The real crisis for Gaza

On 27th December 2008, Israel began its latest intense offensive against the people of Gaza, claiming a need to protect their citizens from Hamas rockets.

The entire region is being targeted, everyone a potential threat to Israel's thunderous campaign and although Israel claims to be fighting Hamas, it is evident that the targets and victims of Israel's war are innocent women and children. In fact, over a third of the deaths in Gaza to date in this current conflict, have been children. Israel has additionally kept its forced blockade in place, meaning the 1.5 million living in Gaza - men women and children – are imprisoned in this killing field.

And as the world's media focussed upon this region, questioning what would happen, all the Israeli Government officials can say, is that they were just protecting themselves from Hamas' offensive. Tzipi Livni, the Israeli Foreign Minister said, when questioned about the evident dis-proportionality in how Israel was reacting to Hamas’ few and far between rockets, 'This is the expression of self-defense, the right of self-defense of a state.' However this seems absurd when everyone knows that the rockets Hamas fire, are nothing in comparison with the latest technology Israel uses in their warfare and the effect is evident in the fact that a few days into the offensive 430 Palestinians had been killed, whilst number of Israelis killed were 4.

Even though the treachery of Israel is so clear to see, the international community still do not act. All the UN Secretary General could say, after the first few days of the conflict, was that the violence was ‘deeply saddening’ and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called it, ‘appalling’ – and it was not even clear who this was exactly directed at. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in his new role representing the West as their Middle East envoy, called for a ceasefire which would firstly ‘protect Israel’ and almost as a sidepoint(!) end the violence for those in Gaza.

We would think that the Muslim rulers may have been better in protecting the brethren of their deen. But not surprisingly, their inaction is even worse. The Egyptian people have become frustrated with Hosni Mubarak’s inability to even break ties with Israel and there are rumours of rifts in the Egyptian army due to this. King Abdullah and Queen Rania of Jordan have been passionately donating their blood for the injured in Gaza, but cannot donate their words of opposition or actions to deal with their transgressing Israeli neighbour. Even Assad of Syria, who is supposed to be the most anti-Israeli has been having tea with the French President ambling through discussions on how both parties can stop the violence. The ability for Israel to do as they please is clearly protected by the entire international community, which comes before their need to actually stop the bloodbath being created in Gaza.

Moreover the discussions happening within the international community are all about how to end the current bout of violence. This is clearly evading the real issue as trying to get Israel to stop the current intense violence, still does not solve the fact that the people in Gaza are subject to the curfews and blockades of Israel in their everyday daily lives, food supplies and all other imports or exports in and out of Palestine will always be subject to Israeli control, and the ability to run Palestine like a puppet will still be in the hands of Israel. Whether the current violence ends or not, Israel will still be free to apply all of its injustices and controls to Palestine as it has done for the past 60 years. Just because the current conflict has been forced onto the media and political stage, does not mean that when other stories have dominated people’s minds in the past 60 years, the suffering in Palestine even if less intense, has not been as acute.

Therefore we need to be clear that the problem is not just the current violence, it’s the reason for why the current violence can occur in the first place and this is the very existence of Israel. From 1948, when the land on which Israel sits was stolen from the Muslims and given to the Israelis for them to establish their state on, was the day the green light was given for the Muslims in that region to live under occupation, oppression and tyranny.

Therefore we need to understand very succinctly that this problem is not a problem of violence and killing in itself, but is the fact that the very existence of Israel is illegitimate and came about from the theft of Muslim land. This is the bottom line, and unless we deal with the problem from the roots, we will forever be trying to deal with the problems which manifest as a result, such as the current offensive.

And although people call this crisis a humanitarian crisis, or a national struggle; it is more than anything, an Islamic crisis. As the land of Palestine was stolen from the Muslim Ummah and the theft of Muslim land, is indeed a serious issue in Islam. The Prophet SAW said, ‘That he who gives one hands span of Muslim land away, will experience a hand span of the hellfire.’ It is therefore clear that the theft of Muslim land is an issue that should shake our souls, just as our souls were shaken when the Prophet SAW’s name was defamed in recent books and cartoons, and when the Quran was flushed down the toilet in Guantanamo Bay.

And before any bond, it is the bond of Iman between the Muslims which makes us a strong unit who feel each others sorrow and pain like our own. The Prophet SAW said, ‘The Ummah is like a body, when one part of it hurts, the rest of it reacts with restlessness and fever.’ So whatever nationality we are, Bangladeshi, Pakistani or Chinese, the suffering of our brothers and sisters is definitely our problem, that we need to seek a solution for. But some of us feel that by donating charity to the victims in Gaza, we have fulfilled their right over us - Charity is indeed a rewardable action, in the eyes of Allah SWT, but this is not the solution for the actual problem of the occupation of Palestine as charity will keep the people alive and feed and clothe them, but it will in no way change their situation. Even if they are fed and clothed, tomorrow they will still be subject to Israeli tyranny, as they had been today. And if we believe that by giving charity we have done our bit for our brothers and sisters in that region, then we do them a great disservice. As they do not want to be kept alive in this living hell, they want to be liberated from it.

