Friday, September 30, 2011

Libya: Gaddafi mouthpiece caught 'fleeing dressed as a woman'

Libya: Gaddafi mouthpiece caught 'fleeing dressed as a woman'

Moussa Ibrahim, the mouthpiece of the Gaddafi regime, was captured last night outside the birthplace of the former dictator, according to commanders of the National Transitional Council's forces

Captured: Moussa Ibrahim Photo: AP

11:48PM BST 29 Sep 2011

There were also unconfirmed reports that Ibrahim was dressed as a woman as he attempted to flee Sirte, which has been the scene of heavy fighting for several days.

A commander for the NTC's Zintan brigade said: "Moussa Ibrahim was captured while driving outside Sirte by fighters from Misurata." Ibrahim became a fixture on news bulletins from the first week of the uprising, lecturing the foreign media from a conference room at the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli on the iniquities of Nato and the West.

Like Col Muammar Gaddafi, his whereabouts had been unknown until yesterday.

His capture came as forces loyal to the transitional government seized the airport in Sirte, moving through the partly destroyed buildings tearing down symbols of the Gaddafi era.

Meanwhile, an Interpol arrest warrant was issued for Gaddafi's son Saadi, who escaped to Niger, but the country's prime minister there said he would not be extradited.

Speaking in France, Brigi Rafini said Saadi was safe and "in the hands of the Niger government" in the capital Niamey. "There's no question of him being extradited to Libya for the moment," Mr Rafini said, adding that he would not receive a fair trial if sent home.

Interpol's "red notice" for Saadi's arrest said he was wanted on allegations of misappropriating properties through force and armed intimidation when he headed the Libyan Football Federation.

A 2009 American diplomatic cable described Saadi as the black sheep of Gaddafi's sons with "a troubled past" including scuffles with police in Europe, "abuse of drugs and alcohol, excessive partying" and "profligate affairs with men and women".

Saadi twice played for Italian Serie A teams, though he was banned for failing a drugs test, before running the football federation. He also played for Tripoli's main club. Saadi was also a special forces commander and is under United Nations sanctions for commanding units which brutally repressed the revolution.

Gaddafi's former prime minister, Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi, has begun a prison hunger strike to prevent his extradition from Tunisia, his lawyer said yesterday.

 

Radical US-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki 'killed'

Radical US-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki 'killed'

Radical US-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki has been killed with several other suspected al-Qaeda operatives, according to the Yemen defence ministry.

Image 1 of 2

U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki Photo: REUTERS

"The terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki has been killed along with some of his companions," it said in a statement sent by text message to journalists, but gave no details.

Yemeni security official said Awlaki, who is of Yemeni descent, was hit in an air raid and said those killed with him were suspected al-Qaeda members.

It was not immediately clear if Yemeni forces had carried out the raid or if Awlaki had been killed by a US drone strike. A US drone aircraft targeted but missed Alwaki in May. .

US officials were not immediately available for comment.

Awlaqi had been implicated in a botched attempt by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to bomb a U.S.-bound plane in 2009. US authorities have branded him a "global terrorist" but Sanaa had previously appeared reluctant to act against him.

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Eloquent in English and Arabic, Awlaki encouraged attacks on the United States and was seen as a man who could draw in more al Qaeda recruits from Western countries.

 

Ali Dizaei 'reinstated as Met police commander'

Ali Dizaei 'reinstated as Met police commander'

The former police chief whose corruption convictions were quashed says he has returned to Scotland Yard

Ali Dizaei, who was dismissed from the Metropolitan police over corruption convictions which were later quashed. Photograph: Andrew Winning/Reuters

Ali Dizaei, the former police chief who was dismissed over convictions for corruption only for them to be quashed, has been reinstated as a commander at Scotland Yard, he says.

Dizaei, who spent more than a year in prison after being convicted of abusing his power as a senior police officer, still faces a retrial on the charges.

He said a police appeal tribunal unanimously dismissed his sacking. "I am delighted to be reinstated. I have always wanted to be a Met police officer and now vow to clear my name." There was no immediate comment from the Metropolitan Police Authority.

Dizaei was jailed for four years in January 2010 after a jury at Southwark crown court found that he had tried to frame a young web designer in a row over £600. Dizaei was dismissed from the police service in disgrace, ending a 25-year career. But in May this year, the court of appeal ruled that new evidence "significantly discredits" the principal witness against him.

Dizaei was a vocal critic of Scotland Yard's record on race and some of his colleagues were said to have greeted his conviction by popping champagne corks.

After his conviction his wife investigated the background of his main accuser, Waad al-Baghdadi, and found the jury at the original trial were asked to believe he was of good character, unaware he was allegedly using the name of his dead father to steal thousands of pounds from the British benefits system. Dizaei said the fact that his wife, who had no training in investigative skills, could uncover this, showed how poor the investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission had been.

During the appeal hearing it also emerged that Baghdadi told the jury he was born and lived in Iraq, when he was born in Iran. Baghdadi had also given the jury the wrong information about his date of birth and had not testified under his real name. The court of appeal found he had "maintained those false details … on oath before the jury" and was helped to enter the UK by a false document as he escaped "the cauldron of Iraq/Iran".

 

HADITH OF THE DAY

Daily Hadith, 30-09-2011

Narrated: Al-Bara bin Azib
Allah's Apostle ordered us to do seven things and forbade us to do other seven. He ordered us: to follow the funeral procession. to visit the sick, to accept invitations, to help the oppressed, to fulfill the oaths, to return the greeting and to reply to the sneezer: (saying, "May Allah be merciful on you," provided the sneezer says, "All the praises are for Allah,"). He forbade us to use silver utensils and dishes and to wear golden rings, silk (clothes), Dibaj (pure silk cloth), Qissi and Istabraq (two kinds of silk cloths).

Thursday, September 29, 2011

SECURITY COUNCIL REFERS PALESTINIAN APPLICATION TO UN MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

SECURITY COUNCIL REFERS PALESTINIAN APPLICATION TO UN MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE
New York, Sep 28 2011 10:10AM
The President of the Security Council today referred Palestine's application to become a United Nations Member State to the committee that deals with the admission of new members.

The Council's decision to refer the application comes almost a week after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas submitted the application to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who then forwarded it to the 15-member body.

The Council's Committee on the Admission of New Members is slated to consider the application on Friday.

Any application for UN membership is considered by the Council, which decides whether or not to recommend admission to the 193-member General Assembly, which then has to adopt a resolution for the admission of a Member State.

Palestine, which currently has observer status at the UN, submitted the application for full membership "based on the Palestinian people's natural, legal and historic rights" and based on resolution 181 adopted by the General Assembly in November 1947, Mr. Abbas wrote in his submission to the Secretary-General.

