On Wednesday 7th January 2015, around 11.30 am, two gunmen armed with Kalashnikovs burst into the office of the French newspaper Charlie Hebdo. The two individuals, Chérif and Said Kouachi, French Muslims of Algerian descent, fired at the journalists killing 12 people. Four famous cartoonists were killed including the director of the newspaper. Afterwards, the two brothers fled the place.
I begin by praising my Lord in a manner that befits the Majesty and Greatness of His power, My Lord سبحانه وتعالى, I am a slave woman who is in need of you, I supplicate with the words of your Prophet, the best of creation.
There is no Nasser (Helper) except You and I am not needy of anyone but You.
You all know my husband very well. In order to fulfill his professional obligations he remained in touch with most of the people in media. And you also know very well that on Friday, 11th of May 2012, he was abducted by government thugs when he just reached his home after picking his children from school. In front of my three innocent children and neighbors, they dragged him from the car and placed him in the typical white Suzuki high roof van used by ISI and then ran away.
Let me begin by praising Allah سبحانه وتعالى, who has control over all the affairs.
The story of Tunis and subsequently Egypt, Algeria, Yemen, Jordan and the increasing domino effect in the ummah in the greater Arab world is unprecedented for decades. There are many who say that the people in Tunisia have shown and reinstalled a new hope and dignity in the masses across the Middle East to go on the street and protest, put pressure and then topple their regime. There are many who are saying that the fear factor amongst the general people has wiped out and now they are ready to take the matter in their own hands. However, most of us agree that the Middle East we have seen for the last 60 or 70 years has changed once and for all. Just months ago who could have imagined such a reality in the street of Tunis, Egypt, Yemen, and other parts of the middle east. Indeed it is the beginning of the end of tyrants and the servants of America and the western world insha’Allah.
I have been asking myself what would be the best way to start this eye witness testimony of the events of Friday 28th in Cairo. But more importantly would my words ever do justice to the events of that monumental day?
بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
There are many things one can talk about regarding the Hajj, from its rules and regulations to the experiences once returning, but here I’d like to focus on my personal journey, both physically and spiritually to the sites where I was a guest of Ar Rahman.
From the Hajj and its many experiences, there are 3 points that really shone out for me personally and which I would like to write about here.
When the volcanic ash cloud hit Europe last week I along with thousands of other Muslims was caught stranded in Saudi Arabia after performing the umra (minor pilgrimage).
As we set off for Jeddah Airport we were obviously concerned since our flight had been cancelled and we were unsure what assistance would be provided to us by the Saudi government’s Hajj ministry and Saudi Airlines.
There are many other lands Islam reached that many from amongst the Ummah may not be aware of, such as Western China, Greece, Southern Italy, Hungary and maybe even Austria. Romania is also one such land that many may not be aware lived under Islamic rule for 800 years. Many may not even know where Romania is, it is only 275 miles from Turkey.
My recent trip to Malaysia gave me a whole new outlook on what a Muslim country is and what it can be. From the moment I stepped into Malaysia I was blown away by how developed it was, from the beautiful airport, to the clean streets and sky scrapers in Kuala Lumpur (KL). Following in the footsteps of Dubai, KL has its fair share of opulent Malls, mostly with designer brands which the browsing locals pass by but never enter, instead opting for the manic food falls and restaurants.
The Western media machine has gone into 5th gear. We are being told that the world is on the brink of another colour revolution, another dictator will be thrown into the dustbin of history and freedom loving people can expect moral support from the liberal West.
Iran is once again witnessing mass demonstrations and such Ipod loving, rock and roll dancing, Twitter people want to free themselves from the conservative shackles of their forefathers who continue to rule the country. This was the narrative I was sold growing up in the UK about the country my parents were from. I was taught in British schools that ayatollah Iran was a miserable place, authoritarian, autocratic, conservative, ‘all women must cover’ and where women were treated as second class citizens.
As is customary of the dictatorships prevailing over the Muslim world today, Pakistan’s so-called democratically elected dictator Asif Zardari in his subservience to his American sponsors mercilessly had his security forces make scores of arrests over the weekend in Pakistan against yet more innocent citizens of Pakistan who were merely peacefully demonstrating against the true American agenda and the American war being waged in Pakistan which makes Muslims kills Muslims.
When the Zionists attacked us on 27th December 2008, they not only attacked Hamas, they not only attacked the Muslims of Gaza, they attacked Muslims everywhere. They attacked Islam in the hope that they will weaken it and ultimately destroy it and ummah of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم.
My recent trip to Spain shocked me into a number of facts of history. Tariq ibn-Ziyad brought most of the Iberian Peninsula under Islam in a seven-year campaign. He also crossed the Pyrenees and occupied parts of southern France for 20 years stopping short only 200 hundred miles from Paris. The most intriguing part of this conquest was the people who undertook it, Tariq ibn Ziyad was not an Arab and had until the conquest of Spain never been to Hijaz. Under Umar ibn Khattab Northern Africa came under Islam and the Berbers who were considered wild bandits became Muslims and then carried Islam to the next lands, something even the US and Britain can never attest to achieving.
A Letter from India, “The forces that vilify our beloved Prophet (saw) seem to be gaining an upper hand nowadays. Such fascist forces are finding a safe shelter not only under the pretext of ‘freedom of expression’ but implicitly being allowed to so by various governments. This indicates the declined state of the Muslims. Respecting the Prophet (saw) more than their lives is an inseparable part of Muslims Iman. Muslims must stand up to protect the honor of Prophet (saw) and not be passive bystanders”.
The future of Bosnia lies in the Khilafah
Abdul-Kareem, writes from Bosnia-Herzegovina
After touching down in Sarajevo and a brief stop at passport control we made our way outside the airport to catch a taxi. Up until this point, the flight, the airport, the baggage collection, everything was perfectly normal as you’d expect from any European capital. We flagged down a taxi, managing to haggle a fairly reasonable price despite the soaring petrol prices, and proceeded to our destination. The taxi ride from the airport is where you begin to notice that this is no ordinary European city. The NATO army truck driving past and rows of derelict houses punctured by machine gun holes give indications that this now calm city was once the scene of a terrible war. Our taxi driver speaks of war criminals, The Hague and his time fighting with the army, but this is not the Second World War. This is a war that ended just thirteen years ago in the heart of Europe.
