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Friendship is a Way For Jannah

Friendship in simplistic words could be a relationship you’ve got together with your chosen family. Friends are the sisters and brothers we nevermore had, and are by our side through life’s ups and downs. It feels excellent to brighten their days “Each friend acts as a world in us, a world perhaps not born until they arrive, and it’s only by this meeting that a different world is born.”

In Islam, the prophet Muhammad, (PBUH) and his honest friends, the rightly guided caliphs Abu Bakar, Omar, Osman, and Ali are pure honest friendship. Their friendship was supported by a shared faith in Allah s.w.t., and therefore the responsibility to assist the nascent Muslim community. All had their portion of trials and tribulations and every one distinguished them. Their effect was felt throughout the centuries.

The Muslim community is inclusive, as every Muslim maybe a brother or a sister. There’s room for people of the book, too, as there are verses that say kind things about them. The way of the prophet (PBUH) was to treat the people of the book well, as long as they treated the Muslims well, too. In fact, the Constitution of Medina guaranteed the rights of the Jews and Christians, and that they were a part of the community (ummah). It’s later that an exclusive brand of Islam appeared.

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The Top 5 Largest Religions in the World

Religion plays a significant role in shaping cultures and societies around the world. In this article, we will explore the five largest religions in the world, including their beliefs, practices, and the impact they have on a global scale. Understanding these religions can provide valuable insights into the diversity of human beliefs and the ways in which they shape our world.

Christianity                         

With over 2.3 billion followers, Christianity is the largest religion in the world. It is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ and is divided into various denominations such as Catholicism, Protestantism, and Eastern Orthodoxy.

Christianity originated in the 1st century AD in the Middle East and has since spread to every corner of the globe. Its central beliefs revolve around the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, whom Christians believe to be the Son of God and the savior of humanity. The Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, serves as the holy scripture for Christians and guides their faith and practices. Christianity has had a profound impact on art, literature, philosophy, and politics throughout history and continues to be a major force in shaping global culture.

Islam

Islam is the second-largest religion in the world, with approximately 1.8 billion followers. It was founded by Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century and is based on the teachings of the Quran. Muslims follow the Five Pillars of Islam, which include faith, prayer, fasting, charity, and pilgrimage to Mecca.

Islam is a monotheistic religion that emphasizes the submission to the will of Allah (God) and the importance of living a righteous and moral life. Muslims believe that Muhammad is the last and final prophet, and they strive to follow his example in all aspects of life. Islamic culture and traditions have had a significant impact on art, architecture, literature, and science throughout history. Today, Islam is practiced by diverse communities around the world and plays a major role in shaping global politics and society.

Hinduism                                      

Hinduism is the third-largest religion, with around 1.2 billion followers. It is the oldest religion in the world and has a diverse set of beliefs and practices. Hinduism is characterized by the belief in karma, dharma, and the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.

Hindus believe in the existence of a supreme being, known as Brahman, who is the ultimate reality and source of all creation. They worship a variety of gods and goddesses, each representing different aspects of Brahman. Hinduism also places a strong emphasis on rituals, ceremonies, and the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment. The religion is deeply ingrained in Indian culture and has influenced art, music, dance, and philosophy. Hinduism promotes the idea of living a virtuous and ethical life, and its teachings emphasize the importance of compassion, non-violence, and respect for all living beings.

Buddhism

Buddhism has around 535 million followers worldwide. It was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha, in the 5th century BCE. Buddhism emphasizes the importance of achieving enlightenment and escaping the cycle of suffering through meditation and ethical living.

Buddhists believe in the concept of karma, which states that a person's actions in this life will determine their fate in future lives. They also believe in the Four Noble Truths, which outline the nature of suffering and the path to liberation from it. Buddhism has had a significant impact on art, architecture, and philosophy in many Asian countries, and its teachings have spread to the West in recent centuries. Buddhist practices include meditation, mindfulness, and the cultivation of compassion and wisdom.

Sikhism

Sikhism is the fifth-largest religion, with approximately 25 million followers. It was founded in the 15th century in Punjab, India, by Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Sikhism emphasizes the belief in one God, equality, and the importance of community service. Sikhs follow the teachings of the Guru Granth Sahib, their holy scripture.

Sikhism is a monotheistic religion that originated in the 15th century in Punjab, India. It was founded by Guru Nanak Dev Ji, who taught the importance of equality, community service, and devotion to God. Sikhism emphasizes the belief in one God and rejects the caste system and idol worship. The holy scripture of Sikhism is the Guru Granth Sahib, which is considered the eternal Guru and serves as a guide for Sikhs. Sikh practices include daily prayers, meditation, and the wearing of the Five Ks, which are articles of faith that symbolize the Sikh identity. Sikhism has a strong emphasis on social justice and equality, and Sikhs are known for their commitment to community service and humanitarian efforts.

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Sudan Crisis Explained: The Violence that Stunned Humanity

Sudan Crisis – The northeastern African nation is on the brink of collapsing as high fighting continues between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The ongoing collision has affected more than 1 billion people, killed hundreds, and turned Khartoum’s capital into a war zone. The civilians are migrating to the neighboring countries of Chad, Libya, Ethiopia, and Egypt to shelter and protect their lives.

What made Sudan’s Capitol a War Zone?

Under solidarity, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces agreed to allow civilians to leave the war zone. Moreover, they also agreed to allow humanitarian aid to enter and process the relief operations for the injured.  

But what led Sudan to the catastrophic war today? Here’s an explainer:

Sudanese people have struggled to establish a democracy after decades under the one-person rule.

Omar al Bashir came into power in the late 1980s after a brutal military coup. He became the country’s president, ruled for 30 years before the populace erupted, and sought his resignation.

Omar al Bashir resigned after the former military coup, and the Sudanese Army took over Sudan. But people didn’t want them to rule or be in charge of Sudan either. So after immense pressure from the protestors, activists, and demonstrators, the Army agreed to share powers.

The Army led by Abdel Fattah AL-Burhan agreed to share powers with different political groups in the transitional government. It was intended to oversee the shift to a democratic system. However, the people of Sudan’s’ fortune have some time else in their destiny. After two years, the Army removed the new prime minister and seized power again.

With the Army in power, the people of Sudan seemed trapped and in limbo. With no clear path or trajectory to rule the country, the armed force and political group representatives have been in ongoing talks to make the transition happen again. However, the transition process held up due to underlying revelry between the Army and the Rapid Support Force that became the Second Army.

Also Read: Threat To Famine In South Sudan

The Friends that Become Enemies

The effective leader of the country AL-Burhan, and the leader of RSF, General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, aka Hemedti, were friends initially. For years both were on the same stage and joined hands after the war in Darfur (2003 civil war). Hemedti led a militia at the time known as Janjaweed; they were used by Al-bushir’s (the former president of Sudan) Army.

The Janjaweed help the Al-bushier army fight rebels in the Darfur region and protect the upper echelon of the Army and senior commanders. However, they were accused of war crimes in Darfur, and AL-Bashir was charged with committing genocide in 2013. Hence, in 2013 Hemedti led the militia to rebrand themselves as the Rapid Support Forces and worked with the Army on different missions.  

Moreover, al-Burhan and Hemedti joined hands and planned to overthrow Omar al-Bashir, the country’s longtime leader, in 2019.

Besides, they planned a revolution in October 2021, upending the tenuous transition to civilian administration that had been initiated.

Gen Dagalo has said, in a series of tweets, that Gen Burhan’s government were “radical Islamists” and that he and the RSF were “fighting for the people of Sudan to ensure the democratic progress for which they have so long yearned.”

Though the friendship does not last for long, and Gen Dagalo, aka Hemedti, force becomes more powerful. During the pro-democracy protest against Al-Bashir, the RSF force and Army were accused of killing hundreds of people.

In the tweets, Hemedti stated: “The international community must take action now and intervene against the crimes of Sudanese General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, a radical Islamist who is bombing civilians from the air. His Army is waging a brutal campaign against innocent people, bombing them with MiGs.”

Also Read: The Egyptian Army in Sudan… What are the Reasons?

The War of Power in the Sudan Crisis

Since the killing during the pro-democracy protest, the Hemedti force has acted more independently and grown powerfully. Hemedti forces were able to establish vast investments in the resources within the country and outside, too, especially in gold trading.

So that brings us to the current Sudan crisis with the realization of the rapid growth of Hemedti force supremacies over Sudan. And expressive political ambition of Hemedti, Gen Al-Burhan led the Army and proposed integrating the Hemedti force into Sudan’s Army.

Sudan Crisis

Sudan Crisis

However, both heads were unable to agree on the timeline. The Army initially proposed two years of integration, while RSF wanted ten years.

It is unclear who started the fight, but on April 15, both sides began swapping accusations that they had attacked each other’s bases in Khartoum.

Slowly, they control the presidential palace, the airport, and the state TV channel. The RSF has no aircraft but a heavy army force with 10,000 men and anti-aircraft weapons. The Army has air power. They have been hitting the RSF residential areas bases in the capitol.

Both forces are fighting brutally and keep damaging the country’s resources alongside the life of millions of people. There have been plenty of calls to stop the war and take the talk to the table from Sudan’s neighbors. Additionally, despite the efforts of the African Union, the UN, the US, the UK, and the EU, there is no sign of backing up from either side.

The South Sudanese foreign minister was forced to mediate the war and reach a ceasefire agreement, but violations continued unabated. The two sides say they agreed to hold the talk, but they have repeatedly heard from the Army that conditions are set for these talks.

However, mass migration is escalating in Sudan with the acceleration in the humanitarian situation. The situation is already out of control; it’s now for big cats to intervene. The UN should take strict action and protect the rights of the people of Sudan.

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Palestine is Entrenched In the Heart of Qatar World Cup

Almost every match of the Qatar World Cup has witnessed signs of having Palestine entrenched in the heart of World Cup’s fans by either raising the Palestinian flag, wearing a Palestinian kufiyah or chanting slogans in solidarity with the people of Palestine. Palestine is a kind of country that is physically absent but spiritually present in the heart of the World Cup in Qatar. There is hardly a match, event, or promotional activity without the presence of the Palestinian flag, even though its team does not participate in the tournament. This edition of the World Cup tournaments is, by all means, different and holds significant importance since its beginning 92 years ago for the Arabs and the Palestinians. Since the beginning of the tournaments, Palestinians have been looking forward to spreading awareness about their suffering and getting their voice heard on a large scale.

What is in the heart, is in the heart

Arabs’ unity at its best in supporting Palestinians is present in a chilling way in the Mondial. This is almost the first time for Muslims, Arabs, and especially Palestinians to have their powerful platform to speak aloud. They need to speak loudly about their suffering in the largest gathering ever. The Palestinian flag has been flown with pride at stadiums across Doha since the tournament kicked off.

