Assad's Al-Qaeda Ploy

The irony is obvious, but it must still be pointed out regularly: Syria's Bashar Al-Assad howls constantly about terrorists ... yet he is himself the single most dangerous targeter of civilians on Planet Earth.

Disagree with Assad? Call for his downfall? Take action against his genocide? His propaganda machine (funded now, apparently, by Iran and Russia) will sternly assert that you are a member of Al-Qaeda.

Look: I want to stop extremist zombies much more than Hillary Clinton does. Wallahi, I have a better plan for marginalizing and eventually eradicating the Al-Qaeda Zombie Brigade than she does. One of these days, I'll write a post about it.  But right now, Zombie Number One is Chinless Leader. And he has to be stopped right now. He is the most aggressive and successful terrorist on the map.

That's a big statement, I know -- which is why I am posting a link today to a sickening video. Click words "sickening video" in the sentence you just read, but be warned: It is graphic. It is horrifying. It should not be viewed by children. It is not meant to be reproduced in some twisted shock forum. It is presented as EVIDENCE against Bashar Al-Assad, and may our Ummah apprehend him, try him, and execute him soon according to Sharia, ameen.

Muslims in China Are Forbidden from Fasting During Ramadan

No, this is not a practical joke. It is actually happening. Read all about it here.

As though there were not enough assaults on the Muslims in process already during this month! (Witness the seemingly endless carnage in Syria and Burma.) Now this!

"Isn't Assad a Muslim?"

One hears this question a lot. The answer, which some people are not brave enough to speak directly, is NO.

Even if Assad weren't engaged in killing the believers ... even if he didn't attack Scholars and Islamic books ... even if he weren't making people worship him as a partner to Allah and make salat to his photograph (all of which is amply illustrated in the video below) ... the stark reality is that the Alawite sect to which the Syrian dictator belongs operates beyond the borders of Islam.

These are the facts:

1. Alawites worship a Trinity of Muhammad (pbuh), Ali (ra) and Saliman al Farsi (ra).

2. They believe that those who do not accept Ali (ra) are reincarnated as animals.

3. They drink alcohol as part of a ritual meal, and believe that the alcohol at this meal is transsubstantiated into Allah.

May Allah protect us from BIDAH and corruption of this kind. The groups loyal to Assad who are now attacking Sunnis and committing unspeakable genocide against Sunni civilians now may be a lot of things, but they are not Muslims. Allah knows best. What is true and useful here is from Allah, and what is not is from me.

(I post this video as a point of reference and for its documentary footage only; I did not produce it and do not necessarily endorse its viewpoints.)

VIDEO: The Global Call for Islam

An excellent video overview of the past two extraordinary years ... and a look ahead.

#WheresAssad ?

Where's Bashar Al-Assad? He's had a rough week, and for some reason avoided a public appearance yesterday for Syria Army Day. Possibly he's a little hesitant about showing his face these days?

Anyway. We haven't seen the fellow for a while, and it is definitely time to catch up! The people of Syria, the world at large, and certainly the Twittersphere want to know where he's keeping himself. Some of the most intriguing theories are being discussed under the #WheresAssad hashtag.

Here are some of the possibilities floated yesterday on Twitter regarding Assad's current whereabouts:

• #WheresAssad? In conference room; weekly meeting w/his Twitter trolls falls awkwardly silent when he asks why they stopped using word "#Assad"

• #WheresAssad In the bathroom, staring at mirror, endlessly repeating the phrase "I did it my way." 

• #WheresAssad? At UN, leading symposium with no attendees: "I Had To Kill 900 #Syrian Children Because They Were Terrorists"

• #WheresAssad? In his study, devouring a book entitled HOW TO GROW A BEARD REALLY REALLY FAST 

• #WheresAssad In Washington, engaging in a one-man protest against "war crimes by people who are not me" 

• #WheresAssad? In a speeding limousine, frantically checking his smartphone for the number of #Gaddafi's plastic surgeon. 

Search Twitter on #WheresAssad for all the latest possibilities ...

Syria: Signs of a Great Coming Change

RAMADAN MUBARAK!

Events have been outpacing everyone's attempts to keep track of them in SYRIA, but the news can be summarized as follows:

• Assad is a butcher who has murdered, by conservative estimates, 20,000 of his own people over the last 18 months, roughly 900 of whom are CHILDREN.

• The barbarity of the Assad regime has only increased the will to resist among the brave people of SYRIA, many of whom are now not only calling for KHILAFAH but dying for it.

• As I write this, defections from the regime are accelerating every day, and its collapse seems inevitable. Yet the believers are dying in very large numbers. WE SEEK REFUGE IN THE PERFECT WORDS OF ALLAH AGAINST THE EVIL OF HIS CREATION.