In resolution 181, the Assembly decided on the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab States.

Mr. Abbas added that the submission comes "after decades of displacement, dispossession and the foreign military occupation of my people" and with the successful culmination of the Palestinian State-building programme.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Criticism over new Israeli settlement bid



Israel okays new buildings in east Jerusalem

Israel okays new buildings in east Jerusalem

Construction of 1,100 housing units cleared, despite Palestinian demands for settlement freeze to renew peace talks.


Netanyahu has refused to halt settlement building despite repeated calls from Palestinians [Reuters]

Israel's government has granted the go-ahead for construction of 1,100 new housing units in illegally occupied east Jerusalem, raising already heightened tensions fuelled by last week's Palestinian move to seek full UN membership.

Israel's interior ministry said on Tuesday that the homes would be built in Gilo, a Jewish enclave in southeast Jerusalem. It said construction could begin after a mandatory 60-day period for public comment, a process that is largely a formality.

The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as their future capital. They have demanded that Israel halt all settlement construction in east Jerusalem and the adjacent occupied West Bank - territories captured and illegally occupied by Israel since1967 - as a condition for resuming peace talks.
In Depth



Q&A: Jewish settlements
Foreign fighters support Israel's settlements
Opinion:
US vs UN on Israeli settlements
Boycott the state, not just the settlements
Israel abandoned

Israel says all of Jerusalem, home to Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites, is part of its capital and will not be divided.

Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, swiftly condemned the Israeli decision, saying it amounted to "1,100 no's to the resumption of peace talks."

He urged the United States, Israel's closest and most important ally, to change its position and support the Palestinians in their quest for UN membership.

With peace talks stalled for the past three years, the Palestinians last week asked theUN to recognise an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip.

The US opposes the measure and has vowed to veto the request in the Security Council. Like Israel, the US says a Palestinian state can only be established through negotiations.

In an interview published Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said he would not freeze settlement construction again.

Speaking to the Jerusalem Post, he said that a 10-month moratorium on new construction last year failed to yield results. He said he saw no need for another freeze.

Netanyahu says negotiations should begin without any preconditions.

'Counterproductive'

The European Union's chief diplomat on Tuesday lamented Israel's green-light to expand the Gilo settlement and urged the government to reverse its decision.

"It is with deep regret that I learned today about the decision to advance in the plans for settlement expansion in east Jerusalem, with new housing units in Gilo," said Catherine Ashton, EU foreign policy chief.

"This plan should be reversed. Settlement activity threatens the viability of an agreed two-state solution and runs contrary to the Israeli-stated commitment to resume negotiations," Ashton told the European parliament.

She recalled that the Quartet of Middle East peacemakers - the EU, Russia, the UN and the US - have pleaded with Israelis and Palestinians to "refrain from provocative actions" if talks are to resume.

Richard Miron, spokesman for UN Mideast envoy Robert Serry, said the Israeli decision was "very concerning'' and ignored the Quartet's appeal.

"This sends the wrong signal at this sensitive time,'' he said.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, called Israel's decision to expand its settlement "counterproductive".

http://islaamdoon.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Conflict Risk Alert: Stopping the Spread of Sudan’s New Civil War

INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP - CONFLICT RISK ALERT

Conflict Risk Alert: Stopping the Spread of Sudan's New Civil War

Nairobi/Brussels, 26 September 2011: Civil war is spreading in Sudan, and concerted international action is needed to stem the violence and prevent it from engulfing the entire country and the wider region.

Khartoum's most recent military offensive -- this time in Blue Nile state -- adds to fresh fighting between government and opposition forces in Southern Kordofan and recent hostilities in Abyei. With hundreds of thousands of people displaced, at least 20,000 of whom have fled into Ethiopia from Blue Nile in recent days, the growing war on multiple fronts poses serious dangers for the country, for its future relationship with the Republic of South Sudan and for the stability of the region as a whole.

The recently renewed conflict in these three areas is rooted in unimplemented provisions of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between Khartoum's ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), which ended a two-decade-long north-south civil war in Sudan that cost millions of lives. Those lagging issues include the failed democratic transformation of Sudan, stymied popular consultations, and the unresolved status of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) forces indigenous to the North.

After the end of the CPA, rather than negotiate with Sudanese opposition forces, NCP hardliners have opted for a military solution -- not an unusual policy response for the regime when confronted with opposition. This, however, is pushing Sudan's disparate rebel movements and opposition forces together and could trigger a wider civil war for control of the country.

The CPA

The CPA was intended to lay the foundation for a new reality in Sudan, end chronic conflict and make continued unity attractive. It was premised on three major principles: fairer distribution of power and wealth between the centre and the peripheries, democratic transformation and the right of southern Sudanese to determine their own future. The CPA also granted the people of the states of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile to conduct popular consultations to rectify the document's shortcomings on their areas and to redefine their relationship with Khartoum.

General elections were scheduled half way through the six-year interim period (ie, by 2008), so as to widen participation in governance. In the period after the elections, the new representative government was to build on those foundations in order to consolidate reconciliation, start the popular consultations, continue review of constitutional arrangements and establish conditions that would affirm the rights of all the people of Sudan and encourage Southerners to choose continued unity of their own free will.

This never happened. The NCP and SPLM failed to hold elections as scheduled and manipulated them when they were eventually conducted, two years late in April 2010, so as to ensure majorities in their regions. Consequently, they wasted the period that had been intended to consolidate peace and unity, and the democratic transformation agenda was dropped.

The situation became volatile in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, where many sided with the South during the civil war, but which remained in the North after Southern secession.  The promised popular consultations were repeatedly delayed, and even when they started in Blue Nile state on September 2010, SPLM supporters and leadership lost confidence that their demand, namely the right to self-rule, would be met by Khartoum. The situation deteriorated further when Ahmed Haroun, a man indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, was re-elected governor of Southern Kordofan in July 2011, in elections the SPLM-North candidate, Abdel Azzizal-Hilu (also Deputy Chair of the SPL M-N and former Deputy-Governor of Southern Kordofan), claims were manipulated.

Lacking real political power, the leaders of the SPLM-North were reluctant to relinquish their military forces, the former 9th and 10th SPLA divisions composed of troops from Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, despite the CPA requirement that these units be demobilised or redeployed to south of the 1956 North-South border. With the CPA coming to conclusion after the South seceded, and failing popular consultations, they asked instead that a new security arrangement be negotiated that would allow for a more gradual integration of their forces into the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF).

The NCP, weakened by the impending separation of the South, refused any further political accommodation, and Khartoum opted to remove its opponents militarily. This began with the SAF invasion of Abyei in May 2011, followed quickly by the attempt to take control of Southern Kordofan in June, and now Blue Nile state.

