Headlines:
- Muslim Father Ordered by Judge Not to Impose Islam on his Children
- Crackdown in Saudi Arabia Shows Prince Tightening Grip on Power
- US to Stay in Afghanistan For Never-Ending War
- US Begins Bombing in Somalia
- Hague Court in Europe claims Intent to Prosecute Americans for Afghan War Atrocities
- Indonesian Survey Results Acknowledge Students want Khilafah
Muslim Father Ordered by Judge Not to Impose Islam on his Children
A Muslim father whose three children are being cared for by a Christian foster family was told by a judge he must not “pressure” them about Islam. The unnamed 53-year-old has two sons and a daughter aged under 16, who have been living with the foster family since 2011. During that time, he has only seen them twice. In 2015, he signed a court document seen by the Manchester Evening News in which he agreed not to talk about Islam. The ban has since been softened, but only on the condition he talks about his religion in a “non-pressuring way”. The man told the paper he was the victim of bigotry, but social services said the children’s wellbeing is their “primary concern”. The document from Salford Children’s Services stipulates the man agreed “not to discuss the Muslim religion” with his children during any supervised contact. He told the Manchester Evening News he felt forced to sign the agreement, because he was desperate to see his children. “What’s happening is xenophobia and bigotry,” he said. “It’s Stockholm syndrome. It’s parental estrangement. “They are obviously feeding all kinds of ridiculous propaganda to my children and this is the end result.” He has been to Manchester’s family court 13 times to get custody of his children. At the last hearing, he was warned not to “pressure” the children into discussing Islam, as Salford Children’s Services said they did not consider themselves Muslim. [Source: The Independent]
The court order is reminiscent of medieval Spain where successive monarchs engaged in forced conversion of Muslims into Christians. 500 years later in the bastion of enlightenment medieval practices are making a comeback in the UK.
Crackdown in Saudi Arabia Shows Prince Tightening Grip on Power
An unprecedented crackdown in Saudi Arabia shows Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is tightening his grip on a future seat on the throne while pressing ahead with his vision of a nation no longer singularly reliant on income from oil, experts say. Eleven Saudi princes, four cabinet ministers and dozens of of other royal family members, military and government officials were being held Sunday in what state media described as a wide-ranging corruption probe. Among those arrested late Saturday was Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, 62, one of the world’s richest people with extensive holdings in the West that include major investments in Citigroup, Apple and Twitter. Most of those detained were being held in luxury hotels in the capital Riyadh. “Nothing like this has ever happened before in the history of Saudi Arabia,” said David Ottaway, Middle East fellow at the Wilson Center, a Washington, D.C., think tank. Ottoway added that the kingdom “is entering into uncharted waters with unknown consequences.” The arrests came hours after announcement of a new, anti-corruption committee led by bin Salman, the state run-Al Arabiya reported. The arrests could aid efforts by the 32-year-old prince to consolidate power after his father, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, formally designated bin Salman as successor in June. Ottaway said the arrests show the prince is “ready to resort to any means” to take control of the oil-rich nation of 32 million people after the death of the 81-year-old king. The arrests come as Saudi Arabia prepares a public stock sale for 5% of the kingdom’s mammoth state oil company Aramco. The crown prince hopes to produce $100 billion to help finance Vision 2030, a plan to diversify the kingdom’s economy away from oil. Ottaway said the arrests could curb international investor interest in Vision 2030. Before the sweep, President Trump lobbied Saturday for Aramco shares to be placed on the New York Stock Exchange. “Would very much appreciate Saudi Arabia doing their IPO of Aramco with the New York Stock Exchange. Important to the United States!” he tweeted. Hasnain Malik, global head of equity research for investment bank Exotix Capital, expressed little surprise in the crackdown.”As unprecedented and controversial as it may be, this centralization might also be a necessary condition for pushing the austerity and transformation agenda,” Malik said. King Salman issued a statement Saturday announcing formation of the corruption committee, citing “exploitation by some of the weak souls who have put their own interests above the public interest.” [Source: US Today]
The Saudi king provided the committee with the power to issue arrest warrants and travel bans, freeze financial accounts and track the flow of assets and block their transfers. After having surrendered billions to the US in return for security, the Kingdom’s 2030 Vision is no more than a consolidation of tyranny. By sidelining potential peers for power, King Salman is buttressing his rule under the guise of corruption while he squanders billions in the pursuit of propping up the US.
