Dalai Lama Attends Shia, Sunni Conference in New Delhi

TEHRAN (IQNA) – A conference on unity and peaceful 

coexistence among Shia and Sunni Muslims was held 

in New Delhi, India, on Monday.

 Tibetan Buddhist Leader Dalai Lama was present at the gathering and addressed the event.

He said Muslims should put an end to disputes between Shia and Sunnis.

He added that the message of all religions is truthfulness and unity.

“War and conflicts are not a good solution for resolving problems,” Dalai Lama went on to say.

Also addressing the conference was Mohammad Hamed Ansari, the 12th vice president of India from 2007 to 2017, who underlined the need for unity among all Muslims.

He also hailed the culture of peaceful coexistence in India.

Another speaker, Seyed Mahmood Assad Madani, secretary general of India’s Muslim organization Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, stressed rejection of extremism and said all should live based on tolerance.

Coexistence between Sunnis and Shias must be a primary goal

By Martin Love

NORTH CAROLINA - It may seem improbable but the very key to whether the world enjoys real (and somewhat relative, if not absolute) "peace" going forward, as well as the fate of the U.S. as any kind of somewhat respected but former imperial (and absurdly imperious) power, depends on two things: the end of U.S. disrespect for international laws, most evident in the “regime change” wars, and on the fate of the Palestinians and whether they are given civil rights and released from bondage in their own country.

 Listening to honest voices, for a change, anywhere in the US will be the country's salvation and turn the U.S. in the right direction after three decades at least of what the wisest Americans could call a treasonous misdirection.

One such honest voice of late is Ilhan Omar, the first Muslim Somali-American woman of color ever in the U.S. House of Representatives. Twice in the past week, she fearlessly brought condemnation upon herself by the usual culprits (most of the corrupted U.S. Congress and Trump himself) by calling out the undue and obvious influence of the lobby group known as AIPAC on matters pertaining to the Zionists and Israel. Her comments were deemed “anti-Semitic” and in fact, they were not.

And then a couple days later she, as a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, grilled Eliot Abrams, appointed to oversee the attempt at “regime change” in Venezuela. Omar publicly exposed Abrams for the responsibility he bears for actions in Central America in the 1980s that resulted in the deaths of many thousands of innocent people -- something that could easily happen in Venezuela if the U.S in some way invades directly or by proxy to install unelected Juan Guaido. (It is vaguely similar to the final installation of the Shah in Iran in the 1950s as a U.S. puppet until the Revolution, which marked a release of years of pent up anger and frustration in Iran which may have been too extreme in the years immediately following 1979, because some innocents suffered, however natural it was given the circumstances. The U.S. certainly latched on to this, and the hostage crisis, to turn Iran into an “enemy”.

In any case, this diminutive young woman, Omar, while apologizing for suggesting a so-called anti-Semitic “trope” prevalent during the Nazi era, has not substantially backed down in any respect in calling out AIPAC and other lobby influence on U.S. lawmakers. And she has gotten quite a lot of respect for doing so, at least among the best journalists and commentators. As one AIPAC staffer once said: “The lobby thrives in the dark.” But it is no longer so much in the dark.

But perhaps even more striking is the failure of the conclave in Warsaw, originally aimed at drumming up hostility to Iran and even war. Many European leaders did not attend, for one thing, and U.S. VP Mike Pence made a fool of himself there, as did Netanyahu. Regarding Pence, he sanctimoniously reprimanded major European countries for the creation of INSTEX, and made other comments which firmly suggest that Pence has nothing so much on his mind, if he has one, as the concept of Armageddon and the absurd return of “Jesus” and the “end of days”. Now it’s one thing for the Shia faithful to believe that someday the Mahdi may someday appear from occultation to institute a reign of justice and peace, but quite another to invoke an Armageddon scenario based on evangelism and the reappearance of Jesus.

But Pence went further in exhorting European signatories to the JCPOA to abandon the deal, as Trump and minions did. Pence, incredibly, accused Iran of plotting a “new Holocaust” which, if this were true, the many thousands of minority Jews in Iran would have already been extinguished. And Iran’s leaders have explained what the chants of “death to America” (or Israel) means: not the “death” of the citizens of the two countries but the end of the imperialist warmongers presence in high positions in both countries. However, the Warsaw conclave failed to keep the spotlight on Iran specifically and dissolved into an appeal for “stability” in the Middle East.

Well, who of sane mind does NOT want stability anywhere, but the word itself has just one meaning to Pence and the Trump Administration and related Neocons: Mideast countries that do nothing but the bidding of the U.S. and the Israelis. And this same faux “stability” is sought in South America: if, for example, Guaido is fully installed and Maduro goes into exile from Venezuela, no question that Cuba will be the next target, and then maybe Bolivia, and so on. But Venezuela is the key target for now because, like Iran, it has vast petroleum and other resources.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has been trying to foment a war between the Shias (namely Iran) and the Sunnis (namely Saudi Arabia) if for no other reason but that a divided Islamic world suits the predatory and hegemonic designs of the U.S. Efforts simply to divide Muslims have been prevalent for the past century at least. But people like Eliot Abrams, Trump’s point man for Venezuela, a convicted (but Bush pardoned) felon, and a Jewish Neocon (are there any of note who are not Jewish?), like many others, fail to understand the fervor and courage Iranians displayed in pushing back Saddam Hussein for six years in the 1980s. Pence has the idea that sanctions and other threats will lead to the dissolution of the Islamic Republic. This is highly unlikely.

Iran, as far as one can tell, has not been as claimed by ignoramuses like Pence and Trump a “state sponsor of terrorism” but rather a state eager to achieve co-existence with other Muslims, if only it could. THAT, in essence, implies a more or less united (if that’s not too strong a word) Islamic world. And THAT is what terrifies the Western imperialists. A reasonable coexistence between Sunnis and Shias has existed before, and the tragedy is that it apparently does not exist today, largely because of the U.S. and the Zionists.

What’s the reason for all the blind hatred against Iran?

By Saber al-Daghamseh*

IRNA - Every morning, after having each meal and before falling asleep at night, they swear at Iran and insult the country, labeling it as an evil, adding they are afraid of an imaginary demon called ‘Shia’. What’s the reason for all the blind hatred against Iran? Out of stupidity, you fail to know that more than 20 million Sunnis live in Iran, Sunnis who have not been forced to convert to Shia at gunpoint. Throughout Iran’s history, none of them has converted to Shia. Given this, the question is, where does this blind hatred expressed by some Arabs toward Iran stem from? Does it stem from an inferiority complex these Arab states have developed as a consequence of witnessing that during the past 35 years, although the country has been under the severest sanctions and suffered the harshest penalties mankind has ever seen, it has not been brought to its knees and has even convinced the world to recognize its right to have peaceful nuclear technology? Are the hatred and inferiority complex due to the fact that despite the numerous strict sanctions, Iran has turned into an economic power and a global scientific, industrial and military fortress? Is this grudge harbored against Iran because it has absolute sovereignty which prevents ferocious Wahhabis in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Lebanon and Yemen from even thinking of getting close to the borders of the country? Or is it because of the fact that it is a country within which there are no Daesh terrorists to dare to harm or intimidate its people, damage the ancient sights and artefacts or destroy the tombs and sacred places?