Internal Sudanese Dynamics

The loss of South Sudan has had a profound effect on the NCP, and senior generals led a soft-coup within the party. They have outflanked more pragmatic elements in the NCP who seek a negotiated strategy. Encouraging progress in the post-separation arrangements between North and South was blocked. More importantly, hardliners in Khartoum -- including SAF generals -- immediately rejected a 28 June framework agreement, which includes a political and a security agreement for Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, facilitated by former South African President Thabo Mbeki and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, and signed by Dr. Nafie Ali Nafie, Co-deputy NCP chairman and a presidential adviser. A few days later, President Omar al-B ashir publicly disavowed the agreement.

After conflict broke out in the Blue Nile on 1 September, Khartoum formally banned the SPLM-N, arrested a number of prominent opposition leaders and declared a state of emergency in Blue Nile state and replaced its governor, Malik Agar.

Now, the rebel forces are openly attempting to unify and pursue a policy of regime change. On 8 August 2011, Abdel Azziz al-Hilu met with the leaders of the Darfur rebel movements who rejected the Doha peace process in Kouda (an SPLM-N controlled area in Southern Kordofan), and afterwards, they announced a new alliance with a common objective: to change the regime in Khartoum by the use of force and popular uprising. Two thousand armed men linked to the Democratic Unionist Party and led by Al-Tom Hago joined this alliance. The Beja Congress of East Sudan likewise issued a statement vowing to rejoin the military opposition.

In an effort to defuse the situation, Ethiopian Prime Minister Zenawi met with Malik Agar and Al-Hilu in Addis Ababa on 21 August, and on the same day, he took Malik to Khartoum to negotiate a way out of the danger. However, President Bashir responded by saying his govern  m ent was unwilling to engage in further external negotiations and would not commit to the rejected framework. The door for direct SPLM-NCP talks was closed.

On 8 September, the SPLM-N officially split from the SPLM, formed a new leadership structure under Agar and vowed to continue war against Khartoum. On 16 September, the SPLM-N submitted a "road map for political transformation" to Zenawi to discuss with Bashir. It lists six conditions to be met by the government before the SPLM-N would accept a cessation of hostilities, including reinstituting Governor Malik Agar, allowing humanitarian access to affected people and agreeing to international investigations into crimes committed in both Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile. If Khartoum agrees to its proposals, the SPLM-N would want a mediator to negotiate the road map. Since Zenawi's 17 September trip to Khartoum, there has been2 0no reaction from the NCP. Hundreds of thousands are now displaced, fighting has intensified in both states, and the rainy season ends in three weeks, foreshadowing increased conflict.

The Risk of Conflict Contagion

There is a real possibility of a new era of protracted civil war in Sudan if key international actors are not able to contain it. Fighting could quickly expand both within Sudan and spill over into South Sudan. To the resurgence of war in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile will likely be added an escalation in Darfur, especially now that the leader of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) has returned from Libya and rejoined forces in Darfur.

In addition, both Sudan and South Sudan have intensified rhetoric that each country is supporting its rival's insurgents. The government of Sudan claims that the military action by the SPLM-N is a grand plan to topple the regime in Khartoum, an agenda supported by external elements including the government of South Sudan. Juba claims the war is a northern affair and accuses Khartoum of supporting South Sudan rebellions.

The situation will escalate if the international community is delayed or disjointed in its response.

Unfortunately, the NCP no longer trusts the key interlocutors who engaged previously, such as the United States, United Kingdom, Norway, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and the European Union. Khartoum suspects them of indirectly encouraging regime change, including by calling for additional investigations into crimes committed in Southern Kordofan, complicating if not derailing the Darfur Political Process (a key process towards settlement of the Darfur problem after the Doha agreement), and refusing to invoke Article 16 of the Rome Statute for the deferral of the ICC cases against Bashir and others. Khartoum is also sceptical of the U.S. offer to normalise relations. After Southern secession these perceptions hav e deepened.

It is becoming apparent that the only acceptable interlocutors are the African Union High-Level Implementation (AUHIP) team supported by the regional actors and the United Nations envoy, Haile Menkerios, as well as key partners such as China and other major investors.

Two Sudans: The Need for a New Approach

The CPA period is over, and there is no coherent political framework to deal with the many remaining challenges in Sudan. Unfortunately, international attention focused on safeguarding South Sudan's referendum and independence, and largely underestimated the impact of secession on the North.

New thinking is required to take into account a Khartoum regime now in the hands of SAF generals, a unifying opposition that seeks regime change, and an international community that seems to be losing the ability to engage coherently on Sudan's problems. Continuing with the current ad hoc approach to negotiations and short-term arrangements to manage crises will not address the underlying causes of conflict. The various issues -- North-South negotiations, Abyei, Darfur Peace Process, and Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile -- are interrelated and efforts should be made to ensure coherence in resolving them.

What is urgently needed is a new approach -- supported by the key external actors, including friends of Khartoum -- to deal with the internal crisis in the North and the conclusion of post-CPA agreements between the North and South. The AU and UN should continue to support North-South talks, and both parties should be brought back to focus on the key agreements that must be reached, most immediate being economic arrangements.

Meanwhile, the international community should unite behind a single approach to begin addressing internal Sudan crises. A sustainable solution to these must focus on a cessation of hostilities and an inclusive national dialogue consisting of renegotiating the relationship between the centre and peripheries, and agreement on decentralisation and a redistribution of power leading to a new constitution, on the basis of which a referendum and new elections should be held.

A negotiated settlement of disputes is in the interest of all parties. Neither the SAF nor the SPLM-N can achieve an outright military victory. Bashir and SAF generals must be made to understand that the current military strategy of using tribal militias, ethnic cleansing and allowing insurgencies to fester, only increases the risk of fragmentation and prolongs international interference. Likewise, the newly aligned opposition will face similar military challenges; the NCP regime is weakened but not powerless, and an alliance of the disparate opposition groups is unsustainable in the long-term. Widespread instability in North Sudan would not only exact a great toll on the Sudanese people but jeopardise the future of South Sudan. 20The parties should be helped by their international partners to recognise the imperative of a non-military solution.

Immediate Steps

To begin implementing the approach outlined above, mediation efforts must be streamlined, and key actors must agree on a common international strategy on Sudan. The AUHIP is facilitating the post-secession negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan (with support from the UN and US special envoys). These efforts should continue, but new leadership and the involvement of friends of Sudan are needed to convince the parties to step back from war and engage in a genuine national dialogue and key reforms.  The AU, UN and Ethiopia can be helpful, but are unlikely to deliver a comprehensive process without active engagement by others, including efforts by some key actors to re-engage the regime in Khartoum. The following steps co uld help build much needed consensus on the way forward:

1.        Define a new strategy: The AU, UN and Ethiopia should develop a strategy in line with the new approach articulated above: an immediate cessation of hostilities in the three disputed areas, and commitment by the parties to hold an inclusive national dialogue leading to decentralisation, a new constitution and free and fair elections. The AU, UN and Ethiopia should work to build support amongst international partners and friends of Sudan on the new way forward. This will require renewed engagement from key actors.

