Rina Castelnuovo captures pic as a Jewish settler throws wine at a Palestinian woman in Hebron in the West Bank (and one more).
Wed, 2010-03-03 08:08 | 
marwanthe2nd
From Timesonline (a source a usually find distasteful, but I couldn't pass up these photos).
Just to be fair, they also showed another picture that sends a chill down spines.
Farah Abdi Warsameh takes a photo of Mohamed Abukar Ibrahim, 48 yrs old, as he's about to get stoned to death. If it's any consolation, punishment in this life frees one from punishment in the afterlife (which is, according to our teachings, unimaginably more painful). I put the first picture to make you feel the humiliation Palestinians face. I put the second to show that how complicated this world is.
Was Sharia established properly for our brother Ibrahim? Probably not. I doubt Somalia has enough law & order to bring consider the obligation of bringing about 4 witnesses. There's no evidence Mr. Ibrahim confessed (remember the story of that great sahabia woman during the time of the Prophet pbuh).....Allahu Alam. You'll admit, that to the foreign eye, this looks blatantly barbaric (as opposed to electronic execution I guess). One thing is for sure, we need to learn Sharia in order to explain it properly. It really is the most elegant and civilized form of order, even in the case of adultery or theft, and even in the face of pictures like this. The punishment is grave yes, but so is the sin, and Who but God decides how bad or good an act is?
In any case, there's always a way to Allah's mercy. Even in this pusnihment, Mr. Ibrahim gets freed for facing the wrath of God on the Day of Judgement. So now he's free of that sin.
May Allah forgive him and may Allah forgive the woman (..I don't know what happened to her. Doesn't seem like she was caught).
Click below if interested. It's not long, but it's useful.
Islamic Criminal Justice: Is it Barbaric?
Contradicting Witnesses. No physical evidence. Conviction based on fear.....not enough. Now they isolate you from the world.
Tue, 2010-03-02 21:07 | marwanthe2nd
My very first post was about this poor woman. Received this updated from Muslim Legal Fund of America . If you're going to write, please place yourself in her position and think what would be the most beneficial (to her). Keep your intention pure and don't forget to be nice.
Details:
You can write the US Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York to express your concerns over the government's apparent purposeful isolation of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui. The address is:
US Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York
ATTN: Preet Bharara
1 Street Andrews Plaza
New York City, NY 10007
Announcing the Experiment News and Views section
Thu, 2010-02-25 10:01 | admin
Assalamu `alaykum,
In a recent MAS
Youth Exec meeting we discussed the need for a place where news from around the
world is filtered and relevant articles (be they news of perspective) are
posted.
I would like to announce the experimental “News and Views” section of the
http://masnj.org. There, important news from
around the world and perspective will be posted regularly inshaa Allah. This section is still experimental, its name and function are may change.
You can visit the
blog at http://masnj.org/site/groups/news-and-views.
If you use an RSS reader, you can subscribe to it at http://masnj.org/site/groups/news-and-views/feed.
Please feel free to
post comments on the articles. You can comment on the whole concept by posting a comment to this article.
Assalamu `alaykum,
Mazen Mokhtar
After exploiting the term "Terrorist" in every conceivable way , Mass Media develops sudden case of the Mute
Wed, 2010-02-24 00:06 | marwanthe2nd
I know there are many people who have worked hard to dedicate the term "terrorist" for muslims only, but when the application of the the term has such a wide double standard, it's hard to miss. Anyone with a muslim sounding name immediately received the VIP treatment:
1- Links to al-Qaeda,
2- Frustrated politically,
3- Neighbors says he was nice, quite, but secretly hates freedom-loving-people everywhere,
4 - His real intention was for the 72 virgins
But when a white middle class and apparently bourgeois man flies a plane into a federal building, it's simply considered..... news. Where's Joseph Andrew Stack III from anyway? Texas? I know many conservatives were calling for the bombing/invasion of Yemen when the Fort Hood shooting took place (because of Hassan's supposed mentor), but does the same apply here?..... coz I'm confused. Is it unamerican to call for the massacre/invasion of the perpetrators homeland if that homeland is technically located within our borders?
***Statement from CAIR ==> http://www.cair.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?ArticleID=26252&&name=n&&currPage=1
***Statement from the always astute Glenn Greenwald, who ends his observation of Newsweek's pathetic assessment (about the use of the term "Terrorist") as follows:
"It's quite similar to the way that other countries' use of barbaric interrogation techniques is "torture," while the same methods when used by Americans are -- at worst -- "enhanced interrogation techniques that some critics refer to as 'torture'." Or how the short-term detention of American journalists by Bad foreign countries receives endless media attention, while America's years-long, due-process-free imprisonment of Muslim journalists is studiously ignored. Journalists bolster these narratives through their sycophantic, government-serving behavior, and then marvel at the outcomes they spawn as though they are nothing but detached, impotent observers.
All of this yet again underscores the prime function of establishment journalism in the U.S.: to uncritically amplify the views of those who wield political power. And it is also perfectly consistent with their first mandate: the U.S. is incapable of acts of evil (and certainly incapable of "Terrorism"), which is reserved only for those foreigners who dislike and "protest" the United States."