Is this hatred due to the fact that Iran is a country that has been holding its elections regularly every four years since the victory of its 1979 Islamic Revolution, uncovers plots by some Arab states and exposes their deception and teaches them lessons they had been incapable of understanding during their reign. Or does it stem from the fact that since 1980 Iran has been vigorously supporting the heroes who defeated their enemies (Baathists), liberated their territory entirely and brought back their prisoners of war to their families? This comes as, currently, some Arabs are being obsequious to Israel, insolently form a coalition with it, and express happiness with their betrayal. I understand very well the psychological crisis and depression of those who have spent billions of dollars to establish the terrorist government headed by Zahran Alloush and Abu Mohammad al-Julani in Syria. I am speaking to that Jordanian citizen who has not met an Iranian during his entire life. Where, then, does this bigotry come from? Unfortunately, and undoubtedly, the main reason for spreading these maniacal propaganda against Iran is to stir up intense hatred toward the country and racially provoke Wahhabis.

Wahhabis are a tribe who publish the findings of their religious sciences and scientific experiences after 100 years solely in the form of dissertations on what is halal and what is haram (forbidden), marriage, privy parts of man and women, sexual intercourse and copulation and other similar subjects. While Iran ranks first in the world in the field of research and experiment on stem cells and the country’s Tehran Symphony Orchestra performs classical music in European churches, by gifting the terrorist groups, such as Daesh and al-Nusra Front, to the world, the Wahhabis have only taught people how to crucify people, eat the liver of those whom they have murdered, enslave women and girls and sell them in markets, decapitate children, burn and drown people, throw dead bodies from the rooves of buildings, exhume bodies, plant bombs, destroy mosques and museums, set churches on fire, abduct nuns and ruin ancient cities and sacred places. Moreover, they celebrate their heinous actions. *Saber al-Daghamseh is a Jordanian author and essayist.

Saudi Sectarianism: A Disease Characterized by Hardening of the Categories

By Abu Dharr

Deceptions, dishonesties, defamations, denigrations — these are the words that summarize the attitude of individuals, the media, and institutions that have been and still are contentious toward the trailblazing efforts of a leadership and population who are pioneering a momentous change within the human family. This begins with its Islamic members. Obviously we cannot cover the broad range of cantankerous characters and grumpy governments that have displayed their combination of ignorance and malice toward an Iran that is Islamic and a leadership that is free from foreign exploitation and domestic manipulation. What concerns us is a particular type of Islamic literati who perceive of “Iran” as an existential threat — so much so that Israel has become their political pal and strategic supporter.

These “Islamic pundits” are in high demand by the corporate mass media to convince their particular audience that Iran is pursuing an agenda of control, manipulation, domination, and hegemony! These pundits are located in an assortment of countries — some of them Muslim and others foreign. Briefly, their probe and breakdown of Islamic Iran relies on two canards. The first is that Iran is in reality a sectarian nation-state. The second is that Iran is a “Majusi” (Magian/Zoroastrian) country. They never refer to the Iranian people or the Iranian government with the word Islamic. The people in Iran, according to their descriptions, are either Persian, Safawis, Shi‘is or some other description that sounds like it is incompatible with Islam.

One of the falsehoods, which can only be peddled to the naive, is the conflation, by some of these commentators, of Iran’s Safawi past with its Islamic present. The sectarian bug has circulated so profoundly in the bloodstream of these analysts that they no longer are able to realize that Islamic Iran has broken away from its past Safawi sectarianism as surely as it broke away from its contemporary Pahlavi interventionism. It should be noted here that even though there is a strong Islamic current in today’s Turkey, that current carries within it a deep-seated affinity with its Ottoman past and wants to compel a Pax ‘Uthmania (Ottomanica) wherever it can extend its Islamic influence. There is no doubt that both histories (Persian and Turkic) had elements of a sectarian trend in them, as there is no doubt that both countries still have sectarian trends within them today. The difference is that the Islamic inclination in Turkey with all its secular foils has not been able to make a clean break from the mistakes of the past (without disparaging the accomplishments of that same past) and join hands with Islamic Iran on a post-sectarian strategy that has the very real potential of reviving the Muslim Ummah.

With the prudent guidance of its historically experienced ‘ulama and decision makers, Islamic Iran has been, with Allah’s helping hand, able to tame the sectarian beast within its own ranks, and therefore muzzle the voices of its schismatic Shi‘is. This was most recently demonstrated by the vocal objection of the committed ‘ulama in Islamic Iran to the Shirazi schismatic and divisive Shi‘is whose client relationship with not-so-great Britain was presented to the public without any “Shi‘i”-first bias. Compare the frank and brave drawing of a red line between the conviction of the “Shi‘i” Imams and “Shi‘is” of Isma‘il Safawi’s conviction. And here you may even go a step further and ask yourself: will the time come when members of the “Sunni” Islamic movements have the candor and courage to draw their red line between the conviction of the “Sunni” khulafa’ and the “Sunnis” of Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab’s conviction? The Safawi dynasty produced generations of “Shi‘i” fanatics. Likewise, the Wahhabi dynasty is responsible for generations of “Sunni” fanatics. The difference is the Safawi dynasty is long gone and dead, even though there are still pockets of their fanaticism — as subtle and substantial as it is in its own enclaves — that linger on here and there, especially in scattered communities from its starting point in Tabriz (hundreds of years ago) to its headquarters (nowadays) in London.

But the Wahhabi dynasty is still alive. And there are more than just pockets of Wahhabis and their vicious fanatics located throughout the world. Their influence, unlike the subtlety of their Safawi sectarian counterparts, is barefaced and brazen. Their notorious call to arms via their takfiri creed should be a wakeup call for the “Sunni” Islamic movements, and especially for Turkey. Their crimes against Muslims resulted in smoldering countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, and perhaps more yet to come.

The analysts and authorities who are peddling an anti-Islamic oratory when they do express themselves against Islamic self-governance in Iran never explain to us why the Saudi-Wahhabi strategy of political sectarianism (they claim to represent the Sunnis of the world) and its officials are entering into a political marriage with the Zionist bandits who stole Palestine and dispossessed millions of “Sunni” Palestinians! Can these analysts explain and tell us whether it is a coincidence that Saudi-Wahhabi spokespersons happen to be bad-mouthing Islamic Iran and sweet-talking Zionist Israel at the same time?!

The malicious minds of the debased British diplomats and spies did very well in recruiting the Saudi-Wahhabi dynasty to the colonialist, imperialist, and Zionist causes. The degree of their success can be gauged by the fact that hundreds of thousands of otherwise sincere Muslims were conscripted into imperialist and Zionist wars against the teachings of Islam. The wars in Syria and Yemen would have been impossible to execute without a “religious” justification. The Wahhabi-Salafi underlings of the Saudi ruling family were turned into convenient recruiters for the wars that are raging in and around the Holy Land. And if there are Wahhabi-Salafi ‘ulama who object or may object to this abuse of Islam by the Saudi functionaries of Tel Aviv and Washington, well then, lock them up. And that is where many of them are today: in Saudi prisons. They are left to hang there — high and dry. No one seems to care for them. Barely anyone mentions them. When Muhammad bin Salman (MBS) apprehended and imprisoned hundreds of millionaires and billionaires the mainstream media was a cacophony of news about their most celebrated one: al-Walid ibn Talal… along with a few others. But no one in the mainstream media mentions Hasan Farhan al-Maliki, or Salman al-‘Awdah, or the hundreds of other scholars who are languishing behind bars.

The “intellectual poison” that has injured our understanding of Islam and corrupted the character of certain scholars is in need of an antidote. And that type of cure is not going to come from an article in a magazine or a book in the library — as important as they are. The medicine for this sectarian sickness is the grand jihad beginning with Islamic Iran 39 years ago that has outwitted the Zionist minds, thwarted the imperialist militaries, and stopped the Zionists dead in their tracks.

