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Weekly Comment |
Israelis must stop the murder of
innocents
No propaganda can cover the
war crimes being committed
against Palestinians
The Star (January
07, 2009)
Ebrahim I
Bham (Moulana)
Israel's
bombardment of Gaza has given
rise to shock, anger and
resentment within the
international community.
Protests have taken place around
the world as a unified civil
society cries out in outrage at
the brutality of the airstrikes,
preceded by an inhumane siege of
more than 18 months.
The
death toll has risen to more
than 500. But death is a mercy
over injury when one considers
there is a shortage of
anaesthetics for surgery and
basic painkillers for wounds and
fractures. Most of the 1 000
people with the horrific
injuries can't be adequately
treated by Gaza's ill-equipped
and now bombed hospital.
These airstrikes are not
just an attack on Palestinians;
they are an attack on the
collective conscience of the
world.
The past 40 years
clearly reflect that with each
act of Israeli aggression
against Palestinians, the
resistance has become more
intense. Yet Israel continues to
seek to punish Palestinians for
daring to claim a right to
govern themselves. Israel has
always manufactured a motive to
expel or kill Palestinians. In
the 1980s there was Sabra and
Chatilla; before that the
flattening of Beirut. Thousands
of Palestinians were killed for
throwing stones during the first
intifada, thousands more were
killed during the second
intifada, apparently to stop
suicide bombing. The current
justification is Hamas and the
Qassam rockets. Each time the
Palestinian demon is evoked as
an existentialist threat.
Palestinians in Gaza are
fighting for survival, against
annihilation by the state of
Israel, which could so easily
push them into the sea. They
have no armed forces to match
the sophistication of the
Israeli army; only crude weapons
and a steely resolve never to
give in to the occupier.
Israel has made no secret of
the degree and intensity of the
planning behind the current
brutal assault. The festive
holidays were chosen to catch
governments off guard.
Preparations for the war
included a well-devised PR plan
to convince the world that the
state was merely defending
itself. The Jerusalem Post
reported that between 4pm and
midnight on December 28, the
main broadcasters - including
CNN, the BBC, Sky News and Al
Jazeera - devoted three-quarters
of all their airtime to Israeli
spokespersons.
The
number of civilians killed has
been massive, and this is no
surprise when one considers the
population density in Gaza.
What Israel has unleashed on
Gaza is outrageous even by
Israeli standards.
Every
airstrike will kill innocent
people. For the purposes of the
Geneva Convention, all the
people in Gaza are civilians as
there are no regular armed
forces in the territory. Thus,
this attack breaches the
provisions of the Fourth
Convention and is a war crime.
Israel claims that its
targets are legitimate - Hamas
officials and security
personnel. Israel may hate
Hamas, but it has no right under
international law to target its
leaders for execution. In this
assault, police stations have
been targeted, although the
police are regarded as civilians
and should be protected as such
in accordance with the Fourth
Convention. The list of target
also includes educational
establishments, hospitals and
places of worship, all in breach
of international law.
Condemnation from Israel's
allies has been missing. Calls
for restraint are not sufficient
and it is this weak response
that has galvanised street
protests around the globe.
Israel may have won the war for
airtime on the world's leading
media stations, but it has lost
the battle in convincing the
world's citizens that it is
justified in wreaking this havoc
on the Palestinian people.
As with the war in Lebanon,
civil society will not forget
this inhumanity. Israel's
continued performance as the
playground bully is serving one
purpose only: to alienate it and
its people from everyone else in
the world. Unless the Israeli
people bring an end to this,
they will be faced only with
continued insecurity and
hostility.
