The last word of Shaykh Osama bin Laden before his Martyrdom

All Praise is due to Alláh, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and the consequences of our bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Alláh, he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Alláh, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad, sws, is His servant, and His messenger. To what proceeds,

My muslim Ummah , we were observing with you these great historical events, and we share with you happiness and joy. We get happy with your happiness and sad with your sadness. Congratulation to you on these victories and may Allah have mercy upon your martyrdom and heal your wounded and free the prisoners.

Days of Glory for Islam came, and the leader disappeared from Arab lands

They lived upon thrones until we received the news heralding joy

The Muslim ummah was always awaiting the victory to be rising from the eastern horizon, but the surprise was that the sun of the revolution rose from the Maghrib, the west. The light of the revolution sparked in Tunisia, and the nation felt the relief, the faces of the people got brightened, and the throats of the rulers got coarser, and the Jews got terrified because the coming of the promised day,

With the overthrow of the tyrant, the definitions of fear, humiliation, and surrender have fallen as well. The new meanings of freedom, pride, audacity, and courage have risen. The winds of change came, in a will of liberation. And Tunisia took the first credit fast as like the strike of lightning. The knights of Kennana took the torch from the freemen of Tunisia to Tahrir Squares . So a great revolution started, and what a great revolution! A revolution that will change the whole of Egypt and the whole Ummah if it holds onto the rope of Allah.

And this revolution, wasn’t a revolution of food or clothing but a revolution of pride and audacity, a revolution of take and give, a revolution that lighted the capital of the Nile and its towns from its lower to its higher so that the youth of Islam saw their gloriousness, and their soul craved the era of their forefathers. So they brought torches in the Tahrir square in Cairo to crush the corrupted system. They stood in front of the face of fraud and they raised their fists against it. And they didn’t fear its army. They made a commitment and full filled their promise. The high-minded are steadfast, the helpers are helping and the revolution is still continuous.

"So, to these free revolutionaries in all the countries: hold fast to your initiative and beware of negotiations, because there is no middle road between the people of truth and the people of falsehood. There is no way,"

And remember that Allah has granted you with days where the greatness is coming later. You are their knights and leaders and in your hand you have its bridles. The Ummah had saved you to this very gravely missed events. So continue the march and don’t fear the hardship. The marcher started his objective and in determination the freeman had crawled. And if a freeman starts his march, he doesn’t get tired nor stop. The freeman doesn’t stop until his chanted aims are satisfied biidni Allah Ta3alaa. Your revolution is a precious one and it is the only hope for the sorrowfull and the wounded.

You have relieved the sorrow upon our ummah may Allah relieve yours. And you accomplished many great hopes , May Allah accomplish your hopes. Poetry…

Oh children of this Muslim Ummah, There is a serious crossroads before you, and a great and rare historic opportunity to rise with the Ummah and to free yourselves from servitude to the desires of the rulers, man-made law, and Western dominance. It is from the greatest sin and the biggest igronance to lose this opportunity that our Ummah has waited for for decades. Take advantages of it and destroy the status and the idols. And establish justice and faith. And from this place remind the truthful that establishing council for opinion and advice to Muslim population in the major important dialogue is obligatory under Shari3a. and add to some jealouss of this deen who had mentioned how it is important to take off those oppressive system and they have great trust among the ummah, they need to start the projects as soon as possible and advertise it away from the dominance of the opprresive leaders and set up an operations room that follows up events and works in parallel so they can accomplish the ummah ‘s need with taking benefit of the proposals of Muslims thinkers and also using a qualified research center, and the people of knowledge to save the people that are struggling to bring down their tyrants where their children are killed, and to advise the population that falled the tyrant rulers and some of his pillars to follow the right steps to protect the revolution and accomplish their objectives and also in working with other nations who their revolution didn’t start yet to prepare for the zero hour and what to plan before it. Getting emotional feelings can make you lose the opportunity and starting before time is ready can cause a lot of casualties.

I think that the winds of change will blow over the entire Muslim world, with permission from Allah. It is important for the youth to prepare of this matter what it needs, and that they shouldn’t take in decision before they take advice from the people of sincerity who are away from halfway resolutions and who aren’t kissing the behinds of the oppressors. Poetry “ It was said” the opinion before the courage of the bravery is first and then second.”

