Most English language dictionaries define the term ‘terrorism’ as the “unlawful use or threat of violence against the state or the public”, and the term ‘terrorist’ as someone who “systematically uses violence and intimidation” against innocent civilians. Hence, any activity which intimidates or hurts the civilian population in any way, shape or form can be termed as terrorism. In this context it is essential that we analyze the following events in a chronological order.

World War one, which was fought between 1914 and 1919 resulted in the death of almost 7 million innocent civilians. World War 2 (1939-1945) led to the extermination of around 47 million non-military individuals. This massive death-toll also included the 220,000 victims of the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombings. During the Vietnam War (1959-1975), a conservative estimate of civilian deaths was put at 1.2 million. On the 6th of August 1990, United Nations Security Council imposed a stringent financial and trade embargo on the nation of Iraq. This move was strongly backed by the U.S with a motive of ending the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and unearthing the ’supposed’ possession of WMD’s by Saddam’s government. Unicef estimated that nearly 500,000 Iraqi children died as a result of this brutal 13 year economic blockade.

This recent war in Afghanistan has also resulted in the deaths of 12000 innocent Afghani civilians and created a serious economic and political turmoil for the entire region. The Iraq war (2003-present), which was based on mythical presence of WMD’s has led to the death of a further half a million civilians to-date. Added to these depressing body count statistics are the deaths of thousands of Palestinian civilians at the hands of the murderous Israeli government. Who at the behest of the United States and its allies, have continued to illegally occupy, oppress and indiscriminately murder men, women and children for the past sixty years. An annual aid of $3 Billion dollars is provisioned by the U.S government to the Israelis. This generous ‘gift’ largely assists them in the procurement and production of high-tech precision weaponry for usage in a largely one sided war. Further the U.S and other western powers have also provisioned unconditional support to countries like Israel and India in fortifying their illegal occupations of Palestine and Kashmir.

Many recent releases of journalistic reports and videos have also proven the indiscriminate killing and torture of Afghan and Iraqi civilians by the U..S and its allied forces. In fact federal cases are being run in British and American courts against soldiers for abusing civilians and treating murder as a sport. In this context, it is high time that leaders in the Muslim world stopped with their rhetorically apologetic behavior towards the western masters. (Safwan Umair)

Afghanistan was supposed to be the campaign promise that President Barack Obama actually kept. He said he would escalate that war, and sure enough he did. Is he now going back on promises he’s made as president, by proposing to withdraw 2.5% of US forces in July?

Here are the relevant promises:

“After 18 months, our troops will begin to come home … [O]ur troop commitment in Afghanistan cannot be open-ended – because the nation that I’m most interested in building is our own.” – President Barack Obama, 1 December 2009

“I’m confident that the withdrawal will be significant. People will say this is a real process of transition; this is not just a token gesture.” – President Barack Obama, 15 April 2011

“In July of 2011, you’re going to see a whole lot of people moving out, bet on it.” – Vice President Joe Biden, quoted in Jonathan Alter’s The Promise

But let’s first review how we got here. When loyal Democrats heard candidate Obama say he would escalate the war as president, they mistakenly understood him to say he would end it. Progressive bloggers have planned a panel for next month to discuss their disappointment with this “broken promise” that was actually kept.

President Obama sent the first additional 17,000 troops before he’d been in office a month and explicitly before coming up with any plan for Afghanistan. Sending the troops was, apparently, an end in itself. Then,Obama sent more. He got the total up from 33,700 US troops in late 2008 to 68,000 in late 2009. These numbers do not include tens of thousands of European troops, untold numbers of “intelligence” personnel, mercenaries hired through the US state department and US defence department contractors almost equal in number to the US troops.

Obama’s 2009 “surge”, which more than doubled the US troop presence in Afghanistan preceded any public debate on an Afghanistan surge. The publicly debated surge, actually Obama’s second, was “debated” between the commander-in-chief and his supposed subordinates, and then executed in 2010. By the end of 2010, according to the US defence department (pdf), there were 96,900 US troops and 87,483 supporting contractors in Afghanistan. In rough terms, there are 200,000 Americans now in Afghanistan, against the will of the American people. Here are some recent polls from the weeks and months preceding the killing of Osama bin Laden:

• By 73% to 21%, Americans say: withdraw a substantial number of US combat forces from Afghanistan this summer – ABC/Washington Post
• By 63% to 30%, Americans want complete withdrawal –Bloomberg (pdf)
• By 72% to 25%, Americans want to speed up the withdrawal – USA Today/Gallup
• By 53% to 39%, Americans say US troops should not be involved in Afghanistan – CBS
• By 50% to 44%, Americans say: remove all troops ASAP –Pew
• By 64% to 31%, Americans say the war has not been worth fighting – ABC/Washington Post
• By 58% to 40%, Americans oppose the war – CNN/Opinion Research Corporation (pdf)

That first poll, with the 73% in favour of a “substantial” withdrawal this summer, is a poll on whether the president should keep a promise. On 1 December 2009, President Obama said of his upcoming second “surge” in Afghanistan:

“Taken together, these additional American and international troops will allow us to accelerate handing over responsibility to Afghan forces, and allow us to begin the transfer of our forces out of Afghanistan in July of 2011.”

This deadline for “beginning” the withdrawal has been repeated for a year and a half. In May 2010, Obama said he was “confident” he could meet the deadline, but that it would just be a beginning. Many observers believed July 2011 was a promised date for completing a withdrawal, but in reality, it was always a promised date for beginning it. Still, most people assumed that beginning a withdrawal would involve a substantial number of troops leaving. After all, if a pair of “surges” of 70,000 troops lasts for years, in what sense are they “surges” rather than ordinary escalations?

In November 2010, the White House started talking about December 2014, leading the Washington Post to print this headline: “When it comes to Afghanistan policy, December 2014 is the new July 2011.” It wasn’t. July 2011 was still the date to start the withdrawal, and 2014 was the date by which a pretence would be established of Afghan “sovereignty”, despite the ongoing presence of tens of thousands, but not hundreds of thousands, of foreign troops.

In President Obama’s 25 January 2011 state of the union address, July was still the start date: “This year, we will work with nearly 50 countries to begin a transition to an Afghan lead. And this July, we will begin to bring our troops home.” Yes, but how many troops, and how many contractors? Of 200,000 people, will you bring home three-quarters? Half? A quarter?

Apparently, the answer is 2.5%.

