16 Million Pilgrims Expected in Karbala for Arbaeen

Written by Admin2

Thursday, 27 December 2012 09:49

Nasim Jassem Al-Khatabi noted that this year Karbala will see the largest number of pilgrims visiting the city during Arbaeen ever, Biratha news agency reported.  Arbaeen marks the anniversary of the 40th day after the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS) and his devoted companions in Karbala.  Al-Khatabi said the holy city is prepared to host the pilgrims and its hotels have been prepared for serving the guests.  It is expected that 650000 of the pilgrims will be from other countries, especially Arab and Muslim states, he stated.  The official also said some of the pilgrims began travelling to the holy city since three weeks ago.  In other news, the office of the commander of Iraq’s Armed Forces has started implementing a special security plan to ensure the safety of the mourners during Arbaeen ceremonies

Last Updated on Thursday, 27 December 2012 09:56

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CPJ Demands Release of two Nigerian Journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists, CPJ, has requested for the release of the two journalists who were abducted since Monday 24th of December 2012. They are still in detention for morethan 48 hours after their arrest at their homes in Rigasa, Kaduna by security operatives. 

The Premium Times reports that the CPJ Africa Advocacy Coordinator, Mohamed Keita, from New York as saying:

“We condemn the arrests of Aliyu Saleh and Musa Muhammad Awwal, along with the raid at Ibrahim Musa’s home, which appear designed to silence coverage of alleged abuses by Nigeria’s security agencies,”

He further said “We demand the immediate release of these journalists and a halt to the security agencies’ efforts to intimidate the press. National leaders must make it clear that security agents are not above the law.”

Musa Muhammad Auwal, the editor of Almizan News paper and Aliyu Saleh, a reporter with the same paper where bitterly molested including their family members, before their arrest, by the armed security agents numbering more than 20, and taken to an undisclosed location. The Journalists’ laptops, phones and money were also confiscated.

CPJ made the demand Wednesday in statement sent to media houses after the elapsed of 48 hours  in detention. The reason for the arrest was still unclear.

However, it is believed that their arrest can not be unconnected to a report in the latest edition of Almizan newspaper which exposed the atrocities of Joint Task Force (JTF) in Yobe state. The JTF has abducted 84 individuals. The whereabouts of these individuals were yet unknown. The paper also carried pictures of some individuals who were still missing.

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Calling a Victim The Aggressor

I received a message on my BlackBerry Messenger through the following link : (@YNaija: Christianity ‘close to extinction’ in Middle East (http://t.co/C9zhMZH7 ) and want to respond accordingly.   It is true that the size of Christian faithful is declining in the Middle East.