Honesty and practical reality compel a statement of the obvious. It is that the brave people of SYRIA must stay on deen to win not one, but two battles: one against the tyrant who slaughters them, and another against the MUNAFIQOON. There are elements who are already busying themselves with the task of convincing the world that what these brave and righteous people have been fighting and dying for is democracy. It is not. It is KHILAFAH.

I will update this important topic as time permits. In the meanwhile, this powerful video is worth watching.

Video: Victims of Pakistan Drone Campaign Take US to Court

Victims of the illegal American drone bombing campaign in Pakistan take legal action:

Follow these hashtags on Twitter: #drone #8JulyLongMarch

Pakistan "Long March" Makes History

Hundreds of thousands of Muslims joined a massive caravan headed for the nation's capital, Islamabad, demanding the closure of NATO supply routes and an end to drone attacks. The Long March, which started with approximately 25,000 in Lahore, is shaping up as a turning point in the nation's political history.

Dear Hillary: Please issue another fake apology for the deaths in Salala, and please throw in a fake apology for civilian deaths due to CIA drone attacks while you're at it. This will hasten Pakistan's status as the first province of the Khilafah. Many thanks, The Global Ummah.

Hashtags to follow as of this writing: #8JulyLongMarch, #Revolution4Islamabad, #DPCMarch4Peace. A live feed of the massive march is being streamed at http://www.jamatdawa.net/

Arab Uprising Khilafah: A Manifesto for Change International Conference

Saturday, 7 July

11:30am in UTC+01

• USMANIA BANQUETING HALL, MANCHESTER 39 VARLEY STREET, MILES PLATTING MANCHESTER M40 8EE

• "Muslims globally are demanding a clear and profound change to improve their situation, with the calls for Shari’ah, Khilafah and Islam ringing in the streets from Cairo to Damascus and beyond. Despite this, the only options being laid out before them are solutions from the Western economic and political models, often disguised with notional Islamic terminology. "It is in this context that Hizb ut-Tahrir is pleased to announce a ground-breaking International Conference, to be held in Manchester on 7 July 2012." Reserve your tickets NOW at: http://www.uprising2012.co.uk/

Pakistan Is Not for Sale

Protests against the government-approved reopening of NATO supply rounds intensified in Pakistan yesterday and today, and the nation geared up for a massive multi-party "Long March" protest from Lahore to Islamabad.

Plans by the American Consulate in Lahore to stop the protests, presumably by airlifting additional cargo-bales of US hundred-dollar bills via C-130 planes, have failed to quell the rage in the streets. Everyone who could possibly have been bribed by the Americans is already on the take. And most of the officials who have sold out their nation appear to have made plans to go on vacation to Britain on the eighth of July.

To spread the word about 8 July "Long March," follow and circulate the Twitter hashtag #8JulyLongMarch -- or visit this website.

Showdown in Pakistan: NATO "Long March" protest set for July 8

A diverse coalition of Pakistani and political and religious groups have geared up for a massive "long march" protest on July 8, Nigeria's The Guardian reported. The protests are described as the "first phase" of opposition to the reopening of NATO supply routes to Afghanistan. Granting NATO access to land routes is hugely unpopular in Pakistan. A "second phase" involving unidentified "practical" steps to disrupt the supply routes was also discussed by organizers.

Meanwhile, students hit the streets today in rallies against the government's decision.

The US Consluate in Lahore insisted that the American government, which has undertaken an illegal drone bombing campaign with extensive civilian casualties in Pakistan, had no "anti-Islam or anti-Pakistan policies." A message on Twitter instructed Pakistanis to  "check out our facebook, twitter, etc and see for yourselves what we are up to every day."

Here is what the US government was up to on a recent day.

No word yet on when or if this image will be posted on the Consuate's "facebook, twitter, etc."

This seems unlikely, however, considering that a request that the Consulate use social media platforms to post the faces and real names of CIA agents it knows to be operating in Pakistan went unanswered.

Demonstrations demanding the complete withdrawal of NATO forces from the region are expected to intensify this week. Stay tuned.

July 5 Set As Student "Protest Day" to SAY NO TO NATO

In an "Appeal to Students," Islami Jamiat Talaba announced a Protest Day in Pakistan tomorrow, 5th July, against the restoration of NATO supply.   The  Twitter hashtags to follow are #SayNoToNATO and #Jamiat -- check them frequently for updates.

The Facebook page is here.

In a separate development, a "Long March" protest from Lahore to Islamabad is now slated for July 8, according to Jamaat e Islami Pakistan. For more information, follow Twitter account @liaqatbalochji. 

JI's Syed Munawar Hasan: Pakistan Will "Never Forgive" Decision to Reopen NATO Supply Routes; Protests Planned

According to an article in Pakistan's THE NEWS, JI Emir Syed Munawar Hasan said reopening supply routes to NATO would be a "foolish decision" which "the nation would never forgive." 

