Sunday 22 June 2014

US mass surveillance systems intended to crush civil dissent

Top secret US National Security Agency (NSA) documents disclosed by the Guardian have shocked the world with revelations of a comprehensive US-based surveillance system with direct access to Facebook, Apple, Google, Microsoft and other tech giants. New Zealand court records suggest that data harvested by the NSA’s Prism system has been fed into the Five Eyes intelligence alliance whose members also include the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
But why have Western security agencies developed such an unprecedented capacity to spy on their own domestic populations? Since the 2008 economic crash, security agencies have increasingly spied on political activists, especially environmental groups, on behalf of corporate interests. This activity is linked to the last decade of US defence planning, which has been increasingly concerned by the risk of civil unrest at home triggered by catastrophic events linked to climate change, energy shocks or economic crisis – or all three.
Just last month, unilateral changes to US military laws formally granted the Pentagon extraordinary powers to intervene in a domestic “emergency” or “civil disturbance”:
“Federal military commanders have the authority, in extraordinary emergency circumstances where prior authorization by the President is impossible and duly constituted local authorities are unable to control the situation, to engage temporarily in activities that are necessary to quell large-scale, unexpected civil disturbances.”
Other documents show that the “extraordinary emergencies” the Pentagon is worried about include a range of environmental and related disasters.
In 2006, the US National Security Strategy warned that:
“Environmental destruction, whether caused by human behavior or cataclysmic mega-disasters such as floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, or tsunamis. Problems of this scope may overwhelm the capacity of local authorities to respond, and may even overtax national militaries, requiring a larger international response.”
Two years later, the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Army Modernisation Strategy described the arrival of a new “era of persistent conflict” due to competition for “depleting natural resources and overseas markets” fuelling “future resource wars over water, food and energy.” The report predicted a resurgence of:
“… anti-government and radical ideologies that potentially threaten government stability.”
In the same year, a report by the US Army’s Strategic Studies Institute warned that a series of domestic crises could provoke large-scale civil unrest. The path to “disruptive domestic shock” could include traditional threats such as deployment of WMDs, alongside “catastrophic natural and human disasters” or “pervasive public health emergencies” coinciding with “unforeseen economic collapse.” Such crises could lead to “loss of functioning political and legal order” leading to “purposeful domestic resistance or insurgency…
“DoD might be forced by circumstances to put its broad resources at the disposal of civil authorities to contain and reverse violent threats to domestic tranquility. Under the most extreme circumstances, this might include use of military force against hostile groups inside the United States. Further, DoD would be, by necessity, an essential enabling hub for the continuity of political authority in a multi-state or nationwide civil conflict or disturbance.”
That year, the Pentagon had begun developing a 20,000 strong troop force who would be on-hand to respond to “domestic catastrophes” and civil unrest – the programme was reportedly based on a 2005 homeland security strategy which emphasised “preparing for multiple, simultaneous mass casualty incidents.”
The following year, a US Army-funded RAND Corp study called for a US force presence specifically to deal with civil unrest.
Such fears were further solidified in a detailed 2010 study by the US Joint Forces Command – designed to inform “joint concept development and experimentation throughout the Department of Defense” – setting out the US military’s definitive vision for future trends and potential global threats. Climate change, the study said, would lead to increased risk of:
“… tsunamis, typhoons, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and other natural catastrophes… Furthermore, if such a catastrophe occurs within the United States itself – particularly when the nation’s economy is in a fragile state or where US military bases or key civilian infrastructure are broadly affected – the damage to US security could be considerable.”
The study also warned of a possible shortfall in global oil output by 2015:
“A severe energy crunch is inevitable without a massive expansion of production and refining capacity. While it is difficult to predict precisely what economic, political, and strategic effects such a shortfall might produce, it surely would reduce the prospects for growth in both the developing and developed worlds. Such an economic slowdown would exacerbate other unresolved tensions.”
That year the DoD’s Quadrennial Defense Review seconded such concerns, while recognising that “climate change, energy security, and economic stability are inextricably linked.”
