egypt

When Will the Help of Allah Come?

August 17, 2013 By Basem 1 Comment

أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَن تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِكُم مَّثَلُ الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِن قَبْلِكُم ۖ مَّسَّتْهُمُ الْبَأْسَاءُ وَالضَّرَّاءُ وَزُلْزِلُوا حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَ الرَّسُولُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ مَتَىٰ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ ۗ أَلَا إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ

Or do ye think that ye shall enter the Garden (of bliss) without such (trials) as came to those who passed away before you? they encountered suffering and adversity, and were so shaken in spirit that even the Messenger and those of faith who were with him cried: “When (will come) the help of Allah?” Ah! Verily, the help of Allah is (always) near! [Qur’an, Al-Baqarah, 2:214]

Perhaps not out of impatience, but out of despair we ask this question almost every day. It is difficult to see human beings around the world massacred, imprisoned, and tortured while the propaganda machine makes the victim look like the oppressor and the oppressor look like the victim. So hasn’t it been long enough? How much longer will we be tested? How much more can we take?

First of all, I am not going to tell you to be patient. What I am going to tell is to be grateful. Thank Allah for the countless blessings he has give you. Also thank Allah for making you live during Islam. We have been chosen to be part of the Final Chapter. Did you think this gift would be easy? If so, you should probably find another religion because the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) is not for the weak.

وَلَا تَهِنُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا وَأَنتُمُ الْأَعْلَوْنَ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ

So lose not heart, nor fall into despair: For ye must gain mastery if ye are true in Faith. [Qur’an, ‘Āli `Imrān, 3:139]

The Requirements

The victory from Allah has it is own requirements. The Qur’an gives us a formula to follow for attaining this. As an Ummah though, we veered away from this formula and cut straight to despair and ask, “when will the help of Allah come?” Realize this is a sickness and below is the cure.

1. Faith

This is the first requirement. As basic as this sounds, faith is the one we overlook the most. When we look at the sophistication and strength of the enemies of Islam, we get discouraged and give up. Faith dies a bit when thinking like this. This is because the world is no longer seen with the heart, but seen with the mind.

Do not let the numbers, media, money, weapons, and sophistication of the enemies of Islam dazzle you. Remember that is not the formula of victory, but faith is.

ٱلَّذِينَ قَالَ لَهُمُ ٱلنَّاسُ إِنَّ ٱلنَّاسَ قَدۡ جَمَعُواْ لَكُمۡ فَٱخۡشَوۡهُمۡ فَزَادَهُمۡ إِيمَـٰنً۬ا وَقَالُواْ حَسۡبُنَا ٱللَّهُ وَنِعۡمَ ٱلۡوَڪِيلُ (١٧٣) فَٱنقَلَبُواْ بِنِعۡمَةٍ۬ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَفَضۡلٍ۬ لَّمۡ يَمۡسَسۡہُمۡ سُوٓءٌ۬ وَٱتَّبَعُواْ رِضۡوَٲنَ ٱللَّهِ‌ۗ وَٱللَّهُ ذُو فَضۡلٍ عَظِيمٍ (١٧٤) إِنَّمَا ذَٲلِكُمُ ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنُ يُخَوِّفُ أَوۡلِيَآءَهُ ۥ فَلَا تَخَافُوهُمۡ وَخَافُونِ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤۡمِنِينَ (١٧٥)

Men said to them: “A great army is gathering against you, so fear them”: but it (only) increased their Faith. They said: “For us Allah sufficeth, and He is the best disposer of affairs.” And they returned with Grace and Bounty from Allah: no harm ever touched them; for they followed the good pleasure of Allah: and Allah is the Lord of bounties unbounded. It is only the Evil One that suggests to you the fear of his votaries: be ye not afraid of them, but fear Me, if ye have Faith. [Qur’an, ‘Āli `Imrān, 173:175]

If you want proof of this, look to the past instead of trying to predict the future:

