WE ARE BRINGING AL MAGHRIB IN BANGLADESH

As-Salamu Alykum,

Al Maghrib, a very known and tempted name for the students of the knowledge around the world. This is the biggest Islamic institute in North America. Famous orators like Sheikh Muhammad Al-shareef and Sheikh Yasir Qadhi are the lectures here. This is a dream place for the Students of the deen. This is the Dar-Ul-Ilm of this era in North America. Studying in Al Maghrib for a student of knowledge is like dream come true and for the student who lives in far away from there like Bangladesh is like Day dream come true!!

We sisters in Islam were thinking for many days about bringing Al Maghrib in Bangladesh. YES!!! IN BANGLADEH!!!

This time we have taken the strongest attempt ever. We are strongly determined. As we can’t go there due to many unavoidable reasons so INSHAALLAAH WE WILL BRING AL MAGHRIB HERE IN BANGLADESH.

so we need more support and volunteers to turn our plan in to work inshaAllaah.

So we need to do some work before bringing to make it easy to bring it here.

Please follow these steps which we are mentioning here.

STEP 1:

Recruit volunteers. Promote Al Maghrib when ever you get chance. Let more and more people know about Al Maghrib. Main idea is to make Al Maghrib popular here thus we can get more support. InshaAllaah.

STEP: 2

Make some noise. Join Al Maghrib forum (go to the below link inshaAllaah) and buzz a lot and yes don’t get too excited and in excitement don’t say something disrespectful inshaAllaah. Buzz and buzz and buzz and make them to realize that Al maghrib should be here instead of North America (We mean it should be here in Bangladesh..hehe).Actually make them feel that Bangladesh is full of students of the knowledge..

If we will make too much noise then we will get our own community forum inshaAllaah!!!!

Let’s bombard in the forum section!!!!

We mean it really.

Forum link:
http://forums.almaghrib.org/index.php?

STEP: 3

Make a habit of sending mails every day inshaAllaah to Al Maghrib.



We are working on it. If there is anyone who wants to join us and to contribute to it more then please let us know inshaAllaah.

Until then, at least follow these steps.

Please for the sake of Allaah.

And make dua that Allaah make our intention strong and make our Niyah clear and give us more strength and courage inshaAllaah.

And here is the Al Maghrib institute’s Home page’s link for more information about Al Maghrib:

http://www.almaghrib.org/




join our group inshaAllaah

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17469334723

I did not come here to see the elephants

It was narrated regarding Yahya bin Yahya that when he was a young boy he travelled from al-Andalus to Madinah in order to study with al-Imam Malik. One day, he was attending a lesson along with Malik's students. Suddenly, someone called out: 'The elephants are here!' So, the companions of Malik all went out to look at the elephants that were passing by, except for Yahya, who stayed in his place. al-Imam Malik then said to him: 'Why did you not come out to see the elephants? I'm sure you've never seen one in al-Andalus.' Yahya replied: 'I came from my homeland to look at you, and to learn from your guidance and knowledge. I did not come here to look at elephants.' So, Malik became impressed at this boy's seriousness and called him 'The Wisest of al-Andalus.'

[''Uluww al-Himmah'; p. 78]

'The one who is (truly) imprisoned is the one whose heart is imprisoned from Allah, and the captivated one is the one whose desires have enslaved him.'

- Shaykh al-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullah)

A Stormy Night

A stormy Night

A stormy night, full moon on the heart of the sky.

Amazing, all these cloud couldn’t hide her beauty though they tried a lot.
She praises Allaah for her beauty which is a blessing from Allaah Almighty.

The sky is praising and declaring Allaah’s superiority through its roaring thunder and some thin ray of light all around its heart.

Every drop of rain praises Allaah for His mercy upon them. They give the news of mercy to the earth and tell her to spread it all over the region.

I was standing in the rain; winds were blowing my hair. They are very angry with me. I don’t let them waver in the air. They always complain, “Why you always keep us tied up?”
Finally they got the chance to come closer to my ear. They are very naughty and so they would not want to miss the opportunity.

They came closer to my ear and whispered into it, “Praise Allaah that His Almighty has blessed you with your hands and you are able to write whatever your heart wishes”.

Allaah hummaah labbayk!!!!

Oh Allaah I’m present,

Present with your deen.

Present with your law.

Present with my soul.

I only belong to my Lord.
My life, death, knowledge all belongs to Allaah, the Lord of the universe.

Suddenly a wind passed by me and they were whispering something and so out of my curiosity I tried to hear what were they saying and I heard,

“Oh Mujahidin keep patience. What Allaah has promised will surely be given to you. Indeed the promise of Allaah is true. The victory is coming towards you and His Almighty isn’t procrastinating the victory. He is just preparing you for that.”

The Victory of Allaah is so close!!!

Allaahu Akbar!!!

Lailaha Illallaah Walillaahil Hamd!!!

Now praise Allaah,
He has blessed you with your eyes
and so you are reading this post.

As-Salamu Alykum.

The ‘Brain-Washed’ versus The ‘Brain-Dead’

It is very common for a devout Muslim who believes with certainty in the Islamic belief system and who adheres completely to the Islamic law without compromising with secular society, to be told ‘You have been brainwashed’. A Muslim of course, is one who ‘submits’, he follows the way of life known as ‘Islam’ which means ‘submission [to the will of Allah]’. Therefore, by definition, a Muslim is not one who can live in a state of compromise. Rather compromise with forces and systems that are contradicting the basis and aim of Islam is heavily condemned in the Quran. For instance, Allah (swt) says, “Therefore obey not the rejectors, who desire that you would compromise that they may compromise…” (al Qalam 68:8-9) Indeed, Allah (swt) made clear in the Quran that the only way of life acceptable is a life of full submission and not of compromise, Allah (swt) says “Verily, the only way of life with Allah is submission” (aali I’mraan 3:19) and “Whoever desires a way of life other than submission, never will it be accepted of him and in the hereafter he will be of the losers” (aali I’mraan 3:85) and “O you who believe! Enter into submission completely and follow not the footsteps of Shaytaan [Satan] for he is a clear enemy.” (al Baqarah 2:208)

So it is clear that the term ‘brainwashed’ applied to one who is a fundamentalist Muslim, is based upon ignorance of the nature of Islam. A person who claims to believe in Islam but then compromises throughout his life is actually showing that they either have doubts about the basis of Islam, or are totally ignorant of its laws and system or have other misconceptions and errors that make their behaviour unacceptable to Allah. The type of people who declare people to be ‘brainwashed’ are usually irreligious people who live a life based upon atheistic and secular principles that are mass manufactured and conveyed through shallow media outlets whose effects upon their consumers are much more suited to the term of ‘brainwashing’. We now list some further reasons why this is an erroneous judgement upon the Islamic fundamentalist:-