He said that if the government stuck to its decision of shutting down the supply routes, the US and NATO would be "forced to withdraw" from the region.

Hasan used his Twitter account to call upon Pakistanis to stage nationwide demonstrations against the government's decision. 

Backlash over NATO Supply Routes

Intense opposition to US policy is evident on Twitter today, after the announcement that a formal agreement has been reached to supply NATO forces over Pakistani land routes. The plan is deeply unpopular in Pakistan.

Two questions:

1) Hillary Clinton made the announcement -- did someone appoint her the next PM of Pakistan?

2) What would happen if Pakistan violated US airspace for a #drone attack on Raymond Davis and Robert Bales ... then demanded land access to Canada?

Follow the discussion: search the Twitter hashtag #SayNoToNato.

Navy Backs Down to CAIR, Removes Quran and Hijabi from Target Practice

On Friday, CAIR pressured Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to remove the offensive Navy SEAL l target images I described in yesterday's blog. CAIR deserves credit for quick action and effective advocacy on this one, because today, the Navy buckled, agreeing to remove the target-practice images of a gun-wielding hijabi standing in front of what appears to be Quranic script.

"We welcome the Navy's prompt action to address community concerns and hope this incident serves as a reminder that credible scholars and experts need to be consulted when designing training materials relating to Islam and Muslims for our nation's military personnel," CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad announced.

Navy SEALS now taking target practice at image of HIJABI

US Muslims concerned about how their tax dollars are being spent now have yet another shocking answer to ponder: a Navy SEAL "kill room" in which the target is an armed hijabi standing menacingly before what appears to be an inscription from the Holy Quran.

The goal: Shoot and kill the hijabi.

This is only the latest of many outrageous offenses against the Muslims subsidized by American tax dollars, including the murder of Afghan children in their sleep by US personnel, and an ongoing campaign of illegal drone strikes against civilian targets in Pakistan.

The US military's unmistakable pattern of dehumanizing and criminalizing the Islamic identity itself, both at home and abroad, becomes clearer with each passing day. So does the need for a global Caliphate to protect the rights of the Muslims, specifically including American hijabis who now find themselves objectified in a new and troubling way.

Restore the Khilafah!

Follow us on Twitter at @RestoreKhilafah

Islamic Evidences for the OBLIGATION of Khilafah

The Prophet (saw) said: "The knots of Islam will be broken one by one until everyone of them is undone. The first to be undone will be the knot of ruling and the last will be the knot of Salah" (Musnad of Imam Ahmed)

THE FARD (OBLIGATION) OF AL-KHILAFAH In the Glorious Qur'an: Allah (SWT) says in the translation of the meaning of the Qur'an ul-Kareem (TMQ):

1. "But no, by your Lord, they will not have iman until they make you (O Prophet) rule between them in that which they dispute, and they find in their souls no resistance against your decisions, but accept them with the fullest conviction" (TMQ 4:65).

2. "Indeed, we have revealed to you the book with the truth so that you may rule between mankind by that which Allah has shown you" (TMQ 4:105).
3. "So rule between them by that which Allah has revealed, and follow not their desires, but beware of them in case they seduce you from just some part of that which Allah has revealed to you" (TMQ 4:49).

4. "Whosoever does not rule by that which Allah has revealed, they are disbelievers (Kafiroon).....the dhaalimoon (oppressors)....the fasiqoon (evil doers)" (TMQ 4. 5:44-47)

These ayaat(verses) of Qur'an, and many others, prove beyond doubt the obligation of ruling by what Allah has revealed. The first one in particular refers to the Muslims directly by stating that we have no real Imaan (belief) until we make them judge between us by Allah's revelation. This is an indication of the obligation for all Muslims to establish Allah's ruling system.

In the Ahadeeth of our beloved Prophet (saw):

 1: Imam Muslim narrated from Abu Hazim who said: I was with Abu Hurairah for five years and I heard him narrate from the Prophet (SAW) that he said: "The Prophets used to rule Bani Israel. Whenever a prophet died another prophet succeeded him, but there will be no prophets after me; instead there will be Khulafaa' (Khalifahs) and they will number many". They asked: what then do you order us? He said: "fulfil allegiance to them one after the other. Give them their dues. Verily Allah will ask them about what he entrusted them with." This Hadeeth is a clear statement of the fact that the form of government in Islam, after the Prophet (SAW) is the Khilafah, and not an Islamic Republic, Islamic Socialist Republic or Islamic Imarah. This understanding is supported by numerous other Hadeeth that indicate the only system of government in Islam is the Khilafah.

2: Imam Muslim narrated from Abdullah bin 'Umar who said that the Prophet (saw) said, "One who dies without having bound himself by an oath of allegiance (to a Khalifah) will die the death of one belonging to the days of ignorance (Jahiliyah)".

