Pak Feminists, Free Your Colonized Minds Before 'Azadi' March

Chanting Chilean protest song "A Rapist In Your Path" in Karachi

Organizers of the upcoming Aurat March promoting Western solutions to Pakistani women's problems should be required to watch popular American tabloid talk shows from the turn of the century.  

These (addictive!) talk shows like Maury and Sally are available on the Internet and explore the horrendous problems that began seriously afflicting American families just a generation after the 1960's and 1970's women's liberation movement succeeded in mainstreaming miniskirts, sex outside of marriage, and abortion as part of their struggle for equal rights. 

Some of the episodes are "Five Men DNA Tested For My Daughter...Who's Her Dad?" "I'm Only 12...and I'm Pregnant," "Mom Stop Lying To Me...Is This Man My Father?" "Woman Needs Child Support, Man Insists He's Not the Child's Father," and "Abortion Survivor Meets Her Birth Mother" to name a few.

Maury

Of course, these issues are as old as time but they've become widespread now and guess who's suffering the most: women. Articles like "Liberated and Unhappy," "Gains In Women's Rights Haven't Made Women Happier," and "Has Modern Feminism Failed Us?" in the Western media reflect this reality.

It's unfortunate that 70 years on, organizers of the Aurat March in Pakistan are following in the footsteps of the failed sexual revolution of Western feminists. These Pakistani feminists want to create a society where women can wear whatever they want, have sex with whomever they want (male or female, married or unmarried), abort unwanted pregnancies whenever they want, all without any legal, religious, and social restrictions or judgment all the while ignoring the devastating consequences it will have on Pakistani society like it had on the West.

Indeed, Aurat March organizers have no qualms about shamelessly copying their Western counterparts to a T, from the date and name of the demonstration to the placards, lingo, and activities on display that day. 

For example, American socialists first commemorated Women's Day on March 8, 1907, and it was picked up later by the feminist movement in 1967 and then the United Nations in 1975. Even the name Aurat March, held for the first time in Pakistan last year, is the Urdu translation of Women's March, which was organized by American women in 2017 in response to the election of U.S. President Trump. 

While their manifesto incorporates some important local issues like ending enforced disappearances and freedom for Kashmiris, its demands for Pakistani society to accept the queer lifestyle and sanctify abortions completely contradicts the principles of most Pakistani women. In fact, slogans chanted last year like "Mera Jism, Meri Marzi" (My body, My choice) is from the mouths of American abortions rights organizations like Planned Parenthood and repulsive to most Pakistani women. Even the characters on last year's Aurat March placards, like Rosie the Rivetor who is an American cultural icon of WWII, were stolen from the West. Couldn't the organizers find any inspiring Pakistani sheroes to display on their posters?

"My Body, My Choice" placard at Women's March in Washington 2017

This year will likely be more of the same. In February the Aurat March team released an Urdu version of a Chilean protest song called "A Rapist In Your Path" and performed it in Karachi with the same style and movements done in the Americas and Europe. It's sad that they couldn't come up with their own original anthem.

Nothing can explain this self-destructive aping behavior other than that these women suffer from a severe case of Stockholm syndrome, where the oppressed fall head-over-heels in love with their oppressor. Aurat Marchers emulate everything related to their Western dominators, who not only once ruled, exploited, and raped their lands but continue to colonize their minds through education, language, and multi-media.

No doubt, like all women around the world, Pakistani women suffer tremendous difficulties that need proper solutions.  If Aurat Marchers only focused on offering organic fixes to issues afflicting the common Pakistani woman, they would gain more respect, support, and long-term success. One of their own, Pakistani feminist and poet Kishwar Naheed, made that same suggestion when she criticized last year's march for not reflecting Pakistani "culture and traditions." 

Hopefully, Pakistani women who have healthy decolonized minds, who honor their country's religious ideals, and who work year-round for the betterment of Pakistani society will come out on March 8 in a counter demonstration to show them how it's done.

If you look, you're sure gonna find
Throughout mankind's history
A Colonized Mind
The one in power makes law
Under which the colonized fall
Without God, it's just the blind leading the blind
--"Colonized Mind" by Prince

Empire Can Form A UNITED States or a European UNION But No Alliance for Asians?

If three black men can't congregate on the street corner without American cops showing up to bust them, five Asian countries with a combined population of 2 billion attempting to form an alliance better beware.

Iranian ambassador to Pakistan Mohammad Ali Hosseini suggested a union between Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Russia, and China to foster development and progress during a speech at the Islamabad Strategic Studies Institute Tuesday, and already Wednesday Western media outlets were in a "panic." "World War 3 Panic: US alert As Iran Call for Alliance with Pakistan, Russia, and China," screamed one headline. 

In actuality, the West doesn't have a problem with black folks or Eastern countries getting together, it's when they do so independently and without Empire's leadership or control. No doubt, Empire will do everything to prevent this bloc from forming, but unity can be accomplished through wisdom and perseverance.

Saudis Bar Iran From Monday’s OIC Meeting on Palestine

Will Pakistan Boycott It For “Dividing the Ummah”?

The Pakistani nation suffered much humiliation in December when its Prime Minister Imran Khan ditched in the eleventh hour a summit in Kuala Lampur to discuss Muslim issues after being summoned by Saudi Arabia and told to skip the meeting. Saudis said the Jeddah-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation should be the only platform to discuss problems afflicting the Muslim world, and the Kuala Lampur summit, which included Saudi rivals Iran, Turkey, and Qatar, was sabotaging Islamic solidarity and would split  the ummah, according to Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmoud Qureshi.

Now that the Saudis are deepening rifts in the ummah  by refusing to issue visas to the Irani delegation planning to attend the February 4 emergency OIC meeting on Palestine, will Pakistan boycott OIC like it did Kuala Lampur? Of course not, because the Pakistani government does not make decisions on principles but rather under pressure from America and its Arab puppets like Saudi Arabia. Khan is in Malaysia now in a face-saving trip that is too little too late.

The absence of Iran from the OIC meeting is a blow for the Palestinian cause, and it should concern Pakistan as the OIC response to Palestine will be a precursor to how it handles the Kashmir crisis.