Arguably so in Europe and US.(http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2007/05/13/the_list_the_worlds_fastest_growing_religions).  The list of prominent converts include: Keith Ellison (First Muslim to be elected to the US Congress), Lew Alkindo (retired Basketball player), Christ Jackson (Basketball player), Eric Abidal (Currently soccer player with Bercelona), Nicolas Anilka (French Football player), Kristian Barker (German journalist), Knut Bernstrom (Swedish Ambassador to Venezuela), Ice Cube (US rapper), Andre Carson (US Congress), Robert Crane (Former Adviser to US President Richard Nixon), Sir Achibald Hamilton (5th British Baronet), Wilfred Hoffman (NATO official), Jermaine Jackson (Michael Jackson’s elder brother), Francois Minou (French Military General), Frank Ribery ( French football player), Yvonne Ridley ( British Journalist), Cat Stevens (Musicians), Michael Streich (Swiss military instructor), to name but a fraction of a few.
In my opinion two factors are responsible for that. Firstly the number of converts from mostly Christian faith to Islam is on the rise. Secondly the rate of birth within Muslim couples who mostly marry at their prime youthful age is another possible reason. A "report" was mentioned without a source. Typical of arm chair journalism bent on presenting fictions as cardinal truth. The "report" alleged persecution of Christians by militant Islamist (whatever that means). Yet it is a well known facts that such militants are the handiwork and creation of West and US government in particular. (Please check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dqn0bm4E9yw - a video clip where Hillary Clinton confessed to that effect).
Additionally Muslims are the largest victims of these US sponsored terrorist act worldwide. What is currently happening in Syrian is the most recent and live instance in which EU nations, US and Israel are supporting the armed insurgents with deadly weapons and at the same time frustrating all efforts at bringing about a peaceful resolution of the crisis. On both sides of the divide Muslims constitute 99.99% of the casualties.  Add this to the US criminal activities of assassination drones that kill Muslims on daily basis in Yamen, Pakistan and Afghanistan, to name but a few.
Whoever commits any act of aggression against fellow human being stands condemned no matter who the victims may be. Take the recent senseless killings that happened and is still happening in US, neither the “gunman” ( remember non of the Western media called him a terrorist) nor the victims were Muslims. Yet Muslims all over the world express their grief and sympathy even though at that same very moment US drones were and are still killing women and children in Pakistan, Yamen and Afghanistan. Also the victims of Israeli recent atrocities in Gaza are still leaking their wounds.
We acknowledge the fact that only people shot of ideas and logic will have violence as the only means of sorting out differences. As such a religion that cherish and promote knowledge like Islam shall never be associated with terrorism. With this assertion a question arise: why is Alqaeda and its affiliates whom claim to be Muslims are synonymous with bloodshed. Well anybody that claim to be a Muslim shall never be "deMuslimised". But accusing Islam for their crimes is the highest form of unfairness and bigotry. 
Those responsible for the first and second world war were never Muslims. And we all know the religion they professed. Yet we do not see such a religion as the brain behind their heinous crime. US government was and remain responsible for the genocide using atomic weapon in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In fact US remain the only nation that ever used nuclear weapons on any living thing-human or otherwise.  We know the religion the then US president belongs to but have never and will never attribute such a crime to his religion. As apologetically Muslims and uncompromising Islamic we demand just that and nothing more. 
Merry Christmas to all Christian faithful.

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press Statement: NUJ Calls for the Release of the Arrested Journalists

The Nigeria  Union of Journalists, Kaduna State Council, has called for the immediate release of the editor of Al-Mizan Newspaper Malam Musa Muhammad Auwal and a reporter with the same Newspaper Malam Aliyu Saleh, who were whisked away by security agents to an unknown destination.

A statement signed by the chairman of the union, Comrade Yusuf Idris said, the duo were taken away from their houses in the early hours of Monday, after their wives and children were manhandled by the security operatives and their whereabouts is still unknown at the time of filing this report.

 

Several efforts by the union to find their whereabouts proved abortive, as some of the security agents contacted claimed ignorance of their arrest.

According to the statement, the union viewed this clandestine operation as primitive and unwarranted.

 

It further stated that there are more civilized and acceptable standards of carrying out investigations, adding that, this method of attacking journalists and beating their wives in their homes before they were taken away is unacceptable.

The statement urged the security agencies to produce the two journalists unharmed and adopt acceptable standards of investigating alleged crimes, pointing out that, the right proper thing to do is to take the matter to court for subsequent action.

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Re: Treachery and Conspiracy over Palestine.

As a regular reader of the Daily Trust newspaper, I had often seen the writings of one Mohammad Qaddam Sidq Isa who is a columnist there. 

I had often wondered why should such a national daily newspaper that has as its cardinal objective not only the unity of Muslims as a sub-set of the Nigerian equation but also the unity of the country, gives platform to a narrow sectarian bigot whose writings widen the gulf between Muslims instead of narrowing this gulf. In the past I had wanted to reply some of his misguided ranting but I thought his arguments were so shallow that even those in deep slumber will not be carried away by his cesspools of deviation, until I saw ‘Treachery And Conspiracy Over Palestine’ that appeared in the Daily Trust of 23rd November, 2012. It totally escaped my attention and I got to know about it only recently.

The writer described Ashura mourning’s as “atheistic rituals, cult’s rite, heretic and savage practices’ in his introduction and that he should have written on it but due to the Israeli aggression on Gaza. A tragedy occurred on 61 AH when the affectionate grandson of the Prophet, Imam Husain Ibn Ali[as],was murdered by a 30,000 army sent by the corrupt Tyrant, Yazeed. It was one of the most tragic events in Islamic history and to this day its effect is widely felt throughout the Islamic world.