3. Ahmed and Ibn abi 'Asim narrated that the Prophet (saw) said, "Whosoever dies and he does not have over him an Imaam, he dies the death of Jahiliyyah". Thus the Prophet (SAW) made it compulsory that every Muslim should have over him an Imaam, which is also represented by having a pledge of allegiance (bayah) on his or her neck. The pledge of allegiance is not given to anyone except the Khalifah. The Ahadeeth inform us that those who run the affairs of Muslims are Khalifahs (some times called Amir ul-Mu'mineen or the Imam). Therefore, this is a command to establish or appoint them.

 In the sayings of the Sahabah:

 Ali ibn abi Taalib (r.a.) said, "The people will not be straightened except by an Imaam (Khaleefah), whether he is good or bad". (Bayhaqi, No. 14286, Kanz ul-ummal) Abdullah ibn 'Umar (r.a.) said "The people in the Ummah will not suffer even if they were oppressors and sinful if the rulers were guided and were guiding. But the people in the Ummah will suffer and perish even if they were guided and were guiding if the rulers were oppressors and sinful". (Abu Nu'aim narrated in 'Hulayat Awliyyah.)

 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (r.a.) said, "There is no Islam without a community, and there is no community without a leadership, and there is no authoruty without hearing and obeying".

In the sayings of the Ulemaa: Imam al-Qurtubi said in his Tafseer of the verse, "Indeed, man is made upon this earth a Khaleefah" (TMQ 2:30) that: ""This Ayah is a source in the selection of an Imaam, and a Khaleefah, he is listened to and he is obeyed, for the word is united through him, and the Ahkam (laws) of the Khaleefah are implemented through him, and there is no difference regarding the obligation of that between the Ummah, nor between the Imams except what is narrated about al-Asam, the Mu'tazzili (a deviant group)...". (Tafseer ul-Qurtubi 264/1.)

Imam al-Qurturbi (rh.a.) also said, "The Khilafah is the pillar upon which other pillars rest". Imam an-Nawawi (rh.a.) said, ""(The scholars) consented that it is an obligation upon the Muslims to select a Khaleefah". (Sharhu Sahih Muslim page 205 vol 12)

Imaam al-Ghazali (rh.a.) when writing of the potential consequences of losing the Khilafah said, "The judges will be suspeneded, the Wilayaat (provinces) will be nullified, ... the decrees of those in authority will not be executed and all the people will be on the verge of Haraam". (al Iqtisaad fil Itiqaad page 240.)

Ibn Taymiyyah (rh.a.) said, ""It is obligatory to know that the office in charge of commanding over the people (ie: the Khilafah post) is one of the greatest obligations of the Deen. In fact, their is no establishment of the Deen except by it....this is the opinion of the salaf, such as al-Fadl ibn 'Iyaad, Ahmed ibn Hanbal and others". (Siyaasah Shariyyah - chapter: 'The obligation of adherence to the leadership'.) Imam abu ul-Hasan al-Mawardi (rh.a.) said, "The contract of the Imamah (leadership) for whoever is standing with it, is an obligation by Ijmaa'a (consensus)". (al-Ahkam us-Sultaniyyah [Arabic] p 56.)

 Imam Ahmed (rh.a.) said: "Al-Fitnatu Ithaa lam yakun Imaamun Yaqoomu bi amril-Muslimeen", which means, "The Fitna (mischief and tribuulations) occurs when there is no Imaam established over the affairs of the people".

Abu Hafs Umar al-Nasafi (rh.a.) a noted scholar of the 6th century Hijri states; "The Muslims simply must have an Imam (Khaleefah), who will execute the rules, establish the Hudud (penal system), defend the frontiers, equip the armies, collect Zakah, punish those who rebel (against the state) and those who spy and highwaymen, establish Jum'ah and the two 'Eids, settle the dispute among the servants (of Allah), accept the testimony of witnesses in matters of legal rights, give in marriage the young and the poor who have no family, and distribute the booty".

Imam Al-Juzayri, an expert on the Fiqh of the four great schools of thought said regarding the four Imams, "The Imams (scholars of the four schools of thought- Shafi'i, Hanafi, Maliki, Hanbali)- may Allah have mercy on them- agree that the Imamah (Leadership) is an obligation, and that the Muslims must appoint an Imam who would implement the deen's rites, and give the oppressed justice against the oppressors". ("Fiqh ul-Mathahib ul- Arba'a" [the Fiqh of the four schools of thought], volume 5, page 416.)

Imam al-Haythami said, ""It is known that the Sahabah (r.a.h) consented that selecting the Imaam after the end of the era of Prophethood was an obligation (Wajib). Indeed they made it (more) important than the (other) obligations whilst they were busy with it over the burial of the Prophet (saw)". (al-Haythami in Sawaa'iq ul-haraqah:17.)

