency on non-Muslims to protect ourselves against the enemies of Islam," he said in the opening address at the opening dinner of the summit here.

"We hope at the end of the summit, we will be able to affirm a few specific initiatives that can be the catalyst to bigger things," added Dr Mahathir, who is the chairman of the summit.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani have arrived in Malaysia for the summit while the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is expected to attend on Thursday (Dec 19).

Uzbekistan will be represented by its State Advisor to the President, Rustam Kasimov.

Dr Mahathir said the summit was also an opportunity for countries to get closer "to our Muslim brothers and sisters as enjoined in the Quran that all Muslims are brothers."

"While the majority of Malaysians are Muslims, we have a substantial minority who are from different faiths, cultures, customs and ways of life," said the Prime Minister.

"We will never claim to be the perfect Muslim or the model of a good Muslim nation, but we can attest that we have been able to live with our non-Muslim citizens in peace and harmony for decades and this tradition had existed since our independence," he said.

"Admittedly, there have been minor racial and religious conflicts but they are rare and few, insignificant if we are to compare with the period of peace, goodwill and prosperity. To our mind, that is what Islam enjoins us to do – to live peacefully with our non-Muslim citizens and work together to build a nation that is prosperous, peaceful and harmonious," said Dr Mahathir.

With some 450 delegates from 56 countries of the Islamic world present, issues such as the rise of Islamophobia, the incarceration of Muslims around the globe and mass migration of Muslims due to civil wars are expected to be highlighted at the conference.

The participants of the summit, which carries the theme ‘The Role of Development in Achieving National Sovereignty’, comprise of thinkers, intellectuals, politicians and community leaders.

Discussions at the meeting will be framed by seven main thrusts, namely national development and sovereignty; integrity and good governance; culture and identity; justice and freedom; peace, security and defence; trade and investment; as well as technology and internet governance.

The Islamic Republic has been promoting unity for forty years: Marzieh Hashemi

TEHRAN – Press TV anchor Marzieh Hashemi says the number of Islamic unity conferences held by the Islamic Republic of Iran demonstrates that Iran has been stressing the importance of unity from the very beginning.

“We have enemies who are trying to say that Iran is a divisive entity, but the facts speak way beyond that and what Iran is doing,” she told the Tehran Times on the sidelines of the International Islamic Unity Conference in Tehran on Thursday.

“We know that the Palestinians are not Shia, so it is not about Shia or Sunni, it is about what is right as well as fighting against oppression,” Marzieh Hashemi tells the Tehran Times.

Ms. Hashemi, who converted to Islam in the aftermath of the Islamic Revolution, also said the most important way to overcome Islamophobia in Western countries is through person-to-person contact between Muslims and non-Muslims.

The transcript of the interview is presented below:

Q: What’s the significance of the International Islamic Unity Conference and how can this event promote unity between Sunni and Shia Muslims?

A: I think the International Islamic Unity Conference is very important and of course we’ve been seeing it take place for years now. It is important that we continue to stress that sense of commonness between the Sunnis and the Shias and that Islam is what’s important. We have to make sure that we’re strong and that we’re united and that we stand together, especially during these times that the enemies are trying to divide us. If we stand together, with the population that we have in our Islamic Ummah, victory is promised to us and there’s no way that we can be defeated. The defeat will only come if we allow others to divide us. Whether it’s dealing with ethnicities or nationalities, we know that as Muslims we must be above that and that Islam is our priority. Inshallah we will be able to be even more united and Inshallah we will have the ultimate victory. 

Q: Some countries say Iran is a divisive entity that divides Muslims by following sectarian policies. What’s your thought?

A: What we have seen in the forty-year history of the Islamic Republic, from the Islamic Revolution on, is the opposite of that. We have seen policies coming out of Iran that definitely encourage unity. If we go back to the time of Imam Khomeini at the beginning of the Revolution and what happened right after that, we see that actually the Israeli embassy under the time of the Shah was given to the Palestinians after the Revolution. We know that the Palestinians are not Shia, so it is not about Shia or Sunni, it is about what is right as well as fighting against oppression. And I think the Islamic Republic has proven itself time and time again that it is definitely not trying to divide the Ummah, but it is bringing it together. We have enemies who are trying to say that Iran is a divisive entity, but the facts speak way beyond that and what Iran is doing, for example this conference right now. If Iran was promoting division, then why would it continue to encourage unity? And I believe this is the 33rd conference, so it’s not new. This demonstrates that from the very beginning, Iran has been stressing the importance of unity. Again, it’s with unity that we will have the ultimate victory.

Q: Isalmophobia and anti-Muslim bigotry are currently very prevalent in Western societies. How can such conferences help resolve those issues and promote more nuanced views of Islam and Muslims?