Also in 2010, the Pentagon ran war games to explore the implications of “large scale economic breakdown” in the US impacting on food supplies and other essential services, as well as how to maintain “domestic order amid civil unrest.”
Speaking about the group’s conclusions at giant US defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton’s conference facility in Virginia, Lt Col. Mark Elfendahl – then chief of the Joint and Army Concepts Division – highlighted homeland operations as a way to legitimise the US military budget:
“An increased focus on domestic activities might be a way of justifying whatever Army force structure the country can still afford.”
Two months earlier, Elfendahl explained in a DoD roundtable that future planning was needed:
“Because technology is changing so rapidly, because there’s so much uncertainty in the world, both economically and politically, and because the threats are so adaptive and networked, because they live within the populations in many cases.”
The 2010 exercises were part of the US Army’s annual Unified Quest programme which more recently, based on expert input from across the Pentagon, has explored the prospect that “ecological disasters and a weak economy” (as the “recovery won’t take root until 2020″) will fuel migration to urban areas, ramping up social tensions in the US homeland as well as within and between “resource-starved nations.”
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden was a computer systems administrator for Booz Allen Hamilton, where he directly handled the NSA’s IT systems, including the Prism surveillance system. According to Booz Allen’s 2011 Annual Report, the corporation has overseen Unified Quest “for more than a decade” to help “military and civilian leaders envision the future.”
The latest war games, the report reveals, focused on “detailed, realistic scenarios with hypothetical ‘roads to crisis’”, including “homeland operations” resulting from “a high-magnitude natural disaster” among other scenarios, in the context of:
“… converging global trends [which] may change the current security landscape and future operating environment… At the end of the two-day event, senior leaders were better prepared to understand new required capabilities and force design requirements to make homeland operations more effective.”
It is therefore not surprising that the increasing privatisation of intelligence has coincided with the proliferation of domestic surveillance operations against political activists, particularly those linked to environmental and social justice protest groups.
Department of Homeland Security documents released in April prove a “systematic effort” by the agency “to surveil and disrupt peaceful demonstrations” linked to Occupy Wall Street, according to the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF).
Similarly, FBI documents confirmed “a strategic partnership between the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the private sector” designed to produce intelligence on behalf of “the corporate security community.” A PCJF spokesperson remarked that the documents show “federal agencies functioning as a de facto intelligence arm of Wall Street and Corporate America.”
In particular, domestic surveillance has systematically targeted peaceful environment activists including anti-fracking activists across the US, such as the Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition, Rising Tide North America, the People’s Oil & Gas Collaborative, and Greenpeace. Similar trends are at play in the UK, where the case of undercover policeman Mark Kennedy revealed the extent of the state’s involvement in monitoring the environmental direct action movement.
A University of Bath study citing the Kennedy case, and based on confidential sources, found that a whole range of corporations – such as McDonald’s, Nestle and the oil major Shell, “use covert methods to gather intelligence on activist groups, counter criticism of their strategies and practices, and evade accountability.”
Indeed, Kennedy’s case was just the tip of the iceberg – internal police documents obtained by the Guardian in 2009 revealed that environment activists had been routinely categorised as “domestic extremists” targeting “national infrastructure” as part of a wider strategy tracking protest groups and protestors.
Superintendent Steve Pearl, then head of the National Extremism Tactical Coordination Unit (Nectu), confirmed at that time how his unit worked with thousands of companies in the private sector. Nectu, according to Pearl, was set up by the Home Office because it was “getting really pressured by big business – pharmaceuticals in particular, and the banks.” He added that environmental protestors were being brought “more on the radar.” The programme continues today, despite police acknowledgements that environmentalists have not been involved in “violent acts.”
The Pentagon knows that environmental, economic and other crises could provoke widespread public anger toward government and corporations in coming years. The revelations on the NSA’s global surveillance programmes are just the latest indication that as business as usual creates instability at home and abroad, and as disillusionment with the status quo escalates, Western publics are being increasingly viewed as potential enemies that must be policed by the state.