It is without the doubt that the Capitalist ideology with its premise of seeking benefit and economic interest has enabled the Palestinian people to remain in the situation that they are. For the Western world, having a key ally such as Israel in the heart of the Muslim world, where they fear Muslim unity and independence; is of paramount benefit. Thus it is ludicrous for us to hope that by protesting and appealing to the Western world with a humanitarian plea, we can achieve change and justice. As capitalism puts benefit of its nation states first, before the wellbeing of people. The state of poverty in the world in places such as Africa, today is testimount to the fact that the wellbeing of people is of lesser importance to those nations who hold the Capitalist ideology, over the need to usurp and accumulate wealth and power. Therefore it is a futile action to try and get Capitalist nations to solve the problem of Palestine, as they will never see the occupation of the region as something they need to set right as there is not benefit in it for them, moreover Israel’s existence is in their benefit. Therefore if there is no room for uncompromising justice within capitalism, then we clearly need to seek an alternative system to live by which does have this as its cornerstone.

The Islamic ideology is the only alternative option for the world today, if we wish for the return of uncompromising justice. It is an Islamic government, led by a sincere Khalif, which will care about the bloodshed of the Palestinians and ensure that the occupation of the land is a priority to be dealt with. The Islamic Khilafah will put the wellbeing of its Ummah and the lands of Islam, before the accumulation of wealth or the need to be arrogant and powerful. The Prophet SAW said, ‘The Imam is a shield for the Ummah, from behind which they fight and are protected.’

Many years after the Rightly Guided Khalifs, even during the period of intense decline for the Islamic Khilafah, the Khalif Sultan Abdul Hamid II in the late 19th century, when asked by the father of Zionism Dr Hertzel whether he would sell Palestine, his response was very stark:
‘Palestine is not mine to give. My people have fought with blood
and sweat to protect this land. Let the Jews keep their millions
and once the Khilafah is torn apart one day, they can have Palestine
without a price’

My dear sisters in Islam! The blessed rule of Allah has been torn to shreds in our lands today, and Palestine today it is true, has no price for our rulers. It will only be the Islamic Khilafah, led by a sincere Khalif, who can deal with the transgressing Israel and protect our Muslim brothers and sisters in Palestine. It is a sincere Khalif who will gather together all the soldiers he can find and all the resources he can muster to march forth in order to retrieve back the land of Al Quds and restore to this noble Ummah what is rightfully theirs, under the most rightful rule.

So my dear sisters in Islam! Work towards this solution which will relieve our suffering Ummah, and do not prolong their pain by engaging yourself in other futile acts, in the hope that they will alleviate the suffering of your Muslim brethren, as surely any other ceasefire, roadmap or compromise will end as being a mirage and return us to our degraded position. Rather be part of the work to bring back a righteous ruler who rules by what Allah revealed and return justice to the face of this earth:

Allâh has promised those among you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion, that which He has chosen for them (i.e. Islâm). And He will surely give them in exchange a safe security after their fear (provided) they (believers) worship Me and do not associate anything (in worship) with Me. But whoever disbelieved after this, they are the Fâsiqûn (rebellious, disobedient to Allâh). (TMQ 24:55)

A forward I received on practical actions we can do for Gaza

The massacre and genocide in Gaza still continues and our brothers and sisters are in a dire situation, with nothing apart from stones and rockets to protect them. Please constantly call and email the egyptian embassy, Egypt has an army of 450,000 soldiers compared to 180,000 israeli troops. Call on the arab-muslim armies to defend Gaza.

Sunday 11th January 2009 - Is a demonstration going to the Egyptian, Syrian and Saudi Embassy. GATHERING AT MARBLE ARCH 12.30pm (nearest tube Marble arch station), and ending with a congregation prayer insha'Allah.

phone and email these embassies on a daily basis and ask why they have supported Israel's massacre in Gaza, why they did nothing to defend the muslims in Gaza? and why they continue their TREATIES WITH ISRAEL?

Egyptian Embassy Tel: 020 7499 3304/2401

Jordanian Embassy Tel 020 79373685

Syrian Embassy Tel 020 72459012

Saudi Embassy Tel 020 79173000

Egypt alone has 450,000 regular troops to Israel's 180,000; and comparable levels of tanks and aircrafts. Combined these countries are overwhelmingly more powerful. Yet they do nothing.