THE OBLIGATION OF THERE BEING ONLY ONE KHALIFAH FOR THE ENTIRE MUSLIM UMMAH:

In the ahadeeth of the beloved Prophet (saw)

1) The Prophet (saw) said: "When the oath of allegiance has been taken for two Khalifs, kill the latter of them". (Narrated in Sahih Muslim by Sa'id al-Khudri)

2) The Prophet (saw) also said: "Whoever comes to you while your affairs has been united under one man, intending to break your strength or dissolve your unity, kill him." (Narrated in Sahih Muslim by 'Arfajah) So what is with the Muslims who insist on establishing regional Islamic Imarah's (Governments) based upon nationalistic divisions drawn up by the British and her fellow colonialists? Can’t we see beyond the plans of the Kuffar? What of those Muslims who wish to establish Islamic Governments in "their own" country and then to resume normal relationships with the rest of the Muslim countries, as if the rest of the Muslim countries are perfectly legal under Islam? Having more than one Khalifah for the entire Ummah is a sin, a fitnah and a division in our ranks. In the Ijma'a (consensus) of the Sahabah (r.a.) It is in the books of "As-Sirah" of Ibnu Kathir, "Tarikh ut-Tabari" by at-Tabari, "Siratu Ibn Hisham" by Ibn Hisham, "As-Sunan ul-Kubra" of Bayhaqi, "Al-fasil-fil Milal" by Ibnu Hazim and "Al-A'kd Al-Farid" of Al-Waqidi, that Al-Habbab Ibn ul-Munthir said when the Sahaba met in the wake of the death of the Prophet (SAW) (at the thaqifa hall) of Bani Sa'ida: "Let there be one Amir from us and one Amir from you (meaning one from the Ansar and one from the Mohajireen)". Upon this Abu Bakr replied: "It is forbidden for Muslims to have two Amirs (rulers)..." Then he got up and addressed the Muslims. It has additionally been reported in "as-Sirah" of Ibnu Ishaq that Abu Bakr went on to say on the day of Thaqifa: "It is forbidden for Muslims to have two Amirs for this would cause differences in their affairs and concepts, their unity would be divided and disputes would break out amongst them. The Sunnah would then be abandoned, the bida'a (innovations) would spread and Fitna would grow, and that is in no one's interests". The Sahabah (ra) agreed to this and selected Abu Bakr (ra) as their first Khalifah. Habbab ibn Mundhir (ra) who suggested the idea of two Ameers corrected himself and was the first to give Abu Bakr the Baya'a (pledge of allegiance). This indicates an Ijma'a of all of the Sahabah (ra) and thus is a divine source for us. Ali ibni abi Talib(ra), who was attending the body of the Prophet (saw) at the time, also consented to this. In the quotes of famous scholars: 1. Imam ash-Shawkaani wrote in his book "Tafseer al-Qur'an al-Atheem", volume 2, page 215: "It is known from Islam by necessity (bi-dharoorah - i.e.: like prayer and fasting) that Islam has forbidden division amongst Muslims and the segregation of their land". 2. The well renowned Imam Hassan Al-Mawardi(ra) in his book "AlAahkam Al-Sultaniyah" page 9 says: "It is forbidden for the Ummah to have two Imams (leaders) at the same time."

3) Imam An-Nawawi in his book "Mughni Al-Muhtaj", volume 4, page 132 says: "It is forbidden to give an oath to two Imams or more, even in different parts of the world and even if they are far apart". He also stated in his book, "Sharhu Sahih Muslim" (explanation of Sahih Muslim) chapter 12 page 231, "If a baya'a were taken for two Khalifahs one after the other, the baya'a of the first one would be valid and it should be fulfilled and honoured whereas the baya'a of the second would be invalid, and it would be forbidden to honour it. This is the right opinion which the majority of scholars follow, and they agree that it would be forbidden to appoint two Khalifah's at one given time, no matter how great and extended the Islamic lands become".

4. The Imam Ibnu Hazm in his book "Al-Muhalla", volume 4, page 360 says: "It is unlawful to have more than one Imam in the whole of the world".

5. Al-Imam Al-Juzieri, an expert on the Fiqh of the four great schools of thought said regarding the four Imams, "...It is forbidden for Muslims to have two Imams in the world whether in agreement or discord." From: "Fiqh ul-Mathahib ul- Arba'a" (the fiqh of the four schools of thought), volume 5, page 416.