Trump's State of the Union Tuesday to Announce "Great American Comeback" (from the Middle East?)

Will President Trump's February 4 State of the Union address on the so-called "Great American Comeback" be about American troops finally coming back from the Middle East? Now that would be great!

Some observers say the military-industrial complex embedded in the U.S. government and pressure from Israel has been obstructing Trump's attempts to fulfill his campaign promise to end the "endless wars" in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan.  As a result, Trump's had to turn to the playbook of a "clown" in history to get things done this election year. That person is Bahlool, also known as "the wise fool of Baghdad," who was an honorable judge in ninth century Iraq. Bahlool pretended to go insane so he could gain public support for just causes without reprisal from the corrupt in power.

Optimistically speaking, everything Trump's been doing in Iraq since the New Year seems looney unless it's part of a circuitous plan to outmaneuver war hawks surrounding him and get U.S. troops home by hook or by crook.  Trump killed off top military commanders of regional super power Iran and neighboring Iraq at Baghdad airport on Januray 3 and then not only took responsibility but also taunted them by boasting, "I killed two birds with one stone." This got the only reaction expected from the proud Iranian leadership: We will avenge these deaths by expelling all U.S. forces from the Middle East. Iran's allies were equally irate and advised American military to go back or be sent home "in coffins." 

So far an American base in Iraq was destroyed, scores of U.S. troops injured, and an American military plane mysteriously crashed in Afghanistan that was reportedly carrying CIA officers who orchestrated the original assassinations. The Iraqi Parliament voted for the first time to expel U.S. forces from their country and millions of Iraqis have protested on the streets to demand the same. 

Trump's immediate reaction was tweeting "All is well!" and later trivializing American soldiers' traumatic brain injuries as "headaches," neither of which makes any sense. If Trump is like Bahlool, then he's talking and acting in code to outrage and wake up the masses to "bring 'em home." But if it turns out Trump's more like the Jester of Genocide with chaos, mayhem, and war on his mind, then the world is in serious trouble.

A Salute To Those Uniting Muslims Despite Backlash

A women I met on our Ziyarat Group trip last month told me this true story: Her family was nestled in their seats, ready to embark on their much-anticipated pilgrimage to Iraq when her husband called a relative to say good-bye.

"So you're going to Iraq to get a mutah (temporary marriage)?" came the reply on the other end from the chuckling professional, who like her husband is Sunni as are most of their family and friends.

"Um, no. That's not part of my school of thought," her husband replied, clearly shook up and spirits dampened. That's not the response he was expecting from a loved one who knew he was going to visit the sacred lands and resting places of important people connected to our beloved Prophet Muhammad (S).

That was a lower blow than usual but she said her spouse is used to everything from snarky remarks to personal attacks to shouting matches with family and friends because of his willingness to understand  and communicate other Islamic perspectives for the sake of unity among Muslims.

What a growing number of brave souls like her hubby realize is that unity is essential for Muslim survival, sticks and stones notwithstanding. Scholars, political leaders, and journalists in the Muslim world--though still a drop in the ocean--are slowly but surely making moves to unite the hearts of Muslims, a precursor to any type of alliance in fighting enemies and developing progress, With 27 million Muslims killed so far in the American War on Terror, isn't it time all Muslims follow the Quranic injunction: "And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided"? (3:103)

Unity is more important now that a Muslim leader, Iran's Supreme Leader Imam Sayyid Ali Khamanei, has publicly picked up the gauntlet in response to the American assassination of Irani General Qassim Suleimani and comrades and vowed to lead the region in expelling U.S. military forces. But Imam Khamanei also warned that "this ideal [unity] has dangerous enemies" because "Islam rejects oppression, domination, and arrogance." Opponents of Islam know better than Muslims themselves that differences are surmountable and all Muslims "would accept Iran as the leader of a new caliphate" to rid the region of "Israel and the West," as Zionist Eric Stakelbeck predicted in a 2011 article for Christian Broadcasting News.

Unfortunately, some of the most toxic enemies of unity come from within: Muslim friends, family, colleagues, and followers who mock and abuse those who encourage love, tolerance, and cooperation among Muslims for the sake of God. Imam Khamanei himself has faced hate from fellow Shias who claim he's appeasing Sunnis by encouraging Muslims to pray in each other's mosques and prohibiting Shias from insulting Sunni icons like wives and companions of Prophet Muhammad (S). 

Other examples:

• Liaqat Baloch, Deputy Amir of Jamaat -e- Islami poltical party in Pakistan, got attacked on Twitter by his own followers earlier this month for leading a delegation to Iran to pay condolences for the martyrdom of Suleimani, who they wrongly consider the architect of Sunni genocide in Syria. 

• Scholar Syed Jawad Naqvi, chancellor of Jamia Urwa-tul-Wusqa in Lahore, made many enemies amongst fellow ulema for allowing scholars of other sects to speak freely at his annual unity conference in November 2019. Opponents of Naqvi are sadly some of the crudest trolls on social media. 

• Popular Pakistani scholar Tariq Jameel, disparagingly called a "shia-lover" by some, was publicly chastised by scholars of his own school of thought and forced to answer humiliating questions in a July 2018 interview held to determine whether the news circulating on social media that he was converting and encouraging his followers to become Shia was true or not. 

• Palestinian leader Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas reportedly got heat from members of his own party for traveling to Iran to attend the funeral of Suleimani, who he hailed a martyr of Al Quds.

• Scholar Sheikh Ahmed Kerina of Al Azhar University in Egypt was temporarily suspended by university officials in 2014 for visiting a Shia seminary in Iran where he presented a project of cooperation between the two schools to combat extremism.
• Saudi Scholar Salman al-Awda has been imprisoned since 2017 by his government for encouraging reconciliation between Muslim countries after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, and Egypt imposed a boycott against Qatar for its close ties with Iran.  "May God harmonize between their hearts for the good of their people," was his fateful tweet.