UK: Female Muslim students in fear after murder of Saudi woman

Female Muslim students who wear hijabs and other traditional dress are living in fear after Essex University student Nahid Almanea was stabbed to death earlier this week.
Concerns have been raised the PhD student from Saudi Arabia was killed because she was wearing an abaya – a full length robe – and a hijab. The 32-year-old was found bleeding from head and body injuries on a footpath in Colchester at 10.40am but could not be saved by paramedics.
Detective superintendent Tracy Hawkings said: “We are conscious that the dress of the victim will have identified her as likely being a Muslim and this is one of the main lines of the investigation but again there is no firm evidence at this time that she was targeted because of her religion.”
Now, student Islamic societies have warned female Muslims are having to balance their fears of being attacked with taking their exams.
Camillia Khan, head of communications at the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS), told HuffPost UK: “This brutal incident, if Islamophobic in nature as suspected, is a massive blow to the Muslim student community.
“It is a major cause for concern as exams loom and large numbers of Muslim women must now balance the fear of stepping outside into a belligerent atmosphere with the broader stress of end-of-semester exams.
“No student should ever have to live in fatal fear of outwardly expressing their faith, and we hope universities will heighten their awareness of Islamophobia and promote the reporting of such incidents on their campuses in the coming weeks.
Khan urged universities to focus on a long-term strategy for tackling Islamophobia as the attack “is a violent manifestation of a broader social shift in attitude towards Muslims”.
The Sheffield University graduate added many Muslim students would think twice about moving to a university in a new city.
“University should be the place where the best life experiences are had and this may, unfortunately, cast a shadow over that for many parents and prospective female Muslim students.
“As A-level results loom I certainly believe this will dampen the excitement which comes with the rpospect of moving away from home into a new city.”
Muslim author Ed Husain, a former radical turned secularist, said Muslim females should rethink wearing hijabs, a suggestion which has caused wide outrage among both Muslims and non-Muslims.
Khan added: “We need to ensure that we don’t fall into the victim blame mentality and work to produce robust systems in our police and institutions to ensure that Islamophobia is dealt with and that everyone feels safe outwardly expressing their faith.”
Faisel Alam, head of the Islamic society at King’s College, London, said he had “no doubt” female Muslim students at his university would fear for their safety following the stabbing.
“Safety concerns among the Muslim community have been flagged up particularly since the post-Woolwich attacks on Muslim places of worship, and more recently, following the series of Mosque ‘invasions’ by Islamophobic hate-mongering groups like Britain First.
“This brutal murder comes at a time when Islamophobia across the UK is rising at an alarming pace. I cannot imagine what Sister Nahid’s family are going through right now, but I and many other students just like her are very deeply saddened by this awful tragic news.”
An email sent to students by Essex University read: “There is a police presence on campus, and police are speaking to users of the Salary Brook trail.
“When travelling to and from campus don’t walk alone if possible, don’t take short cuts and keep to well-lit areas. Stay vigilant and be aware of your surroundings.”
A spokesperson for Essex University said: “”It is with great shock and deep sadness that our close community receives the news of the tragic death of our student Nahid Almanea.
“Nahid came to the University from Saudi Arabia to study on the Essex English Language Programme at the International Academy, and was due to finish her studies in August. Nahid died on Tuesday 17 June following a serious incident in the Greenstead area of Colchester.
“Our thoughts are now with Nahid’s family, friends and teachers during this extremely difficult time.
“The University continues to help police with their enqu

World cup Vs Ramadan: Which team do you support?

Funny how we are counting down to the World Cup whereas the friends of Allah are counting down to the doors of heaven being opened on the first night of Ramadhan.
Funny how we are worried about the players being fit and ready for the World Cup whereas the friends of Allah are worried about their hearts being fit, clean and ready for Ramadhan.
Funny how we our hoping for our Team to win the World Cup whereas the friends of Allah are hoping to win a cup from Howd-e-kawther in the aakhirah.
Funny how we will watch hours of footballers showering the goals in the World Cup whereas the friends of Allah will watch hours of Allah’s mercy showering in their hearts in Ramadhan.
Funny how we will listen to 90 minutes of football in the World Cup without feeling tired whereas the friends of Allah will listen to 90 minutes of Quran in taraweeh without feeling tired.
Funny how we have reserved our tickets upto the last game of the World Cup whereas the friends of Allah have reserved their tickets of worshipping upto the last day of Ramadhan.
Funny how we will look at potential signings for our Clubs in the World Cup where as the friends of Allah will look at themselves being the potential signings to enter through the Door of Rayyaan.
So have you chosen your team yet?
Uclan Imam, Preston, United Kingdom