We learned this week that: “US military officers in Afghanistan have drawn up preliminary proposals to withdraw as many as 5,000 troops from the country in July and as many as 5,000 more by the year’s end, the first phase of a US pullout promised by President Barack Obama, officials say.” This is what you call a trial balloon. It could easily be revised upward if the American people or the United States’ allies raised enough hell. It could go away entirely if we meekly accept it. The Wall Street Journal report continued:

“The proposals, prepared by staff officers in Kabul, are likely to be the subject of fierce internal debate in the White House, state department and Pentagon – a discussion influenced by calculations about how Osama bin Laden’s death will affect the Afghan battlefield. The plans were drafted before the US killed the al-Qaida leader, and could be revised. They have yet to be formally presented to General David Petraeus, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, who must then seek White House approval for a withdrawal.”

And this trial balloon is smaller than the 5% withdrawal it appears to be. You might assume that 5,000 troops from a total of 100,000 would mean 5,000 contractors departing as well, for a total of 10,000 people out of 200,000. But you’d be wrong. The 5,000 seems to be a total of troops and contractors:

“If approved by top military officers and the president, an initial withdrawal of 5,000 would represent a modest reduction from the current 100,000 US troops in Afghanistan, allowing the military to preserve combat power through this summer’s fighting season. Some of the troops that leave in July will be combat troops but commanders hope to minimise the impact by culling support staff as well.”

In other words, 5,000 out of 200,000 – or 2.5% of US forces – would be withdrawn under this plan. Does that seem like a substantive beginning to you? It does to some anonymous military officials: “Some military officials believe a cut of 10,000 troops this year would be significant because it would represent one-third of the troop surge.” The only thing significant here is the fudging of the numbers. We’ve “surged” close to 70,000, not 30,000, troops, plus a similar number of contractors.

According to Congressman Dennis Kucinich, “the announcement of such a paltry troop withdrawal is an Orwellian attempt to appear to drawdown the war without actually ending the war.” Kucinich pointed out that at this pace of withdrawal, the Afghanistan war would drag on for another full decade. The proposal may actually be better than that, and worse as well. The plan that has now been floated publicly would supposedly withdraw 70,000 troops by 2014, meaning the pace of withdrawal would pick up. But 20,000 to 30,000 US troops would remain indefinitely. As would British troops. And multi-year plans are notoriously subject to revision.

I’m glad to be working with groups in the US and in the UK that intend to reject this latest plan. Now is the moment to put an end to the “global war on terror”, not to ease our way into its permanent establishment.

Source:Guardia

It’s increasingly clear that the operation was a planned assassination, multiply violating elementary norms of international law. There appears to have been no attempt to apprehend the unarmed victim, as presumably could have been done by 80 commandos facing virtually no opposition—except, they claim, from his wife, who lunged towards them. In societies that profess some respect for law, suspects are apprehended and brought to fair trial. I stress “suspects.” In April 2002, the head of the FBI, Robert Mueller, informed the press that after the most intensive investigation in history, the FBI could say no more than that it “believed” that the plot was hatched in Afghanistan, though implemented in the UAE and Germany. What they only believed in April 2002, they obviously didn’t know 8 months earlier, when Washington dismissed tentative offers by the Taliban (how serious, we do not know, because they were instantly dismissed) to extradite bin Laden if they were presented with evidence—which, as we soon learned, Washington didn’t have. Thus Obama was simply lying when he said, in his White House statement, that “we quickly learned that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by al Qaeda.” Nothing serious has been provided since. There is much talk of bin Laden’s “confession,” but that is rather like my confession that I won the Boston Marathon. He boasted of what he regarded as a great achievement. There is also much media discussion of Washington’s anger that Pakistan didn’t turn over bin Laden, though surely elements of the military and security forces were aware of his presence in Abbottabad. Less is said about Pakistani anger that the U.S. invaded their territory to carry out a political assassination. Anti-American fervor is already very high in Pakistan, and these events are likely to exacerbate it. The decision to dump the body at sea is already, predictably, provoking both anger and skepticism in much of the Muslim world. We might ask ourselves how we would be reacting if Iraqi commandos landed at George W. Bush’s compound, assassinated him, and dumped his body in the Atlantic. Uncontroversially, his crimes vastly exceed bin Laden’s, and he is not a “suspect” but uncontroversially the “decider” who gave the orders to commit the “supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole” (quoting the Nuremberg Tribunal) for which Nazi criminals were hanged: the hundreds of thousands of deaths, millions of refugees, destruction of much of the country, the bitter sectarian conflict that has now spread to the rest of the region. There’s more to say about [Cuban airline bomber Orlando] Bosch, who just died peacefully in Florida, including reference to the “Bush doctrine” that societies that harbor terrorists are as guilty as the terrorists themselves and should be treated accordingly. No one seemed to notice that Bush was calling for invasion and destruction of the U.S. and murder of its criminal president. Same with the name, Operation Geronimo. The imperial mentality is so profound, throughout western society, that no one can perceive that they are glorifying bin Laden by identifying him with courageous resistance against genocidal invaders. It’s like naming our murder weapons after victims of our crimes: Apache, Tomahawk… It’s as if the Luftwaffe were to call its fighter planes “Jew” and “Gypsy.” There is much more to say, but even the most obvious and elementary facts should provide us with a good deal to think about.

