The embattled government of general Omar Hasan al-Bashir cannot but heave a sigh of relief as the escalating border dispute between neighbouring Ethiopia and Eritrea throws into a spin US regional plans for the destabilization of Sudan, and as Uganda, a vital element in those plans, begins to see advantages in settling its quarrel with Khartoum.
From Bangladesh through Central Asia to Iraq, tens of millions of Muslims have been poisoned, many terminally, as a result of pollution from nuclear dust, pesticides and arsenic in water wells - all at the hands of western governments, international aid agencies and Russia, as the dominant power in the former Soviet Union.
'O people, your blood and your property [and your honour] are sacrosanct, until you meet your Lord, even as this day and this month are sacrosanct. You shall meet your Lord and He shall ask you of your deeds. I have conveyed [the message]. He who has a trust with him, let him return it to the one who has entrusted him with it.
Hajj reflects the state of the Ummah at any particular time in history. If Hajj is performed in a mechanical way by the vast majority of Muslims, it is because its true meaning and import have been deliberately obfuscated from them. Hajj, like all other aspects of Islam, has been largely shorn of its true meaning.
The control and administration of the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah by the Saudi family has long been the subject of debate and criticism. Much is made of the Saudis' mismanagement, and the tragedies which result from them, such as the fire at Mina last year. Their personal immorality is also often noted.
1Malaysian pilgrims to the Hajj are often noted by other hujjaj to be among the best organized and most disciplined of the Holy Lands' many annual visitors. It is also often noted that, in contrast to hujjaj from some other countries, they are often young. These simple observations hide a major Muslim achievement which goes far further than simply the successful organization of an annual trip to the Haramain.
Since its creation more than 50 years ago, Pakistan has been trapped in a crisis of identity. For the ruling elite, it has meant the continuation of raj by other means with all the attendant pomp, ceremony and priveleges.
One feature of the recent Iraq crisis was the role played by Kofi Annan, secretary general of the United Nations. A couple of weeks after returning in triumph from Baghdad, Annan was honoured with a meeting with Bill Clinton at the White House and presidential praise for his efforts, which he reciprocated by appreciating Washington’s role.
As Serbia moves against another of Europe’s indigenous Muslim communities, comparisons are inevitably drawn with events in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Serbs’ attempted genocide of the Muslims of Bosnia had a great impact on Muslims everywhere.
Fifty years after its creation, Pakistan is still unsure of its identity. Notwithstanding the Zionist settler entity in Palestine, Pakistan is the only country in the world to have come into existence on the basis of religion - Islam - but it has yet to find its moorings.
The anti-Islamic nature of regimes in the Muslim world is daily reflected in their policies - big and small - that impinge on the lives of ordinary people. Clearly, some are more fanatic in their anti-Islamic zeal than others.
Muslims living in non-Muslim societies cannot remain complacent about their value system. If the society around them faces serious social problems, so do the Muslims. The divorce rate among Muslims, though as not as high as the North American average (nearly 50 percent), is rising alarmingly.
The signing ceremony of the anti-personnel landmine treaty in Ottawa last December was attended by a group of landmine victims - many of them amputees in wheelchairs or on crutches.
The euphoria that surrounded the signing of the global anti-personnel landmine ban treaty in Ottawa last December was tempered by the fact that the world’s most powerful military States and leading producers and users of landmines...
The burning of the 700-year-old Shah-e Hamdan shrine in Tral, Indian occupied Kashmir, on December 16 was no accident. This was the third ‘accidental fire’ that has destroyed an important Islamic monument in Kashmir.
In recent weeks, Iraq is again in the limelight. It is accused of developing biological weapons but these were first developed by the west and have become a full-fledged technology of war.
A landmark international treaty to ban anti-personnel landmines became reality early last month when 121 countries signed the accord at the end of a three-day conference (December 2-4) in the Canadian capital, Ottawa.
Since its creation in 1948, Israel has pursued an aggressively expansionist policy creating new facts on the ground. The aim is to tighten grip on the land it has illegally occupied from the Palestinians.
The US has stepped up efforts to increase its influence in Africa, dubbed the ‘last frontier.’ Jesse Jackson, perhaps the best-known African-American today, embarked on a mission to two countries in Africa on December 1 to drum up support for political and trade links.
Living under occupation can be quite boring at times, especially during lockdowns and blockades such as those on the West Bank following last summer’s bombings in Jerusalem. But no fear, television is here to ‘occupy’ your idle hours.