My muslim Ummah, you have witnessed throughout the decades many revolutions that people were happy with but sooner they tasted its sourness. So the path to reserve the Ummah today from misguidance and oppressions , is to start a revolution of awareness and to correct the understanding in many fields without forgetting the major ones. And the most important one is the pillar of Islam, and from the best books that was written is a book of understanding that need to be corrected to sheikh Muhammad Qutb . Because of the weakened awareness of our youth today which is the result of a wrong culture that the rulers have preached for centuries is the biggest disaster but other catastrophes that afflict the ummah is but a poisonous fruit from other sour fruits. It is the culture of oppression, tyranny and forced silence and spending all the obedience simply to satisfy the rulers and that is worship for them apart from Allah and it is forfeiture to them all the rights of the religion for the life of this world and a sacrifice of the Hereafter to them. And they make values and principles and persons spin in an orbit which makes humans lose their humanity and makes humans run behind the ruler and his desires without any realization or insight. So he became a robot, if people did good, he will, and if people did bad he will. So he became like merchandise that was fallen from the belongings, where ruler can do with it whatever he wishes. And those who are the victims in our lands, who the leaders made them to go out and chant his name .and the leaders have worked hard to make sure people lost the most important thing that Allah has given them so they delayed the Ummah’s brain and they marginalized the general imported affairs by merging government institutes religion with media so they look as they applied shara’3, so they took people’s sight intellect and will. Under falsehood and lies. They portrayed the sacred leaders under the Islamic establishment and also under the name of the nation so that people will be respected and that they would plant in peoples souls so that the older would worship and obey. And even the children were affected by this ideology. It is our duty to protect them, they are born with natural instincts (fitrah) and their natural instinct has been assassinated without any sympathy or mercy. The elders continued this ideology , but the young were raised upon this ideology too, the tyranny got more tyranical and the weak got weaker. So what are you waiting for? Save yourselves and your children the opportunity is a given, especially when the youth have faced the burden of the revolution and its troubles, and the bullets of the tyrants and its suffering. So they made the path smoother by sacrificing themselves and they established the bridge of freedom with their bold youth at the age rose, and divorced this life of humiliation and hardship, and they chose either pride and dignity or the grave. Don’t the rulers understand that the nation went ahead and won’t go back until the promise is satisfied iidni Allah ta3ala.

To Conclude, the great oppression in our land has reached and lasted for a long term. And we delayed so long for rejecting it and changing it. So who ever started should finish it Biidni Allah, and to the others who didn’t start yet they should get in the boat and start too and understand the authenticHadith from the prophet Muhammed ( PBUH): Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, “Never a Prophet had been sent before me by Allah to his people but he had, among his people, (his) disciples and companions, who followed his ways and obeyed his command. Then there came after them their successors who proclaimed what they did not practise, and practised what they were not commanded to do. And (he) who strove against them with his hand is a believer; he who strove against them with his heart is a believer; and he who strove against them with his tongue is a believer and beyond that there is no grain of Faith”.

[Muslim]

And also the best of marthys is Hamza ibn Abdoulmutalib and the one that speaks the truth on the face of the tyrant oppressive, and he is killed because of this. Congratulations to whoever had this great intention, if he dies he is the best of shuhadaa and if he lives he lives with pride and glory. Stand by truth and don’t worry. Saying truth to a tyrant is the pride and good tidings. It is the path in this dunya and it is path to the hereafter. Whether you want to die as a slave, or if you want to die as a freeman.

O Allah make a way for the people who are seeking victory for the deen and grant then patience, clear focus and sincerity. O Allah plan for this Ummah great guidance , where your worshipper can have their pride and the people of sin can be humiliated , and commanding the good and forbidding the evil , oh Allah grant us the good of this life and the hereafter and protect us from the fire. O Allah make our weakness strong, and heal our wounded and make our footsteps firm. O Allah punish the people of oppression local and the international and grant us victory upon the people people of kufr. And our last prayers is al Hamdollillah rabi 3alamine.

Dr. Saleh as Saleh explains 3 Fundamental Principles - Patience and Bearing Hardship Upon that Path

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Spain's Icelandic Revolt; Protests Spread to Italy

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Spain's Icelandic Revolt; Protests Spread to Italy

A protest movement that started in Spain has now spread to Italy. The Spanish government has banned protests, but that has only encouraged more protests.

I picked the story up two days ago in Protests Mount in Spain; Sovereign Debt Crisis to Follow. Acting on a tip, the New York Times picked up the story a day later inProtesters Rally in Madrid Despite Ban.

Here are a few protest images by Juan Luis Sanchez on Yfrog.






Spain's Icelandic revolt

Protests in Iceland helped bring down the Icelandic government and stopped the bailouts of banks at the expense of Icelandic taxpayers. Can the same thing happen in Spain?

Please consider Spain's Icelandic revolt

After passively submitting to the crisis, young Spaniards have finally taken to the street. Breaking out on the eve of municipal elections, the protests of recent days have been inspired by those in Iceland that led to the fall of the government in Reykjavik.

One morning in October 2008, Torfason Hördur turned up at what Icelanders call the “Althing”, the Icelandic parliament in the capital city, Reykjavik. By then, the country's biggest bank, the Kaupthing, had already gone into receivership and the Icelandic financial system itself was in danger of going under. Torfason, with his guitar, grabbed a microphone and invited people to talk about their dissatisfaction with the freefall of their country and to speak their minds.

A movement spawned by the internet

But those voices calling for real democracy are not just being raised in Iceland, a country of about 320,000 inhabitants. Here in Spain, the umbrella organisation for various Spanish movements – Democracia Real Ya (Real Democracy Now) – already lists among its proposals some 40 points ranging from controlling parliamentary absenteeism to reducing military spending through to abolishing the so-called Sinde law (a law restricting on-line infringements of copyright).

