Angola has officialy banned islam shuts down mosques: Is this the beginning?

Angola president said: ‘This is the final end of Islamic influence in our country’ Islam as a ‘sect’ which is banned as counter to Angolan customs and culture.

Officials at the Angolan Embassy in Washington, D.C., denied Monday that the nation has banned Islam and dismantled mosques, disputing published news accounts and stating that they cannot authenticate comments reportedly made by top Angolan officials that support the claims.
Updates, latest news about Angola >>>>>>

A number of news outlets have reported that Angola has “banned” Islam and started to dismantle mosques in a bold effort to stem the spread of Muslim extremism.

Weekly French-language Moroccan newspaper La Nouvelle Tribune published an article on Friday sourcing “several” Angolan officials, including the Southwest African nation’s minister of culture, Rosa Cruz, who reportedly offered the following remarks, which have been translated from French: “The process of legalization of Islam has not been approved by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. Their mosques would be closed until further notice.”

African economic news agency Agence Ecofin wrote that Cruz made the statement at an appearance last week before the 6th Commission of the National Assembly. The website goes on to note that, “According to several Angolan newspapers, Angola has become the first country in the world to ban Islam and Muslims, taking first measures by destroying mosques in the country.”

Even Angola President José Eduardo dos Santos has weighed in on the controversy, as he was quoted in Nigeria’s Osun Defender newspaper on Sunday as saying, “This is the final end of Islamic influence in our country,” according to the OnIslam.net report.

The reported comments by Cruz and Santos echo the stance of the governor of the country’s Luanda province, Bento Francisco Bento, who reportedly maintains that “radical Muslims were not welcome in Angola and that the government was not ready to legalize the presence of mosques in the country,” according to a La Nouvelle Tribune summary of Bento’s take on the issue.

In a physical extension of the officials’ sentiments about Islam’s place in Angola, La Nouvelle Tribune said that a minaret of an Angolan mosque was dismantled last October, and that the city of Zango “has gone further by destroying the only mosque in the city.”

The emerging reports about Angola “banning” Islam and dismantling mosques point to the anti-Islam sentiments held by many in the nation’s citizens, but they could not immediately be independently verified by International Business Times.

Angola is a majority-Christian nation of about 16 million people, of whom an estimated 55 percent are Catholic, 25 percent belong to African Christian denominations, 10 percent follow major Protestant traditions, and 5 percent belong to Brazilian Evangelical churches. Only 80,000 to 90,000 Angolans are Muslim,

http://www.nationalturk.com/en/is-this-the-beginning-angola-has-officialy-banned-islam-shuts-down-mosques-africa-breaking-news-44906

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Britain's silence on Angola is deafening

Despite meeting all the criteria for a great news story, the British media ignore this oil-rich state. I blame our colonial history. Lara Pawson

Oil-rich Luanda has been governed by the MPLA for 38 years.

What do Britain's journalists look for in a story from the African continent? How about a 71-year-old dictator who's presided over an oil-rich country for 34 years, lining his family's pockets with billions of dollars, and who extinguishes his opponents by torturing them to death and feeding their bodies to crocodiles? It's almost too good to be true – a cliche of the African state to have foreign correspondents drooling. But despite possessing all the ingredients of a thoroughly gripping news story, British media interest in Angola's contemporary political stage remains close to zero.

Today, in the Angolan capital of Luanda, a funeral will be held for 28-year-old Manuel de Carvalho, known as Ganga, who was allegedly shot dead by the presidential guard on Saturday morning. Ganga had been distributing leaflets about the killing of two former Angolan soldiers, António Alves Kamulingue and Isaías Sebastião Cassule, who were abducted in May 2012 while organising a demonstration for war veterans demanding payment of their pensions. Information leaked last week to the independent news website Club-K revealed that the two former soldiers had been tortured in police custody before being killed. One of them was then thrown to crocodiles.

Hours after Ganga's death, hundreds of Angolans took to Luanda's streets in a demonstration organised by the main opposition party, Unita, to demand justice for the deaths of Kamulingue and Cassule. In response, armed police, supported by reinforcements in helicopters, used tear gas to break up the protest. Hundreds of people were arrested and at least one was shot and injured.

Appalled by the authorities' repeated use of excessive force, this weekend saw many Angolans, both at home and abroad, expressing their anger and also their shame. One Angolan suggested that the abbreviated name of the MPLA ruling party (Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola) should now stand for Matamos o Povo que tenta Lutar pela liberdade de Angola (We Kill the People who try to Fight for the freedom of Angola).

