Islamic Revival

It hasn’t been a good week if you are an Arab ruler. Wikileaks exposed the subservience of the Arab leaders to the West and their contempt for the Muslims. While Thursday’s announcement that Qatar will stage the 2022 FIFA World Cup may have brought a smile or two, the news was slightly overshadowed by England’s humiliation in losing the 2018 bid, but Qatar will be the first Muslim country to host the tournament. Qatar beat other bids from Australia, Japan and South Korea and America to secure the tournament. The veiled xenophobia at Qatar hosting the tournament has already begun – its going to be too hot, too alcohol free and too football-yob unfriendly to warrant going anywhere near the place. One has to remember there remains 12 long years between now and the start of the tournament, Qatar still has time to sell it’s soul to appease the Western football fan. Qatar is well known already for being the home of Al-Jazeera and the Al Udeid Air Base which is used by the Americans to aid...

The verdict imposed on Omar Khadr demonstrates to the world how corrupt the liberal-democratic system is. After 8 years of torture, do they really expect anyone to believe that Khadr pleaded guilty of his own accord? Omar Khadr is just another victim of the Capitalist system that victimizes not just Muslims, but also its own citizens. Only the Khilafah can offer a just system for all of humanity as it is based on the revelation from the Creator. As reported in the Toronto Star, by pleading “guilty to throwing a grenade when he was 15 that fatally wounded Sgt. First Class Christopher Speer, [Omar] Khadr is convicted of attempted murder, spying, conspiracy and providing material support to terrorism”. Soon after his plea, the military jury handed out a sentence of 40 years – 15 years more than the sentence recommended by the prosecution. However, due to a plea deal between Omar Khadr and the prosecution he will serve 8 years; one year in the US and the remaining years in Canada. How...

The recent wikileaks releases have sent shock waves around the world exposing the views of western diplomats regarding foreign governments and individuals. Causing a mixture of embarrassment and political incidents, the leaks have left the American government scrambling around the world to maintain damage control. In addition to America's humiliation, the leaks have given the world a better understanding of western views of other heads of state, as well as confirmation of the true nature of the Muslim rulers. The leaked documents give candid accounts of meetings with many leaders, exposing their real concerns and views. A number of documents focus on the deep concern towards Iran, where many Arab nations repeatedly raised concerns over Iran. King Abdullah claimed Iran was meddling in ‘Arab matters' and called the state liars. Abu Dhabi's crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan also suggested that the US should send in ground forces if air strikes were not enough...

Pakistan: The Most Dangerous Place on Earth.”-- Newsweek Magazine Pakistan faces a myriad of challenges that threaten its very existence. American threats of unilateral action in the tribal area, an Indian backed insurrection in Baluchistan, a dramatic increase in suicide blasts, and the economy in tatters are some of Pakistan’ s woes. But perhaps, the most significant issue is the leadership vacuum that pervades all segments of society. After the release of  leaked US cables the shadowy conspiracies and the tensions between the President and the powerful Army has come out as General Kayani is quoted as telling the U.S. Ambassador during a March 2009 meeting that he “might however reluctantly” pressure Mr. Zardari to resign. “Kayani made it clear regardless how much he dislikes Zardari, he distrusted Nawaz Sharif even more,” U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson wrote. The cables revealed that the U.S. Vice-President told British Prime Minister Gordon Brown that Mr. Zardar...

A few days ago the UN warned that food prices could rise by 10% to 20% next year after poor harvests and an expected rundown of global reserves. More than 70 African and Asian countries will be the worst hit, said the Food and Agricultural Organization in its monthly report. In its gloomiest forecast since the 2007/08 food crisis, which saw food riots in more than 25 countries and 100 million extra hungry people, the report’s authors urged states to prepare for hardship. “Countries must remain vigilant against supply shocks,” the report warned. “Consumers may have little choice but to pay higher prices for their food. The size of next year’s harvest becomes increasingly critical. For stocks to be replenished and prices to return to more normal levels, large production expansions are needed in 2011.” Furthermore the UN warned that international food import bills could pass the $1 trillion mark, with prices in most commodities up sharply from 2009. Global food reserves, which currently s...

Amr ibn Al-‘As was commander of the army sent to conquer Egypt during the Caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab. After the conquest Amr became Egypt's first Islamic governor (wali). The Muslim forces laid siege to the Babylon Fortress in 641CE (in the area known as Coptic Cairo today) where al-Muqawqis, the Egyptian Ruler was holed up. General Amr ibn Al-‘As sent a delegation of ten men, headed by Ubadah ibn as-Samit, to speak with al-Muqawqis. Ubadah was black, and when the delegation travelled by boat to al-Muqawqis and entered his place, Ubadah stepped forward and al-Muqawqis was alarmed because of his blackness. He said, "Take this black man away from me and let someone else come and speak to me!" They said, "This black man is the best of us in knowledge and wisdom. He is our leader and the best of us, and has been appointed over us. We all refer to his opinion, and our leader has appointed him over us and ordered us not to go against him." Al-Muqawqis...

Muslims as an Ummah and as individuals bear the ultimate responsibility of living this life according to the teachings of Islam as revealed in the Quran and Sunnah. Islam comes with clear guidelines for every aspect of our lives and one of the most important responsibilities is raising our children according to the teachings of Islam. This obligation is especially difficult when societal norms are not Islamic, as is the case in the west. Nevertheless, living in the west, or anywhere else in this world, is not an excuse to relax our standards and surrender our identity as Muslims. Islam provides us with clear commandments that are valid in every time and place. Muslim families in the west are vulnerable to the overwhelming influence of secular values manifested in every aspect of daily life. The struggle to preserve our children’s identity starts from the very moment they are born. Regardless of the challenge, Islam gives us clear and categorical instructions for raising pious and ...