The reality of the Caliphate and political power

At a time of political turmoil in the Muslim world, Sayyidī al-Ḥabīb `Umar bin Ḥafīẓ (may Allāh preserve him and benefit us by him) expounds on some of the meanings of khilāfah and clarifies the reality of political power. This is an extract from a Rawḥah lesson in Imam Abū Ṭālib al-Makkī’s book, Qūt al-Qulūb with some additions for extra clarity. The lesson took place in Dār al- Muṣṭafā on 21st Ramaḍān 1434 / 30th July 2013.
There are two types of khilāfah. The first is the outward khilāfah which relates to political power, which is not noble and honourable in itself. Anyone may attain political power, whether they be pious or corrupt, whether they be a believer or a disbeliever, whether they be a Prophet or a wretched person.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Had this material world (dunyā) weighed even the wing of a gnat in Allah’s estimation, He would not have given a disbeliever a glass of water from it to drink.”1
The second type is the khilāfah of prophet-hood, which is a noble and lofty thing. It relates to understanding the speech of Allah, to our connection with Him, to attaining a pure heart and attaining His pleasure. It is the preserve of the Prophets and their followers, the pious people in every time and place. No disbeliever or corrupt person may come close to it, nor someone with arrogance or pride in their heart. It began with two people on the face of the earth: Ādam and Ḥawā’ (Eve) and it continues to this day. If there were only two of us on the earth and we obeyed Allah’s commands in a state of truthfulness and sincerity we would be the khulafā’ of Allah on the earth, without anyone calling us a president or a minister or a leader. This is the khilāfah we should seek. Many Muslims have no desire to attain it, although it is the greatest form of khilāfah.
Sayyidunā `Alī combined the inward and the outward khilāfah, and after him Sayyidunā al-Ḥasan, until he relinquished power. At this point the inward khilāfah, which cannot be affected by evil, became separated from the outward khilāfah, which is subject to oppression and misguidance. Those who possess the inward khilāfah will intercede for others on the Day of Judgement, whereas those who possessed the outward khilāfah will await judgement. If they were just, they will be saved and if they were oppressive, they will be destroyed. Shaykh al-Sha`rāwī said that one of the wisdoms behind the existence of oppressive rulers is that they cause people to hate oppression.
If we study history we find that more often than not political power over the centuries has been in the hands of disbelievers and corrupt people. Many of the Messengers were sent to their people while political power was in the hands of disbelievers. Sayyidunā Nūḥ spent 950 years amongst his people as the khalīfah of Allah while political power was in the hands of disbelievers.
The inward khilāfah was in the hands of Sayyidunā Mūsā and the outward khilāfah was in the hands of Fir`aun.Mūsā said to his people: seek Allah’s assistance and be patient, for the earth belongs to Allah, and He bequeaths it to whomever He wishes from among His slaves – whether they be believers of disbelievers. However, the end is only for the people of taqwā.2 So be someone who possesses taqwā and do not concern yourself with the outward khilāfah. The tyrants may threaten you and try to kill you, but the people of the inward khilāfah seek Allah’s assistance and rely on Him alone.
Look at the life of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, the master of the people of khilāfah, and the imām of all people. For forty years before receiving revelation he was not in a position of leadership or power. He was, however, presiding over the inward khilāfah and was known as al-Amīn, ‘the Trustworthy One.’ People trusted him and consulted him in their affairs. After receiving revelation he spent thirteen years in Makkah, during which time power was in the hands of people like Abū Jahl. Outwardly he was under their rule but inwardly he was the greatest khalīfah of Allah on the earth. In al-Madīnah he was confronted by hostility from the Jews, the Hypocrites and the polytheists. It was only after eight years that he finally entered Makkah at the age of sixty-one. He only ruled over Makkah for two years before his death. This did not, however, detract from his khilāfah. He is the greatest khalīfah and every other khalīfah from the time of Ādam to `Īsā will be under his banner.