گورنر پنجاب سلمان تاثیر کو اپنے ہی حفاظتی گارڈ، ملک ممتاز قادری نے گولیوں سے چھلنی کرکے موت کے گھاٹ اتاردیا۔ سرزمین راولپنڈی واسلام آباد تاریخی لحاظ سے حکمرانوں کے لیے بھاری ہے۔ ملک کے پہلے وزیراعظم لیاقت علی خان لیاقت باغ میں شہید کردیے گئے۔ پھر ایک دوسرے منتخب وزیراعظم ذوالفقار علی بھٹو مرحوم کو بھی اڈیالہ جیل میں پھانسی ہوگئی۔ ان کے بعد ان کی بیٹی بے نظیربھٹو جو دو مرتبہ وزیراعظم رہ چکی تھیں لیاقت باغ ہی میں گولیوں کا نشانہ بن گئی۔ نہ تو لیاقت علی خان کے سفاک قاتل منظرعام پر آئے اور نہ ہی بے نظےر بھٹو کے ظالم قاتلوں کا اب تک کوئی سراغ ملا ہے۔البتہ گورنر صاحب کے قاتل نے بڑے اطمینان کے ساتھ اپنے عمل کا اعتراف کیا ہے۔
چار بجے اچانک میڈیا پر خبریں آنے لگیں کہ پنجاب کے گورنر سلمان تاثیر کو کوہسار مارکیٹ اسلام آباد کے قریب موت کے گھاٹ اتار دیا گیا ہے۔ بہرحال ان کا قاتل معلوم بھی ہے اور اس نے اعتراف بھی کیا ہے کہ اس نے یہ کام خوب سوچ سمجھ کر بقائمی ہوش وحواس کیا ہے۔اس میں شک نہیں کہ کسی انسانی جان کا قتل قابل افسوس امر ہے تاہم اس قتل کے محرکات ووجوہات کو پیش نظر رکھنابھی ضروری ہے۔ ہمارے نزدیک قانون کی موجودگی میں کسی شخص کو قانون سے ماورا عمل کی اجازت نہیں ہونی چاہیے۔ گورنر سلمان تاثیر نے گستاخ رسول آسیہ مسیح کی سزا پر اپنے اختیارات کا جو ناجائز استعمال کیا وہ دنیا کے ہر قانون کے مطابق انتہائی غیرمطلوب اور ناپسندیدہ عمل ہے۔ یہ قانون کو ہاتھ میں لینے بلکہ اس کی دھجیاں بکھیرنے کے مترادف ہے۔کسی مجرم کو اس کا جرم ثابت ہونے پر کوئی مجاز عدالت سزادیتی ہے تو اس کے خلاف اپیل کرنے کا حق قانون کی حدود اور عدالتی دائرہ کار ہی میں استعمال میں لایا جاسکتا ہے۔ کوئی صاحب اقتدار عدالتی فیصلوں پر وہ رد عمل ظاہر کرنے لگے جو گورنر صاحب نے کیا تھا تو اس سے قانون کی عمل داری کا خاتمہ، عدلیہ کے وجود اور ساکھ کی نفی اور انارکی کا راستہ کھلتا ہے۔ اس سے بھی بڑی بات یہ ہے کہ گورنر صاحب نے تحفظ ناموس رسالت کو کالا قانون قرار دیا تھا۔
اس بارے میں کوئی دو آرا نہیں ہوسکتیں کہ یہ الفاظ ہر مسلمان کے دل کو چھلنی کرنے کے مترادف ہیں۔ انھی مجروح جذبات کے تحت ان کے گارڈ نے رد عمل میں قانون کو ہاتھ میں لے لیا اور قتل کا ارتکاب کر بیٹھا۔ یہ درست ہے کہ قاتل کو اپنے عمل پر کوئی افسوس نہیں اور صاحب زادہ ابوالخیر زبیر کی بات بھی درست ہے کہ اس قتل پر عمومی طور پر لوگوں کو کوئی افسوس نہیں ہوا۔ قانون کو ہاتھ میں لینے کا عمل درست طرز عمل نہیں اور اس کو جواز فراہم کرنا خطرناک نتائج وعواقب کا حامل ہوسکتا ہے مگر ایک مسلمان معاشرے میں آقائے دوجہان کی عزت وناموس کے خلاف کوئی بات ہر گز قابل برداشت نہیں ہے۔ یہ وہ مقام ہے کہ جہاں محبت وعقیدت اور جذبہ¿ ایمانی ہر چیز سے ماورا ہوجاتا ہے۔ ملک ممتاز اب قومی ہیرو کا درجہ اختیا کرگیا ہے اور یہ تو پوری قوم نے دیکھ لیا ہے کہ سرکاری علما تک نے گورنر کا جنازہ پڑھانے سے معذرت کرلی۔پیپلز پارٹی اپنے کلچراور منشور کے لحاظ سے سیکولر جماعت ہے۔ اس کی ایک ایم این اے شیری رحمان نے اس قانون میں ترمیم کے لیے جو مسودہ پیش کیا ہے وہ بھی خاصا ایذا رساں ہے۔ حکمرانوں کے ایسے طرز عمل کے بعد عوام الناس کا اشتعال میں آجانا ناقابل فہم نہیں۔
سلمان تاثیر کے والد ایم ڈی تاثیر ایک شاعر اور ادیب تھے۔ اپنی سوچ کے لحاظ سے وہ ترقی پسند تھے اور ترقی پسندادیبوں، شاعروں کی انجمن کے بانیوں میں سے تھے۔ سلمان تاثیر کی والدہ عیسائیت سے مسلمان ہوئی تھیں۔ انھوں نے اپنا نام بلقیس رکھا تھا جب کہ ان کی چھوٹی ہمشیرہ ایلس مشہور شاعر فیض احمد فیض سے بیاہی گئیں اور انھوں نے اپنا نام تبدیل نہیں کیا تھا۔ ایم ڈی تاثیر ترقی پسند ہونے کے باوجود تحفظ ناموس رسالت کے بارے میں بالکل یکسو تھے۔ غازی علم الدین شہید کی شہادت پر اس وقت کے تمام مسلم اکابر بشمول قائداعظم اور علامہ محمد اقبال بہت غم گین ہوئے تھے۔ ان سب نے غازی علم الدین شہید کو زبردست خراج تحسین پیش کیا تھا۔ غازی علم الدین شہید کو میانوالی جیل میں پھانسی دی گئی تو ان کی تجہیز وتکفین کے لیے لاہور میں جو کمیٹی تشکیل دی گئی اس کے روح رواں سلمان تاثیر کے والد ایم ڈی تاثیر تھے۔ انھوں نے غازی علم الدین شہید کے لیے ایک نہایت خوب صورت گہوارہ تیارکروایا۔ اسی میں ان کا جسد مبارک عقیدت مندوں کے ہاتھوں اور کندھوں پر ان کی لحد تک پہنچایا گیا تھا۔
سلمان تاثیر کے خیالات ڈھکے چھپے نہیں تھے۔ ان کے قاتل کے تفصیلی حالات اور خیالات تو معلوم نہیں ہو سکے تاہم وقوعہ کے وقت اس کے چہرے پر طمانیت اور اس کی زبان پر جو کلمات تھے اس سے یہی کہا جاسکتا ہے کہ وہ ایمانی حرارت اور عشق رسالت مآب میں غازی علم الدین شہید کا ثانی ومثیل ہے۔ اب تفتیش اور عدالتی کارروائی کے مرحلے جو بھی راستہ اختیار کریں گے اس کا انتظار کرنا چاہیے اور قتل پر شور مچانے والی این جی اوز اور غیرملکی طاقتوں کو اسلام پر حملے کرنے کی بجائے خود اپنا جائزہ لینا چاہیے۔ ایک مسلمان معاشرے کی ہیئت ترکیبی کو سمجھنا ضروری ہے۔ رسالت مآب سے عقیدت ومحبت ایمان کا لازمی جزو ہے اور ان کی ذات اور اس سے متعلق قوانین کو گستاخانہ الفاظ کا ہدف بنانا انتہائی غیر ذمہ دارانہ عمل ہے۔
اس موقع پر یہ امر بھی پیش نظر رکھنا چاہیے کہ گستاخیِ رسول کی سزا اسلامی معاشروں میں روز اول سے قتل ہی ہے۔ تاریخ اسلامی کے عظیم ہیرو صلاح الدین ایوبیؒ نے زندگی بھر کبھی کسی جنگی قیدی کو ذرا برابر بھی سزا نہیں دی تھی۔ وہ ایسا رحیم وشفیق تھا کہ دشمنوں کے لیے بھی اس کے دل میں نرمی وگداز تھا۔ اس نے یورپ کے ایک شہزادے راجر کو اپنی تلوار سے قتل کیا تھا کیونکہ اس نے نبی اکرم صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کی قبر مبارک اکھاڑنے اور مدینہ کی اینٹ سے اینٹ بجانے کی ہرزہ سرائی کی تھی۔ غازی صلاح الدین ایوبیؒ نے فرمایا تھا کہ :”اگر میں نے اسے اپنی تلوار سے موت کے گھاٹ نہ اتارا تو اپنے آقا کو روزِ محشر کیا منہ دکھا¶ں گا؟

