Dr. Joanathan Brown, an Islamic Scholar reverted to Islam explains on Hadiths.

May Allah bless them -Ameen.

[Anhad Team led by prominent Social activist Shabnam Hashmi, Navaid Hamid and others recently visited Goplagunj, Ladumka and adjoining villages in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district. A worst ever carnage took place after minority Muslim Meos and dominant Hindu Gujars clashed over the dispute over kabristan (Graveyard) land. A communally-biased police force was instigated by political leaders bearing communal mindset, resorted to indiscriminate firings leading to gory incidents reminiscent of post-1947 riots. Meos were targeted, butchered, some of them burnt alive, and mosque ransacked . A number of Meos were killed in police firing. And, all this happened right under the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress Party government in the state, which boasts of being savior of minorities and upholder of secularism. The mainstream media as usual has shut its eyes on the macabre Bharatpur riots and decided to instead better focus on Gujarat CM Narendra Modi’s ‘Sadbhavna Mission’ fast only because huge amount of money were doled out through advertisements. The Bharatpur Riots have surely raised the important issue of immediate passage of Communal Violence Bill 2011. Will the Rajasthan government act soon enough to ensure speedy justice to the riot-hit victims? Will the mainstream media take up the issue forcefully in the same way as they are spending their energy on projecting Narendra Modi as future Prime Minister of India? Is anybody listening?

We are producing the Press Release verbatim and Photos sent by Anhad for the benefit of our readers and also to those who are equally concerned and accountable hoping that urgent action will be taken and justice meted out to the victims.

There was tension, fear, apprehension and a strange smell in the atmosphere
An Anhad Team comprising of Navaid Hamid (Member, NIC), Shabnam Hashmi (Social activist), Mohan Kumwat (Documentary film maker), Apoorv Pandey (Anhad Production Housing), Ashim (NCDHR), Zakir Hussain, Ramzan Choudhury, Arif and Bashir & others visited Goplagunj, Ladumka and adjoining villages.

We read reports about the dispute over kabristan land, followed by clashes between Meos and Gujars. The official reports coming out in the media were very different from what we were hearing from the ground. Anhad has been working in Mewat for over two years and we received innumerable calls from local social activists, villagers about police firing, killings of Meos and a heavily biased attitude. It was on the basis of these phone calls that we decided to visit the area.
Our vehicle was stopped before we entered Rajasthan. The police officer said we have orders to stop you. It took us one and a half hours of negotiations, shoutings, several telephone calls to the CM and principle secretary’s office, and conversations with the collector before we were allowed to proceed. Meanwhile 7 jeeps full of policemen and a bus arrived to stop us from going any further.

The police throughout tried their best to misguide us and not to let us enter the villagers, they forced us to go to some madarsa saying victims were there. Again after a battle of words and shouting matches we were finally allowed to enter the mosque. As we were going in the police officer literally threatened us, if you take too much time we will leave, conveying that we won’t be responsible for your safety. Our team promptly told them to leave as we did not need their security.
There was nothing inside the mosque which was not broken. Inside and on the roof at least on 8-10 places there were big blood marks and marks of either the injured or dead being dragged. Some of them leading to dead wall ends from which obviously bodies/ injured must have been thrown down. The outside wall had more than 15-20 bullet marks and so did the inside walls. There were torn pages of Quran scattered in two places, broken glasses, bricks, blood soaked clothes , utensils etc.

In the villages we were heard stories of indiscriminate police firing on Meos, petrol being thrown on people before burning them, people missing, search for bodies still scattered over places etc. The villagers were constantly being threatened by the police not to give any information. Where ever we went the police force in hundreds reached before us.

There was tension, fear, apprehension and a strange smell in the atmosphere.

The police kept on threatening us and asking us to leave. The collector called and said I advise you to leave immediately. We told him we will take another half an hour.