How can people venerate political power when this is the example of the Master of the Prophets ﷺ? Leave the rulers to their corruption and their oppression. We do not condone their oppression or follow them in committing evil. We advise them if they are ready to accept sincere advice. Meanwhile we are in a position of khilāfah, the pure khilafah mentioned by Allah: Allah has promised to those among you who believe and do good works that He will surely grant them inheritance of power (khilāfah) on the earth as He granted it to those before them; that He will make their religion firm, the religion which He has chosen for them; and He will replace their fear with security. They worship Me and do not associate partners with Me.3 We are allowed to make the call to prayer, to pray, to openly teach these lessons which are broadcast to the East and the West. We do not deserve any of this. It is only through the blessings of Muhammad and his steadfastness. Makkah was only opened to him in the final years of his life, but he opened up the whole world ﷺ. We used to teach and study in a state of fear but Allah promises: He will replace their fear with security.4 The years passed and the regime changed and now we find ourselves in a state of ease and safety.
They offer you political power and status but we have found something pure and lofty so why do they want us to enter into something filthy? When Imam al-Ḥusayn, the son of Shaykh Abū Bakr bin Sālim was offered political power he said: “Had it had been fitting to give authority to animals we would not be content for it to be given to our horses.” This is the perspective of the pious people on political power.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“You will greedily seek positions of leadership and it will be a cause of regret on the Day of Judgement.”5
We fear that anyone who seeks power and then attains it will be left to it (without Allah’s assistance) and then be destroyed. So if you have a position of responsibility have taqwā of Allah and rule by the Sacred Law of Allah and fear Allah in the way you treat people. If you heed this advice we hope you will be saved. If not, you have chosen your own fate. Sayyidunā `Umar would say: “I wish to leave power with the bare minimum – with nothing for me or against me.” He was not proud of his position. He also said: “It is enough that one descendant of al-Khaṭṭāb be asked about his position. Do not make `Abdullāh bin `Umar the Khalīfah after me.” This was his understanding of the outer khilāfah and the responsibility it entails.
The hadith inform us that the inward and outward khilāfah will not be combined until the end of time. Prior to this there will be a period in which people heart’s and states with Allah are rectified which prepares the way for the coming of al-Mahdī. The foundation of his rule will be pure hearts. Without the presence of these hearts he will not be able to achieve anything. Someone once asked Sayyidunā `Alī why problems had arisen during his rule, whereas there had been stability during the time of Sayyidunā Abū Bakr and Sayyidunā `Umar. He replied that it was because Abū Bakr and `Umar ruled over people like me, whereas I am ruling over people like you.”
It is possible for any individual to reach the highest of ranks whatever situation they are in and whatever government they are under. Why miss out on these opportunities? We say we want to rule, we want power. Let your Lord rule. The hadith states: “If you seek it you will be left to it, but if you are sought to rule, you will be assisted in it.”6 Even when the people attempt to put al-Mahdī in power, he will refuse until they force him to do so. Even though he is worthy of assuming power, he does not desire it and does not attempt to gain people’s votes. Rather he is sought out and placed in power and then he receives Allah’s assistance.
Merely speaking about this issue has taken a long time, which tells you how much harm is done by entering into these struggles. So much time is lost and so much blood is spilt. So do not get involved with struggles which lead to harm and bloodshed.
May Allah unite the Muslims and remove these tribulations. May He not allow their enemies to take advantage of them by giving them weapons and then watching them kill each other. May Allah awaken the hearts of this Ummah. Let them not place their trust in anyone in the East or West. Let their trust be in You. If this is the case then everything in the East and the West will be made subservient to them.
Allah has decreed that power be in the hands of disbelievers and corrupt people. This is the way of Allah in the past and you will find no change in the way of Allah.7 We, however, have the opportunity to establish the rule of Allah and the Law of Allah in our homes, in our dealings with our families and friends and our neighbours. We shall shortly meet Allah and we shall return to Him. Nothing on the face of the earth will benefit us other than that which we have performed truly for Allah.
1 Narrated by al-Tirmidhī, Ibn Mājah and al-Ḥākim
2 Al-A`rāf, 7:128
3 Al-Nūr, 24:55
4 Here Ḥabīb `Umar is referring to the years of socialist rule in South Yemen, during which time the regime attempted to eradicate Islam from society. Scholars were persecuted and religious institutions were forcibly closed.
5 Narrated by al-Bukhārī
6 Narrated by al-Bukhārī and Muslim
7 Al-Fat, 48:23
- See more at: http://muwasala.org/on-the-concept-of-khilafah-and-the-reality-of-political-power/#sthash.PzgmZv4r.dpuf

