Open Thread 22/11/08

23 Comments

1. 

   Al-Madrasi

   November 23, 2008 at 8:50 AM

   Salam to all,

   Side effects may include: increased emaan and taqwa, higher levels of peace and tranquility, lots of ajr on your mizaan, and entrance to Jannatul-Firdaws.

   If the side effects are these, what are the main effects?… :)

   Reply
2. 

   Abû Mûsâ Al-Ḥabashî

   November 23, 2008 at 10:51 AM

   Apparently, Michael Jackson has converted to Islam. I couldn’t find any any real confirmation for this besides this: http://mahaguru58.blogspot.com/2008/11/michael-jackson-is-now-mikaeel-muslim.html

   Reply
3. 

   intellect1429

   November 23, 2008 at 3:02 PM

   I personally saw a clip on TV that Michael Jackson had converted to Islam, and changed his name to “Mikaeel”. If you go to Google News and type in Michael Jackson, you can find more articles covering it. I pray that Allah leads him to practicing the correct form of Islam Inshallah, because his conversion to this Deen will only benefit him in the life of this world and the hereafter.

   P.S. I can hear “Thriller” play in the background (just kidding).

   Reply
4. 

   abu abdAllah, the Houstonian

   November 23, 2008 at 3:56 PM

   bismillah. why is it that when people talk about Michael Jackson converting to Islam — and this story has been reappearing for many years, i think of the seerah? before the hijrah of the Prophet sull Allaho alayhi wa sallam, the Muslims in Abyssinia were given a report that the mushrikeen had made sajdah in submission to Allah. that the mushrikeen had converted wholesale. and the Muslims came back from Abyssinia to discover the truth. after some difficulty the second emigration to Abyssinia was larger than the first in numbers, mashaAllah. but it was a lie that the mushrikeen had converted. rely on good evidence, O Muslims.

   Reply
5. 

   Abu Abdurrahman

   November 23, 2008 at 4:40 PM

   Very much of an alternate perspective on the Obama ‘victory’, on Shaykh Haitham Al Haddad’s website; all of our beloved political commentators at MM will undoubtedly find it of some interest ;) , and of some benefit too inshallah!

   http://www.islam21c.com/general/obama-the-great-black-hope.html

   “It was sheer naivety to assume that Obama, having indicated in no certain terms his allegiance to Muslims…..

   “In retrospect, it was at the first hurdle where many Muslims fell. In their assumption that his race or colour would aid them they disregarded Allah’s uppermost measure in judging an individual….

   “Millions of Muslims worldwide heavily invested their hope and confidence in the president-elect, “”A new dawn of American leadership is at hand,” he said, and a world long disenchanted with American leadership ached to believe him.”[11] This unholy reliance and trust on the next president of America is a prime example of why the international Muslim community finds itself subjugated and oppressed. How can we, who have been given the word and promise of God, yearn to find the solution for peace with those who neither claim to be concerned, nor do in reality, but instead identify with those who oppress us?

   “Our reliance on Obama should serve as testimony to the reasons of our own downfall, as well as our very distant relationship with Allah.”

   I myself was somewhat relieved to see Mr Obama elected, but for some pretty different reasons ;)

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6. 

   Faiez

   November 23, 2008 at 6:20 PM

   New guest writer for MM: Michael Jackson

   Reply
7. 

   Amad

   November 23, 2008 at 7:41 PM

   Faiez, what a great idea. Indeed, that would be thrilling ;)

   Btw, we heard about the news a few days ago, like many others, but are still trying to confirm it. The source that was referenced many times is more of a tabloid newspaper.. right Sr. Zabeen??

   Reply
8. 

   sincethestorm

   November 23, 2008 at 10:42 PM

   Just imagine the nasheeds to come if its really true…

   Reply
9. 

   Abu Umar

   November 23, 2008 at 11:45 PM

   Ralph Nader has a good article on the upcoming third Clinton term:

   While the liberal intelligentsia was swooning over Barack Obama during his presidential campaign, I counseled “prepare to be disappointed.” His record as a Illinois state and U.S. Senator, together with the many progressive and long overdue courses of action he opposed during his campaign, rendered such a prediction unfortunate but obvious.