1) ‘Brainwashed’ is a term applied to one who is forced or not given choice. However, Islamic revival in society and in an individual is not based upon force, but is based upon thought and choice. This is because, in reality a belief will only lead to strong actions when the belief is genuine and not imposed. Thus a hypocrite will run away from the battlefield or even more likely, he will make excuses so that he comes nowhere near the battlefield. The Quran made clear the fact that true and effective following of religion is based upon an informed choice and not upon being forced, Allah (swt) says “There is no compulsion in the deen [i.e. in adopting religion]. The right path has become clear from the wrong path…” (al Baqarah 2:256)

2) Brainwashing’ is applied to someone whose past has been wiped away and now he only understands the recent ‘input’ into his brain. As for the convert to Islam or the one who has adopted fundamentalist [i.e. real and genuine] Islam, they very clearly remember their past, but they are now aware of the reality of their past rather than the common illusions and deceptions. They hate their past and hate its motivations. It should be noted that Islam today is not in power anywhere in the world, and those who have adopted fundamentalism can at any point go back to a life which they had, but they do not do so due to choice.

3) Further proof that the fundamentalist Muslim is not ‘brainwashed’, is the fact that he takes from his past those matters which are acceptable to Islam and he uses them for the sake of Islam and for the common good. This is also supported by the following hadeeth [saying of the prophet Muhammad (saw) Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet (saw) said “Men are like mines of gold and silver. The best of you in the days of ignorance are the best of you in Islam when they have understanding” (collected by MUSLIM)

4) ‘Brainwashing’ is a term applied to those who act without rationality. But the foundations of the Islamic belief are based upon sound rational thought. The proofs for the existence of a Creator, the proofs of His Oneness and the rationality of the need for Messengers [prophets] and the proofs for the authenticity of the Quran are all rationally proven. The Quran elaborates upon the rational proofs for those foundations of belief and makes rational belief a condition for their validity. The one who does not use his intellect is heavily condemned in the Quran and Allah (swt) says that not using the intellect leads to Hell. Allah (swt) says “Verily, the worst of creatures in the sight of Allah are the deaf and dumb, those who don’t use their intellects.” (al Anfaal 8:22) and “And they will say ‘Had we but listened or used our intellects, we would not have been among the dwellers of the blazing Fire’” (al Mulk 67:10)

5) The brainwashed is he who follows the majority without the majority position being based upon rationality, proof and benefit. The fundamentalist Muslims find themselves in the minority as they choose principles of intelligence, coherent thought and sound knowledge when deciding the path to follow. This is opposed to those who consider that democracy is the best solution to reach a solution for any matter, i.e. that decisions are made upon where the majority of people desire. This is indeed an idiotic and brainwashed scale of decision making. How does something become correct because a majority support it? And what type of decisions are made by a majority of people who spend their time filling their brains with quiz shows, fantasy movies, soap operas and trivial pursuits? Indeed, the whole concept of calling for democracy and seeing it synonymous with goodness is a result of brainwashing repetition. Because people always here a matter (such as democracy) being associated with good, they take it as so without question. And does that ‘rule by the people, for the people’ exist in any place? No, we see it is only an illusion, in every place people have almost no say in the macro political and economic decisions which effect their lives. At most, people have an elected dictatorship, a choice to vote for a small group of almost identical political parties, which legislate in the interests of the few at the expense of the majority. Every, so called ‘representative’ in reality controlled by party whips and private financial interests as well as personal ambitions. No fixed accountability exists as there is no fixed law, but only constant reforms, exceptions and amendments in order to meet elite (minority) economic interests. Let us look at a country such as the USA, a country which despite its claims to uphold freedom, is busy strolling the world imposing its system by the force of bombs and snatching people from foreign sovereign (or puppet dictatorship) nations and putting them in torture camps without evidence and without trial. And it is also the USA where you must be a multi millionaire in order to be elected president in the first place, and even then needing to force through a candidate by a decision of the Supreme court! Indeed, the majority of the people may call for democracy and that is indeed a result of their brainwashing. As for Islam, it does not tell us to follow the majority but instead commands following that which is correct, and it warns about blind following of the majority. Allah (swt) says ““And if you obey most of those on the earth, they will mislead you far away from the path of Allah. They follow nothing but conjecture and they do nothing but lie.” (al Ana’m 6:116) and “…but most men know not.” (Yusuf 12:40) and “And even if We had sent unto them angels and the dead had spoken unto them and We had gathered together all things before their very eyes, they would not have believed, unless Allah willed, but most of them are ignorant” (al Ana’m 6:111)

6) The brainwashed is he who follows man-made law. Man-made law is the basis which allows the dictatorship of the few over the vast majority and at the expense of the vast majority. There can only be one law for the collective situation, so the question is what is better for people, Divine Law or man-made Law? Divine Law is from the One who Knows All and is Aware of all things and Knows the nature of those whom He has created. As for man-made law, that is made by those who are weak in intellect, limited in knowledge and influenced by their environment and their prejudices. One who does not believe in accountability in the next life will pursue his life’s affairs based upon fulfilling his instincts and desires.

7) The brainwashed is he who considers himself free. People wrongly think they live in free societies. How are you free if you break a man-made law and are punished? People are proud to break away from Divine Law and consider themselves free. In reality man-made laws are so many and changing so much that people regularly are penalised for breaking the law and are unaware. With Divine Law there is a fixed reference point by which the rulers can be accounted. And with Divine Law, the people are not free to change it to suit their prejudices and desires. In man-made law the limited freedom is for the lawmakers and their covert accomplices in the prison states that they have enforced globally. The world is in need of Divine Guidance and Divine Justice and Law, not anarchy of the masses, nor the selfish anarchy of multi-national corporations, banks and ruling elites who are immune even from the accountability in the chaotic elite serving concentration-camp they call ‘freedom and democracy.’

8) The brainwashed is he who follows the mainstream media. Where do most people get their views from? They get it from mainstream education and mainstream media, that is, the mass monopolised corporate media. People follow the trends they set and the opinions they promote and the culture they spread, but do people not question the ownership of the media and the ideology and objectives of those who own it? Do they not question the relationships between the media and the rulers? Between the multinational corporations and international bankers and the media? Brainwashed is the one who thinks we have an independent and free media, the media is a tool in the hands of the established order to control the masses who consume the repeated messages and identical media stories. How is it that all outlets have the same headlines and the same commentary if they are free and independent? Why is it so difficult to start independent media channels? A journalist exposes the lies of the British Government in promoting the mass murder in Iraq and he is brought before the courts in a public inquiry.