In North America, scholars and intellectuals at the Institute for Contemporary Islamic Thought have  persevered for 40+ years to foster unity among Muslims, despite facing hate and rejection from other Muslims. These trailblazers include Zafar Bangash, president of Toronto's Islamic Society of York Region, Crescent magazine editor Afeef Khan, and scholar Imam Muhammad al-Asi, who has dedicated his life to bringing Muslims together through his Friday khutbahs given outside the Islamic Center of Washington. Imam Abdul Alim Musa of the Al Masjid Mosque in Washington D.C says he got kicked off the speaker circuit of Islamic conferences years ago for his support of the Islamic Revolution in Iran.

No doubt, mockery and ostracism hurt more when they come from those close to us. This work is not for the faint of heart. People who put their relationships, careers, and peace of mind on the line to unite the ummah per God's instructions need to be respected and honored.

Will Pakistan Be First To End US Dominance In Post-Suleimani Era?

While thronging Irani and Iraqi mourners stole the spotlight after Americans killed off their top generals, little global attention was paid to how much the assassination inflamed neighboring Pakistanis, perhaps enough to turn simmering anti-US sentiment into a revolution that finally casts off decades-long American dominance.

Iran's Supreme Leader Imam Sayyid Ali Khamanei and the rest of the Axis of Resistance vowed straight away to avenge the assassinations by "ending the corrupting presence of America in the region" and tens of thousands of Pakistani voices echoed the sentiment, even though their government itself refused to condemn the killings and apparently banned media from referring to the slain as martyrs.

Influential Pakistanis, including politicians, military officials, scholars, political activists, and journalists across the country, took it upon themselves to give bellicose speeches upbraiding American foreign policy while youth torched American flags and chanted anti-American slogans at rallies and women clutching babies in even the tiniest villages lit candles at vigils held to commemorate the January 3 assassinations of Irani General Qassim Suleimani and comrades.

"Pakistan is indebted to Hajj Suleimani," Allama Syed Jawad Naqvi, Chancellor of Jamia Urwa-tul-Wusqa, expounded at a gathering in Islamabad he helped organize to protest America's assassinations and policies in the region. After wreaking havoc in Iraq and Syria ISIS (Daesh) had announced its plans to move towards Pakistan and Afghanistan on its way to Iran, and some factions in Islamabad were ready to welcome it, Naqvi said. "But Hajj Suleimani put his hand on Daesh's neck and did not let it take a single step towards any other Muslim land. Why did they kill Hajj Suleimani into bits and pieces? Because he tore apart [America's] schemes in the region into bits and pieces."

Other prominent protestors:

• Pakistan Muslim League (N) Leader Khwaja Asif lambasted Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan during a Parliament session on January 6 for failing to stand by Iran. He accused Khan of making foreign policy decisions based on"fear" and "blackmail" from America and Saudi Arabia.

• In a GTV Network interview on January 10 former Pakistan National Assembly member Syed Raza Abidi of Pakistan's People's Party said he's returning to the political arena "because my country needs me," and he wants to "help defeat American plots" in the region. 

• Former Pakistani Army Chief Mirza Aslam Baig, whose picture with young Suleimani getting military training in Cherat, Pakistan, in 1989 is circulating on social media, called Suleimani a "friend" during a protest organized by Muslim Unity Forum in the nation's capital of Islamabad on June 5. He said "we should unite under the guidance of Allah and His Prophet Muhammad (S) and ready ourselves to challenge our enemy (American government and its foreign policies)."

• Thousands of Sunnis and Shias attended Murdabad America (Death to American Hegemony) rallies in major Pakistani cities in the days after the assassinations. Mufti Sayyid Ashiq Hussain said at the march to the American Consulate in Lahore: "America [government] is not only an enemy of Iran but also of Pakistan and all of the Muslim world. Pakistan should stand with Iran. This one martyrdom has united and awoken us all."

• Deputy Amir Jamaat-e-Islami Liaqat Baloch led an 8-member delegation to Iran on January 14 to offer condolences to Irani political and religious leaders. Baloch had spoken the previous week at the Islamabad rally. "We have to take revenge on the enemy's of Islam, humanity, and Muslim unity." Thirty-five religious organizations plan to meet soon in Lahore under the banner of the National Alliance for Religious Harmony to strategize on how to deal with "new threats to Islam."

Indeed, the assassinations may be the spark that burns down perennial American subjugation in Pakistan. This nation usually ranks top three in Pew polls for strongest anti-US sentiment thanks to the devastating consequences of "friendship" with America, especially during the last 40 years of U.S. adventurism in Afghanistan. Prime Minister Khan, who had promised while campaigning to stand up to U.S. dominance, lamented in 2011 that "ours is perhaps the only country in history that keeps getting bombed by our ally."

Independence has been an evolving process for Pakistanis, starting from day one when millions put their lives and wealth on the line to create a land where Muslims could live according to Islamic teachings. Intellectuals like Allama Iqbal urged Pakistanis to continue the struggle and break away from neocolonial rule. After suffering for decades under corrupt puppet governments, Pakistanis thought voting in an outspoken leader like Khan would bring independence, dignity, and prosperity to themselves and their Kashmiri neighbors. But it didn't, and in fact the opposite happened.

At this point, enough Pakistani people seem to realize that the only path to freedom is through themselves. If they're looking for a bit of direction, Iqbal showed them nearly a century ago where to turn.

Dekha hai Malukiyat-e Afrang ne jo Khwab
Mumkin hai ki Us Khwab ki Tabir badal Jaye
Tehran ho gar Alam-e Mashriq ke Geneva
Shayad Kurra-e Arz ki Taqdir Badal Jaye

Imperial dreams of the West
Could become dashed
If Tehran becomes the Geneva of the East
The fortunes of this hemisphere might turn

The crude assassinations catapulted Iran into the spotlight, and it responded by vowing to lead the region to freedom from American subjugation. It's up to Pakistani scholars like Naqvi--one of the best leaders Pakistan has produced in decades--to channel people's renewed enthusiasm into a new reality that helps achieve that goal.

Don't Let Empire Sabotage Post-Suleimani Resistance Like It Did Arab Spring

The outpouring of emotions and people onto the streets of the Muslim world and beyond after the American assassination of Irani General Qassim Suleimani and comrades was so serendipitous that Iran's Supreme Leader Sayyid Ali Khamanei called it a "day of God" in his historic sermon during Friday prayers January 17 in Tehran.