We are Civilized. We don't imitate Dictators. Presidents don't go around ordering death of Citizens. Oh wait...whaaaaaaaaa?
Mon, 2010-02-08 07:28 | marwanthe2nd
Here's an excerpt from Presidential Assassinations of US Citizens, by Glenn Greenwald
The Washington Post's Dana Priest today reports that "U.S. military teams and intelligence agencies are deeply involved in secret joint operations with Yemeni troops who in the past six weeks have killed scores of people." That's no surprise, of course, as Yemen is now another predominantly Muslim country (along with Somalia and Pakistan) in which our military is secretly involved to some unknown degree in combat operations without any declaration of war, without any public debate, and arguably (though not clearly) without any Congressional authorization. The exact role played by the U.S. in the late-December missile attacks in Yemen, which killed numerous civilians, is still unknown.
But buried in Priest's article is her revelation that American citizens are now being placed on a secret "hit list" of people whom the President has personally authorized to be killed:
"After the Sept. 11 attacks, Bush gave the CIA, and later the military, authority to kill U.S. citizens abroad if strong evidence existed that an American was involved in organizing or carrying out terrorist actions against the United States or U.S. interests, military and intelligence officials said. . . .The Obama administration has adopted the same stance...."
************************************************************************************************************
By the way, on a (not so) similar but interesting note ==>
For what it's worth, I don't think Obama is ill intentioned, just that he's part of a system that's too big for him to change. But we'll see inshaAllah. At least he's not part of the Crazies (that'd be the Bush Admin's for you innocents).
All the best,
~marwan
Story of 2 Real Athletes.
Sat, 2010-02-06 20:09 | marwanthe2nd
I know tomorrow's the big game. I feel like one of the few & proud that couldn't care less about football. Maybe I resent the fact they call it football, and then convinced americans the other famed game is called "soccer". I feel the latter has more right to the name "football" than the former. It's a tragic misnomer.
In any case.
I do appreciate atheleticism. In fact, I believe EVERY muslim man and woman should participate in some sort of physical activity consistently. So when I came across this story below, I appreciated it. Not much is known about the Sahaba when they were in their youth, but it's interesting to see how the greatest generation (from an Islamic point of view) spent their time. It's lifted from a book I'm reading by Lt.-General A.I. Akram. He starts the first page by writing the following:
"Khalid and the tall boy glared at each other. Slowly they began to move in a circle, the
gaze of each fixed intently upon the other, each looking for an opening for his attack and
each wary of the tricks that the other might use. There was no hostility in their eyes-just a
keen rivalry and an unshakeable determination to win. And Khalid found it necessary to
be cautious, for the tall boy was left-handed and thus enjoyed the advantage that all left -
handers have over their opponents in a fight.
Wrestling was a popular pastime among the boys of Arabia, and they frequently fought
each other. There was no malice in these fights. It was a sport, and boys were trained in
wrestling as one of the requirements of Arab manhood. But these two boys were the
strongest of all and the leaders of boys of their age. This match was, so to speak, a fight
for the heavy-weight title. The boys were well matched. Of about the same age, they were
in their early teens. Both were tall and lean, and newly formed muscles rippled on their
shoulders and arms as their sweating bodies glistened in the sun. The tall boy was
perhaps an inch taller than Khalid. And their faces were so alike that one was often
mistaken for the other.
Khalid threw the tall boy; but this was no ordinary fall. As the tall boy fell there was a
distinct crack, and a moment later the grotesquely twisted shape of his leg showed that
the bone had broken. The stricken boy lay motionless on the ground, and Khalid stared in
horror at the broken leg of his friend and nephew. (The tall boy's mother, Hantamah bint
Hisham bin Al Mugheerah, was Khalid's first cousin.)
In course of time the injury healed and the leg of t he tall boy became whole and strong
again. He would wrestle again and be among the best of wrestlers. And the two boys
would remain friends. But while they were both intelligent, strong and forceful by nature,
neither had patience or tact. They were to continue to compete with each other in almost
everything that they did.
The reader should make a mental note of this tall boy for he was to play an important role
in the life of Khalid. He was the son of Al Khattab, and his nam e was Umar."
p.s. Love the book but disagree with some of the authors assessments. In this case, I reject the notion they lacked patience or tact.
All the best
~marwan
Intro..........and Ignoring the Rights of the Hated.
Tue, 2010-02-02 18:51 | marwanthe2nd
InshaAllah, starting tonight, I'll be sharing news and interesting perceptions (subjective I know) on this site. I pray you learn from it, enjoy it, and ultimately do something about it. Preferably something productive. My name is Marwan Mokhtar.
Here is an interesting take to get you started. It's about Dr. Aafia Siddiqui.
All the best
~marwan
Update:
She's just been convicted for having allegedly shot at officers (when they tried to arrest her). Except the prosecution had no evidence and the judgement was actually based on conflicting/botched testimony. She may serve life. Oh, and she was tortured.