9) The brainwashed is he who follows ‘fashion.’ The brainwashed are those who continue to spend vast amounts on those goods because they carry a label of ‘value’ while such companies are making 1000% profit or more than the price they paid for such items in the foreign slave camps known as ‘cheap labour’. Brainwashed is he who follows the latest styles being mass advertised and manufactured, not because it is a fashion of the people but because a decision was taken by an oligarchy of manufacturers to introduce a new style and propagate it through ‘critics’ and ‘experts’ and foolish adverts that imply you will gain women, wealth and success by dressing in the latest pre-planned ‘fashion’.

10) The brainwashed is he who takes body-destroying, accident-causing, mind-repressants as entertainment. Alcohol, a multi-trillion dollar industry which fills the banks of the manufacturers and establishment through astronomical taxes while at the same time achieving the goal of escapism for the masses. Turning the rabble into animals and thugs, who can easily be manipulated and controlled and who will let off their frustrations through the medium of drunkenness, rioting, prostitution and promiscuity, interacting with others without accountability or responsibility. The ideal tool to make a people stupid while stealing their money. On top of that, the money made due to post alcoholic crime, disorder and accidents for the international banksters (i.e. gangster bankers) and their insurance companies and lawyers etc. is another reason why the only ones who engage in this low life activity are the brainwashed.

11) The brainwashed is he who gambles. The brainwashed is he who after all his excessive underpaid work and misery of over taxation and high prices due to fluctuations in bank manipulated paper money starts to entertain the hope he will become rich and starts to gamble or play the government introduced national lottery. A chance of millions to one of the jackpot he continues to spend the little he has in a desire to make a gain without a relevant effort. The result, he and his family are poorer because he was brainwashed.

12) Brainwashed is not he who opposes the man-made system of oppression but brainwashed is he who goes along with a system which does nothing for himself but everything for a few corporate criminals. Brainwashed is the one who was indoctrinated by a system that told us we came from monkeys and are nothing more than animals who engaged in trial and error and so have progressed. Brainwashed is he who has been commanded by the system not to question the ideology and principles of the government which dominates him and which he dies for because he considers it a duty to his ‘country’ to fight against those who were born in another place. Brainwashed is not he who fights for the justice of Divine Law, but brainwashed is he who fights others due to the threat of imaginary weapons of mass destruction, while the only ones to use such weapons and sell them on a mass scale are those whom he fights for. Brainwashed is he who fights to remove one dictatorship in order to replace it with another. Brainwashed is he who fights for the sake of following orders of misguided men while disregarding his own conscience, religion and intellect…..that is indeed the one who is brainwashed.

13) Islam commands us to remember death and to make preparation for it as it is indeed a matter that is sure to come. Allah (swt) says “Everyone shall taste death. And only of the Day of Resurrection shall you be paid your wages in full. And whoever is removed far away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, he indeed is successful. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of deception” (aali I’mraan 3:185) and it is reported by Ibn U’mar that the Prophet (saw) was asked who is the wisest and the Prophet (saw) replied “The one who remembers death the most and prepares for it most…” (IBN MAAJAH) The brainwashed is he who ignores preparing for the inevitable and hides and escapes from the reality in society’s trivial pursuits and pastimes. Allah (swt) says “Closer to mankind comes their reckoning yet they heed not and turn away” (al Anbiyaa’ 21:1) and “Or did the people of the townships feel secure against the coming of Our punishment in the forenoon while they play?” (al A’raaf 7:98) and “Mutual rivalry for piling up worldy things diverts you, until you visit the graves” (at Takaathur 102:1-2) Finally, we say that if people will not cease to declare Islamic fundamentalist (real Muslims) to be brainwashed, then we accept that Islam does wash our brain of ignorance, idolatry, oppression and man-made exploitation and corruption. It is better to have a brain that is washed clean from filth than to have one still polluted and rotten. The masses look down on those they consider ‘brainwashed’ but that is due to the masses being in a state we call ‘brain-dead.’ We therefore invite all to study Islam further from uncompromising Muslim sources rather than take the distortions and misrepresentations from those who hate the positive change it will bring and those who have sold their religion for a miserable price.

HOW TO DETECT A TWO-WAY MIRROR

Hey friends. Share this information with people you know. Don’t know how far this is true, but well, no harm in knowing.

Have you seen recent advertisement of M/S SAINT GOBAIN GLASSES shown on TELEVISION? Then you probably know about two-way mirror which was also shown in the Hindi language movie HUMRAAZ. How do we determine if a mirror is 2 way or not (not a Joke!)? Not to scare you, but to make you aware. Many of the hotels and boutiques cheat customers by installing two-way mirrors without customers’ knowledge & watch privately.

HOW TO DETECT A TWO-WAY MIRROR
When we visit toilets, bathrooms, hotel rooms, changing rooms, etc., how many of you know for sure that the seemingly ordinary mirror hanging on the wall is a real mirror, r actually a two-way mirror i.e., they can see you, but you can't see them). There have been many cases of people installing two-way mirrors in female changing rooms or restrooms or bedrooms. It is very difficult to positively identify the surface by just looking at it. So, how do we determine with any amount of certainty what type of mirror we are looking at?

CONDUCT THIS SIMPLE TEST
Place the tip of your fingernail against the reflective surface and if there is a GAP between your fingernail and the image of the nail, then it is a GENUINE mirror. However, if your fingernail DIRECTLY TOUCHES the image of your nail, then BEWARE, IT IS A TWO-WAY MIRROR! (There is someone seeing you from the other side). So remember, every time you see a mirror, do the "fingernail test." It doesn't cost you anything. It is simple to do. The reason there is a gap on a real mirror is that the silver is on the back of the mirror UNDER the glass. With a two-way mirror, the silver is on the surface. Keep it in mind! Check every time you enter hotel rooms or public toilets. May be someone is filming you.

Ladies: Share this with your friends.
Men: Share this with your sisters, wives, daughters.

In-Depth Analysis: Assassinations in Lebanon; Pipelines in Haifa, Haifa oil pipeline through Syria!

No one knows who killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. We do know, however, that the main witness cited in the UN report, Zuhir Mohamed Said Saddik, "has been convicted of embezzlement and fraud among other crimes" (Der Spiegel) which casts grave doubt on the credibility of his testimony.

No problem; the Bush administration has used convicted fraudsters to make their case for war before, particularly in the case of Iraq where the specious claims of Ahmed Chalabi appeared consistently on the front page of the New York Times creating the rationale for the invasion. But, Sadik's trustworthiness is even more uncertain than Chalabi's. "Sources in the UN say that Sadik had undeniably lied" and had received money for his testimony. "According to a statement by his brother, Sadik had called him from Paris in late summer and said, "I've become a millionaire!" (Der Spiegel)

Indeed; lying can be a profitable choice when it serves the greater objectives of American-Israeli foreign policy.