Tyrants and oppressors had tried throughout history to dilute this revolutionary event that has one of the most luminous of men as its leader. They fabricated different scenarios to eclipsed what actually happened on that day and one of these scenarios was proclaiming fasting on the 10th of Muharram by concocting ‘Hadiths’ that were fictitious to backed-up such claims. The following points outlined my gross with those fabricated ‘hadiths’:
[1]The ‘Hadith’ claimed that when the prophet came to Madina but unfortunately all the narrators of those ‘hadiths’ were either not physically present at Madina then or were children of 4 years like the case of Ibn abbas. Abu Huraira was an infidel then, Abu Musa al-Ash’ari was in Yemen and Aisha was just a child. How can people narrate tradition while they are absent?
[2]Jews had never fasted on the day Musa[as] gained victory on Pharaoh. The day the Jews fast was on the anniversary of their worship of the calf to atone for their sins.
[3]The month the prophet arrived Madina was Rabiul Awwal and not Muharram as the ‘hadiths’ suggested.
[4The Jewish calendar and the Arab calendar that was in used when the prophet arrived Madina were different so how will fasting coincides with 10th Muharram?
[5]How the Prophet who is the most beloved of Allah blindly follow Jewish tradition? This is a great insult to the personality of Allah’s Apostle. A companion was alleged to have reminded the prophet about this, he now said that Muslims should fast on the 9th and 10!

All tyrants throughout history are averse to the mourning of Ashura and that was why they recruited evil-scholars to created fictitious events to dilute its revolutionary importance. They fear its consequences of awakening a dead society. These court-Ulamas declared it an ‘unwanted innovation’. Fortunately, we are witness to the fact that this ‘unwanted innovation’ had destroyed an empire in Iran and replaced it with an Islamic state where the sovereignty of Allah reigns supreme.

The writer then analyzed his main theme which is Palestine and went on drunken tirades against Iran. It is a well-known fact the world over that Iran today is the greatest supporter, financier and defender of the Palestinian cause. The defunct shah of Iran who was an American puppet had close relations with Israel but after the victory of the Islamic revolution in 1979 the Islamic government severed all ties with the Zionist régime. The writer was clearly not happy with the Islamic credentials of Iran and he declared the revolution ‘Persian revolution that brought their turban monks to power’. The only ‘Persian’ in that glorious revolution was majority of the people was Persians but the identity and substance of that great revolution was Islamic. It was a revolution that relied totally on Allah without external imports and today the product of that revolution is knocking on the gates of a world power. The achievements of Iran had exceeded all expectations and today Iran is the pride of world Muslims and other world oppressed.

One of the greatest tragedies of contemporary Islam today is that some people had arrogated to themselves the position of ‘Registrars’, only they decides who is a Muslim and who is not. These people have no viable achievements in propagation of Islam and of being its worthy ambassadors; they are the greatest nuisance to Muslims in the world today. These people are followers of a pretender, Mohammad Ibn Abdulwahab[1703-1792],their greatest distinction is excommunicating 98% of Muslims from Islam by their narrow, warped and deviant interpretation of Islam. They are arrogant and ignorant at the same time, a dangerous mix, and the resultant effect of this mixture is the degrading of the tolerant traditional values of Islam and the most vicious attempt to destroy the unity of Muslims. When the writer mentioned ‘heretic ideology of Shi’ism’ it was part of their distinction.

His dubious claims that Iran ‘arms purchase deals with Israel from 1981 to 1983’ and ‘its intelligent alliance with the US’ are all part of the campaign of calumny orchestrated and engineered by Wahabis who’s governments in Saudi Arabia and Qatar are more guilty of these allegations than anyone. Even the blind knows that Iran is Israel’s greatest enemy and only a fool will believe that Israel will sell arms to its greatest foe. The war that was imposed on Iran through Iraq in 1980 was a hegemonic plot to destroy the Islamic revolution, the western hegemonic powers and their Arab despotic lackeys backed Saddam-Iraq to destroy the new anti-imperialist government in Tehran. Arms embargo was imposed on Iran by the whole world to facilitate the victory of Saddam. The braveness and resilient of the ‘sons of Husain’ thawed this plot and saved the revolution.