وَلَقَدۡ نَصَرَكُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِبَدۡرٍ۬ وَأَنتُمۡ أَذِلَّةٌ۬‌ۖ فَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَشۡكُرُونَ (١٢٣) إِذۡ تَقُولُ لِلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ أَلَن يَكۡفِيَكُمۡ أَن يُمِدَّكُمۡ رَبُّكُم بِثَلَـٰثَةِ ءَالَـٰفٍ۬ مِّنَ ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةِ مُنزَلِينَ (١٢٤) بَلَىٰٓ‌ۚ إِن تَصۡبِرُواْ وَتَتَّقُواْ وَيَأۡتُوكُم مِّن فَوۡرِهِمۡ هَـٰذَا يُمۡدِدۡكُمۡ رَبُّكُم بِخَمۡسَةِ ءَالَـٰفٍ۬ مِّنَ ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةِ مُسَوِّمِينَ (١٢٥

Allah had helped you at Badr, when ye were a contemptible little force; then fear Allah; thus may ye show your gratitude. Remember thou saidst to the Faithful: Is it not enough for you that Allah should help you with three thousand angels (specially) sent down? “Yea”― if ye remain firm, and act aright, even if the enemy should rush here on you in hot haste, your Lord would help you with five thousand angels making a terrific onslaught. [Qur’an, ‘Āli `Imrān, 123:125]

More examples of this was during the battles with the Persian Empire. Sa’d Ibn Abi Waqqaas was checking on his army as to why they were being defeated. Even though they were outnumbered by the Persians, this is not what he focused on. Nor did he focus on their training or weaponry. Instead, he passed by the tent of one group of soldiers at night and found the men inside praying Qiyaam, or voluntary night-prayer, and remarked: ‘Victory comes from such a tent’ then he passed by another tent and found the men inside sleeping and remarked: ‘Defeat comes from such a tent.’ This was despite the fact that the men who were sleeping only missed a recommended prayer and not an obligatory one; yet Sa’d considered missing this recommended act to be a reason for defeat.

Another example of how the Ummah should be thinking is the story of Qutaybah Ibn Muslim, who was a great Muslim conqueror. He was the leader of Khurasaan when it was being attacked. He passed by Muhammad Ibn Waasi’, who was one of the Taabi’een, while he had his finger raised towards the heavens supplicating to Allah. Thereupon Qutaybah remarked: ‘That finger is dearer to me than thirty thousand soldiers’.

2. Unity

A large percentage of the defeats of the Ummah have been due to the inner disputes and hypocrites dismantling from within. This continues to be the biggest threat. Until we overcome this, we will continue to be our worst enemy for fragmentation, division, and disunity leads to weakness:

وَأَطِيعُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ ۥ وَلَا تَنَـٰزَعُواْ فَتَفۡشَلُواْ وَتَذۡهَبَ رِيحُكُمۡ‌ۖ وَٱصۡبِرُوٓاْ‌ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ

And obey Allah and His Messenger; and fall into no disputes, lest ye lose heart and your power depart; and be patient and persevering: for Allah is with those who patiently persevere. [Qur’an, Al-Anfal, 8:46]

Unity is an important piece of the formula and we cannot succeed without it. This is why we are the largest and weakest nation in the world.

وَٱعۡتَصِمُواْ بِحَبۡلِ ٱللَّهِ جَمِيعً۬ا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُواْ‌ۚ وَٱذۡكُرُواْ نِعۡمَتَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيۡكُمۡ إِذۡ كُنتُمۡ أَعۡدَآءً۬ فَأَلَّفَ بَيۡنَ قُلُوبِكُمۡ فَأَصۡبَحۡتُم بِنِعۡمَتِهِۦۤ إِخۡوَٲنً۬ا وَكُنتُمۡ عَلَىٰ شَفَا حُفۡرَةٍ۬ مِّنَ ٱلنَّارِ فَأَنقَذَكُم مِّنۡہَا‌ۗ كَذَٲلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمۡ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَہۡتَدُونَ

And hold fast, all together by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah’s favour on you; for ye were enemies and He joined your hearts in love so that by His Grace, ye became brethren; and ye were on the brink of the pit of fire, and He saved you from it. Thus doth Allah make his signs clear to you: that ye may be guided. [Qur’an, ‘Āli `Imrān, 3:103]

3. Preparations

Did you think we can sit and pray, then wait for Allah’s victory to arrive? The mind, body, and soul must be proactively aligned for the sake of Allah. You cannot just focus on 2 of the 3. We even see prayer involves physical motion in order to be performed. In the same way, victory must involve physical motion in order to be attained. It is not you who should wait for Allah, but Allah is waiting on you.

ـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ إِن تَنصُرُواْ ٱللَّهَ يَنصُرۡكُمۡ وَيُثَبِّتۡ أَقۡدَامَكُمۡ

O ye who believe! if ye will aid (the cause of) Allah, He will aid you, and plant your feet firmly. [Qur’an, Muhammad, 47:7]

The faith in Allah should be translated into positive action, into preparing, planning and making ready all means of power. In every fight, physical, moral or spiritual we should arm ourselves with the best weapons and the best arms against our enemy. The power is not intended for oppression nor aggression. It is a defensive power, a deterrent against aggression and tyranny, and for the protection of peace and justice.

Even Gandhi said, ‘I do believe that where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence I would advise violence.’ Unfortunately, Muslims would take more heed to Gandhi’s words if they knew this, even though they know it is written in the Qur’an. This is because they fear the media and political-correctness more than the truth.

وَأَعِدُّواْ لَهُم مَّا ٱسۡتَطَعۡتُم مِّن قُوَّةٍ۬ وَمِن رِّبَاطِ ٱلۡخَيۡلِ تُرۡهِبُونَ بِهِۦ عَدُوَّ ٱللَّهِ وَعَدُوَّڪُمۡ وَءَاخَرِينَ مِن دُونِهِمۡ لَا تَعۡلَمُونَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ يَعۡلَمُهُمۡ‌ۚ وَمَا تُنفِقُواْ مِن شَىۡءٍ۬ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ يُوَفَّ إِلَيۡكُمۡ وَأَنتُمۡ لَا تُظۡلَمُونَ

And make ready against them all you can of power, including steeds of war to threaten the enemy of Allâh and your enemy, and others besides whom, you may not know but whom Allâh does know. And whatever you shall spend in the Cause of Allâh shall be repaid unto you, and you shall not be treated unjustly. [Qur’an, Al-Anfal, 8:60]

The Reality

It may be that we are measuring “victory” in the wrong way. Perhaps victory is already happening, but it is beyond our perception:

إِذَا جَآءَ نَصۡرُ ٱللَّهِ وَٱلۡفَتۡحُ (١) وَرَأَيۡتَ ٱلنَّاسَ يَدۡخُلُونَ فِى دِينِ ٱللَّهِ أَفۡوَاجً۬ا (٢) فَسَبِّحۡ بِحَمۡدِ رَبِّكَ وَٱسۡتَغۡفِرۡهُ‌ۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ ڪَانَ تَوَّابَۢا (٣)

When, comes the Help of Allah, and Victory, And thou dost see the People enter Allah’s Religion in crowds, Celebrate the Praises of thy Lord, and pray for His Forgiveness: for He is Oft-Returning (in Grace and Mercy). [Qur’an, An-Nasr, 110]

The above verses state people will be entering Islam by the masses and this is when Allah’s victory arrives. Is this not what we are seeing now? Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. The Qur’an continues to be the “best-seller” book. All this despite the poisonous lies against Islam. The enemies of Islam are spreading Islam more than destroying it. At the same time, they are strengthening the hearts of the Ummah and uniting us. And do not be sad for all those who have fallen:

وَلَا تَحۡسَبَنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ قُتِلُواْ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ أَمۡوَٲتَۢا‌ۚ بَلۡ أَحۡيَآءٌ عِندَ رَبِّهِمۡ يُرۡزَقُونَ (١٦٩) فَرِحِينَ بِمَآ ءَاتَٮٰهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مِن فَضۡلِهِۦ وَيَسۡتَبۡشِرُونَ بِٱلَّذِينَ لَمۡ يَلۡحَقُواْ بِہِم مِّنۡ خَلۡفِهِمۡ أَلَّا خَوۡفٌ عَلَيۡہِمۡ وَلَا هُمۡ يَحۡزَنُونَ (١٧٠) ۞ يَسۡتَبۡشِرُونَ بِنِعۡمَةٍ۬ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَفَضۡلٍ۬ وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُضِيعُ أَجۡرَ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ (١٧١)