The “intellectual poison” trying to take effect within the Muslim public mind would have us believe that Iran is anti-Islam and Israel and the US are pro-Islam. No amount of misquoting ayat and misrepresenting hadiths will be able to obscure the slow but sure uncloaking of the Saudi schemers,

And there are people who say, “We affirm and commit to Allah and the Final Day” — but, in fact, they are not committed. They make an effort to deceive Allah and the committed Muslims and in reality they deceive no one but themselves, and they do not sense [what they are doing] (2:8–9).

Sectarians open their mouths and shut their eyes

By Abu Dharr

Unless Muslims begin to think outside the Sunni-Shia box, they will remain vulnerable to manipulation by the enemies of Islam as is happening today. As any committed Muslim with listening ears and observing eyes would confess, the Muslims from the most ignorant to the most educated are living through times of trials and ordeals. These pivot around the sectarian psychology that has taken possession of those who say they are Sunnis as well as those who say they are Shi‘is. Fortunately, though, there are Muslims with free souls who have not fallen into this sectarian sinkhole. Let us try to deconstruct the sectarian centered information in a way that will enlighten our minds but may hurt our inherited emotions or cut through our local cultures. In the previous year some scholars convened to define who is a Sunni. That was done, by and large, because the Wahhabi wealthies hijacked the word Sunni and gave it a Wahhabi image. An impartial consideration of who is a Sunni would have us visit the scholars who themselves had an input into defining who a Sunni is. Political establishments from the time of king Mu‘awiyah did their best to own the definition of who is a Sunni. All Muslims who say they are Sunnis are in agreement to the Prophet’s hadith that the era of the khulafa (Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, and ‘Ali) is to be followed by a despotic monarchy [mulk ‘adud]. If we were to visit the history of the Sunni fuqaha’ we will definitely find that Abu Hanifah, al-Shafi‘, and Malik, not to mention others, to have sided with the struggle/opposition of the Ahl al-Bayt. Ahmad ibn Hanbal is considered by some to be more of a scholar of hadith than a faqih. There are thousands of hadiths attributed to his scholarly effort. One of the rulers during the time of Ahmad ibn Hanbal was killed in a venue of amusement and enjoyment with the drinking that goes with it as well as hundreds of concubines (jawari). For those who are emotionally jarred by this, refer to the books of the ardent Sunni al-Suyuti. Among the Sunnis were scholars who developed ideas relying on the Qur’an and Hadith as well as scholars who kept to a literalist reading of the divine Book and the Hadith. This dynamic gave the Muslims the historical “controversy” of whether the Qur’an is created or not. These two sets of scholars then and now do not give us a satisfactory definition of the word Sunni. Then we have that scholarly effort to find a happy medium between the literalist reading of the Qur’an and Sunnah and the extended rational reading of them. These are referred to as the Ash‘aris. It is said that one of the takfiris (Abu Mus‘ab al-Zarqawi) distrusted the late leader of the Taliban (Mulla ‘Umar) because the latter considered himself an Ash‘ari-Maturidi. The fact of the matter is that the average Sunni, as far as we can tell, does not see himself, per say, as an Asha‘ari, even though he may very well be one. In the climate of our turbulent times, there is a growing impression among this general body of Sunnis that there is a diabolic sectarian war [undeclared] against them; in exclusion to other Muslims. Some Wahhabi obsessed among them go as far as accusing Shi‘is of entering into a scheme by the US and others to eliminate Sunnis in places like ‘Iraq, Syria, etc… Mind you, the Zionists and imperialists manipulate this sectarian impression to extend their pilfering of Muslim resources and their penetration and manipulation of Muslims markets. The simple, but undetected, truth of the matter is that all these intra-Islamic confrontations and conflicts as they swing from near-victory to near-defeat are the result of a profound public ignorance of our own selves – Sunnis and Shi‘is. The old-hand Zionists and their co-politicos the imperialists are draining the pool of Islamic potential as they have experience from playing off Muslims during their era of colonialism and interventionism in the past centuries throughout Asia and Africa. When we the Muslims cannot think outside the Sunni-Shi‘i box we become easy targets for their thought-out wars. The intensity of our common ignorance has some of us referring to the regime of Saddam Husain as a Sunni regime – a Sunni government that persecuted the Shi‘is! Saddam Husain and his Ba‘thi comrades are turning in their graves and feeling insulted to have anything to do with Islam – of course unless it serves a sectarian purpose. If the Sunnis are being sought out by Shi‘is for extermination, as some sectarians would like us to believe, then explain to us what is happening in Libya and Egypt. Explain to us what happened in Algeria a couple of decades ago. Ask yourself beyond your emotional trigger-points, who is arming and financing some Muslims to kill other Muslims? The Muslim Egyptians are practically 99% Sunnis. Its army and institutions are manned by Sunnis. So who and with the help of whom are innocent Egyptians being killed? Libya is 99% Sunni. Are there any Shi‘is involved in the wars among the tribes, cities and regions of Libya? In the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia why did the “Sunni” governments of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) support the “Shi‘i” government in Azerbaijan while the government in Iran stood with Christian Armenia? If the Shi‘is are the number one enemy as we hear from some sectarian quarters? Sunnis are Sunnis because they have a history of tolerance and coexistence with all Muslims. But now is the time to ask: will the Sunnis tolerate the Wahhabis who are prejudiced, segregationists, and sectarians? Even within the Wahhabi kingdom of Saudi ruling family the bigotry and intolerance of the Saudi rulers took issue with the Wahhabi bias in the battle of al-Sablah in 1929 and once again during the rebellion of Juhayman al-‘Utaibi some 37 years ago (November 1979). Can we or will the common enemy consider Turkey a homogeneous Sunni country with its solid bloc of the Hanafi madh-hab? Or is it an entity waiting for serious fragmentation along the lines of a strong Sufi tradition (especially the tariqah Jalal al-Din al-Rumi) as opposed to the Baktashi tariqah (the Sufi order favored by the Sultans) and the Janissaries for several centuries? Are we, in our self-destructive ignorance, awaiting the time when the enemy plays on the historical events when the Ottoman Sultans leveled some edifices related to Ahmad ibn Hanbal and built in their stead structures honoring Ibn ‘Arabi? On the other hand, the common Zionist-imperialist enemy can set off our emotions by reminding us in our ignorance of our own selves of the antagonism and war between the Ottomans and the Mamluks in Egypt! Who here represents the Sunnis, may we ask? Back in the 1960’s when Yemen threw off the monarchy and declared itself a republic, the Egyptian (Sunni) government supported those who were pro-republic while the Saudi (Wahhabi) regime supported the pro-monarchists (Zaydi Shi‘is)? That may have been the exception to the rule as the Zaydi Shi‘is have been in a historical struggle against the literalists Wahhabis who disparage the Zaydis for their affinity with the rational Mu‘tazilites). Suffice it to say the wars here and there among the Muslims had nothing to do with sober Islamic ijtihad as much as it had to do with evil politicians and cunning strategists who want to target the Muslims’ Achilles’ heel. Now to that most seditious of all: Syria. There are some pieces of information that need to be taken into consideration. Going back to the bombardment of Hamah in the 1960’s, those generals who executed and participated in the assault on Hamah were “Sunnis” and Ba‘this. Were they doing what they did as Sunnis? Or did they do what they did as Ba‘this? Remember the ‘Alawis/Ba‘this came to power in 1970 after the first bombardment of Hamah. Who were those Sunnis and Ba‘this? To name a few: ‘Abd al-Halim Khaddam, Nur al-Din al-Atasi and their president was the “Sunni” and Ba‘thi Muhammad Amin al-Hafiz. The Corrective Movement (the coup de etat) of 1970 undertaken by General Hafiz al-Asad (‘Alawi-Ba‘thi) relied heavily upon “Sunni” but Ba‘thi generals the likes of Hikmat al-Shihabi and Naji Jamil. The coup was substantially supported by the preponderantly “Sunni” Chamber of Commerce in Damascus. Now to the leap of logic. What happened in 1979 and thereafter was not a sectarian conflict – even though many were led to believe it was. It was actually a clash between a regime that refused to be drawn into the trap of Camp David on one side and the advocates of Camp David who gave support and logistics to the rebels. There was a weapon delivery route extending from Egypt to Israel to the Lebanese port cities of Junieh and Tripoli and from there onwards into the Syrian interior. In that context the Israeli military went into action against the Palestinian resistance, the Syrian armed forces, and the patriotic/nationalist Lebanese movement during 1982. If Syria comes out of the current crisis (which again is not a Sunni-Shi‘i conflict), it will reverse the Zionist and imperialist invasion and settlement in ‘Iraq. That will result in the consolidation of a 200 million bloc of Muslims extending from Central Asia to the Mediterranean. When this happens and it is bound to happen, the sectarian canard will be exposed. The Islamic tide will, in a massive way, turn in favor of the final march towards the Holy Land. And the hitherto sectarians will then see the light of day. With Allah rests all power of decision, first and last, and on that day the committed Muslims will have cause to rejoice in Allah’s support: for HE supports whomever HE wills, since HE alone is almighty, very gracious. (Surat al-Rum, ayat 4-5.)