Below is an action plan that we sisters can insha'Allah try and follow up:
ACTION POINTS:

1) EMAIL/ PHONE UP MUSLIM EMBASSIES MENTIONED IN THE NOTE above

2) KEEP THE DISCUSSION GOING ABOUT THE ARAB/ MUSLIM LEADERS & THEIR TREACHERY ON THE BUSSES, TUBE EVERYWHERE

3) ATTEND DEMONSTRATIONS WHICH ARE INLINE WITH ISLAM...OUR ARMIES IN THE MUSLIM LANDS SHOULD DEFEND THE PEOPLE OF PALESTINE LIKE SALAH UD DIN DID!!! BE VERY CLEAR, WHAT THE OBJECTIVE OF THE ORGANISER IS? AS WE ARE ACCOUNTABLE FOR WHAT WE BECOME PART OF! WHY DO WE DEMONSTRATE OUTSIDE ISRAELI EMBASSY? We must also not fool ourselves in to thinking that foreign powers and institutions such solve this current crisis or indeed any other in the Muslim world. These powers look after their own interests only and are themselves guilty of wars and massacres against Muslims. They show their double standards by invading and occupying Muslim lands on false pretences, yet are reduced to issuing hollow words of chastisement to Israel over its current acts of barbarism.

4) WRITE TO MEDIA OUTLETS/ BLOGS ETC

5) DONT ALLOW YOURSELF TO BECOME IMMUNE TO THE BLOOD OF OUR BROTHERS, SISTERS AND CHILDREN...keep updated with news, ONE THING THAT MIGHT HELP IS MAY BE MAKE ALJAZEERA.NET/ ENGLISH YOUR HOMEPAGE OR CUT THE PICTURES OR PRINT THEM & KEEP THEM ON YOU

6) LAST BUT NOT LEAST INCREASE THE RECOMMENDED ACTIONS, OF DUA, TAHUJJUD, SURAH FATH(49) AND BEG ALLAH SWT DURING THE LAST PART OF THE NIGHT TO END THE SUFFERINGS OF GAZAN'S & THE RETURN OF KHILAFAH.

Do the Muslims of Gaza cry for blankets and gourmet cuisine?

I switched on my TV to try and get the latest news on the terrible situation of our brethren in Gaza. Although I attended the big demonstration today in London, calling all the Arab rulers to account for their inaction, I still find that after the cooking, cleaning, wiping runny noses and picking up toys, the thoughts of Gaza start escaping me. So in a worried flurry I feel I need to feel what's happening again - I mean if it was my mother, sister and own children, would I just switch off just because I'd been to a demo for a couple of hours that day? It might have made me feel like I'd done my bit today, and I could go to sleep content tonight, but it's not about me is it? It's all about them. And their suffering doesn't end, even though I can switch my TV off... Anyway having found some actual footage of Gaza which seemed to vaguely reflect what might be happening, I found a very pleasant brother inshaAllah I pray, earnestly raising funds for his Muslim brethren in Gaza on this particular channel. He pleaded with the Ummah to remember their brothers and sisters, and their relationship to them, and empty their pockets so the charity could send food and other necessities in this trying time. It was the emergency 'Gaza crisis appeal' and the harrowing images on the side of the screen accompanied the bank details of the Islamic charity who were conducting this noble cause.

I really pray Allah SWT rewards the brother and all those who assisted him on that programme for his efforts, and for reminding us all that those people out there are our people, just as much as the very people we live with in our home. However it made me think - when I have watched footage of an absolutely devestated mother, mourning the death of her 3 children, the thought about how she would feed herself, or even keep herself warm that night, really wasn't the first thought to strike me. All I could think about was how could her three innocent children be slaughtered in this way in the first place? Of course I pray the woman is fed and clothed properly, after the ordeal she has been through, but much more than that - I pray that no other woman like her has to go through what she went through.

It is without a doubt the people of Gaza will need emergency provisions over the coming days, as they always have, and many charities have been dedicated and committed to accomplishing this. Nobody would deny this is a weighty and noble cause. However food, shelter and clothing has no bearing on the occupation, oppression and absolute injustice the people of Gaza are subject to, day in day out, not just over the last few days, but since the establishment of Israel. There was a grandmother giving a television interview a while back and she was talking about how she has lived in the muddy squalor of a refugee camp, in a makeshift tent for so many years, and now her grandchildren have the honour of experiencing this too. Food and clothing from charities was what largely fed this woman and her family, and may Allah give the people who provided this for them, much reward. However no amount of food and clothing has been able to enable this woman, her children and her grandchildren to return to their rightful home, occupied by Israelis. Charity has kept her alive, but not at all changed her situation.