The demonstrations have broadened spontaneously, as was the case for those who rallied under the umbrellas of the "alternative globalisation" movements, and have evolved, one decade after the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on a more modest stage than the one demonstrators faced in the past at the World Economic Forum of the global elite in Davos, Switzerland.

All this is happening at astonishing speed via the Internet, which has amplified the echo of discontent and opened the lanes of cyberactivism to groups such as Anonymous, notable for intervening against companies like PayPal and Visa during the advocacy campaign for Wikileaks chief Julian Assange. Yet it was also there at the beginning of the revolts in the Arab world, to help people get round the censorship of the Tunisian and Egyptian dictatorships.

“When we grow up, we want to be Icelanders!" cried one of the leaders of the organisation during the march on Sunday May 15 before a column of young – and not so young – parents and children, students and workers, the jobless and pensioners. Many Saturdays in Iceland were needed before citizens won the changes they had demanded. Spain’s first Sunday has taken place, and was followed by a Tuesday [May 17]- but there’s still a long way to go. Protests have now spread to Italy and beyond.

My friend Bran who lives in Spain writes ...

A Spanish revolution is slowly gaining coverage, both internationally and locally. http://www.ikimap.com/map/2CYF is a map of existing, planned and evicted camps. Politicians and administrations are trying to claim sympathy and similarity to the protests expression, yet no one has good faith in the political class.
'Revolution' jumps from Spain to Italy

Courtesy of Google Translate (a choppy one, slightly edited by me) please consider 'Revolution' jumps from Spain to Italy and Italy to the rest of the world

Agglutinated protests in Spain by platform Real Democracy Now has called for demonstrations in at least six cities in the country, today and tomorrow at 20.00. Concentrations have been summoned by a profile of the social networking site Facebook entitled 'Italian Revolution. Reale Democrazia Ora ', launched yesterday. The cities are Florence are scheduled today at 20.00, and Rome (Plaza of Spain), Milan, Bologna, Padua and Pisa, tomorrow at the same time.

The manifesto makes specific reference to the protests in Madrid, which cites as inspiration and express their solidarity. And the story is repeated all over the world. After Spain and Italy are numerous cities that have emulated the system concentrations. Berlin joins the struggle for real democracy, support to Spain and joined the protest. "This decision May 20 Berlin Street," announced their posters. Paris or Buenos Aires will focus today. Brussels, Birmingham and Bogotá Ahram, tomorrow. Amsterdam will hold a rally on Saturday 20.

For Spanish speaking readers, here is the original link: http://ecodiario.eleconomista.es/espana/noticias/3081817/05/11/Italia-copia-a-Espana-y-crea-su-Italian-Revolution.html It is difficult to know what exactly might transpire from these protests, but we certainly have seen some shocking results in Africa and the Mideast already.

Watch Italian and Spanish Government Bonds Most eyes remain focused on Greece. It is more important, to pay attention to Spain and Italy. Here are the charts I have been watching.

Spain 10-Year Government Bonds



Italy 10-Year Government Bonds



If yields break North of those zones shown in the above charts it will signify a lack of faith in the government bonds of those countries. Spain is huge, but Italy is massive. Italy has as much debt as Germany in an economy nowhere near as big. I believe it is simply a matter of time before the markets start questioning Spanish government debt. Should Italian debt come into question, so will the very existence of the Euro itself.

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Spain's Icelandic Revolt; Protests Spread to Italy

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Spain's Icelandic Revolt; Protests Spread to Italy

A protest movement that started in Spain has now spread to Italy. The Spanish government has banned protests, but that has only encouraged more protests.

I picked the story up two days ago in Protests Mount in Spain; Sovereign Debt Crisis to Follow. Acting on a tip, the New York Times picked up the story a day later inProtesters Rally in Madrid Despite Ban.

Here are a few protest images by Juan Luis Sanchez on Yfrog.






Spain's Icelandic revolt

Protests in Iceland helped bring down the Icelandic government and stopped the bailouts of banks at the expense of Icelandic taxpayers. Can the same thing happen in Spain?

Please consider Spain's Icelandic revolt

After passively submitting to the crisis, young Spaniards have finally taken to the street. Breaking out on the eve of municipal elections, the protests of recent days have been inspired by those in Iceland that led to the fall of the government in Reykjavik.

One morning in October 2008, Torfason Hördur turned up at what Icelanders call the “Althing”, the Icelandic parliament in the capital city, Reykjavik. By then, the country's biggest bank, the Kaupthing, had already gone into receivership and the Icelandic financial system itself was in danger of going under. Torfason, with his guitar, grabbed a microphone and invited people to talk about their dissatisfaction with the freefall of their country and to speak their minds.

A movement spawned by the internet

But those voices calling for real democracy are not just being raised in Iceland, a country of about 320,000 inhabitants. Here in Spain, the umbrella organisation for various Spanish movements – Democracia Real Ya (Real Democracy Now) – already lists among its proposals some 40 points ranging from controlling parliamentary absenteeism to reducing military spending through to abolishing the so-called Sinde law (a law restricting on-line infringements of copyright).