Think not of those who are slain in Allah’s way as dead. Nay they live finding their sustenance in the presence of their Lord. They rejoice in the Bounty provided by Allah: and with regard to those left behind, who have not yet joined them (in their bliss), the (martyrs) glory in the fact that on them is no fear, nor have they (cause to) grieve. They glory in the Grace and the Bounty from Allah, and in the fact that Allah suffereth not the reward of the Faithful to be lost (in the least). [Qur’an, ‘Āli `Imrān, 3:169-171]

Realize that Allah’s victory is for all of creation and not just for you. Because of this, does it even matter if you see Allah’s victory manifest in your lifetime? Victory is already promised and it will happen with or without you. Our main concern should be if we will be marked down as those who contributed to it or not.

Conclusion

Indeed the Ummah is being oppressed more and more everyday. From Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Burma, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Kashmere, China, Sudan, France, Mali, Algeria, Russia, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and the list goes on and on and on.

Don’t despair because the Prophets of Allah went through more troubles than what we face. The question is not when will Allah’s help come, but what are you doing in the meantime?

وَلَقَدۡ كُذِّبَتۡ رُسُلٌ۬ مِّن قَبۡلِكَ فَصَبَرُواْ عَلَىٰ مَا كُذِّبُواْ وَأُوذُواْ حَتَّىٰٓ أَتَٮٰهُمۡ نَصۡرُنَا‌ۚ وَلَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۚ وَلَقَدۡ جَآءَكَ مِن نَّبَإِىْ ٱلۡمُرۡسَلِينَ

Rejected were the Messengers before thee: with patience and constancy they bore their rejection and their wrongs until Our aid did reach them: there is none that can alter the Words (and Decrees) of Allah. Already hast thou received some account of those Messengers. [Qur’an, Al-Anaam, 6:34]

References

Congratulations to Egypt!

February 11, 2011 By Sarah Leave a Comment

Well, they did it! The Egyptian people have successfully ousted their brutal dictator of 30 years and the entire world is celebrating along with them. Because we all know that this is a victory not just for Egypt, but for all oppressed people of the world fighting for their freedom and liberty, both across the Middle East and the world. Similar uprisings have already sprouted up in other countries in the region, taking their inspiration from Tunisia and their motivation from Egypt. May they all achieve their intended goals and reach their aspirations for human dignity and independence.

The main thing on everyone’s mind is “What now?”. And no doubt, there’s a very complicated and winding road ahead for the Egyptian people as they remove the shackles of their past and lay down the foundations for a new future; but one thing is for sure: although the process will be a long and messy one, nothing can ever break the people of Egypt ever again!

Congrats and Alf Mabrouk!

[youtube rgcLaO4_DFg Sout El Horiya (Voice of Freedom)]

Why it is wrong to believe a word Mubarak said.

February 2, 2011 By Sarah Leave a Comment

I found this note posted on Facebook yesterday and thought it was so well written, thorough and articulate so many important points, that I just had to share it with you.

by Mohannad Ali on Tuesday, February 1, 2011 (Source)

Excuse me I know I’m not very articulate, but here’s an attempt to explain reality to those who don’t understand it. Apologies in advance for typos, grammatical mistakes etc. I haven’t proofread this.

First refuting the promises:

He wont run for another term.You are all accepting this as if Mubarak has a proven record of honesty, and he does deliver on his promises. Mubarak in 1981 said he will only stay in power for 2 terms, and we call saw how this turned out to be. We have seen the regime sending out a few hundred people in pro-Mubarak demonstrations, not to mention the tens of celebrities etc. who were saying all those nice things about Mubarak. Giving the regime 7 months to regroup and plan, don’t you think for example they can’t manage to create a massive large scale pro Mubarak campaign asking him to re-run leaving him “with no choice” but to re-run for another term? If I could think of such a cheap an easy plot, I’m sure Mubarak has at least a dozen of those up his sleeve.What happened to the rest of demands regarding elections? Judicial supervision, the right to vote for Egyptians abroad, voting using your ID (raqam qawmy) to avoid fraud, international and civil society organizations supervision?Again there was no mention of Gamal Mubarak not running for president, but more on that later.
Looking into court appeals regarding electoral fraud Looking into those appeals would mean the re-election of many many seats (under no guarantees that the re-election would be fair [read next point about article 88 of the constitution]), plus the large number of appeals basically means the parliament is not legitimate and the proper course of action would have been dissolving the parliament entirely.
Constitutional changes. Mubarak promised to ask the parliament to change articles 76, and 77 of the Egyptian constitution. 76 is the article regulating the conditions required to be a presidential candidate, 77 says the president serves a 6 years term with no limit on how many times he can be re-elected. He did not mention anything about article 88 which regulates supervision over the electoral process of the parliament, which means there will be NO guarantee they will be fair and fraud free.