The unifying power of football has been unmistakably displayed, with Palestinians eager to throw their support behind Arab teams upsetting football’s international elite. On the other hand, Arabs have also shown signs of solidarity with the Palestinians during the tournaments. “My friends and I have been exchanging videos posted online showing Arab people waving the Palestinian flag, it’s a testament that we are one and Palestine is alive in the hearts and minds of all Arabs,” a fan said.   Furthermore, Arab activists on “Twitter” launched a campaign to boycott companies supporting the “Israeli” occupation, and widely raised Palestinian flags during the World Cup Qatar 2022. Beautifully, Tunisian fans chanted for Palestine and raised the Palestinian flag outside the stadiums beautifully displaying Palestine entrenched in the heart of the World Cup.

Qatar encapsulates timeless universal solidarity with Palestine

It is not surprising to see the Qatari fans’ support for the Palestinians in the Mondial. On top of all supporting countries, Qatar has always shown solidarity with the Palestinian question whether spiritually or financially. Significantly, Qatar has seized the chance not only to spread Islamic culture and history but also the Palestinian question as well. Likewise, a Qatari man filmed a video on social media showing him distributing Palestinian armbands.

Several Qataris wore armbands featuring a pro-Palestinian design at the Mondial, according to photos posted on Twitter. The armbands bore the black-and-white design of the kufiyah scarf that is synonymous with the Palestinian cause. They were an apparent response to players and officials protesting FIFA’s players who wear the gay armband on the pitch. On top of all of that, Winterhill Hospitality, the official FIFA World Cup 2022 hospitality-booking site, has put ‘Occupied Palestinian territories’ as a country option, without mentioning ‘Israel’ on its list. Moreover, it launched a popular campaign called “The Palestinian Dream” in Qatar. It aims to raise awareness of the Palestinian cause and the crimes of the occupation. It also has another aim: taking advantage of the major global event “World Cup”.

In addition, a Qatari man appeared in a video refusing to talk to an Israeli reporter as a way of showing solidarity with the Palestinian cause. Not only him, but also many Qataris showed refusing to interact with Israeli reporters. They also held the Palestinian flags high in every street, car, and stadium.

Israel is hopelessly isolated as Palestine is entrenched in the heart of the masses

As a sign and a result of showing solidarity with Palestinians, the masses have hopelessly outcasted and isolated Israeli media in front of the world. The Israeli media appeared isolated amidst large numbers of Arab fans. Whenever knowing their Israeli identity and hear their broken Arab accent, pro-Palestinians rally around them with dozens of Palestinian flags. For more, click here. “We feel hated, surrounded by hostility and unwanted,” an Israeli journalist said. Another Israeli reporter interviewing a Saudi fan burst into anger shouting that “Israel stays for doomsday.” This is a sign of covering up the distress and anger in which he is. This Mondial has proved the hatred of Arabs, Muslims, and some Westerners worldwide for the Israelis. A Saudi fan was overwhelmed in a video telling an Israeli reporter that he is not welcome here.

As a result, Israeli media started to flounder for being a redundant intolerable guest. “After a while, we decided to claim we were Ecuadorian when someone would ask us where we were from,” an Israeli reporter said. Read more on this: Is anti-Semitism essential for the survival and growth of Zionism and Jewish peoplehood?

The Yemeni, Saudi, and Tunisian masses gave a harsh lesson to the Israeli journalist Jay Hochmann. This happened when he stood among their groups to impose himself among them, so they cheered “Palestine”. Furthermore, Yediot Ahrnot said that their coverage of the World Cup showed the magnitude of the Arabs’ hatred of Israel. It also noted that Iranian, Qatari, Jordanian, Moroccan, Syrian, Lebanese, and Egyptian fans were looking at them with hate looks.

General view

Summing up, it is the instinct of Arabic peoples to show such solidarity with Palestinians. All the presented signs show that Palestine is entrenched in the heart of World Cup fans. Through their unity and awareness, the Palestinian question is strongly dominant in the scene. Most importantly, let us not forget the enormous efforts of Qatar of supporting Palestinians in all circumstances. One of the most critical factors to make full benefit of the Qatar World Cup in support of the Palestinian cause is to communicate directly with match commentators, presenters, and influencers. This can be via television, radio channels, or social media sites to highlight, talk about, and address the Palestinian issue during their comments on the games.

In addition to the need to interact on social media sites via several tags, most notably Palestine in the World Cup, to get the issue to the extreme and the most significant gatherings. This interaction proved that the question of Palestine is still alive and still entrenched in the hearts of all Arabs and Islamic peoples in the World Cup. Qatar World Cup FIFA has become the main platform to convey the Palestinian question to the whole world. On the other hand, negligence and outcast, at least, are what Israelis got due to their bloody deeds against Palestinians. From our platform, we announce our support for Qatar and the Palestinian question as well.

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The Scope of inter-religious pluralism within Islam

Even though pluralism is a loaded term, its generic meaning suggests a phenomenon of peaceful coexistence between entities of diverse cultural, religious, and political inclinations. It is important to remember that pluralism does not mean the elimination of difference, nor does the word “tolerance” do justice to its intended purpose. Pluralism is not merely tolerating the other but engaging with the beliefs of others with peaceful dialogue and action. The scope of interreligious puralism within Islam proposes this kind of pluralism.

What does Pluralism mean in Islam?

Looking at the subjective meaning of pluralism within the ambit of Islam, the proponents of various Islamic discourses have proposed that pluralism is a pronounced feature of Islam. Many Muslim intellectuals claim that pluralism is central to the fundamental essence of Islam. A convincing case can be made for the presence of a compelling pluralistic ethos within the Islamic scriptures.

In his essay, Reformist Islam in Comparative Perspective, Mehran Kamrava claims that the rise in the level of religiosity amongst Muslims has given rise to other forms of Islam. One of which according to him is “likely to have the most resonating consequences for Islamic jurisprudence in both the near and the distant future” and calls it “intellectual Islam”. He claims that it is through this form of Islam that a Muslim reformist discourse is introduced. Which has produced significant work to locate the place of inter-religious pluralism in Islam. He further derives some themes out of the reformist discourse, very important with their reference to pluralism in Islam:

“First is a deep and abiding conviction in Islam as faith and a system of belief. In its current manifestation, the discourse of reformist Muslim intellectuals does not seek to instrumentalize Islam for purposes of achieving modernity in a manner palatable to the masses at large. Islam is not a means to an end; it is an end in itself. It simply needs to be re-thought and reformulated. The reformists’ reliance on and endless references to the Qur’an bespeaks of the text’s cultural centrality to them.”.

Such display of absolute faith by Muslim reformists whilst having reformist inclinations bespeak of their balanced position. A flexible modern vision can develop interfaith dialogue. The abiding conviction to Islam earns a sense of authenticity for their thought process in the eyes of fellow Muslims.

What is Democratic Pluralism?

The next theme of the reformist discourse is “democratic pluralism”: “Pluralism, the reformist discourse’s proponents maintain, is a salient feature of the spirit of the Qur’an and the hadith.” (Kamrava )

To support his claim he cites another Muslim intellectual Abdulaziz Sachedina who quotes:

The challenge for Muslims today, as ever, is to tap the tradition of Koranic pluralism to develop a culture of restoration, of just intrareligious and interreligious relationships in a world of cultural and religious diversity. Without restoring the principle of coexistence, Muslims will not be able to recapture the spirit of early civil society under the Prophet.

In the globalized world, the facets of modernity like its political model of the nation-state have become a governing principle for all ethnic, cultural, and religious pluralism. This means the only larger identity governing the religious identity of the people is that of the nation-state. In the religiously pluralistic society of today, people may have different identities, but the model of the nation-state promises all of them the same status. People might identify with different religious inclinations, but the state identifies them as either citizens or residents of the state. This is exactly the kind of challenge that Sachedina talks about when he implores Muslims to revive the tradition of pluralism that is central to the Islamic texts for peaceful coexistence in the globalized world.

The Case of Muslims living as a minority

If Muslims live in a minority in a nation-state that runs on one of the political models of modernity like democracy or secularism, then for the sake of the welfare of Muslims they need to fulfill the duties that the nation-state demands from them. Andrew March talks about the jurisprudence of Muslim minorities also called Fiqh al-aqalliyyat al-muslima in Arabic:

Fiqh alaqalliyyat tends to be a discourse where departures from traditional Islamic commitments are not seen as desirable, and certainly not goals in and of themselves, but where creative rethinking often occurs in subtle and pragmatic guises. It is thus an important object of study for those interested in the ideal moral encounter between a public religion like Islam and modern/post-modern secularism. (March 6).

Important questions of interest toward non-Islamic institutions have been addressed from within internal Islamic discourses that advocate for a positive Muslim attitude concerning the issue of pluralism.

Islam’s relation with other Faiths

The third theme within the reformist Islamic discourse is “Islam’s relations with other great faiths”. An important aspect central to the Muslim understanding of pluralism is the conception that god’s message in the Quran is universal and that the revelation was made through more than just one prophet, which means that the revelations had multiple manifestations. The basic underpinning for this idea can be seen in the Quran which mentions the monotheistic traditions of Judaism and Christianity. Far from denying the Quran in fact validates that Torah and Bible were predecessor scriptures affirming that their message has come from the same god. Many Quranic verses echo the sentiments which envisage a world where diversified people are united by their pious intentions and mutual devotion to God.

Some Important Milestones in the Islamic History

Apart from the theoretical contributions to promote Islamic pluralism, efficient action has also been taken within the Muslim discourse on a practical level to perpetuate inter-faith harmony.

One such historic step was the “1981 adoption of the Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights, whose article XIII states: Every person has the right to freedom of conscience and worship in accordance with his religious beliefs.”.

Apart from this, another significant step was taken in 1990 when the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam was adopted, Article 1(a) of which states:

“All human beings form one family whose members are united by submission to God and descent from Adam. All men are equal in terms of basic human dignity and basic obligations and responsibilities, without any discrimination on the grounds of race, color, language, sex, religious belief, political affiliation, social status or other considerations. True faith is the guarantee for enhancing such dignity along the path to human perfection.”

Islamic Tradition of Peaceful Coexistence

The Quran recognizes fundamental rights for all humankind whether Muslims or non-Muslims and explicitly forbids compulsion in faith. The Islamic texts also provide a practical model of implementing pluralistic ideals which have greatly affected the treatment of non-Muslims in Muslim lands. Contrary to the Islamophobic stereotypes, Islam not only acknowledges pluralism, but it also goes beyond the reductive concepts of tolerance and intolerance to endorse and encourages a tradition of peaceful coexistence.