From London, I spread word of the day's events, emailing my networks and engaging in the online debates. Later on Saturday evening, at a private view at the Victoria Miro gallery in one of London's most exclusive neighbourhoods, I reflected on the links between Britain and Angola, and on the chasm that distinguishes the ease of my daily life from that of my friends in Luanda.

Disco Angola is an exhibition of six photographs by the Canadian artist Stan Douglas. Posing as the work of a 1970s photojournalist, Douglas's series of staged images juxtapose New York's disco scene with the moment when Angola swivelled from liberation war to civil war. In A Luta Continua, 1974, a slender woman in a green T-shirt and flares stands in front of a brick building painted with the MPLA flag and its motto, "A Luta Continua, Vitória é Certa" (The fight continues, victory is certain). Sipping champagne, I grimaced at this idea of the MPLA, which began its life as a movement for the liberation of the people. I also grimaced at myself, nibbling canapes in Mayfair while pondering the miserable events in Luanda.

Coincidentally, it was at the gallery that I learned of the BBC's Reporting Africa seminar, which took place on Monday this week. Also dubbed the "impartiality seminar", the chairman of the BBC Trust, Lord Patten, invited informed and interested parties to give their views on whether the BBC's coverage of Africa is "duly impartial and reflects the full range of views and voices".

I've long moaned about the BBC's idea of Africa, and the way its star presenters tackle stories coming out of the vast, complex continent. But in the case of Angola – one of Africa's most significant economic and military players – the failure of the BBC has little to do with impartiality. Currently, there is no BBC reporter based in Angola at all. Two years ago, "as a result of cuts", it also closed down the Portuguese for Africa department. I've given up asking why, however I'm certain that our colonial history and our very British attitude to language remain influential: "Portuguese, isn't it?". Of course, if Saturday's events in Luanda had taken place in Harare, we'd never hear the end of it – and questions of impartiality might become more pertinent. For the time being, if Lord Patten is serious, he should put aside a salary for an Angola-based reporter to live and work in the country: not because it's an African country, but because of what is happening to the people who live there and what this may mean for one of the world's longest-serving rulers.
By Lara Pawson , theguardian.com
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/27/britain-angola-silence-british-media-colonial

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Comments/Appeal

Muslims should be patient, protest peacefully as solidarity with Muslims in Angola. Please protect Christians around you, they are blameless. Jesus Christ did not preach such things.

Prophet Muhammad's Everlasting Promise to Christians:

http://peace-forum.blogspot.com/2011/02/prophet-muhammads-everlasting-promise.html

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کیا آپ پاکستان کے حالات سے پریشان ہیں؟
اپنے وطن کے لیے کچھ کرنا چاہتے ہیں؟
مزید اس لنک پر
http://pakistan-posts.blogspot.com/2013/11/pakistan-basic-issues-need-immediate.html

If you are concerned about Pakistan and want to do some thing, find more at the link below:
http://peace-forum.blogspot.com/2013/11/pakistan-quagmire-basic-dialogue.html

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Related:

Free-eBooks: http://goo.gl/2xpiv

Peace-Forum Video Channel: http://goo.gl/GLh75

Muslim world in flames

FROM Pakistan to the Levant, the Muslim world is burning in a self-lift fire, the ‘confrontation without’ having given way to ‘a confrontation within’.

Beyond the Levant, as in North Africa, Maghreb and Muslim sub-Sahara, instability, violence and uncertainty reign. Political movements have turned religious, and the religious ones have degenerated into sectarian bloodbaths.

Hoisted by its own petard, Pakistan has a story to tell. Decades ago, nobody believed the militants tasked by America with defeating the Soviet Union in Afghanistan would one day become Pakistan’s most implacable foes, turn into sectarian hounds, demoralise the armed forces, and eat into its vitals.

In the Arab world, the fragrance of the Spring has turned into an overpowering stench enveloping the Fertile Crescent and its neighbourhood. As the phoney stability imposed by the dictators gave way to anarchy, the character of the Arab Spring changed.

Ben Ali, Hosni Mubarak, Ali Abdullah Saleh and Muammar Qadhafi fell — until the Spring attempted a blossoming in Syria. Suddenly, as Bashar al-Assad fought back to preserve the 40 years of dynastic rule, madness descended — and not only on the Syrians.

Within months, a power line-up had come into being, with nearly a dozen states and sanctimonious cults baying for Muslim blood.

These included Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Hezbollah, a bewildering variety of Al Qaeda factions, the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (into which Syria’s Jabhat al-Nusra merged), the newly formed Islamic Front, and last not but not least battle-hardened Pakistani Taliban — a reincarnation of Changez Khan’s bloodthirsty hordes, who gloried in tossing babies on lances.