None of this suggests that Syrian intelligence wasn't involved in the assassination. It very well may have been. It simply proves that the report of German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis is inconclusive and may have been the result of American coercion. At the very least, the report fits rather nicely with the Bush administration's stated goals for regime change in Damascus and redrawing the map of the Middle East.

If Mehlis was truly serious about finding out who the assassins really are, rather than carrying out a political vendetta for the United States, he would be devoting more energy to uncovering the details related to the white Mitsubishi Canter Van that carried the explosives. The history and origins of this van, which was stolen in Japan on Oct. 12, 2004, are critical to the investigation as journalist Robert Parry points out in his recent article "The Dangerously incomplete Hariri Report". But, then, few who have been following the Hariri assassination have any misgivings about the real motives behind the Mehlis Report. The Hariri investigation is just the pretext for the forthcoming military action against Syria.

Already the western press has swung into high-gear reiterating the blistering rhetoric emerging from the White House and its acolytes' at the State Dept. Ambassador John Bolton, the Bush administration's mad-hatter at the UN, has repeatedly threatened Syria with swift action although the facts are still uncertain.

"This is true confessions time now for the government of Syria", Bolton warned. "No more obstruction. No more half measures. We want substantive cooperation and we want it immediately." As many have suspected, the volatile Bolton was dispatched to the UN to pave the way for war with Syria and Iran. His baseless attacks on Damascus have done nothing to disprove that conclusion.

Fans of the much-maligned "paper of record" will be glad to see that Judith Miller's chair at the Times has been filled by her equally-competent protégé, Warren Hoge. Hoge has already produced 4 front-page articles on the Hariri case invoking the same demagoguery, unsubstantiated allegations and damning insinuations as his mentor Miller. In essence, the Times has already condemned poor Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by framing the uncorroborated evidence in a way that excludes every other suspect and by repeating the constant refrain "sanctions" 7 times in one article alone. Judy Miller's early retirement has not dulled the Time's appetite for reiterating fictions on its front page. Predictably, no mention of the witness Sadik's shaky testimony has appeared in any of America's leading newspapers.

Sound familiar?

So, what's the game-plan? Can the Washington warlords really be considering another invasion just to depose what Paul Craig Robert's calls a "mild mannered ophthalmologist"?

The real reasons for regime change in Syria have less to do with Hariri's assassin and more to do with oil and Israel. An April 20, 2003 article in the UK Observer, "Israel seeks Pipeline for Iraqi Oil", clarifies this point.

The Observer notes that Washington and Tel Aviv are hammering out the details for a pipeline that will run through Syria and "create an endless and easily accessible source of cheap Iraqi oil for the US guaranteed by reliable allies other than Saudi Arabia". The pipeline "would transform economic power in the region, bringing revenue to the new US-dominated Iraq, cutting out Syria and solving Israel's energy crisis at a stroke."

This is the driving force behind the confrontation with Syria. At present, Bashar al Assad refuses to normalize relations with Israel until Israel surrenders the land it seized in the Golan Heights during the 1967 war. Israeli hawks have no intention of returning the land and are planning to remove al Assad instead.

It's widely known that Israeli Intelligence (Mossad) is already operating in Mosul where the pipeline will originate and have developed good relations with the Kurds in the area. The only remaining obstacle is the current Syrian regime which has already entered the US-Israeli crosshairs.

Originally, the pipeline was the dream of the Israeli Minister for National Infrastructures, Joseph Paritzky, who said that it would "cut Israel's energy bill drastically - probably by more than 25 per cent - since the country is currently largely dependent on expensive imports from Russia."

The Observer quotes a CIA official who said: 'It has long been a dream of a powerful section of the people now driving this administration and the war in Iraq to safeguard Israel's energy supply as well as that of the United States. The Haifa pipeline was something that existed, was resurrected as a dream, and is now a viable project - albeit with a lot of building to do."

James Akins, a former US ambassador to the region and critic of the pipeline plan said, "This is a new world order now. This is what things look like particularly if we wipe out Syria. It just goes to show that it is all about oil, for the United States and its ally.'"

"Wipe out Syria"? That's pretty blunt talk from a diplomat.

Akins is not kidding. Washington and Tel Aviv are fully committed to toppling the Assad government. Many of the same people who are connected to the ongoing Fitzgerald investigation, (Wurmser, Libby, Perle, Feith, Hannah, Wolfowitz) authored a report outlining the neocon agenda in the Middle East for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 1996. The report, "A Clean Break; A New Strategy for Securing the Realm", campaigned for the very policies that are currently being executed by the Bush administration. The strategy calls for a "roll-back" of regional threats to Israel, help to overthrow Saddam Hussein, and striking "Syrian military targets in Lebanon". To deny that America is now fighting Israel's war is shortsighted to the point of blindness.

The title of the Wurmser-Feith's-Pearl document tells the whole story. "A Clean Break" conveys the message that Israel should abandon giving back land in exchange for peace with the Palestinians. (as per Oslo) "Securing the Realm", however, is equally attention-grabbing in that it articulates the real objectives of its authors; to reestablish the ancient kingdom of Israel; a kingdom that will undoubtedly mean West Bank-type apartheid and Guantanamo-type justice for 1 billion Muslims in the region. Regime change in Syria is a crucial step to realizing that goal.

Syria poses no threat to America's national security. We have no dog in this fight. The real threat is those who now operate freely within the foreign policy establishment, using the US military to further their own self-serving objectives of controlling Middle East oil and securing an imaginary Israeli empire. Neither of these is in the national interest, and both have put America's future greatly in doubt.

( Note: "James Akins was ambassador to Saudi Arabia before he was fired after a series of conflicts with then Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, father of the vision to pipe oil west from Iraq. In 1975, Kissinger signed what forms the basis for the Haifa project: a Memorandum of Understanding whereby the US would guarantee Israel's oil reserves and energy supply in times of crisis. The plan was promoted by the now Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, was to be built by the Bechtel Company. The memorandum has been quietly renewed every five years, with special legislation attached whereby the US stocks a strategic oil reserve for Israel EVEN IF IT ENTAILED DOMESTIC SHORTAGES - at a cost of $3 billion in 2002 to US taxpayers. "UK Observer)

How I Came to Love the Veil By Yvonne Ridley Sunday, October 22, 2006

I used to look at veiled women as quiet, oppressed creatures -- until I was captured by the Taliban. In September 2001, just 15 days after the terrorist attacks on the United States, I snuck into Afghanistan, clad in a head-to-toe blue burqa, intending to write a newspaper account of life under the repressive regime. Instead, I was discovered, arrested and detained for 10 days. I spat and swore at my captors; they called me a "bad" woman but let me go after I promised to read the Koran and study Islam. (Frankly, I'm not sure who was happier when I was freed -- they or I.)