   Now this same intelligentsia is beginning to howl over Obama’s transition team and early choices to run his Administration. Having defeated Senator Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Primaries, he now is busily installing Bill Clinton’s old guard. Thirty one out of forty seven people that he has named so far for transition or appointments have ties to the Clinton Administration, according to Politico. One Clintonite is quoted in the Washington Post as saying – “This isn’t lightly flavored with Clintons. This is all Clintons, all the time.”

   Obama’s “foreign policy team is now dominated by the Hawkish, old-guard Democrats of the 1990,” writes Jeremy Scahill. Obama’s transition team reviewing intelligence agencies and recommending appointments is headed by John Brennan and Jami Miscik, who worked under George Tenet when the CIA was involved in politicizing intelligence for, among other officials, Secretary of State Colin Powell’s erroneous address before the United Nations calling for war against Iraq.

   Also, Hillary is demanding that all her critics be purged before she accepts the position of Secretary of State.

   Reply
10. 

    Abu Umar

    November 24, 2008 at 1:32 AM

    Also check out today’s piece by Justin Raimondo on why to be pessimistic about foreign policy during the Obama presidency.

    By the way, why isn’t Antiwar.com listed among the political resources links? Surly it is superior in content than the Daily Kos?

    Reply
11. 

    Amad

    November 24, 2008 at 6:15 PM

    Abu Umar, here’s another way of asking for the same thing, “I would like to recommend antiwar.com for MM’s political links”. And the answer would be, “good idea” :) It has been added.

    In other news, the senator replacing Biden, Edward Kaufman, seems to at least not be a neocon, but may be mildly peace-seeking, at least by his involvement in the combined effort Palestine-Israel Journal of Politics. He has also been in academics, better than being a lawyer.

    Reply
12. 

    Amad

    November 24, 2008 at 6:26 PM

    Bad news: “Holy Land Foundation convicted in terrorism financing trial”

    What is amazing is the following:

    Holy Land wasn’t accused of violence. Rather, the government said the Richardson, Texas-based charity financed schools, hospitals and social welfare programs controlled by Hamas in areas ravaged by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

    So, its okay to support terrorist settlers in Israel, but it is not okay to build a school or a hospital that is “controlled by Hamas”. Isn’t that an amazing indictment of the kind of case this is? That the indictment is not really of Holy Land but instead of the prosecutors, who are the guilty of massive injustice for the sake of a foreign entity, Israel?? Totally unbelievable.

    While there was hope that justice would prevail after the last declared mistrial (and I suspect that was also a scheme to turn a loss into another opportunity for the witch-hunt to continue), the results of this case cast a large cloud of doubt for Muslims getting a fair shake in US Courts. There will be exceptions, but I guess in the deep south, Bush-country, what else can we expect??

    Today was a black day for Muslims, a black day for justice, and a black day for America.

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13. 

    MM Associates

    November 24, 2008 at 6:54 PM

    [written by abu abdAllah]

    bismillah. i have not studied the court’s opinions but i suspect, Amad, that the black day for Muslims, justice, and America, was the day that the laws were passed that equated purely-charitable and purely-humanitarian actions with terrorism. adopting those laws probably made verdicts like these inevitable.

    it takes a madman to find good in cutting off money for hospitals, orphanages, and feeding the poor and destitute. considering how much human suffering the zionists have caused to the Palestinians, the need for this charity is stark. so clear and sharply defined it would cut your hands if you tried you to grasp it.

    it took great recklessness and deliberate-ignorance for many lawmakers to pass such laws. but most of the lawmakers who passed the patriot act, secret evidence laws, and these particular laws against charitable gifts, most of the lawmakers never bothered to read the legislation.

    and still, in the face of such laws and such verdicts, still so many Muslims will continue to argue that Muslims should not be involved in the political process. that Muslims should have no role at all in government. should not use even a vote to try and influence the course of government. to them i say your silence and non-participation facilitates the laws under which these Muslim charities were convicted. your continued refusal to influence the choice of President only makes sense if one is ignorant that the President nominates the judges who hear these cases.

    we get the government we deserve, the government we strive for, or one that someone else fights harder for.