What has Mubarak left out in his speech:

Emergency law is still effective, which means oppression, brutality, arrests, and torture will continue. How can you have any hope for fair democratic elections under emergency law where the police have absolute power?
Internet is still not working, no talks of lifting censorship.
No talks of allowing freedom of speech, freedom to create political parties, freedom to participate in politics without the risk of getting arrested. FYI to start a political party you need the government’s permission. How do you expect democracy to come out of this?
He said he will put anyone responsible for corruption to trial right? What about putting the police who killed 300+ to trial? What about members of NDP who are the most corrupt businessmen/politicians in the country. Do you think he’ll put those to trial? Think again.
He didn’t even take responsibility for anything that went wrong in the last 30 years. Not even his condolences to the martyrs who have fallen in this revolution.

Why should Mubarak leave now and not a day later?

He can’t be trusted, and we can’t believe a word he says. He’s a murderer and a criminal with a 30 years criminal record, and the blood of thousands on his hands.
Every day he stays in power, not only are his cronies stealing every dime and every inch of this country, but we’re giving the regime a chance to regroup and get their shit together, and if not Mubarak, or Gamal Mubarak, I’m sure we’ll get someone even worse from within the regime.
Egypt will see the worst 9 months of its history in terms of oppression, arrests, and torture from now till September (and after that). Rest assured the regime (with or without Mubarak), will stop at nothing to stay in power. He has given no real guarantees whatsoever that the situation will improve. None. Not even regarding Emergency law.
You should NOT believe that there are any good people in the new cabinet Mubarak recently assigned. No good honest man would work for a criminal and a murderer, especially not in this war cabinet. Many honest Egyptians along the years have declined positions in Mubarak’s governments.
If protesting stops now, it will never start again. At least not in those numbers, and thus creating no real pressure. And while giving the police a chance to regroup and reinforce their lines, expect more police brutality, and expect more deaths.
Most importantly, 300+ haven’t sacrificed their lives, so we’d settle for some lame ass promises with no guarantees, and risk all this going to waste. They wanted Mubarak gone, and the least we can do is honor their will and keep going until Mubarak, and the rest of the regime are gone. Not in 9 months, but now.

My answer to the following claims:

“But the country is already in a state of chaos. Lets stop protesting so we can have some security and stability”

Don’t be fooled, this state of chaos is mostly intentional. With the economy reaching almost a complete halt, and lack of security on the streets etc, Mubarak made sure you’d eat up whatever he throws at you. Would you rather be ruled by a corrupt and criminal regime for another 9 months (at least), or go through “chaos” for another week, two, or a month until the regime has fallen?

Don’t let the blood of our martyrs go to waste. We’ve seen countries rise from the ashes of war, we’ve seen countries rise from the devastation of nuclear bombs. We can most DEFINITELY pull through for another couple of weeks. And once we have democracy, once we have freedom, once we get rid corruption, when 100% of our money goes into the country and not into the pockets of corrupt politicians and businessmen, we’ll rebuilt this country in no time. What are a few years of struggle in a the history of a free and proud nation?

“If Mubarak leaves now, who’s gonna be president? ElBaradei can’t be president!! With no one in power we’ll be in a spiral of chaos and havoc etc”

This is by far the most naive argument. Do you know what happens if the president has health problems? Do you know what happens if the president resigns? Do you know what happens if the president dissolves the government and resigns? Do you know what happens if the president dies? Do you know how an interim government works? Do you know what your constitution says? No. So any opinion you have on the matter is naive and based on emotion and not facts nor political understanding.

The constitution as it is tailored at the moment, puts on obstacles making it hard to proceed if Mubarak resigns at the moment. In other words the constitution obviously doesn’t account for the coup d’etat scenario. You can read articles 82, 84, and 189 to understand what I’m talking about it.