Then we went to the Eidgah which was so far locked but was opened for some time and the police was inside.
Courtesy: Indian Muslim Observer

In a statement expressing condolences and support, the State Department made the familiar observation about the ”remarkable resiliency and courage (of the people of India) in the face of horrific violence.” Repeated reference to Indian resilience irks a growing constituency in India seeking hard-line response to terrorism.

”Terrorism is a scourge that affects us all,” the statement said, adding that the U.S. government ”stands ready to offer any and all assistance to Indian authorities.”

Although there was no reference to the origins of the attack and no assignation of blame, some western analysts have suggested that every attack on India puts the focus on Pakistan as long as the latter continues to foster terrorist groups on its soil as part of its ”strategic depth” policy.

While some Wikileaks cables show growing cooperation on terrorism between US and India, increasingly, many experts, including some US lawmakers, are calling for punitive action against Pakistan for its refusal to act against terrorist groups, some of which are openly regrouping in that country. Although the Obama administration has shown greater sense of purpose and urgency acting against terrorist supporters and sympathizers in the U.S, some interlocutors want Washington to wield its financial lever on Islamabad to force a course correction in Pakistan.

On Tuesday, a freshman Senator from Illinois, untouched by the Cold War legacies and compromises of Washington DC pols, made the strongest case yet for the US dumping Pakistan because of what he bluntly said is its history of lying about its support for terrorism.

”Let me be clear: many Americans died in Afghanistan because of Pakistan’s ISI,” Senator Mark Kirk, a naval intelligence commander who served as a reservist in Afghanistan said in a speech on Tuesday that departed from the usual Washington script about Pakistan being an ally. ”As much as the Pakistani officials claim otherwise, the Haqqanis (one of the terrorist groups) are backed and protected by Pakistan’s own intelligence service. Statements by Pakistani government officials to the contrary are direct lies.”

Kirk said in such an environment, and ”with our deficits and debt, aid to Pakistan seems naive at best and counter-productive at worst,” adding, ”should Pakistan not change its ways, we can also do one other thing: an American tilt towards India to encourage the world’s largest democracy to bankroll an Afghan government that fights terror and the ISI.”

Such a blunt pro-India prescription is being voiced with increasing frequency in Washington DC even though New Delhi itself is seen as shying away from it. Kirk went on to acknowledge that Pakistanis would object to this ‘pro-Indian’ outcome, but ”they will only have their own ISI to blame. September 11th teaches us that neither the United States nor India can tolerate a new, formal Afghan terror state.”

”It’s too bad Pakistan looks like it has chosen to back the losing side, Afghan terrorists, against the Afghan people and the two largest democracies on earth,” he added.

courtesy Times of India view the video here  The Times of India Latest News India, World Business News, Cricket Sports, Bollywood

See the Video by clicking on the link  The Times of India Latest News India, World Business News, Cricket Sports, Bollywood

NEW DELHI: Exactly 111 days ago, on May 25, there was a low-intensity blast at Gate No. 7 of Delhi high court. It wasn’t taken seriously; in fact, it was considered a failed attempt and a sign of the reduced strike power of terrorists. Now, it seems that the attack – whose perpetrators have still not been arrested – was just a dry run for a murderous strike by a band of determined killers.

At 10.15am on Wednesday, as Delhi High Court’s reception counter near Gate No. 5 milled with people, terrorists detonated a sophisticated improvised explosive device (IED) placed in a briefcase, leaving 11 dead and 91 injured. It was the first major terrorist attack in the Capital in almost three years, though it came less than two months after the serial blasts in Mumbai on July 13.

Most of the casualties on Wednesday were among litigants, some as distinguished as Commander Ronald Nagar, who was once Rajiv Gandhi’s co-pilot in Indian Airlines, and some as nondescript as a band of hawkers who had come to the court in appeal for a licence to sell their wares.

Late at night there was word that the police might have a lead. Sources said Delhi Police was looking for a gray Hyundai Accent car, DL 9CA 6034, which was being driven by a man in white shirt and black trousers – an attire possibly used by the killer/s to pass off as lawyers.