Making ourselves feel better, I think, is something key. Because in the society we live in, often charity - be it Children in Need, comic relief - is often plugged by reminding people how good it feels to help others. And this is natural within human beings, that we like to help others like ourselves, but this shouldn't be why we do it. As if this is the case, we may do the action which makes us feel better, but is not in the best interest of those we are helping. The emotion of seeing the dead and injured in Gaza, makes us want to have some sort of release - Emptying your pocket there and then, has an instantaneous result and can give us the feeling that we have done our bit. We can then brush our hands and walk away to get on with our lives. However if we have the wellbeing and best interests of the people at heart, then we will realise that giving charity helps, but is in no way the solution for the problem in Palestine and if we do give charity, we can in no way feel that we have done our bit period.

The solution for the tanks and ground forces which have recently wormed their way into Gaza is of course not blankets and food. It's resistance, as strong as the offensive is. It's a resistance that has the capacity and capabilities to fight the likes of tanks and state of the art phosphorus bombs, led by a just ruler who does not have revenge or personal power at his heart - But has the oppressed people, and the stolen land as his central drive. Unless we call for this, we will just be feeding and clothing the people in Gaza to keep them alive and well, and as better bait, for the Israeli soldiers to come and kill. A bit crude, but that's it really, isn't it?

A Muslim does not act by emotion or by the rage of his heart, he is higher than this. He is led by his mind and its thinking to undertake the correct actions, in line with Islam. Thus let us not be like those who act purely by base desires, doing things because it makes us feel good, regardless of what the consequences and impact is. As let's face it - as the tanks roll in through the thick of the night, and the bombs illuminate the black, still sky as I write, do the people of Gaza really cry for a wide variety of foods and a selection of clothes?

Do you live by Islam, or Live for it?

I'm in the midst of my routine visit to my parents home these Christmas hols. It really has become routine, as as the Christmas holidays have dawned over the last few years, we have packed up our belongings, our woolly scarfs and several warm jumpers, jumped into our car ready for our relaxing break in the Welsh plains. The period of time here has come to characterise excesses of wonderful food, all the Christmas television and most of all rich amounts of family time as everyone is home, cuddled around the coffee table and blazing heaters. The ritual sale shopping where I try to buy all the things I need for the coming year, along with the wonderful time I spend with my family, who appreciate it to the nth degree, always brings with it a urging question for me on what life really is about. Without getting to mushily philosophical, every year I get a window into the world which could possibly be if I didn't have the central hearth of Islam in my life.

Alhumdulilah I can put my hand on my heart and say the time with my family, all the practical things I need to buy and do, has for me a strong link to my Creator; as clearly we all know the weight Islam places on pleasing the parents and keeping ties with kin. My ritual shopping even has a link (however tenuously some may assume!) it's all the stuff I need to get for my family and my kids to keep us going for a while inshaAllah. But it's that link that keeps me feeling cool. As without that link, I contemplate how would I really feel?

For me this link is what keeps me feeling content that the actions I do have some sort of weight and value, as Allah SWT has clearly told us in Surah AdhDhuriyat that the purpose of the creation of mankind, is for the sole purpose of us to worship him - not to shop, chill or let our life drift away trying to just even be happy.

But I think alhumdulilah alot of us, many of us who have had the honour to re-find Islam again, can intellectuslise this link. The understanding that unless our lives are led in accordance with Allah's rules and laws, then there is no meaning or use for us. But my understanding of this deen tells me that the Islamic purpose in life means more than this, and this is something I think we all find a battle to embed in life. And what concerns me more for the Muslim community I see living around me, is a more recent phenomenan which I feel challenges the desire for us to live purely for Islam.

A sister I remember once said to me that the biggest obstacle for the Muslim community in the West to regaining and working for the vision to resestablish just Islamic rule in the Muslim world, is that we have been lured by a lifestyle, the British Muslim lifestyle which acts as separating us and our aspirations from the rest of the Ummah. The fact that we now have supermarket halal meat, even halal organic meat now I hear, a growing abundance of masjids, the mushrooming of Islamic fashion, the whole new ethos of Islamic shopping, Islamic entertainment - both music and TV(!!) and even the opportunities to engage in British politics with your Islamic(ish) agenda; has meant for many Muslims who live by Islam today that we feel that this is it. We have an Islamicised version of almost everything on the mainstream British market. We have everything we need just around us and our goals become to develop this British Islamic lifestyle over anything else, whichI feel replicates the concepts of escapist entertainment culture we see in the West. We bury ourselves in material things and ideas which give us our kicks and take up our time, and ultimately help us escape the stark realities of this world and life. Things happening abroad then aren't really our problem as much, as we feel we belong here in the West and this is where our allegiances, worries and goals should lie. Alhumdulilah many of these things are good for the Muslim community in one sense as they have aided us to live by Islam and retain our Deen, but I fear that there are more dangers in this phenomenan than can be at first perceived, if the community do not treat this whole new revolution appropriately. I fear that we will just become hijab wearing and salah practising versions of our British counterparts we live with and amongst.