2.        Streamline the mediation: The roles of the AUHIP, the UN envoy and regional efforts under Prime Minister Zenawi should be clearly defined and the processes streamlined. The mediation efforts should have clear objectives and define a set of benchmarks to underpin resolution of the conflicts and a genuine transition to an inclusive government.

3.        Achieve consensus: Convening of an international conference under the auspices of the AU to build consensus on a new international strategy for Sudan. The conference should comprise a group of people representing all different blocs with a stake in Sudan and should include the AU, IGAD, Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and the following countries: Egypt, Qatar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Turkey, China, India, Malaysia, India, Brazil, South Africa, Ethiopia, as well as the EU, UN and members of the troika (US, UK and Norway).

Now is the time for Sudan's key external actors to speak in a single voice in support of a political strategy that comprehensively deals with Sudan's spreading conflicts and that is underpinned by a clear set of principles on genuine political transformation rather than the current fire fighting approach. 

President Bashir will undoubtedly resist any further external efforts to pursue a more peaceful outcome for Sudan, but given the increasing fragility of the regime, not least its growing economic weakness, he may be persuaded to engage with a coordinated international approach.  International actors must come out with a strong voice to support a national agenda for a transition to an inclusive government. In the absence of a national political framework, and without clear international consensus to encourage and support a national peace process, the conflict in Sudan may spiral out control and engulf the region.

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Friday, September 23, 2011

News Bulletin - 0935GMT update



SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IS A MODERN IMPERATIVE, BAN TELLS IBERO-AMERICAN COUNTRIES

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IS A MODERN IMPERATIVE, BAN TELLS IBERO-AMERICAN COUNTRIES

Sustainable development will be critical to achieving long-term progress, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told foreign ministers from Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries in Europe and the Americas today in New York.

"Advancing economic growth, lifting people out of poverty, protecting the environment are one and the same cause," he said in a <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=5557">message delivered by Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Alicia Bárcena.

"We must connect the dots between climate change, water scarcity, energy shortages, international crime prevention, global health, food security and women's empowerment. If we do this, solutions to one problem can become solutions for all," he said.

Mr. Ban said that today's challenges require governments to engage more dynamically with their citizens on long-term goals, and this required them to operate more transparently and to forge links with social actors.

He also talked about the upcoming Ibero-American Summit, which will be held next month in Asunción, Paraguay, and welcomed its theme – the links between transformation and development.

"By focusing on the kind of State required to strengthen the region's development prospects, you are building on the significant progress you have made towards democracy and more inclusive societies," he said.

SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLVES TO ENHANCE UN’S PREVENTIVE DIPLOMACY EFFORTS

SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLVES TO ENHANCE UN'S PREVENTIVE DIPLOMACY EFFORTS

The Security Council today voiced its determination to enhance the effectiveness of the United Nations in defusing potential and ongoing conflicts, and encouraged the world body to use all the <"http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/undpa/main/issues/preventive_diplomacy/main_preventive">preventive diplomacy tools at its disposal.

During a high-level meeting chaired by President Michel Sleiman of Lebanon, which holds the Council's presidency for September, the 15-member body also underlined the "overriding political, humanitarian and moral imperatives as well as economic advantages" of preventing the outbreak, escalation or relapse into conflicts.

The UN currently has an array of assets available to it in the area of preventive diplomacy, including the Secretary-General's good offices, envoys, early warning systems, the Mediation Support Unit of the Department of Political Affairs (DPA), and fact-finding missions.

"The Council encourages the Secretary-General to increasingly and effectively use all the modalities and diplomatic tools at his disposal under the Charter for the purpose of enhancing mediation and its support activities," it added in a presidential statement.

In his <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/sgsm13823.doc.htm">address yesterday to world leaders gathered in New York for the General Assembly's general debate, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said preventing and mitigating conflicts was one of the five "generational opportunities to shape the world of tomorrow by the decisions we make today."

In a <"http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=S/2011/552">report on the issue released earlier this month, he cited recent successes in easing mounting tension between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), post-election violence in Kenya, and the transition from military to civilian rule in Guinea.

"The pace, intensity and increasing professionalism of our preventive efforts are beginning to pay off," he <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=5560">told today's meeting.

"However, we still have a long way to go. Violent conflict continues to wreak a shocking toll on individuals, societies and economies.  Every day, we can see the costs of the failure to prevent. Despite recent advances, preventive diplomacy continues to face long odds and numerous challenges," he noted.

"Yet, I firmly believe that better preventive diplomacy is not an option; it is a necessity."

The Secretary-General stressed that a critical factor is political will. "If the parties do not want peace, or are unwilling to compromise, it is extraordinarily difficult to persuade or impose it from the outside."

Mr. Ban's report was dedicated to the memory of former Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld, who died in a plane crash 50 years ago while trying to bring peace to the nascent but conflict-torn DRC.

It outlines several areas of focus, beginning with the need to prioritize early action, as well as continuing to invest in and better equip the women and men who lead UN preventive diplomacy efforts on the ground.

He also cites the need for adequate investment to deliver results, noting that prevention is "infinitely cheaper than cure – and is one of the smartest, most cost-effective investments we can make."

It is also necessary to further strengthen the world body's strategic partnerships with regional and sub-regional organizations, and to continue to support national institutions and mechanisms for mediation and dialogue, he added. Including civil society organizations in preventive efforts is critical, especially women and youth who can lead the charge for peaceful change.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

HADITH OF THE DAY

Daily Hadith, 22-09-2011

Narrated: Abu Huraira
Allah's Apostle entered the mosque and a person followed him. The man prayed and went to the Prophet and greeted him. The Prophet returned the greeting and said to him, "Go back and pray, for you have not prayed." The man went back prayed in the same way as before, returned and greeted the Prophet who said, "Go back and pray, for you have not prayed." This happened thrice. The man said, "By Him Who sent you with the Truth, I cannot offer the prayer in a better way than this. Please, teach me how to pray." The Prophet said, "When you stand for Prayer say Takbir and then recite from the Holy Qur'an (of what you know by heart) and then bow till you feel at ease. Then raise your head and stand up straight, then prostrate till you feel at ease during your prostration, then sit with calmness till you feel at ease (do not hurry) and do the same in all your prayers.

GLOBAL FINANCIAL REFORM URGENTLY NEEDED, ARGENTINA SAYS AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY

GLOBAL FINANCIAL REFORM URGENTLY NEEDED, ARGENTINA SAYS AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY
New York, Sep 21 2011  7:10PM
In the face of the world financial crisis, Argentina called from the podium of the United Nations today for true economic reform to regulate run-away speculation and other factors undermining market stability, global development and well-being.