"The day of God means seeing the hand of God in the events - the day when tens of millions in Iran and hundreds of thousands in Iraq and some other countries came to the streets to honor the blood of the commander of the Quds Force," Khamanei said.

Resistance and revolution are definitely in the air, not only in Iran and Iraq but everywhere the heart beats for peace and justice. The last time Muslims rallied in similar numbers was during the 2011 Arab Spring, which was ignited by the self-immolation of an impoverished Tunisian street vendor. People hit the streets to bring down U.S.-backed dictators and the havoc their decades-long imperial rule had wrought in the Middle East. Within months, U.S. puppets in Egypt, Tunisia, and Lebanon were booted and regimes in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen, and Jordan were under pressure.

But Empire struck back fast and furious then, and it's doing the same now, vehement in its desire to maintain hegemony over the Muslim world. It's important we study the tactics used to subvert the Arab Spring so we avoid falling in similar traps today, some of which are already underfoot.

US and its allies "employed a number of simultaneous tactics to sabotage the Arab Spring," according to a 2012 opinion piece in the Muslim Village. "These included: (1) instigating fake instances of the Arab Spring in countries that were/are headed by insubordinate regimes (2) co-opting revolutionary movements (3) crushing pro-democracy movements against “friendly” regimes; and (4) using the age-old divide and rule trick by playing the sectarian trump card of Sunnis vs. Shi’ites, or Iranians vs. Arabs."

Syria

American think tanks like the Brookings Institution is already predicting (hoping?) the assassinations will be "plunging the region into a chaotic abyss."

There are signs, however, that this time things will be different. Here are three:

1. There is a single apparent leader this time, Imam Khamanei, who has 30+ years experience leading the fight against imperialism.

2. The goal of the movement is concrete and clear: remove U.S. military presence from the region.

3. Martyr Suleimani fought down imperialism wherever it was needed, from Yemen to Palestine to Turkey, regardless of the people's race or religion, and is a unifying figure among Sunnis, Shias, and Christians as well as Arabs and non-Arabs.

In fact, even U.S. President Donald Trump, who ordered the hit, can fall in line with Suleimani on this one.

Trump just a few months ago: "Time to bring 'em home!"

Ditch Muslim Scholars Mute on Iran War

You'd think it was U.S. scholars and not U.S. soldiers who hit the bunkers last week when missiles went flying after U.S. President Donald Trump's de facto declaration of war on Iran.

Usually tripping over each other to be the first to condemn/support the social issue du jour, influential American Muslim scholars' voices were nowhere to be heard in the aftermath of Trump's drone assassination of top Irani and Iraqi military brass on January 3.

That's even though the martyrdoms of Irani General Qassim Suleimani and Iraqi Commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis shook the Muslim world to the core, bringing millions to the streets to mourn and seek vengeance for heroes who protected the shrines of holy personalities from ISIS and buried the terror group in Iraq and Syria. Iran swiftly retaliated by destroying U.S. military base Al-Asad in Iraq--the first time a country has attacked America since WW2--and vowing to kick out all U.S. military presence in the region.

After bombing to bits Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Somalia in front of our very eyes, America now declared war on Iran and threatened to attack 52 of its cultural and religious sites, which could include the shrines of family and companions of Prophet Muhammad (S), and not even a tweet out of our so-called Muslim "leaders"?

Where were Yasir Qadhi, Omar Suleiman, Hamza Yusuf, Imam Zaid Shakir and all the other scholars who otherwise love pontificating on "social justice" and "standing up for justice" in Islam.

Upon hearing about the assassinations--considered an act of war by international standards--these scholars should have immediately organized, strategized, and mobilized to educate and guide Muslims, the American public, and the U.S. government on understanding the geopolitical situation, avoiding further conflict, bringing home our troops, and working towards peace and justice for all.

But, as usual, our most influential leaders are silent when it comes to PREVENTING death and destruction. It's later that they like to show up to guilt-trip us into donating to their favorite charities and love getting their pictures taken flying around delivering water bottles and blankets to desperate war refugees.

Here's Shaikh Omar Suleiman in a 2019 video appeal for donations to Yemen: "I want to focus on the name of an organization Human Concern. If the Prophet (S) was alive and he saw the image of the young Yemeni child whose rib cages were so pronounced and then dying because they don't have proper food and drink, what do you think the Prophet (S) would do?"

Please tell us, Sheikh, what Prophet Muhammad (S) would do. Would he be running around trying to save babies drowning in the river or would he have been upstream stopping those throwing babies in the river in the first place?

From his Facebook status updates (which did not mention the Iran flare-up at all), we know Shaikh Yasir Qadhi was in Turkey passing out winter packs to refugees from the previous war while we were on the brink of World War III.

"If only I could explain how sad their stories are and how pathetic the situation is," Qadhi wrote. "On average, they [Syrian refugees]  have been living in shanty tents for around five years, with no idea of what awaits them next. They rely almost totally on aid to survive."

Qadhi added: "We desperately need more funds to deliver more packs."

A breath of fresh air, Imam Muhammad Al-Asi of the Islamic Center in Washington D.C. is one of the few Muslim leaders in America who discussed the assassinations during his January 3 Friday khutbah. He lamented that not enough people speak up on issues afflicting the Muslim world.

"There are no Abu Dharr's [an outspoken companion of Prophet Muhammad (S)] in today's world," Al-Asi said.

The first step to fixing our problems is booting spineless, gutless "scholars" from leadership positions, according to Al-Asi.

Al-Asi: "You go to their [scholars who are silent] functions. You attend their programs. You are part of the crime. It's not easy to say this. It's the fact and it is the reality. Some humans can speak truth to injustice and others remain silent. If this continues like this there will be other martyrs. If you continue to be silent or passive to all of this, you will be on the wrong side of this issue. I don't care how you perform your prayers or which masjid you go to. The marytrdom that has taken place is a testimony to all of you who have been absent in reality.

Do we want to kill ourselves with our silence in addition to their bullets and bombs?" 