Back home in London, I kept my word about studying Islam -- and was amazed by what I discovered. I'd been expecting Koran chapters on how to beat your wife and oppress your daughters; instead, I found passages promoting the liberation of women. Two-and-a-half years after my capture, I converted to Islam, provoking a mixture of astonishment, disappointment and encouragement among friends and relatives. Now, it is with disgust and dismay that I watch here in Britain as former foreign secretary Jack Straw describes the Muslim nikab -- a face veil that reveals only the eyes -- as an unwelcome barrier to integration, with Prime Minister Tony Blair, writer Salman Rushdie and even Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi leaping to his defense.

Having been on both sides of the veil, I can tell you that most Western male politicians and journalists who lament the oppression of women in the Islamic world have no idea what they are talking about. They go on about veils, child brides, female circumcision, honor killings and forced marriages, and they wrongly blame Islam for all this -- their arrogance surpassed only by their ignorance.

These cultural issues and customs have nothing to do with Islam. A careful reading of the Koran shows that just about everything that Western feminists fought for in the 1970s was available to Muslim women 1,400 years ago. Women in Islam are considered equal to men in spirituality, education and worth, and a woman's gift for childbirth and child-rearing is regarded as a positive attribute.

When Islam offers women so much, why are Western men so obsessed with Muslim women's attire? Even British government ministers Gordon Brown and John Reid have made disparaging remarks about the nikab -- and they hail from across the Scottish border, where men wear skirts.

When I converted to Islam and began wearing a headscarf, the repercussions were enormous. All I did was cover my head and hair -- but I instantly became a second-class citizen. I knew I’d hear from the odd Islamophobe, but I didn't expect so much open hostility from strangers. Cabs passed me by at night, their "for hire" lights glowing. One cabbie, after dropping off a white passenger right in front of me, glared at me when I rapped on his window, then drove off. Another said, "Don't leave a bomb in the back seat" and asked, "Where's bin Laden hiding?"

Yes, it is a religious obligation for Muslim women to dress modestly, but the majority of Muslim women I know like wearing the hijab, which leaves the face uncovered, though a few prefer the nikab. It is a personal statement: My dress tells you that I am a Muslim and that I expect to be treated respectfully, much as a Wall Street banker would say that a business suit defines him as an executive to be taken seriously. And, especially among converts to the faith like me, the attention of men who confront women with inappropriate, leering behavior is not tolerable.

I was a Western feminist for many years, but I've discovered that Muslim feminists are more radical than their secular counterparts. We hate those ghastly beauty pageants, and tried to stop laughing in 2003 when judges of the Miss Earth competition hailed the emergence of a bikini-clad Miss Afghanistan, Vida Samadzai, as a giant leap for women's liberation. They even gave Samadzai a special award for "representing the victory of women's rights."

Some young Muslim feminists consider the hijab and the nikab political symbols, too, a way of rejecting Western excesses such as binge drinking, casual sex and drug use. What is more liberating: being judged on the length of your skirt and the size of your surgically enhanced breasts, or being judged on your character and intelligence? In Islam, superiority is achieved through piety -- not beauty, wealth, power, position or sex. I didn't know whether to scream or laugh when Italy's Prodi joined the debate last week by declaring that it is "common sense" not to wear the nikab because it makes social relations "more difficult." Nonsense. If this is the case, then why are cell phones, landlines, e-mail, text messaging and fax machines in daily use? And no one switches off the radio because they can't see the presenter's face. Under Islam, I am respected. It tells me that I have a right to an education and that it is my duty to seek out knowledge, regardless of whether I am single or married. Nowhere in the framework of Islam are we told that women must wash, clean or cook for men. As for how Muslim men are allowed to beat their wives -- it's simply not true. Critics of Islam will quote random Koranic verses or hadith, but usually out of context. If a man does raise a finger against his wife, he is not allowed to leave a mark on her body, which is the Koran's way of saying, "Don't beat your wife, stupid."

It is not just Muslim men who must reevaluate the place and treatment of women. According to a recent National Domestic Violence Hotline survey, 4 million American women experience a serious assault by a partner during an average 12-month period. More than three women are killed by their husbands and boyfriends every day -- that is nearly 5,500 since 9/11. Violent men don't come from any particular religious or cultural category; one in three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime, according to the hotline survey. This is a global problem that transcends religion, wealth, class, race and culture. But it is also true that in the West, men still believe that they are superior to women, despite protests to the contrary. They still receive better pay for equal work -- whether in the mailroom or the boardroom -- and women are still treated as sexualized commodities whose power and influence flow directly from their appearance. And for those who are still trying to claim that Islam oppresses women, recall this 1992 statement from the Rev. Pat Robertson, offering his views on empowered women: Feminism is a "socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians."

Now you tell me who is civilized and who is not.

hermosh@aol.Com
Yvonne Ridley is political editor of Islam Channel TV in London<=st1> and coauthor of "In the Hands of the Taliban: Her Extraordinary Story" (Rob=on Books).© 2=/FONT>006 The Washington Post Company

Women Without Fear

Friday 3 November 2006 is a day which will remain etched in the memories of the world for decades to come, a day when the true brutality of the Israeli army was clear for all to see, and a day when the women of Palestine showed that their courage and fortitude was every bit as admirable as their male counterparts. Last Friday, in a mini-version of Tiananmen Square, the women of Beit Hanoune rose to challenge the aggressive military occupation imposed upon them. In response to a radio appeal for assistance, hundreds of unarmed women, including teenage girls, marched towards the local mosque to protest against the Israeli military which had surrounded the building in an attempt to capture suspected Palestinian gunmen. The siege had already resulted in the killing of 20 Palestinians.

The Israeli response to the peaceful protest was to open fire on these unarmed ladies in a show of callous disregard for any standards of humanity or civilization. International law did not even enter the equation. As several of these women fell dead and wounded as the bullets pierced their flesh, the remainder marched forward undeterred by the relentless gunfire. Despite the fear and terror so evident in their trembling voices as they cried out “Allahu Akbar”, these courageous women of Beit Hanoune advanced forward until they reached the mosque to assist their brothers inside. Forming human shields around them, these women escorted their brothers away from the mosque, putting the watching world to shame. In all, two women were killed, another 10 wounded.