A: I think by bringing Muslims together from all over the world, we realize we’re not alone and we are a very very large community. When we’re dealing with these countries – these Western countries – it is important to note how we carry ourselves as Muslims. We have to have that Akhlagh (ethics), that personality that we learned from Rasoul Allah Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH), and I think that attracts people. With people in the West, of course, the goal of the hegemonic powers is to try to portray Islam in a negative way. But interestingly, what’s happening in so many places is that people who have relationships with Muslims – whether as neighbors or colleagues – see that the reality is something else. They see that Muslims are not what they’re portrayed to be. So, I think it’s this person-to-person contact that is actually changing that perception, and we as Muslims are changing it. For example, in the United States and in other places, at the end of the day we’ve had more and more people convert to Islam, in spite of the peak of Islamophobia that followed 9/11. 

Unity Week Special (5)

Welcome to the 5th episode of the Unity Week Special on the blessed birthday anniversary of the Messenger of Mercy, Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny).

The Unity Week, which we said in our previous episodes, spans the two dates of the month of Rabi al-Awwal believes to be the blessed birthday of the Prophet of Peace – 12 as the Sunni Muslims claim and 17th as the Shi’a Muslims assert – is the symbol of brotherhood between Shi;a and Sunni Muslims and struggle against the archenemies of Islam, the Global Arrogance, thanks to the dynamic initiative taken forty years ago by the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), in order to assemble the Ummah on a single platform of solidarity.

Global Arrogance, spearheaded by the US, advances war against Islam in two ways: fomenting of sectarian differences among Islamic communities, especially between Sunnis and Shi’as; and spreading a global fear of Islam and Muslims. The goal of Global Arrogance is to plunder the resources and wealth of the Islamic countries and create a safe margin for the Zionist regime of Israel in the heart of the Islamic world. Creation of discord was initiated in West Asia and the entire Islamic world by the wicked British Empire more than two centuries ago. They pursued the motto, “Divide and Rule”. This ominous scheme is being now practiced by the US, the fabricated Zionist regime and their allies and accomplices.

A brief look at history reveals the black and dark pages of the British crimes in the Muslim lands. The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says, “The British have always been the source of evil and wickedness in our region. The blows that they dealt to the nations of this region might be matched by a power in few regions in the world. In the Subcontinent they dealt such blows; they pressured the people so badly; in Afghanistan in another way, in Iran in a different way, in Iraq in yet another way; and finally in Palestine they put into effect that sinister and wicked move and made Muslims, and in fact a whole nation, homeless, and expelled people en masse from their houses. A historic country that had been known since thousands of years ago - by the name of Palestine- perished with the policies of the British! In this region, since two centuries ago- nearly from 1800 on- whatever the British have done were evil, corruption and threat.”

British colonialism has a long record of fanning the flames of discord among Muslims and Islamophobia. They used to promote racial and sectarian differences. The British made use of temptation and deception of some Muslims to infiltrate in the ranks of Muslims and put into practice their nefarious designs.

An example of the British designs in the Islamic countries can be seen in the 1920 revolution in Iraq. When the British intended to occupy Iraq and pillage its resources, they faced the united ranks of Shi’a and Sunni Muslims. The letters of Mass Bill, the advisor to then British envoy to Iraq, reveal how he was scared of unity among Muslims. He wrote to his father, “We are exposed to intensive chaos and we are worried. Hardliners have adopted a method that is difficult to struggle: it is the unity between Sunnis and Shi’as; it means unity in Islam. They misuse this issue in the best way. The celebrations of Ramadhan are sometimes held in the Shi’a mosques and some times in the Sunni mosques. There are participants from both sects. In these ceremonies, panegyrics, poems and speeches are delivered that relate religion with politics. All of these ceremonies are concentrated around enmity with disbelievers.”

What made Mass Bill concerned was a real worry given that he could understand the conditions of the 1920 revolution and the presence of people on the scene. Today, also, the US, Zionist regime, Britain and their partners-in-crime are strongly pursuing the old policy of divide and rule. They pursue many colonial goals via creation of problems in the Islamic lands. Through generation of outfits like Wahhabism, and its terrorist offshoots such as Daesh, Al-Qaeda and Taliban, they want to spread demonize Islam in the eyes and minds of people in the world. These gimmicks have increased manifold since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the call of unity by the father of the revolution, Imam Khomeini.

The enemies of Islam spend exorbitantly on causing rift among Muslims. They set up satellite channels to provoke Sunnis against Shias and vice versa. The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Khamenei, calls these two currents as the British Shia and American Sunni. He says, “We do not accept a Shi’a schools whose center and base of propaganda is London. This is not the Shi’a school that the Infallible Imams promote and wanted. This Shi’a school is based on causing difference, preparation and smoothing the road for the presence of the enemies of Islam; this is not Shi’a school at all. It is deviation.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, the leader said, “The British groomed Shi’a and American groomed Sunni are the two blades of the same scissors. Their effort is focused on causing infighting among Muslims and fomenting differences.”