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COP27 Climate Change Summit: Greenwashing Scam Imperilling Human Rights

COP27 Faced Major Criticism

Morally, politically and economically COP27 climate change summit has been coined as a greenwashing scam imperilling human rights.

The world watched Egypt closely as it hosted the 27th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh from the 8th-16th of November. More than 190 governments attended COP27 to attempt to solve some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.

Furthermore, Egypt hosting of COP27 sparked much controversy due to its abysmal human rights record. Additionally,COP27faced heavy criticism due to some of the world’s top polluters, such as Coca-Cola sponsoring the event. Furthermore, attendees arrived in private jets; meat and dairy products remained on menus; dozens of domestic civil society organizations were excluded. Additionally, the summit was overshadowed by persistent calls to release up to 65,000 political prisoners in Egyptian prisons.

World's Top Polluter, Coca-Cola, Sponsored COP27

The UN climate conference announced a sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola, one of the “world’s top polluters”. Coca-Cola recently retained its title for the fourth year as the world’s top plastic polluter. The sponsorship deal is a greenwashing scam by campaigners, drawing intense criticism.

Coca-Cola produces 120 billion throwaway plastic bottles a year. 99% of plastics are made from fossil fuels, exacerbating the plastic and climate change crises.

Private Jets, Bottomless Cocktails and Beef Medallion Dishes

Surprisingly, attendees indulged in the very activities which got us into this mess in the first place. Moreover, world leaders flew to Egypt in private jets. Attendees enjoyed bottomless cocktails, one-hour unlimited wine and beer packages, $100 beef medallion dishes, and $50 seafood platters.

This begs the question: do these foods belong at a climate conference? We have missed the true purpose of the climate summit: to help save the planet.

Meat and Dairy On the Menu – Not on the Agenda

In the three-decade history of the UN Climate Summit, COP27 was the first UN summit to discuss the meat and dairy industry’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions.

COP27 faced massive criticism this year from climate activists due to the unsustainable meat and dairy items on its menus. It seems unimaginable that globally we are trying to reduce our meat and dairy consumption to save our planet. However, our governments cannot stop eating these foods at the world’s largest climate summit.

Cutting meat and dairy output are not yet on the agenda for governments at COP27. Many governments attending the summit give billions to livestock farmers in subsidies. Instead of focusing on plant-based diets, they are advancing policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions using feed additives that make animals less gassy and technology that sucks up the methane wafting off manure heaps. Andy Reisinger, a farm emissions specialist and vice-chair of the UN’s IPCC climate panel, said feed additives could worsen emissions by promoting intensive farming.

Dozens of Domestic Civil Society Groups Excluded

Hundreds of prominent human rights defenders, researchers and environmentalists were exiled from Egypt. They were unable to attend Cop27 due to the nature of their work. Many voices from Egypt were absent at the conference due to the government’s corrupt attempts to exclude dozens of domestic civil society groups.

“Arrests and detention, NGO asset freezes and dissolutions and travel restrictions against human rights defenders have created a climate of fear for Egyptian civil society organisations to engage visibly at the COP27” 

Additionally, COP27’s wifi blocked access to international human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and other news websites needed during information talks. These prominent human rights organizations hosted talks at COP27 but could not access their sites due to previous work criticizing the Egyptian government. Egypt used this strategy to hide the nation’s decades-long record of cracking down on human rights.

65,000 Political Prisoners in Egyptian Prisons

Currently, there are an estimated 65,000 political prisoners inside Egyptian prisons. COP27 was overshadowed by persistent calls to release political prisoners.

A British-Egyptian detainee, Alaa Abd el-Fattah, was a significant focus in the media. As a leader of Egypt’s 2011 revolution, he has been in prison for the past decade. He started a partial hunger strike in April 2022 to protest his detention conditions. He spent the last six months consuming just 100 calories a day. A week before COP27 started, he stopped eating altogether. Then, on the day the summit began, he stopped drinking water. He has since resumed drinking water but remains critically ill.

Greta Thunberg, who refused to attend COP27, signed a petition by a human rights coalition calling on Egyptian authorities to open up civic space and release political prisoners.

COP27 Cracks Down On “Greenwashing”

Companies, banks, cities and states worldwide have continuously made broken promises to achieve net-zero emissions. These corporate climate pledges amount to little more than a greenwashing scam. Evading net-zero claims is a common greenwashing strategy. Companies claim to be carbon-free due to strategies such as buying carbon credits while simultaneously pursuing new fossil fuel projects emitting greenhouse gases.

Greenwashing is when an organization spends more time and money marketing itself as environmentally friendly than minimizing its environmental impact. It’s a shady marketing gimmick that misleads consumers who prefer to buy environmentally friendly goods and services.

At COP27, the UN cracked down on greenwashing, laying down recommendations for how companies, financial institutions and cities must calculate their net-zero emissions status. The new UN report aims to eliminate loopholes by laying out ten steps to bring integrity, transparency and accountability to net-zero claims.

“I have a message to fossil fuel companies and their financial enablers. So-called ‘net-zero pledges’ that exclude core products and activities are poisoning our planet. They must thoroughly review their pledges and align them with this new guidance”.

UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL, ANTÓNIO GUTERRES.

The UN cracked down on companies stating that they can’t claim to be net zero if they are not in line with targets set out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). These targets include cutting global carbon emissions by 45% by 2030. The UN limited short-term carbon offsets and held that they could only be used sparingly in the long term.

Historic Deal: Governments Must Pay Poor Nations for Climate Damage

Governments at COP27 approved a historic deal to create a fund for compensating developing nations that are victims of extreme weather events worsened by rich countries’ greenhouse gas emissions. However, many remained uncertain as countries argued over emission reduction efforts.

Moreover, this is a massive step for poorer countries bearing the brunt ofclimate change. These nations face extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, heat waves, and famines despite releasing the lowest greenhouse gas emissions. This historical “loss and damage” deal will provide financial assistance to developing nations stricken by climate disasters.

However, this loss and damage deal has several flaws. Some nations held that the pledges to limit global temperatures to below 1.5 degrees showed little progress compared to the COP26 conference in Glasgow in 2021. Furthermore, others criticized how the language and guidelines on phasing out fossil fuels were weak. Despite many different opinions between nations regarding the guidelines of this historic deal, it is still a vital step towards achieving climate justice.

Concluding Thoughts

COP27 has faced significant criticism this year for many justifiable reasons. Many believe COP27 is a greenwashing scam failing humanity and the planet by not leading to significant changes. The UN climate summit is losing its credibility in being able to create meaningful change to save our planet.

World leaders and people in power continuously use high-profile gatherings like COP for attention and are greenwashing, lying and cheating their way through pledges and commitments. The UN Environment Programme released the Emissions Gap report stating that only an urgent system-wide transformation can deliver the enormous emissions cuts needed to stabilize global temperatures below 1.5 degrees by 2030.

World leaders consistently fail to fulfil their commitments and act on time. We cannot place trust in greenwashing scams like COP summits anymore. Instead, we need rapid, far-reaching, unprecedented changes in all aspects of society if we want to build a sustainable world for future generations.

[mzemo0]

Qatar FIFA 2022, A Civilized Model Of Islam

Qatar is the first country in the Middle East to host the FIFA World Cup 2022. This was after Qatar’s award hosting in December 2010. This is a tremendous opportunity for Qatar to represent Qatar in FIFA 2022 as a civilized model of Islam. The country converted to Islam in the 7th century. Since winning the hosting, it has been constructing some of the most eco-friendly and architectural advanced sporting facilities ever seen. It is the kind of country that has the power to host the greatest show of FIFA ever on Earth.

First, Qatar has always drawn its strength from discovering oil, fishing, and pearl hunting. In addition, it is the world’s second-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas. Hosting the tournament presents tremendous opportunities for Qatar to prove itself as a powerful country. Significantly, Qatar has always been taking advantage of the tournament hosting to develop local Industries, expertise, and infrastructure. This was for Innovation and application of excellent standards and support of Qatar’s transition to a knowledge-based economy. This edition of theFIFA World Cup 2022is being themed by Qatar on its culture, history, identity, and hospitability. As a result, efforts have made the event an unforgettable historical experience.

The Tremendous Achievements and Preparations of Qatar’s FIFA World Cup Hosting 2022 as a Civilized Model of Islam

Qatar has reflected the Islamic culture theme in the event’s hosting laws. This has made Qatar FIFA 2022 a civilized model of Islam. Affected by the domestic laws of the country, Qatar imposed laws governing the behavior of foreign nationals. Laws also included regulating the rights of broadcast and FIFA’s intellectual property. Laws also covered the entry and exit of fans, fans’ financial transactions, and the establishment of the Security Commission. All the imposed laws require foreign Nationals who are visiting the country to adhere to local Customs. This applies to the fans who are attending the World Cup tournament.

These laws include:

It prohibits selling any type of Alcohol in and around the stadium.

It prohibits all homosexual slogans.

All kinds of music and songs at the time of the prayers are not allowed.

Banning the German national team’s flight from entering the country for bearing the homosexual logo and exchanging it.

As a Muslim country, Qatar expects foreign Nationals intending the World Cup tournament to wear conservative clothes in public places. Accordingly, laws prohibited fans from putting money on specific teams according to the domestic law of Qatar, which prohibits gambling. 

Other Beautifying Islamic Implementations

Posting Ahadith Nabawia, which means the sayings of the prophet PBUH, in every corner of the stadium about Islamic tolerance, charity, and pure altruism.

 It Exchanged all the humble-voice Muezzins (the believers who call for the prayer) with charming-voice Muezzins.

Moreover, the allocation of many speakers inside the stadium in order to allow fans and everyone to hear the Azan.

Distribution of books about Islamic and Arabian history and introduction to Islam. All books are available in the audience’s languages.

Posting Boasters calling the audience not to smoke or drink alcohol as well as respecting Qatar’s religion and culture.

Inauguration of the event by reciting some Ayat from the holy Quran by the Qatari reciter Ghanim Al Moftah.

Hosting the most iconic Islamic preacher, Zakir Nike. He will conduct religious lectures in the largest global gathering for the entire duration of the event.

Equally important, Qatar has been constructing one of the greatest stadiums. It will be hosting the largest edition in the history of the event.

Other Attracting Preparations

Starting from the design of the emblem of FIFA World Cup 2022 implies many symbols. Its design resembles the traditional woolen shawl that men and women were in the Arab region. The shawl itself represents a symbol of a unifying force. They shaped the emblem in figure 8, which represents the number of stadiums built to host the event. Moreover, the design of the emblem celebrates Qatar’s heritage while embodying the vision of a global event that connects and engages the entire world.