US to Stay in Afghanistan for Never-Ending War
The Trump administration has no intention of leaving Afghanistan, despite all of President Donald Trump’s campaign bluster about withdrawing US troops and putting America first. According to Trump, he has now “studied Afghanistan in great detail, and changed his mind”. What lies behind this about-turn is the view of the security establishment that in order to maintain US global dominance, having a plethora of US bases in Afghanistan is imperative. Geopolitically, Afghanistan lies at the heart of Asia, wedged between China, Pakistan and Iran – all countries the US wants to keep an eye on and may want to wage war against in the future. To withdraw most US troops from Afghanistan, as President Barak Obama had intended last year, would probably lead to the 450 US bases being overrun by the Taliban. If this were to happen, the US would lose its military presence in one of the most strategic locations in the region. Tensions between the US and Pakistan have escalated this year as the Trump administration tries to blame Pakistan for the failure of US policy in Afghanistan, accusing it of harbouring Taliban leaders and giving militants safe haven. As relations deteriorate, the US will want to monitor Pakistan. Then there is Iran, which lies to the west of Afghanistan and has become Public Enemy Number One in the eyes of the Trump White House. As Trump beats the drums of war with Iran, if the US is ever to launch a war against Tehran it would need US bases in Afghanistan, where it could deploy as many as 100000 US troops within two to four weeks. Any such military mobilisation would not be considered an invasion in terms of the US-Afghan bilateral security agreement. America’s long-term strategic priority is also to contain China and Russia, and for that it believes it cannot do away with its military foothold in Afghanistan. The US has already been forced to hand back its only Central Asian airbase to Kyrgyzstan – the Manas Transit Centre, which served US operations in Afghanistan from 2001 as a “gateway to Afghanistan”. The US has also closed 505 bases in Iraq. The view of the Pentagon is that the US needs bases to protect itself against future possible Chinese military threats. Moscow is growing increasingly wary of the US military presence in the region. President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy to Afghanistan has said the US presence is a concern. Russia is all too well aware of the growing global infrastructure of US bases, which have exploded in size and scope. The bases are known as “lily pads”, to frog-jump towards enemies. Russia understands that the US wants to project its power and create a worldwide network of frontier forts to maintain global dominance. In order for the US to defend its continued presence in Afghanistan, it needs to masquerade as “killing terrorists” and “training the Afghan security forces”. That explains why the US dropped more bombs on Afghanistan in September than in any other month since 2010. “We are not nation-building again. We are killing terrorists,” Trump declared. He has also increased the number of US troops on the ground from 8500 to 12500. The increase is mainly to adequately protect US bases that the Taliban had started to attack. But the US strategy in Afghanistan will backfire in the end. The bombing runs are largely indiscriminate, killing countless civilians and fanning hatred of what is seen as the American occupying forces. Most of bombs the US has dropped are on Nangarhar province, which is where they dropped the Massive Ordnance Air Blast on April 13. The cost of the blast was $16 million and most of the victims were civilians. The notion that the US is merely using Afghan soil to test its military hardware is not lost on Afghans. The growing enmity between them and US forces explains why the Taliban have managed to reclaim significant territory. [Source: The Independent]
The idea that the US can make the Afghan security forces stronger so they can succeed is unrealistic. America’s other strategic priority is to prevent the re-emergence of Khilafah Rashidah (righteous Caliphate) upon the method of the Prophethood, which the people of Pakistan are working hard to re-establish.
US Begins Bombing in Somalia
According to The New York Times:
“The United States military bombed Islamic State fighters in Somalia for the first time on Friday, a sign that the air campaign against the group was expanding after recent battlefield successes against the militants in Iraq and Syria.
Several militants were killed in a pair of strikes hours apart in the country’s northeast, according to a statement from United States Africa Command.
“U.S. forces will continue to use all authorized and appropriate measures to protect Americans and to disable terrorist threats,” the statements said, adding that the strikes were carried out in coordination with the Somali government.
The announcement of the new strikes came hours after President Trump said on Twitter that his administration had attacked the Islamic State “much harder” after the past two days. It was not immediately clear what he was referring to – the larger air campaign against the extremists in Iraq and Syria remained steady, according to the military – but the announcement of the bombings in Somalia helped clarify his statement.”
The United States is quick to present its attacks in Muslim countries as being targeted against particular organisations or individuals, whereas the reality is that the US is conducting wars of occupation in Muslim lands, and those rising up against the US presence are the Mujahideen of the entire Muslim Ummah, who are not only members of particular militant organisations.
In truth, the Muslim Ummah has recognised and rejected the American intent. Some have taken to fighting against America, and some have taken to political work to return government to the hands of sincere Muslims implementing Islam, so that the state as a whole can confront the disbelieving foreigner.
Hague Court in Europe claims Intent to Prosecute Americans for Afghan War Atrocities
According to The Washington Post:
“The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court requested judicial authorization Friday to begin a formal investigation into possible war crimes committed in Afghanistan, a probe that could implicate American forces.
“For decades, the people of Afghanistan have endured the scourge of armed conflict,” Fatou Bensouda, a Gambian lawyer who has served as the ICC’s chief prosecutor since 2012, said in a statement. Her office is pushing to open an investigation because “there is a reasonable basis to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed” in Afghanistan, she said.”
The war in Afghanistan has been ongoing for more than a decade and a half and the atrocities committed by America there, such as at Abu Ghraib, are now legendary but the International Criminal Court has only now talked about prosecuting these. Institutions such as the International Criminal Court are intended not to be provide justice but to present the appearance of justice.
The West have in fact in practise completely abandoned the concept of ethical war, which became introduced to it after Christian Crusaders first became impressed by the conduct of Muslim mujahideen, and Salahudeen (r.a.) became a hero even for the disbelievers.
Indonesian Survey Results Acknowledge Students want Khilafah
According to Reuters:
“Nearly 20 percent of high school and university students in Indonesia support the establishment of a caliphate in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country over the current secular government, a new survey showed this week. …
The survey by a Jakarta-based organization polled over 4,200 Muslim students, mostly in top schools and universities on Java island, home to over half the country’s population.
Nearly one in four students said they were, to varying degrees, ready to wage jihad to achieve a caliphate. …
A presidential decree banning any civil organizations deemed to go against the country’s secular state ideology was approved by parliament last month. Hizb-ut-Tahrir, a largely peaceful organization that calls for the establishment of a caliphate in Indonesia, was the first group to be disbanded under the decree.”
Indonesia is the most distant land from the body of the Muslim Ummah, yet the Islamic revival evident in Muslim countries affects the Muslim Ummah as a whole for indeed she is one body that falls into illness as one and revives from illness as one.
The West know that they have lost the intellectual war against Islam. Now they are active in stopping Islam by other means, including instructing their agent rulers to prohibit sincere Muslim groups from calling for the re-establishment of Islam. With Allah’s permission, the time is close that we shall the righteous Islamic Khilafah (Caliphate) on the method of the Prophet ﷺ unifying all Muslim lands and returning Islam and the Muslim Ummah to the dominant position in the world.