Is ISIS going to establish a Caliphate and liberate Palestine?

One need not be prescient to understand the unfolding “Jihadi Spring” is fueling the plans and perhaps destiny of ascendant Islamists in this region with the increasing help of in-country nationalists, including remnants of the Iraqi Baath Party.
This, according to more than a dozen ardent supporters of The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), known locally as DAASH whose representatives allowed this observer over the past six months to interview some of its supporters to discuss what they found inaccurate in a piece I wrote about DAASH actions in Raqqa, Syria. In that article I claimed that DAASH was selling Syria’s archeological treasures, just as they are selling Syria’s oil and in some instances, food warehouse contents, to the highest foreign bidder. There is no paucity of the latter.
The final “S” in the acronym “ISIS” relates to the Arabic word “al-Sham” which itself is variously used to refer to the Levant, Syria or even Damascus. But DAASH (ISIS) means the Levant or Eastern Mediterranean including Cyprus, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, and southern Turkey. ISIS has just announced that Raqqa, the only one of 14 Governorates its controls in Syria, is now the “Capital” of their emerging “Caliphate” which so far is a swathe of territory encompassing much of eastern and northern Syria and western and northern Iraq. The Emir is to be their military strategist and leader and successor of Abu Mus‘ab Zarqawi, Dr. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Those interviewed at length include sympathizers, students of politics and of the Islamist ‘spring’ in Syria and Iraq, as well as a few shadowy claimed jihadist recruiters, some working with a claimed new specialized DAASH unit organized at the beginning of 2013 and which focuses exclusively on destroying the Zionist regime occupying Palestine. DAASH’s “Al Quds Unit” (AQU) is currently working to broaden its influence in more than 60 Palestinian camps and gatherings from Gaza, across Occupied Palestine, to Jordan, and Lebanon up to the north of Syria seeking to enlist support as it prepares to liberate Palestine.
DAASH believes, according to one of its claimed academic advisers, that the ummat al-Islamiyah (Islamic community), as a US Foreign Relations staffer, on 6/18/14 advised this observer, that the White House estimates that approximately six million Iraqi Sunni have recently become supportive of the armed action by DAASH. The support excludes its strict, indeed anti-social societal mores and abhorrence of current harsh realities of life in DAASH territory. The Islamist organization believes it currently has massive regional support for it rapidly expanding “revolution of the oppressed.” Large numbers in this region do appear to appreciate its recent successes, despite its history of calculated brutality for political purposes.  DAASH urges the public to study its remarkable history that reaches back to 2003 when Abu Mus‘ab Zarqawi got out of prison in Jordan and headed to Afghanistan, gained valuable experience from if not the trust of Osama Bin Laden, and then crossed over to Iraq to wage jihad against America. DAASH appears to be using sectarian appeals in Iraq and Syria much the same way Zawqawi did when he confronted the ascendant Shia militia following the US invasion and occupation.
DAASH supporters claim that it has been joined by more than a dozen Sunni groups such as one called Men of the Army of the Naqshbandia Order.” JRTN as it is known locally, was established in 2007 following the execution of Saadam Hussein and is made up of former Hussein regime loyalists, including intelligence officers and soldiers from his Republican Guards. If its alliance with DAASH holds, JRTN can contribute thousands of fighters with strong social roots in the community. One JRTN interlocutor explained to this observer, “As Sunni Muslims, DAASH can resolve differences between its views of Islam and those of the Ummah. First we need victory and to achieve that we need each other and if our Baathist partners decide to position themselves to be secular guardians of Sunni Arab nationalism that can be discussed later. The official website of the Naqshbandi Army includes a 1/1/2014 announcement: “To all our brothers and families of the tribes and factions we tell you, you are not alone in this battlefield.”
DAASH insists that it has become less active in killing anyone who works for the government of Syria or Iraq including rubbish collectors, a barbaric practice that alienated the Sunni population and that their support is growing as they increasingly provide the essential social services in the forming proto-Caliphate. “Zionists call us masked, sociopathic murderers but we are much more complicated and representative of those seeking justice than they portray us.  Are we more barbaric than the Zionist terrorists who massacred at Dier Yassin, Shatila twice at Qana, and committed dozens of other massacres?  History will judge us after we free Palestine.” A few years ago the CIA and others estimated that the Zionist occupation of Palestine will collapse in less than a decade.  DAASH claims it can do the job in 72 months.
With respect to events surrounding its takeover of Mosel and other social media broadcast exhibitions of mass brutality, ISIS claims it was done for a purpose, the same purpose that other state and non-state actors have used over the past two decade and that is for 90% of the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims (Sunni) to free themselves from the oppression of the 10% (Shia).
Several reasons were given as to why Palestinians should hold out hope for ISIS succeeding in their cause when all other Arab, Muslim, and Western claimed Resistance supporters have been abject failures and invariably end up benefiting the Zionist occupation regime terrorizing Palestine. “All countries in this region are playing the sectarian card just as they have long played the Palestinian card but the difference with ISIS is that we are serious about Palestine and they are not. Tel Aviv will fall as fast as Mosul when the time is right”, a DAASH ally explained. Another gentleman insisted, “DAASH will fight where no one else is willing.”