Qatar Fifa 2022 as a Civilized Model of Islam, Between Proponents and Opponents, Still Challenging

The Worldwide focused its attention on the Islamic-culture theme rather than the tournament itself. “Since we won the honor of hosting the World Cup, Qatar has been subjected to an unprecedented campaign that no host country has faced,” the emir said in a speech. “We initially dealt with the matter in good faith, and even considered that some criticism was positive and useful, helping us to develop aspects that need to be developed,” the emir said.

Nevertheless, massive speech attacks against Qatar still claim Qatar’s Islamization of the FIFA World Cup event. Accordingly, many have been cruelly attacking Qatar through speech for its situation towards homosexual relationships as a dictatorial country that gives no value to freedom and human rights.  Others were criticizing choosing Qatar as a host claiming that it is a very small country. “Picking Qatar to host the World Cup was a mistake,” former FIFA president Sepp Blatter said. “It’s a country that’s too small,” Mr. Blatter said of Qatar, the smallest host by size since the 1954 tournament in Switzerland. All criticizing claims tend to be either racist, islamophobic, or even secular.

The Associated Press’s Speech

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (Associated Press) — Qatar is a Muslim nation, with laws, customs, and practices rooted in Islam. The country is neither as liberal as Dubai in the United Arab Emirates nor as conservative as parts of Saudi Arabia. Most of its citizens are Sunni Muslim.”

Qatar’s most powerful clan originates from the Arabian Peninsula’s landlocked interior, where the Wahhabi ideology was born. Its national mosque is named after the 18th-century religious figure, Mohammed Ibn Abdul-Wahhab, who spurred the ultraconservative interpretation of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism.

Visitors to this mosque and others in Qatar are asked to dress conservatively, with men covering their knees and women preferably donning loose-flowing robes known as abayas and headscarves.

Unlike Saudi Arabia, where adherence to Wahhabism led to strict segregation of unmarried men and women, banned women from driving, and kept concerts, cinemas, and even yoga off-limits for decades, Qatar has long sponsored the arts, allowed women to participate in high levels of governance and encouraged tourists to feel at ease in the country. It also permits the sale of alcohol in licensed hotels and bars.

General View

Each time the word wide strongly proves that theWorld CupTournament is not just a game. But, it’s a chance to scatter all the political issues and to flip over the flows of each country in its face. From the very first moment of Qatar’s winning the hosting honor, European countries turned their attention toward Qatar, facing constant scrutiny over its treatment of foreign workers, women’s rights, and homosexuals’ rights.

In addition, each time the FIFA Union puts rules to avoid merging politics with the tournaments, they seem useless since many European countries tend to politicalize the contests on a large scale. Authorities in several French cities – including Paris – have already announced that they will boycott the event by not showing any matches on big screens or creating fan zones. Nevertheless, Despite all the opponents’ fingers pointing towards Qatar, Qatar has proven that it is worth hosting. On top of all the beautifying deeds Qatar made is launching a campaign on social media called #Reflect_Your_Respect which totally makes Qatar FIFA 2022 a civilized model of Islam. In the end, let us enjoy the event in our own special way and wish the players all the best of luck!

[mzemo0]

The World Cup in Qatar and Die-hard Western Racism

The Western modernity project, which has undeniably accomplished enormous innovations for the entire world, is yet to get rid of major ailments and liabilities still blemishing the collective western mindset. The current World Cup in Qatar has revealed the depth of that morbidity, namely the deep-rooted European racism, and recalcitrant persistence of classical and novel Orientalism in the perceptions of many Westerners.

Likewise, conventional and social media have reinforced negative stereotypes about the East, both Muslims and non-Muslims, as the current World Cup event has revealed to us that Western racism against the others is still active and far from being dormant or historical.

‘I Do Not Respect This Country and I Will Not Go to It’

An interesting comment I came across recently on Twitter from a European woman stated the following:

“I am a woman with special needs, and I learned that Qatar does not respect people with special needs, so I do not respect this country and I will not go to it.”

How did  this lady come to the utterly mendacious realization that Qatar or any other country,  (non-Western) does not respect people with special needs?

How can any country on earth not respect people with special needs and their requirements? This comment by that European lady belongs to a long catalogue of racist comments about Arabs and Muslims in general, backwardness, terrorism, etc.

In the final analysis,  the West would go as far as far as saying that Qatar effectively took advantage of the opportunity to organize the World Cup, only in order to vent its frustration and compensate for its utter insignificance! How dare they do this, embarking on such a gargantuan feat, which only Europeans and westerners should be tasked to do? Surely, the Arabs and Muslims have exceeded their proscribed boundaries!

Europe: Deep-Rooted Orientalist Racism

In the context of the explosion of this deep-rooted Orientalist racism, there are several quick points that deserve to be evoked and satisfactorily examined regarding the following question:

Are we really living in a world of multiculturalism, diverse traditions, societies and religions where coexistence and Mutual respect is the ultimate regulator of relations,

 Or do we live in a world that is centred around the West and Europe, directly or indirectly, and therefore must willy-nilly be guided and led by Western values ​​and standards?

This is part of a set of complex questions hovering around the limits of cultural particularism and the horizons of universal human values. But this is a discussion that needs broader spaces and wider contexts, perhaps.

The first note is related to the reported Qatari position of refusing to host gay banners during matches and festivals in thefifa world cup 2022. This is in addition to preventing public demonstrations or gatherings for this specific category of spectators.

The authorities in the small Arabian Gulf state said that the public celebration demanded by homosexuals contradicts the culture, traditions and religion of the Qatari society, and while the Qataris wouldn’t ask arrivals about their sexual orientation, they prevent the expression of those orientations in the public space, whether those orientations are homosexual or non-homosexual.

Western Countries Are Not in a Position to Give “Moral Lessons” to Other Nations

Here, the Western media arrogance manifested itself by claiming or giving the impression that they represent the overall human discourse when in fact they represent no more than one-eighth of the world’s population (Europe and America) – in fact, many Westerners do not actually agree with much of what is published and adopted by that media.

Indeed, neither the Chinese nor the Indian media nor the rest of the world stirred up this “non-conformist” Qatari position, because the majority of countries and societies around the world recognize the diversity of cultures, traditions and orientations of societies and assume mutual respect.

A One-sided Moral Lesson is Just Hypocrisy!

Media exaggerations and insinuations have reached astonishing proportions: Backward Muslim countries are condemning homosexuals to death, and there is a real danger to the lives of those going to the World Cup, and so on.

An amazing thing that calls for an occasional reminder of a historical fact dating back a thousand years ago, when the societies of Muslim countries in Baghdad, Damascus, Andalusia, and India were publishing collections of poetry and literature about homosexuals and boys, Europe considered women a demonic being.

The important thing here is to pay ample attention to the fact that societies shift and change unceasingly and do not move in a unilateral linear direction, but oscillate and turn left and right, back and forth, and sometimes in a circular pattern, according to contemporary socio-economic challenges and pressures which are extremely complex and difficult to predict, and that its cultures and traditions are organized in a changing process, not static or fixed, and Europe is one of the most important examples. Therefore, a distinction must always be made between criticism that is always needed to stimulate new human paths, and another criticism that is part of the problem rather than part of the solution.

The second note relates to the prohibition of alcohol consumption in and around the stands while confining it to specific places as announced by the organizers.

Once again, the Western media is raging, as if there were a “holy book” for football that stipulates the presence of alcohol as part of the sport that has charmed millions. The host country determined the practice, again based on local culture, religion and traditions. Why do many Westerners not want to respect non-Western cultures, while demanding that non-Westerners conform to Western culture sensitivities when others visit or reside in Western countries?

What is worse is that we do not see this brazen bullying of Qatar even in other non-Western cases. Is it acceptable in the West for some Western tourists to congregate in the center of the Indian capital, Delhi, and slaughter a cow, for example? Of course not, but it is required of Westerners and non-Westerners not to prejudice the Indian tradition of respecting cows. No one is required to agree or believe what others believe, but what is required is mutual respect.

The third note is related to the rights of Asian workers in Qatar and the purported violations of their rights, committed by some firms and employers,  governmental or private.

Here, it has been made amply clear in many cases that violations have already taken place, especially in the first years of construction, and in every proven case, the media deserves a real appreciation for exposing these violations.

Needless to say, this has led to a significant improvement in the laws related to labor and workers, according to the reports of concerned international organizations. But at the same time, there has been a vitriolic black media campaign focusing on unproven data claiming that there have been as many as 6,500 deaths among these workers since 2010. Again, according to international statistics, the size of Asian labor in Qatar is around 2 million workers.

Assuming that the aforementioned death figure is correct, then, from a purely statistical point of view, it is not far from the natural and general death rate for a community of 2 million. On the other hand, the number that we do not hear much about in the black Western media (and this description does not apply to all Western media) is the 29,000 immigrants who have drowned on the shores of Europe since 2014, because the official authorities in more than one European country prevented them. And returning them to the sea, at a rate of more than 4,000 deaths annually, so far, according to statistics and reports of the International Organization for Migration.

The fourth note is the tendentious Western media focus on the fact that Qatar spent 220 billion dollars on the World Cup, which is a huge figure compared to what was spent by all the countries that previously hosted the World Cup.

However, a quick search of this figure leads the researcher to the fact that this spending went away from direct spending on sports facilities, to building a modern infrastructure that includes whole cities, gathering facilities, streets, bridges, and so on, and that this spending extended between the years of 2010, which is the year  Qatar was designated as the would- be host for the World Cup, and until now, i.e. the year 2022, at a rate of 18 billion every year.

This is more or less a normal figure for a country quite rich in oil and gas.

But focusing on this number in the Western media seemed to insinuate that the Arabs do not deserve the wealth that is in their hands and that they squander it rather lavishly.

Indeed, between the lines of Western criticism of this figure,  an honest observer would detect a certain resentment that reflects a huge amount of envy.  Unseen, this envy consists of two parts:

The first is that the wealth of other countries is “misplaced” and should, therefore,  have gone to Europe and the West. How and why did these riches come to them, and why on earth we cannot access them?

The second: How does a “backward, Arab and Muslim” country that is the target of constant ridicule succeed in organizing a huge global event on the level of theWorld Cup? Organizing these events is exclusively our business.

 In the colonial past, Europe arrogated the wealth of others, and plundering it over the course of centuries from Latin America to Africa, to Asia. And now, to their chagrin,  the West does not reach all the wealth as easily as it used to do. Now, too, many countries and societies have acquired self-creating, organizing and innovation capabilities, and are no longer governed by the hegemony of control by European and Western centers.

Finally, there is a contemplative note: If we compare aerial photographs of European cities such as London, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin, with others such as Kuala Lumpur, Delhi, Doha, Dubai, Riyadh, then we can safely argue that the second group (and to which we can add numerous other cities around the world) was built thanks to  the wealth of the countries themselves, whereas  European cities were built historically thanks to the wealth arrogated by the colonial masters. The history of European colonial plundering of continents, which is still going on in the African continent and elsewhere, though indirectly but quite rapaciously, does not qualify Europeans and westerners in general,  to teach moral lessons to the world.