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14. 

    Abu Umar

    November 24, 2008 at 9:16 PM

    Abu Umar, here’s another way of asking for the same thing, “I would like to recommend antiwar.com for MM’s political links”. And the answer would be, “good idea” :) It has been added.

    Jazak’Allah khayr.

    The Dallas Morning News has more extensive coverage of the miscarriage of justice that we know was the Holy Land Foundation case: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/112508dnmetholylandverdicts.1e5022504.html

    Please make du’a for these brothers (whom I consider political prisoners) and their families. Notice how both the government and media treated this case versus the indictment of several figures from the rat’s nest of Israeli\AIPAC spies in Washington (see here, here, here, and here).

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15. 

    Amad

    November 24, 2008 at 10:18 PM

    jak Abu Umar… I’ll be honest, this news was quite distressing, simply for the obvious facts of the case. Everyone ADMITTED that terrorism wasn’t involved. Rather, it was the subjective formulation of indirect causation (charitable projects -> sympathy for Hamas -> terrorism), and now some people will be jailed and stripped from their families because of this awful “link”?? Would they have preferred that these hospitals didn’t exist to treat human beings, that schools would not be there to educate children, because of the “possibility” that this will draw people closer to Hamas?? Don’t these people have an IOTA of shame??

    And you know what is worse, what really makes me so angry, the helpless anger, that the money frozen may end up in the Israeli coffers!! The money of our Muslim brothers and sisters in America, our Zakat, our sadaqas could end up in the hands of the Zionists!! Because they have an army of lawyer sharks circling the $12 million of “assets” (assets=our zakah/sadaqa) that they can swallow for another settler terrorist project in Palestine!

    Today, Israel’s OCCUPATION officially extended to the American courts!! Make no mistake about this, this is a massive blow to American sovereignty, and the extension of Israel’s ever-growing occupation extending from American political systems to American judicial systems, with the help of the “Israel first, country second” neocons.

    May Allah help the good people of this country destroy the evil plots of the neocon, free this nation from the throngs of the Israeli lobby and its ever-increasing occupation. May Allah give the families of the prisoners, in the ranks of Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners, patience and reward. And may Allah free them from the pangs of injustice, and from the evils of the Israeli lobby.

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16. 

    Amad

    November 24, 2008 at 10:35 PM

    Zuhdi Jasser applauds the ruling against HLF. I wonder if this man has even a mustard seed of iman in his heart?? How can a Muslim be pleased at the imprisonment of other Muslims who harmed no one?? Can we check if he has a soul or is it still with the neocons, sold for a few dollars?

    Also, check out the link of this IP project (the one above), run by the charlatan Steve Emerson, the phony “terrorism expert”. Look at his list of “organizations” he is watching. Amusingly, he has Abdullah Azzam on his list of individuals… memo to Emerson: Azzam is no longer alive, wacko… are you watching over his grave??

    I wish we would package up all these neocons and smearcasters, and ship them to an outpost in Israel, where they can continue to spew their hatred. Just leave American ALONE!

    Reply
17. 

    Abu Umar

    November 24, 2008 at 11:22 PM

    Also, check out the link of this IP project (the one above), run by the charlatan Steve Emerson, the phony “terrorism expert”. Look at his list of “organizations” he is watching. Amusingly, he has Abdullah Azzam on his list of individuals… memo to Emerson: Azzam is no longer alive, wacko… are you watching over his grave??

    It is interesting, people like Shaykh ‘Abdullah ‘Azzam (rahimahullah) were classified as “freedom fighters” according to Reagan when they were fighting the Ruskies, but ‘Azzam is transformed in our times into the archetype international terrorist, even though he was at the forefront of speaking against real terrorism (killing women, children, other non-combatants, etc). Contrary to popular myth, he was not involved in what we know as al-Qaeda. He was opposed by the Egyptian militant groups (like Zawahiri’s Jama’at al-Jihad) because he didn’t believe in bring violence into Muslim countries, but wished to fight to expel foreign aggressors in occupied Muslim countries. Of course, as we learned recently with Dr. Rashid Khalidi, anyone who suggests that the Palestinians have the right to fight the criminal Zionist occupation is dubbed a terrorist and extremist by the Israeli lobby and its witless goons like Steven Emerson.