 Dr. Hassan Rahimpour Azghadi, Iranian university professor, explaining the Leader’s remarks on the type of Shi’as that are being promoted from London, says that this is the same thought that led to the isolation of Imam Husain (AS) on the day of Ashura. They were the pseudo-Muslims who told the Imam, “It is not expedient to stage an uprising.” As a result, out of 100,000 Muslims who had promised to help the Imam, only 72 people helped him.

In the view of Dr.Azghadi the British Shi’a and the American Sunni are the same people who see Imam Husain (AS) but they are not ready for jihad, martyrdom, captivity, promotion of what is good and prevention of what is evil. They believe in a version of Islam that is not troublesome for the usurpers of power and resources of the oppressed and downtrodden nations. Such Muslims are just seeking the pleasures of this world; while none of the Infallible Imams had a comfortable life.

Dr.Rahimpour Azghadi maintains that if the Imams had not pursued politics, at least one of them should have died naturally; whereas they were either killed at war or at the altar of worship or through poison!!! These great figures, due to standing against oppressors and tyrants of their era, were either tortured or imprisoned. And finally they were martyred. Today, disunity is a lethal poison for Muslims.

That’s why Ayatollah Khamenei says, “When we chant the motto of unity we should pay attention to these two points as they are the things that are constructive for the practical life of Muslims. One of these points is to remove differences, contradictions, conflicts, oppositions and obstructionisms that have been there among Muslim sects and communities since centuries ago; and these contradictions have always been detrimental to Muslims. The second point is to put this unity at the service and in the way of the Islamic rule; or else it will be absurd and senseless.”      

Unity Week Special (4)

These days most Muslims all over the world are marking the Islamic Unity Week on the occasion of the blessed birth anniversary of the Messenger of Mercy, Prophet Mohammad (Blessings of God upon him and his progeny).

According to Sunni Muslims, on the basis of the narrations of the Sahaba, he was born on the 12th of Rabi’ul Awwal, while Shi’a Muslims who regard the accounts of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt or Impeccable Household as more reliable, he was born on the 17th of this month. Forty years ago, in order to bridge this 5-day gap and to bring the Islamic Ummah on the platform of solidarity, the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA) took the dynamic initiative of declaring the Prophet’s birthday as Islamic Unity Week.

We use this opportunity to study in brief some of the merits of Allah’s Best-Ever Creation. The following is the 4th episode of this series.

 “We have not sent you but as Mercy unto to the creation”. This is how God Almighty has introduced in Ayah 107 of Surah Anbiya of the holy Qur’an, his Last and Greatest Messenger, Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). As it has been clearly mentioned in the books of Hadith and history, the Prophet of Islam was the only Messenger of God who never cursed the people who tormented him. This was in contrast to the prophets of the past, who fed up with the persecution at the hands of the tyrants and the misled masses, who heaped all sorts of problems upon them and even murdered them, had no choice but to invoke the wrath of God upon them. But the Prophet of Islam never did such a thing, although as he himself said no prophet had been tormented as much as he was, including the plot to murder him in Mecca by conspirators who included his own misled uncle, Abu Lahab.

The plot miserably failed as the Prophet safely migrated to Medina, thanks to the courage of his young cousin Imam Ali (AS), who volunteered to sleep on the Prophet’s bed so that the infidels hovering around the abode of Divine Revelation would think their intended victim was still there, and in the morning he could be easily murdered.

History bears witness that the Prophets of God have always been the target of sedition by the followers of Satan intending who intended to distort the divine mission. This trend continues today and will persist till the re-emergence of the Prophet of Islam’s 12th and Last Infallible Heir, the Saviour of mankind Imam Mahdi (AS) who will cleanse the Planet of all traces of corruption and oppression by establishing the global government of peace, prosperity and justice. The ringleaders of today’s devilish trends are the illegal Zionist entity called Israel and the US, which is indeed the Great Satan of our times.

The western corporate media is playing the role of the horn of Satan through its campaign of Islamophobe and intense targeting of the Islamic Republic of Iran, because of being the centre of the Islamic movement. Zionism and imperialism, in league with Arab reactionaries who are following the ways of the pre-Islamic Arab Jahiliyya, are trying to depict virtuous Muslims as terrorists, when in fact they themselves are the chief culprits and breeders and funders of macabrely murderous terrorist outfits, such as Daesh and other takfiri groups. who do not tolerate followers of other creeds.