[mzemo0]

Christians must not dance with Israeli apartheid under the guise of fighting anti-Semitism

It has been revealed that major Christian Churches in the UK succeeded in forcing former British Prime Minister Liz Truss, to reconsider earlier thoughts of moving the British embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

According to news reports, the Church of England, the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church strongly urged Truss to reconsider her ideas in this regard.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, reportedly sent a letter to Truss warning her against moving the British Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which, according to international law, is considered an occupied territory.

Cardinal Nichols probably reflected the views of his fellow clerics when he warned that the relocation of the embassy would seriously damage British interests throughout the Muslim world: “A relocation of the UK Embassy would be seriously damaging to any possibility of lasting peace in the region and to the international reputation of the United Kingdom.”

Moreover, the chief cleric in the Church of England, Justine Welby, expressed a similar attitude in a newspaper interview.

Predictably,Israelileaders reacted furiously, accusing Christian leaders of ignorance and adopting an immoral stance toward the apartheid Israeli entity.

Furthermore, one right-wing Israeli writer lambasted the three Churches which objected to the idea of relocating the British embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, claiming that the churches didn’t represent Christians around the world. He hinted that a Christian cannot be a true Christian unless he or she embraces the Israeli apartheid regime in the West Bank where non-Jews, e.g. Christians and Muslims, are treated as children of a lesser God, or using the biblical terms, as water-carriers and wood-hewers!

Interestingly, most extremist Israeli leaders subscribe to the silly concept that the only authentic Christians are the evangelical groups, or the so-called Christian Zionists, who believe that the creation of Israel in Palestine in 1948 was a fulfilment of Biblical Prophecy and a precedent to the second advent of Jesus.

The Hitler of Bethlehem

By the way, it might be appropriate to remind readers on this occasion that the Israeli government which claims to tend to and protect Christian interests in Palestine is the very same government that pays hundreds of millions of Shekels to vehemently anti-Christian Talmudic colleges (Yishivot) that teach the filthiest possible hate literature, like Hesronot Shas, against Jesus Christ. I am not going to mention passages from this filth out of veneration for Jesus himself and as a gesture of respect for Christian brothers and sisters around the world. My ultimate goal behind these stunning revelations is not to incite Christians to hate Jews. In the final analysis, truth, not hate is my craft.

Before leaving this thread, I want to remind readers of an incident that occurred several years ago. Then I met an ostensibly moderate and respectable rabbi. And as we were speaking about monotheistic religions and the common grounds between them, the rabbi surprised me when he referred to Jesus, a figure I love so much as every other Muslim does, as “The Hitler of Bethlehem.”  The repulsive remark shocked me from head to toe, to say he very least.

Noticing my reaction, the rabbi said: I know that you Muslims venerate and sanctify Jesus, I am sorry if I have inadvertently caused you any offense.

Venomous anti-Christian Hostility

Nonetheless, not all rabbis, especially in the West, are as honest as my interlocutor mentioned above. In fact, Zionist rabbis and other manifestly dishonest propagandists hysterically strive to distract attention from this colossal shame.

Hence, they concoct all sorts of lies and disinformation about an alleged persecution in the Holy Land of Christians by Muslims and even by the unreligious Palestinian Authority (PA), which is absolutely and completely at Israel’s beck and call.

The truth of the matter is that the apartheid Israeli entity and Talmudic Jewish circles (the Pharisees of our time) are the only sources of harassment and persecution of al Palestinians, Christians and Muslims alike.

This unceasing persecution assumes many forms, including:

Seizing land and real estate belonging to the churches, either by coercion or through suspicious purchase deals.

Routinly harassing Christian clergymen in the streets of East Jerusalem by spitting on them,  verbally abusing them or even bad-mouthing Jesus.

Denying Palestinian Christians in the Gaza Strip access to Christian Holy places in the West Bank such as The Nativity Church in Bethlehem and the church of Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

Occasionally vandalizing and setting churches on fire by anti-Christian Talmudic fanatics who often act on instructions from their government-paid rabbis.

Constantly seeking to stir Muslim-Christian tension, using Shen Bet agents to carry out this filthy feat. Fortunately, 99% of these toxic efforts have utterly failed, due to the exemplary vigilance of the Palestinian community.

An Australian Blow

A few days before the resignation of Liz Truss, the Australian government decided to reconsider its erstwhile decision to relocate Australia’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The decision was warmly welcomed by the Palestinians and the PA, which described it as consistent with the rule of international law.  However, the Australian decision drew much anger and consternation from the Israeli government and jingoistic media, with former Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu blaming current Prime Minister Yair Lapid for the reversal of Australian policy.

Conclusion

Nonetheless, Christians are expected to show some justice toward the tormented Palestinians.

We all know that thanks to the grossly unethical and illegal western policy toward the Palestinian question, Israel has been given a carte blanch to murder, torment, savage and dispossess the Palestinian people. This utterly unfair and unjust policy by western governments, particularly the U.S. and UK, effectively condemned the Palestinian people to an unenviable situation that is similar to those proverbial orphan kids, sitting for dinner around the table of the cruel and the mean.

Hence, the gesture of the three churches in England is highly appreciated. We also sincerely hope that Church leaders will continue to raise their influential voices in defence of the virtually abandonedPalestinians. This would be consistent with the lofty Christian ideals of siding with the oppressed.

[mzemo0]

The Forgotten Jammu Massacre

In November 1947, thousands of Muslims were murdered in Jammu by paramilitaries under the command of Maharaja Hari Singh’s army, the Hindu Dogra ruler of Jammu and Kashmir. Although the precise number of victims in the killings that lasted for two months is unknown, estimates range from 20,000 to 237,000. Nearly half a million Muslims were compelled to flee across the border into the recently formed country of Pakistan. These Muslims had to settle in the part of Kashmir that is under Pakistan’s administration. The massacre of Muslims in Jammu and the forced migration of others set off a chain of events that included a war between India and Pakistan, two newly independent countries. These incidents also gave rise to theKashmir issue. The massacres occurred as part of a British-designed strategy to divide the subcontinent into India and Pakistan, as millions of Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs crossed the border from one side to the other.

An Orchestrated Massacre

Before the two-decade-long massacre against Jammu’s Muslim majority really began, The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders from Amritsar met in secret with the Maharaja and his officials. They chose Poonch as the beginning place for the massacre of Muslims because of its record for fierce resistance. A two decade long and horrifying anti-Muslim pogrom began with the murder of a herdsman in the Panj Peer shrine and a Muslim labourer in the centre of Jammu city in the first week of September. Extremist Hindus and Sikhs committed the murders with the help and complicity of the Maharaja Hari Singh-led armies of the Dogra State. The RSS leaders and workers were complicit in organising and carrying out the atrocities.

Idrees Kanth, a fellow at the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam who studied the history of Kashmir in the 1940s, told Al Jazeera that the immediate impact (of partition) was seen in Jammu. “The Muslim subjects from different parts of Jammu province were forcibly displaced by the Dogra Army in a programme of expulsion and murder carried out over three weeks between October-November 1947,”.

The Dogra Army personnel started evicting Muslim peasants from Jammu province in the middle of October. The majority of the refugees were housed in refugee camps in the districts of Sialkot, Jhelum, Gujrat, and Rawalpindi after being directed on foot toward West Punjab, which would eventually become a part of Pakistan.

On November 5, Kanth claimed about the Dogra Army forces’ planned evacuation of Muslims that  “Instead of sending them to Sialkot, as they had been promised, the trucks drove them to wooded hills of Rajouri districts of Jammu, where they were executed.”

Demographic Changes

After the deaths and expulsion, the Muslims, who made up more than 60% of the population in the Jammu region, became a minority. According to a story from The Times, London, dated August 10, 1948: “2,37,000 Muslims were systematically exterminated – unless they escaped to Pakistan along the border – by the forces of the Dogra State headed by the Maharaja in person and aided by Hindus and Sikhs. This happened in October 1947, five days before the Pathan invasion and nine days before the Maharaja’s accession to India.”.

According to historians, the executions carried out by the Sikh and Hindu ruler’s armies were part of a “state sponsored genocide” to alter Jammu’s demographics, which had a predominately Muslim population.

Reports mention that Muslims who earlier were the majority (61 percent) in the Jammu region became a minority as a result of the Jammu massacre and subsequent migration.

According to PG Rasool, the author of a book The Historical Reality of Kashmir Dispute “The massacre of more than two lakh (two hundred thousands) Muslims was state-sponsored and state supported. The forces from Patiala Punjab were called in, RSS was brought to communalise the whole scenario and kill Muslims.”

Covering up of the Jammu Massacre

While it is unknown how many people were killed during the two-month-long killing spree, Horace Alexander’s report from The Spectator on January 16, 1948, is frequently cited. Alexander claimed that 200,000 people had died and that nearly 500,000 people had been displaced across the border into the recently formed country of Pakistan and the region of Kashmir that it controls.

India has ever since tried to free itself from the accountability of the past. The Jammu massacre has not only been left out of J&K’s historical narratives by the Indian state, but it has also been openly denied in its entirety.

Khurram Parvez, a noted human rights defender in Kashmir, told Al Jazeera that the ongoing conflict in Kashmir has its roots in 1947 massacre. “It is deliberately forgotten. Actually, the violence of that massacre in 1947 continues. Those who were forced to migrate to Pakistan have never been allowed to return,” he said.

What Does the Jammu Massacre mean for Kashmir today?

TheJammu massacregave India the opportunity to rewrite history, therefore relieving the Indian government from owning up to any responsibility for the atrocity. The Indian government is attempting to replicate this pattern in the Kashmir valley by systematically killing and exterminating Muslims and then covering it up. As more and more Indians obtain Kashmiri citizenship and are granted the ability to vote in state elections, this provides the necessary motive and encouragement for non-Kashmiris to relocate to Kashmir. While the right-wing BJP government has been milking the targeted killings of Kashmiri pandits in Kashmir. The communal violence against Muslims and the Jammu Massacre is the least talked about and written about in the history of the region.

[mzemo0]

Is Zionism Truly Anti-Nazism?

In its rabid efforts to demonize Israel’s Palestinian victims, the Zionist propaganda machine, known as Hasbara, repeatedly cites a famous meeting between Palestinian national leader Hajj Amin Husseini, and German  Führer Adolph Hitler in 1941, as an “indicting evidence” proving Palestinian collaboration with the Nazis.  In fact, Zionist propagandists weaved and continue to weave all sorts of farfetched tales concerning that inconsequential meeting. 

In fact, theZionistmachine of mendacity would go as far as claiming that the Palestinians bear a major share of responsibility for the Holocaust as a result of that meeting.