True Islam versus Wahhabism

SHAFAQNA – For a long time now, every terrorist activity and murders committed world wide, especially in Europe and the United States, Muslims have been blamed for them.

I wish to set the record straight: There are approximately 1.5 billion Muslims living around the world.  They are white, black, brown skinned. They have blond hair, black hair, brown hair, red hair and more.  They have blue eyes, green eyes, brown eyes and much more.

They speak various different languages and follow different cultures and customs.  They have all of these differences, but they all have one thing in common….their Religion.  They are True Muslims. Law abiding, family loving, hard working members of their societies. They laugh, cry, feel sad, bleed like their Western brothers and sisters.

Unfortunately, after the downfall of Iraq and Libya, a new, a very vicious, unholy group of killers, led by a former Al Qaeda member, by the pseudo name of Al Baghdadi, appeared on the scene.  This new group, garbed in black, with faces covered, in order to gain reputation and instill fear in the hearts of the innocent, hijacked the pure Religion of Islam by creating a false “Islamic caliphate.

Calling themselves ISIS/ISIL/DAESH and other stupid names, they began to murder, behead, burn, rape, and commit other sub human crimes.  While committing these crimes, they yelled Allah Akbar, meaning Allah is Great. In so doing, they were making Allah All Mighty a partner in their crimes. This unholy act alone showed their abuse of a Religion of Peace which believes in the sanctity of human life so much so that to kill one person is like killing a thousand.

They were not prejudiced. They hated all human beings equally. Whether they were Shia, Sunni, Christian, Yezidi or people of other religions who did not adhere to their way of life.

These Devil worshippers adhere to a movement that was established in Saudi Arabia, by a man called Abdul Wahab, in 1763. He called his movement ( it is sinful to call it a religion) WAHABI, that was based on two philosophies…JIHAD and MURDER.  He was supported by an Arab by the name of ibn Saud, who allegedly was supported by the British, the creators of Saudi Arabia. In order to maintain the security of his newly founded Kingdom, Ibn Saud looked to Abdul Wahab for protection, in exchange for arms, which allegedly was furnished by the British.

Abdul Wahab used these arms against all those who would not convert to Wahabism.

When oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia and the West got involved, these desert RATS went into hiding, but the Wahabi philosophy was being promoted by the Saudis, in different parts of the world.  Afghanistan and Pakistan are, but a few of the Nations where the Wahabi philosophy is trying to sow its seeds in.

They have murdered tens of thousands of innocent human beings of all religions, all over the world.  Mostly Muslims. They are holding the civilized world hostage.

Their bloody history in the recent years is far beyond human imagination. Their thirst for blood and their continued murderous activities have filled newspapers all over the world.

Their recent massacre of over 140 young Afghans and injuring of over 400 others, is one vivid example of the atrocity that they are capable of.

Wahabism is not Islam. It cannot be referred to as a religion. Its followers cannot be called Muslims. They are the furthest thing from Islam.

Question comes to mind, who are they really?

The true fact is that contrary to popular belief in the West, these black garbed devils and their movement is similar to Reverend Jone’s Cultists movement in Guyana, or David Koresh’s cultist movement in Texas or other similar Cults all over the world.

Therefore, it can be referred to as a WAHABI CULTIST MOVEMENT.

When they initiated their murderous activities in the Middle East, the West mistakenly referred to them as ISIS and this wrongful recognition, gave these animals the platform they wanted, in order to gain international fame. This name has had several other names added to it, depending in which country.  ISIL/DAESH/ BOKO HARAM/AL NUSRA are but to name a few.

Where we Muslims failed miserably, was our utter silence against such abuse of our religion. Against innocent human beings. Muslims and non Muslims alike.  We cannot blame the West for developing Islamophobia. We have done nothing to alleviate their fears of Muslims. In fact our silence, rightly or wrongly, has fueled this fear and played right into the hands of these Wahabi Cultists.

Our Mosques have been silent.  Our communities have been silent. We have been silent.

It is time that all Allah fearing Muslims of the world, to unite as one and declare a FETWA against this group of Devil worshippers. It is time that we,  Sunnis and Shias, together with our Christian brothers and sister, initiate a world wide HOUSE cleaning, to make sure that everyone of these cultists are wiped off the face of the world.

If we do not raise our united voices against the horrors that these maniacs have incurred upon us, the way they have hijacked our religion, raped our women, sold our children, burnt our brothers and sisters alive,  then we cannot blame the world for considering us True Muslims as part and parcel of this horrendous WAHABI CULT.

To my Western friends, I say, “from now on please refer to these killers as Wahabi Cultists”.  NO MORE ISIS/ISIL. I beseech the Western Media to refrain from offering them a platform. Please separate them from the 1.5 billion True Islamic World. Separate them from your Muslim neighbors, who are law abiding and productive citizens of the countries that they now call home.

We, all Allah/God fearing people must stop the blame game.  The true enemy, the Wahabi Cult is our common enemy.  We must unite against this creation of the Devil (Shaitan).