Scandalous New Indian Film "Aisha" Aimed at Dividing Muslims

Muslims from all schools of thought are strongly condemning an upcoming film called "Aisha" falsely based on the life of one of the Mothers of the Believers or wives of Prophet Muhammd (S).

A 17-second trailer for the film was released this summer and indicates the production will be even more blasphemous than British writer Salman Rushdie's book "The Satanic Verses." Controversial personality and UP Shia Waqf Chairman Waseem Rizvi of Lucknow, India, produced the film starring actress Sonam Tripathi and set to be streamed in 2020.

Waseem Rizvi

After public outrage from Sunnis and Shias alike, the Delhi Minorities Commission issued a notice calling for a hold on the film even though Rizvi claims the film's trailer's been doctored.

“…This is a gross insult and sacrilege of highest order which will inflame millions of Muslims not only in India but also in many countries across the world," said commission chairman Zafarul-Islam Khan.

The enemies of Islam and Muslims have lately gone into overdrive to create divisions between Shias and Sunnis, aiming to disrupt the growing harmony and unity--especially political unity--among the different Muslim schools of thought. British secret service M16 has been leading this cause, funding "scholars" and leaders in the Shia community worldwide to make disparaging statements against the Companions and wives of Prophet Muhammad (S) during their sermons, speeches, and educational programs. The Shirazi family of "scholars" from Iran and "Imam" Tawhidi in Australia are stars of this despicable and unIslamic movement.

Muslims should take this opportunity to unite against this movie as well as any other forum (including mimbars!) where the Companions and wives of Prophet Muhammad (S) are disrespected.

"Shias should be foremost in standing up against this [fitna] so it doesn't become a sectarian issue," Ustadh Syed Jawad Naqvi, chancellor of Jamia Urwa-tul-Wusqa in Lahore, said in his October 4 khutbah [sermon]. "Shia scholars especially should not be silent. If they don't teach Waseem Rizvi a lesson, there will be other Waseem Rizvis and the fitna will spread."

Ustadh Syed Jawad Naqvi

Such disrespect has been one of the biggest barriers between Shia-Sunni unity and has been prohibited by Supreme Leader Imam Khamanei. Both Shias and Sunnis should know this.

“Insulting figures and symbols celebrated by Sunni brethren, including the wife of the Prophet (S) of Islam [Aisha] is prohibited," Imam Khamenei pronounced in a 2010 fatwa.  “Disrespecting the pure wives of the Prophet (S) should be avoided. The Prophet’s (S) wives are all respectable; anyone who insults any of them has insulted the Prophet. I resolutely declare this offensive. The commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (A) treated her eminence Aisha in such a respectful manner."

Once a speaker who had been invited to a large Muharram gathering in my friend's backyard started insulting the first three khalifas. The women listening from the second floor of the house started throwing down notes ordering the organizers to halt the speech and kick the speaker out. Thanks to these wise and active women, he was never seen in that town again.

FATF's Ruling Pakistan, PM Imran Khan's Only the "Stooge" He Promised Never To Be

As the Pakistani government goes into overdrive unveiling one major policy change after another to avoid getting blacklisted later this month by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), it becomes clear that Machiavellian international alphabet organizations are really running this country.

From education reforms (government-control of Islamic madrasas) to foreign policies (banning Pakistanis from crossing border to help Kashmiris), major government decisions are being made by the Pakistani government to comply with FATF's long list of "bold steps" Pakistan must take to avoid being considered a haven for terror funding and money laundering. FATF put Pakistan on its greylist last year and gave it 15 months to comply with a 27-point action plan or risk losing aide from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"The FATF can anytime blacklist Pakistan for terror funding," India's defense minister Rajnath Singh said earlier this week. In his speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan accused India of "trying to push us on the FATF blacklist to economically isolate us."

Pakistan should never have agreed to submit to FATF orders in the first place. That way the Pakistani government would be freer to make policies and programs befitting its people without any pressures to oblige to an intergovernmental group created by a few powerful countries. It also wouldn't have to beg countries with voting rights in FATF, like America and Saudi Arabia, for help.

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Imam Syed Ali Khamenei saw FATF as a trap and advised the Iranian government last year to refuse to submit to its rules and regulations.

"A number of domineering powers gather somewhere in their so-called think tanks and plan something based on their own interests and benefits," Imam Khamenei said. "We don't have to accept these things when we don't know their eventual consequences while we know their potential problems."

Imam Khamenei also said Iran's "Islamic Consulting Assembly is a sensible, prudent, and discerning assembly with a great work force" that could adopt its own policies to combat problems like money laundering.

The Pakistani government could have done the same by following the advice of Imam Khamanei. And it still can if it tells FATF to bug off and starts making decisions befitting Pakistan and not other countries.

Khan should remember what he said in 2014: "We are not slaves of [foreign powers]. We do not polish their shoes. A prime minister like Imran Khan can never be a stooge!"

Sadly, Yasir Qadhi Distorts "Non-Sunni" Understanding of Imam Mahdi During Sept 18 Lecture

Muslim scholars should be confident enough in their own beliefs that they don't have to make up lies or talk in a derogatory way about the teachings of other schools of thought.

In a lecture given on September 18, 2019, called "The Mahdi: Explained," Shaykh Yasir Qadhi, a popular speaker and an academic who holds a PhD in Religious Studies from Yale University, said the following:

"Within non-Sunni Islam. the concept of Mahdi really went far left. Within non-Sunni Islam, this concept became something totally different from within Sunni Islam, and, of course, the most obvious group is that of the Twelver group of non-Sunni Islam, the Imamia. And if you know their history, when the eleventh Imam died young without having been married so there is no progeny, there is no heir to the eleventh Imam [Hasan al-Askari (A)], they invented a mysterious nonexistent twelfth Imam and they said this twelfth Imam is the Imam al-Ghayb, the Hidden Imam and he is the Mahdi.  And they took the concept from Sunnism and they tacked it on to their unknown nonexistent twelfth Imam and they said he is the Mahdi and they then made an entire cult and entire supernatural mystery around the Mahdi and they said he controls the ilm al ghayb [knowledge of the unseen], controls the future, knows this and that and gave him all these types of characteristics that we know not to be correct." (minutes 1:00 53--1:02 04)

A quick Google search tells us more accurate information about the "Non-Sunni" concept of Imam Mahdi than Qadhi did!