Moulana
Ebrahim I Bham is secretary
general of the Jamiatul Ulama
(Council of Muslim Theologians).
http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=4782727
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C O N
T E N T S |
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Summarised
Jumuah Bayaan |
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Question and
Answer |
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Update |
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Message from the Ameer |
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I N F
O R M A T I O N |
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Min. Mahr |
R 125.66 |
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Mahr Faatimi |
R 6,282.81 |
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Zakaat Nisaab |
R 2,513.13 |
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Words of Wisdom |
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Hadith of the Week |
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People of
Palestine |
Umamah al Bahili
Radhi-Allahu anhu reports
that the Prophet Sallallahu
'alayhi wassalaam said: "A
group of my community will
remain on truth, they will
vanquish their enemy and
those who diasagree with
them will not be able to
harm them until Allah
Subhanahu wa Ta'aala
commands." "Where are these
people?" The companions
asked. The Prophet
Sallallahu 'alayhi wassalaam
replied: "In and around al-Quds
(Jerusalem)."
(Imam Ahmad) |
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Quotation for the Week |
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Myths and
Lies |
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"The history of an oppressed
people is hidden in the lies
and the agreed myth of its
conquerors."
(Meridel Le Sueur)
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Point of Reflection |
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Instinct |
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“A
desire to resist oppression
is implanted in the nature
of man.”
(Tacitus)
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Q and A |
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Question: A
number of scholars have
discouraged me from seeking
justice through non-Shariah
courts of law. Under what
circumstances can I take
recourse to the courts by
suing someone? |
Answer:
If by suing, you mean
initiating legal proceedings
to gain a right due to a
person in terms of Shari’ah
(and not more than the right
due to him) and after
exhausting all other
efforts, the only recourse
left to gain his right was
to go to court, then it will
be permissible to do so. If,
on the other hand, by
“suing” you mean suing a
person for defamation of
character and thereby
getting some monetary
compensation from the
opposite party, then that
will not be permissible.
May Allah Ta’aala grant
us the correct understanding
of His religion and make us
practice upon it.
And
Allâh Ta’âla Knows Best.
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U P D A T E |
Rally on Gaza
A rally has been organized
today, Wednesday 14 Jan 2009 in
Lenasia where hundreds of people
are expected to attend. It will
held at Baitun Nur Hall starting
from 7:30.
Among the
speakers will be: Moulana
Ebrahim I Bham of the Jamiatul
Ulama, Salim Vally of
Palestinian Solidarity Commitee,
Eddie Makue of South African
Councial of Churches Fatima
Hujaig as well as Zwelinzima
Vavi of COSATU)
Taalimi Board Visits Thailand
A delegation of Ulama from the
Jamiatul Ulama’s Taalimi Board
have just concluded a working
visit to Thailand. Thailand is
one of the countries where
organizations have adopted the
Tasheel series in their
instruction of Islam for
school-going children. During
the trip, the Ulama shared their
experiences and techniques for
the implementation of the
Islamic curriculum under the
series.
Textbooks under
the Tasheel series have been
translated into the Thai
language.
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Summarised Jumu’ah
Bayaan:
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Gaza on Fire |
Prepared for
presentation on Friday,
16 January 2009 (19
Muharam 1430)
Whilst the
region of Gaza and its
people find themselves
in the grips of Israeli
Terror since the
avalanche of bombarding
which began in late
December 2008, the issue
is close to the hearts
of Muslims. Ulama are
requested to highlight
the crisis by developing
their lecture around the
following themes:
Allah says in the
Noble Qur’an:
سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي
أَسْرَى بِعَبْدِهِ
لَيْلاً مِّنَ
الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ
إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ
الأَقْصَى الَّذِي
بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ
لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ
آيَاتِنَا إِنَّهُ هُوَ
السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ
Glory be to Him Who made
His servant to go on a
night journey from the
Sacred Mosque to the
remote mosque of which
We have blessed the
precincts, so that We
may show to him some of
Our signs; surely He is
the Hearing, the Seeing.
[Al-Israa, Ayah 1]
What does
Al-Aqsa Mean to Us?
• Islam’s First Qiblah -
Rasulullah sallallahu ‘alayhi
wasallam instructed the
early Muslims to perform
Salah whilst facing
towards Al-Quds before
the revelation to face
towards Makkah as Qiblah.