By Prince Ali Seraj of Afghanistan – www.pasi.one

Pledge to end sectarian violence in Pakistan

By Ahmet Aslan

Pakistan has been gripped by sectarian violence for decades but in recent times, it has become more vicious. Committed Muslims, representing “Shi’is” and “Sunnis” from many parts of the world gathered in Turkey to work toward ending this unnecessary conflict in the Ummah. While Syria and Iraq have been engulfed in bloody sectarian violence, a promising development took place recently to end sectarian bloodshed in Pakistan. Last month, members of some of the most influential Shi‘i and Sunni groups in Pakistan met in Bodrum, a popular holiday destination in Turkey, to end the ongoing bloodshed that has claimed the lives of thousands of innocent people since 2000 and even earlier. The meeting was initiated and organized by the Universal Justice Network, an umbrella organization that represents more than 200 Muslim NGOs around the world. The highlight of the three-day meeting was Imam Muhammad al-‘Asi’s speech titled “On Search of the Prophet and Unity/Perils of Disunity.” Fellow at the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought (ICIT) and mufassir of the noble Qur’an, The Ascendant Qur’an, seven volumes of which have been printed so far, Imam al-‘Asi has a very good grasp of the affairs of the Ummah. In addressing the issue of sectarianism, Imam al-‘Asi highlighted the Prophet’s (pbuh) strong connection to the society he lived in and his outstanding exemplary role in dealing with the affairs of society. In particular, Imam al-‘Asi emphasized that the Prophet (pbuh) always considered the people to whom he was delivering the message as his people (ahlī) even though they were mushriks. He stressed that according to the noble Qur’an this was also the practice of all the earlier prophets as they always played a unifying role in society rather than being divisive. He concluded that while there are contextual issues regarding the ongoing sectarianism in the Muslim world, he pointed to the lack of “social imān” in Muslim societies as the main reason. What this means is that Muslims are not involved in the affairs of society as they ought to be thereby allowing venomous concepts to seep in. Imam al-‘Asi’s thoughts, borne of deep contemplation of the Qur’an, the Sirah and Muslim societies were extremely well received by all participants at the conference. They all accepted his arguments and there was almost unanimous acclaim for his deep contemplation over the issue. Subsequent meetings between the participants, however, showed that Muslim leaders of the Ummah needed more contemplation and self-criticism to fully grasp the real causes of the problem. Almost all participants unanimously pointed to foreign influence on and interference in Muslim societies, namely British and the US imperialism, which created and fuelled the schism among the Shi‘is and Sunnis in Pakistan and elsewhere. They also named lack of education, poverty, cultural baggage and national characteristics (i.e., emotionalism) yet they failed to acknowledge their share of the problem, not fully imbibing the social instructions of the Qur’an and the Prophet (pbuh). Western powers together with their local regimes have indeed incited and exploited the rifts among Muslims, but it is the Muslims themselves that have allowed them to exploit these weaknesses. If Muslims do little or nothing but watch the heinous crimes committed against their brothers and sisters in Islam, such interference will continue. Nevertheless, the delegates discussed some of the core issues affecting Pakistani society and the ongoing sectarian violence and tried to find practical solutions to the problem. After three days of deliberations, they signed a declaration containing 11 points that all Muslim groups should adopt. According to the declaration “abusing the family of the Prophet (pbuh) — including his wives — companions and relatives as well as the religious opinions and beliefs of Muslim groups is haram and is against the Shari‘ah.” Further, the declaration stated that “differences within the Ummah should never lead to issuing takfir against fellow Muslims, and if it does lead to issuing takfir we declare such action to be haram and against the Shari‘ah.” The declaration also acknowledged the disruptive and diversionary effect of sectarian conflict by stating that “the conflicts in Palestine and Kashmir are fundamental issues facing this Ummah and on which there is unanimity.” The declaration strongly condemned “the instigation of sectarian division and internecine conflict within the Ummah to divert attention away from Palestine and Kashmir.” The meeting and declaration that emerged were promising developments since it was the first time that representatives of influential Pakistani groups from both Shi‘i and Sunni backgrounds came together to discuss very serious issues affecting Muslims, and they managed to come up with a declaration that denounced sectarian rhetoric and violence. Participants included Sahibzada Muhammad Hamid Raza, head of Markazi Dar ul Uloom Jamia Rizvia Trust, the biggest and oldest madrasah of the Sunni Barelvi sect in Pakistan; Allama Ibtisam Elahi Zaheer, who is a renowned scholar in Pakistan and has served as Secretary-General of Jami‘at Ahle Hadith Pakistan and Chairman of the Qur’an o Sunnah movement; Allama Syed Niaz Hussain Naqvi, who has been a senior judge in the high courts of the Islamic Republic of Iran for 27 years and is currently the principal of religious education institution Howza Ilmia Jamia al-Muntazar; Allama Muhammad Sadiq Qureshi, vice president of Minhaj-ul-Qur’an International; Liyaqat Baloch, General Secretary of Jamaat al-Islami Pakistan and Member of the Punjab provincial assembly; and Muhammad Sarwat Ejaz Qadri, President of Pakistan Sunni Tehreek. The attendance of Allama Muhammad Sadiq Qureshi was especially significant since his organization Minhaj-ul-Qur’an had adopted a sectarian discourse until last year. Then its leader, Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri changed the organization’s outlook by denouncing its sectarian stance and embraced a more unifying position. Given the seriousness of the issue, there were scholars and activists from a number of other Muslim countries and communities including South Africa, Turkey, Iran and Lebanon. Inspired by wide-ranging discussions and the conference declaration, the participants decided to work toward concrete solutions for ending sectarian violence and creating a cohesive and united Muslim community in Pakistan that perhaps could serve as a model for other parts of the Muslim world. As part of their commitment to keeping the momentum for unity alive, the participants decided to meet again in a year’s time, also in Turkey. The follow-up meeting would evaluate the work done and reflect on changes implemented in their practices. And perhaps they could come up with more tangible solutions to this artificially created problem that is tearing the fabric of the Ummah apart.

Rethink history: undo sectarianism

by Abu Dharr 



 Sectarianism exists on both sides of the divide. It is imperative to understand the root problems to overcome it, urges Abu Dharr.

Sectarianism is a hard nut to crack. This is so because each sectarian today (and this applies equally to Sunnis and Shi‘is) is calcified within centuries of self-righteousness that feeds on the other’s self-unrighteousness as it is perceived from each side of the sectarian divide. To illustrate this simple fact we shall take those two words that for sectarians justify their superiority. One of them is the word Ahl al-Bayt. In the “Shi‘i” sectarian understanding of history this refers to a select line of descent from the Prophet (pbuh). And here we have a variety of “Shi‘i” schools of political thought that identifies a line of the Prophet’s (pbuh) progeny who are the only Ahl al-Bayt, or the only ones qualified to stand in for the Ahl al-Bayt heritage. We shall spare ourselves the details that are to be found in this area between and among those who belong to the assorted narratives that fall under the title of Shi‘i. This type of transmitted understanding cannot comfortably accommodate the Prophet’s (pbuh) statement, “Salmanu minna Ahl al-Bayt: Salman is one of us — Ahl al-Bayt.” Salman [the Persian] was not from the Prophet’s lineage of descent.

On the other hand we have sectarians who come from the Sunni calcified traditions belonging to generations of Muslims who absented their minds from the political realm altogether. They speak highly of some sahabah while either barely mentioning other equal sahabah or neglecting some others of them altogether. Possession of power or lack thereof seems to have influenced such sectarians who belong to this narrative of history. In the course of Islamic history there were sahabah who took issue with other sahabah and in the trickle-down of information about such events the ones who had no power had no sahabah aura to them. Who can deny the fact that Abu Dharr is a sahabi? But because power did not play to his advantage as he took issue with the financial and economic privileges and refractory of certain other sahabis he does not occupy a prominent position within the pantheon of sahabah. Others who were in the mold of Abu Dharr in his and later generations do not fit the honorific of sahabah or tabi‘een. To name a few: ‘Amir ibn ‘Abd Qays, Kumayl ibn Ziyad, Zayd ibn Sawhan, al-Hasan al-Basri, and the list goes on.