ISIS appears uniformly contemptuous of the Zionist regime and its army and also appears eager to fight them in the near future despite expectation that the regime will use nuclear weapons. “Do you think that we do not have access to nuclear devises? The Zionists know that we do and if we ever believe they are about to use theirs we will not hesitate.  After the Zionists are gone, Palestine will have to be decontaminated and rebuilt just like areas where there has been radiation released.”
DAASH supporters claim that it reaches out to local notables and tribal leaders and discuss their differences and seek their tribal counsel. DAASH claims that the Roman Catholic Vatican supports its own claims that when they captured Mosul last week they did not harm Christian residents or desecrate churches. In this they are supported by Archbishop Giorgio Lingua, the Apostolic Nuncio (Pope’s envoy) in Iraq who this week told the media: “The guerrillas who are in control of Mosul have to date not committed any violent act or damaged the churches there.”
It is becoming clear that DAASH has set up well organized local administrations in areas it controls, including an Islamic court system and a local non-hostile police force which support public safety with measures such as closing shops for selling poor products in the souks and supermarkets and on the street, destroying cigarettes and whipping some individuals for disrespecting and insulting their neighbors, confiscating counterfeit medicines in addition to some death sentences for apostasy.
DAASH supporters claim that as soon as they ‘liberate” an area  they invest in public works such as the  new souk in Raqqa, installs new power lines and conducts training sessions on how citizens can do-it-yourself  for more self-reliance with fixing infrastructure problems. In addition DAASH claims that it quickly fixes potholes, runs a low fare bus system, has established a ‘green’ program to build parks and plant trees and flowers, helps farmers with harvests and runs a zakat (alms-giving) organization. Moreover, ISIS has established a number of religious schools for children, including ones for girls where they can memorize  the Koran and receive awards if successful, while also holding ‘fun days’ for kids including all the ice cream they can eat and inflatable slides. For their older counterparts, ISIS has established training sessions  for new imams and preachers. Schedules for prayers and Koran lessons are posted at mosques. In a more worrisome development, ISIS runs training camps  for “cub scouts” and houses these recruits for ‘instruction’. Several social media reports and a few eyewitness accounts appear to confirm that DAASH has developed health and welfare programs, operates bread factories and distributes free fruits and vegetables to needy families, passing the goods out personally as well as setting up a free food kitchen in Raqqa and an adoption agency to place orphans with families in their areas. Unlike the Taliban and some other regimes which exhibit paranoia about vaccination campaigns, DAASH claims to be more ‘modern” and actively promotes polio-vaccination in its areas to try stop its spread.
The social services that DAASH provides obviously do not ameliorate the deadly violence it carries out, but does suggest it is well-organized and has caught the interest of the Sunni Muslims who feel besieged by Shia. According to an al-Bagdadi relative, nearly the half a billion dollars that was snatched from Mosul’s central bank this month will help to win hearts and minds and correct some of its “bad press”. DAASH appears to ascribe to the cliché that half of any war is a rumor. It condemns the project of many satellite channels and claims that they do not objectively report the news but mainly spread rumors with sectarian instigation as the goal. On this point who can refute them?
DAASH supporters deny any interest in training and directing foreign fighters to attack Europe and other places, claiming that their goals are to establish an al-Sham Caliphate and liberate Palestine. With respect to exactly how DAASH intends to liberate Palestine, the Iraqi’s and now the Obama administration are in possession of an encyclopedia of information about detailed DAASH plans, and tactics it will confront the Zionist occupiers with,  according to a congressional staffer via email with this observer. Reportedly the employment of large numbers of militarily untrained foreign volunteers as suicide bombers, moving on foot wearing suicide vests, or driving vehicles packed with explosives is just the tip of a deep iceberg of what DAASH is planning.
The trove reportedly came from Iraqi intelligence sources that came upon it less than 48 hours before Mosul fell. Apparently a fellow known as “Abu Hajjar” a captured trusted DAASH messenger broke under Iraqi torture and turned over more than 160 computer flash sticks which contained the most detailed information to date about DAASH. The US intelligence community are still decrypting and analyzing the flash sticks.
Predictably, no sooner that this information reached the US Congress, than Congresswoman and Israeli agent, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen former Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and her partners at AIPAC went to work trying to get ahold copies of the flash sticks and share them with the Israeli Embassy and no doubt the Mossad. The current sense on Capitol Hill is reported to be that the Obama administration in not in the mood to share anything with Israel these days and certainly not with the Netanyahu regime which it loathes.
Time will reveal if DAASH achieves one or both of its objectives.  Many believe if they eject the Zionist regime from Palestine, the expanding Islamist group will set in motion historic currents that in all likelihood will be rather different from the Ehud Omert-Condeleeza Rice fantasy of “a New Middle East.”
In any event, it is unlikely that Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Lebanon, among other countries in this region, are going to look much like what George Bush and Dick Cheney and their still active neocon advisers had in mind when they were beating the drums for a U.S. invasion of Iraq, Libya,  and now Syria and Iran.