However the scenario we want is:

the ousting of the regime entirely: President, government, and parliament.
Establishing an interim (transitional) government representing everyone across the spectrum, chosen by the people, to make the necessary constitutional changes and prepare for fair democratic elections in 6 months while providing the necessary guarantees. There are lots and lots of names who can fill this interim government but everyone is concerned about the president of that transitional government, and to those I say: a) Enough with the centralization of power. Its seems we can’t think out of the one-man-ruling-the-country box. b) We are a country of 80 million people. Any honest decent Egyptian, who isn’t part of the current regime, could be the head of this interim government. c) Whats wrong with ElBaradei? If you know anything about me I’m not exactly a fan of his, but we just need an honest man, who knows the necessary processes, constitutional changes and legislative changes required to establish the basis for democracy. I wouldn’t want ElBaradei or any of the current opposition leaders to be president for a full term, but ElBaradei has what it takes to put down the ground work for fair and democratic elections after 6 months. Some people say he’s too “soft” to handle the tough reality of Egypt, well you have to keep in mind a leader is only as strong as his supporters, so whichever whoever leader the people stand behind will have the necessary strength to lead this transitional phase. The circumstances of an interim government are different from a normal government. Think of it as a committee temporarily running the country with the primary focus being elections in 6 months. Finally given 6 months of political freedom, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, no emergency law, and with constitutional and legislative changes, not only will we have one strong candidate for presidency, we’ll have dozens.

For the reasons above, our goal should be: keep going until we overthrow the regime completely. And if you’re bothered by the chaos, remember that the more people protesting, the faster the regime will fall and the chaos will be over. And once the regime has fallen, we should dedicate all of our efforts to make sure we choose a proper interim government that really represents the people, and everything will go smoothly from there, and the future of Egypt will be brighter than ever before.

Be strong, keep pushing, no compromises, don’t forget what they have done, we all know what they will do. The revolution has to go on so the lives of 300+ martyrs, and the blood of thousands other free Egyptians wouldn’t go to waste.

Don’t be naive. Its time to think politics and not just revolution. True freedom has a price and all of us should be willing to pay it.

Order Out of Chaos – A Chronicle of the Gaza Freedom March 2009

June 24, 2010 By Sarah Leave a Comment

Order Out of Chaos – A Chronicle of the Gaza Freedom March 2009

A film by GFMer Sarah Mahmoud in Toronto, Canada.

Includes her own footage as well as footage from the wider GFM community. Screened in Toronto in March 2010.

Watch Part 1 below:

Click here to watch all 7 parts: Playlist

Al-Azhar’s Future: A Chance for Alternative Movements? (VIDEO)

March 18, 2010 By Sarah Leave a Comment

Last week, Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, Alazhar University’s top cleric, passed away of a heart attack at the age of 81. He was indeed a very controversial figure both within Egypt, as well as the Muslim world as a whole. As Egypt scurries to find a replacement for Sunni Islam’s most prestigious seat of Islamic learning, many are wondering what this means for the future of Al-Azhar, its role, and whether it has been hijacked by the state.

Interesting tidbit of which I was previously unaware, and ashamedly so: the seat which Sh. Tantawi held, as the leader of Al-Azhar University, is actually a government post. Basically, the leader is a presidential appointee, instead of one who is chosen based on a general, scholarly consensus, as according to the traditions of Islam. This has been the case since the ’60s when Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the university and made civil servants (public employees) of its entire staff. Yep, the whole of Al-Azhar University is on the Egyptian government’s payroll, so now you know where ridiculous religious rulings like the “Wall of Shame” fatwa come from. Indeed, Al-Azhar University is cleverly used as a mouthpiece for the Egyptian government.

Regardless of what your personal views of Sh. Tantawi are, one thing seems to be very clear: his controversial, and at times, provocative nature has only served to strengthen the general, predominant view in Islam which opposes the idea of a single individual scholar with superior, unquestionable status (ie: “The Pope” syndrome). When just about anyone, from the most renowned university professor to the country-bound shepherd tending his flock, can criticize and ridicule a fatwa given by the highest authority in Islam, then the case for an Islamic super-authority is completely delegitimized, and rightfully so!