As Qadhi said in his lecture, all Muslims agree that Imam Mahdi will come to unify Muslims under his leadership and bring justice on earth, and "there's a lot of work that we need to do" as we wait for him to come.

This effort towards unity starts with scholars correctly educating themselves (here's a start) and then others on the the beliefs of different schools of thought so we can overcome negative stereotypes and misunderstandings and work together in achieving common goals. Influential scholars like Qadhi should definitely not be adding to the lies, confusion, and division!

On that note, there are at least thirty traditional Sunni scholars who hold the same beliefs as "Non-Sunnis" regarding Imam Mahdi. You won't hear that from Qadhi but you can find details here.

Imran Khan Projected as "Supreme Leader" To Counter Iran's Imam Khamanei

Pakistani journalist Mubasher Lucman made the following statement today in a segment on his YouTube channel:

"After Imran Khan's trip to the UN and his speech given there...it's clear that Imran Khan has surfaced as the Supreme Leader of the Muslim ummah. People used to say it is Mahathir (Prime Minister of Malaysia), Edrogan (President of Turkey), or Muhammad bin Salman (Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia).. but now there's an undisputed opinion that if there is a legitimate and genuine leader of the Muslim ummah, it is Imran Khan."

The euphoria with which Pakistanis and the Pakistani diaspora reacted to Khan's 50-minute speech makes me think Lucman's opinion is a popular one.

How low are Muslims' expectations that someone can become the leader of 1.3 billion Muslims only after giving a speech?

Imran Khan may not realize it but the enemies of Islam are using him to divert Muslims from their true leader Imam Syed Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. With Muslims from Yemen to Palestine to Kashmir awakening and gaining strength, direction, and victories through Imam Khamanei's guidance, the enemies of Islam are using an old trick to try to stop Muslim unity and progress.

This is easy to do when a people like us have been severely repressed and lived under oppressive or Pharonic systems for hundreds of years. In the Quran, during the absence of Prophet Moses (Musa A), his brother Aaron (Haroon A) was the appointed leader of the Jews until the return of Moses A. However,  the people turned away from Aaron A and started following a populist man named Samari, who rose to power by mixing some religious elements of the teachings of Moses A with the wishes of the people. Women inclined towards religion, in particular, wholeheartedly supported and promoted Samari.

The ummah is in a similar situation to the people of Moses. We are also waiting for the coming of our Moses, which is Imam Mahdi.

Can we recognize the Haroon of our times, the person who is most knowledgeable, practices his knowledge, and has correct political insight to be Guardian (Vali Faqih) of the ummah until Imam Mahdi comes?

Imam Khamenei has been that person for the past 30 years. While Imran Khan was playing cricket, Imam Khamenei was getting multiple PhDs in Islam, overturning a 2,000-year monarchy and replacing it with an Islamic system, fighting in an 8-year war to protect the revolution (and has a handicapped hand to prove it) and leading his nation as well as his neighbors to freedom, dignity, and progress under the guidance of the Quran and sunnah of Prophet Muhammad S.

Or will we run after Samari? Khan may be an honest, hardworking, and sincere person but he is being badly used by the Pharoahs of today, including President Trump and Crown Prince Salman, to turn the ummah away from the path of vilayat.  Trump even pointed to Khan once and said: "I trust this gentleman right here. I trust him. He's a great leader, and he's a brave leader."

  

If Pakistan Wants To "Fight" for "La illaha illallah," It Must Figure Out Which Side Allah Is On

Despite their bravado, Pakistani officials seem scared out of their minds of an impending nuclear war with archenemy India.

"It's a fear, worry, that where are we headed?" Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan told the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). "If a conventional war starts between two countries, nuclear countries, anything could happen."

Stress of going up against another nuclear power Khan described as "seven times" bigger than itself is forcing Pakistan to make fear-based decisions that are getting in the way of helping free Kashmir from Indian occupation. In fact, Pakistan has yet to announce a clear Kashmir policy other than to "raise the issue of Kashmir at every global forum."

To avoid being "blamed" for "another Pulwama incident," the Pakistani government says it has "disbanded all militant groups," forbidden its people to "cross the border to join the Kashmiris," and limited protests to thirty minutes of standing in "solidarity with the Kashmiri people."

"Eventually, even speaking out for the Kashmiris will be illegal [in Pakistan]," Syed Jawad Naqvi, chancellor of the Islamic university Jamia Urwa-tul-Wusqa in Lahore, predicted in his September 27 Friday sermon.

To allay their fears, Khan and other policymakers who feel they're "sitting on a hot plate" should review the inspiring Quranic story of Prophet David (A) and Goliath (Jalut). A small contingency of obedient soldiers defeat the tyrannical army of strongman Goliath after young and slender David (A) takes out Goliath with a fatal slingshot aimed at the bright red ruby in the middle of the crown on his forehead.

Quran: "But those who were certain that they would meet Allah said, 'How many a small company has overcome a large company by permission of Allah. And Allah is with the patient.'" (2:249)

This scenario should be familiar to Pakistanis who are witnessing up-close-and-personal the defeat of another modern-day Goliath Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman at the hands of the poor and malnourished Yemenis. Unfortunately, Pakistani soldiers are backing the Saudi Goliath, who is armed to the teeth and supported by the U.S., Israel, and a coalition of 30+ Muslim countries led by retired Pakistani General Raheel Sharif. In a devastating attack this past weekend, the Yemenis reclaimed territory, seized armed vehicles and weapons, and captured thousands of troops in Saudi Arabia. Pakistani soldiers under the command of Sharif were among those captured by the Yemenis, according to Al Jazeera.

If the Pakistani government is set to fight in the name of "La illaha illallah" as Khan told UNGA, it needs to first figure out which side Allah is on.