The demonstrations have broadened spontaneously, as was the case for those who rallied under the umbrellas of the "alternative globalisation" movements, and have evolved, one decade after the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on a more modest stage than the one demonstrators faced in the past at the World Economic Forum of the global elite in Davos, Switzerland.

All this is happening at astonishing speed via the Internet, which has amplified the echo of discontent and opened the lanes of cyberactivism to groups such as Anonymous, notable for intervening against companies like PayPal and Visa during the advocacy campaign for Wikileaks chief Julian Assange. Yet it was also there at the beginning of the revolts in the Arab world, to help people get round the censorship of the Tunisian and Egyptian dictatorships.

“When we grow up, we want to be Icelanders!" cried one of the leaders of the organisation during the march on Sunday May 15 before a column of young – and not so young – parents and children, students and workers, the jobless and pensioners. Many Saturdays in Iceland were needed before citizens won the changes they had demanded. Spain’s first Sunday has taken place, and was followed by a Tuesday [May 17]- but there’s still a long way to go. Protests have now spread to Italy and beyond.

My friend Bran who lives in Spain writes ...

A Spanish revolution is slowly gaining coverage, both internationally and locally. http://www.ikimap.com/map/2CYF is a map of existing, planned and evicted camps. Politicians and administrations are trying to claim sympathy and similarity to the protests expression, yet no one has good faith in the political class.
'Revolution' jumps from Spain to Italy

Courtesy of Google Translate (a choppy one, slightly edited by me) please consider 'Revolution' jumps from Spain to Italy and Italy to the rest of the world

Agglutinated protests in Spain by platform Real Democracy Now has called for demonstrations in at least six cities in the country, today and tomorrow at 20.00. Concentrations have been summoned by a profile of the social networking site Facebook entitled 'Italian Revolution. Reale Democrazia Ora ', launched yesterday. The cities are Florence are scheduled today at 20.00, and Rome (Plaza of Spain), Milan, Bologna, Padua and Pisa, tomorrow at the same time.

The manifesto makes specific reference to the protests in Madrid, which cites as inspiration and express their solidarity. And the story is repeated all over the world. After Spain and Italy are numerous cities that have emulated the system concentrations. Berlin joins the struggle for real democracy, support to Spain and joined the protest. "This decision May 20 Berlin Street," announced their posters. Paris or Buenos Aires will focus today. Brussels, Birmingham and Bogotá Ahram, tomorrow. Amsterdam will hold a rally on Saturday 20.

For Spanish speaking readers, here is the original link: http://ecodiario.eleconomista.es/espana/noticias/3081817/05/11/Italia-copia-a-Espana-y-crea-su-Italian-Revolution.html It is difficult to know what exactly might transpire from these protests, but we certainly have seen some shocking results in Africa and the Mideast already.

Watch Italian and Spanish Government Bonds Most eyes remain focused on Greece. It is more important, to pay attention to Spain and Italy. Here are the charts I have been watching.

Spain 10-Year Government Bonds



Italy 10-Year Government Bonds



If yields break North of those zones shown in the above charts it will signify a lack of faith in the government bonds of those countries. Spain is huge, but Italy is massive. Italy has as much debt as Germany in an economy nowhere near as big. I believe it is simply a matter of time before the markets start questioning Spanish government debt. Should Italian debt come into question, so will the very existence of the Euro itself.

Bin Laden's Wives and the Continuing Mystery

By Abdel Bari Atwan
12 May 2011
We are still waiting for the details of the assassination of Shaykh Osama Bin Laden in early May by a US commando unit that stormed the house where he had been residing with some of his wives and children in Abbottabad near the Pakistani capital Islamabad. Up to this moment, the US authorities have not released the photo they said they had taken of Shaykh Bin Laden, after opening fire at him, on the pretext that it so graphic that it might arouse the fury of his organization's loyalists who are scattered around the world.

The latest proposal circulating in the United States is that Shaykh Bin Laden's photo might be shown to a selected group of the US congressional Security Committee and Intelligence committee at the CIA headquarters to prove that he was killed. If this proposal is actually implemented, it will not change our conviction and the conviction of millions like us in many parts of the Islamic world.

The US Administrations, which have lectured us for decades about the need for us - we the sons of the Third World - to adhere to transparency and freedom of information, is telling the ugliest type of lies and is imposing a blackout regarding the assassination of an unarmed man who was caught off guard in his bedroom and in front of his wife and children.

There must be a "serious secret" that the US Administration does not want us to know, and is trying all it can to divert attention from it, counting on the assumption that people will forget. This is evident from the release of poor videotapes that included clips lacking any news value or information, such as the one that showed him as elderly man with graying beard watching one of his videotapes aired by the Al-Jazeera satellite channel on a very old television set, which one would only find in trash dumps.

According to his loyalists, Shaykh Bin Laden is being exposed to character assassination even after his martyrdom. At first the Americans said that he was residing in a plush palace only to discover that it was an extremely modest home, not worth more than $150,000. They then said that he was narcissist who enjoyed watching himself and videotapes on television. Who of us or of them, particularly politicians and media men, would not watch videotapes of his interviews again to learn when he was right and when he was wrong, and when he did well and when he did not?