• Its sanctity is
matched only by Makkah
and Madinah - In the
Noble Qur’an there are
many verses implying
that the Land of
Palestine, the city of
Jerusalem and the entire
environs are set apart
as blessed. The land
around Masjid Al- Aqsa
is referred to 70 times
in the Qur’an.
• Land
of the Isra and Miraj
-The Night Journey of
Rasulullah sallallahu ‘alayhi
wasallam was to
Jerusalem. It was from
here that the Ascension
to the Heavens took
place.
• Virtues of
praying in Masjid Al
Aqsa are exalted - Up to
500 times more virtuous
than any Masajid other
than Baitullah and
Masjid Nabawi sallallahu
‘alayhi wasallam. (Hadith:
Abu Darda; Al Bukhari).
• It is an article of
Islamic faith to respect
all the Prophets - As
many Ambiyaa were
associated with Al Quds
and its surroundings,
every inch has become an
object of reverence.
• Linked to the Last Day
- Maimunah bin Sa’d
radhiallahu ‘anha asked:
‘O Prophet of Allah!
Tell us about Baitul
Maqdas,’ to which he
replied, ‘It is the land
of gathering and
resurrection.’ (Abu
Dawud)
• Waqf - After
‘Umar ibn Khatab
radhiallahu ‘anhu signed
an agreement, he refused
to distribute the land
amongst the Muslim
soldiers and declared it
an Islamic endowment [waqf]
for the benefit of
future generations. Waqf,
by definition, is a
property that belongs to
Allah until the Day of
Qiyamah. Islamic
literature is filled
with references to
Palestine as an Islamic
trust or endowment.
•
Sahabah - Approximately
four thousand Sahabah
radhiallahu ‘anhum are
buried in this sacred
land.
What’s happening in
Palestine Today?
• Extrajudicial killings
and assassinations by
Israeli occupation of
Palestinian
freedom-fighters and
activists are
well-documented.
•
Zionists continue to
implement their policies
of exclusion by building
an apartheid wall on
Palestinian land.
•
Land is routinely
expropriated for
establishment of illegal
settlements of migrant
settlers from around the
world except
Palestinians.
•
Palestinian refugees
within Palestine and
beyond are denied their
right of return to their
homeland.
• The
so-called Israeli-Arabs
risk losing their
citizenship at any given
time while more and more
settlers are naturalized
so long they claim
Jewish descent. With the
exception of Jordan, all
other Arab states have
not given Palestinian
refugees citizenship
status.
• Palestinian
people live in squalor
and abject poverty in
Lebanon, Syria and in
the Occupied
Territories.
• Acts
of provocation such us
excavation of the area
around and under the
Haram al-Sharif under
the pretext of
archaeological research
are sanctioned as
legitimate.
•
Routinely such
provocation leads to
confrontation through
which disproportionate
force is used against
Palestinian defending
the Haram al Sharif to
decimate, terrorize,
maim and put under siege
the wider Palestinian
community.
• The
Palestinian economy is
at the mercy of the
Occupying Power: Israel
decides what can be
imported or exported,
restricts movement of
people and controls
access to all borders
and sea.
• Israeli
stands out a
record-breaker in
ignoring United Nations
resolutions. In cases
where no resolution was
passed against Israel,
it was with complicity
of the US vetoing such a
resolution.
Where is GAZA?
• Gaza, which is one of
the most densely
populated areas in the
region, which has been
suffering a large scale
humanitarian over the
past 18 months. It is
boarded by ‘Israel’ in
the north and east,
Egypt in the south and
the Mediterranean to the
west. Present day Gazans
originally resided in
the Occupied Territories
and were later forced
into this region by the
Israeli regime only to
expand its own land
mass.
• Israeli war
planes have repeatedly
bombed and utterly
demolished Gaza's only
power plant. About
700,000 of Gaza's 1.3
million people have had
no electricity, and have
been without basic
necessities of day to
day life.