If this is straining your memory of history, who is it that offers Imam ‘Ali, Imam al-Hasan, and Imam al-Husayn the honorific of sahabah? Sectarianism has made it impossible for some sahabah to belong to Ahl al-Bayt and for some from Ahl al-Bayt to be identified as prominent sahabah! Many committed Muslims of conscience and action have been shunted by this sectarianism that lives on. Power figures in the Umayyad regime capitalized on this sectarian dichotomy and got away with the unspeakable: they destroyed the Ka‘bah, they laid waste to Madinah, and they even killed with their own justification the Prophet’s (pbuh) grandsons. That justification for murder and mayhem has not been exposed and repudiated by today’s Muslims simply because the sectarian construct survives up until this very day, making it unlikely for Qur’anic common sense to prevail. As a result, powerless people lived in fear. The dynasties were not concerned with Allah’s (swt) power and authority as much as they were concerned with their political survival and any sectarian slant that served their purpose.

Why should anyone with a Qur’anic and Prophetic mind be unable to see Umayyad and ‘Abbasid power-mongers pursuing their own agendas and giving them an air of legitimacy by invoking whatever blank sanctity to their version of events? The tragedy of Karbala in particular should be an eye opener and a call to freedom of conscience and thought away from the sectarianism that surrounded it — by friend and foe alike. In plain language the Umayyad and ‘Abbasid rulers were dunya-centered. In lay language: they were in it for the money and for power. The Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said,

Ma al-faqru akhsha ‘alaykum; wa lakin akhsha ‘alaykum al-dunya, an tunafisuha kama tanafasaha al-ladhina min qablikum, fa-tuhlikukum kama ahlakat-hum: It is not poverty that I fear bearing down on you; [rather] fear that the dunya [the desire for wealth and material possessions] will bear down on you; [I fear that] you will compete materialistically as those in times past did. At that time the dunya will ruin you as it ruined them.

It is this dunya that has brought us to where we are today: no din priorities, no hot-pursuit of knowledge, no soul-clinging to justice, no intra-Islamic tolerance, and no self-confidence resulting from altruism.

Even during the time of the Prophet (pbuh) the Quran was revealed to adjust and correct committed Muslims. Listen and learn,

[Hence], O you who are securely committed [to Allah’s power and authority], when you embark on a [military] task in Allah’s cause, use your discernment, and do not — out of a desire for the fleeting gains of this worldly life — say to anyone who offers you the greetings of peace, “You are not a person of commitment,” for with Allah there are gains abundant… (4:94).

There was in the time of Allah’s Prophet (pbuh) those who thought they were committed Muslims and wanted people to think that they were committed Muslims. But Islamic commitment is ascertained by behavioral evidence and a transparent social character. After our beloved Prophet (pbuh) passed away the revelation of the Qur’an ended and it is left up to us — the carriers of this meaningful Qur’an — to examine and evaluate policies and politicians in particular. You will notice that during the Prophet’s (pbuh) lifetime when revelation was still in progress there were numerous ayat to evaluate military efforts. Look at Badr’s evaluation in Surah al-Anfal, Uhud’s evaluation in Surah Aal ‘Imran, and al-Khandaq’s evaluation in Surah al-Ahzab, etc. In this close reading of the Qur’an we observe how Allah (swt) reconstructs those critical times and retraces what they did from a position beyond their “selves” and their “lives”. If in that process they made mistakes, He points them out,

…[remember what you felt] when they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when [your] eyes became dim and [your] hearts came up to [your] throats, and [when] most conflicting thoughts about Allah passed through your minds… (33:10).

All this and much more for those who follow Allah’s words carefully and thoughtfully is in the Qur’an concerning that first and unique generation of committed Muslims. But none of this was meant to give them a halo of infallibility; even they knew that they were not self-righteous and holier-than-thou.

Sectarianism has made it impossible for some sahabah to belong to Ahl al-Bayt and for some from Ahl al-Bayt to be identified as prominent sahabah! Many committed Muslims of conscience and action have been shunted by this sectarianism that lives on.

It is a sad comment to say that the Umayyad and other dynasties were to use the qualities of that humble generation around the Prophet (pbuh) with all its imperfections yet with all its selflessness and sacrifices to legitimize their usurpation of power and then cast that into the sectarian mold that we still suffer from today. From here on in, it was the regimes and dynasties that would evaluate and assess individuals and people. When committed Muslims were wrong in the time of Allah’s Prophet (pbuh) the faultless Qur’an would tell them directly and objectively that they were wrong and that they had to correct themselves. And with the Prophet’s (pbuh) leadership they did.

But when errant regimes and dynasties took over the leadership of Muslims they began to use opinions of some live-and-let-live scholars to justify their credibility and rationalize their legitimacy. Facilitating this whole process was the sectarian divide. The opposition to dynastic and autocratic rulers came from many who initially identified with Imam ‘Ali. So they had to be labeled. And labeled they were. Money and power back then acted like money and power do today. Establishments and governments can label the most honest person around as a weirdo, a goof-ball, or as may be more understood in today’s political climate an anti-Semite — and lo and behold that tag sticks like white on rice! This happens to almost all opposition forces in history. In our time we have the pejorative of “socialist” or “communist,” we have the derisive of “subversive” or “radical,” and in the Islamic sphere we have the derogative “Shi‘i” or “Ikhwani” just to name a few. But it should be clear to the discerning.

We know that this exposition may have touched on some raw nerves. But we have no choice but to speak the truth with the kind heart of brothers who seek justice,

There has now come to you an admonition from your Sustainer, and a cure for all [the ill] that may be in men’s hearts, and guidance and grace to all who are committed [to His power and authority] (10:57).

A Proposal to Unite Muslim World - A Union of Muslim Countries (UMC)

Bismillahi rahmani raheem,
A critic of Islam said, “Even if Islam were to sweep the entire area from South Africa to Philippines we [i.e the western powers] need not fear for they are utterly and hopelessly disunited. The Islamic world would probably turn in on itself over sectarian and national divisions before it would be a major threat to even India.” I wish it was not but I fear this is the truth. Today Muslims number 1.5 billion and counting. Oil drives the world and 3/4 of the proven oil reserves lie under Muslims feet. Islam the religion of Muslims is a potent force as it was when it first spread out of Arabia 14 centuries ago. From the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific isles is a landmass spanning 15,000 km inhabited by Muslim majorities.
Yet how do Muslims figure in the world arena? Sad to say it’s nothing less that pathetic. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of ALL the Muslim countries combined is less than or equal to that of France. 15 years ago when 50,000 Muslim women are raped by Christian Serbs in Bosnia, Muslims watched as spectators. Now when country after country falls to the hands of American and other neo-colonialists Muslims look on helplessly. When Lebanon is bombed to Stone Age and Palestine is no more we heat our seats. Millions starving in Africa, many more oppressed by cruel dictators in Central Asia does not disturb the Muslim peace of mind. YaAllah! I dare say they’ll be heating their chairs even if Mecca is vaporized or millions butchered in Saudi Arabia and Iran. “The less we think about the Muslims the happier we’ll be,” seems the thought of the day.
Disunited as we are I don’t think Allah will help us if we don’t try to correct ourselves. Allah’s help comes only when we change ourselves for the better. The darkest hours are the nearest to dawn. There are ways out of this seemingly stalemate situation of the Muslim world.
Presented here is a vision to unite Muslims countries. If it can be realized there’ll be a Muslim federation or union stretching from the shores of Atlantic to the isles in the edge of the Pacific Ocean. First let’s look at the some facts.