CONCLUSION: In conclusion it can be seen that the Khilafah ruling system implements the whole of Islam, thus Islam and the Muslims depend on it. It is not just one fard but the mechanism through which Islam is implemented. This is why the Prophetic calender of the Muslims starts with year 1 Hijri. What the Hijrah signifies is the leaving behind of the Makkan Shirk and the establishment of Islam in Madina as a governing system. So year 1 Hijri begins from the first day of Islamic Government, not from the date of first revelation, or the Prophets (saw) birth as it could have done and as the Christians practice. Thus anyone who makes excuses for this issue will be neglecting the biggest duty in Islam, to establish the Deen. The death of Jahillyyah will be upon him and so it is Fard to work with those who know about the Khilafah and who are working for it according to the methodology of the Prophet (saw), and this is the biggest duty upon the Muslims today above all else.

Nobody can claim that this is an impossible task as Allah (swt) promises the victory of the believers and confirms: "Allah has promised those amongst you who believe and work righteous deeds, that he will indeed grant them inheritance of power in the earth, as he granted it to those before them; that he will establish in authority their Deen, which he has chosen for them, and that he will change their state from a state of fear into a state of security and peace. They will worship me alone and not associate partners with me, and those who reject faith after this, they will be the rebellious and the wicked" TMQ (an-Noor :55)

Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal extracted that Huthayfah said the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: "The Prophecy will remain amongst you as long as Allah wills, then Allah will lift it when he wishes, then it will be a Khilafah Rashidah (i.e.: The first four Khalifahs) on the method of the Prophecy, it will remain for as long as Allah wills, then he will lift it when he wills, then it will be a hereditary leadership (i.e.: the Abbasid and Ummayid dynasties etc.) for as long as Allah wills then he will lift it when he so wills. Then there will be a tyrannical rule (i.e.: all the current Kufr regimes of the Muslims) for as long as Allah wills, then he will lift it when he so wills, then there will be a Khilafah Rashidah on the method of the Prophecy, then he kept silent." (Musnad Imam Ahmed 4/273)

And concerning the liberation of Masjid al-Aqsa from the Jews, the Prophet (saw) said, "Two Hijrahs will take place, and the latter will be to the place where your father Ibrahim may peace be upon him had immigrated” (i.e.: Palestine) Note: Hijrah occurs when Muslims emigrate from Kufr lands to the Islamic state. Subsequently, nobody can claim that this task is an impossible one as it has been promised success by Allah (swt) and his Messenger (saw). All that remains is for the faithful to rush to carry out this noble work and to carry the da'wah to this ummah and remind her of her Deen.

Imam Ahmed reported in his Musnad (5/35) that the Messenger (saw) said: "If the people of As-Sham (Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria) went astray then there would be no goodness amongst you, but however there will continue to be a group supported from my Ummah, and they will not be bothered by those who disapproved until the day of Judgement". May Allah make us from that group, and support us in re-establishing his Deen on his earth. Ameen!

Tarek Mehanna's Question to America: Who Are the Terrorists?

(Mehanna, a US citizen, was just sentenced to 17+ years in prison for having the wrong political opinions and failing to implicate others ... not for any action that he took or advocated. This is the statement he made on being sentenced.)

In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful Exactly four years ago this month I was finishing my work shift at a local hospital. As I was walking to my car I was approached by two federal agents. They said that I had a choice to make: I could do things the easy way, or I could do them the hard way.

The "easy way," as they explained, was that I would become an informant for the government, and if I did so I would never see the inside of a courtroom or a prison cell. As for the hard way, this is it.

Here I am, having spent the majority of the four years since then in a solitary cell the size of a small closet, in which I am locked down for 23 hours each day. The FBI and these prosecutors worked very hard—and the government spent millions of tax dollars – to put me in that cell, keep me there, put me on trial, and finally to have me stand here before you today to be sentenced to even more time in a cell.

In the weeks leading up to this moment, many people have offered suggestions as to what I should say to you. Some said I should plead for mercy in hopes of a light sentence, while others suggested I would be hit hard either way. But what I want to do is just talk about myself for a few minutes.

When I refused to become an informant, the government responded by charging me with the “crime” of supporting the mujahideen fighting the occupation of Muslim countries around the world. Or as they like to call them, “terrorists.”

I wasn’t born in a Muslim country, though. I was born and raised right here in America and this angers many people: how is it that I can be an American and believe the things I believe, take the positions I take? Everything a man is exposed to in his environment becomes an ingredient that shapes his outlook, and I’m no different.  So, in more ways than one, it’s because of America that I am who I am.

When I was six, I began putting together a massive collection of comic books. Batman implanted a concept in my mind, introduced me to a paradigm as to how the world is set up: that there are oppressors, there are the oppressed, and there are those who step up to defend the oppressed. This resonated with me so much that throughout the rest of my childhood, I gravitated towards any book that reflected that paradigm – Uncle Tom’s Cabin, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and I even saw an ethical dimension to The Catcher in the Rye. By the time I began high school and took a real history class, I was learning just how real that paradigm is in the world. I learned about the Native Americans and what befell them at the hands of European settlers. I learned about how the descendents of those European settlers were in turn oppressed under the tyranny of King George III. I read about Paul Revere, Tom Paine, and how Americans began an armed insurgency against British forces – an insurgency we now celebrate as the American Revolutionary War.