I'm not a traditional isolationist, if that's what you are now thinking. I don't believe in shunning everything with a taint of what is Western, but what I do believe is that we not only have to distinguish between the haram and halal in this society, but also the key ideas and concepts. Our Prophet SAW, throughout his entire Prophethood never sought comfort, whether material or emotional as his goal in life and neither did his Sahabah. Rather his goal throughout his life was always to make Islam superior and to protect his Ummah, as he famously said to Abu Talib 'If you put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left, I would not leave this struggle until it is victorious or I perish therein'. For him SAW, not only would he sacrifice his comfort and the comfort of his family for Islam, but even his SAW life he SAW was willing to give. And if this is the example, of our best example, then is this not we should follow?

The beauty of the Deen of Islam is that it does not require us to follow a life of asceticism where we renounce everything and anything material, it does not even view wealth as something which is innately evil; but what Allah always does ask us to question, is why we are in this world in the first place. That are we here to seek comforts, pursue an individualistic lifestyle as our non-Muslim counterparts are urged to, looking out and living for ourselves and only those close to us; and getting our kicks in life out of material things? Just because some of these things maybe cloaked in an Islamic appearance, does not mean our use of them are not any less dangerous than the popular culture and fashion races of the West.

The abundance of evidences in the Quran and Sunnah highlight that the reason why we wake in the morning, all the kicks and what we dedicate the most important parts of our day to, what we get excited about - all that - should be for Islam, nothing else. As the Prophet SAW said 'None of you truly believes, until your desires conform with what I have brought.' We must therefore take the time out from our all engulfing lives to think. Think about what being a Muslim really means, that we live to carry Allah's word to the world and make Islam superior. That we are a vanguard of Islam and the Ummah and that this brings a duty and responsibility. It's not just about praying, fasting, having your Islamic mortgage and getting your kids into Islamic schools. We need to contemplate about this beautiful Deen of Allah SWT and how it is gathering dust in the auspicious Qurans on our shelves and is deemed, astaghfirullah, not good enough to rule over us in this so-called modern world we live in. And the effects of this being manifold - we have a global economics which has gone past breaking point, social systems where rape, crime, murder are in their multitude, and a world where abusing and oppressing the Ummah is just part of life.
With this turbulent reality around us, it is not normal for any follower of Islam or servant of Allah SWT to be able to live a life of comfort, content with all the Islamicised provisions we have gained and that's about it. The fact that even one mother of this Ummah yesterday in Gaza experienced the death of all her children should be cause for us all to dedicate our efforts and energy and time and sweat to work in the correct manner for the reestablishment of Allah's law and the shield of a righteous ruler for this Ummah. The Prophet SAW said: 'The imam is a shield from behind which the Ummah fight and are defended.' And the pain of this should be as sharp as the pain we would feel for our own mother or sister, as the Prophet SAW likened our relationship with the Ummah, wherever they are, as being part of the same body - if they hurt, we inevitably feel it too.

To live in this dunya is right and good as our bodies, our families all do have a right over us, as prescribed by our Creator. However this should not become our sole purpose in life as this was never the mission Allah SWT set for us, from the moment he set mankind onto this earth. Rather Allah's pleasure, and the promise of Jannah, we know only is rewarded to those who live to make Allah's deen the highest, sacrificing as much as we possibly can of this dunya - Not those who simply live by the basics of what Allah has forbidden and enjoined. It is living for Islam, not simply by Islam which is the pathway into Jannah, and who would want to risk it being any other way?
'Say: If it be that your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your mates, or your kindred; the wealth that ye have gained; the commerce in which ye fear a decline: or the dwellings in which ye delight - are dearer to you than Allah, or His Messenger, or the striving in His cause;- then wait until Allah brings about His decision: and Allah guides not the rebellious.' (9:24)

Who will ever break the silence on Israel?