Over 115,000 are dead, a vast majority of them Muslim. Watching in tension on the sidelines are Jordan and Turkey, both hosting Syrian refugees whose overall number has crossed two million.

This sectarian fire — this confrontation within — has replaced what until Anwar Saadat’s assassination was a confrontation without. Until that fateful October day, the eighth anniversary of the 1973 Ramazan war, when Nasser’s successor was gunned down, the Arab world appeared one monolithic unit.

It had no religion and no sect. Ruling the hearts and minds of the Arab people was the fervent nationalism unleashed by Gamal Abdel Nasser. The gradual erosion of this spirit of ‘confrontation without’ was a phenomenon not confined to the Arab world; it affected the landmass from Pakistan to Morocco. There were reasons why.

Giants Nasser, Faisal, Ben Bella, Boumediene and Bhutto were followed by midgets who considered the expedient American commitment to their tyranny an alternative to popular mandate.

Jerusalem, Iraq, Afghanistan, Gujarat, Sabra-Shatila, Bosnia, 9/11: the very dimensions of these challenges and humiliations were beyond their comprehension.

Afghanistan turned out to be a tragedy: it became the source of religious militancy for the Muslim world. Pakistan, of course, gets the blame, perhaps rightly, but let us note that the US-led West just walked off after the Soviet defeat, saddling Pakistan and the region with well-armed, uncontrollable jihadis euphoric over their triumph.

With the Left demoralised as the Soviet camp collapsed, it was the religious parties which filled the vacuum when the strongmen fell. The religious right had not been idle during these decades of dictatorship: it utilised this rights-less era by expanding community networks and earning the people’s gratitude.

In this category fell the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates in Egypt and the Maghreb; and the Jamaat-i-Islami in Pakistan. No wonder, the religious parties today occupy centre stage in this intra-Muslim conflagration that shows no signs of dying out.

The jihadis have now virtually abandoned the cause of Muslims under foreign occupation, except as catchy shibboleths. Their principal enemies now are fellow Muslims and the minorities. This fixation on a self-invented enemy within the Muslim milieu reflects an inquisitionist credo of basically sick minds.

In Pakistan, the Taliban are massacring Shias; in the Levant, non-Syrian Sunni militias and Hezbollah have turned the anti-Baathist struggle for democratic rights into a sectarian strife; in Bahrain, Saudi troops are helping the Sunni monarchy crush the Shia rebellion; Iraq is witnessing a throwback to the 2006 sectarian conflict with fatalities this year close to 6,000, and Riyadh is as much concerned over Iran’s nuclear quest as Tel Aviv.

Here we can see two incompatible phenomena: Muslim governments’ anxiety to safeguard their national interests and the international jihadi fraternity’s cold-blooded indifference to Muslim states’ geopolitical concerns.

This disregard for state interests stems from the militants’ quizzical contention that Islam doesn’t believe in nation-states. The absurdity of the practical implications of this theory was acknowledged by Maulana Maudoodi when he gave up this ‘Trotskyite’ belief and headed for Pakistan to set up an Islamic state.

No wonder, extraterritorial loyalties are ingrained in Pakistani Islamists’ theory and practice, as reflected in Syed Munawwar Hassan’s conferment of shahadat on a man who was supreme commander of a rebel army which was, and is, at war with the state of Pakistan. Notice that Chinese have been a major target for the Taliban and Lal Masjid rebels.

Rawalpindi on Ashura was symptomatic of what ails the Muslim world. Worldwide, the Islamists could have advanced their cause by democratic means. They had the means to influence people. That — unknown to Imran Khan — they should massacre their own people is a tragedy for the Muslim world.

They are destroying what potentially could have been the bastion of their power. The anarchy now reigning in the Muslim heartland has made the suffering people develop nostalgia for the ousted tyrants.

With Syria’s chemical weapons confiscated, the UN has no interest in peace in the Levant. So brother Muslims are welcome to keep fighting till hell freezes over.