"Speculation apparently has no brakes and can move from one place to another and from one country or region to another, affecting currencies, economies and also the daily life of citizens, destroying jobs, depriving them of a worth education and of health care," Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner <"http://gadebate.un.org/66/argentina">told the General Assembly on the opening day of its annual general debate.

"It is crucial that this be understood, because today it might be speculation on food, yesterday it was on oil, and tomorrow it could be on mints if that proves profitable and provides a better market position to those capital flows that are transferred from one end of the world to the other without any type of control or regulation," she said.

"Regrettably we continue in the same position because beyond what I would call totally cosmetic changes no serious steps have been taken towards the regulation that is required."

At the same time Ms. Kirchner called for fundamental Security Council reform, expanding its current 15-State membership, but not by increasing the number of permanent members. That category should be eliminated, she said, along with the right to veto now held by the five permanent members – the United Kingdom, China, France, Russia and the United States.

The veto was necessary at the UN's foundation during the Cold War when there was a bipolar world aligned either with the US or the former Soviet Union, but now it no longer defends security and stability and is used for those members' national interests, she said.

She urged the admission of Palestine as a full UN Member State and called on the UK to negotiate with Argentina, as demanded by UN resolutions, on the future of the UK-ruled Falklands Islands (Malvinas), saying that fishing and offshore oil resources were being illegally appropriated.

Returning to a theme that her country has raised every year since 2003, Ms. Kirchner called on Iran to hand over Iranians implicated by Argentine judicial authorities in the blowing up of the Israeli embassy and a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires in 1992 and 1994 respectively.

She noted that the Iranian foreign ministry in July voiced its intention to "cooperate and begin a constructive dialogue," an offer she said Argentina would take up. But, she added, "although this may show a change of attitude on the part of the (Iranian) Government, it does not by itself constitute satisfaction of our demands which, as I have said with all clarity, are those of justice."

Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo Mendez echoed Ms. Kirchner's calls for financial reforms and urged the UN to establish measures that allow States to implement policies enabling them to reduce inequalities in their own countries, as well between rich and poor countries.

He stressed that inequality is growth-stifling and called on the Assembly to design and construct a new financial model that can adequately respond to cyclical economic crises.

"Solidarity is not only a moral imperative, it is a necessary reality to achieve progress and to avoid and combat the dark consequences if we ignore it: violence and delinquency," Mr. Lugo said, emphasizing that inequality would not be reduced without cooperation from all states

He also voiced opposition to the United States' 50-year economic embargo against Cuba.

ISRAEL HAS YET TO FULLY COMPLY WITH UN RESOLUTION, LEBANESE LEADER TELLS UN DEBATE

ISRAEL HAS YET TO FULLY COMPLY WITH UN RESOLUTION, LEBANESE LEADER TELLS UN DEBATE
New York, Sep 21 2011  7:10PM
The President of Lebanon today called on the international community to put pressure on Israel to carry out the provisions of the United Nations resolution that ended that country's war with Hizbollah five years ago.

"In other words, Israel is to halt its daily violations of Lebanese sovereignty and to immediately withdraw from Lebanese territories that it still occupies," Michel Sleiman said as he <"http://gadebate.un.org/sites/default/files/gastatements/66/LB_en.pdf">addressed the General Assembly's annual general debate.

In addition to ending the month-long war between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hizbollah, Security Council resolution 1701 calls for respect for the so-called Blue Line separating Israel and Lebanon, the disarming of all militias in Lebanon, and an end to arms smuggling in the area.

In July, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Michael Williams, reported that resolution 1701 has largely been respected over the past five years, but there has been little progress towards an envisaged permanent ceasefire.

Mr. Williams and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have stated the need for both Lebanon and Israel to make efforts to resolve some of the issues that have proved thorny since the resolution, including the question of the village of Ghajar. Israel has yet to withdraw from northern Ghajar and the adjacent area north of the Blue Line.

Mr. Sleiman said that Israel must also cease "its persistent threats against Lebanon and its infrastructure and its endeavours to destabilize the country through its spying networks and its recruitment of agents."

Lebanon retains the right to liberate or retrieve its occupied territories through "all legitimate and available means," he added.

The President also reiterated Lebanon's rights over its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone, as well as its right to exploit its natural resources – whether they are on land or deep in the sea.

TALKS THE ONLY WAY TO END ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT, OBAMA TELLS UN

TALKS THE ONLY WAY TO END ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT, OBAMA TELLS UN

Peace between Israel and the Palestinians can only be attained through negotiations, United States President Barack Obama told the General Assembly today, urging both sides to make compromises to break the current deadlock and saying that "statements and resolutions" at the United Nations will not resolve the conflict.

"Ultimately, it is Israelis and Palestinians who must live side by side. Ultimately, it is Israelis and Palestinians – not us – who must reach agreement on the issues that divide them: on borders and security; on refugees and Jerusalem," Mr. Obama said in his <"http://gadebate.un.org/sites/default/files/gastatements/66/US_en.pdf">speech to the General Assembly's annual general debate.

He stressed that Palestinians deserved their own State and that Israel for its part deserved recognition and normal relations with its neighbours.

"Friends of the Palestinians do them no favours by ignoring this truth, just as friends of Israel must recognize the need to pursue a two-State solution with a secure Israel next to an independent Palestine."

The fact that each side had legitimate aspirations was one of the reasons why it has been difficult to make peace, Mr. Obama said.

"The deadlock will only be broken when each side learns to stand in the other's shoes; each side can see the world through the other's eyes. That's what we should be encouraging. That's what we should be promoting."

Turning to nuclear non-proliferation, Mr. Obama said the US will continue to work for a ban on the testing of nuclear weapons and the production of fissile material needed to make them.

He urged Iran to demonstrate that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to abandon its nuclear arms development and what he called its belligerent actions against the Republic of Korea.

"But if they continue down the path that is outside international law, they must be met with greater pressure and isolation," he said.

Mr. Obama hailed the recent progress made towards democracy in North African and the Middle East, including the dramatic political changes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, and the groundswell of demands for greater freedoms in Syria, Yemen and Bahrain.

"Something is happening in our world. The way things have been is not the way that they will be. The humiliating grip of corruption and tyranny is being pried open. Dictators are on notice."

He pledged that the US will stand up for universal rights that have been embraced by the General Assembly, and continue to support States in transition to democracy with greater trade and investment so that freedom is followed by economic opportunities.