The vilest type of character assassination of a dead man is perhaps the revelation that "herbal Viagra" was placed among his medicines, as though this were a great discovery that would make the world safer and more stable. This demonstrates utterly sheer lack of ethics of a state that claims to be the leader of the Free World and of the world's cultural and democratic values.

The series of lies is continuing and the latest lie is the retraction on the story of the martyrdom of Shaykh Bin Laden's son, Hamzah, with him, saying that the one who was killed was his other youngest son, Khalid. (Osama Bin Laden had 25 sons and daughters from five wives). Hamzah, who had been residing in the compound just before or during the assault on the compound, has disappeared.

I have met with Shaykh Osama Bin Laden, but I did not find him a narcissist or vain, but extremely humble and shy. He imposed austere lifestyle on all members of his family, and even refused to have air conditions at his house in Khartoum, while living there before moving to Afghanistan, where the temperature rises to above 55 centigrade, in order not to distinguish himself from the majority of the poor in Sudan. His son, Umar, who could not tolerate that austere living condition and returned to Saudi Arabia, stressed that his father denied his children toys, soft drinks, sweets, and chocolates.

Shaykh Osama Bin Laden has passed away. Yet what we differ over, or what we want to know now are the details. Why was he not buried like all human beings regardless of their faith, creed, or nationality? The Americans and the Britons did not bury Nazi members who caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands, and perhaps millions of people, at sea after bringing them to fair trials. Is it fear that hundreds of thousands, and perhaps millions of people, might have taken part in his funeral if he were to be buried in Pakistan or in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, his birthplace?

The Pakistani authorities, which connived with the Americans in the assassination of Shaykh Bin Laden, although they claimed they did not, did not defend the sanctity and sovereignty of their territories, since they failed to confront the four US helicopters that carried out the operation. These authorities have detained the wives and children of Shaykh Bin Laden on the pretext that they wanted to interrogate them, and it is reported that the Pakistani government may hand them over to the US Administration. Shaykh Bin Laden's wives and children are our kinsfolk and honour. They did not commit any sin or make any mistake. Every Muslim is duty bound to defend their honour. We must not forget his youngest wife, Amal al-Sadah, that virtuous Yemeni national who bravely defended her husband and exposed her life to death, and was severely wounded. That heroic woman, who brings to mind the venerable female companions of Prophet Muhammad, deserves that we stand by her and safeguard her dignity and honour, along with Shaykh Bin Laden's other wives.

More pressure must be put on the Pakistani government to immediately release those women and refuse to hand them over to the United States under any circumstances. The continued detention of those wives is a big crime because they are innocent and guiltless just for being wives of a man who humbled [dawwakha] history's greatest superpower. He dragged that superpower to two great wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, causing it to lose trillions of dollars in material losses, and more than 5,000 soldiers dead, and tens of thousands wounded. And the wound continues to bleed.

Regrettably, after nearly two weeks, [since the death of Bin Laden], we have not yet heard the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia request the release of the wives and children of a Saudi national. More regrettably, the Saudi ambassador to Islamabad has not condescended to ask about his compatriots and arrange for their travel to the country of their father and forefathers to live among their families in dignity like the rest of human beings after years of unbearable suffering. It is not easy to be a son, daughter, or wife of a man who had been pursued by all the world's intelligence services for more than 15 years, and who succeeded in evading them all those years until his end came.

The Al-Qa'idah Organization will not be weaken by the assassination of its leader; in fact, it may become stronger because it is no longer a centralized organization, and because the new generation of its leaders are more militant than the founding old guard. We should recall that HAMAS did not weaken by the martyrdom of its founder, Shaykh Ahmad Yasin, nor, for that matter, has the Muslim Brotherhood declined by the execution of Shaykh Dr. Sayyid Qutb or the assassination of its founder, Shaykh Hasan al-Banna. In fact, it has become stronger and more powerful.

The world is not safer after the assassination of the leader of the Al-Qa'idah Organization, as President Barack Obama said after the news of his [death] was announced, not only because the organization will inevitably avenge the killing of its leader, but because the reasons that led and will lead to the emergence of militant movements and organizations in the Islamic world - primarily the Israeli terrorism and US support for it - have not changed.

Stability and security will not prevail in the world as long as the greatest superpower does not abide by the rule of law, and as long as it continues to resort to killing and liquidation to eliminate [adversaries] like mafia gangs and outlaws. The unarmed man deserved to be placed in the dock in front of independent judiciary to defend himself like other more dangerous men who committed more terrorist acts. We should not forget that those in London and Texas who killed a million Iraqi people still enjoy freedom and prosperous living conditions in the countries of wise, democratic rule.

Splits in Pakistan's Military Over New Agreement to Cooperate with US

Advice to the Du'aat - from Tarek Mehanna (May Allah Hasten his release)

In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Question: As salaam 'alaikum, Jazaak Allaah Khair for the detail answers to my previous question, however I would like you to clarify further some issues. You stated, in your previous answer, that you thought of the du'at in the west as being "Uncle Toms". With reference to this statement how would you openly address the issues of the ummah (with hikmah) as I think many of the du'at do not speak out due to imprisonment... in other words what should they do? 