A couple of hours earlier, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had revealed on his way back from Dhaka that the investigators already “have some early leads on the blast.” He, however, admitted that there were “some weaknesses in the system”, although a few “innovative measures” have been put in place post 26/11. He informed that the newly set up National Investigation Agency (NIA) would be handling Wednesday’s case.

A few hours after the blast, an outfit calling itself Harkat-ul-Jehadi (very similar to the notorious HuJI – Harkat-ul-Jehad Islami) sent an email to a TV channel claiming responsibility for the blast. It demanded the release of Parliament attack accused Afzal Guru who has been sentenced to death. It also threatened to target all major high courts in the country and the Supreme Court. Sources say the email has been sent from Mumbai where a team is being sent for further investigation.

Police said the IED used on Wednesday was possibly made with three to four kilograms of ammonium nitrate laced with PETN, shrapnel and an electronic timer device. It was placed in a black briefcase near the reception counter where around 150-200 people had queued up for gate-passes. Sources said the bomb was “very sophisticated and has been made by experts.” They added that “such a bomb has been seen after a long time in the last few years”.

The possibility of RDX being used is not being ruled out as the impact of the explosion was terrific and there was a thick pall of smoke after the blast. The impact left a 4-feet crater with 1-metre diameter. Around it was a horrible mess of blood and flesh.

Home minister P Chidambaram said the NIA would investigate the case and a written directive was sent to Delhi Police asking it to assist NIA. By evening, Delhi Police released sketches of two suspects prepared on the basis of description given by eyewitnesses. One suspect is 26 and the other 50. Chidambaram hinted at gaps in the security system when he said that Delhi Police had been given intelligence inputs in July and the attack happened despite the fact that the capital was on high alert.

As it was a day for public interest litigations (PIL), there was a higher number of litigants at the reception counter. The explosion took place near the senior citizens’ counter, ripping off the reception area. Several persons who were standing near the deadly briefcase were killed on the spot.

The injured were rushed to different hospitals – 57 to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital. There were some injured in AIIMS, Moolchand hospital, Apollo, Safdarjung, Ganga Ram and R&R Army hospital.

Teams of forensic experts, Delhi Police’s special cell, crime branch, as well as the police and NIA brass were at the blast site, carrying out an extensive examination for leads. A NSG team with sniffer dogs was also drafted in the operation. NIA has formed a team of 20 officers to probe the case.

  The Times of India Latest News India, World Business News, Cricket Sports, Bollywood

NEW DELHI: In his haste to reach the high court on Wednesday morning, law student Amanpreet Singh Jolly, 21, left his black robe behind. The mistake caught him his life, as security guards made him queue up for an entry pass among the litigants outside gate no. 5, minutes before the bomb went off.

Aman, a law student at Ghaziabad’s INE College, was interning under lawyer SP Yadav at the high court. “Aman was an extremely bright boy. He had been doing quite well at college and did not have to go to court everyday. It was sheer chance that he went to the court on Wednesday, and without his robe at that. Had he remembered to take it, he would have directly walked inside,” said his uncle Rana.

Aman’s father, cousins and several uncles stood outside RML Hospital’s operating theatre for several hours before his father Manmohan Singh was called inside to identify his body. Shortly before this, they had experienced relief for a few minutes on not finding his body in the common area on the ground floor, where other bodies were kept for identification. But when Manmohan identified his son’s body inside the OT, the family members were immersed in grief. Aman’s father is a builder and they lived in a joint family on Jail Road in Janakpuri. He was the second of three brothers.