It has now become obvious to people all over the world that the Daesh and other takfiri terrorist outfits have no connection to Islam and the teachings of Prophet, in view of their devilish behaviour, and their being trained by the US and the Zionists, with funds from the oil rich Arab reactionary regimes, such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Islamic unity and solidarity among all Muslims is the only way to confront such seditious plots. The Ummah needs to stress the fundamental commonalities of all Islamic schools of jurisprudence in order to thwart the plots of enemies. Once unity is materialized among Muslims there will be no chance for the enemies to spread takfiri and terroristic ideology. That’s why God advises us in ayah 46 of surah Anfaal of the Qur’an:

“And obey Allah and His Messenger, and do not dispute, or you will lose heart and your power will be gone. And be patient; indeed Allah is with the patient.”

As a matter of fact, quarreling about petty differences weakens Muslims and will make them easy targets for enemies. We should realize that we are one single monolithic Ummah despite the superficial differences of ethnicity, features, colour of skin, cultures, and languages spoken. This is indeed university in diversity as preached by the Prophet whose prominent companions included Salman the Iranian, Bilal the black skinned African, and Sohaib, the Roman.

In ayah 92 of surah Anbiya God stresses that the Islamic Ummah is the One and United Ummah and He is their Lord so they should worship Him. “Indeed this community of yours is one community, and I am your Lord. So worship Me.”

A brief look at the history of Islam shows that the Prophet took practical measures to bolster unity amongst Muslims. He made the Muhajerin (or the migrants from Mecca) and Ansar (or the helpers of Medina) brothers to one another so they overcome the animosities of the days of ignorance. Thus, in view of the Prophet’s dynamic guidelines, Muslims today should take practical steps to remove the causes of discord and spare no efforts to portray to the whole world the monolithic image of the Islamic Ummah.

Therefore, the Unity Week is the symbol of convergence around the peerless personality of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). He was the symbol of mercy and affection, and the greatest opponent of the arrogant oppressors. Muslims should follow him as the best role model for dealing kindly with all people of the world and standing firmly against the enemies of humanity.  

Unity Week Special (3)

These days most Muslims all over the world are marking the Islamic Unity Week on the occasion of the blessed birth anniversary of the Messenger of Mercy, Prophet Mohammad (Blessings of God upon him and his progeny).

According to Sunni Muslims, on the basis of the narrations of the Sahaba, he was born on the 12th of Rabi’ul Awwal, while Shi’a Muslims who regard the accounts of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt or Impeccable Household as more reliable, he was born on the 17th of this month. Forty years ago, in order to bridge this 5-day gap and to bring the Islamic Ummah on the platform of solidarity, the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA) took the dynamic initiative of declaring the Prophet’s birthday as Islamic Unity Week.

We use this opportunity to study in brief some of the merits of Allah’s Best-Ever Creation. The following is the third episode of the Unity Week Special.

Unity of Muslims has been highly stressed in Islamic teachings. In the holy Qur’an, in Ayah 10 of Surah Hujurat, God Almighty says:

“The faithful are indeed brothers. Therefore, make peace between your brothers and be wary of Allah, so that you may receive [His] mercy.”

The Father of the Islamic Revolution and the Founder of the Islamic Republic in Iran, Imam Khomeini (RA), was among the best followers of the Prophet of Islam and his Infallible Progeny, the Ahl al-Bayt. He was a true caller to unity among Muslims in the contemporary era. He tried his best to knit the ranks of Muslims, irrespective of the schools of jurisprudence that they follow. He had correctly figured out that unity and solidarity is the main factor for effective confrontation against the enemies of Islam, especially the Great Satan, the US, as well as the symbol of state terrorism and crimes against humanity, illegal Zionist entity – which he called a cancerous tumour that ought to be weeded out.

After the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, the enemies of humanity became hell-bent on sowing the seeds of discord and hatred among Muslims. But Imam Khomeini in a prudent move, issued the message of Islamic solidarity by declaring Unity Week in Iran and abroad on the occasion of the birthday of the Prophet, in an effective move to thwart the plots of the enemies and ill-wishers. His message was issued on November 1980, thereby bridging the two dates of Rabi al-Awwal, considered as the birthday of the Prophet – the 12th by Sunni Muslims and the 17th by Shi’a Muslims.

Imam Khomeini said, “Creation of differences between Sunnis and Shi’as and spread of seditious propaganda that causes enmity among Muslim brothers, is more dangerous and more grievous than chauvinistic nationalism. Thank God, there is no difference between the two groups in the Islamic Revolution of Iran, and all are living together in friendship and fraternity. The Sunnis, who live in different parts of Iran and have produced many scholars and religious leaders, are our brothers and we are their brothers. We are all equal as brothers-in-faith. Sunni Muslims are opposed to the seditious calls that are being made by some criminals and the agents of Zionism and US imperialism. Our Sunni brothers are well aware that the lackeys serving the interests of satanic powers are not true Muslims, and thus, it is necessary for Muslims to denounce them and not listen to their seditious propaganda. I extend my hand of brotherhood to all committed Muslims throughout the world.”