Map of the union of Muslim countries we made for the article - "A Proposal to Unite Muslim World – A Union of Muslim Countries (UMC)" at 1MuslimNation.com

The map shows the current worldwide Muslim population distribution. The vision foreseen here is for a united union/federation of Muslim countries. Lets call it The Union of Muslim Countries or simply UMC for now, for easier reference. Here is the map of Union based on the above Muslim distribution. The countries with a Muslim majority population will belong to the Union of Muslim Countries (UMC). This is map of the intercontinental UMC.

The Union of Muslim Countries or UMC could be like the European Union, and inshaallah can be formed in phases and stages via discussions, consensus, coordination etc. The current national borders, nation governments etc. will be intact, but there will also be a federal government and parliament for the whole UMC. The people from one part of the federation, for instance a citizen of Nigeria would be able to go to Bangladesh or Malaysia without the need for a passport or other travel documents, just like within the EU. An investor from Kuwait will be able to start a business enterprise in Senegal or Pakistan as easily as he would in Kuwait. An Indonesian, Pakistani farmer will send his harvest to be sold to Moroccans and Yemenis without much hassle or import duties he presently has to pay. People within the UMC will be able to move and settle anywhere within the UMC union’s borders as if in the same country. The movement of people and goods within the union will have as much freedom as available in a country now. All people irrespective of gender, religion, nationality, caste, colour or language currently living within the UMC border will belong and be citizens of the UMC. They’ll have all the rights they enjoy now. There’s no need for Muslims living outside of the UMC federation to come and live in a UMC country, but of course if anyone wants they’ll be able to settle and obtain citizenship of any of the UMC countries be a citizen of UMC.
It’s worth remembering 60 years ago a European Union (EU) was a dream of a few enlightened people. But today it is a reality. And also Muslim countries have an advantage European nations didn’t have back then. That is, there always exists an urge in the Muslim psyche for something like a Caliphate or an intercontinental Islamic state covering the whole Muslim world. Similar proposals like these have been voiced before. That’s good. But to bear fruits, these proposal and ideas needs to reach as many people as possible. So as the first step to form a Union of Muslim Countries that can protect and act on behalf of Muslim peoples and countries interests is to spread the idea to many as possible.
Leaving things as it is or engaging in wishful thinking without action or allowing and appealing to non-Muslims Super Powers and countries to decide the fate of our Muslim people and our lands, in all likelihood leads to the devastation of both. We Muslims must decide our future and not leave it at the hands of other powerful nations. We are making a grave mistake in underestimating the abilities, resources and knowledge Allah has given us. Inshaallah if we try we can make it.
August 13th, 2006

Imam Khomeini on Islamic Unity

"Today, world peace is such that all countries are under the political influence of the superpowers; they observe a control everywhere and have schemes for defeating every group. The most important of these is sowing discord among brothers.

Muslims should be awake, Muslims should be alert that if a dispute takes place among Sunni and Shi'ite brothers, it is harmful to all of us, it is harmful to all Muslims. Those who want to sow discord are neither Sunni nor Shi'ite, they are agents of the superpowers and work for them.


Those who attempt to cause discord among our Sunni and Shi'ite brothers are people who conspire for the enemies of Islam and want the enemies of Islam to triumph over Muslims. They are the supporters of America and some are supporters of the Soviet Union.

I hope that through considering this Islamic precept - that all Muslims are brothers - all Islamic countries will triumph against the superpowers and succeed in actualizing all Islamic ordinances.

Muslims are brothers and will not be segregated by the pseudo-propaganda sponsored by corrupt elements. The source of this matter - that Shi'ites should be on one side and Sunni on the other - is on the one hand ignorance and on the other hand propaganda of the foreigners.

If Islamic brotherhood comes to the fore among Islamic countries, such will become a great power which none of the global powers will be able to cope with.

Shi'ites and Sunnis brothers should avoid every kind of dispute. Today, discord among us will only benefit those who follow neither Shi'ia nor Hanafi. They neither want this nor that to exist, and know the way to sow dispute between you and us. We must pay attention that we are all Muslims and we all believe in the Qur'an; we all belive in Tawheed and must work to serve the Qur'an and Tawheed."

Is Turkey the Trojan Horse, or is it the Saudi Islamists?

The flotilla of humanitarian aid sponsored by the government of Turkey was attacked in international waters by Israeli pirates equipped with the latest technology Washington can offer to its sea wolf client in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. This lowdown Israeli crime on the high-seas against a humanitarian convoy of foodstuffs, medicines, building materials, toys, etc. should ring the bells of Canterbury and the Vatican. But gone are the days when there was a “Christian” conscience in those two citadels. Zionism cloaked in Judaism has occupied the religious territories of Europe and America. Nothing much can be expected from an ailing America and an expiring Europe who have for centuries now been in a progressive chock-hold by the Zionist political class.

The issue of Israel hence is a Zionist/“Jewish”-Islamic issue par excellence; Christianity has been effectively domesticated by evangelical Christians and secular politicians who report to their Zionist spiritual and financial bosses respectively. With what is called the Christian world for all intents and purposes recruited to the cause of Zionist Israel there can be no expectation that the regime in Washington and the regimes in Europe will do anything at all to bring justice to the Holy Land. That is why this issue is now an Islamic issue that will inevitably clash with those Zionists who have not only hijacked Judaism, but are trying to wave it as a historical document of statelessness to rationalize their land larceny and now their sea piracy against innocent people who are trying to eke out a living or others who are helping them survive.

This brings us to the ramifications of Israeli piracy on the high-seas in international waters. The Turkish government has been catapulted into the limelight because its citizens were killed by Israelis — without Israeli second-thoughts or apologies. Many impassioned Muslims want to conclude that Turkey is an Islamic state! Hold your horses. Turkey is a secular republic. Its constitution is not derived from the Qur’an and the Sunnah.

It does have a ruling party that carries within it Islamic sympathies, Islamic tendencies, and Islamic dreams. In particular, the president, the prime minister, and the foreign minister would love to see Turkey become an Islamic state. But facts on the ground are not to be confused with fellow feelings and aspirations. Both Turkey and Israel still have full diplomatic missions in each other’s capitals. The Turkish military class enjoys a camaraderie of sorts with the Zionist military class. Joint military exercises between Turkey and Israel have been as routine as military exercises come. There is also a tourist industry thriving on both sides of this relationship. Turkey also has its inordinate number of Freemasons who are lodged into all aspects of Turkish civil and military institutions.

All these commonalities between Turkey and Zionist officials have been on a downward spiral ever since the Islamic trend in Turkey was voted into office eight years ago. This tells us that there is a will in Turkey to break away from its recent history of Europeanization. Add to that a popular groundswell of millions of people resuming their Islamic identity, their Islamic culture, and their Islamic self-determination. This fixed and persistent intent or purpose has to be nurtured and supported so that it can break loose from the Masonic, Zionist, and kafir establishmentarians who have been calling the shots in Turkey ever since it disavowed its Ottoman past.

We do not believe that the American and Zionist presence in Turkey is asleep at the wheels. They are monitoring very closely the Islamic “New Turks” who are inching their way away from Washington and Tel Aviv. Necmettin Erbakan’s students who are now carefully steering Turkey in an Islamic direction will need all the help they can get. And the only significant help they can get will be from the Islamic State and the Islamic Movement. The time-frame that Turkey is in at this juncture is equivalent to labor-pains. But once the Islamic newborn arrives it will be a decisive factor in the politics of the region, and dare we say in the map of the world.