UKRAINIAN LEADER, ADDRESSING UN, CALLS FOR SECURITY ASSURANCES FOR NON-NUCLEAR STATES

UKRAINIAN LEADER, ADDRESSING UN, CALLS FOR SECURITY ASSURANCES FOR NON-NUCLEAR STATES

The President of Ukraine today told the General Assembly that the world should move towards gradual and irreversible nuclear disarmament and called for legally binding international security assurances to protect non-nuclear States.

"I urge the leaders of other States to consciously follow the example of Ukraine and its real actions to promote disarmament and non-proliferation," the country's President, Viktor Yanukovych, <"http://gadebate.un.org/sites/default/files/gastatements/66/UA_en.pdf">told the Assembly's annual general debate in New York.

He noted that the awareness of the scale of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster had prompted Ukraine to convene an international conference on the safe and innovative use of nuclear energy to mark the 25th anniversary of the accident in April this year.

Mr. Yanukovych urged States to pay greater attention to climate change and environmental protection, and called for the creation of an effective international mechanism mandated to protect the environment.

Such a mechanism would take the form of an "environmental constitution" to guide States on environmental issues and identify "compulsory principles" of sustainable development.

BAN URGES ISRAEL’S NETANYAHU TO ACT WITH WISDOM AND RESTRAINT ON PALESTINIAN UN BID

BAN URGES ISRAEL'S NETANYAHU TO ACT WITH WISDOM AND RESTRAINT ON PALESTINIAN UN BID

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today to act with responsibility, wisdom and restraint towards the Palestinians' approach to the United Nations, where they have said they will seek full membership.

In a <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/offthecuff.asp?nid=1969">meeting on the sidelines of the General Assembly's 66th annual session, Mr. Ban reiterated his support for a Palestinian State, living side by side in peace with a secure Israel, reaffirming his belief that negotiations were the only path for a sustainable resolution of all final status issues.

He emphasized the need for historic decisions on both sides at this critical moment.

In a meeting last week, the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, told Mr. Ban he intended to submit an application this Friday for Palestine to become a UN Member State.

Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have been stalled since late September 2010 following Israel's refusal to extend a 10-month freeze on settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory.

That decision prompted Mr. Abbas to withdraw from direct talks with Mr. Netanyahu, which had only resumed a few weeks earlier after a two-year hiatus.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

WORLD’S COUNTRIES PLEDGE SUPPORT FOR LIBYAN TRANSITION AT UN SUMMIT

WORLD'S COUNTRIES PLEDGE SUPPORT FOR LIBYAN TRANSITION AT UN SUMMIT
New York, Sep 20 2011  7:10PM
A United Nations summit in support of Libya today backed the transition plans of the country's new authorities and pledged their ongoing support to help the North African country establish the rule of law, uphold key human rights and promote both economic recovery and public security.

More than 50 heads of State or government took part in the meeting, hosted by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at UN Headquarters in New York and organized as the months of conflict between pro-democracy groups and forces supporting the ousted regime of Colonel Muammar al-Qadhafi come to an end.

Officials from the National Transitional Council (NTC) of Libya, which have become the interim authorities, outlined some of their plans to the meeting – held just days after the Security Council authorized the creation of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) for an initial three-month period.

Mustafa Abdel Jalil, President of the NTC, told the gathering that the key short-term challenges include eliminating the last pockets of pro-Qadhafi resistance, meeting the demand for reconstruction, and compensating families who lost loved ones during the months of conflict.

In a statement issued after today's meeting, participants commended the Libyan people for having "fought heroically for the respect of fundamental human rights, rule of law, dignity and freedom of expression."

They also voiced support for the NTC's plans for the transition period and promised to mobilize international support in such areas as elections, constitution-making, human rights, security, gender issues and economic recovery.

The participants urged the NTC to move swiftly to form an inclusive government "that reflects the full diversity of Libyan society and aims to build a new, united, democratic and pluralistic Libya in which human rights, fundamental freedoms and justice will be guaranteed."

The authorities must "fully abide by their commitment to respect international humanitarian and human rights law in the transitional process," including protecting the rights of all minorities, including migrant workers from sub-Saharan Africa.

They also noted that the UN and the Security Council should guide the international community's efforts in supporting the transition, emphasizing that the transition must be a Libyan-led process.

A "Friends of Libya" group – to be co-chaired by the interim Libyan authorities and either Mr. Ban or Ian Martin, the head of UNSMIL – will meet periodically in Tripoli, the capital, to support stabilization and reconstruction efforts.

In his address to the meeting, Mr. Ban welcomed the installation of a new flag for Libya, which now flies outside UN Headquarters along with the standards of all other UN Member States.

"We offer congratulations and best wishes for the future," the Secretary-General <"http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocus/sgspeeches/statments_full.asp?statID=1301">told the representatives of the NTC. "For the past seven months, you have fought courageously for your fundamental rights and freedoms.

"Women and young people were in the vanguard, demanding a say in the political and socio-economic life of their country. As you look to the future, I want you to know that the United Nations will support you in every way we can."

He noted that the challenges for Libya remain huge, and said the first priority has to be establishing peace and security across the country.

"We are encouraged that so many Libyans, from so many communities, have laid down their arms and are working together to build their nation. We urge those that have not done so to join them."

In a separate meeting with Mr. Jalil, Mr. Ban described the extent of participation by Member States in today's meeting "as a testament of the interest of the international community in the success of Libyan efforts to build a democratic and prosperous nation."

Palestinian bid for statehood

Turban bomber kills ex-Afghan president



Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Daily Hadith, 20-09-2011

Daily Hadith, 20-09-2011

Narrated: Rubay bint Muawwidh ibn Afra

The Messenger of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) used to come to us. He once said: Pour ablution water on me. She then described how the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) performed ablution saying: He washed his hands up to wrist three times and washed his face three times, and rinsed his mouth and snuffed up water once. Then he washed his forearms three times and wiped his head twice beginning from the back of his head, then wiped its front. He wiped his ears outside and inside. Then he washed his feet three times.

PAKISTAN: UN AND PARTNERS SEEKING $357 MILLION TO ASSIST WITH FLOOD RESPONSE

PAKISTAN: UN AND PARTNERS SEEKING $357 MILLION TO ASSIST WITH FLOOD RESPONSE
New York, Sep 19 2011 11:10AM
The United Nations and its partners are asking donors to fund a $357 million plan to help the Pakistani Government provide vital assistance to more than five million people affected by massive flooding in the country's south.

The plan, <"http://reliefweb.int/node/447395">launched yesterday in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, aims to provide food, water, sanitation, health care, and emergency shelter to the most-affected families for six months. It is similar to a plan launched last year in the wake of the devastating floods that affected some 20 million people, resulted in some 2,000 deaths and submerged about a fifth of the country.