Courtesy Times of India

“We received a call from the hospital saying that he was injured, so obviously he died in the hospital. His condition was reported quite critical. Aman’s parents are in a bad shape and his mother, especially, has not stopped crying. She keeps breaking down every few minutes,” said his uncle Gurmeet.
courtesy Times of IndiaThe Times of India Latest News India, World Business News, Cricket Sports, Bollywood

Exasperated by Israel’s intransigence and its refusal to apologise and pay compensation to the families of those killed in the Israeli raid on the flotilla, Turkey expelled Israel’s envoy, downgraded diplomatic relations and suspended all military agreements with Israel. Earlier, the UN report described the excessive use of force by Israel; however it said that blockade was legal and appropriate. This is travesty of the truth, as the flotilla was in the international waters, therefore Israel’s raid cannot be described legal or appropriate in any case.

Since 2008 when Israel invaded Gaza, and after bombardment of Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009, relations between Turkey and Israel had turned very sour. In January 2009 at the World Economic Forum in Davos in Switzerland, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had blasted Israel’s President Shimon Peres stating: “You kill people. I remember the children who died on beaches.”

In May 2010 when Israeli naval commandos raided the flotilla carrying aid for Palestinians, many countries of the world had condemned Israel for blatant violations of international law. Twenty Arab nations had joined in expressing grave concern and condemnation of the Israeli aggression on Gaza-bound aid ships, killing nine human rights activists and injuring scores of others. The Organisation of Islamic Conference did not go beyond ‘noble sentiments’ and failed to mobilise the world opinion against atrocities on the Palestinians. Of course, a joint statement by Turkey and 20 Arab nations had called on the United Nations to investigate in a credible, thorough and transparent manner Israel’s assault on aid ship. Muslim leaders had rallied around Turkey in the ‘Conference on interaction and confidence building measures in Asia’ (CICA), backing their host’s call for Israel to end its blockade of Gaza immediately.

Once close ally of the US and Israel, Turkey’s relations have soured since Erdogan started supporting Palestinian cause after an Israeli offensive in Gaza in 2008 and consequent embargo. Turkey was in touch with other countries of the world seeking their help to pressurise Israel into ending the embargo, but to no avail. Also being fed up with ever-increasing conditions by the European Union for accepting Turkey in its fold, Turkey started looking eastward. And there appears to be a paradigm shift in its foreign policy. Of course, Israel’s policy towards Palestinians has been the basic reason for this change.

Many analysts considered the projection of the Israeli military might in Gaza, West Bank or in Lebanon as demonstration of a baser bellicosity of an inebriated state that drew its strength from the world’s sole superpower – the US.

Because of unqualified support of sole superpower America, Israel has defied the United Nations Security Council’s resolutions, orders from International Court of Justice to stop settlement activity in the West Bank, and showed utter disregard to the pacts and agreements it signed to ensure an independent Palestinian state. This minuscule country has so much control on decisions made by the US and other powerful nations that it refuses to abide by international laws and treaties with impunity. Moreover, it is the only country that could get away with assassinating its enemies on foreign soil. Had any other country flouted the international law and covenants, the United Nations Security Council would have passed resolutions and slapped harsh sanctions on that country.

In 2009, Turkey had barred Israel from the air drill (exercise) with Nato, but called off the international drill after the US and Italy pulled out in protest over Israel’s exclusion. For years the joint military operation ‘Anatolian Eagle’ was emblematic of the strong relations between Israel and Turkey. Having that said, Turkey is playing a greater role in the international affairs today. Reportedly, it is involved in creating an understanding between the Taliban and Afghan government. It is hoped that one day Turkey would also support the cause of people of Kashmir. Today, Turkey’s leadership is taking independent decisions because it has the political acumen and is also backed by the people’s power. Turkey reflects aspirations of the Muslim ummah, and is poised to emerge as leader of the Muslim World. Its leadership has put together a strategic plan that aims to make Turkey a world power by 2023. Leaders of other Muslim countries should emulate Turkey’s leadership and start taking independent decisions.