But the question still remains: will this be an opportunity for alternative movements to come into play? Or will it once again, be more of the same? Between this and the run up to the 2011 presidential election (and El-Baradei’s very public fight for candidacy), it looks like it will be a couple of very interesting years in Egyptian politics!

[youtube fzngz1MUOP8 Al Jazeera English – Al-Azhar’s Future]

Obama on Palestine: A Tale of Two Speeches (VIDEO)

January 31, 2010 By Sarah 2 Comments

This is a ~~brief~~ somewhat lengthy synopsis of how Barack Obama handled the issue of Palestine during two speeches he gave last week: The State of the Union address on Jan. 27 and a town-hall meeting in Tampa on Jan. 28.

The State of the Union address

The energy was in the air once again on Wednesday night, as America’s first black president gave yet another historic speech: the State of the Union address, his first one ever (honestly, last year’s doesn’t count; he was barely president for less than a month!). Tensions were high as many Americans were reminded once again of where exactly the country stands in regards to the issues that affect them and their families the most: the economy, health care, ~~one two~~ three full-fledged wars in the middle-east. So I sat down to watch the State of the Union, for the first time on the other side of the border, in Canada. I caught it on the White House’s website, which had a convenient little Facebook app right on the page so users could send out instant updates about their reactions to the speech…I don’t have to tell you that I used that thing to it’s full capacity 🙂

So what was in this oh-so-historic, can’t-be-missed address? Well, aside from the redundant references to the mess that he inherited when getting into office, the wonderful job he’s done in killing more “terrorists” than Bush did in 2008 (his words, not mine), and the fact that he’s not really interested in punishing the banks but more interested in “protecting the economy” (whatever that means), Obama and his two wingmen, Biden and Pelosi, made it very clear that this entire sham of a speech was just one big performance for the masses. If you watched the 70-minute speech, it was very hard to ignore the obviously staged laughter, applause, laughter, applause, applause, applause, laughter…it was like clock-work. Honestly, it felt like everything was one big inside joke for all those in attendance; well, except for the supreme court justices seated right up at the front. They didn’t laugh at or clap for anything; probably because they’re under a lot of heat for their recent decision to overturn a ban on direct corporate spending on campaigns….yep, as of now, corporations officially have the same freedoms afforded to individual persons in that sense. So say hello to the new sponsor of Candidate A’s 2012 election campaign: Lockheed Martin and Candidate B’s election campaign: The Rand Coporation!

All I got from the speech was more wars, America has to be #1 (at what, we don’t really know), and a cruel reminder of all the broken campaign promises made by Obama in the run-up to his election:

Repeal the Patriot Act? Nope
Close Guantanamo? Nope
Post all new legislation online for 5 days before its acted upon? Nope
Pull all soldiers out of Iraq? Note even close.

There’s many more, but I don’t want to ~~bore~~ anger you even more. Now let’s get to the good stuff: Palestine! What did Mr. Commander-in-Chief have to say about the most blatantly neglected issue over this past year? First, let me explain why exactly I’m interested in hearing his input on this issue. Last year when Israel was bombing the hell out of Gaza for over three weeks straight, newly elected president, Barack Obama, surprisingly had NOTHING to say on the matter! Surprising because if any one is going to say something about anything, it’s his eloquent majesty himself. So this was infuriating as is. In his own defence, he claimed that since technically he hadn’t taken office yet, he didn’t feel it was appropriate to make an official statement on the issue so as not to “confuse” the country…uhh yeah, ok?!?!

So Wednesday night was like a movie premier for me, with popcorn and all! He ran through the usual (or expected) suspects: Iran? – check… Haiti? – check… “Terrorists”? – check… even “Don’t ask, don’t tell” – check…. Palestine? ***silence***. Absolutely nothing! Not even a single breath about Palestine, Gaza, or any of the atrocities being committed in the region for not just the past year, but decades and decades. He didn’t even talk about Afghanistan! or even Pakistan! That can only mean one of two things: 1) either he’s afraid to talk about them because of how obviously wrong his policies are in regards to those issues, or 2) he’s failing so badly in all three areas, he deemed it better not to even mention them, hoping the American people would just magically think they don’t exist anymore. And I don’t doubt that a major chunk of the public actually did fall into that group.