Mahmoud Abbas, the beleaguered head of the Palestinian Authority, has finally but belatedly admitted that the so-called Peace process with Israel has completely failed and that the Palestinian people will have to seek an alternative to it.

In a speech in Ramallah Thursday evening, Abbas rightly blamed Israel for the collapse of the political process, saying that the PA had carried out “all our commitments and obligations” while Israel continued to steal Palestinian land and build Jewish settlements.

The 74-year-old Fatah leader said he decided not to seek a second term as PA Chairman, citing the failure of peace talks with Israel and the Israeli refusal to end the occupation that started in 1967.

He cited America’s embrace of Israeli rejectionism, especially with regard to Jewish settlement expansion, and the so-far unsuccessful efforts to reach national reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, as the main reasons for his decision.

In short, Abbas blamed everyone for his failure, except himself.

Indeed, from the very inception of his “presidency,”!!!! Abbas sought to appease the Israelis and the Americans in ways that seriously undermined Palestinian national dignity, making our enemy and its guardian-ally overseas view the PA leadership as a quisling entity.

Abbas and cohorts allowed an American general to train and “build” Palestinian “national forces” in accordance with a manifestly treasonous doctrine whereby the Palestinian struggle against the Israeli occupation was considered “acts of terror.”

Keith Dayton inculcated our sons with the poisoned belief that Israel was the friend and Hamas was the enemy.

Eventually, the Americans cajoled and encouraged some ambitious and careerist-minded Fatah leaders to try a military coup against the democratically elected government in Gaza, which eventually led to the enduring showdown between Fatah and Hamas.

But instead of seeking genuine reconciliation with Hamas, the Abbas leadership stopped short of forging a brazen alliance with the Israeli occupation army against Palestinian resistance, mainly in order to obtain a certificate of good conduct from the Israelis and Americans.

We all remember that infamous treacherous encounter between Abbas’s generals and Israeli army commanders at Beit El near Ramallah in September, 2008, when the highest ranking Palestinian security commander in the West Bank told his Zionist colleagues that “we are allies against terror” and that “we have one common enemy, and the name of that enemy is Hamas.”

These remarks were not merely a slip of the tongue on the part of the Abbas’s leadership.
They were translated and are still being translated into policy in every street and corner in the West Bank where the PA security forces have been waging an harsh inquisition against Hamas’s supporters.

This inquisition, which is continuing unabated, saw the imprisonment and torture of thousands of innocent people and the death of many.

The PA connivance with Israel culminated earlier this year during the Nazi-like Israeli onslaught against Gaza when the PA hoped that the Jewish Wehrmacht would finish off Hamas and restore the Gaza Strip to the Ramallah Junta on a silver platter.

Abbas’s sins are not confined to the post-2006 elections plots and machinations against Hamas, such as encouraging the west to keep up and even tighten the blockade of Gaza and encouraging the Egyptian leadership to seal the Rafah border-crossing for the purpose of strangling the coastal enclave’s 1.5 million inhabitants in the hope that they would rise up against Hamas.

His management of the futile peace talks with Israel was decidedly scandalous. Often behaving like Alice in Wonderland, Abbas on numerous occasion gave his people the impression that peace was around the corner and that Ehud Olmert, the hero of the virtual genocide against Gaza , was an honest peace partner.

The kissing parties involving Abbas and Olmert in West Jerusalem made many people in Palestine as well as the outside world think that Israel was finally coming to terms with legitimate Palestinian rights and that the establishment of a viable Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital was only a matter of a few months.

Needless to say, all these hectic but disingenuous activities, misleadingly termed “peace talks,” were taking place while Israeli bulldozers were pulverizing more Palestinian land, farms and orchards.

During these chummy chats, Abbas never really insisted on a full and total stoppage of Jewish settlement expansion, the malignant cancer devouring the remainder of the West Bank , nor did he insist on determining the end-game of the protracted process.

Hence, his stupidity, naivety, and misplaced trust of Israeli intentions got him where he is now. He has none but himself to blame.

Many Palestinian and Arab leaders had advised him not to be duped and deceived by the Israelis into succumbing to a vague and lengthy process that would allow Israel to create more facts in the West Bank and East Jerusalem .

However, he nearly always refused to listen, insisting that the “peace process” was the Palestinians’ “only strategy.”

And when a Palestinian journalist asked him a few months ago what he would do if the peace process failed, he shamelessly said that the alternative to the peace process was the peace process.

Abbas claimed in his speech that the door was still open for the “two-state solution.” However, a day earlier, Saeb Ureikat, a key political advisor to Abbas, was quoted as saying that time was becoming too late for a Palestinian state and that the Palestinian leadership would have to be honest and frank with the Palestinian masses in this regard.