(Courtesy: The Nation)

Exasperated by Israel’s intransigence and its refusal to apologise and pay compensation to the families of those killed in the Israeli raid on the flotilla, Turkey expelled Israel’s envoy, downgraded diplomatic relations and suspended all military agreements with Israel. Earlier, the UN report described the excessive use of force by Israel; however it said that blockade was legal and appropriate. This is travesty of the truth, as the flotilla was in the international waters, therefore Israel’s raid cannot be described legal or appropriate in any case.

Since 2008 when Israel invaded Gaza, and after bombardment of Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009, relations between Turkey and Israel had turned very sour. In January 2009 at the World Economic Forum in Davos in Switzerland, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had blasted Israel’s President Shimon Peres stating: “You kill people. I remember the children who died on beaches.”

In May 2010 when Israeli naval commandos raided the flotilla carrying aid for Palestinians, many countries of the world had condemned Israel for blatant violations of international law. Twenty Arab nations had joined in expressing grave concern and condemnation of the Israeli aggression on Gaza-bound aid ships, killing nine human rights activists and injuring scores of others. The Organisation of Islamic Conference did not go beyond ‘noble sentiments’ and failed to mobilise the world opinion against atrocities on the Palestinians. Of course, a joint statement by Turkey and 20 Arab nations had called on the United Nations to investigate in a credible, thorough and transparent manner Israel’s assault on aid ship. Muslim leaders had rallied around Turkey in the ‘Conference on interaction and confidence building measures in Asia’ (CICA), backing their host’s call for Israel to end its blockade of Gaza immediately.

Once close ally of the US and Israel, Turkey’s relations have soured since Erdogan started supporting Palestinian cause after an Israeli offensive in Gaza in 2008 and consequent embargo. Turkey was in touch with other countries of the world seeking their help to pressurise Israel into ending the embargo, but to no avail. Also being fed up with ever-increasing conditions by the European Union for accepting Turkey in its fold, Turkey started looking eastward. And there appears to be a paradigm shift in its foreign policy. Of course, Israel’s policy towards Palestinians has been the basic reason for this change.

Many analysts considered the projection of the Israeli military might in Gaza, West Bank or in Lebanon as demonstration of a baser bellicosity of an inebriated state that drew its strength from the world’s sole superpower – the US.

Because of unqualified support of sole superpower America, Israel has defied the United Nations Security Council’s resolutions, orders from International Court of Justice to stop settlement activity in the West Bank, and showed utter disregard to the pacts and agreements it signed to ensure an independent Palestinian state. This minuscule country has so much control on decisions made by the US and other powerful nations that it refuses to abide by international laws and treaties with impunity. Moreover, it is the only country that could get away with assassinating its enemies on foreign soil. Had any other country flouted the international law and covenants, the United Nations Security Council would have passed resolutions and slapped harsh sanctions on that country.

In 2009, Turkey had barred Israel from the air drill (exercise) with Nato, but called off the international drill after the US and Italy pulled out in protest over Israel’s exclusion. For years the joint military operation ‘Anatolian Eagle’ was emblematic of the strong relations between Israel and Turkey. Having that said, Turkey is playing a greater role in the international affairs today. Reportedly, it is involved in creating an understanding between the Taliban and Afghan government. It is hoped that one day Turkey would also support the cause of people of Kashmir. Today, Turkey’s leadership is taking independent decisions because it has the political acumen and is also backed by the people’s power. Turkey reflects aspirations of the Muslim ummah, and is poised to emerge as leader of the Muslim World. Its leadership has put together a strategic plan that aims to make Turkey a world power by 2023. Leaders of other Muslim countries should emulate Turkey’s leadership and start taking independent decisions.

(Courtesy: The Nation)

The freeze, to be announced in Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech on Wednesday, would exclude defence, veteran affairs, homeland security and spending on international affairs, the officials said.

“We are in the midst of fighting a war and have security needs. We’re going to fund those security needs as necessary,” one of the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The freeze in “non-security discretionary spending “will be implemented in 2011 and continue throughout 2012 and 2013.

“The savings from the three-year freeze will amount to $250bn over the next decade,” the official said.