As a kid I even went on school field trips just blocks away from where we sit now. I learned about Harriet Tubman, Nat Turner, John Brown, and the fight against slavery in this country. I learned about Emma Goldman, Eugene Debs, and the struggles of the labor unions, working class, and poor. I learned about Anne Frank, the Nazis, and how they persecuted minorities and imprisoned dissidents. I learned about Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and the civil rights struggle. I learned about Ho Chi Minh, and how the Vietnamese fought for decades to liberate themselves from one invader after another. I learned about Nelson Mandela and the fight against apartheid in South Africa.

Everything I learned in those years confirmed what I was beginning to learn when I was six: that throughout history, there has been a constant struggle between the oppressed and their oppressors. With each struggle I learned about, I found myself consistently siding with the oppressed, and consistently respecting those who stepped up to defend them -regardless of nationality, regardless of religion. And I never threw my class notes away. As I stand here speaking, they are in a neat pile in my bedroom closet at home. From all the historical figures I learned about, one stood out above the rest. I was impressed by many things about Malcolm X; but above all, I was fascinated by the idea of transformation, his transformation. I don’t know if you’ve seen the movie “X” by Spike Lee, it’s over three and a half hours long, and the Malcolm at the beginning is different from the Malcolm at the end. He starts off as an illiterate criminal, but ends up a husband, a father, a protective and eloquent leader for his people, a disciplined Muslim performing the Hajj in Makkah, and finally, a martyr. Malcolm’s life taught me that Islam is not something inherited; it’s not a culture or ethnicity. It’s a way of life, a state of mind anyone can choose no matter where they come from or how they were raised. This led me to look deeper into Islam, and I was hooked. I was just a teenager, but Islam answered the question that the greatest scientific minds were clueless about, the question that drives the rich & famous to depression and suicide from being unable to answer: what is the purpose of life? Why do we exist in this Universe? But it also answered the question of how we’re supposed to exist. And since there’s no hierarchy or priesthood, I could directly and immediately begin digging into the texts of the Qur’an and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, to begin the journey of understanding of what this was all about; the implications of Islam for me as a human being, as an individual, for the people around me, for the world; and the more I learned, the more I valued Islam like a piece of gold.

This was when I was a teen, but even today, despite the pressures of the last few years, I stand here before you, and everyone else in this courtroom, as a very proud Muslim. With that, my attention turned to what was happening to other Muslims in different parts of the world. And everywhere I looked, I saw the powers that be trying to destroy what I loved. I learned what the Soviets had done to the Muslims of Afghanistan. I learned what the Serbs had done to the Muslims of Bosnia. I learned what the Russians were doing to the Muslims of Chechnya. I learned what Israel had done in Lebanon – and what it continues to do in Palestine – with the full backing of the United States. And I learned what America itself was doing to Muslims. I learned about the Gulf War, and the depleted uranium bombs that killed thousands and caused cancer rates to skyrocket across Iraq.

I learned about the American-led sanctions that prevented food, medicine, and medical equipment from entering Iraq, and how – according to the United Nations – over half a million children perished as a result. I remember a clip from a ‘60 Minutes’ interview of Madeline Albright where she expressed her view that these dead children were “worth it.” I watched on September 11th as a group of people felt driven to hijack airplanes and fly them into buildings from their outrage at the deaths of these children. I watched as America then attacked and invaded Iraq directly. I saw the effects of ‘Shock & Awe’ in the opening day of the invasion – the children in hospital wards with shrapnel from American missiles sticking out of their foreheads (of course, none of this was shown on CNN).  I learned about the town of Haditha, where 24 Muslims – including a 76-year old man in a wheelchair, women, and even toddlers – were shot up and blown up in their bedclothes as they slept, by US Marines. I learned about Abeer al-Janabi, a fourteen-year old Iraqi girl gang-raped by five American soldiers, who then shot her and her family in the head, then set fire to their corpses.

I just want to point out, as you can see, Muslim women don’t even show their hair to unrelated men. So try to imagine this young girl from a conservative village with her dress torn off, being sexually assaulted by not one, not two, not three, not four, but five soldiers. Even today, as I sit in my jail cell, I read about the drone strikes which continue to kill Muslims daily in places like Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen. Just last month, we all heard about the seventeen Afghan Muslims – mostly mothers and their kids – shot to death by an American soldier, who also set fire to their corpses. These are just the stories that make it to the headlines, but one of the first concepts I learned in Islam is that of loyalty, of brotherhood – that each Muslim woman is my sister, each man is my brother, and together, we are one large body who must protect each other. In other words, I couldn’t see these things being done to my brothers & sisters – including by America – and remain neutral. My sympathy for the oppressed continued, but was now more personal, as was my respect for those defending them.