• In short,
over a million civilians
have been trapped in
their homes listening to
Israeli shells, while
facing the awful
prospect, within days or
weeks, of having to give
toxic water to their
children that may
consign them to quick
but agonizing deaths.
• Gazans are
practically living in
the world largest
‘concentration camp.’
Who is
Hamas?
•
Hamas is organization
which draws its
guidelines from the
principles of Islam. Its
interpretation of
reality, life, humanity
and conduct stems
directly from the
Islamic ethos, thus
creating a departure
from the ideology of the
PLO which is founded on
Palestinian/Nationalistic
Consciousness.
•
According to Hamas, the
issue of Palestine is
the responsibility of
the Ummah and not merely
of those residing there.
Thus, the liberation of
this land is binding
upon every Muslim.
•
The cornerstone of this
movement is that the
land of Palestine is an
Islamic Endowment (waqf);
therefore no person can
renounce and abandon it
or a portion of it.
• Believing that a
divided leadership would
undermine the interest
of the region, Hamas has
and continuously strives
to maintain healthy
relations with the
Palestinian Authority
and other regimes in the
Arab world.
• Based
upon these fundamentals,
the Hamas Administration
has always posed a
threat to the Zionist
State of Israel to
achieve its sinister
goals and dreams. This
is despite the fact that
Hamas was democratically
elected in February 2006
by its people to
administer the affairs
of the region of Gaza.
Who
broke the ‘Truce’?
• The
Egyptian-mediated truce
between Hamas and Israel
took effect on 19 June
2008. The six month
ceasefire deal
stipulated that Hamas,
will halt the fire of
homemade shells into
Israeli territory, in
exchange for Israel
lifting the 12
month-blockade and
ceasing all military
attacks against the Gaza
Strip. In addition the
truce deal included that
Israel and Hamas will
start to conduct
indirect talks over a
prisoners swap deal.
Both Hamas and Israel
announced that they
agreed on the
conditions.
•
Throughout the truce
Israel did not lift the
siege on Gaza as
required and on more
than 20 occasions during
this six month period
they defied the articles
of the truce.
• The
most recent series of
airstrikes on Gaza is
not just an attack on
Palestinians, rather an
attack on the collective
conscience of the world.
The past 40 years
clearly reflect that
with each act of
military aggression
against Palestinians by
Israel, the more intense
the resistance becomes.
• Historical fact
indicates that Israel
always manufactured a
motive to expel or kill
Palestinians. In 1980’s
there was Sabra and
Chatilla; prior to that
the flattening of
Beirut; thousands of
Palestinians were killed
for throwing stones
during the first
Intifada; thousands more
killed during the second
intifada apparently to
stop suicide bombing
and; the current
justification is Hamas
and the Qassam rockets.
Each time the
Palestinian demon is
evoked as an
existentialist threat.
• The facts are clear:
Palestinians in Gaza are
fighting for their very
survival, against
annihilation by the
state of Israel, who
could so easily push
them into the sea. They
have no armed forces to
match against
sophistication of
Israeli army, only crude
weapons and a steely
resolve never to give in
to the occupier.
Our Attitude
• There’s no need for
despondency. Remember
the words of Rasulullah
sallallahu ‘alayhi
wasallam, “How wonderful
is the affair of the
believer, for his
affairs are all good,
and this applies to no
one but the believer. If
something good happens
to him, he is thankful
for it and that is good
for him. If something
bad happens to him, he
bears it with patience
and that is good for
him.” (Muslim)
• In
another narration Nabi
sallallahu ‘alayhi
wasallam is reported as
saying: “The greatest
reward comes with the
greatest trial. When
Allah loves a people He
tests them. Whoever
accepts that wins His
pleasure but whoever is
discontent with that
earns His wrath.” (Tirmidhi
and Ibn Maajah)
• The
‘Ulama explain that any
difficulty befalls a
believer either as a
means of forgiveness or
of raising one’s rank in
the eyes of Allah if he
finds himself living the
obedience of Allah.