BY MUHAMMAD ALI SIDDIQI
http://www.dawn.com/news/1058902/muslim-world-is-burning

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Angola bans Islam and shuts down all mosques across the country because it 'clashes with state religion of Christianity'

Minister of culture described Islam as a 'sect' which is banned as counter to Angolan customs and culture

Nation's president said: ‘This is the final end of Islamic influence in our country'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2513388/Angola-bans-Islam-shuts-mosques.html

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کیا آپ پاکستان کے حالات سے پریشان ہیں؟
اپنے پیارے وطن کے لیے کچھ کرنا چاہتے ہیں؟
مزید اس لنک پر
http://pakistan-posts.blogspot.com/2013/11/pakistan-basic-issues-need-immediate.html

If you are concerned about Pakistan and want to do some thing, find more at the link below:
http://peace-forum.blogspot.com/2013/11/pakistan-quagmire-basic-dialogue.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Related:

Free-eBooks: http://goo.gl/2xpiv

Peace-Forum Video Channel: http://goo.gl/GLh75

Pakistan Quagmire - Trialogue for Peace & Progress: پاکستان مسائل کی دلدل - امن اور ترقی کا راستہ :ٹرا ئیلاگ

Pakistan is in a state of turmoil, in order to get out of this quagmire some basic issues need to be addressed. Ideologically the Pakistani society can be divided in to three main groups: <<<< Read online or download complete article >>>>

پاکستان کی ترقی ، خوشحالی اور امن کے لییے کچھ بنیادی معاملات طے کرنا ضروری ھیں. اس وقت پاکستانی سوسائٹی فکری طورپرتین بڑے حصوں میں تقسیم ہو چکی ہے: ایک طرف "اشرافیہ , لبرل طبقہ" دوسری طرف "خاموش اکثریت" ؛ تیسری طرف "مذہبی شدت پسند دہشت گرد اور ان کے ہمدرد". ایسے حالات میں ضروری ہے کہ کنفیوژن کو دور کیا جائے تاکہ اکثریت ایک نقطہ نظر پر متفق ہو جائے. اور پھر تمام توانایوں کو مرکوز کرکہ عظیم مقاصد ، امن . خوشحالی . ترقی کی طرف رواں دواں ہوں. اگر ہم کچھ بنیادی سوالات کا جواب موجودہ تناظرمیں قرآن سنت کی روشنی میں معلوم کر لیں. ان پر قومی مباحثہ ہو جس میں آپ , میڈیا ، دانشور ، مذہبی سکالرز علماء ، سیاسی مفکرین ، سول سوسائٹی ، فوجی ماہرین ، قانون ، خارجہ امور کے ماہرین اور تمام دوسرے متعلقہ ماہرین اور عوام حصہ لیں . پھر جس پر سب یا اکثریت متفق ہو ان پر پھر ڈٹ کرعمل کریں تو پاکستان ایک ترقی یافتہ باعزت ملک، قوم بن سکتا ہے. بنیادی مکالمہ کےسوال >>> پڑھتے جایے >>

Firstly; the elite and the liberals:

They are less than 1% in numbers but are the most powerful, control more than 50% national wealth while 99% people have to live in poverty at average income of 500 $ per year. It includes politicians, feudal, industrialists, business men, bankers, civil and military bureaucracy, media groups and other mafias controlling other sources of economic and social power. They consider religion as personal affair of an individual and that Islam should be restricted to the mosques for worship, it should have no say in the public affairs like law and social aspects. Some times they display their religiosity just to get favours form public i.e. to get votes in elections or to change public opinion. They use power, wealth and coercion to crush any resistance to their interests. Here the term “elite” include their supporters, sympathisers and potential candidates form all segments of society to join this club.

The elite include some fascist liberals who consider all the religiously inclined people to be primitive hardliner, fundamentalist, rigid extremists, devoid of intellect, ignorant bigots. They think that religious people are the source of all the ills of society and impediment to progress.

Secondly the Silent Majority:

“And thus have We made you to be a moderate community, so that (with your lives) you might bear witness to the truth before all mankind, and that the Apostle might bear witness to it before you.” (Quran;2:143).

This is the bulk of population, sandwiched between Elite and Religious Extremists. They are moderate religiously inclined but mostly non practicing Muslims. However they consider that implementation of Islam and Shari’a will provide them social and economic justice and save them for the tyranny of Elite and Extremists. They revere Islam but lack in practice, laying, deception, fraud corruption is rampant. Some practice Islam in rituals but lack in Haqooq-Al Ibad [service to fellow beings].

They are influenced by moderate Ulema inclined towards Sufi Islamic traditions. Since they are not influential, their voice is lost. They comprise people from all segments of society. Thousands have lost their lives in the terrorist attacks by extremist militants.

Thirdly: The Muslim Militants & Their Supporters:

Majority of Muslims desire implementation of Shari’a peacefully through democratic system. However some extremist elements like Taliban has opted to for violence and terrorism as means to this end. They consider killing and terrorism as justified Islamic means, which has been rejected unanimously by all the eminent scholars. However there are people who provide tacit support either in reaction to the existing unjust system of rule or under influence of propaganda.