The writer ridiculed Iran for providing ‘relatively light weapons to some Palestinian armed resistance groups’. It was obvious the writer is ignorant of the condition of Palestinians or was he blinded by his hatred of revolutionary Iran that he failed to see the present condition of Palestinians? Occupied Palestine is the most closely blocked entity in the whole world today. The Arab despots who are puppets regimes of hegemonic powers are active participants in this blockade.

Iran had been supporting the Palestinian for the past 30 years without asking for anything in return. Iran has been doing these due to its religious and humanitarian obligations. After the recent Gaza aggression, Palestinians placed huge billboards in Gaza to thank Iran for its support and new born babies are being named after the Iranian-made missile,Fajr-5,that instilled fear into the hearts of Zionist. This is in appreciation to the tremendous support the Palestinian resistance is receiving from Iran. All analysts including western agreed that the balance of military power between Israel and Palestine had change in favor of Palestine. That was why Israel was unable to launch a ground attack in Gaza because the Palestinian resistance was armed by sophisticated anti-tank weapons that posed mortal threat to Israeli tanks. That was also why it was Israel that asked for cease fire and not the Palestinians and these enabled the Palestinian resistance to presents conditions that Israel accepted. The Secretary-General of Islamic Jihad said all weapons used by the Palestinian resistance were provided by Iran.

The writers claim that only ‘light weapons’ were provided is baseless and groundless and if I may ask; why didn’t the writer and his Saudi-Qatari master supplied even a bullet to the Palestinian resistance? Do the writer and his likes know how those weapons and equipment’s were smuggled in to Gaza? Do they know the risk those ‘porters’ undertook to get those weapons to the Palestinian resistance? Maybe if the writer, Mohammad Qaddam Sidq Isa, can help in smuggling heavy weaponry like tanks to Gaza, I will gladly make the connections!

The conclusion of the writer was empty, shallow and devoid of any practical solutions to the Palestinian conflict. He said ‘I believe that nothing short of an all-out war can liberate the land’, my question is; an all-out war to be launched by who and to be led by who? Does the writer know what is a war and its preparations? Those the writer called ‘atheist, heretics, cultist etc.’ are today the vanguards of the resistance against the occupation of Palestine and the Ashura mourning’s he ignorantly condemned will be the driving spirit for the liberation of Palestine. People like him cannot last on the battlefield even if they missed their way there; it is Muslims who drank the warm spring of the Husaini revolution that will defeat Zionism in Palestine. The world saw a prelude to that in 2006 Hezbollah-Israeli war where the Lebanese resistance destroyed the myth of invincibility surrounding Israel and defeated its elite Golani brigade on the battlefield.

On a final note, whoever introduced sectarianism into the Palestinian struggle of liberation from a brutal occupation is serving the Zionist agenda. That person is not helping the Palestinian struggle but doing a great dis-service to the cause. Those that cause strife and discords between Islam’s school of thoughts are enemies of Islam and active agents of it greatest enemies. The differences between Islam’s school of thoughts is between what is right and what is wrong not between belief and unbelief. These people must be rejected and exposed by Muslims; this is an obligation……

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Pictures of Ashura closing programme in Zaria III

More Pictures of Ashura mourning gathering on the closing day Thursday the 13th of October 2012.

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Pictures of Ashura closing programme in Zaria III

More Pictures of Ashura mourning gathering on the closing day Thursday the 13th of October 2012.

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Pictures of Ashura closing programme in Zaria I

Pictures of Ashura gathering on the closing day, 13th December 2012.

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Close of Ashura Mourning in Nigeria: Sheikh Zakzaky Enumerates Lessons

The Leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria Sheikh Ibraheem zakzaky spoke on the  lessons of Ashura during the close of the mourning programmes on Thursday the 13^th of December 2012 at Husainiyyah Baqiyyatullah, Zaria, Nigeria.