The women of Beit Hanoune were following in the footsteps of great female Muslim warriors such as Khawla bin al Azwar, who, covered from head to toe with only her eyes, spear and sword showing, repeatedly rushed the Roman army at Beit Lihya in order to rescue her captured brother Dhiraar. Like Khawla, these women had one aim, one objective, one mission – to rescue their brothers. Facing death in the face, they marched towards their destiny. On the day of Beit Lihya, the valour of Khawla was unmatched. Last Friday, the courage of the women of Beit Hanoune was unparalleled.

It is actions such as these which have proven inspirational to oppressed people around the world, the majority of whom are too afraid to stand up to their oppressors. The assassinated president of Egypt, Anwar Sadat, described fear as being “a most effective tool in destroying the soul of an individual--and the soul of a people.” For as long as people are unable to overcome their fear, they become enslaved to it and obey it without question, thereby allowing their plight to continue. Bravery such as that exemplified by the women of Beit Hanoun is sufficient proof of the power within every soul to control and to conquer this fear. Once you conquer your fear, you automatically deprive your enemy of the ability to hurt you. Last Friday, the world witnessed a hundred women and children who had conquered their fears.

Even more impressive was the attitude of these women in the aftermath of the massacre. "The Israeli war machine is not strong enough to be able to break the determination of grand daughters of Ahmed Yassin and Ezziddin Al-Qassam,” were the words on the lips of Umm Mohammed Al-Rantisi, widow of the late Hamas senior political leader Dr. Abdul Al-Aziz Al-Rantisi . Her comments reflected the fortitude of a woman who understood both the nature of the challenge faced by the Palestinians and the method needed to overcome it. They represented the spirit of a woman who understood the belief of the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who when they saw the army of the Confederates surrounding them, overcame their initial feeling of severe terror and said, “this is what Allah and His Messenger promised us, and Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth”. Allah tells us in surah al-Ahzab that the uttering of these words in the face of the threat of annihilation only increased the faith and obedience of the Companions rather than their fear. The women of Beit Hanoun understood that the oppression they faced was the promise of Allah and His Messenger coming true and thus, through remembering Allah, they conquered their fear.

The Israeli army could only watch helplessly as these heroines of the Ummah, armed with nothing but their eemaan, braved the flying bullets to rescue their brothers and escort them to safety. Their amazing courage and sacrifice, broadcast to the world, will have inspired many others to strive to emulate their actions in the future. In a world in which victory is often attributed to arms and money, the women of Beit Hanoun reminded us that all that is needed is strong eemaan.

The Truth about Christmas

Both Muslims and serious Christians can learn a lot from Christmas, the annual celebration of the victory of paganism over the religion of Prophet Isa (Jesus Christ). No one disputes that the event and all its symbols came from pagan religions; it has nothing to do with the birth or teachings of Jesus Christ. For one thing, no one knows with certainty the date of birth of Jesus Christ. "In fact, dates in almost every month in the year were suggested by reputable scholars at one time or another," notes The American Book of Days. For another, the celebration of birthdays is itself a pagan idea, never promoted by any Prophet or Book of God, including the Bible. Early Church leaders opposed it strongly. As late as 245 CE African Church father and philosopher Origen wrote that it was sinful even to contemplate observing Jesus's birthday `as though he were a King Pharaoh."[The American Book of Days].

But the pagan world did have prayers and celebrations during the winter season. Those who worshipped the sun god because of its apparent power, used to become concerned about the fate of their god, in a world of many gods, as days became shorter and air very cold. It looked like the sun was being defeated by the god of snow that brought death and misery with it. "... In Rome, the sun in its winter solstice was at its weakest on December 25th and had to be born anew with the help of bonfires, lights, processions and prayer." [Reader's Digest Book of Christmas]. The Roman pagan celebration was called Saturnalia. The Persians also had similar celebrations for Mithras, their sun god.

The evergreens, holly, ivy, and mistletoe plants, which remained green even during this wintertime, were similarly considered by the pagans to have magical powers. The Druids, whose Stonehenge temples can be seen in England, regarded mistletoe with reverence and used to burn it in sacrifice during the solstitial festivities. They also used to hang it in their houses. When you don't know the One True God, even leaves and plants can become god. They thought it brought good luck, fertility, and protection from witchcraft, and was an antidote to poison. Mistletoe is used even today, although the U.N. might consider banning it if the fertility claim proves true!

In 1822, Dr. Clement Moore, professor of divinity, wrote a poem titled "The visit of St. Nicholas." The poem became popular and Santa Claus was born. The reason for popularity? "... the time was ripe. A myth was needed, and the recreation of `old Christmas' was well in the wind."[William Sanson, A Book of Christmas]. Some decades later The New York Sun answered an 8 year old's question: Is there a Santa Claus? The answer has become classic and is worth noting. "Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see." So Santa Claus is divine, and judging from the Christmas celebrations, certainly more important than Jesus Christ himself.

Early church leaders wanted to Christianize the pagan festivities, but their operating principle became: When you can't beat them, join them. For as Pope Gregory declared in 601 CE, "... from obdurate minds it is impossible to cut off everything at once." It was a license for another pearl of "wisdom": When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

And so they did. First slowly and then rapidly. The Son of God replaced the sun god. Saturnalia was replaced by the ceremony for Christ or Christ Mass, which later became Christmas. For several centuries it was solely a church anniversary, observed by religious services. "At Christmas, men and women were not, repeat not, to dress up or mime; there were not to be auguries, such as superstitions about fire; houses were not to be decorated, no presents given, no well-laden tables, and a strict watch was to be kept on drink." But false religion drives out true religion. Consider Christmas gifts, a carryover from the Roman practice of giving dolls as gift in lieu of their earlier barbaric custom of offering human sacrifices. "The early Church frowned on gift giving as a pagan custom. But the people enjoyed it too much to abandon it, and so finally the Church accepted the idea and sanctioned it." [Barbara Rinkoff, The Family Christmas Book]. Evergreens? "The early church forbade the use of them, but here again the custom was too deeply rooted and the ban was ignored. Finally the church accepted the use of evergreens for decoration." And on and on. Now consider this portrait of Saturnalia and contrast it with the original don'ts mentioned above: "... a fortnight of near riot, of drunkenness, noise and games, naked slaves singing, men dressing up as animals and behaving with less dignity, sex, often with perversion." [Reader's Digest Book of Christmas]. Anyone can see which picture represents today's Christmas more closely.

With the advent of Capitalism, the old pagans got a new supporter in the form of the adman. George Bernard Shaw observed: "Christmas is forced on a reluctant ... nation by...shopkeepers and the press." This is how they can serve God, and make money at the same time. This in itself is a pagan idea and it is alive and well today.