However, if perchance a
believer has strayed
from the path of
righteousness,
discomfort comes his way
as a wake call to come
back to Allah.
What must we do?
• Du’a is the weapon of
a believer. Rasulullah
sallallahu ‘alayhi
wasallam said: “The du’a
of a Muslim for his
brother (in Islam) in
his absence is readily
accepted. An angel is
appointed to his side.
Whenever he makes a
beneficial du’a for his
brother the appointed
angel says, 'Aameen. And
may you also be blessed
with the same.” [Sahih
Muslim]
• Rasulullah
sallallahu ‘alayhi
wasallam said:
“Believers (in their
mutual concern for each
other) are like a single
individual, if his eye
is in pain, his entire
body is in pain, if his
head is in pain, his
entire body (becomes
restless) with pain.
(Muslim) Their pain is
our pain, their loss is
ours! The minimum we can
do is read the Qunoot-e-Naazila
and beg Allah for His
forgiveness and mercy.
• Educate yourself and
your community about
Palestine and the issues
related to it.
•
Support causes for
Palestine through
charity.
• Engage the
media and government in
the highlighting of the
issue of Palestine as a
humanitarian crisis.
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Message from the Ameer of
the Jamiatul Ulama |
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The Muslim Ummah is
like one body |
The period of the last
twenty days has been an
extremely difficult and
distressing period. It was
period wherein the Israeli
Occupation Army went on a
pre-planned, unwarranted and
unjustified rampage of
murder and pillage in Gazza.
The offensive began with
indiscriminate aerial
bombings on every
conceivable type of
structure including schools,
hospitals, buildings from
which non-governmental
organisations were operating
from and even Masjids. The
assault continued with the
entering of ground troops ,
but did not bring to end the
aerial battering. The
onslaught continued with the
troops then going full-force
into the built-up areas and
the wholesale killing
continued.
Over the
last less-than three weeks
over a thousand people have
been confirmed killed, more
than a third of them being
women and small children.
Thousands have been injured
and tens of thousands have
been left homeless. There is
little, if no, food and
there is hardly any
electricity. Hospitals are
finding it hard to continue
and often have to make
difficult choices between
life support machines and
just-born infants, medicine
is in short supply,
ambulances find it difficult
to travel to where the
critically injured lie
bleeding to death while many
ambulance have been damaged
and destroyed by the blanket
bombing.
The fact that
the Israeli offensive was
clearly pre-planned is
unmistakable and the
transparency of the lies is
more than clear for all to
see.
The world stands
by and looks on with
half-hearted attempts to
reach unfair agreements that
the Israelis still reject.
The leadership in the Muslim
world has not been
forthcoming and the people
of Gazza feel deserted.
In all this, we do, and
we must feel the pain. We
must remember the hadeeth of
the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi
wa sallam) that teaches us
that the Muslim Ummah is
like one body. The verses of
the Qur’an are also clear in
this regard. We must
remember that it is our duty
to assist in the best way
possible. We must support
every effort that is made.
Our financial assistance is
also of great importance and
we must create an awareness
of the true situation in
Gazza and the rest of
Palestine. We must make
istighfaar and correct our
actions and most
importantly, we must make
du`aa to Allah, that He
changes the situation.
Every effort we make
(whether it be financial
assistance, writing of
letters, signing petitions,
boycotting of companies that
openly support the Israeli
army, etc) must be strongly
highlighted with the
realisation and
understanding that only
Allah can change the
situation – it must include
turning to ad putting our
trust in Allah, knowing and
believing with all our
hearts that Allah is Most
Just and His Justice must
prevail.
May Allah (subhanahu
wa ta`aala) grant sabr and
istiqaamat to our brothers
and sisters in Palestine,
may He protect them and
grant them success in the
fight to protect themselves
against the flagrant
oppression and may He raise
the status of the shuhadaa.
Aameen.
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