It is interesting to know that there are numerous commonalities between Shi’a and Sunni Muslims. They believe in the indivisible unity of the One and Only Creator of the universe; they regard the Prophet of Islam to be the Last and Greatest Messenger of God; they face the same Qibla (or focal point for the daily ritual prayer) during their formal acts of worship; unlike the Christians and the Jews, they have the same single version of the divine scripture, the holy Qur’an; they all fast in the month of Ramadhan; they celebrate the two principal Eids of Fitr and Adha; they perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage in the same days of the month of Zilhijja; they belief in the Day of Judgment, and so on. Sunni Muslims also revere the Prophet’s Blessed Ahl al-Bayt and regard Imam Ali (AS) as the greatest person after the Prophet.

In view of these facts, the Islamic Unity Week is an important step in strengthening fraternity among Muslim communities in different parts of the world and removal of differences and animosities.

But, unfortunately, some Muslim countries do not abide by this Qur’anic call and make efforts to cause division and difference among Muslims just to gladden the US and the Zionist regime of Israel. The Saudi regime is the main factor of disunity among Muslims. Had the self-styled Custodian of the Two Holy Shrines done his duty toward Islamic unity, the most important issue of the Islamic world (the issue of Palestine) would have been solved and there would not have been crises in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Nigeria and so on.

Had Muslim thinkers and influential figures gathered round the excruciating issue of Palestine, the criminal regime in Tel Aviv would have been exterminated. Over 70% of the world energy resources and 65% of natural reserves are in the lands of Muslims but most of this wealth is being devoured by the big powers due to the negligence of Muslim leaders.

The foresighted and sharp outlook of Imam Khomeini regarding the issue of unity among Muslims meant resistance against the illegal demands of Global Arrogance and Zionism.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, too, considers unity as the essential factor for the Islamic Ummah. He says, “The enemies portray us ugly and try to depict us as unpleasant towards each other. This is the enemies’ plot. Any move that causes us to know each other better and more, to recognize our strong points, to synergize our strong points, to convey them to each other; this move will result in unity, solidarity and sublimity of the Islamic Ummah.”

In response to the call to Islamic unity in Iran, thousands of conference and sessions have been held in different regions of Iran and abroad among various schools of Islamic jurisprudence and groups. These gatherings have pushed seditious elements and puppets of the US and Zionism to the margin.

The main concern of the Islamic world is to support Palestine and other oppressed nations. It is obvious to every fair-minded person that Israel is an illegal and illegitimate regime that has been planted in the heart of the Islamic lands to serve as a base for Global Arrogance.

The 33rd International Islamic Unity Conference will be held in Tehran from November 14 to November 16 this year. The event will have 15 expertise sessions on the issue of defence of Masjid al-Aqsa. We will broach on that in a separate program.

The Oppressed Uighur Muslims: Why the Corporate Media’s intense Focus on them?

Crescent International

The Uighur Muslims in China are going through very tough times. Nevertheless, the corporate media’s intense focus on their plight that regularly demonizes Muslims and in particular Muslim activists elsewhere should raise a red flag.

Recently a prominent Muslim activist in the UK with substantial social-media following posted an article about the terrible treatment of Uighurs published by the UK’s independent newspaper.

The article describing the horrendous torture of Muslims in China relied on the Israeli newspaper Haaretz as one of its sources.

Considering that Haaretz is based in Occupied Palestine where Muslims are regularly tortured, murdered and imprisoned simply for demanding their fundamental right to a homeland, it is at best hypocritical of the Israeli paper to talk about the plight of Muslims in China.

True, unlike other Israeli papers, Haaretz periodically highlights Zionist abuses of Palestinians but it is still part of the apartheid system occupying Palestine.

The Western corporate media is awash with graphic stories of how badly the Uighur Muslims are treated.

The narrative and construct of many reports reminds seasoned observers of the narrative and reports published about the alleged inhumanity of the Syrian government at the start of the proxy-war in 2011.

Let us recall the infamous fake video showing a Muslim being buried alive for not agreeing to worship Bashar al-Assad or the fictitious Gay Girl in Damascus quoted by numerous “respectable” corporate media outlets.

The ‘Gay Girl’ was an American impostor, Tom MacMaster, a student based in Scotland.

The war on Syria, one of the most heinous mass misinformation operations by the corporate media and Western regimes, should be an important media literacy lesson for people to never forget.

Good propaganda is never a complete lie; it is mixed with some truth to make it sound credible.

The corporate media which legitimized the invasion of Afghanistan, Iraq and continues to whitewash Western support for brutal dictators in the Muslim world, who oppress Muslim activists in the same way as the Chinese government is doing, have little credibility to present themselves as champions of the rights of Muslims in China.

