Muslim states ‘silent’ on Uighurs

A leading Uighur rights activist has criticised Muslim-majority countries for not speaking out against decades of alleged repression and persecution from the Chinese government.

Speaking in Washington on Monday, Rebiya Kadeer, a businesswoman who was jailed for years in China before being released into exile in the US, hit out at what she said was decades of “brutal suppression” of Muslims in China’s western Xinjiang region.

Read Full Post »

Dandy Damascus

Once when Prophet Muhammad, SAW, (he probably wasn’t a Prophet yet) was on a business trip to Damascus, he stopped outside the city and refused to go in. When asked why, he replied, one enters the paradise only once.

Here is a look at the paradise-

1: 13 mins

2: 10 mins

Read Full Post »

Turkey And the Kurdish Question

Everybody seems to agree that PKK, a communist organisation, are terrorists. Even reports from eastern Turkey say that popularity of PKK is low there among the Kurds. The Kurds in Turkey seems to want to live in Turkey, in peace and with dignity.

Yet, AlJazeera showed us some villages that was razed by the Turkish army in the past. That is not acceptable. Nor is the fact that the Kurdish language is not recognised in Turkey even though Kurdish people make up about one fifth of population.

I don’t think a separate Kurdistan is going to solve any problems. It will only increase antagonism. Fragmentation is not a desirable thing. But the Turkish government has to give up it’s pretensions and give the Kurds in their country some incentive they deserve. That will reduce any remaining support for PKK and will rout it out, God willing.

PKK is definitely not the solution. Nor is more violence and killings. It will only alianate Kurds inside and outside Iraq.

From a Islamic point of view, it’s a crime to kill innocent people.

Say No to war.

Read Full Post »

In Defence of Ahmadinejad and Bollinger

It is better to post disclaimer first, so here it is- I am not a fan of Ahmadinejad. As you know, that does not mean I hate him. More about it at the end.

DOWNs

First issue westerners have with him is that- he seeks destruction of Israel. His answer, people have the impression, and they are right, was very ambiguous. It requires a lot of circumstantial information to understand what Ahmadinejad said.

Read Full Post »

Ahmadinejad in Columbia University

Everybody’s talking Ahmadinejad, only few are talking what Ahmadinejad said, some of the few when it suits them (eg. we don’t have homosexuals in our country”)

Here is Al-Jazeera’s report on it.

And the whole speech

2

3

4

Read Full Post »

Hindu Fanaticism and Hinduism

Okay, I am not a Hindu, nor do I believe in Hinduism, but it is true that Hinduism is inclusive religion in terms of tenets. You can believe almost anything and still be a Hindu. All that matters is paying ode to culture.

The fanatic branches of Hinduism, the VHP, the RSS etc. are an anomaly. They sing the praise of the name Hindu (which was, by the way, coined by Muslims) but they were actually inspired by non-Hindu sources.

History of that I found out very recently. The Hindu Nationalism actually got it’s roots in late nineteenth century Europe when Nationalism was flourishing. Their growth is parallel to, and inspired by the growth of Nazis. Many Hindu Nationalists were all flowers about Hitler.

More on this later.

Read Full Post »

Goethe: A Poem From ‘Diwan’

THE FOUR FAVOURS

——————————-

THAT Arabs through the realms of space

May wander on, light-hearted,
Great Allah hath, to all their race,

Four favours meet imparted.

The turban first–that ornament

All regal crowns excelling;
A light and ever-shifting tent,

Wherein to make our dwelling;

A sword, which, more than rocks and walls

Doth shield us, brightly glistening;
A song that profits and enthrall,

For which the maids are list’ning!

–Goethe

————————————————

————————————————

It was a pleasant surprise for me to find out that Goethe was a patron of Islam. He once wrote – I doubt not the Qur’an.

The next gift I am going to give will InshaAllah be a Diwan of Goethe, or a Hafiz.

Read Full Post »

I Want to Watch

He can watch Al Jazeera English on TV!

I wish I will someday. God Willing!

Read Full Post »

Be Positive

I have to write something positive.

But I feel so sorry, so dejected and helpless.

No, I have hope.

———————–

For this is only a passing thing, this life.

And the sufferings are only perceptions.

Not a thorn pricks ye but to relieve ye from sins, or to raise thy station.

No, nothing is lost, for this is but a test.

O Lord, help us walk on the Straight Path-

The Path of righteousness, of love and compassion,

And above all, in submission to Thee.

Read Full Post »

A ‘Terrorist’ Defending a ‘Terrorist’ aka Muddassar Arani

A Muslim lawyer, Muddassar Arani, has been at the receiving end of racist and Islamophobic attacks.

She chose to write about it to Abdur-Raheem Green. (I know it from ijtema).

To cut a long story short, she is unacceptable to a certain section of people as defense lawyer of Muslims accused of terrorism related charges.

Homeyra writes:

I have stopped following these “terrorist” trials and such for the greater part. It is not that I do not care, but perhaps because I feel angry at my helplessness. However I am wrong and not following these happenings only puts me at a disadvantage because I become ignorant of the sufferings of my brothers and sisters.

That’s exactly what has happened to me too.

Read Full Post »