It is hard to think how Abbas can redeem and rectify some of his blunders. Some of his sins, such as the security coordination with Israel , can never be forgiven.

But Abbas can still embark on some daring steps to salvage things before it is too late.

At the top of these steps should be the orderly dismantling of the Palestinian Authority under whose rubric the national Palestinian cause is being liquidated.

Failure to do so, under whatever pretexts and excuses, would only mean legitimizing the colonial Israeli scheme and capitulating to the status quo.

Let us get rid of the big lie and confront ourselves with the all too-clear fact that the colonialist Zionist occupation of our country never really receded and that the Oslo Agreement was a deception from A to Z. We must tell our people that the PA is not a phase toward liberation from Zionist tyranny, as we have been told, but is rather an instrument for the liquidation of the Palestinian cause.

Is Abbas willing to face reality? Or does he need another15 years of deception and lies to realize what every Palestinian child knows thoroughly well.
By: Khalid Amayreh in Ramallah
[ 06/11/2009 - 12:22 AM ]

Steps Against State And Constitution

The foremost responsibility of the parliament and the government formed in the wake of the February 2008 elections was to undo Pervez Musharraf’s November 3, 2007 anti-constitution and anti-state action so as to salvage the judiciary from the harm caused by this step. Surprisingly, however, the parliament has neither declared it void nor validated it with necessary amendments. This means that the country is being run under the dark clouds of an unconstitutional and unlawful step, but neither the political leadership nor the parliament realize that. Entire criticism and protests from the nation, the opposition parties’, the media, besides the continuing lawyers’ movement have gone unheeded by those in power.

Continuation of Musharraf’s Policies

The PPP’s role during the year has been highly disappointing. Apparently, Mr. Zardari and his coterie who came to power through a deal in the name of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), with the blessings of the U.S. and Britain, is spending all its energies to protect its selfish interests, turning its back on the constitution, the Charter of Democracy, agreements with the PML(N) and even the public mandate in the elections, and pursuing Musharraf’s policies shamelessly. On all important posts, Mr. Zardari has appointed individuals who have been serving his personal interests but had no role in the political struggle. He indulged in full scale maneuvering for his election to the office of the president. After election, he has failed to fulfill the constitutional requirement to be an impartial personality and a symbol of the federation, by retaining the party office. Along with that, he has grabbed all the powers Gen (rtd). Musharraff had enjoyed after suspending the constitution. Mr. Zardari hasn’t declared his assets so far in spite of the public demand. Instead, he continues wangling for which he is notorious not only within the country but all over the world. Practically, he is playing the role of the chief executive. All the decisions are being taken neither by the parliament, nor the cabinet, but at the President House. The provincial governors are mere tools. Mr. Zardari’s mode of governance has shaken the foundations of the political system, disturbing the entire system of power distribution and the balance of power.

Two Steps Ahead In US Service

Mr. Zardari has gone two steps ahead of Gen. Pervez Musharraf in the fulfillment of the U.S. agenda, with the result that the chance of a change in the US-Pakistan relations after Mr. Obama’s election has been lost and the U.S. hold on our national affairs has increased. There was a considerably increase in the drone attacks last year and now it has been revealed that the drones have been attacking with the connivance of Islamabad and were flying from within this country as revealed by the head of the US Senate Intelligence Committee. A deep study of the Google maps has confirmed the presence of a US airbase at Wadh in Kharan tehsil, on the Sindh-Baluchistan border where the drones have been parked. These drones are controlled by the US central command and are being used to kill the Pakistanis even the Kurrum agency besides north and south Waziristan and Bajaur. Thus the Zardari government is equally involved in this bloody game and Islamabad’s verbal protest is only a farce.

The U.S. pressure on Islamabad to “ do more” is continuing and the US representative Bal Broke has further increased the American pressure as there were two drone attacks during his visit. The situation has been worsened with the Advisor for Interior and Mr. Zardari’s right hand man accepting the Indian allegations in regard to the Mumbai attacks, a dangerous US-India plan.

Pakistan today lacks a leadership that can take a firm stand in the country’s interest and dissociate itself from the US agenda. US research institutions today acknowledge Taliban’s control over 72 per cent of the Afghanistan territory. Further, that the year 2008 has been the hardest year for the US and NATO troops as also for the Afghan people. A United Nations representative officially confirmed 40 per cent increase in the non-combatant civilian killings in Afghanistan. As a result, 2118 innocent Afghans were martyred in the year 2008, out of which 552 had died in aerial attacks. According to the annual report of a UN body on citizens’ security, the US, NATO and Afghan army had killed 620 civilians during the year 2007 and there was 31 per cent increase in the civilian killings during the year 2008.

The situation in FATA and Swat is no better as 5000 innocent citizens have been killed by the Pakistan armed forces during last 17 months while 4 lakh people have shifted from Bajaur and another 6 lakh from Swat to adjoining areas.

Statistics show that the year 2008 has been the worst year for the country in regard to terrorism. According to the latest report of the Pak Institute for Peace Studies, (BBC ,Dated 19,2009) during the year 2008, the terror(including official t error) killings rose up to 8000 while another 9500 were injured. The report said, this shows a 700 per cent increase in the terrorist killings.

The highest number of terrorist activities during the year were in the NWFP with over 1000 incidents, followed by Baluchistan ( 642 incidents ), Tribal areas( 385), the Punjab ( 35) Sindh ( 25), Islamabad( 7), Azad Kashmir ( 4) and Northern areas ( 1) incidents. . This bloody tale is exclusively about terrorism which the authorities claim to eliminate by force and it does not include the incidents of murders, rape, suicide and other crimes. A Human Rights Commission report said there was sharp rise in suicide cases, the average above one hundred per month.

This is the law and order position in the country while the Zardari-Gilani government continues its policies that are a total failure. A report of the Institute for Peace said, since 2003 when this policy was started, a total of 13,000 people have lost their lives in the country, which was higher than the killings in Iraq an Afghanistan.

An Amnesty International report on February 13,2009, said, there had been 1200 killings only in Swat while over 5 lakh people have been rendered homeless. According to the report, ”The Taliban have insulted the life and rights of the people whereas the Pakistan security forces have violated the basic human rights which they appear to be protecting.” (BBC, February 13,2009).

