Inspired by Islamic Awakening Conference
I was inspired and overjoyed to read about the Islamic Awakening Conference in Tehran (Crescent, 10-2011). With so much bad news from all parts of the Muslim world — Muslim countries being attacked relentlessly and innocent people getting killed on a daily basis, Muslim uprisings being sabotaged and diverted into serving Western interests — the Islamic Awakening Conference in Tehran came as welcome news.

   I am glad that the Islamic Republic of Iran took the lead in organizing it. The number of participants from all over the world was extremely impressive. Looking at the pictures of conference attendees, I could recognize a number of faces that ordinarily would not be in Tehran yet it is a tribute to the sagacity of the officials of the Islamic Republic that they managed to gather Muslim activists from such diverse backgrounds. This is how it should be. Muslims should be able to rise above their narrow differences and work toward the common goal of liberating their societies from the clutches of imperialism and Zionism.

   The conference gives hopes to Muslims worldwide that at long last, they are getting organized to address their problems and find solutions from within the House of Islam rather than running to such useless bodies as the UN.

   Munir Ashraf

   Carbondale, IL, US 
 

Ustad Rabbani and Afghan peace

I agree with your analysis that it was probably the Americans that engineered the assassination of Ustad Burhanuddin Rabbani in Kabul on September 20 (Crescent, 10-2011). When we analyze who would benefit from this crime, it shows that the Taliban could not have done it. As a respected figure, Ustad Rabbani was beginning to reach out to them. Similarly, Pakistan has suffered a setback by forcing Hamid Karzai into a tighter embrace with India and the anti-Pakistan Northern Alliance hardliners — Abdullah Abdullah, Amrullah Salehi et al — who have gained more power. The only winner in this is the US.

   Perhaps, this is what the US wanted. They did not want Ustad Rabbani to succeed in reaching out to the Taliban. This gives the Americans the excuse to prolong their occupation of Afghan-istan. I believe there is also another factor: Ustad Rabbani had just returned from the Islamic Awakening Conference in Tehran one day earlier. I feel the Americans wanted to send a message to Islamic leaders that they must not get close to Iran.

   Masood Khan

   Peshawar, Pakistan 
 
 
Who represents the Palestinians?

Contrasting the behaviour of Mahmoud Abbas with that of Hamas, one can see why the former is a total failure while the Islamic resistance movement enjoys such widespread support of the Palestinian masses. Abbas grovels before the UN, US, and the Zionist state — tormentors of the Palestinian people — while Hamas stands its ground on principle. Abbas has gotten nowhere while Hamas has scored a major victory over Zionist Israel in the prisoner exchange deal. Abbas and his coterie of corrupt hangers-on are Western puppets. They serve their Western masters rather than the interests of the Palestinian people.

   Askia Wejd

   Brooklyn, NY, US 
 
 
True Leader

I saw the photo of Imam Sayyid ‘Ali Khamenei, leader of the Islamic Republic, and read his speech at the Islamic Awakening Conference in Tehran, published in the Crescent International (10-2011). After reading his speech and the manner in which he presented the issues affecting the Ummah and his proposals for overcoming the difficulties, I truly feel he is the leader who can solve the problems of this world. I pray for his long life and wish him all the success. 

   Hussein Daya

   Calgary, AB, Canada 
 
 
Bahrain

Yours is perhaps the only magazine that covers the struggle and suffering of the Bahraini people. The corporate-owned Western media seldom reports the atrocities being perpetrated against the people of Bahrain because the minority regime there is aligned with the West and is also a Saudi puppet. How long will these dinosaurs last? Can they not see that dictators are being overthrown throughout the region? The US and its allies stand exposed as hypocrites when talking about freedom and democracy.

   Syed Jawwad Ali

   Laval, PQ, Canada

 

Islamophobia goes mainstream in North America

Racism has always been an integral part of western psyche. When European settlers first arrived in North America, they decimated the native population that had welcomed and protected them. The slave trade of Africans, hauled on slave ships in horrible conditions resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands on the voyage, is another example of the inherent racism of such types. Its modern variant finds expression in the rapidly growing Islamophobia in North America.

   Racist Zionist bloggers have now occupied desks on television from where they spout the most vile forms of racism against Muslims, Islam, the Qur’an, and the Prophet (r). It is called “freedom of speech.” If Muslims criticize western policies, they are immediately labeled as “extremists.” Some TV commentators have gone so far as to claim they have the right to offend. They would dare not do this to any other group.

   Now Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has also joined the fray. Last month he said in an interview on CBC television that “Islamicism” posed the greatest security threat to Canada. He did not define “Islamicism” but the message is clear. Even the Canadian prime minister, who should represent all the people of Canada, has joined the Islamophobic brigade. Muslims, indeed all Canadians, beware.

   Tahir Shaikh

   Toronto, ON, Canada
 
 
PA’s bid for Palestinian statehood

There has been much media coverage of PA leader Mahmoud Abbas’s attempt to get full UN membership for Palestine. When he addressed the UN General Assembly on September 23, even CNN gave it full coverage. Whether the Palestinians will get anywhere with this bid is uncertain but it has exposed both US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as intransigent hypocrites. This is good but the more crucial question is: what is Abbas’s real plan?