The Imams and Khateebs of mosques enjoy considerable influence in the society. They enjoy unrestricted freedom to talk what ever they like in the Friday sermons or in other religious gatherings. Since mostly they have limited understanding of the system of governance and politics, their influence has negative impact. No one dare question them while addressing form pulpit. Unlike Middle Eastern Arabs,

Pakistan

government has no control over them.

Mostly they appear to be favouring the extremists and militants though tacitly. They do not openly condemn the killing of innocent people; use of general phrases is used to satisfy feelings of majority. In the supplications would pray for the success of all struggling in Jihad and for implementation of Shari’a, which no one can dare disagree. Though Islam does not have official clergy like Christianity and other religions, but these Imams think that they may also get a role or share in power once the Shari’a is implemented.

The military or civilians rulers have always been involved in exploitation and oppression of poor people. People deprived of good governance, social and economic justice are ready to welcome any one who promises to address their problems. Their expectations from people with religious overtones are high because of their apparent piety and outlook. They fail to comprehend that governance is beyond their capabilities, terror cannot solve all their problems.

Disjointed Society:

The society is disjointed intellectually, politically, socially and even physically to an extent due to yawning social and economic gap. Hence for the peace and progress, of the pole of

Pakistan

, there is dire need to at least close this gap with in acceptable limits if can’t be eliminated altogether.

Thought can refer to the ideas or arrangements of ideas that result from thinking, the act of producing thoughts, or the process of producing thoughts. Despite the fact that thought is a fundamental human activity familiar to everyone, there is no generally accepted agreement as to what thought is or how it is created.

Because thought underlies many human actions and interactions, understanding its physical and metaphysical origins, processes, and effects has been a longstanding goal of many academic disciplines including artificial intelligence, biology, philosophy, psychology, and sociology. Thinking allows humans to make sense of, interpret, represent or model the world they experience, and to make predictions about that world. It is therefore helpful to an organism with needs, objectives, and desires as it makes plans or otherwise attempts to accomplish those goals.

On the other hand ‘social psychology’ is the study of how people and groups interact. The collective unconscious, sometimes known as collective subconscious, is a term of analytical psychology, coined by Carl Jung. It is a part of the unconscious mind, shared by a society, a people, or all humanity, in an interconnected system that is the product of all common experiences and contains such concepts as science, religion, and morality. While Freud did not distinguish between an "individual psychology" and a "collective psychology," Jung distinguished the collective unconscious from the personal subconscious particular to each human being. The collective unconscious is also known as "a reservoir of the experiences of our species."

In Pakistani society there is need to close the gap of three main groups in ‘thought’ to bring them at one platform for attainment of common goals, peace and progress.

The three broad categories of Muslims are mentioned in Qur’an:

“Then We conveyed the Book as an heritage to those of Our slaves whom We chose. Now, some of them are those who wrong their own selves, and some of them are mediocre, and some of them are those who outpace (others) in righteous deeds with Allah‘s permission. That is the great bounty”(Quran;35:32)

Broad based Trialogue for Peace, Unity & Progress:

In order to achieve, enduring peace, instead of infighting there is a need of “Trialogue” [discussion between three groups] to close the conceptual gap & eliminate differences in the light of intelligent application of Quran and Sunnah in the prevailing environments. Use of Ijtehad may be resorted to by the theologians, scholars, intellectuals & thinkers.

The Trialogue may be held at national and every possible level in which intellectuals, political thinkers, philosophers, theologians, academics, civil society, experts on foreign, defence, economy, law, media, social scientists, experts in other fields and the people should participate.

While people in power and authority formulate committees and use the existing or new institutions for this purpose, every Pakistani, every individual has a role to play at their level. The head of different organizations, governmental or private can organize informal or formal study sessions, workshops and discussions. A common man can do it within his/her social groups. The social media can be utilised as one of the tools. If our minds think on same lines, the straight path provided by Quran and Sunnah, discarding self made interpretations to achieve certain noble objectives, employing means contradictory to the teachings of Islam, common ground can be found.

To some it may appear to be an exercise in futility, but at least it will create awareness at all the levels, especially among the masses. People could not be befooled with rosy false promises and hopes. The real peaceful message of Islam, lost in the mist of extremist ideologies will be revealed to the unaware people.

A process of religious and political awareness and awakening will start which can partially fill the intellectual vacuum created by corrupted thought process, as a result of our impoverished education system and over all lack of education due to poor literacy rate.