So there you have it, Obama’s first and historic State of the Union was just a large farce meant to satiate the appetite of the public by telling them what they wanted to hear, while at the same time sparing them the details of the not-so-honorable actions committed in their name around the world. Cindy Sheehan’s synopsis of the night explains it perfectly:

It’s not the real state of the union–it’s another 75 MINUTE INFO-MERCIAL FOR THE EMPIRE–APPLAUSE–APPLAUSE–APPLAUSE—Nancy wear your lavender–Joe you wear a blue-striped tie and Barry, you wear a red striped tie—pretend that we’re one with the Robbed Class.

The Town-Hall meeting in Tampa, FL

The very next day at the University of Tampa in Florida, Obama and VP Biden hosted a town-hall meeting in which they announced a new recovery act for the building of a nationwide high-speed rail system, meant to “create jobs and transform travel in America.” So you can understand why it was so shocking and unexpected when University of South Florida student, Laila Abdelaziz (who actually volunteered for Obama during his campaign) stood up and asked him a question on the US’ stance on human rights. Obama was most likely expecting questions about job creation or even the health-care bill, but instead what he got was:

Last night you spoke in your State of the Union address you spoke of America’s support for human rights. Then, why have we not condemned Israel and Egypt’s human rights violations against the occupied Palestinian people? And yet we continue supporting them financially with billions of dollars from our tax dollars?

Wow! Excellent question, Laila! I couldn’t even imagine what B.O. would have to say to this. He surely must have had a perfectly pre-planned answer to this that he keeps in his mind’s back pocket for when the need arises, right? Check for yourself:

[youtube DJ3rqAoahAw Obama town hall human rights question]

Let me allow you to digest that a little before getting into this…First of all, did you see how long it took him to finally begin to answer the question? He’s here talking about being courteous and pointing out someone’s Mardi Gras beads??? Are you kidding me? That’s the oldest trick in the book, invented by 6 year olds…Just stall the questioner by diverting his attention away from the issue, so you can collect your thoughts and formulate the perfect lie. I’ve never ever seen him stumble like that before; so much so that I thought it was impossible to catch Barry off his game for even a second. Laila clearly proved me wrong!

Then when he actually starts to answer the question, he comes up with an absurd statement like this:

The Middle East is obviously an issue that has plagued the region for centuries…

What?!? The Middle East is an issue that has plagued the Middle East (the region)? Does this even make sense? And for centuries?!? Does this man even hear what he’s saying? This absolute nonsense is what you get when Barry is kept away from his teleprompter for too long.

He then goes on to provide the same, polished, formulated statement on the US’ unwavering support for “Israel’s security, and helping them secure themselves in what is a really hostile region.”

But the best part is when he “acknowledges” the plight of the Palestinians in his answer. Apparently, the reason that it is important for us to pay attention to the plight of the Palestinians is “…because it is not good for our security, and it is not good for Israel’s security if you’ve got millions of individuals who feel hopeless, who don’t have an opportunity to get an education, or get a job…” That’s why it’s important to pay attention to Palestine! Man, why didn’t I think of that? Here I am thinking we should pay attention to their plight because they are an oppressed, occupied people with no home, no land, no shelter, or a single iota of basic human rights for the past 61 years, at least (not centuries, Mr. President).

Of course he then had to make a half-hearted mention of the “two-state solution” and how he’s working tirelessly on that. FYI: this so-called “solution” is a complete mockery of Palestinians’ rights and freedoms…but that’s a whole other issue.

Now, onto the “compromises” that both sides have to make in order to make this “solution” work:

Palestine: renounce violence AND recognize Israel
Israel: acknowledge…legitimate…grievances…and interests of the Palestinians

Ok sure, I see now. So basically Palestinians (who apparently live in “territories” by the way…see the effective use of language?) have “grievances” which should be filed with their occupier. You know, like when you have an issue at your job, you file a complaint or a grievance! That’s what he has reduced their plight, their human rights concerns, their very existence to: just mere grievances!

How unbelievably grotesque and undermining of an answer! Wait, was that even an answer? Let’s look at Laila’s question one more time: “Then, why have we not condemned Israel and Egypt’s human rights violations against the occupied Palestinian people?”

Oh I get it. It’s because they haven’t filed a “grievance”…