    Speaking of the Zionist occupation, apparently people get tax breaks for donating money to the colonies established by right-wing Jewish fascists (a good many of them from Brooklyn) in the occupied West Bank.

    I wish we would package up all these neocons and smearcasters, and ship them to an outpost in Israel, where they can continue to spew their hatred. Just leave American ALONE!

    The Palestinians don’t need more squatters over there. However, I hear the US military always looking for recruits and I hear Iraq is lovely this time of the year.

    Reply
18. 

    Abu Umar

    November 24, 2008 at 11:30 PM

    Just saw this, but Russia is claiming that American mercenaries were fighting on the side of the Georgian army during the recent conflict. Now assuming this is true (and I’m sure it is) how many of these figures will be investigated and prosecution for violation of the Neutrality Act? That is the reason that Isma’il Royer and his friends went to jail (they supposedly trained to fight in Kashmir and Chechnya), but for non-Muslims this is never applied it would seem (especially considering the large number of American citizens that fight in the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank and recently in Lebanon).

    Reply
19. 

    Abu Umar

    November 25, 2008 at 12:00 AM

    Some disturbing reporting from al-Jazeera:

    Al Jazeera’s Tom Ackerman, reporting from Dallas, Texas, where the court case took place, said a former US state department official testified that he was never told that Hamas directed the US charity during intelligence briefings.

    But an unidentified Israeli witness told the court that the aid was funnelled through Hamas channels.

    Lydia Gonzalez of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said the defendants did not get a fair trial.

    “When you’re supposed to be able to face your accusers fully and against secret evidence and secret witness, I think that leads to reasonable doubt.”

    Reply
20. 

    mulsimah

    November 26, 2008 at 12:37 PM

    salaam

    funny, I was going to ask muslimmatters to do a thread on holy land verdict

    after pronouncing everyone guilty , it took the jury half hour to decide what to do with the 12..4 million zakat money. and then at the end they decided it shoudl go to the government!!!!!! what the heck! that makes my blood boil. they could have should have given it to the hungry palestinians , they didnt have to give it to hamas! ‘They could have given it to the hungry anywhere!

    well here is the editors note from freedomtogive

    http://www.freedomtogive.com/?q=node/186

    Reply
21. 

    Hassan

    November 26, 2008 at 5:43 PM

    What is going on in Mumbai right now? So many people killed including high police officials. I heard some Deccan Mujahideen has taken claim for the attacks?

    Reply
22. 

    Abu Umar

    November 27, 2008 at 12:42 AM

    Here is a very interesting article that I came across earlier today:

    With more than 55 million items, the Library’s Manuscript Division contains the papers of 23 presidents, from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge. In this article, Manuscript Division Chief James Hutson draws upon the papers of Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other primary documents to discuss the relationship of Islam to the new nation.

    Many Muslims feel unwelcome in the United States in the aftermath of September 11, according to newspaper reports. Anecdotal evidence suggests that substantial numbers of Americans view their Muslim neighbors as an alien presence outside the limits of American life and history. While other minorities—African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans—were living within the boundaries of the present United States from the earliest days of the nation, Muslims are perceived to have had no part in the American experience.

    Readers may be surprised to learn that there may have been hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Muslims in the United States in 1776—imported as slaves from areas of Africa where Islam flourished. Although there is no evidence that the Founders were aware of the religious convictions of their bondsmen, it is clear that the Founding Fathers thought about the relationship of Islam to the new nation and were prepared to make a place for it in the republic.

    The Founding Fathers and Islam, read it all.

    Reply
23. 

    J

    November 28, 2008 at 4:12 AM

    I just wanted to say that I love MM.

    Reply