The real truth, however, is that such nefarious lies, though perfectly characteristic of the classical Zionist discourse, are knowingly used to mitigate the brutal ugliness of the ongoing Zionist holocaust against the Palestinian people.

In fact, the vast majority of Palestinians in the 1930s and early 1940s, probably knew next to nothing about Germany. Palestine then was under the harsh  British occupation, known as the mandate, whose ultimate goal was to prepare the country for the establishment of the malignant racist entity known as Israel.

Very few Palestinians visited Germany during that period,  and, similarly, very few Germans visited Palestine, probably with the exception of a small number of orientalists, anthropologists, archaeologists and missionaries.

Hence, the claim that the Palestinians who were languishing under an British military occupation did have particularly friendly ties with the Germans can’t withstand academic scrutiny for two minutes.

Yes, most Palestinians hated their British occupiers who were actually devising one of the greatest crimes against humanity of all time against a simple, pastoral and unsophisticated  peasant community.

We hated our British tormentors…and we still do

I don’t deny the possibility that many Palestinian nationalists of that time might have wished victory for Germany and defeat for the British. Such feelings are quite normal and natural, to say the very least. But to interpret the Palestinian anti-British feelings as  support for the  Holocaust would be tantamount to fornicating with the truth and historical facts.

Besides, the Zionist movement then, as now, had a big clout on British policy makers. Hence it was quite logical and expedient for Palestinian leaders of that time to seek support for their just cause from Britain’s main foe, namely Germany. This didn’t mean at all that the Palestinians backed or identified  Germany’s racist Nazi ideology or, indeed,  its purported plans to  exterminate.

Zionism had good chemistry with the Nazis prior to the Holocaust

There is a preponderance of  crucial data pertaining to Zionist collaboration and cooperation

With the Nazi leadership, although the Nazi anti-Semitism policy had been well-known since 1933. Yet the Zionists, either directly or otherwise, maintained an extensive though secret contacts with the Nazi authorities, though the Zionist aim beyond these contacts was mainly to expedite the Zionist scheme in Palestine, rather than save or free Jews from the genocidal clutches of German anti-Semitism.

In the context of these contacts between Zionists and the Nazi authorities, the Nazis showed a certain willingness to allow hundreds of thousands of Jews to emigrate to the U.S. and other countries in return for certain tactical concessions from the allied countries. This meant that hundreds of thousands of Jews could have been spared gas ovens and concentration camps had the German demands been met. But the Zionist movement, which exerted disproportionate influence on American and British leaders, especially in relation to Jewish issues, adamantly refused the German overtures, with some Zionist leaders arguing that 50,000 Jews going to Palestine were preferred to a million  Jews allowed to emigrate to North America.

Jewish soldiers serving in German armies

According to some Jewish historians, thousands of Jewish soldiers served in the German armed forces, including the Wehrmacht, SS and the Gestapo. The Judenrate (Jewish councils) were administered at the low and medium levels buy Jewish officers. The late Israeli historian, Israel Shahak, pointed out that Jewish families in Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe feared Jewish soldiers manning Nazi-roadblocks more than they did German or other soldiers. The Jewish soldiers were especially harsh and brutal to their co-religionists, probably to impress their German superiors.

Modern Zionist propagandists, even historians, strive to avoid or evade such embarrassing chapters of that era. They flatly deny that thousands of Jewish soldiers served in the Nazi armed forces, claiming that these soldiers were only partly Jewish and that most of them had Jewish fathers and non-Jewish mothers. In short, they employ the Same twisted arguments in dismissing this phenomenon as some ardent Zionists  do in denying the presumed  non-Semitic Origin of the bulk of Ashkenazi Jews.

I am speaking about prevarication, decontextualizing event, making sweeping generalizations out of rare or isolated events as well as indulging in sheer lies,  while hurling the ant-Semitic scare-bomb at those disagreeing with the Zionist narrative, even if these people happened to be Jewish or even Holocaust survivors such Shahak and Zeev  Sternhell.  

Stalin’s Jewish aides

Although, Adolph Hitler is widely viewed as the most evil mass murderer in the history of mankind, it is probably safe to argue that Joseph Stalin was more nefarious a murder, given the huge number of his direct and indirect victims.

According to some estimates, Stalin was directly or indirectly responsible for the death of 6 million to 20 million people during his prolonged rule.

The huge number of victims occurred as a result of unrelenting political executions or indirectly as a result of Stalin’s policies such as the Gulags and other induced famines, collective deportations, and his sustained campaign of purges which lasted more than two decades.

Some of Stalin’s most diabolic crimes included the attempted physical liquidation of entire social classes, induced famines which caused the death of millions, the Gulags and  the deportation of the Crimea Tatars and other ethnic peoples The Soviet authorities used cattle trains to deport these mostly Muslim peoples, mainly children, women and the elderly to Uzbek SSR and other remote destinations. Thousands died during the deportation journey while tens of thousands perished later due to the harsh exile.

Most Western historians evade  or ignore the fact that many of these gigantic crimes were supervised and carried out by Stalin’s Jewish aides who directly reported to Stalin.

I know that very few people would venture to sale in these “uncharted waters” for fear of being accused of hostility to Jews.

Nonetheless, Zionist Jews must realize that they are not exactly history’s  angelic victims and that they do have much to be ashamed of.  

Good chemistry between Israeli and fascist governments

 Today, Israel, which claims to follow a principled policy against fascism and racism anywhere in the world, is maintaining close, even cordial working relations with fascist regimes and groups around the world.

Israel is maintaining close ties, bordering on actual alliance, with the BJP regime in India. Needless to say, this regime is deeply racist, scandalously  Islamophobic and hopelessly fascist. It is a regime that upholds the racist mantra that “to be a true Indian, you must be a true Hindu and thoroughly anti-Islamic.” This mantra is an identical copy of the racist Israeli Nationalism Law  which states that  ” in order to be a complete citizen of the state of Israel, one must be Jewish.”  It is also worth mentioning, that the Israeli domestic intelligence agency, the Shin Bet, has advised the Indian security apparatus to adopt some of the most vengeful measures used against Palestinians, and use these tactics against Indian Muslims. This includes the widely condemned practice of home demolition, which is already being used in some Indian states like Ultra-Pradesh.

In Europe, Israel has good ties with the new fascist regime in Italy, which has assured Zionist circles that Italian fascism would target Muslims, not Jews. Israel also has excellent ties with the quasi-fascist regime of Hungary.

Moreover, Israel has also had and continues to have warm relations with anti-Islam movements in Britain, Germany, France, Sweden and Netherland.  These racist movements are disguised as anti-immigrant movements although Islam and Muslims are their ultimate target.  A few years ago, Dutch  far-right anti-Islam politician Geert wilders was invited to Israel  where he was warmly welcomed by the Israel government. Wilders eventually converted to Islam to the chagrin of his former Zionist friends. His conversion to the religion he had hated most stunned Islamophobic and Zionist circles in Europe and Israel.

And in America, Israel has had cordial ties with Evangelical Zionists who support, soul and heart, Israel’s  repression of thePalestinian, although some Zionist Jews don’t hesitate to call Jesus Christ  “the Hitler of Bethlehem.”

The same thing can be said about every fascist leader under the sun, who is usually courted by Israel and encouraged to pursue his or her anti-Islam discourse.

Conclusion:

So, the next time you hear or watch a Zionist spokesperson accuse the Palestinians of collaborating with the Nazis, you should immediately realize that you are encountering a sly liar.  In the final analysis, Israel itself is now considered one of the world’s main hotbeds of fascism, especially after recent elections which brought to the fore Nazi-like parties which consider non-Jews lesser or infra human beings. Don’t be bamboozled by their lies.  Such values as truth, honesty and justice don’t exist in the unholy Bible of Zionism

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What is wrong with BJP’s Appropriation of Sardar Patel?

It was Sardar Vallabhai Patel’s 147th birth anniversary last week. Patel worked with Mahatma Gandhi as a freedom fighter during India’s anti-colonial struggle and served as independent India’s first Deputy Prime minister and Home Minister under Jawahar Lal Nehru. 

What is Patel’s Legacy?

In Srinagar, on National Infantry Day, union home minister Rajnath Singh mentioned that what we started on August 5 2019, will end with integrating what he termed Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) and Gilgit-Baltistan with the rest of India. He added that this would fulfill the dream of the National Unity of Sardar Vallabhai Patel. A couple of years back, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned him in both houses of the Indian Parliament. Taking a dig at the opposition, he said that India would not have faced the issue of Jammu and Kashmir had Patel been India’s first Prime Minister. He questioned why Congress does not own him and his legacy. Signaling that the owner of his legacy isBJP, the question is, what is Patel’s legacy? Is it the same picture that BJP is painting? 

Patel Banned RSS

From building the Statue of Unity to declaring his birth anniversary as National Unity Day, the ruling party BJP embracing him today makes Patel a contested figure who openly opposed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) activities. BJP’s forerunner is RSS, its ideological parent, and Patel banned RSS right after Gandhi’s assassination. “India is a secular country and it will be nothing else. There is no doubt in my mind that the extreme section of the Hindu Mahasabha was involved in the conspiracy. The activities of the RSS constituted a clear threat to the existence of the government and the state. Our reports show that those activities, despite the ban, have not died down. Indeed as time has marched on the RSS circles are becoming more defiant and are indulging in their subversive activities in an increasing measure,” remarked Patel in a letter to Hindu Mahasabha leader Syama Prasad Mukherjee in 1948. Therefore, we must know the BJP’s ironic yearning to convey that it is the only party concerned about Sardar Patel. The BJP is an outfit which does not have the greatest freedom-fighting heritage—so going ahead and settling down for Patel, who conveniently fits all the parameters of a freedom fighter and strong mass leader and not having Gandhi or Nehru as a surname. Thus, owning a stalwart, even from the pantheon of Congress, has become obvious. 

Over the years BJP has created a sense that Congress has tried removing Patel’s name from history. The claim is ironic in that last year in February, the ruling BJP chose to rename the Motera cricket stadium in Ahmedabad, which had been given Patel’s name, to Narendra Modi Stadium.

Patel and Kashmir

The BJP’s portrayal of Patel as someone who unified erstwhile princely states seems far-fetched regarding the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to Indian dominion. Once the Partition Plan was announced, Congress and Muslim League engaged in high politics. The major Princely states aimed for relative independence instead of joining either of the newly formed dominions. VP Menon, Secretary to the Ministry of states under Vallabhai Patel, came up with the idea of acceding to Indian dominion on three subjects; foreign affairs, defence, and communication. This would give these states relative autonomy in deciding on other subjects on their own.