Sheikh Zakzaky outlined some  of the lessons, out of numerous, that can be drawn especially those discussed during the past 29 consecutive days.

The Leader also responded to the unfounded claims of those opponents of Ashura mourning, who view Ashura as an insignificant historic event of the past. He said ‘Ashura tragedy  is the pointer towards true religion of Islam; it is the barometre between faith and disbelief.

Making further explanation of the tragedy, he cited the battle of Badr where the Quraish came out in  large number fully armed, with hearts full of hatred against the Prophet and his followers, and attacked a very small group of Muslims and Allah gave victory to the  small of group of the believers. This, he pointed out, clearly shows those with Allah. It was demonstration of firm belief (Iman) and firm disbelief (Kufr) at work.

Sheikh said, the case of Ashura was out of the ordinary, far away from conventional battle. It was the case of thousands of fully armed bands of army of about 75,000,  attacking less armed of people less than 100, among them women, children, babies and the sick. It was the case of unequal partners in strength. The killing of Imam Husain(AS), his family members and companions serves a demacation line between true faith, represented by Imam Hussain(AS) and hypocrisy, as represented by Yazid. Without Ashura, and it stands for, Islam would have been lost.

 More lessons from Ashura as explained by the Sheikh:

-Ashura shows that there is Islam brought by the Prophet (SAWA),and that of the enemies of the Prophet.

-Islam without the Ahlulbay(AS) is fake.

-Love of the Ahlul Bayt (AS) can never be combined with love for their enemies.

-Love of Ali is a sign of true belief(Iman,) as the prophet declared. The battles of Siffin and Jamal shows that whosoever was not with Imam Ali was on the wrong path. "Ali is with the  truth and the truth is with Ali…" The case of Ashura is the same.

-Those who follow the Ahlulbayt(AS) are on the right path, those who support Banu Umayyad belong to the fold of the hypocrites who have spread false Islam.

-Opposing Ashura is sign of fear that, truth is being revived, and true Islam will eventually triumph.

Sheikh Zakzaky concluded by saying that the victory of Imam Husain(AS) is the victory of truth against falsehood; the victory of blood against sword. The tragedy of karbala is a trial for Muslims.

At the end of the session, Matam was performed, ziyarah of Imam Husain (AS) and karbala martyrs was recited, followed by the supplication of Kumayl.

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Sayyid Khamenei:Idea of US coming to terms with Islam, wrong

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the notion that the US may come to terms with Islam and Islamic movements is a mistake.

In a meeting with hundreds of scholars, academics, thinkers and researchers participating in the International Conference of Muslim University Professors and Islamic Awakening, Ayatollah Khamenei said that ‘any notion that the global arrogance, led by the US, may come to terms with Islamic movements is wrong.’

“Wherever Islam and Islamic movements are present, the US will make every effort to eliminate them.”

Referring to the violence in Syria, the Leader said, “Those who are driving Syria toward civil war and fratricide are to blame.”

Ayatollah Khamenei added that all the demands of the Muslims must be resolved peacefully.

Hailing the Palestinian people as well as the resistance movements of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the Leader said no one could believe that in a war between the Gazans and the Israeli regime, “the Palestinian side would be the one to set conditions for ceasefire.”

“The enemies are afraid of the phrase Islamic Awakening and try not to use it,” Ayatollah Khamenei said, adding that the enemies also fear an Islam which is practiced by large numbers of people.

"We believe that the current huge movement is a real Islamic Awakening (movement) and will spread and grow and won't be derailed so easily," Ayatollah Khamenei added. "People's Islamic slogans in the regional revolutions and the role played by Muslim believers in encouraging massive rallies and overthrowing corrupt regimes altogether signify that the movement is Islamic."

The Leader further said that people's yes vote to Islamist parties in the recent elections was another indication of the Islamic identity of the recent uprisings.

The two-day International Conference of Muslim University Professors and Islamic Awakening began in Iran’s capital, Tehran, on Monday with the theme of advancing justice and religious democracy.

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