Did You Know?

Did you know the United States awards Israel $5 billion in aid each year?

Did you know that yearly US aid to Israel exceeds the aid the US grants to the whole African continent?

Did you know that Israel is the only country in the Middle East that has nuclear weapons?

And did you know that Israel is the only country in the Middle East that refuses to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and bars international inspections from its sites?

Did you know that Israel currently occupies territories of sovereign nations in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions?

Did you know that Israel has for decades routinely sent assassins in to other countries to kill its political enemies?

Did you know that high-ranking military officers in the Israeli Defense Forces have admitted publicly that unarmed prisoners of war were executed by the IDF?

Did you know that Israel refuses to prosecute its soldiers who have acknowledged executing prisoners of war?

Did you know that Israel routinely confiscates bank accounts, businesses, and land and refuses to pay compensation to those who suffer the confiscation?

Did you know that Israel blew up an American diplomatic facility in Egypt (1954) and attacked a U.S. ship (1967) in international waters, killing 33 and wounding 177 American sailors?

Did you know that the second most powerful lobby in the United States, according to a recent Fortune magazine survey of Washington insiders, is the Israeli AIPAC?

Did you know that Israel stands in defiance of 69 United Nations Security Council Resolutions?

Did you know that non-Jewish Israelis cannot buy or lease land in Israel?

Did you know that Palestinian license plates in Israel are color coded to distinguish Jews from non-Jews?

Did you know that Jerusalem, both East and West, is considered by the entire world community, including the United States, to be occupied territory and NOT part of Israel?

Did you know that Israel allots 85% of the water resources for Jews and the remaining 15% is divided among all Palestinians in the territories? For example in Hebron, 85% of the water is given to about 400 settlers, while 15% must be divided among Hebron's 120,000 Palestinians?

Did you know that today's Israel sits on the former sites of more than 400 now-vanished Palestinian villages, and that the Israelis re-named almost every physical site in the country to cover up the traces?

Did you know that it was not until 1988 that Israelis were barred from running "Jews Only" job ads?

Did you know that four prime ministers of Israel (Begin, Shamir, Rabin, and Sharon) have taken part in either bomb attacks on civilians, massacres of civilians, or forced expulsions of civilians from their villages?

Did you know that the Israeli Foreign Ministry pays two American public relations firms to promote Israel to Americans?

Did you know that Sharon's coalition government includes a party Molodet which advocates expelling all Palestinians from the occupied territories?

Did you know that Israel's settlement-building increased in the eight years since Oslo?

Did you know that settlement building under Barak doubled compared to settlement building under Netanyahu?

Did you know that the Palestinians have already accepted Israel's existence on 78% of what was Palestine. Bible: God said to Abraham, "Unto thy seed, I will give thy land." Abraham had two sons: Ismael - the Arab son, and Isaac - the Jewish son. So even if one wants to go to the Bible, the land would belong to both.

Did you know that Palestinian Christians are considered the "living stones" of Christianity because they are the direct descendants of the disciples of Jesus Christ?

Did you know that despite a ban on torture by Israel's High Court of Justice, torture has continued by Shin Bet interrogators on Palestinian prisoners?

Did you know that Palestinian refugees make up the largest portion of the refugee population in the world?

13 November 2006 , Tunisia: releases welcome but harassment and intimidation

Amnesty International welcomes the recent release of more than 50 long term political prisoners in
Tunisia but remains concerned about the continuing imprisonment of others and widespread harassment
of critics and opponents of the government. The organization is calling on the Tunisian authorities to
show greater respect for human rights.
Some 54 political prisoners were released on 5 November to mark the 19th anniversary of President Zine
El 'Abidine Ben Ali’s accession to power on 7 November 1987. All had been imprisoned for over 14 years
because of their membership of the banned Islamist organization, Ennahda, after unfair trials before the
Bouchoucha and Bab Saadoun military courts in 1992. Several, including Mohammed Akrout, Habib
Louze and Abdallah Massaoudi, were sentenced to life imprisonment. All of the releases are conditional.
Any former prisoner who breaches the conditions of his release can be re-arrested and made to serve the
remainder of his sentence by decision of Minister of Justice, without any judicial process, or placed under
house arrest for the same period.
At least 100 Ennahda prisoners who were also sentenced after unfair trials in the early 1990s were not
released. They continue to be held at various prisons in Tunisia. Some are reported to be in poor health
and in urgent need of medical treatment after being tortured in pre-trial detention and subjected to
harsh prison conditions, including prolonged solitary confinement, for many years. These include Ahmed
Bouazizi, Ridha Boukadi and Sahbi Atig. In addition, the Tunisian authorities continue to hold some 400
prisoners under the 2003 counter-terrorism law allegedly for seeking to go to fight in Iraq.
Despite these prisoner releases, Tunisian security forces continue to harass and seek to intimidate local
human rights defenders, lawyers and other rights activists as well as families of political prisoners and
former prisoners, and to severely restrict the rights to freedom of expression and association. Human
rights lawyer Saida Akremi, a member of the International Association for the Support of Political
Prisoners, is under constant surveillance by security officials who frequently question her clients and
suggest they engage a different lawyer. In one incident on 25 October, a plain-clothed police officer
reportedly followed one of Said Akremi’s clients when she left the lawyer's office and terrified her by
snatching away her three year old child when she resisted showing him her identity card at the
Barcelona bus station in central Tunis. He ran away but then returned the child when the mother, Samah
Jendoubi, pursued him screaming and calling for help. Subsequently, she lost a child she was expecting
apparently because of the stress caused to her by this attack.
In another recent incident, Samia Abbou, wife of prisoner of conscience Mohammed Abbou, and two of
her children aged 10 and 13, were threatened by armed police stationed outside her home on 25
October. While a number of police officers stood by, two others on motorcycles drove at Samia Abbou
and her children in apparent attempt to intimidate and frighten them. On 24 October, the wife and two
children of political prisoner Hatim Zarrouk and Sabiha Tayyachi, widow of former political prisoner
Hachemi Mekki, were assaulted outside their homes by being beaten and dragged before being taken in
an unmarked police car to a police station in the Sidi El Bechir district of Tunis, where they were detained
and questioned for several hours before being released.
During the past month, security officials have also kept the office of the National Council for Liberties in
Tunisia (CNLT), a leading non-governmental organization that is being denied legal registration, under
particularly heavy surveillance, apparently to deter or prevent access to it by former political prisoners
and prisoners' families. Some who did succeed in visiting the CNLT are reported to have been arrested
afterwards, taken to nearby police stations and made to sign statements that they will not visit the
CNLT’s office again.
Security officials are reported also to surround the home of Moncef Marzouki, leader of the Congress for
the Republic, a banned opposition political party, who returned to Tunisia in October 2006 after five years
of self-imposed exile in France, to prevent or deter people from visiting him. As well, he has been
reportedly charged with incitement and civil disobedience, offences punishable by up to three years'
imprisonment, for urging Tunisians to hold peaceful protests to demand greater respect for their rights in
an interview with Aljazeera TV on 14 October.
The Tunisian authorities have also stepped up harassment of women who wear the hijab (Islamic
headscarf). This follows statements by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Interior and the Secretary-
General of the ruling political party, the Constitutional Democratic Rally, against the rise in the use of the
hijab by women and girls and beards and the qamis (knee-level shirts) by men, and calls for a strict
implementation of decree 108 of 1985 of the Ministry of Education banning women from wearing the
hijab at educational institutions and when working in government. Some women have reportedly been
ordered to remove the headscarfs before being allowed into schools, universities or work places and
others have been made to remove them in the street. Some women, apparently, have been taken to
police stations and required to sign written commitment to stop wearing the hijab. Amnesty International
believes that individuals have the right to choose whether or not to wear a headscarf or other religious
covering, consistent with their right to freedom of expression.
Amnesty International calls on the Tunisian government to respect the country's obligations under both
national law and international human rights law and standards, and to end the severe restrictions which
continue to be used to prevent exercise of fundamental rights to freedom of expression, association and
peaceful assembly. The organization is also calling on President Ben Ali's government to end the
harassment and attempted intimidation of human rights defenders and civil society activists and ensure
that all officials responsible for abusing their rights are removed from their positions and brought to
justice.