Most princely states joined the Indian dominion with the same sense of autonomy; however, Hyderabad, Junagarh, and Kashmir held out. The government of India, after a lot of internal deliberations, offered to hold a Plebiscite in Junagarh. The point is that the idea of a referendum was there even before the question of Kashmir popped up. In November 1947, M A Jinnah shot down the offer of holding referendums in the three princely states. Jinnah, Governor General of Pakistan, says why do not we exchange Junagarh with Kashmir? The real question is, would Patel have allowed giving Kashmir to Pakistan? In the rounds of dialogues with Pakistan, Patel offered an exchange of Hyderabad with Kashmir. So the BJP’s claim that Kashmir would have entirely been part of India falls apart. At this point, he was ready for Kashmir to become part of Pakistan. In his book Integration of Indian states, Menon mentions that “He went so far as to tell the Maharaja (king of Kashmir) that if he acceded to Pakistan, India would not take it amiss and that he had a firm assurance fromSardar Patelhimself.” The aim is to prove how uncomfortable Patel was with Kashmir joining India, given the political environment at the time.

The case is convincing. Despite Prime Minister Modi’s assertions to the contrary, Patel’s behaviour, attitude, and worldview did not align with the BJP. One can claim that there is a huge possibility that the first deputy prime minister disagreed with much of what is happening in India today.

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How Practical is the Secular Democracy of India? Curbing of Religious Freedom in Kashmir

Even while a right-wing Hindu nationalist government is ruling India for the past 8 years now, India still professes to be a secular democracy. The constitutional grounds for India’s secularism have been carefully accommodating religious freedom. However, the past 8 years have been witnessing a shrinking of sorts for the religious freedom of Muslims. The Indian government seems to be particularly adamant about curbing the religious freedom of Kashmiri Muslims.

In 2022, the Indian authorities arrested prominent religious clerics across Kashmir under PSA (Public Safety Act). After that, the Indian government banned schools run by FAT (Falah-e-Aam Trust ). FAT is an affiliate of the banned Islamist organization Jama’at-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir (Jama’at). Another incident followed with the circulation of a video of Kashmiri students. The video showed students being forced to chant Hindu hymns sparked controversy over social media. However, these are not isolated incidents that reveal the curbing of religious freedom in Kashmir.  

Curbing Religious Freedom in Muharram

Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar is one of the holiest months for Shite Muslims worldwide. During this month, Shia mourners gather together to hold a procession. They recite eulogies, and chant slogans to mourn the martyrdom of the Prophet’s grandson Hussain.

However, since 1989, the Indian government has prohibited some of the major Muharram processions in Kashmir. The government issues an order each year prohibiting Muharram processions due to “security reasons”. Kashmiris claim that the Indian state has been curbing their religious rights on the pretext of “security concerns”. Kashmiri Muslims have a history of raising their voices against the curbing of their religious rights by the Indian government. Nonetheless, this history of resistance against religious inequality has always been violent for the Kashmiris. Every year, Shia mourners face police thrashings, beatings, and arrests while trying to take out Muharram processions.

Since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, the police arrested 15 Shia mourners. They also arrested a well-known preacher named Manzoor Ahmed Malik. The police charged them under the stringent anti-terror law UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act). According to the police, they allegedly chanted free Kashmir Slogans during Muharram processions.

While talking to the Wire, Arshid Ahmad, a Shia mourner told The Wire “In contemporary times, the ‘step-motherly’ treatment of Muslims is unacceptable and the government should reconsider the decision on Muharram bans. This minority bears the brunt of the repression, even though other religious pilgrimages are permitted with full security and pomp,”.

“We are protesting and condemning this ban but no one is listening to us. If the government can allow other religions to perform their religious rites, why ban the Muharram procession?” Muzzafar, another mourner asked.

Most mourners who talked with the media brought up the Amarnath Yatra, a 40-day pilgrimage. They questioned why the government couldn’t guarantee protection for the Muharram parade for one day.

Janmashtami Procession held by Kashmiri Pandits Amid Police and Army Security

Days after Muharram, Kashmiri pandits staged processions throughout Srinagar to celebrate the birth of the Hindu god Krishna. The government allowed Hindu devotees to take out the religious procession and provided them with tight police and army security.  

Amid massive spectacle and show, the government supervised and safeguarded the religious procession. National news outlets in India were hailing this incident as “signifying a perceptible improvement in the situation in the strife-ridden Valley”. However, none of the Indian media called out the hypocrisy of the Indian government that has been curbing the religious freedom in Kashmir for Muslims for decades.

The Grand Mosque in Kashmir Closed For Friday Prayers For Three Years

The Jamia Masjid or the grand mosque in the heart of Srinagar city is a 600-year-old that has been cherished and venerated by Kashmiris for centuries and is of historic and religious significance. On important religious occasions throughout the year, thousands of Muslim worshippers have been visiting the grand mosque. Friday is considered the holy day of the week for Muslims and congregational prayers are of utmost importance. Yet, Kashmiris haven’t been allowed to offer prayers in Jamia Masjid for three consecutive years now.

Additionally, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Hurriyat leader, and the mosque’s chief preacher has been kept under constant house arrest and is not permitted to give Friday sermons. Recently, the Lieutenant Governor of Kashmir Manoj Sinha disputed reports of Mirwaiz being under house arrest, yet a few days later, the Hurriyat leader was denied permission to deliver the Friday sermon at Jamia Masjid. In attempts to deny the claim of “prolonged closure, of the Jamia Masjid” the LG declared that it had only been in effect on three Fridays this year. However, the mosque’s administration made it explicit that this year, prayers have been prohibited for 14 Fridays so far by the enforced presence of the CRPF and J&K Police.   

To Kashmiris, the prolonged closure of the Jamia masjid serves as a bitter reminder of their helplessness. And the attempts of psychological warfare. This is yet another incident that speaks of the curbing of religious freedom in Kashmir.

Religious Freedom Vanishing From The Largest Democracy In The World

India prides itself internationally as the world’s largest democracy. According to the Indian constitution, the government “will not discriminate, patronize, or meddle in the exercise of any religion.” Its constitution guarantees religious freedom, which entails that individuals should be able to adhere to and freely practice their religious views. However, the religious freedom and claims of secularism mentioned in the Indian Constitution are utterly absent when it comes to Muslims and particularly when it comes to Kashmir.

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Iran is certainly not Garden of Eden for Human Rights, but the West is absolutely hypocritical

The ongoing sustained propaganda war by the U.S., Britain and other Western countries against Iran for violating the human and civil rights of women is not altruistic. Quite the contrary, this vitriolic campaign is highly hypocritical, morally duplicitous and politically motivated since its main goal is to destabilize Iran and put an end to the hard-line Shiite regime there.

I am not a fan of the Iranian regime which I repeatedly criticized in my articles, especially its criminal embrace of the murderous regime of Bashar Assad in Damascus.  Just to refresh readers’ memories, that regime murdered half a million Syrians, forced 50% of the Syrian people into exile, and destroyed over 70% of Syria’s towns and villages, in order to remain in power.

Moreover, the regime has been employing excessive lethal force against the large Sunni minority as happened in Zahidan, in south-eastern Iran, where trigger-happy Iranian soldiers killed as many as 90 protestors on 30 September, as reported by some human rights groups.

Nonetheless, as Muslims, we are supposed to be fair and just in judging others, even though we may not like them.

Western hypocrisy is clarion

To begin with, the tragic and lamentable  death of a Kurdish woman activist in Iran several weeks ago was by no means the most gargantuan and obscene crime committed in Iran or in the Middle East..  In 2018, the de facto Saudi leader Muhammed ibn Salman (MBS) ordered the murder of  Saudi journalist Jamal Khashogji inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.  However, despite some  regurgitated rhetoric from Western capitals, especially Washington and London, most Western leaders eventually hastened to grovel at the tyrant’s feet. 

The dramatic turnabout in Western attitudes toward MBS didn’t reflect a sudden awakening of a dormant love for the  moody Saudi prince. It rather demonstrated that Israel’s regional interests as well as  the multi-billion dollars arms deals with the corrupt House of Saud were far more important for the West than the  secondary subject of human rights in one of the world’s worst dictatorships.   A few days ago, President Biden admitted that the single most important reason behind his visit to Saudi Arabia more than four months ago was to secure Israel’s interests.

Moreover, grave human rights violations are routine occurrences in countries like Egypt, UAE, Bahrain and Morocco, which rely for their very survival, on Western, especially American backing. However, the West keeps reticent lest any pressure on these tyrannical regimes prompt the masses to revolt against them, which is not in Israel’s interests.

The West  betrays human rights everywhere

The callous betrayal of the cause of human rights in places like Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa is a conspicuous feature of western policies toward Muslims. This means that the West, along with the venomous snake, called Israel, is Democracy’s number-1 enemy in the Middle East, especially the Arab region.

Don’t you dare tell me that the rampancy of tyranny, despotism and harsh dictatorship throughout the region occurred by coincidence or is related to Islam! Such a logic would be utterly unconvincing and unacceptable to say the least.

The starkness of American and British hypocrisy on human rights is nowhere more brazen than in occupied Palestine. There Israel is carrying out real massacres of innocent Palestinians nearly on a daily basis,  and all we hear from Washington is the same scandalous remarks we have been hearing ad nauseam for many years, like “Israel has the right to defend herself” and “we call on both sides to exercise self-restraint,” which only encourage Israel to perpetrate more atrocities.

Moral inconsistency

I am quite sure that the bulk of Iranians have no iota of appreciation for American and British criticisms of the Iranian regime’s suppression of protests triggered by the regrettable death of Mahsa Amini. True, many Iranians are fed up with the regime over its harsh tactics toward dissidents. Nonetheless, most Iranians still remember the 28 Mordad coup d’eta when the CIA toppled the democratically- elected Mussadeq regime in 1953 and installed Shah Muhammed Reza Pahlavi as King of Persia.

Israel Firsters rule Washington unopposed

In addition to what has been said, I would like to make two points:  First, the popular indignation at the  Mullahs should never be understood to mean or imply support for or identification with America’s imperialistic designs for `the country.

The U.S., irrespective of which administration in the White House, is hell-bent on turning Iran into a pliant banana republic, very much like Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the rest of the despotic Gulf Sheikhdoms, which Washington bullied to sign the treacherous Abraham Accords with the hateful Israeli apartheid entity.

I think this bleak and ghoulish prospect is very unlikely to happen in Iran under existing circumstances. But the U.S. is trying and is unlikely to stop trying as long Zionist circles and Israel Firsters continue to tightly dominate the U.S. government and Congress.