   Equally important, who gave Abbas the authority to sign away most of  the  Holy Land of Palestine to the Zionists? Do Hamas, Islamic Jihad or other Palestinian groups support his bid? What this shows is that once people fall into the trap of dependency on the West led by America and Israel, there is no end to compromises. The Two State option is dead. The Zionists have made sure there will not be a viable Palestinian State. Only a single state in which all people — Muslims, Christians and Jews — live as equal citizens under the law will solve this problem.

   Mamoun Ahmed

   Chicago, IL, US
 
 
Exciting new book on the Sirah

I read Brother Zafar Bangash’s new book, Power Manifestations of the Sirah: Examining the Letters and Treaties of the Messenger of Allah (r) from cover to cover. I was very impressed by it. Despite reading many books on the Sirah, I had not known the many varied dimensions of his blessed life that have been so skillfully brought out by Br. Bangash. Seeing copies of the original letters with the Prophetic Seal was truly inspiring. I strongly recommend it to all Muslims, especially the youth. The book provides new insights into the Sirah. Congratulations to Br. Bangash on a fine book.

   Shaukat Khan

   Denver, CO, US
 
 

News of India

As a long time subscriber of Crescent, I find the lack of coverage about Muslims in India surprising. There are at least 150 to 200 million Muslims there and a great deal is happening to them, much of it negative. It would be good for Crescent to provide news about their plight. Hindu fascism is on the rise and Muslims are targeted in many different ways. Since Crescent is the only international Islamic newsmagazine in the world today, it should provide space for what is happening to that part of the Ummah.

   Khalid Bukhari

   Queens, New York, NY, US
 
 
Turkey’s Erdogan

I am baffled by the policies of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He won much praise from Muslims worldwide for his bold stand against Zionist Israel but his government’s position on Libya and Syria raises serious questions. Turkey’s decision to install NATO radars on its soil is equally baffling. This is clearly a move against Iran, a brotherly Islamic country. Does Erdogan not see this or is he motivated by Turkish nationalism?

   Imtiaz Khawaja

   Etobicoke, ON, Canada

Libya: the Crusades never ended

I feel sorry for the Libyan “rebels” willing to sell themselves to the Western crusaders, who have once again invaded another Muslim country. While we need not be admirers or supporters of the eccentric Colonel Muammar Qaddafi and his brutal sons, let us be clear: NATO’s war on Libya has nothing to do with liberating the Libyan people and more to do with geostrategic interests and grabbing resources. After all, the same Western governments were quite happy to make deals with Qaddafi only a few months earlier. Did Qaddafi become a brutal dictator only last February?

The West, including the US sent

   al-Qaeda suspects to Libya to be tortured by Qaddafi’s minions. Now, some of these al-Qaeda operatives have become US allies, as you reported in the Crescent International (August 2011). Abu Sufian Ibrahim Ahmed Hamuda bin Qumu was held in Guantanamo Bay until 2005 and now he has been recruited to fight against Qaddafi.

   What we are witnessing is a new Western-NATO strategy: regime change in the Muslim world through military invasion. First it was Afghanistan, then Iraq, and now Libya. Also being targeted are other rulers such as Bashar al-Asad of Syria and of course, the grand prize, the Islamic Republic of Iran. Let us be clear: Western governments are ruled by gangsters that have no regard for the rule of law. They would willingly destroy the world if they can secure resources for their corporate masters.

   Dr. Shahid Ali Khan

   Lahore, Pakistan 
 
 

Hindu fascists oppose salah

People gain publicity by either doing something positive or something really nasty. The Canada Hindu Advocacy (a strange name!) has been joined by the equally-strange sounding Canadian Muslim Congress (MCC) and the racist group, the Jewish Defence (Offence) League (JDL) to gain notoriety for being Islamophobic. They are opposed to Muslim students offering Jumu‘ah Salah in the Valley Park Middle School cafeteria. No member from any of these fringe groups resides in the area. More than 80% of the students at the school are Muslims yet it bothers these Islamophobes to object to a perfectly legitimate activity that would never be denied any other faith group.

   The three groups are fringe elements that have discovered that by spouting anti-Muslim venom, they can gain media publicity. Even within their own communities, they are nobodies but their lunatic rantings attract the equally Islamophobic media. The question is: what are Muslims doing to uphold their rights? There are enough Muslims in the area to organize a huge rally in support of prayers. It is important to show support to these young boys and girls so that they are not bullied by thugs that do not belong there in the first place.

   Khawaja Zulfiqar

   Toronto, ON, Canada 
 
 

Norwegian terrorist and the media

When is a terrorist not a terrorist? When he is white and Christian or Jew. This is what we learn in the case of Anders Behring Breveik who killed seven people with a terrorist bomb in Oslo and then murdered scores of Norwegian youth at a summer camp. Once it was discovered that he was a blue-eyed, blonde, white Norwegian, he became a “loner” and a “lunatic” and not a “real” Christian. Real Christians, we are told, can never indulge in terror. This is also the line peddled by the racists and bigots that infest almost every aspect of life in Europe and America. Terrorism has no faith, color or ethnicity. We must face this reality honestly.

