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The World Cup and South Africa

World cup season is upon us again bigger and louder than ever before. Most of the world has been wrapped up in football fever each fan transforming into the hopeful optimist, devoutly believing their team could go all the way regardless of the obstacles. As hosts of the world cup, South Africa has been galvanised in the football atmosphere, in which locals are part and parcel of the party atmosphere. Images of the jubilant colourful South Africans are normally shown as part of sport news, however there appears to be a worrying side to life in South Africa. As part of the football footage news teams have delved into the reality of life for the majority of poor South Africans. As well as extreme poverty leaving 50% under the poverty line, where a quarter are unemployed, other major problems such as crime, drugs, corruption and HIV are a daily norm for the local people. For those who can afford to, gated residences with private security forces are musts for those who seek to protect th...

Why so much security for the G-20 Summit?

Next week, Toronto will be hosting the G-20 Summit. This meeting represents a gathering of finance ministers and bank governors from the elite Capitalist nations (America, Britain, France, Germany, etc), as well as other nations who have significant resources. The estimated cost to secure the Summit is $1.2 billion. Security measures for the event include: As reported in the Globe & Mail, the hiring of a "small army" of 10,000 police officers and 1,000 private security contractors A $5.5 million, 3 meter high, 3 kilometer long concrete/ metal fence circling the Toronto Metro Convention Centre. Anyone attempting to gain access to this security zone will be required to show government issued ID while being subjected to x-rays, and body searches The establishment of a "protest zone" at Queen's Park - about 2 kilometers away from the actual site of the meeting Sonic cannons also known as long-range acoustic devices (LRAD). As reported by the Toronto Sta...

View on the News-10/06/10

British prisons: Inmates converting to Islam Prisoners are converting to Islam to win benefits and gain the protection of powerful Muslim gangs inside jails, the Chief Inspector of Prisons has warned. Up to a third of Muslim prisoners adopted the religion while serving their sentence, a new report by inspectors has found. Chief Inspector Dame Anne Owers also warned of the need for greater engagement with Muslim prisoners to prevent them turning to extremism. Her report said attempts to crack down on Muslim fanatics in jail are pushing inmates into the arms of extremists, claiming prison staffs treat all Muslims - including converts - as if they could pose a security threat. But this 'blanket approach' risks turning moderates into radicals. There are 10,300 Muslim prisoners in jails in England and Wales. The number has increased fourfold since 1994. Less than 1 per cent are behind bars for terror-related offences. Miss Owers said prison officers need to focus on individual pri...

Guidance and Misguidance

This article is taken from the book Islamic Personality Volume 1  -written by Skh Taquiddin An-Nabhani Linguistically Huda means rashaad (integrity of conduct) and dalaalah (showing the way). It is said, he guided him to the deen, i.e. led him to guidance; I showed him the way and the home meaning I informed. Dhalaal is the opposite of rashaad. Hidaayah, according to the Shar'a, is to be guided to Islam and to believe in it. And dhalaal, according to the Shar'a is deviation from Islam. Referring to this is the saying of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم: "Verily, Allah will not allow my Ummah to all agree on a dhalaalah." [Tirmidhi] Allah سبحانه وتعالى has kept the Jannah (Paradise) for the muhtadeen (those who have hidaayah) and the Nar (Fire) for the Dhaalleen (those who are on dhalaal). In other words, Allah سبحانه وتعالى will reward the muhtadi (the one who has hidaayah) and punish the dhaall (the one who is on dhalaal). Attaching reward or punishment to hud...

Prosperity of the Muslim Ummah

For thirteen centuries, the Muslim Ummah enjoyed unmatched prosperity in this life through the implementation of the rules of Islam. This prosperity was not limited to the advancement in science and medicine, as we often hear, but it spanned all aspects of life including social well being, healthcare and education. Even during the weaker periods of the Islamic State, the well being of its citizens, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, was always one of the primary functions of the State. This is not surprising since Allah (swt) said in Surat Al-Anbiya: وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ “We sent thee not, but as a Mercy for all creatures”[TMQ 21:107] And in Surat Taha: فَمَنِ اتَّبَعَ هُدَايَ فَلَا يَضِلُّ وَلَا يَشْقَى (123) وَمَنْ أَعْرَضَ عَنْ ذِكْرِي فَإِنَّ لَهُ مَعِيشَةً ضَنْكًا وَنَحْشُرُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَعْمَى “… whosoever follows My Guidance, will not lose his way, nor fall into misery. But whosoever turns away from My Message, verily for him is a li...

View on the News-03-06-2010

Germany’s President resigns after revealing colonialist ambitions in Afghanistan Germany's president, Horst Köhler, resigned without warning this week, after intense criticism of remarks in which he suggested military deployments were central to the country's economic interests. Köhler's departure leaves a vacuum that will only add to Angela Merkel's growing political woes, amid criticism over a lack of decisive leadership, and a four-year low rating for her government in opinion polls. Köhler, 67, was accused of advocating a form of "gunboat policy" after saying that a large economic power like Germany, with its significant global trading interests, must be willing to deploy its military abroad. Though a member of Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), he has previously managed to stay out of the political fray. In a radio interview given on his return from a tour of German military bases in Afghanistan earlier this month, Köhler, a former head of the Int...

Q&A: Iran's nuclear fuel-swap deal with Turkey

Question : What events resulted in Iran agreeing to enriching (Uranium) outside its territories in Turkey and to sign an agreement to that effect with Brazil and Turkey? Answer : Of late European pressure has mounted to impose strict sanctions against Iran because of its nuclear programme, and these pressures have only intensified after the formation of the new government in Britain which has threatened military action. Of course the British government on its own is not in such a position and so it aims to spur the US and thus raise the intensity of the Iranian issue. The British Foreign Secretary William Hague, in his first external trip visited the US just three days after assuming charge as foreign secretary where he stressed that as British foreign secretary, he chose to first visit the US to underline the special relationship with America. [Al-Sharq al-Awsat: 15.05.2010]. This was a reference to an earlier report issued by a group of members of the British House of Commons ab...