Deeply saddening, appalling is indeed the violence in Gaza, as our world leaders have called it. Events which stir our emotions intensely. But more than emotion, we all feel a view, have an opinion as politics doesn't just conjure feeling, it conjures thought and viewpoints as more than anything its about how we look after mankind in the world we live in. And in this present world we live in, it has to be said not only is the Palestinian conflict one of the most saddening, but is one which conjures the most political voice. For even the most apolitical amongst us, we all have a view about whether those people who claimed their homeland after around 2000 years, were right to do so, or wrong.
I remember some years ago, before I came to Islam, I was travelling in Morocco with a young Jewish girl who told me about how her parents envisaged settling in Israel one day from the UK, as their ultimate dream. At that time all I knew about Israel was, that it was a place in the middle east which came up in the news now and again, but didn't really know why and I wasn't that bothered either. When I returned to the UK, I ambled through some news pages in a vague attempt to maybe find out about this Israel. All I read was Israel was suffering at the hands of Palestinians and Palestinians were suffering at the hands of Israelis. Seemed like another classic conflict situation with some sort of history I'd never get but I hoped, as a passing thought, that both sides would meet in the middle somewhere. Thats classic conflict mediation isn't it, even in marriages, it's all about meeting somewhere in the middle; compromise. Both sides had to do their bit.
A couple of years later, my attachment to my Muslim brethren, urged me to read up on the history of Palestine and Israel. I read about a group of people homeless in Europe. I read about them set their eyes on a land they not only wanted to live in, but rule over. I read about them coming into Palestine and throwing people out of their homes, bulldozing them down and making people refugees in their own land. I read about bloodshed, I read about their domination, occupation spreading like a infectious disease. I read about their sophisticated missiles and tanks, whose design, manufacture was aided in Britain and America; massacre families, and the resistance of the Palestinians named as terrorism. Palestinians who grew up generation after generation in the muddy squalor of refugee camps in their own land attempted to fight this occupation with whatever they had. I read it all. Then came the wall, the blockades and the intense attacks of the last few days.
This was Israel. This was occupation, domination and suffering to the nth degee whilst the world watched, calling it deeply saddening and terribly appalling, but never wrong.
There have been many demos over the last few days, asking Israel to stop the attacks - and despite news reports saying that they won't until Hamas does, we must be slightly loopy if we ever believe they will put an end to their agenda which has been ruthlessly undertaken over the past century. And the West - they will never verbalise Israel's cruelty, as they are the ones who set the cannon loose and gave the go-ahead all those years ago. It's a silence that will never be broken in Washington or London, and if we don't own up to this, we continue to leave the suffering Palestinians stranded in a problem which has been sugarcoated and sold to us as a solution through roadmaps and ceasefires.
The solution lies in a place which we don't always look. Like a action-packed thriller, where the director misguides you into thinking who the killer is, masking the real one in order to create that all breath-taking twist, the Muslims will also face their twist. The realisation that sustainable change can only come from the solution Allah SWT gives us for our politics. Lobbying MPs, pressuring Israel, all these things serve to divert us from the real solution - the armies of the Muslim lands - who did they stand to defend? The thousands and thousands of people, weaponry who make up the Muslim armies - where and for what reason do they stand idle?
Allah SWT will ask the rulers of the Muslim world, where were their ears and their eyes as the missiles fell, one after the other? These rulers we know prefer to shake the hands of the perpetrators than straighten them, in order to keep their seats of power. But Allah Almighty is the owner of the Heavens and the Earth, and it is He who can destroy all 50+ of them and their kingdoms in a fell swoop and one day InshaAllah He will. There will come a day, as Allah SWT has promised where just Islamic rule will return to this Earth and liberate all the oppressed. This is the only solution which can pool together the resources of the Muslim world, and create the unity to enable a resistance which stands to the likes as those of Israel. This is the solution which doesn't accept a few Palestinian homes being returned, or a few Palestinians being allowed to work - This is the solution which will return an uncompromising rule of law which favours no race, only justice, to the Arabian plains. I pray that we are strong enough to remember this and become part of its return, instead of busying ourselves with fruitless actions which actively ensue its delay.

A Cruel Parallel

Imagine a 32 year old educated and mature woman being thrown into a vehicle, gagged by human hands to the point of an unbearable sense of suffocation and fearing that the tin roof of that van was possibly the last sight her eyes would ever see. Then imagine a 20 year old new bride, adorned with gold and glittering reds, still glowing with excitement and her fresh coyness, feel her skin turn wet, burn slowly and then unimaginably intensely, scorching and searing till it resembled black leather. Both images may make you sigh, or as it did for me, make your stomach turn. But both women I can now tell you were Bangladeshi, oppressed, tortured and victims of a situation where they had no control.

However as some of you may have already recognised, indeed for my first example the ending was a happy ending - the law successfully intervened and returned 32 year old Dr Humayra Abedin back home to the UK earlier this month - From the safety of her family who had duped her, and then imprisoned her in order to force her into a marriage with Dr Khondokar Mohammad Abdul Jalal, whose proposal she had declined earlier this year. Together with the pressure from a Bangladeshi Human Rights Group, as well as more importantly the pressure of the British Court, the Bangladeshi police were able to track Dr Abedin down on 15 December. The Dhaka court immediately ruled that she be freed and allowed to return to Britain. Indeed Dr Abedin has returned and after a painful period in her life, is still free to pursue her plans of becoming a trained GP in East London.