Turkey, when it was the Ottoman State in its final decades, was called the “sick man of Europe.” So, by European confession, Turkey belongs to Europe, but only when it is sick. When it is healthy Europe disclaims it. When the Ottoman Turks were defeated in the First World War, the whole Muslim world was wide open for all colonial powers of the time. To reverse engineer this whole process, Islamic Turkey has to come back to the Islamic fold, and that is what is happening now. We want everyone who reads these lines to think outside of the box. And in so doing we should visualize, post haste, a corridor of officials shuttling between Istanbul and Tehran. This is no time to be foot-dragging on the issue. Even though the Islamic figures in Turkey are cautiously and slowly advancing toward an Islamic reign, their internal opposites and external enemies are busy trying to figure out how to undo a latent Islamic form of self-determination. It will not be easy to immediately synchronize Turkey and Iran in their foreign policy decisions, but it is not hopeless. And our Islamic minds should not stop here; Syria and Iraq have to be brought into a political and eventually a military bloc that will, in time, amass millions of committed Muslims in their jihadi spirit to liberate Palestine from the kleptocrats of Zion. Simple arithmetic will put the population base of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria at well over 200 million committed and combat-ready Muslims. Before that day arrives, there will have to be many odds and ends that have to be sorted out. But it can be done.

David Ben-Gurion, the first prowling prime minister of the Zionist entity along with his worldwide Zionist connections and supporters conceived of “Israel” as a nation-state secured by the grand-periphery: Turkey, Iran, and Ethiopia. These were the non-Arab nation-states that had their nationalist antagonisms with the Arabs. He also relied upon “minorities” (religious and ethnic) within the Arab sea of people to help with “Israel’s security”. If Ben-Gurion were to rise from his grave today he would see his strategy marching in reverse. Two out of the three pillars of Israeli security, namely Iran and Turkey, have become or are becoming the primary threat to Israeli national security. The minorities that at one time were offered a pool of recruitment for intelligence and other dirty missions are no longer what they used to be. As for that sea of Arabs that surrounded the occupiers of Palestine, the only barrier between them and the impending assault on the Zionist state is the non-representative governments — junkyard dogs of the Israeli gangsters. These tyrannical governments, though, are living on borrowed time. Ben-Gurion’s sea of Arabs will burst the official banks, and when that happens we can comfortably say good riddance to that political pathogen that defrauded the world of its Holy Land, that is, Israel.

There are snippets of news here and there saying that the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan is thinking about joining a future flotilla into Ghazzah. A good idea; a better idea is to have other officials from Muslim countries join him, although we know they are more interested in their comfort zone at home than to be concerned with the plight of almost two million starving Palestinians in Ghazzah. How about prominent members of the Islamic Movement and State in the world accompanying Mr. Erdogan to Ghazzah? Is Sheikh Yusuf al-Qardawi (who always invokes his desire for shahadah) ready to join Mr. Erdogan? There are many prominent members of the Islamic Movement, are they prepared to join Mr. Erdogan? Or do they think that this is a Zionist conspiracy? The Zionist conspiracy is their long-lasting paranoia about anyone who steps forward and wants to do something to help the Palestinians who are dying while “purist Islamists” rationalize their inactivity by “deep thoughts” about a Zionism that immobilized them into bystanders and viewers.

Behind this Islamic suspicion and mistrust lies the mother of all suspects — Saudi Arabia. Two centuries or so ago, the ancestors of those who currently rule over Arabia were at war with the ancestors of those who rule in Turkey and Iran today. The crying call out of Arabia by the Wahhabi fanatics of that time was that the Iranians were Shi‘i kafirs, and the Turks were Sufi kafirs. We wonder whether the rulers in Arabia today hold that to be true. And if they do, it would explain to us why the regime(s) in Arabia are looking obliquely while humanitarians from all over the world are trying to throw a life-saver to the poverty drowning inhabitants of Ghazzah.

The people of Ghazzah are neither Sufis nor Shi‘is, some of them even have an affinity with the religious lords of Arabia. And look who is helping!

Wa-Allahu a‘lamu haythu yaj‘alu risalatahu: And Allah knows best where to place His missive (6:124).

Al Azhar Fatwa and Amman Message

After a long period of discussion, the Fatwa was announced on July 6, 1959 and was summarized as follows:

1) Islam does not require a Muslim to follow a particular Madh'hab (school of thought). Rather, we say: every Muslim has the right to follow one of the schools of thought which has been correctly narrated and its verdicts have been compiled in its books. And, everyone who is following such Madhahib [schools of thought] can transfer to another school, and there shall be no crime on him for doing so.

2) The Ja'fari school of thought, which is also known as "al-Shia al- Imamiyyah al-Ithna Ashariyyah" (i.e., The Twelver Imami Shi'ites) is a school of thought that is religiously correct to follow in worship as are other Sunni schools of thought.

Today, both Sunni and Shi'a students study at and graduate from the Al-Azhar University.


Amman Message
The Amman Message (Arabic: رسالة عمان‎) is a statement which was issued on 9 November 2004 (27th of Ramadan 1425 AH) by King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan, calling for tolerance and unity in the Muslim world.[1] Subsequently, a three-point ruling was issued by 200 Islamic scholars from over 50 countries, focusing on issues of: defining who a Muslim is; excommunication from Islam (takfir), and; principles related to delivering religious edicts (fatāwa).[2]

Content

The Amman Message was delivered in Amman as a Ramadan sermon by Chief Justice Sheikh Iz-al-Din al-Tamimi in the presence of King Abdullah II and a number of Muslim scholars.[3] According to a report issued by the International Crisis Group, "The sermon stressed the need to re-emphasise Islam's core values of compassion, mutual respect, tolerance, acceptance and freedom of religion."[1] The next year, in July 2005, an Islamic convention brought together 200 Muslim scholars from over 50 countries who issued a three-point declaration (later known as 'Three Points of the Amman Message').[2] This declaration focused on:[4]

1. The recognition of eight legal schools of thought (madhāhib) and the varying strains of Islamic theology viz.
1. Sunni Hanafi
2. Sunni Hanbali
3. Sunni Maliki
4. Sunni Shafi'i
5. Shia Ja`fari
6. Shia Zaidiyyah
7. Ibadi
8. Zahiri

Further the recognition of Islamic Mysticism (Sufism), and of true Salafi thought.

1. The forbiddance from pronouncing disbelief upon (or excommunicating) others recognized as Muslims
2. The stipulations placed as preconditions to the issuing of religious edicts, intended to prevent the circulation of illegitimate edicts

Explaining why the message was issued, King Abdullah stated: "[W]e felt that the Islamic message of tolerance was being subjected to a fierce and unjust attack from some in the West who do not understand Islam's essence, and others who claim to be associated with Islam and hide behind Islam to commit irresponsible deeds."[5]

1. ^ a b c "Jordan's 9/11: Dealing With Jihadi Islamism", Crisis Group Middle East Report N°47, 23 November 2005
2. ^ a b c "SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER THE RT HON TONY BLAIR MP" (04/06/07), British Embassy in Bahrain
3. ^ "Jordan issues the 'Amman Message' on Islam". Embassy of Jordan - Washington, DC. http://www.jordanembassyus.org/new/pr/pr11092004.shtml. Retrieved 2007-08-15.
4. ^ The Amman Message summary - Official website
5. ^ "King Abdullah calls to end extremism". Jerusalem Post. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1150885839539&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull. Retrieved 2007-08-15.

Fatwa's of the ulama

Following is the list of individual & organizations who have issued fatwa in relation of Amman Message (as per official website listing)[1]:
http://ammanmessage.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=82&Itemid=60 FATWAS OF THE 'ULAMA