"One year after the largest floods in recent history, the people of Pakistan are in desperate need again. We cannot let them down," said Valerie Amos, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

"More than five million people are struggling to survive massive flooding across southern Pakistan, and the rains continue to fall," she said. "They have lost their homes, their possessions and their livelihoods. The next few days will be crucial, as the UN and partners help the Government to get food, safe water and shelter to the most vulnerable."

This year's monsoon rains and flooding have affected an estimated 5.4 million people in the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which warns that the humanitarian crisis is growing as the rains continue to fall across the south.

Nearly 1 million homes have been destroyed and 72 per cent of crops have been lost in the worst-affected areas. In Sindh province, 22 out of 23 districts have been flooded, and 16 need particularly urgent assistance.

"The United Nations and its humanitarian partners are working tirelessly to support Government-led efforts to provide food, water, health care and emergency shelter to the families worst hit by the floods," said Timo Pakkala, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Pakistan.

"Despite our efforts, the needs are growing. We urge the international community to fully support the <"http://reliefweb.int/node/447350">rapid response plan in order to save lives," he said.

The UN and its partners, who are supporting the primarily Government-led emergency response effort, have so far distributed more than 20,000 shelter kits and sets of household goods, as well as 530,000 plastic sheets.

In addition, more than 650,000 people have received medicines and medical care, and 500,000 people will receive food aid by the end of September. Agencies are also aiming to provide 400,000 people with access to safe drinking water over the coming days.

YEMEN: BAN CONDEMNS EXCESSIVE FORCE USED AGAINST UNARMED PROTESTERS


YEMEN: BAN CONDEMNS EXCESSIVE FORCE USED AGAINST UNARMED PROTESTERS
New York, Sep 19 2011  4:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today strongly condemned the "excessive use of force" by Yemeni Government security forces against unarmed protesters, resulting in scores of people killed and many more injured in the past few days.

In a <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=5523">statement issued by his spokesperson, he called on the country's authorities to protect civilians and uphold their obligations under international law in the escalating unrest between security forces and protesters seeking to oust President Ali Abdullah Saleh, part of a wider wave in the Middle East and North Africa that has toppled the long-time rulers of Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.

Mr. Ban urged all political players to engage closely with United Nations Special Adviser Jamal Benomar who is currently in Sana'a, the Yemeni capital, working closely with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and other international partners to facilitate a peaceful solution to the political impasse.

UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kyung-wha Kang also said today that the Yemeni Government could not use its contention that it was fighting terrorists and supporters of the Al-Qaida movement as a pretext to attack peaceful demonstrators.

Delivering a report by an assessment team from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, she said the mission had identified serious violations including arbitrary arrest, cases of torture and withholding of medical treatment as reprisals for taking part in the protests.

The team, which visited Yemen from 28 July to 6 July, called for an independent probe into alleged human rights abuses committed since the start of protests earlier this year. Since its visit, the violence has resumed with a new ferocity, with 50 killed and scores more injured in the past two days, according to media reports.

Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bekr Abdullah Al-Qirbi said his Government welcomed regional and international efforts to find a political solution on the basis of the constitution and democracy to strengthen the principle of peaceful transfer of power and prevent Yemen from descending into a cycle of violence and conflict.

Mr. Saleh was keen to safely implement the GCC initiative to transfer power and maintain the unity, security and safety of Yemen, he added, noting that the Government had given the OHCHR team evidence of abuses by anti-Government militias against citizens, security and military personnel, while accusations against the security organizations lacked a basis.

An independent and neutral national commission formed by all parties to investigate evidence-documented rights violations could be established, he said.

Monday, September 19, 2011

هدي النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم - الدرس

السيرة - هدي النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم - الدرس ( 39 - 48 ) : هديه في طلب العلم.
لفضيلة الدكتور محمد راتب النابلسي بتاريخ: 1998-06-21