However the story of my second victim, does not have an ending that sits as well. On the 18th January 2007, Sabina Yasmin in Dhaka was married to Khairul Islam. But instead of her auspicious wedding day being the beginning of a more blessed and auspicious new life, it was a day that would prove devastating. Sabina that day, fell prey to the vengeance of some neighbours of her husband's family who had a long dispute with them and on her wedding day, she became another statistic in Bangladesh's shocking acid burning record. She was admitted into Dhaka Medical College hospital with 55% of her body mangled and melted by lethal acid from treacherous hands. After 22 long days and nights of suffering the agony of such burns, Sabina passed away. The police did not arrest anyone in relation to her assault, despite having strong evidence about the perpetrators and the campaigning of a human rights group.

The painful suffering and eventual death of Sabina is difficult to swallow, when set aside the new lease of life Dr Abedin has to now begin her life again and follow her ambitions to train as a GP. But what is more difficult to contemplate is how the life and wellbeing of Dr Abedin was worth more than the young life of the new Dhaka bride. For her, courts across the Atlantic and of course Dhaka set loose all possible efforts, to ensure her safety was restored and protected. Yet for Sabina, her life was left to wither away in a hospital and justice and the law did not just dust their hands of her, they forgot her from the very beginning. A hollow statistic to be brushed under the carpet as soon as she was gone. To even find the news article on her was an investigative feat.

I don't feel comfortable with reeling off statistics now for you all to picture the context of what the situation for women such as Sabina in Bangladesh is really like. Because any statistics I come across, on UNICEF, from Bangladeshi Government Records, just cannot reflect the real picture. Firstly with almost half the Bangladeshi population living in abject poverty with token access to statutatory assistance and unable to report crimes properly, in addition to the actual government institutions being corrupt and grotesquely pervasive when it comes to recording actual crime and injustice in the country, looking at any statistics is as good as not. But I'll give you some anyway, save you thinking I write and speak from a cloud above. 8.76% of the burns treated in Dhaka University in a four year period were as a result of acid throwing (http://www.medbc.com/annals/review/vol_14/num_3/text/vol14n3p115.asp), and most of these victims were young girls. More than 14% of pregnant women's deaths are associated with injury and violence they are subjected to (http://www.hurights.or.jp/asia-pacific/040/02.htm) and according to the Bangladesh police, registered cases of cruelty to women topped over 12 000 to 20 000 every year between 2003 and 2007, compared to around 1000 recorded cases of robbery each year from 2003 and 2007 (http://www.police.gov.bd/index5.php?category=48).

Women like Sabina are withering away in hospitals and homes across Bangladesh, daily. The system does not care and does not want to care, as they are not worth the efforts of the police or court of law. But for the Bangladeshi court, pressure from world media and moreover the routine desire to appease Colonial Father Britain, urged them to relentlessly seek protection for Dr Abedin. Interestingly, Dr Abedin's message to women in her situation was 'come forward and don't give hope.' Sadly, hope is a step too far for most women in Bangladesh who do not have the royal visas of Britain to fight for them, or the wealth or influence of the ruling elite. For those who have been born into the average family in Bangladesh, struggling to survive, justice and the promise of protection from the State is nothing but a dream which will never manifest itself into reality.

For a country which has been praised for its corruption clean-up, and more recently its impressive democratic election process which was deemed as possibly 'fairest' in the world by American Presidential candidate McCain, it would seem that justice and human rights records in such a country should be as dazzling. But this obviously could not be further from the truth, where justice is conditional to how high profile you are and whether helping you would bring the Government any benefit. Clearly for Dr Abedin, pursuing justice for her was unavoidable as the eyes of the world and the British Government impinged on it.

To be able to protect women in Bangladesh, not a select few women, it is evident that we need a Government that will believe in this and pursue this. Throughout the short history of Bangladesh, never has there been a time where oppression, subjugation and a failure to protect people have not been the absolute norm. It's therefore time we stop looking to the political options in Bangladesh that have been handed to us pre-prepared, but call for a new type of politics which will uphaul the rotten current system to replace it with one that places justice at its heart.

In the Islamic ruling system, the Khilafah State, justice for the oppressed is not conditional to how much wealth they have, their status or particular situation, rather any oppressed citizen deserves justice by the State. This is because the ruler in Islam must abide by the principle that he is responsible for the wellbeing of all his citizens by the hadith of the Noble Prophet SAW: "Each of you is a shepherd, and all of you are responsible for your flocks." [Bukhari, Muslim]. Rather than fearing their colonial masters in the West in how they execute their rule of law and justice, the ruler in Islam fears his accountability to Allah on the Day of Judgement according to how he looked after and protected the flock he was entrusted with. In addition to this, crimes against women would be something which would be far from tolerated. Rather the viewpoint towards women in an Islamic State is one of high stature and honour. As the Prophet (SAW) said, "The world and all the things in it are precious but the most precious thing in the world is a righteous woman" . He SAW also said: "Whoever has three daughters and shelters them, provides what they need and shows compassion towards them, will certainly deserve paradise." Finally he SAW very famously said, "The best of you are those who are best to their wives." Clearly an Islamic society would build a strong respect for women, where oppression and subjugation of any kind would be abhorred. The rule of law would support this, with strict punishments for even accusing falsely a chaste woman.