Issues and Topics for Trialogue:

Some basic topics/questions which need to be addressed and answered have been listed below, [answers can be found at the links given at the end or click here] the number is not final, there always room for improvement:

What is the purpose of existence of humanity?
What is the purpose of creation of Pakistan?
Does Islam specify some form of government like Khilafah, kingship, or it only gives broad principles?
Is Islamic democracy closer to Islamic concept of Shura [consultation]?
The present constitution of Pakistan which declares sovereignty of Allah and that no law can be formulated repugnant to Quran and Sunnah is un Islamic?
The “Objective Resolution” preamble to the constitution make it Islamic in theory only?
If the elected democratic governments fail to implement Shari’a, is it justified to blame the constitution not the politicians elected by people again and again?
The recommendations of “Islamic Ideological Council” are not implemented, should it be revamped and made powerful?
Will the Shari’a be based upon the madhab of majority? If so how to satisfy the Shia’a, Deobandi, Salafi, Takfiri and other groups?
Is it justified to wage armed rebellion, terrorism in the name of Jihad for Shari’a?
Pakistan is signatory of UN Charter, it has international commitments and obligations. The orthodox doctrine of House of Peace [Darul Aman], House of War [Darul Harb] still remain applicable?
Respect of international borders and treaties?
Will Pakistan fight with all the world to impose Islam by force? What will be implications for such policy?
Is it fair to establish friendly relations with non Muslim countries for education, science, technology, trade, defence for mutual benefit?
What will be role of Muslims living as minorities in non Muslim countries?
What are human rights, according to UN Charter or redefine?
Treatment and rights of minorities according to Mesaq Medina or different?
How it is justified to kill non Muslims and destruction of their places of worship?
Who has the right to declare Jihad, in support of oppressed people, state or groups or scholars?
How the ruling “Elite” can be made to change its attitude and behaviour to make it people friendly?
Role of judiciary, military and other state institutions against corruption and misrule of government?
Electoral reforms, lack of implementation of Section 62,63 in true spirit?
Independence of Election Commission & reconstitution with more powers like in India?
Use of electronic voting machines?
Lack of local body elections to develop junior leadership and decentralization of powers?
Most of the political leadership and rulers are accused of being puppets of US/ foreign powers, they refute it. How to determine truthfulness of these accusations?
Is it justified to resort to armed rebellion against rulers on accusations?
How to change corrupt, oppressor rulers?
Is it justified to form private militias for Jihad?
Society needs moral reformation. Who has authority to implement “Amir bil maroof, nahi anil munkir” “Order good works and prohibit evils” in society?
Should government exercise some control on the religious education, construction of mosques and appointment of Imams/Khateebs, like Middle Eastern countries or it should be left open as now?
Is it justified to kill innocent people in mosques public places, through suicide bombing and terrorist attacks to oppose government policies?
Should military and security forces protect citizens or leave them at the mercy of terrorists, who claim to be opposed to USA or others?

Conclusion:

Jihad [struggle] though not part of six articles of faith or five pillars of Islam is an important part of faith, which has three broad categories. While majority scholars opine that armed Jihad [qital, warfare] can only declared by the legitimate & recognised ruler, the other two forms of Jihad i.e Jihad against selfish desires [Jihad bil nafs] and Greater Jihad [Jihad Akbar] preaching of Quran can be undertaken by any believer individually or collectively: “Therefore, do not yield to the unbelievers, and make Jihad (strive) against them with this (Qur'an), a mighty Jihad (Jihad Kabira).”(Qur’an;25:52). The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: The best fighting (Jihad) in the path of Allah is (to speak) a word of justice to an oppressive ruler. (Sunan of Abu Dawood:2040).

While extremist groups have shed enough blood of innocent people on the name of Jihad, there is dire need of Jihad against selfish desires [Jihad bil nafs] and Greater Jihad [Jihad Akbar] through Quran. It is through these forms of Jihad that the negative thinking, minds of people could be changed and their energies utilised for constructive purpose to attain peace and prosperity.

Every Pakistani, men or women, rich or poor, educated or less educate, student or employed, old or young, religious or non religious, liberal or secular, rightist or leftist, extremist fundamentalist or moderate, has a role to play to conduct “TRIALOGUE” at their level. The head of different organizations, governmental or private can organize informal or formal study sessions, workshops and discussions. A common man can do it within social circles and groups. The social media can be utilised as one of the tools.

To some it may appear to be an exercise in futility, but at least it will create awareness at all the levels, especially among the masses. People could not be befooled with rosy unachievable false promises and hopes. The real peaceful message of Islam, lost in the mist of extremist ideologies will be revealed to the unaware people.