Under these circumstances, whenever the government has tried to negotiate with its people and enter an agreement to restore peace, the US felt annoyed, and it sabotaged the peace agreements by increasing the drone attacks. Such has been the US role in this so called war on terror. The US, NATO and India, all three have opposed the Swat agreement signed in the middle of February, for the enforcement of the Shariah ( Islamic laws), and the restoration of peace, but Mr. Zardari is reluctant to sign it while his spokesman is trying to complicate the matter. The ANP chief Asfand Yar Wali in an interview with the BBC said, there was nothing like the enforcement of the Shariah, and that there had only been an amendment in a 1999 law, whereas ANP Secretary General Zahid Khan has repeatedly said they have made an agreement for the enforcement of the Shariah.

The government, in fact, has lost the confidence of the masses while the sanctity of the pacts and agreements has been eroded, the worst example being Mr. Zardari’s going back on his commitments for the reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. With this record, any government statement or agreement carries no weight. Accordingly, the Jamaat e Islami, despite being in agreement on the enforcement of the Shariah, has declined to be a party in this game an unreliable government is playing in the NWFP- a game that is going on since the Musharraf rule.

Supremacy Of Parliament Wither ?

The role of the PPP and its allies in regard to the revival of the constitution and the supremacy of the parliament has also been disappointing. The constitutional amendment Package introduced by the Law minister in the parliament (on which we have already given our detailed comments), is only an attempt to further distort the constitution instead of the revival of the 1999 position. This reflects the government’s real intentions and calls for a fresh public struggle, which may start with the Lawyers long march on 12th of March or their sit-in but the lawyers’ community should try to take along all political parties and the civil society institutions. Besides, they should not entirely depend on protest as make proper planning with the cooperation of all democratic minded forces. The government and its allies are determined to sabotage this movement. Nevertheless, care should be taken to forestall any activity by an adventurer in the wake of the movement for the restoration of democracy and the revival of the constitution.

Ill -Governance

The government record of governance is highly disappointing. The Zardari-Gilani government has the credit of forming the largest cabinet in the country’s history, the average annual expenditure on each minister is around 40 million rupees. This poor country now has 62 federal ministers, besides 15 others given the ministerial status and an army of parliamentary secretaries and advisors. In spite of all this, governance is no where in sight. There is no coordination between the government circles. The Foreign Minister and the Defense Minister often contradict each other, the Advisor for Interior strikes a different note while the Information Minster keeps on her record of false statements. Corruption and commissions are rampant and the Transparency International has declared the outgoing year as worse on this score as compared to the previous years. All those who have to deal with the high ups in the government have this bitter experience.

No Coordinated Economic Policy

The government performance on the economic front is still worse. The nation was gifted with three Finance ministers within a year while the Finance secretary was changed four times during this period. Despite that, there has been no solid step in the economic field except that the country has been driven into the IMF net once again. The compliance of the IMF conditions has badly affected the productivity in the country. The State Bank discount rate remains at 15 per cent which has closed the door of fresh investment. The oil prices in the world market have fallen from 148 dollars to 36 and 40 dollars per barrel, but the government has not lowered the prices proportionately and is plundering 80 billion from the masses only on this single item. The supply position of electricity, gas and water is deplorable. Load shedding of electricity has made life miserable and also caused great harm to agriculture. The industrial production has comedown by more than 6 per cent. The textile industry which accounts for 60 per cent of the country’s industrial sector, faces a serious crisis. According to a survey, 30 to 40 per cent of textile mills have been closed or are functioning below capacity. The country’s imports continue to increase while the exports are on the decline. The burden of foreign loans has jumped from 36 billion dollars to 50 billion dollars. The IMF was initially approached for 7.6 billion dollars, of which 50 per cent has already been received, while efforts are on for additional 4 billion dollars. With that, the burden of IMF loans alone would rise to 10, 11 billion dollars. Flight of the capital from the country continues and unemployment is on the rise. Latest surveys place 40 to 45 per cent of the population, i.e. between 6 to 7 billion people below poverty line.

Therefore, the government scheme for financial assistance won’t provide relief to more than one eighth of the deserving people. This is besides the corruption and political interference in the process.

The biggest issue of the moment is the absence of correct realization of the situation and that of a multi dimensional, coordinated economic policy. Privatization that has become a tool for corruption and transfer of national assets to foreigners on throw away prices, has been started again which will have long term effects on the country’s economy. During the year, the rupee value in the international market has slashed by 25 per cent, because of which the burden of foreign loans has increased by 700 billion rupees. The cost of imports is rising but there is no increase in exports which are unable to meet the demand. The government doesn’t seem to have any control on the national economy and the situation in foreign affairs as well as internal affairs is all the same, exactly as the poet says:

Tan hama’ dagh dagh shud, punba kuja kuja naham ( The whole of my body is full of injuries. So, where should I apply the balm and where not?)

Enemy Designs

In a situation when the masses are dissatisfied on the government performance and about the democratic process, some people have taken to violence and bloodshed while some sit idle, disappointed. However, this is the time to work out a concrete policy for accountability, correct appraisal of the dangers lying ahead, reforming the society, organizing the nation and mobilizing it towards its destination. This country is a gift of Almighty Allah and a trust in the hands of the nation. An analysis of the plans of American and European institutions would reveal that Pakistan is their only target because of its Islamic identity and its nuclear capability. The U.S. is out to change the political map of this region, while India and Israel are playing the key role in this connection. They have given years 2015, 2020 and 2025 for the realization of their heinous designs. The US game plan is to alter the Pakistan map and occupy its nuclear capability. In Afghanistan, the U.S., India and even Mosad, all are active.

The Mumbai incident too is linked with this chain and continuous US attacks in Pakistan aim at pushing this country in a direction where the international community could declare Pakistan a failed state, and find an excuse for capture its nuclear assets under some United Nations decree. On the other hand, they want to spoil Pakistan’s image to an extent that this country stands isolated and ground is prepared for such a nefarious international activity. The country’s armed forces have been driven into an unending war on the Western borders and every attempt to pull the army out of this mire is being foiled. Mutual trust and harmony between the nation and the armed forces stands shaken and any delay in reviving this relationship would be suicidal.

The army leadership should open its eyes now because on one hand, the army has been dragged into a dirty game against its own nation while on the other, the armed forces and the I.S.I. are being targeted systematically. The latest in this direction is an important book titled “The Inheritance, The World Obama Confronts”, written by Mr. David E. Sanger, a journalist of the New York Times, targeting the Pakistan army and, especially the I.S.I. At the same time, New Delhi also continues to involve the I.S.I. in the Mumbai incident.