   Sadiq Tanvir Shaikh

   Oslo, Norway 
 
 
 Pakistan’s future

Despite his excellent analysis on Pakistan (“Time for radical change in Pakistan” — CI, August 2011), I disagree with Br. Zafar Bangash about his hopes in the people of Pakistan. If people really want change, they can achieve it. They are in a state of denial trying to blame others for their problems: the army, feudal lords and of course America. All these are culprits but unless the people themselves show willingness to change, nothing will. They must be held accountable for tolerating criminals as rulers.

   Gul Badshah

   Peshawar, Pakistan 
 
 
In Canada

Thank you for writing about the problems new immigrants face in Canada. There is much hype about how great life is here. True, there are some good things but when it comes to accepting the foreign credentials of immigrants, there are many hurdles. The various levels of governments are not much help. They issue vacuous statements but do little to help new immigrants settle. This is a loss for Canada and extremely stressful for new immigrants and their families.

   Javed Ahmed Piracha

   Toronto, ON, Canada

People’s uprisings in the Muslim East

Uprisings in the Muslim East give us hope that things are finally beginning to move in the right direction. Egypt is the most important player. What happens there will automatically affect other countries as well. Islam’s enemies — the US, Israel and European colonial powers like Britain and France — are not unaware of this. If the Egyptians can get their rights, this would also result in reducing the Palestinians’ suffering.

   This is what scares the US and Zionist Israel and their desperate attempts to subvert the people’s campaign. There are many CIA and Mossad agents operating in Egypt. It would not be surprising if some of them have even penetrated the ranks of the Egyptian youth leading the campaign for freedom and dignity. The arrest in Cairo a few weeks ago of an American-Israeli who had served in the Israeli army brutalizing innocent Palestinians should serve as a warning sign.

   While we pray for the success of our brothers and sisters in Egypt, we should also help by publicizing their cause wherever we are in order to make sure that their hard-earned freedoms, even if limited at present, are not subverted. They have a long way to go but our prayers are with them.

   Mohamed Abu Ghazala

   Lawrence, KS, US 

Resistance to Western invasion of Libya

Thank you for explaining the reality of Libya (Reasons behind the West’s attack on Libya in CI, July 2011). The West’s claims that it is protecting the people of Libya is rubbish; so many innocent people have been killed in their homes by NATO bombs. Even rebel positions in the east are not safe. These are people supposedly being backed by the US and NATO. Muslims should be extremely wary of Western help.

   The West, however, has made a big mistake. The French are beginning to have second thoughts and have called for negotiations. Most people in Libya are armed. They have a long history of resisting colonial invaders. At the beginning of the last century, the Libyans led by the legendary fighter Omar Mukhtar fought against the Italians. While he laid down his life, Mukhtar earned himself a great name in Islamic resistance.

   Colonel Muammar Qadadfi may not be the modern-day Omar Mukhtar but the people of Libya will not surrender to the neo-crusaders. It is their country and only they can decide who should rule them, not the warmongers and their neocon friends in Washington, London, Paris, Rome, and Tel Aviv.

   Shahid Nizami

                                                                                                                                                                                     Milwaukee, WI, US 
 
 
Veiled protests in Saudi Arabia

You should carry more reports about events in Saudi Arabia. It is a secretive society but in the age of the internet, nothing can remain hidden. Please also expose the archaic views of the obcurantist rulers and their court ‘ulama that have distorted Islam and given it a bad name. The House of Saud are agents, indeed slaves of the West. They will do anything to appease the West in order to stay in power. They do not have support among the masses so they rely on external backing. It is time for people in the Arabian Peninsula to rise up and get rid of these corrupters and mufsidoon fi al-ard.

   Sheikh Abu Hamza

   Montreal, PQ, Canada 
 
 
Muslims in NA

The Muslim population in North America is growing. It is also under attack by racists and bigots. Islamophobia has become respectable and not merely the likes of Fox News and the Zionist neocons, but even mainstream organizations and news outlets are openly spouting anti-Muslim venom. Unless the Muslims wake up, they would face even greater hardships. What is needed is for “immigrant” Muslims to link up with their African-American brothers to confront this menace. Ducking their responsibility will only invite more racism and oppression.

   Askia Wajd

   Brooklyn, NY, US
 
 

Malcolm X

Thank you for the wonderful book review by Sr. Zainab Cheema on Malcolm X. He was a great revolutionary Islamic leader — smart, courageous and a brilliant speaker. It is a great pity that his life was cut so tragically short. To think that he was martyred when he was barely 39 speaks volumes for his incredible growth in knowledge and understanding. I hope you will continue to write about his short but eventful life more often. We can all learn so much from his inspiring life-struggle.

   Fatima Mumtaz

   Chicago, IL, US