A process of religious and political awareness and awakening will start which can partially fill the intellectual vacuum created by our impoverished education system and over all lack of education due to poor literacy rate.

It is further hoped that as a result of logical, intellectual discourse a common ground would emerge. Once a consensus is reached, then it should be implemented with full zeal, to end mischief in land [fisad fil ardh] and establish peace:

مَّن يَشْفَعْ شَفَاعَةً حَسَنَةً يَكُن لَّهُ نَصِيبٌ مِّنْهَا ۖ وَمَن يَشْفَعْ شَفَاعَةً سَيِّئَةً يَكُن لَّهُ كِفْلٌ مِّنْهَا ۗ وَكَانَ اللَّـهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ مُّقِيتًا

جو بھلائی کی سفارش کریگا وہ اس میں سے حصہ پائے گا اور جو برائی کی سفارش کرے گا وہ اس میں سے حصہ پائے گا، اور اللہ ہر چیز پر نظر رکھنے والا ہ

Whoever recommends and helps a good cause becomes a partner therein: And whoever recommends and helps an evil cause, shares in its burden: And Allah hath power over all things.(Quran;4:85)

إِنَّ شَرَّ الدَّوَابِّ عِندَ اللَّـهِ الصُّمُّ الْبُكْمُ الَّذِينَ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ

یقیناً خدا کے نزدیک بدترین قسم کے جانور وہ بہرے گونگے لوگ ہیں جو عقل سے کام نہیں لیتے

Verily, the worst of all creatures in the sight of God are those deaf, those dumb people who do not use their intellect.(Quran;8:22)

لِّيَهْلِكَ مَنْ هَلَكَ عَن بَيِّنَةٍ وَيَحْيَىٰ مَنْ حَيَّ عَن بَيِّنَةٍ

جو ہلاک ہو، دلیل پر ہلاک ہو اور جو زنده رہے، وه بھی دلیل پر زنده رہے

Who would perish might perish by clear proof, and he who would live might live by clear proof(Quran;8:42)

قَالَ رَبِّ انصُرْنِي عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْمُفْسِدِينَ

پروردگار! اس مفسد قوم پر میری مدد فرما

“My Lord, aid me against these mischievous people.(29:30)

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ وَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُوءً

“… surely Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition”; (Quran;13:11)

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Kofi Annan: A chequered career

Advance praise for Kofi Annan`s memoirs, Interventions: A Life in War and Peace, has come from the likes of Bill Clinton and Lee Kuan Yew to Bono and Bill Gates. Even Amartya Sen calls it a `wonderful book [that] gives the readers a lucid and enjoyable understanding of the kind of reasoning and commitment that has made Annan such a force for good in the troubled world in which we live.

Kofi Annan was the UN secretary general at a time when the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century saw the greatest challenges to peace and justice. No other UN secretary general gained the kind of significance, status or familiarity as Annan did. However, the invasion of Iraq proved to be very stressful, for even a skilled diplomat such as Annan.

Memoirs, however, are written in retrospect and Annan does his best to defend his own andthe UN`s role in approaching the various challenges to peace from Serbia to Rwanda and from Afghanistan to Iraq. However, his 10-year tenure will remain controversial, particularly in the cases of those conflicts, such as Darfur and Kosovo, where the UN acted rather late and let the suffering continue. In the case of Darfur, the debate focused on whether the killings could be termed a `genocide` or not. As Annan himself admits, the debate over terminology hardly helped those who were being ruthlessly killed. The humanitarian mission was delayed.

The Iraq war and the crippling sanctions preceding it will also remain a blot on the UN and Annan even though the decision to invade Iraq was the American president`s, supported by the British prime minister, overriding all opposition from the UN Security Council.

Annan`s account of the lead-up to the war has telling moments. He reveals George Bush`s dislike and distrust of him quite candidly (the US president`s remarks were caught by a microphone). His terming of the planned invasion as `illegal` in the face of opposition from the UN Security Council ensured that the US would block his quest for a third term. Annannarrates how, under persistent questioning by a BBC reporter who asked him point blank if the war was illegal, he had to admit it was.

Earlier, he had been more cautious. As he says, `I had expressed this view, in less direct ways, on other occasions in the past. I had up to this point always sought to retain my ability to engage both sides of this deep global divide by avoiding an outright condemnation of the illegality of the war.