Response by Brother Tariq: I disagree that it’s simply a matter of fear for Uncle Tom. If someone is afraid, they’ll stay quiet, OK. But when we see Uncle Tom go beyond silence, when we see him go out of his way to water down Islam – in coordination with its enemies, at that – this tells us that a problem exists which runs far deeper than fear. As you know, there have been many ideological attacks on Islam over the centuries, and with each one, you find that the scholars responded to it in one three ways:

• Some were so bedazzled by the civilization from which the attack came that it colonized their hearts & minds completely, causing them to rethink Islam through the enemy’s eyes, using the enemy’s terminology.

• Some tried to find a halfway point, where they would compromise on some matters but not on others (i.e. the ‘balancing act’ approach).

• Finally, there were the scholars who made the choice to stand their ground and refuse any compromise in the face of the pressure of the times.

So, Uncle Tom’s problem is not fear. Rather, he has allowed the ideological attack to overrun him and colonize his heart & mind, all so that he can be accepted by the status quo. Don’t think that Uncle Tom sits at home in anguish, wishing that he could speak out against his oppressor. No – he is so mentally enslaved by his oppressor that he no longer even considers him an oppressor! (For a better idea of this mentality, look up a condition called ‘Stockholm Syndrome’) So, your question of ‘What should they do’ is somewhat misplaced, as it naively assumes that they want to do something in the first place! They have long ago chosen the path of surrender, psychologically speaking. Therefore, the more practical question for you to ask, and for us to explore, is: for those of us who want to protect the Ummah, resembling that third group of scholars mentioned above, what should we keep in mind to avoid resembling the first two groups? Specifically, how do we do this living in the West, where this odd, alien version of Islam is practiced that is stripped of any ‘izzah? 

There are specific verses in the Qur’an which, upon reflection, provide some tips. In particular, you should focus on the story of Moses & Pharaoh. It’s the most oft-mentioned story in the Qur’an, the most detailed, and the most similar to the story we are living today: a nation of believers (the Children of Israel) oppressed by a tyrannical government (that of Pharaoh), and a Muslim leader (Moses) tasked with defending them, teaching them, and teaching their oppressor about Islam. So, how did Moses – a Prophet of God, an expert da’i – approach the issues of the Ummah in such a climate?

The first thing to note is that Moses had a clear concept of wala’ & bara’. Looking at the relationship between Pharaoh and himself, there is no ambiguity as to where his loyalties were, no confusion as to which side he was on, no blurring of the lines between the two sides. Moses considered Pharaoh and his allies to be clear, manifest enemies. Reassuring the Children of Israel in their hardships, Moses said to them:

{“It may be that your Lord will destroy your enemy…”}

(al-A’raf, v.129)

This attitude of Moses is further confirmed by this aggressive supplication he made against Pharaoh:

{“Our Lord! You have given Pharaoh and his officials luxury and wealth in this life to mislead people from Your path. Our Lord, destroy their wealth, and harden their hearts so that they will not believe until they see the painful torment!”}

(Yunus, v.88)

And describing Moses, God said:

{“Then the family of Pharaoh picked him up, that he might become an enemy and a cause of grief for them…”}

(al-Qasas, v.8)

The attitude and emotions that Moses harboured for Pharaoh are important because Moses understood that if he did not have a clear idea of who his enemy was, it would be impossible for him to devise the necessary strategy to protect himself and his people from the many plots of that enemy. This is why we are given a heads-up in the Qur’an about Satan:

{“Indeed, Satan is an enemy to you. So, deal with him as an enemy.”} (Fatir, v.6)

An enemy will not announce his plans to you. He will be subtle, deceptive, smiling, patient, cunning, and exploit you before you know what hit you. This occurs not just in the physical sense, but on the psycho-mental plane as well – in other words, your heart & mind. One of the classic strategies of psychological warfare is for an enemy to convince you that he is in fact on your side, looking out for your interests, in order to use you against your true friends (i.e. his enemy). By falling for this trap, you’ve already lost any chance of protecting yourself or your people. Furthermore, a lack of clear loyalty towards your brothers & sisters is a trait of the hypocrites, condemned by God:

{“They are swaying between this and that, belonging neither to these nor to those…”}

(an-Nisa’, v.143)

Therefore, the first step in defending and protecting the Ummah, whether in speech or writing or any other form, is to revive the concept of wala’ & bara’ in your mind in order to avoid blurring the line between friend & enemy. This is crucial, and is simply reflective of the world we live in.