This is a delicate situation and the people as well as the leadership- both political and military -will have to resolve the issues with utmost care and prudence. We would suggest a three- dimensional approach to achieve this end.

1.Pulling the Pakistan army out of the U.S. war on terror and preparing it to meet the real threats to the country,
2.Forestalling any attempt to involve the armed forces in politics again on the Bangladesh pattern, on the excuse of worsening of political situation. The army’s political role has badly damaged the character and the image of the armed forces, and this door should be closed for ever for being destructive both for the country and the armed forces.
3.A new national security paradigm should be worked out envisaging the preparation of the armed forces for facing the real threats to the country, its training and planning purely and exclusively on national security requirements,protecting the armed forces from US interference and adopting timely measures to check all American plans in this regard.

Need For National Reconciliation

The critical conditions facing the country require a true national reconciliation instead of confrontation- a reconciliation that is not meant to cover up corruption and political/ economic crimes, but one that is based on principles and that can put the country on the path of democracy. This would require the following measures:

1.Immediate annulment of the November 3, 2007 criminal step thereby restoring the judiciary as on this day, in the light of the unanimous decision of the genuine seven-member Supreme Court bench on Nov.3.
2.Accountability of Gen (rtd) Pervez Musharraf allowing him full opportunity for his defense, and taking him to task for his unconstitutional steps and political misdeeds.
3.Creation of an atmosphere for a true national reconciliation with the consultation of all political parties, uniting all national elements under a new agreement based on the 1973 constitution in its original form, evolving a consensus on the revival of the constitution, supremacy of the parliament and equitable distribution of powers and resources.
4.De-linking the country from the “US war on terror”, and restructuring of a new paradigm for national security on correct lines.
5.Setting up an interim government at national level for a fixed period and providing an opportunity to the masses to elect their new leadership in the light of the national agreement and the un-amended constitution.
6.Evolving a multi-dimensional, coordinated and realistic economic policy based on the concept of self reliance, preparing an economic program in consultation with the country’s economic wizards with the intent to utilize the national resources for collective national objectives and the welfare of the masses.
7.Seeking the solution of all political issues through mutual understanding, dialogue and political means ,

]]> http://jamaat.org/beta/blog/?feed=rss2&p=35 30 http://jamaat.org/beta/blog/?p=30 http://jamaat.org/beta/blog/?p=30#comments Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:22:49 +0000 admin http://www.jamaat.org/new/blog/?p=30 Syed Munawar Hasan

All praise be to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. Peace and blessings are upon His messengers, especially their seal Muhammad, his worthy companions, members of his household and all the truthful, the martyrs and the righteous of the Ummah.

May I take this opportunity to remind myself and all the associates and admirers of the Islamic movement to fear Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, remember the phenomenon of death, prefer the next world to the present, and cherish in our hearts the love of Prophet Muhammad salla Allahu ‘alaihi wasallam and follow him in his footsteps.

Leadership, whatever its scope or stature, is a task so serious, delicate and demanding. It is replete with toil and trials. If it befalls us unsought, we can rightly hope for Allah’s help and blessings. This notion made me accept the office of the emir. At this juncture, I remember the words of the first caliph Hadrat Abu Bakr Siddique, who said, “O people! I have been appointed your emir; I am in no way better than or superior to you. So, if I tread upon the right path, assist me, and if I deviate, put me straight. Truth is a trust and falsehood a betrayal. Obey me as long as I obey Allah and His Messenger; and if I disobey them, you are not obliged to follow my commands.” In the same way the statement made by Hadrat ‘Umar Farooq, when he assumed khilafah, is also very touching.

The Jamat-e-Islami’s leadership may not be taken as the leadership of the Ummah. Yet this Jama’at is a very significant and major movement of the preset era. It was launched for the revival of Islam and the establishment of the Islamic order. After Syed Abul A’ala Maududi, Mian Tufail Muhammad, and Qazi Hussain Ahmad, the members of the Jama’at have laid this burden on my shoulders. Despite a deep sense of humility and inability, I have taken the oath to honour the Jamaat’s tradition and follow the dictates of its constitution. I hope Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, in His infinite Grace, will help me and answer your prayers, reward your sincere advice, cooperation and blessings.

The Jama’at was established in 1941. It was re-organized after the partition. Since then, its objective has been to call the people towards worship of Allah, and to bring Islam and the nation out of insipidity and subjugation, and lead it towards a life of dignity, domination, power and glory.

This is a movement for the establishment of Islam as a complete code of life. It does not aim at implementing religion in a partial or shallow manner.

It aims at establishing the Deen in its complete, correct and comprehensive form. This is the aim and objective and the sole mission of our life. We do not consider this task as one of the many, rather we consider it as the real, the basic and the only reason to live for. We seek in it alone the way to Jannah and the pleasure of Allah subhanahu wa ta‘ala. As Maulana Maududi said,” We do all other things to live, but live to win the pleasure of Allah and for the establishment of the Deen.

We believe that individual, partial, and scattered efforts for this cause cannot be fruitful. A collective and comprehensive, multidimentional and integrated, continuous and coherent effort is required. It means the establishment of a party is a prerequisite for the establishment of deen. Therefore, we did set up this organization. The Jamat e Islami’s constitution and its institutions fulfil the need for the establishment of a Jama’at and the Jama’at itself aims at furthering the cause of the establishment of the deen itself. As is generally known, the Jama’;at e Islami does not belong to a certain ethnic or linguistic group, or a clan. It does not discriminate on the basis of colour, race, sect or school of thought. Our message is based upon none of these differences. This is an ideological party. It calls towards Islamic order and ideology, and towards Muslim society and culture. This party does not even call people towards its emir, rather it talks about pure and complete code of life. It reminds the Muslims of the demands of their deen and tells non Muslims that the Qur’an is addressed to them as well. It has been sent from your God and ours and yet Muhammad salla Allahu alaihi wasallam came as the light, mercy and guidance for all human beings. Let us illuminate our lives with this light. The concept of the establishment of deen has risen from the debris of our socio-political institutions that fell apart and lost their relgious zeal and backing.