It is conclusive that it is only the Islamic rule of law and its correct implementation which can secure real justice for women in Bangladesh, irrespective of their social standing or situation. Without this, justice will be just like a lottery, if you get a winning ticket then the Bangladeshi Government will pull out the highest of stops for you, but if you happen to get a losing one, expect a dark and devastating road to despair.

A Notun Din?

For those who have been born and bred in the UK, a prospective Bangladeshi election and political change means nothing more I'm sure than rain. It comes every other day (especially if you're from sunny Wales) and you don't really batter an eyelid at it. Bangladeshi politics always seems to be an impassioned issue, heated all the time whenever our parents would surf the Bangla news so we all grew a type of immunity towards it. Whether it's some Awami League or BNP, BJP - one of the two?! None of it really makes sense. And as I have recently tried to decipher the politics of Bangladesh, I feel (sorry to burst any bubbles) that it still doesn't really make any sense.
American Presidential candidate McCain after a recent visit to Bangladesh claimed that the upcoming election was possibly one of the 'fairest' of the world. With the caretaker Government's astringent clean-up process across the political world and the massive programme to register over 80 million people, McCain was truly wowed by this rags to riches story.
But before people get carried away by his sweeping claims, I'd really like to question what type of future this free and fair election will give Bangladesh? Will it free them from their deeply ridden problems of crime and corruption? Will give return fairness for all the poor and destitute? Rather than just praise a process, what the real issue is what this process will achieve.
And first and foremost if this is a model of democracy, with the people driving the politicians and politics they want representing them, then why is it that the caretaker Government is astringently screening who can even stand as a party or contestant? Less than half the parties who initially applied for registration have been given the go ahead to actually partake in the process, with Islamically inclined parties being thoroughly scrutinised due to liberalist pressure. Even the widely known party Jamaat e Islam narrowly just made it. Is that democracy?
The fairness that the caretaker Government claim to have created across political culture in the last two years, will no doubt bring a smirk to many a face. Newspaper editor and political analyst Shyamal Dutt said that the anti-corruption drive has failed to stop many bad people from entering the election, in his opinion. Corruption has been straightened out when wanted and to whom wanted, often sporadic. The fact that the two former Prime Minister's, who even the most politically illiterate know were entrenched in corruption, received a year in prison rsp with one out on bail and the other on medical parole, itslef says alot about what the intentions behind their imprisonment really were. Forget financial embezzlement, the fact that both during their terms were never able to attempt to deal with the impoverished people they ruled over, but could fulfil massive plans for India, America or their ruling elite, is itself I feel a crime that deserves more than endless years in prison. And indeed the destination for the ruler who mistreats his people, is no short of hellfire. Thus it makes me wonder who the 'clean-up' act was really for - the people of Bangladesh, or to achieve the nodding heads in America and Britain and for comments like those of Mc Cain.
The reality is this democratic election, in all its hype, will in the end come to be a moment of deja vu for Bangladesh. If you sleep through this election, don't worry you will have seen the result at some point during Bangladeshi history - Either Awami League or the BNP. This is the people's choice dished to you on a plate pre-arranged. And whichever comes to power, it will always be the Capulet-Montague style battle which dominates political headlines - Which party or family did what against whom, over what policy will improve the quality of life for Bangladeshi people.
How can we aspire for change from politics which has been proven as failed? The discussion has to develop outside of the box handed to us.
What we want is real, sustainable change for Bangladesh. Change which shakes the etablishment down to its roots, and actually uproots it! Discarding the deeply-entrenched corruption, injustice to replace it with a system of governance which holds the wellbeing of its citizens and justice for them as its cornerstone, absolutely uncompromisingly. Where everyone, including the ruler and his bandwagon, are all subject to the law and no one is above the law. Where justice is enshrined in an independent judiciary and the authority lies with the people.Where there is a very clear and distinct measure for what the ruler has to abide by, with removal as the consequence of not doing so. And where the sole sovereignty lies with the one Being who deserves it - Allah SWT.
A big vision, a crazy vision you may think. But in this crazy world we live in, big revolutionary change is the only change which will do. Nobody thought the Berlin Wall would change. Nobody thought the Cold War would change and nobody ever thought that occupied America in the 18th century would rise to become the world's superpower. But as a brother not so long ago said, big change can happen. And what I'd like to leave you with is a plea, to believe it and work for it.