The second thing to watch out for is the ubiquitous use of terms like ‘radicalism,’ ‘extremism,’ ‘terrorism,’ and other ‘-ism’s. These are nothing more than tools of deception used to confuse the world. When fighting Moses, Pharaoh used the same strategy of claiming to fight extremism:

{“Pharaoh’s officials said: “Will you leave Moses and his people to spread mischief on Earth…?””}

(al-A’raf, v.127)

{“Leave me to kill Moses, as I fear that he will change your way of life or bring about destruction on Earth!”}

(Ghafir, v.26)

And Pharoah set himself up as the one preaching moderation and civility:

{“Pharaoh said: “I only show you what I see as correct, and I only push you towards the path of guidance.””}

(Ghafir, v.29)

But in reality, Pharaoh used these terms in reference to the message of Moses, because he was against what Moses stood for. The Egyptians who converted to the religion of Moses even confirmed this when they said to him:

{“All that you hold against us is that we believed in the verses of our Lord when they came to us!”}

(al-A’raf, v.126)

It’s important that we stop for a second and think about this verse, because it shows that, unlike many today, the believers saw right through Pharaoh’s false deception of Moses as some bloodthirsty wacko following a set of crazy beliefs. They knew that Pharaoh was not fighting radicalism, extremism, or terrorism, but used these terms to dissuade the masses from following what Moses stood for. Why? Because what Moses stood for was that we should submit only to God, not tyrants, and this message would give any who follow it a new found sense of dignity, pride, and self-respect after having spent so long with their hearts & minds colonized by Pharaoh. The Stockholm Syndrome would be no more. This is why we today see concepts that have the same liberating effect demonized and referred to with such ugly, negative labels (wala’ & bara’ becomes “radicalism,” defensive Jihad becomes “terrorism” or “militant Islam,” Shari’ah becomes “extremism,” and so on), and you unfortunately see the masses buying into this without thinking, to the point that some du’atwill even adopt these terms when speaking and writing! This is exactly what that first group of scholars I mentioned at the start did when reacting to the ideological attack: they allowed themselves to be colonized. These ‘counter-radicalism conferences’ that Uncle Tom proudlyparticipates in: Can you imagine Moses reaching out to Pharaoh and offering to “de-radicalize” the Children of Israel? Our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon them both) inviting Special Agent Abu Jahl to Dar al-Arqam to lecture the Sahabah on “the need to counteract extremism”? Of course not. So, like the followers of Moses, you should stay hip to the ancient strategy behind the use of these deceptive terms, and refrain from using them altogether.

Another point to think about is applying wisdom and gentleness. You mentioned the word hikmah in your question, and what you’ll find is that people go to extremes both in neglecting it and trying to apply it. Some neglect it by not tempering their style according to their audience. Others go to the opposite extreme by thinking that hikmah entails censoring the actual content of their message, and if you look at how Moses applied these concepts, you’ll find that he did no such things. Like us, Moses was in the minority. Like us, he was in a position of physical weakness. Like us, he faced overwhelming circumstances. And like us, he was specifically commanded by God to apply gentleness when addressing the issues of the Ummah:

{“Go to Pharaoh, as he has transgressed and speak to him gently…”}

(Ta Ha, v.43-44)

But when you look at other verses, you see that while Moses was wise in his da’wah, he did not interpret this to be a green light to censor truth:

{“It is incumbent on me to not speak about God but the truth!”}

(al-A’raf, v.105)

Furthermore, it did not imply being timid in the face of injustice:

{“Turn the Children of Israel over to us, and don’t torment them! We’ve come to you with a sign from your Lord, and peace will be upon those who follow the guidance. Indeed, it has been revealed to us that the torment will be upon those who deny & turn away from the truth.”}

(Ta Ha, v.47-48)

Let’s stop for a minute and look at this last series of verses. Here, we have Moses – weak, oppressed, in the minority, commanded with gentleness while facing the leader of the world’s greatest superpower of the time – doing three things in his speech regarding the plight of his people:

• He laid out clearly Pharaoh’s crimes against his people.

• He demanded firmly that Pharaoh put an end to his crimes.

• He warned Pharaoh of divine consequences for his tyranny.

You see that Moses was not apologetic, was not defeatist, was not vague, was not timid. He did not let his physical weakness get in the way of his moral strength. Rather, he said what needed to be said, in the way it needed to be said, when it needed to be said, and this is in fact exactly how Ibn al-Qayyim defined hikmah: “Hikmah is to say what needs to be said, in the way it needs to be said, when it needs to be said.” (‘Madarij as-Salikin’, 2/479) Moses spoke with dignity and boldness, and most importantly, he got his message across loud and clear. We know this based on Pharaoh’s reaction – he didn’t invite Moses to more counter-radicalism conferences or solicit his “expertise.” Rather, Pharaoh tried to kill Moses, just as civil rights and resistance leaders throughout history have been targets for assassination by those whose crimes they’d exposed. And the pattern continues to this very day…

Most of us are timid. We want to avoid tension and conflict at any cost, and be liked by all. Even if we think that a bold move is right to make, we don’t carry it out because we are terrified by the consequences, of what others will think of us, and of the attention we will get if we dare to go out of our place. We may disguise our timidity as wisdom, but it is in fact selfishness and nothing else. Timidity is an acquired habit, not a natural one, picked up out of a desire to avoid tension. Root it out of your life, and replace it with boldness. The consequences of timidity are far worse than those of boldness, (not least of which is that you lower your own sense of self-esteem). Sufyan ath-Thawri would actually urinate bloodout of the intense frustration he felt with himself when he failed to say what needed to be said in enjoining the good and preventing evil. So, when given the opportunity to make yourself heard, do not hide behind convenient ambiguity, which will get you nowhere. Imitate Moses, and name names – mention the US government, and Palestine, and Iraq, and Afghanistan, and sister Aafia, and so on – so that our oppressors know exactly how we feel about their actions. This is not extremism or radicalism. This is called fulfilling your obligation by telling it like it is.