It is the duty of the Ummah to establish the deen anew and invite the world to benefit from its blessings. Unfortunately most of the people remain indifferent to this great cause. Therefore, we have formed this party according to the following verse of the Quran and are continuously striving to achieve it. “

In this age of information, the affairs of the world are common knowledge. The speed and scope of the mass media have unveiled everything. You have to shut your eyes and plug your ears to enjoy ignorance. Otherwise, the neo imperialism, its awful agenda, its nefarious designs, its action plans, long and short term strategy, its tactics and weaponry are all too obvious. The details are neither pertinent nor necessary. What is needed is that we wake up the Ummah as well as all the inhabitants of this earth, warn them of the changes in the offing and prepare them to face the upcoming challenges.

Everybody knows everybody in this global village. We are inter-related, interdependent. It is no more possible to be a hermit, and retire to a life of seclusion and oblivion. We change and effect changes. We impress our fellow folks and are in return charmed by them and their ways. In a world so well connected, it has become all the more important that we keep our eyes open, remain sensitive to our surroundings, and assume the leadership role. If you are steadfast, your struggle is coherent and organised, your presence felt at the grass root level, you enjoy the support of the masses, you are devoted to your mission, you have a clear vision, strategy, devotion, trust in Allah, unprecedented discipline, passion to donate most of your time, money and capabilities for the movement, and if you are endowed with the attributes of patience and wisdom, the goals are so gloriously achieved. The goal of spreading the Deen. The goal of establishing the Deen, the goal of winning the pleasure of Allah.

We are opposed to none. To none we cherish ill will. We are not revengeful either. Rather we feel for humanity, we are its well-wishers, that is why we invite all the people of the world to peace and salvation, irrespective of their race or colour of their skin, their gender or ethnic group, their religion or their sect. Our Deen(Faith) gives a special kind of independence to all human beings. We respect this independence and demand the same respect for our right to freedom. If anybody wants to usurp this freedom of ours, we reserve the right to defend it. Muslims, esp., the Muslims of Pakistan have a right to defend themselves against the imperialist attacks they have been subjected to and it is the duty of the peoples of the world to support us in this cause.

Winds of change have always been ravaging the world Our Lord created. But the present speed of the winds of change, the appearance in quick succession of events of extraordinary nature was not known before. In this borrowed and brief life of ours, we ourselves have witnessed the making and unmaking of countries, the rise and fall of super powers, the quick acquisition by man of Cosmic resources, sparrows grappling with eagles, and meltdown of huge and immense seats of power. In the last few decades, we have seen the arrogant and the conceited fall upon their knees, the invincible beaten, and the seemingly destined has been successfully fended.

Yes, in the last few decades, the world has seen all this, and in sheer amazement. But we are not amazed, because we believe: “Every thing is bound to perish save His Eternal Self. (Al-Qasas 28:88) and “For it is by turns that We apportion unto men such days (of fortune and misfortune). (Aal-e-‘Imran 3:140)” (Qur’an 3:140)

Pakistan enjoys a strategic geographical existence, but it draws its life and vitality from its ideological roots and identity. The integrity and stability, the dignity and development of this country depend upon our attachment to Islam, the fraternity, the socio-political order, the culture and civilization that it rewards its believers with. Whatever is being done against Islam and Islamic values, even if it is done under foreign pressure is tantamount to undermining the foundations of the country and destroying national cohesion. We must make our people understand this phenomenon, prevent them from involving in any such activities, and wake them up to face the challenge of time. It is an uphill task. We need to have strong faith in our stand point, our ideology, the methodology we have adopted and the struggle we are putting in. We need to have in the movement a faith that can give hearts strength, delight and a deep sense of contentment.

“Say: “Behold, my Sustainer has guided me onto a straight way through an ever true faith – the way of Abraham who turned away from all that is false and was not of those who ascribe divinity to aught beside Him.” Say, “Behold my prayer, and (all) my acts of worship, and my living and my dying are for God alone the sustainer of all the worlds in whose divinity none has a share: for thus had I been bidden – and I shall (always) be foremost among those who surrender them selves unto Him (Sura-al-an’aam: 161-163)

Come, let us fill up the prevalent ideological, religious and spiritual void with belief, devotion, and good morals. Let us help the seekers of peace and salvation to satiate themselves at the clean and blessed fountains of divine guidance. Let us show mankind the path to the miraculous recipe prescribed by the Mercy for Mankind. Humanity as a whole suffers at the hands of the neo imperialists. The Jama‛at-e-Islami has successfully completed around seven decades of its life. It is run according to the collective wisdom of its members and mutual consultation. To bring about a sudden change in this system is neither possible nor beneficial. Yet, we are obliged to meet the demands and challenges of the changing times. This we must do without compromising our principles and our time honored traditions. I will try my level best to run the Jama‛at in consultation with my seniors, associates and well-wishers. I will insha Allah take appropriate steps to achieve the party objectives. In this context we are establishing a new department at our headquarters to study and consider every single suggestion or advice, that comes from our friends and well- wishers.

We shall try, as far as possible, to incorporate them into the Jama‛at’s system synchronizing them with the collective wisdom and consultative patterns of our Party. Yet, I should remind you that it is possible to adopt only a limited number of suggestions and pieces of advice.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala help us understand and be responsive to the rising demands and emerging challenges of time and circumstances_ the challenges faced by the Ummah and the Islamic Movement. May Allah give us a faith stronger than the mountains to face these challenges; may Allah give us the strength to change the direction of events, according to our plan, with poise and profound understanding. May Allah open the hearts of his slaves to the truth and beauty of our invitation, clarity of our vision and the objectives of our movement. May He transform our failings into strengths, forgive our lapses, and be pleased with us and keep us pleased with Him. May He show us the fruits and blessings of our struggle and make us happy. May He reward us with the recommendation and proximity of the Merciful Messenger salla Allahu ‘alaihi wasallam. It is my humble request that you pray to Allah subhana wata’ala to grant me health and energy, increase my knowledge and understanding of people and their affairs, to purify my faith and morals. May He bless me with profundity of thought, the art of making quick and informed decisions, and the power of implementing them. May He bless me with the best of friends and advisers so that this new Amir of yours succeeds in leading the Jama‛at to its goal, i.e., the establishment of the Deen of Allah, the Lord of the Universe. Amen.

O our sustainer accept thou this from us: for, verily, thou alone art all hearing, all knowing, and accept our repentance for verily thou alone are the acceptor of repentance, the dispenser of grace (Surah Al-Baqara: 127,128)