The NATO regimes view China as a strategic, economic and military rival and would like to undermine it. Thus, they have a vested interest in mobilizing public opinion against Beijing.

When reading reports about the oppression of Muslims in China, it is important to keep this context in mind.

In the age of massive disinformation, it is crucial to not just focus on the news, but the entire context and the intellectual framework.

The Uighur Muslims are indeed oppressed. What about the Palestinians, Kashmiris, Yemenis and a host of others?

Why hasn’t the corporate Western media given a fraction of the coverage to their plight as they have to the Muslims in China?

Extreme caution is in order lest Muslims are misled the same way as they were in Syria eight years ago.

END

The Muslims can’t survive without unity!

By Quayyum Raja

MASHAHD - What is the definition of survival?  In my opinion, it is not just an ability to feed oneself or even enjoy life, but an ability to have a voice without which there is no respect and honor in the world.  Whoever doesn’t have a voice, have no say in the matters and decisions affecting their lives as it has been happening ever since the establishment of the United Nations driven by the undemocratic Security Council with a political hegemony. 

If natural resources were enough to earn respect, then Saudi Arabia would have been most respected and successful country in the world, but it shows that without a meritocratic society, institutions, and infrastructure of its own, a state is defenseless and dependant.  Natural and human resources, as well as sustained socio-cultural values and infrastructure, are necessary to survive in the competing world. 

 The Muslims collectively have abundant natural and human resources as well as socio-cultural values, but they lack peace and progress due to the lack of a political voice and they lack a voice because of a lack of unity.  The unity is lacking because of a lack of tolerance and understanding.

 The understanding is lacking due to lack of communication between the Muslim countries. The communication is lacking due to harsh visa restrictions, which have been imposed because of mistrust and the mistrust has been caused by a long period of Western interference in the Muslim countries using them against each other. 

The American led United Nations has not only failed to solve any of the Muslim problems but in fact caused more problems. Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Syria are fresh examples.  The political and economic relations between the Muslim countries do not last long because of American interference. An incomplete Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipe Line Agreement is a prime example.

 On 30 January 2013, Pakistan's federal government approved a deal with Iran for laying Pakistan's segment of a pipeline. On 27 February 2013, the construction of the Pakistani section was agreed. On 11 March 2013, inauguration of the construction works on the Pakistani section of the pipeline were inaugurated by president of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari and president of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

 According to Javad Owji, managing director of the National Iranian Gas Company, the pipeline in Pakistan was expected to be constructed in 22 months with the participation of Iran.  The PPP Government of Pakistan failed to start work on gas pipeline and the successive Muslim League Government allayed any fear of external pressure to abandon the agreement with Iran, but later on 25-Feb-2014, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Pakistan, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi told the National Assembly that the project for the moment was off the table. He cited international sanctions as the issue.

 Analysts said the Saudi government was also pressurizing Pakistan to leave the agreement. Saudi Arabia itself is an undemocratic state. Yet, it has started a pointless war with a poor neighbor Yeman on the incredible claim of support for democracy in Yemen. Saudi Arabia and UAE action against Qatar was also considered unfair by unbiased commentators. Pakistan is now said to be reconsidering resuming the gas Pipe Line project with Iran but maybe because of deteriorating relations with Saudi Arabia. 

These are just a few facts of Muslim countries conflicts with each other due to external interference.  In any event, the Muslim countries must realize that they have no future without unity.  The sooner they start cooperation and stop confrontation, the better. This is exactly what the Muslim masses want them to do and this is the only way they can be able to solve political problems in the Muslim World and enjoy peace and prosperity. 

India annexes Kashmir under the dark shadow of Netanyahu and Modi’s far-right embrace

Nasim Ahmed

The depth of love between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi has few parallels. Many traits unite the current crop of populist, power-hungry, authoritarian strongmen that have been on the rise of late, but few have enjoyed the kind of relationship that has blossomed between Modi and Netanyahu. The two are in a league of their own; conjoined twins some may say, whose friendship is forged through similar racist ideologies and deep dislike of minorities.

Both leaders again expressed their affection for each other yesterday. Netanyahu responded to Modi’s declaration of “eternal” friendship by saying: “Thank you, my friend, Indian PM @narendramodi. I could not agree with you more. The deep connection between Israel and India is rooted in the strong friendships between Israelis and Indians. We cooperate in so many areas. I know our ties will only strengthen in the future!”

Netanyahu’s adoration was prompted by a Modi tweet in which he thanked an Israeli Embassy message on Twitter: “May our ever-strengthening friendship & #growingpartnership touch greater heights.” Replying in Hebrew, Modi said: “Thank you; I wish the great citizens of Israel and my friend @netanyahu a happy Friendship Day. Israel and India have proved their friendship over time. Our ties our eternal and strong. I hope that our friendship will continue to thrive and grow even further.”