Quran: "Certainly, your guardian (Vali) is Allah and His Messenger and those who believe who establish prayer and give charity while they bow. And whoever takes Allah and His Messenger and those who believe as his guardian (Vali), so surely the party of Allah will be victorious." (5:55)

The Yemenis recognized that the Guardian Jurist (Vali Faqih) of our time is Imam Syed Ali Khamanei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they've achieved miraculous success by following his leadership just like David (A) attained astounding victory after obeying his leader Saul (Talut), even if it entailed drinking only a sip of water from the river and enduring other hardships and sacrifices.

If Pakistanis want to defeat India's Goliath Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they must turn away from all other Goliaths of our time and seek out Imam Khamanei's political advice, which is rooted in the Quran and sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (S) and has been a guiding light for the past thirty years.

Khan, who's rushed to meet American, Saudi, and Emirati rulers to resolve the Kashmiri issue, should pay attention to what Yemeni leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi proclaimed to the Saudis:  "When the sea is with you, air is with you, land is with you, oil is with you, cash is with you and the US is with you, but yet you do not succeed, you should know that God is not with you!"

Indeed, Pakistanis must join the path of Vilayat to defeat their Goliath!

In UN Speech, Imran Khan Washes Hands of Kashmir

If only Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was as astute about contemporary issues as he is about historical ones.

It was refreshing to hear Khan openly discuss the roots of Islamophobia,  expose the racist ideology of India's ruling party, defend Muslims' passionate love for Prophet Muhammad (S), regret Pakistan's role in training American-sponsored "mujahideen groups" in Afghanistan,  and lament his country's alliance with the United States after 911 at the expense of 70,000 Pakistani lives and $150 billion lost to the Pakistani economy.

"Our Prophet was the witness to the divine book the Holy Quran. The Holy Quran is the book of guidance for muslims and the Prophet's life was living the Quran so he is the ideal we all try to get to. The Prophet lives in our hearts," Khan explained passionately during his address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Friday. "When he is ridiculed, it hurts. The pain of the heart is far far far more hurtful than physical pain."

Any Muslim, Pakistani or not, Khan-supporter or not, can't help but swell in pride at such honest and heartfelt discourse delivered at an important international forum.

But with the Muslim region on the precipice of the mother of all wars, we need much more than that. We need leaders who are able to translate past experiences to lessons learned so correct political decisions are taken today.

Unfortunately, Khan's proposed solutions to the Kashmir crisis show he is unable to do that. His solutions, starting with rooting for Modi's electoral win thinking "some kind of settlement in Kashmir could be reached," not only fail to fix problems but create exponentially more!

After listening to back-to-back speeches and interviews Khan gave during his New York trip, it's obvious that the Pakistani government has no plans to help Kashmiris other than lip-service.

And it's not the first time Kashmiris have been abandoned. During a meeting of the League of Nations [precursor to UN] in Geneva, Switzerland, 80+ years ago, Pakistani thinker Allama Iqbal lamented the selling off of Kashmir:

Bade Saba Agar Ba Geneva Guzar Kuni
Harfai Zaman ba Majlisi Aqwame Baz Goyai
Dehkan Wa Kesht Koh Wa Joyai Wa bayaban Farokhtand
Qoumai Farokhtand Wa Cha Arzan Farokhtand

More non-solutions from the "Ambassador of Kashmir":

• Khan handed Kashmir off to the "world community" to resolve, knowing full well that the UN has failed to do so in 70+ years. While Khan vowed to "fight" India if India attacks Pakistan, he said nothing about what Pakistan will do to free Kashmiris, otherwise. In fact, using the Orientalist jingo that he condemned earlier in his speech, he urged the UN to come save the Kashmiris who, left on their own, will become "radicalized" under the horrific curfews.  Like any other oppressed people, Kashmiris will organize, mobile, and resist. Why call that radicalism?

• Khan accepted U.S. President Donald Trump's offer to mediate the Kashmir issue even though, as Khan said in his speech, Pakistan's suffered a "nightmare" every time America came into the equation. Anyone following Trump's mediation in Palestine knows his solution to the Kashmir crisis will likewise be giving land to the occupier and resettling indigenous people to other lands. Khan should have rebuffed Trump's offer as Iranian President Rouhani did in his speech to UNGA. "The solution for [peace, security, and stability] should be sought inside the region rather than outside of it," Rouhani said. "The issues of the region are bigger and more important than the United States is able to resolve. The United States has failed to resolve the issues in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria and has been the supporter of extremism, Talibanism, and Daeshism. Such a government is clearly unable to resolve more sophisticated issues of today." [As a side, Rouhani's failure to mention Kashmir in his UN address was very upsetting!]

• Khan invited the U.S. to "put out flames in the world" despite witnessing (and even condemning) decades of U.S drone attacks in Pakistan and indiscriminate bombing of neighboring countries like Afghanistan and Iraq. How can Khan expect America the trouble-maker to become America the problem-solver? Modi threatened to take Jammu and Kashmir, Azad Kashmir, and then Gilgit-Baltistan. If Pakistan doesn't help Kashmiris kick India out now, the fire burning in Pakistan's backyard will enter its house. 

Help from Pakistan should come in the form of standing behind the Kashmiri Resistance Movement and assisting them in whatever form THEY need, not passing the buck to those behind death and destruction in Muslim lands.

It should be clear to Kashmiris now that they can rely on no one but God and themselves for their freedom. I supplicate in the words of Iqbal: “Bring revolution in the hearts of Kashmiris so that they can live with honor in this world.”

Famous Egyptian YouTuber Urges Actvists to Ally With Iran

Egyptian YouTuber Abdullah Elshrif and Iran's Supreme Leader Imam Khamanei

Lookie here!!

When the Islamic Republic of Iran's Supreme Leader Imam Khamanei urged Egyptians thronging Tahrir Square eight years ago to gain inspiration from the 1979 Islamic Revolution, a prominent Egyptian media personality mocked the Imam. 

"When he [Imam Khamenei] wanted to address the Egyptian people [during a Friday sermon], he spoke in Arabic after always talking in Farsi 'sha shi shi sha she' [gibberish]," Al-Hayat television host Amr Adib taunted. 

"Do our youth even need the support of Iran? None of them knows Tehran!" Adib insisted.