I mentioned Paul Revere – when he went on his midnight ride, it was for the purpose of warning the people that the British were marching to Lexington to arrest Sam Adams and John Hancock, then on to Concord to confiscate the weapons stored there by the Minuteman. By the time they got to Concord, they found the Minuteman waiting for them, weapons in hand. They fired at the British, fought them, and beat them. From that battle came the American Revolution. There’s an Arabic word to describe what those Minutemen did that day. That word is: JIHAD, and this is what my trial was about. All those videos and translations and childish bickering over ‘Oh, he translated this paragraph’ and ‘Oh, he edited that sentence,’ and all those exhibits revolved around a single issue: Muslims who were defending themselves against American soldiers [who were] doing to them exactly what the British did to America. It was made crystal clear at trial that I never, ever plotted to “kill Americans” at shopping malls or whatever the story was.

The government’s own witnesses contradicted this claim, and we put expert after expert up on that stand, who spent hours dissecting my every written word, who explained my beliefs. Further, when I was free, the government sent an undercover agent to prod me into one of their little “terror plots,” but I refused to participate. Mysteriously, however, the jury never heard this. So, this trial was not about my position on Muslims killing American civilians. It was about my position on Americans killing Muslim civilians, which is that Muslims should defend their lands from foreign invaders – Soviets, Americans, or Martians. This is what I believe. It’s what I’ve always believed, and what I will always believe. This is not terrorism, and it’s not extremism. It’s the simple logic of self-defense. It’s what the arrows on that seal above your head [over the head of Judge O'Toole] represent: defense of the homeland. So, I disagree with my lawyers when they say that you don’t have to agree with my beliefs – no. Anyone with commonsense and humanity has no choice but to agree with me. If someone breaks into your home to rob you and harm your family, logic dictates that you do whatever it takes to expel that invader from your home. But when that home is a Muslim land, and that invader is the US military, for some reason the standards suddenly change. Common sense is renamed “terrorism” and the people defending themselves against those who come to kill them from across the ocean become “the terrorists” who are “killing Americans.”

The mentality that America was victimized with when British soldiers walked these streets 2 ½ centuries ago is the same mentality Muslims are victimized by as American soldiers walk their streets today. It’s the mentality of colonialism. When Sgt. Bales shot those Afghans to death last month, all of the focus in the media was on him—his life, his stress, his PTSD, the mortgage on his home—as if he was the victim. Very little sympathy was expressed for the people he actually killed, as if they’re not real, they’re not humans. Unfortunately, this mentality trickles down to everyone in society, whether or not they realize it. Even with my lawyers, it took nearly two years of discussing, explaining, and clarifying before they were finally able to think outside the box and at least ostensibly accept the logic in what I was saying. Two years! If it took that long for people so intelligent, whose job it is to defend me, to de-program themselves, then to throw me in front of a randomly selected jury under the premise that they’re my “impartial peers,” I mean, come on. I wasn’t tried before a jury of my peers, because with the mentality gripping America today, I have no peers.

Counting on this fact, the government prosecuted me – not because they needed to, but simply because they could. I learned one more thing in history class: America has historically supported the most unjust policies against its minorities – practices that were even protected by the law – only to look back later and ask: ‘what were we thinking?’ Slavery, Jim Crow, the internment of the Japanese during World War II – each was widely accepted by American society, each was defended by the Supreme Court. But as time passed and America changed, both people and courts looked back and asked ‘What were we thinking?’ Nelson Mandela was considered a terrorist by the South African government, and given a life sentence. But time passed, the world changed, they realized how oppressive their policies were, that it was not he who was the terrorist, and they released him from prison. He even became president.

So, everything is subjective – even this whole business of “terrorism” and who is a “terrorist.” It all depends on the time and place and who the superpower happens to be at the moment. In your eyes, I’m a terrorist, I’m the only one standing here in an orange jumpsuit and it’s perfectly reasonable that I be standing here in an orange jumpsuit. But one day, America will change and people will recognize this day for what it is. They will look at how hundreds of thousands of Muslims were killed and maimed by the US military in foreign countries, yet somehow I’m the one going to prison for “conspiring to kill and maim” in those countries – because I support the Mujahidin defending those people. They will look back on how the government spent millions of dollars to imprison me as a “terrorist,” yet if we were to somehow bring Abeer al-Janabi back to life in the moment she was being gang-raped by your soldiers, to put her on that witness stand and ask her who the “terrorists” are, she sure wouldn’t be pointing at me.

The government says that I was obsessed with violence, obsessed with “killing Americans.” But as a Muslim living in these times, I can think of a lie no more ironic.

-Tarek Mehanna