Friday 20 June 2014

WHO: MERS virus declining, but may affect Hajj

The outbreak of the deadly MERS virus has receded, but the coming mass pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia called the Hajj poses a risk of spreading the disease, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.
Reported to have infected more than 800 patients, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus causes coughing, fever and sometimes fatal pneumonia, the WHO said in a statement issued after the 6th meeting of its MERS emergency committee.
“The upsurge in cases that began in April has now decreased and there is no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission in communities,” WHO said in a statement.
However, “the situation continues to be of concern, especially given the anticipated increase in travel to Saudi Arabia related to Umrah, Ramadan and the Hajj,” the UN health agency said.
The disease has proven to be fatal for at least 315 people worldwide, prompting a few cases to spread to neighboring countries such as Europe, Asia and the United States, Reuters reported.
Important steps are being taken by health officials in Saudi Arabia to study and control the virus, which travelers are carrying around the world.
The virus is considered a deadlier but less transmissible cousin of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus that appeared in Asia in 2003, killing hundreds of people, mostly in China, Agence France-Presse reported.
According to a preliminary investigation by the WHO, the likely source of MERS in humans has been directed towards close contact with camels.
“There have been significant efforts made to strengthen infection prevention and control measures,” the WHO statement said. As a result, “the committee unanimously concluded that the conditions for a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) have not yet been met”.
In October, millions of pilgrims will travel to Makkah for the annual Hajj, the pilgrimage which all Muslims must perform at least once in their lifetime, if they are able.

The World Cup and Ramadan: expect fasting footballers

Over the next four weeks, 32 nations will battle it out on football fields across Brazil during the FIFA 2014 World Cup football tournament – but only two teams will represent the Middle East.
Proud props to Algeria and Iran – (and mabruk for a winning outcome!) – but while MENA nations may not be crowding the roster, these international games are increasingly dependent on contributions from dozens of Muslim players, many of whom are challenged with integrating faith with career.
This year, the last weeks of the World Cup coincide with the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, when the world’s one billion Muslims are expected to refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex, from before sunrise until sundown. How will practicing Muslim athletes cope?
As with last year’s summer Olympics – also twinned with Ramadan – some athletes may choose to fast throughout the entire month, including days when they train or play matches. Others may seek to defer fasting days until after the competition in order to ensure peak fitness and maximum hydration.
Nick Worth, Medical Director at the Abu Dhabi club Al Jazira, has experience helping Muslim footballers get through Ramadan. “The players I advised usually had a plan before Ramadan started. They would speak to their spiritual advisors and make a decision,” he told Goal.com. “Are you going to expect a Muslim player to be performing as well? Maybe you don’t play them from the start or use them in a different way,” he added.
Not everyone is so flexible. London-based Imam Ajmal Masroor, a member of the Muslim Council of Britain, said, “Firemen have to fast, police officers have to fast, school teachers have to fast – this is part of the challenge we [Muslims] endure.”
See our sampling of elite Muslim footballers heading to Brazil. Not all claim adherence to the mandates of their faith, nor do they broadcast their personal strategies for coping with Holy Month requirements. Most agree it’s a personal choice – handled on a case-by-case basis.
Let the games begin, and watch these Muslim stars shine.