Egyptian media personality Amr Adib

While the Egyptians succeeded in overthrowing dictator Hosni Mubarak and voting in Mohammad Morsi of the Islamic Movement's Muslim Brotherhood organization, the victory was short-lived as a military coup under General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi brought el-Sisi, U.S. President Donald Trump's "favorite dictator," into office one year later.

But as last weekend's street protests against el-Sisi indicate, the Egyptians have not given up on their aspiration for a representative government eight years on from the Islamic Awakening.

And if Egyptians didn't know anything about the Islamic Revolution of Iran then, as Adib claims, they do now thanks in part to famous Egyptian social media influencer Abdullah Eshrif who motivates his nearly two million followers to "learn from [Iran]" despite their religious and political differences.

This summer he posted a video comparing the current Egyptian revolutionary movement to that in Iran before the Islamic revolution. He says the revolution in Iran succeeded after many years of persistence by leader Imam Khomeini, who was imprisoned and exiled before returning to lead his people to a final blow to the system.

"I learned this story from Iran, that there's still hope and that Truth comes back if there are people still voicing it," Elshrif said. "Al Khomeini was keeping people on the streets by passing clandestinely audiotapes from Iraq...nine years of motivational speeches and fearless, striking words that let no place for despair and kept hope rooted in the spirit of the people until the proper moment came."

Egyptians tuning into Iran should review the advice Imam Khamenei gave them in February 2011. He warned that a "collaborating regime is not toppled when its visible leader leaves the country. If these leaders are replaced by others from behind the scenes, then nothing has changed. This is a trap set for the people."

"We believe the following experience could be beneficial to the current circumstances:"

1. "The awakening of people is a war of two wills--the will of the people and the will of its enemies."

2. "The enemy tries to sow despair about achieving your goals."

3. "The enemy sends his well-equipped security forces against you in order to spread terror and chaos among the people. Do not fear them. You are stronger than those mercenaries."

4. "The [most] important weapon of the people when confronting the forces of tyranny and the collaborating rulers is unity and harmony."

5. "Do not trust the role played by the West and America, or the political maneuvers they use towards your awakening."

6. "The circumstances require that the religious scholars, and Al-Azhar with its well-known history of struggle, play a much more significant role. When the people embark on its revolution from the mosques and the Friday sermons, and raise the slogan of 'Allah Akbar,' the Islamic scholars are expected to play a more prominent role."

7. "The Egyptian army, which bears on its chest decorations from at least two wars with the Zionist enemy, is facing a great historic test today. The enemy wants to spur this army to oppress the masses. If this happens, God forbid, it would constitute an unbridgeable breach in the ranks of this proud army. The Zionist enemy, not the Egyptian people, should tremble in fear of the Egyptian army. There is no doubt that the members of the Egyptian army, which is part of the Egyptian people, will join the masses, Allah willing. Then this sweet experience will repeat itself in Egypt." 

8. "America, which supported the collaborating rulers for 30 years, against the will of the Egyptian people, is not in a position to mediate or to advise in the case of Egypt. View any American move or advice with a doubt and pessimism, and do not trust it." 

Egyptian and Iranian Islamic revolutionaries have cooperated and supported each other throughout the last century, setting aside sectarian differences in their struggles to lift their nations out of oppression. Imam Khamenei, in fact, translated many of Muslim Brotherhood icon Sayyid Qutb's books into Farsi to educate the Iranians on the revolutionary spirit of Islam. 

1984

"Learn from them [Iran] and strengthen your weaknesses," Elshrif advises his followers. "Or even ally with them!"

Muslim Ummah Rising Like A Phoenix From the Ashes, But American Muslim Scholars Remain Oblivious

It's quite depressing if you follow American Muslim scholars on social media.

"There has perhaps never been a time in history where it was so painfully obvious that Muslim leaders are the greatest enablers and purveyors of the oppression of Muslim masses worldwide," declared Omar Suleiman on a Facebook post in August.

We are reminded of that oppression in post after post and tweet after tweet describing the desperate plight of Muslims everywhere, from Palestine and Kashmir to Yemen and Burma. These posts are often followed by Quranic verses and Prophetic (S) narrations aimed at guilt-tripping us into donating to a cottage industry of Muslim charities.

Don't get me wrong. It's important to highlight the issues but should be accompanied by breaking down the political situation and identifying those in the forefronts of change. However, our scholars never mention Muslim leaders who are organizing their people and scoring astonishing victories.

For example, this past weekend the Yemeni Resistance movement hit and shut down the world's largest oil refinery Saudi Aramco in retaliation for four years of Saudi bombing and blockade. They are demanding an end to hostilities and free elections or else more of this to come.

"We looked at those photos...they were exquisitely precise, they knew exactly where to hit, they hit it perfectly," according to American energy consultant Bob McNally.

But scholars didn't even mention this on social media. Instead, scholar Yasir Qadhi, for example, posted a video discussing the Islamic ruling of lowering the pants below the ankles!

Muslims in other parts of the world, likewise, are making tremendous progress in freeing their lands of oppressive and occupying forces.

• The Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq and the Syrian Arab Army have just about defeated ISIS and its allies. 
• Afghani Resistance has gained the upper hand after 18 years and is close to kicking out foreign armies.
• Palestinian Resistance has gained strength through weekly protests and even downed an Israeli drone over Gaza a few days ago. 
• One threatening speech by the Lebanese Resistance promising retaliation recently forced Israeli soldiers to pull on their diapers and flee positions along the border.

Resistance movements in Kashmir, Turkey, Pakistan and other places have taken root.

Of course, the inspiration for all of these movements, the Islamic Republic of Iran under the guidance of Imam Khamenei, is never ever mentioned by these scholars--neither the way it overthrew a 2,000-year-old monarachy 40 years ago nor the way it has survived war, sanctions, and other belligerence from the "international community" for supporting the Palestinians and other oppressed groups.

Instead, scholars continue to dishearten us with proclamations like "our leaders are shameless and betraying our causes," and we are devoid of "any type of Muslim solidarity from Muslim leaders today."

That's not completely true. The Muslim Ummah is rising like a phoenix from the ashes. If our scholars would remove their sectarian sunglasses, they could see it clearly.