Headlines:
- Europe’s Far-Right Leaders Raise Voices against Migration and Islam ahead of EU Vote
- Egypt’s Era of Hope has Ended
- IMF Programme Will Kill Pakistan’s Economy
Europe’s Far-Right Leaders Raise Voices against Migration and Islam ahead of EU Vote
Europe’s far-right political leaders campaigned Thursday in Prague, calling migration and Islam major threats to Europe as they sought to rally support ahead of the European Parliament elections next month. Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s far-right National Rally party, and Geert Wilders, founder of the Dutch anti-Islam Party for Freedom, were the main draws for hundreds at downtown Wenceslas Square. Matteo Salvini, Italy’s hard-line interior minister and leader of the anti-migrant League party, sent a video message. They attended a rally of the Freedom and Direct Democracy party, the Czech member of the Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom. All the far-right politicians denounced migration and Islam, linking them to terror attacks and criticizing the current European Union. They vowed their alliance would seek a radical change in how Europe is run. “The battle of Europe has begun,” Le Pen announced. “Long live a Europe of sovereign nations.” She said the EU is to blame for flooding Europe with migrants who threaten to destroy the European nations. Wilders, meanwhile, called the EU an undemocratic superstate that has been attempting “to erase our nation states.” “Today, we’re fighting for our existence,” Wilders said. “Islam is a medieval cult that denies freedom to others,” he said. “Islam and freedom are not compatible.” “We don’t want Islam here!” the crowd repeatedly chanted. The rally was disrupted by protesters, who were pushed aside by riot police. Police said 10 people were detained but no one was injured. Experts say the May 23-26 elections for the European Parliament, which take place in the EU’s 28 nations, could prove to be a tipping point in post-war European politics. Traditional political powerhouses on both the right and the left are expected to lose support as extremist, populist parties gain more clout. The Czech populist group is the most anti-migrant, anti-Muslim, anti-EU party in the Czech Republic. It has 22 seats in the country’s 200-seat lower house of Parliament. The party wants to ban Islam, which it calls an ideology of hate. Its chairman, Tomio Okamura, is currently a deputy speaker of the house. The Czech Republic has not been hit like other EU nations by migration into Europe and only has a small, moderate Muslim community. {Source: LA Times]
Only the Khilafah Rashidah (rightly guided Caliphate) can end the West’s bigotry and violence against Islam. Just as the Khilafah ended the crusades in Al Sham, it will put an end to crusader voices in the West.
Egypt’s Era of Hope has Ended
Eight years ago, Egypt was the beacon of hope for the Arab world. Now it is a cautionary tale. Protesters in Sudan and Algeria have learned to distrust the promises made by their militaries, because so many of those made in Cairo have since been broken. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the defense minister that ousted the country’s first elected president in a popularly supported coup in 2013, once promised to stick to the two four-year terms mandated in Egypt’s young constitution. But, like so many strongmen before him, he has sought to circumvent that limit and has now been granted a third. On Tuesday, the country’s election authorities announced that Egyptians had voted to pass a number of major changes to the country’s constitution in a three-day referendum, with 88.83% voting in favor of tightening its strongman leader’s grip on power. Terms have also been extended to six years, meaning Sisi could rule until 2030. President Sisi has presented himself as the solution to all of Egypt’s woes, including conspiracies by unnamed “forces of evil” that he often warns against. “God created me like a doctor who can make a diagnosis. This is God’s blessing. I know the truth and I see it … now the world listens to me,” he said in 2015. Following the announcement of the referendum results, he praised Egyptians for a level of awareness “that dazzled the world,” and for their “genius” decision to participate in the referendum, “which will be proudly recorded in the nation’s history.” Since taking office, he has imprisoned almost all of his potential rivals, including the country’s former military chief of staff. He has expanded his powers over monitoring bodies, and his security agencies have crushed political dissent. Most opposing voices are now in prison, under strict probation, in exile, missing, or dead. Hundreds of websites are blocked in Egypt, including that of the campaign for a “no” vote in this constitutional referendum. There is an inescapable sense that this chapter in Egypt’s history, which opened with such hope, has now come to the worst of ends. For those who believed in Egypt’s revolution and the ideals they rallied around, the past six years are full of personal and collective moments of defeat.[Source: CNN]
Sisi like all Egyptian Presidents before him is a product of American foreign policy and imperialism. Sisi could not have usurped unless he got the green light from his master America. The Muslims of Egypt must work to re-establish the Khilafah state, which will end Western interference in Egypt and all Muslim lands.
IMF Programme Will Kill Pakistan’s Economy
The current structure of the federal finance ministry is the weakest since the 1990s, remarked former finance minister Dr Hafiz Pasha. Speaking at the launch of his book, ‘Growth and Inequality in Pakistan’, Pasha said the capacity of the Ministry of Finance was shamefully low and it was not able to control the ongoing crisis. “They don’t have the capacity nor do they have a senior professional economist who is specialised in fiscal policy,” he said. “The DG debt was hired after a gap of many months and it’s not surprising; believe me we are running into a difficult economic state.” Apart from institutional capacity, he outlined consistency and credibility as other major issues for the current government. “Unfortunately, the government has not demonstrated a very good record in this area, which did not give positive signals to private-sector investors,” he said, referring to the confusion and varying statements on getting the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan and more recently on the amnesty scheme. Talking about the IMF programme, the former finance minister said “In fact, what we have today is the macroeconomic framework prepared by the IMF and that, to me, is very one-sided and secondary.” Speaking on the occasion, State Bank of Pakistan’s former governor Dr Shahid Kardar said the IMF programme always played a role in destroying Pakistan’s tax system. “The way the IMF is structuring its upcoming programme, it is going to kill the country’s economy, they are not ready to listen and believe in this government,” Kardar remarked, adding that Pakistan needed time to change its tax system. “With the IMF programme, which is for the next three years, the changes cannot be done and if our economy diminishes further, how can we increase our tax base.” [Source: The Express Tribune]
IMF an American tool has been trying to kill the Pakistani economy for almost four decades. And the institution has always found traitors in the government to execute its nefarious agenda. Today Khan’s government is spearheading IMF’s agenda. The only salvation for the Muslims of Pakistan lies in their ability to re-establish Khilafah Rashidah (rightly guided Caliphate) Only the Khilafah can return economic sovereignty to Pakistan.