Some of the most engrossing chapters, however, have less to do with international diplomacy. Annan`s account of growing up along the Gold Coast (Ghana), at a time when freedom struggles against colonialism across Africa were beginning to bear fruit, is an intensely personal account of an idealistic youth. It also serves as an excellent backdrop to the future career in diplomacy. As Annan writes, `As a young man, I was deeply influenced by the discussions going on at home with my father and his friends. At the same time, I was emotionally drawn to the passion and urgency ofNkrumah`s calls for `independence now`. Some of the statements that he was making that we must stand on our own, that we must have our destiny in our own hands resonated deeply with me.` The peaceful transition to power convinced the young Annan that transformation is possible without bloodshed.

With a career at the UN stretching 40 years, there are bound to be high and low points.

Among the most frustrating for Annan was trying to negotiate peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Very early in his efforts he realised the impotency of the UN Secretary General`s office in this particular conflict as US presidents took on the role of negotiators, starting from the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty of 1979 to the Oslo Accords. The Israelis, in particular, seemed to trust the Americans, more than the UN, to look after its interests. As Annan notes, he and other world leaders were simply onlookers as president Bill Clinton hosted the Camp David summit with Israel`s prime minister Ehud Barak and the Palestinian leader,Yasser Arafat. He seems particularly peeved at Israel`s rejection of UN efforts because as he notes, `It was the UN, after all, that had first given legitimacy (through General Assembly resolution 181, in 1947) to the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states in 1948.

Since then, Palestine is a cause that the UN hascontinued to betray.

Annan`s long stint at the UN, more so as secretary general for 10 years, brought him into close contact with world leaders. When he lets down the mask of diplomacy, there are frank comments on those who led nations into war and peace. Interventions is full of interesting anecdotes about Annan`s interaction with wellknown personalities. However, he is particularly critical of George Bush and American arrogance towards the world body. He recalls American opposition to the setting up of the International Criminal Court (ICC)an opposition that came from president George Bush to the US representative at the UN, John Bolton, to an American judge who called the ICC `a kangaroo court.

If peacemaking efforts were often difficult and sometimes futile, Annan obviously found a great deal of satisfaction in his success in setting up international bodies such as the ICC.

He writes in great detail of the arduous journey from the Rome Statute of 1998 to thereality of the ICC, ending at last the culture of impunity for crimes against humanity. He criticises his fellow Africans who consider the court to be `racist` as many dictators from the continent have been summoned by the ICC in recent years. Annan is also proud of making the UN Human Rights Council a reality, again a long journey of intense negotiation, as well as creating the principle of `Responsibility to Protect` under which recently there have been calls for intervention in Syria. Reading Annan`s biography, one is left with the impression that the UN`s role has been relegated to that of a provider of humanitarian assistance, rather than of a global peacemaker.

Ironically, Kofi Annan and the UN were awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in October 2001, just as another war was to begin with the invasion of Afghanistan. E The reviewer is the chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Interventions: A Life in War and Peace (MEMOIRS) By Kofi Annan with Nader Mousavizadeh Allen Lane, UK ISBN 1846142970 400pp.

کھلا خط آپ کے نام، پاکستان کے لیے

Open Letter for Pakistan

پاکستان کی ترقی ، خوشحالی اور امن کے لییے کچھ بنیادی معاملات طے کرنا ضروری ھیں. اس وقت پاکستانی سوسائٹی فکری طورپرتین بڑے حصوں تقسیم ہو چکا ہے : ایک طرف "اشرافیہ , لبرل طبقہ" دوسری طرف "خاموش اکثریت" ؛ تیسری طرف "مذہبی شدت پسند دہشت گرد اور ان کے ہمدرد". ایسے حالات میں ضروری ہے کہ کنفیوژن کو دور کیا جائے تاکہ اکثریت ایک نقطہ نظر پر متفق ہو جائے. اور پھر تمام توانایوں کو مرکوز کرکہ عظیم مقاصد ، امن . خوشحالی . ترقی کی طرف رواں دواں ہوں. اگر ہم کچھ بنیادی سوالات کا جواب موجودہ تناظرمیں قرآن سنت کی روشنی میں معلوم کر لیں. ان پر قومی مباحثہ ہو جس میں میڈیا ، دانشور ، مذہبی سکالرز علماء ، سیاسی مفکرین ، سول سوسائٹی ، فوجی ماہرین ، قانون ، خارجہ امور کے ماہرین اور تمام دوسرے متعلقہ ماہرین اور عوام حصہ لیں . پھر جس پر سب یا اکثریت متفق ہو ان پر پھر ڈٹ کرعمل کریں تو پاکستان ایک ترقی یافتہ باعزت ملک، قوم بن سکتا ہے .... اس لنک پر کلک کریں :

http://pakistan-posts.blogspot.com/2013/11/pakistan-basic-issues-need-immediate.html
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Kofi Annan: A chequered career