The exchange took place as India prepared to more or less annex the Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir by revoking its special status. Modi’s right-wing Hindu nationalist government pushed forward with a hostile move to revoke the part of the constitution that gives Indian-administered Kashmir special status in what is seen as an unprecedented move. It is not unlike Israel’s ongoing attempt to seize the whole West Bank and is just as likely to spark unrest.

OPINION: Modi’s ‘de-hyphenated’ policy on Palestine contradicts India’s struggle against British colonialism

Article 370 is sensitive because it guarantees significant autonomy for the disputed territory by allowing the 12 million people who live in Jammu and Kashmir to have their own constitution, a separate flag and independence over all matters except foreign affairs, defence and communications. India’s decision has been denounced by the former chief minister of the state, Mehbooba Mufti, who is reported by the BBC as saying that the move effectively made India an occupying force. “Today marks the darkest day in Indian democracy,” she tweeted, adding that the government’s “unilateral decision” is “illegal and unconstitutional.”

Modi’s decision, which upheld a promise made by his right-wing Hindu nationalist party during its 2019 election campaign, is expected to lead to violence and arrests. Activists on the ground in Kashmir spoke to MEMO of the “total communication blackout since midnight” and reported that the “whole of Kashmir is under strict indefinite curfew.” In recent days, the Indian government has also moved 10,000 troops to what is already one of the most militarised regions in the world and ordered tourists and Hindu pilgrims to leave the Himalayan valley.

The newly dispatched soldiers will join the nearly 700,000 Indian soldiers already deployed in Indian-administered Kashmir, where civilian protesters and armed rebels either want freedom for the Muslim-majority Kashmir from India or merger with Pakistan. Both India and Pakistan claim the region of Kashmir in full and have fought two of their three wars over it.

Modi’s plan for India-administered Kashmir has uncanny similarities with the way in which Netanyahu, with a similar right-wing extreme nationalist government, is looking to annex the West Bank. The ideological bond between the extreme version of Zionism represented by Netanyahu and the extreme Hindu nationalism of the Hindutva, represent by Modi, is almost identical: both are political ideologies; both subscribe to the same concept of a far-right ethno-nationalist movement that uses religion to achieve its aims, and both misrepresent history to justify atrocities against minorities in pursuit of an exclusivist and discriminatory political vision.

Hinduvta members, like their ideological counterparts in Israel, speak openly of ethnic cleansing and expelling minority communities: that includes Dalits, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Ravidassias and Buddhists in the case of the extremist Hindus, and Christian and Muslim Palestinians in the case of Israel. Their vision is rooted in fascism and white supremacy. Hindutva is identified commonly as the guiding ideology of the Hindu Nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of which Modi is a member.

OPINION: Kashmir from Nehru to Modi; what’s changed?

A profile of RSS ideology shows that its leaders draw their inspiration from right-wing, fascist European groups and their leaders, including Hitler and Mussolini. Its long-time chief, M S Golwalkar, is said to have openly admired Hitler’s “final solution” and wanted to apply the same approach in India to eliminate the country’s minorities. This makes the strong bond between Modi and Netanyahu even harder to understand.

While the two countries under their current rulers can be said to enjoy an ideological affinity and subscribe to the exclusivist political vision of the far-right, both are also locked in a struggle with a large minority group challenging military occupation and human rights abuse, thus making them allies in ways that are rare on the global stage. Relations between the two countries have never been better. India is now the largest weapons market for the Israeli arms trade; the two countries carry out joint military exercises; and Israel uses the Negev Desert to train Indian soldiers in the tactics of suppressing civilian populations, its expertise learned through the suppression of Palestinians in the Gaza and the West-Bank.

It’s in this regard that Israel, perhaps more than any other right-wing government, has excelled. It is in an enviable position, according to Israeli author Jeff Halper, to “secure insecurity” having had decades of experience suppressing Palestinians. In his 2015 book, War Against the People Halper argues that Israel’s security exports are unmatched due to its ability to develop weapons and techniques for urban warfare, surveillance and intelligence; what Halper calls “full-spectrum domination”. Israel’s success is put down to its knowledge and experience of developing control technologies and battle-tested weapons that have become the “must-have” items in the armoury of every authoritarian dictator facing a restive population. This was demonstrated clearly when Israeli-made Rafael Spice-2000 “smart bombs” were used by the Indian air force in its strike against Kashmiri “terrorists” inside Pakistan in February.

Beyond trade and arms sales, Israel has also found an ally in Modi on the international stage where the Zionist state regularly comes under sharp criticism from the UN and other international bodies. In June, New Delhi’s representative at the global body voted in favour of Israel in a vote to grant consultative status to a Palestinian human rights NGO, which eventually lost its bid to join the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The vote marked an unprecedented stage in relations between the two countries. India’s history in the anti-colonial movement once made it a strong ally of the Palestinian cause. Previous Indian prime ministers, including the country’s founder and revered leader Mahatma Gandhi, opposed Israel, believing it to be a colonial enterprise. The leader of the Indian independence movement against the British was strongly opposed to the idea of a Jewish national home in Palestine, he believed it was an an expression of ethnonationalism that was inimical to the values of secular liberal democracy.