Which brings us to the second point. There is no doubt in this writer’s mind that the central reason behind America’s unmitigated hostility to Iran has nothing to do with Iran’s human rights record or even with Tehran’s criminal embrace of the Syrian regime. The real reason has to do with the Zionist entity and its strategic designs, namely the imposition of its strategic supremacy over the entire Arab-Islamic region. Powerful Muslim countries like Pakistan, Turkey and Iran currently pose a real challenge to the grand Zionist design. 

Hence, The U.S., which is always at Israel’s beck and call, is trying to neutralize this Muslim challenge for Israel’s benefit. The full weight of the American empire is always utilized to serve and expedite Israel expansionistic goals, military and strategic aggrandizement, mainly at the expense of Muslims.

More to the point, the US efforts to trigger an insurrection against the Iranian regime is apparently aimed at effecting a regime change in the hope that a new pro-Western regime would dismantle the country’s vital nuclear program, widely considered as the second most important strategic foreign policy headache facing Washington now after the Ukrainian crisis. Moreover, the growing military cooperation between Russia and Iran, including the reported planned sale of Iranian-made missiles to Russia, is likely to further aggravate American concerns.

The U.S. has paid 17 billion dollars to Ukraine so far to repulse the Russian invasion.  However, it is highly likely that Washington would be willing to pay ten-times or twenty-times that much to serve Israeli interests and strategic ambitions, including spreading its hegemony over the entire Middle East.

Muslims must never trust America

Biden’s frank admission that the main reason behind his visit to Saudi Arabia was serving Israel’s interests should serve as a real eye-opener for Arabs and Muslims everywhere.  I know there are many willfully stupid Arabs who would rather bury their heads in the sand of the desert than facing the truth.  These are the bastards of history and no Muslim on earth would shed a tear for their bleak fate.

But there are hundreds of millions of Muslims who must make sure that they won’t be bamboozled again by Washington’s sweet but deceptive words.  To these people I solemnly say: Disregard, disobey and never trust America if you wish to have a bright future for yourselves and your children.

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“The Worst is Yet to Come”— Recession 2023 & the Looming Uncertainty

Recession 2023 is just around the corner. The global economic crises are now inducing the certainty of a looming recession. Economists and financial organizations warned of upcoming uncertainty; however, regrettably, the world failed to decode the uprising of the economic catastrophe. 

Today’s economies around the globe are confronting an urgent economic crisis and are on the brink of a recession. And, the experts fear the worst is yet to come!

Shear Impact on Leading Economies – US, UK, China, and India

“Global growth is slowing sharply, with further slowing likely as more countries fall into recession. My deep concern is that these trends will persist, with long-lasting consequences devastating for people in emerging markets and developing economies”  

WORLD BANK GROUP PRESIDENT DAVID MALPASS

For the first time since 2009, the US declared negative GDP growth two quarters in a row, which officially qualifies as a recession.

The British Pound is at its historic low of $1.038 against US dollars due to rare emergency interventions. Cities and states in China are still in lockdown because of a rise in Covid-19 cases. On the other hand, Indian Rupee is at its 75-year low of Rupees 82.11 against the US dollar, soaring the hike in repo rates to 5.90%. 

Srilanka already declared insolvency earlier this year. Russia and Ukraine war had already set the stage for World War III. And the recent resilience of china on Taiwan has tarnished the world economic environment. 

All these together indicate the harsh truth: Recession 2023 will worsen the conditions of all major economies and push the globe into undefined circumstances like:

Central banks hiking the interest rates

Hike in energy and food prices

Depreciation of major currencies against the dollar

Central Banks Hiking the Interest Rates  

To counteract rising inflation and the impact of a strong currency on the economies, central banks are hurriedly raising interest rates. This happens as the US Federal Reserve keeps up its aggressive interest rate hikes.

On the other hand Reserve Bank of India is also struggling with persistently high inflation, which is made worse by geopolitical unrest, droughts, and supply-chain disruptions. 

Hike in Energy and Food Prices

Russia is the world’s third-largest oil-producing country. It provides 7-8 million barrels of crude oil per day, or 14% of global production, to international markets. 

The US and UK’s restrictions and many other nations’ decisions to stop purchasing Russian petroleum have exacerbated the crisis.

Russia and Ukraine are the biggest sunflower oil producers globally and the second most frequently used cooking oil. However, sunflower oil cannot yet be exported from Russia due to the tightening of import restrictions. 

Plus, due to the increasing demand for sunflower oil in the market, other edible oils are now more expensive, raising the cost of food and other products across borders.

Depreciation of Major Currencies Against the US Dollar 

Compared to the US dollar, the Japanese yen has dropped to its lowest level since August 1998. The Indian rupee is hitting its lowest in history, and for the first time in 20 years, the euro is now lower than the USD.

The decline of major currencies indicates the current state of the global economy. Moreover, it provides a crystal-clear forecast of how disastrous the recession 2023 would be if significant steps are not taken to control the situation.

The Decelerating Global Economy: IMF Forecast for Recession 2023

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is warning that over a third of the economy is headed for a recession this year or next. Its world outlook shows growth withering from 6.0% in 2021, 3.2% in 2022, and an estimate of just 2.7% in 2023.

Recession 2023 will be different from all the recessions the world has faced to date. Different factors are driving economic crashes in different countries, for example:

A cynical recession by hiking interest rates in the US, a structural recession in China powered by the crashing property market, and financial insecurity exaggerated by the ongoing energy crisis in Europe

The ongoing turmoil in the national and global market is further sparking the threat of World War III.

Rising Certainty of World War III

Russia has already invaded Ukraine, and in opposition to Ukraine’s protection, the US cleared this support with Ukraine by immediately sending weapons to Ukraine. Such US behavior infuriated Russia, leading to increased attacks. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the US and European countries that further expansion of support to Ukraine might lead the situation to a ‘Global catastrophe.’ 

On the other hand, China assaulted Taiwan due to the recent visit of the US finance minister. The current clash of China and Indian troops erupt seriously, leading to grim conflict on north-east Indian borders.  

Additionally, civil wars in countries like Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and Mali are raising the certainty of World War III. 

Needless to say, World War III will destroy the world economy, resulting in more financial turmoil, starvation, a hike in oil prices, and the depreciation of currencies. 

Recession 2023: The Worst is yet to come

Slowing down economies, high repo rates, depreciation of currencies, bankrupted countries, and looming wars between nuclear countries are further solidifying the onset of a cold economic winter. 

The circumstance indicates what is coming. The indication of recession, the yell of the worst is yet to come.

However, to wrench the global situation on track, policymakers should continue to give needy powerful tailored assistance to respective governments while also putting in place reliable medium-term fiscal strategies.

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Hindutva Activists Call for Economic Boycott of Muslims

Days before the Hindu festival Diwali, Twitter is full of anti-Muslim hatred. One of the trending hashtags on Twitter is “Halal Free Diwali”. It seems like a well-orchestrated campaign against businesses owned by Muslims or catering to Muslims. Through this social media campaign, Hindutva activists and supporters are calling for the boycott of Halal-certified products. Some of them allege that Muslims are creating a parallel economy that is used for Jihad. Some people have even gone a step ahead and called it “economic Jihad”.

Economic Boycott of Muslims is not New

The economic boycott of Muslims on this Diwali is not something new. It has been a constant for several festivals now.

Earlier this year, Temples in Karnataka prohibited Muslims from doing trade during festivals. This happened in the same locality where the Hijab row had erupted.

Hindutva activists alleged that Muslims had dominated the trade. They said that Muslims were doing “injustice” by dominating the businesses and keeping Hindus out. The Hindutva supporters also argued that while Muslims are involved in some unpleasant incidents but also want to reap the benefits of trade during Hindu festivals.

The boycott calls escalated later. Some Hindutva organizations also called for a boycott of Muslim cab and tour operators.

Boycott of Companies Owned by Muslims

Last year, some Hindutva miscreants launched a campaign of misinformation and fake propaganda against iD Fresh Foods, a company owned by a Muslim businessman. Common masses were misled through WhatsApp forwards that the products of the company contain animal extracts. It was a concerted attack to hurt the company’s reputation. Further, some people also alleged that the company only employed Muslims.

Even though these allegations were refuted by the company, nothing could undo the harm that the company suffered. Further, the government did nothing to punish the culprits who defamed the company.

Disempowering Muslims

Muslims in India are a minority. They have a very low literacy rate. They do not have access to resources. As a result, most Muslims are involved in trading rather than the government sector.

When a particular community boycotts Muslim shopkeepers, the Muslims have no choice but to shut down their shops. The only way out for these shopkeepers is to operate in Muslim-majority areas. However, since most Muslims are involved in the trading sector, how many traders can the Muslim community sustain?

Distortion of History

Hindutva activists and supporters allege that Muslims have always dominated Hindus. They accuse Muslims of perpetrating injustice on them in the past. Hence, they claim it is payback time.

It is a typical strategy that precedes genocide. The “other” are demonized. Their history is distorted. They are accused of being dirty. Further, they are also accused of things like dominating the economy or stealing jobs. 

Nothing can be farther from the truth. Muslims in India are disempowered. They are underrepresented in all the public sectors job.  The representation of Muslims in the formal sector of the economy is also low.

The condition of Muslims in India and their power can be gauged from the fact that they make up almost 15% of India’s population, but Muslim representatives constitute only 5% of the Indian parliament’s total strength.

It is the political power that determines the power of a particular community. Muslims do not even have political power proportionate to their population. The truth is that Indian Muslims are marginalized and excluded.

India’s Economic Policy and Economic Boycott of Muslims

Ever since coming to power in 2014, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched many schemes to make India’s economy grow faster. Further, Modi wants India to become a manufacturing hub.

While these schemes and plans are ambitious, Modi’s supporters are calling for the economic disempowerment of 15% of India’s population.

Muslim Countries and the Indian Economy

A significant proportion of India’s population works in Gulf countries. They send remittances back home, contributing to India’s foreign exchange. Further, Indian businesses have a ubiquitous presence in Gulf countries. They do a lot of business there.

Muslim-majority countries contribute to India’s economy without discrimination. In fact, Gulf countries give preference to Indians rather than Pakistani Muslims when it comes to business and employment.

However, back home, Indians are marginalizing Muslims. Hindutva supporters are calling out Muslims because of their religion.

It is rather ironic that Hindutva supporters think it is fine for them to find employment and use profits from business proceedings in Gulf countries but at the same time accuse Indian Muslims of economic and employment Jihad back home.

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Kohli leads India to win over Pakistan in T20 World Cup thriller

Kohli leads India to win over Pakistan in T20 World Cup thriller

Kohli inspires India to a remarkable last-ball win over Pakistan in a tense and nervy finish. An unbeaten 82 from Virat Kohli led India to a last-ball win over Pakistan to supercharge their bid for a first Twenty20 World Cup crown since 2007 in front of 90,000 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The top-ranked Indians restricted Pakistan to 159-8 and scraped home by four wickets after a…