And hikmah does not entail that we hide entire portions of our religion simply because they happen to be taboo in society. The whole point of being a da’i is to expose the truth, not hide it:

{“And when God took a covenant from those who were given the Book: You are to expose the truth, not hide it…”}

(Al’Imran, v.187)

{“Those who hide the explanations and guidance that We have revealed after We have exposed it to the people in the Book – they are cursed by God and those who curse.”}

(al-Baqarah, v.159)

And the Prophet issued a stern warning to those who see no problem in staying quiet when asked for the answers they know: “Whoever is asked about a piece of knowledge and hides it will be branded with a brand of fire on the Day of Resurrection.” This applies even when it comes to the taboo, controversial topics in our religion. For example, take the topic of Jihad. Rather than take the “my hands are tied and my tongue is silent” approach (New York Times, 3/17/11), why not just explain what the true Islamic concept of it is? You’re not being asked to brandish a sword down the street. Just explain to those who want to know: what do the four mainstream, orthodox, classical schools of jurisprudence say? If you live in the so-called ‘Land of Freedom’ but don’t feel free to assert that Islam teaches self-defence against an attacker, then perhaps you should start thinking about hijrah to a place where you don’t fear being thrown in prison for supporting such a basic human concept. There is nothing in our religion – not one letter of the Qur’an or Hadith – that we should be embarrassed or ashamed or afraid to explain to people. After all, was the American Revolutionary War anything other than a jihad against British occupier, and the French Resistance anything but a jihad against the Nazis? So, what’s the difference?

Finally, we come to the issue of persecution (although as I previously stated, Uncle Tom’s problem goes beyond fear), which is the common coat hanger excuse used to justify everything imaginable. But Moses and the Children of Israel also faced a climate of fear – one that was far worse than ours! Moses and Aaron complained:

{“Our Lord! We fear that Pharaoh will transgress or act oppressively against us!”}

(Ta Ha, v.45)

{“But none believed in Moses except a few of his people’s offspring, due to fear of Pharoah & his officials that he would persecute them.”}

(Yunus, v.83)

{“And Moses felt fear in himself.”}

(Ta Ha, v.67)

They feared imprisonment:

{“Pharaoh said: “If you choose a god besides me, I will surely imprison you!”}

(ash-Shu’ara’, v.29)

They feared torture:

{“Pharaoh said: “I will cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides, and I will crucify you on the trunks of date palms.””}

(Ta Ha, v.71)

They feared death:

{“Indeed, Pharaoh became powerful on Earth, and divided its people, oppressing a group of them by killing their sons and keeping their women…”}

(al-Qasas, v.4)

History repeats itself. There is not one thing that the FBI or MI6 is doing to us today that was not done to the believers in the past, and we even have it easier than they did. But despite that fearful climate, and the very real threat of terrible persecution at the hands of Pharaoh, we’ve seen that Moses broke the spectre of intimidation. Moses is different from the Uncle Toms of today in that he made a choice to suppress his fear, rely on the aid of God, and do his job. As a result, the sea was parted for him. All he did was make a choice, folks. Others who made the same choice had the sea of darkness parted for them, too. In ‘Siyar A’lam al-Nubala’’ (10/257), it’s mentioned that Imam Ahmad was in prison in Baghdad for refusing to sell out on the Din, and was visited by al-Mawardhi, who tried to convince him to save himself. So, Imam Ahmad instructed him to go outside the prison to such-and-such a location, and return to relay what he saw. Once he got to where he was instructed, al-Mawardhi saw a sea of people sitting with pen & paper in hand. He asked them what they were doing, and they replied: “We’re waiting to see what Ahmad bin Hambal will say so that we may write it down.” al-Mawardhi returned and relayed what he saw, to which Imam Ahmad peered out at him from his cell and said: “And you want me to mislead all of these people?” And after three years in prison, he was released.

A true scholar – a true believer, actually – values the truth over his personal safety. When the Prophet was trapped with Abu Bakr in the cave, do you remember what he said to him? He didn’t say ‘Don’t be afraid,’ he said: “Don’t be sad,” because Abu Bakr did not fear for himself. Rather, he was saddened at the prospect of the message dying off if they were killed by the pagans. Abu Bakr knew that the threat to his personal comfort was inseparable from true da’wah to Islam. There is just no way around it: anyone who sincerely wants to deliver the uncut, unedited message of the Prophets and wants an enjoyable, easy ride is in the wrong business. You must be mentally tough and willing to venture out of your comfort zone at times, come what may. Do not let fear hold you back from anything.

Hopefully, by thinking hard about the aforementioned verses and applying the lessons they contain when speaking & writing, we can begin to raise our chins off of our chests.