With his embrace of Netanyahu, Modi has turned his back on the legacy of Gandhi and his vision of a secular democracy based on civic nationalism and equality for all, irrespective of race and religion. Indian democracy has indeed taken a serious hit.

India’s Persecuted Minorities

Zafar Bangash

On June 23, India’s NDTV channel broadcast a video showing the lynching of a 24-year-old Muslim man, Tabrez Ansari, in Seraikela in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Tied to a pole, Hindu terrorists continuously beat him with sticks for 12 hours. With broken bones and bleeding, instead of taking him to hospital, the police dragged him to a police station for interrogation and held him for several hours. Later he was taken to a hospital where he died on June 22. He was to be married soon.

Lynching of Muslims has become all too common across India. Self-styled cow vigilantes have taken it upon themselves to prevent the slaughter of cows they consider to be their mother — yes, you read that correctly — for which they kill Muslims. Eleven state governments in India have banned cow slaughter but that has not prevented Hindu businessmen from running slaughterhouses. India rakes in $4 billion annually in beef exports, mostly to the Muslim East. Cow vigilantes do not go after Hindu businessmen; their wrath is reserved only for defenceless Muslims. Even the police join in Muslim lynching, or do nothing when Hindu mobs go on a rampage.

India has always been a deeply divided society along religious, ethnic, and caste lines. Religious minorities — Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians — have faced systemic discrimination despite token positions in government to hoodwink the rest of the world about Indian secularism. The Hindu caste system, a blot on the conscience of the world, has consigned hundreds of millions of people to lower castes suffering humiliation and degradation.

At the lowest rung of the caste pyramid, the Dalits constitute more than 200 million people. They are prohibited from eating in the same plate, drinking from the same glass, or even drawing water from the same well as upper caste Hindus. The caste system is religiously sanctioned apartheid yet such racism has escaped the world’s attention and opprobrium. This is deliberate. India is seen as a potential market of 300 million middle class people.

Such anachronistic policies were papered over under the rubric of Indian secularism. But the mask has finally come off India’s ugly face since the rise to power of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2014. Led by Narendra Modi, a hard-core Hindu fascist who presided over the slaughter of more than 2,000 Muslims in 2002 when he was the chief minister of Gujarat state, Hindu mobs have unleashed terror on defenceless Muslims.

Although there are 190 million Muslims in India, representing 16% of the total population of 1.2 billion, the ruling BJP does not have a single Muslim member of parliament. This is unprecedented in Indian history. Muslim representation in parliament has declined to a mere 3.7%. They were already discriminated against in the bureaucracy, police, army, and other governmental services. Now they have no voice in parliament either.

India has carefully cultivated its image as the world’s “largest democracy.” In technical terms, this may be true. In the April–May 2019 general elections, of the 900 million eligible voters, nearly 600 million cast ballots but does that make India a democracy?

Leading stalwarts of the ruling BJP including Modi have emerged from the ranks of the RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hiterlite organization that openly promotes Hindu fascism. It has more than six million members that receive military training. BJP President Amit Shah has called Muslims “termites.”

Despite presiding over a state polity that openly promotes racism and discriminates against religious minorities, Modi is welcomed and feted in Western capitals. There was a break from this craven policy of appeasement of Hindu fascism when the US State Department in its 2018 Report on International Religious Freedom was forced to shine light on India’s horrible mistreatment of minorities. Citing reports by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the US report makes grim reading. It said, “The government sometimes [sic] failed to act on mob attacks on religious minorities, marginalized communities, and critics of the government.”

Without naming them, the report further said, “Some senior officials of the Hindu-majority Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made inflammatory speeches against minority communities. Mob attacks by violent extremist Hindu groups against minority communities, especially Muslims, continued throughout the year amid rumors that victims had traded or killed cows for beef. According to some NGOs, authorities often protected perpetrators from prosecution. As of November, there were 18 such attacks, and eight people killed during the year.

On June 22, two Uttar Pradesh police officers were charged with culpable homicide after a Muslim cattle trader died of injuries sustained while “being questioned in police custody…”

When more than 40% of the 543-members in India’s parliament face criminal charges — some as serious as murder and rape — lawlessness is bound to spread across the country. Muslims are its biggest victims as the horrific lynching of Tabrez Ansari showed.

India is not a democracy; it is a country ruled by gangsters, rapists, and mass murderers.

Zafar Bangash is Director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought (ICIT).

 

Zafar Bangash