A interview!!!

“I don't know something called International Principles. I vow that I'll burn every Palestinian child (that) will be born in this area. The Palestinian woman and child are more dangerous than the man, because the Palestinian child's existence infers that generations will go on, but the man causes limited danger. I vow that if I was just an Israeli civilian and I met a Palestinian I would burn him and I would make him suffer before killing him. With one hit I've killed 750 Palestinians (in Rafah in 1956). I encourage my soldiers to rape Arabic women and girls as the Palestinian women are a slave for Jews, and we do whatever we want to her and nobody tells us what we shall do but we tell others what they shall do.”


- Ariel Sharon, in an interview with General Ouze Me

The Muslim Woman "Unveiled"by Izdehar Albowyha

You look at me and call me oppressed,

Simply because of the way I'm dressed,

You know me not for what's inside,

You judge the clothing I wear with pride,

My body's not for your eyes to hold,

You must speak to my mind,

not my feminine mold,

I'm an individual,

I'm no mans slave,

It's Allahʼs pleasure that I only crave,

I have a voice so I will be heard,

For in my heart I carry His word,

" O ye women,

wrap close your cloak,

So you won't be bothered by ignorant folk",

Man doesn't tell me to dress this way,

It's a Law from God that I obey,

Oppressed is something I'm truly NOT,

For liberation is what I've got,

It was given to me many years ago,

With the right to prosper,

the right to grow,

I can climb mountains or cross the seas,

Expand my mind in all degrees,

For God Himself gave us LIB-ER-TY,

When He sent Islam,

To You and Me!

Children and Terror by Alexander Podrabinek

On this photograph are not the children who have died in Beslan. On this photograph are bodies of the Chechen children who died by the hand of the Russian army in autumn 1999. Their deaths did not warrant the call-up of the UN Security Council, and Dr. Roshal did not rush to the scene of the tragedy with water and medicines to try and persuade terrorists to spare children’s lives.They were Chechen children, and Russia did not shudder at the horror of the crime it committed. It simply did not notice.

Imagine a well-fed hefty fellow beating up a man in a busy street. He twists his arms, kicks him on the kidneys and head; he beats him methodically day after day in broad daylight. From time to time an educated passer-by would stop in indignation and attempt to appeal to the ggressor’s conscience. A journalist would come by, look at what’s happening and write a report in his newspaper: beating continues at the crossroads, but the man beaten is seemingly losing the ability to defend himself. A foreign correspondent would drive by, photograph this disgrace and write in his foreign newspaper: a little man is being continuously tortured at the crossroads in Russia; is it not time the Russian authorities responded? However, nobody really cares about the little man’s fate. And so it goes on until the half-dead man, bleeding and mad with pain manages by a stroke of luck to pull out a gun and fire. He shoots the aggressor, the passers-by, the journalists running past and children crossing the road. He is overcome by the only desire: to break free and save his life.

It is only then that an unimaginable public outcry raises. "He uses unlawful methods," shout clever lawyers from TV screens. "We condemn any violence used non-selectively," nod grey heads from parliamentary tribunes and international organizations. "We must restrain terrorists and everyone who helps them," shout patriots — uniformed or otherwise — on every corner, shedding bitter tears over a small wound on the aggressor’s body stunned by the resistance.
Who has noticed the deaths of 40,000 Chechen children during the years of Russia’s war against Chechnya? Where were then all those who today have brought down their righteous anger on the ‘untermenschen’ who are holding schoolchildren hostage in Beslan? Is it not hypocrisy to be upset about the possible deaths of some children and remain indifferent to the deaths of other?
Propaganda is our government’s job. President Putin says that his main concern in the present situation is the fate of the hostages. This was what he said two years ago during the events of Nord-Ost, and then Russian special forces gassed 120 hostages to death in cold blood and fired control shots in the heads of 40 terrorists. Chechen mujahidins still believe that Putin will not be prepared to kill all the hostages again, especially children, that he will begin negotiations and political resolution of the Russian-Chechen conflict, that the war could be stopped as it had been by Basaev in Boudyonnovsk.

But today’s president had an altogether different schooling, whereby he had not been taught compassion, justice or law. He had been taught to achieve the ends by whatever means, and will continue to do so even at a cost of children’s lives. Why, having taken the lives of thousands of Chechen children, would he suddenly stop at having to take the lives of hundred and fifty young Ossetians?

There was a simple and sound solution to the horrific situation in Beslan: stop Russian terror in Chechnya to spare the lives of the hostages, or at least, begin negotiations with Maskhadov’s government in exchange for the release of the children. It must be understood that the terrorists’ only demand — to stop the war in Chechnya and give peace to its people — is concrete enough and absolutely justified. It is impossible to justify terror, especially against children. But it is possible to understand the reasons. It would have been sanctimonious to deny the fact that Chechens’ response to terror is terror. Until Russia stops the violence in Chechnya, terrorist war will continue.

Alexander Podrabinek is an editor in chief of the Prima News Human Rights Service. The Prima News Human Rights Service web site may be found at www.prima-news.ru