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بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
 الحمد لله رب العالمين، و الصلاة والسلام على سيدنا محمد الصادق الوعد الأمين.
الربط بين الجنة و بين العلم :
 أيها الأخوة الكرام: في حياة بعض الناس معالم, بمعنى أنه قد يلتقي إنسان بإنسان, فيكون هذا اللقاء سبباً لغنى عريض, التقى مع إنسان, اتفقوا على إقامة شركة, الشركة ربحت أرباحاً طائلة؛ فهذا الغنى العريض, وهذه البحبوحة الكبيرة, سببها هذا اللقاء مع هذا الإنسان.
 أحياناً يسلك الإنسان في الدراسة فرعاً معيناً في الجامعة, قد لا ينتبه لخطورته, فإذا هو من أفضل الفروع, يدرُّ عليه أرباحاً طائلة, اختصاص نادر مثلاً, وأحياناً يختار نوعاً من البضاعة, قد لا ينتبه لقيمتها, فإذا هي سبب حياة و بحبوحة كبيرة جداً.
 على كلٍّ هذه العلاقات, أو هذه الصدف؛ بين لقائك مع إنسان, أو بين اختيارك لفرع معين, والنهاية سعيدة, في مقياس الناس هذه قد تكون صدفة , إلا أن النبي عليه الصلاة والسلام يبين أنك إذا سلكت طريقاً تلتمس فيه علماً, أي توجهت إلى مسجد, ليس لك هدف دنيوي إطلاقاً إلا أن تطلب العلم, إلا أن تتعلم كتاب الله, أو سنة رسول الله, أو أن تتعلم أحكام الفقه, أو سيرة رسول الله, ما دام هذا السلوك, سلوك هذا الطريق الذي ينتهي بك إلى مسجد تطلب فيه علماً، يقول عليه الصلاة والسلام: هذا الطريق نفسه طريق إلى الجنة.
 فالنبي ربط بين الجنة التي خلق الإنسان من أجلها، خُلق الإنسان لجنة عرضها السموات والأرض,
﴿إلا من رحم ربك وكذلك خلقهم﴾
 وبين العلم.
 إذاً: لا يوجد طريق للجنة إلا ويبدأ بالعلم, وأي طريق آخر لا يبدأ بالعلم هو طريق مسدود, غير سالك إلى الجنة.
من أراد الدنيا و الآخرة فعليه بالعلم :
 يقول عليه الصلاة والسلام:
((من سلك طريقاً))
[مسلم عن أبي هريرة]
 كلمة من تعني اسم شرط جازم, من: لها فعل, ولها جواب أو جزاء, والترتيب الشرطي في حقيقته حدّ ثان, لا يقع الثاني إلا إذا وقع الأول, حدثان مترابطان لا يقع الثاني وهو سلوك طريق الجنة إلا إذا وقع الأول وهو سلوك طريق العلم, فلذلك: "إذا أردت الدنيا فعليك بالعلم, وإذا أردت الآخرة فعليك بالعلم, وإذا أردتهما معاً فعليك بالعلم، والعلم -كما قال الإمام الغزالي- لا يعطيك بعضه, إلا إذا أعطيته كلك".
 الإنسان له نشاطات في اليوم, ينطلق إلى عمل, يكسب رزقاً, كي ينفق على أهله, ونفسه, وعياله, فكل شخص له مهنة, حرفة, وظيفة, تجارة, صيدلة, طوابق, هندسة, تعليم, هذه حرفة, وهي أحد أهم نشاطات الإنسان, لأنه من خلالها يكسب رزقه, ومن خلالها ينفق على أهله, وعلى نفسه, وعلى أولاده.
 إذاً: ممارسة حرفة لكسب الرزق نشاط أساسي, الإنسان ينام, النوم أحد نشاطات الإنسان, إنه إن لم ينم يهلك, لا بد من أن يسترد نشاطه بالنوم, فالنوم أيضاً سلوك ثابت بالإنسان, عنده خمس ساعات نوم, عنده وقت يمضيه مع أهله, الإنسان عنده دافع اجتماعي, يقعد مع أهله, مع أولاده, مع أصدقائه, جزء من نشاطاته اللقاء اجتماعي, علاقة اجتماعية؛ سهرة, ندوة, نزهة, إلى آخره.
 أحياناً يعالج نفسه عند طبيب, نشاط أساسي, فهذه النشاطات؛ نشاط معالجة, نشاط علم, نشاط كسب رزق, أخطر نشاط تمارسه يتعلق بسر وجودك, وغاية وجودك, نشاط العلم.
 أي كيف ينام الإنسان حتى يستعيد نشاطه؟ كيف يأكل؟ هناك شخص لا يأكل؟ يوجد عندك ثلاث وجبات في اليوم, الناس جميعاً يأكلون, وينامون, ويعيشون حياة اجتماعية, والناس جميعاً يمارسون حرفة معينة, من أجل كسب قوتهم, أعلى نشاط وأخطر نشاط يتعلق بسر وجودك وبغاية وجودك وبسلامتك وبسعادتك هو نشاط العلم, طلب العلم, وأنت بطلب العلم تغدو إنساناً, وبأي نشاط آخر تبقى بمستوى غير إنساني, أي حيران؛ يأكل, ويشرب, وينام, ويتزوج, وينجب, ويكسب, أما الإنسان يطلب العلم فلأنه إنسان.
 هذا الحديث من أخطر الأحاديث:
((من سلك طريقاً))
[مسلم عن أبي هريرة]
على الإنسان أن يتزود بالعلم بشكل دوري :
 يجب أن يكون لك منهل علمي, يجب أن يكون لك مرجع علمي, يجب أن تتزود بالعلم بشكل دوري.
((من سلك طريقاً يلتمس فيه علماً))
[مسلم عن أبي هريرة]
 علماً جاءت نكرة, قد يكون علماً في القرآن, أو علماً في الحديث, أو علماً في السيرة, أو علماً في العقيدة.
((من سلك طريقاً يلتمس فيه علماً))
 هذا الطريق إلى المسجد, أو هذا الطريق إلى المعهد, أو هذا الطريق لمدارسة القرآن, أو هذا الطريق لحفظ كتاب الله, هذا الطريق الذي تسلكه.
 كل شخص منا يرتدي ثيابه, يجمل مظهره, يركب مركبة, وهي مركبته الخاصة أو العامة, وينتظر ساعة, أحياناً في الطريق إذا كان محله بعيداً, قادم من محل بعيد, عنده ساعة في الطريق, هذا السلوك ركوب هذه المركبة, سلوك هذا الطريق, هذا الطريق نفسه إلى الجنة.
النتائج البرَّاقة لمن يجلس في بيت من بيوت الله يقرأ القرآن و يتدارسه :
(( من سلك طريقا يلتمس فيه العلم سهل الله له إلى الجنة طريقاً، و ما اجتمع قوم في بيت من بيوت الله يتعاطون كتاب الله و يتدارسونه بينهم إلا نزلت عليهم السكينة و حفتهم الملائكة, و غشيتهم الرحمة، و ذكرهم الله فيمن عنده))
 أربع نتائج برَّاقة لمن يجلس في بيت من بيوت الله, يقرأ القرآن, أو يتدارس تفسيره, فأي لقاء في أي بيت من بيوت الله بقصد فهم كتاب الله؛ تلاوته, قراءته, فهمه, معرفة أحكامه, فهذا نشاط يعد من أرقى النشاطات.
 الآن: (إلا حفتهم الملائكة): الإنسان بين وسوسة شيطان وبين إلهام ملك, فالمنقطع عن الله خاضع لوسوسة الشيطان, والشيطان يغريه بالدنيا, يغريه بالمعصية, يغريه بأكل حقوق الآخرين, يغريه بالانغماس في المعاصي والآثام, والملك يغريه بطاعة الله, يغريه بالعمل الصالح, يغريه بإنفاق المال.
 فأول صفة من صفات طلاب العلم بالمساجد أن الملائكة تحفهم, كان الشيطان يوسوس لهم, صار الملك يلهمهم, أي أنت معك إلهامات ملائكية, أنت عندك إرشاد من الملائكة؛ يا عبد الله افعل, يا عبد الله أنفق, يا عبد الله اطلب العلم.
 (إلا حفتهم الملائكة, ونزلت عليهم السكينة): السكينة, الراحة النفسية, النفس تسكن لها, ضمن النفس مشاعر, مشاعر القلق, مشاعر الخوف, مشاعر الغضب, مشاعر السخط, هذه المشاعر أكثرها مشق, وبعضها مسعد, مشاعر الأمن, مشاعر السكينة, مشاعر الرضا عن الله عز وجل.
 فمن لوازم حضور مجالس العلم أن مشاعر الإنسان تسمو؛ كان في قلق, صار في سكينة, كان في اضطراب, صار في هدوء, كان في حيرة, صار في استقرار, كان في سخط, صار في رضا.
 (ونزلت عليهم السكينة, وغشيتهم الرحمة): السكينة؛ هدوء و استقرار, الرحمة شيء مسعد يُلقى في قلب الإنسان.
 (وذكرهم الله فيمن عنده): الله عز وجل يرفع قدر هذا الإنسان, الإنسان بفطرته عنده ميل إلى الطعام, والشراب, و عنده ميل إلى الطرف الآخر, و عنده ميل إلى بقاء الذكر, العلو, هذا سموه تأكيد الذات, كل إنسان بعدما يأكل, وبعدما يقضي وطره من الطرف الآخر, وبعدما يشبع, وبعدما يتزوج عنده هدف ثالث, يكون ذا أهمية في المجتمع, يكون علماً, يكون لامعاً, يكون مشهوراً, يكون له قيمته, يكون له وزنه, هذه المشاعر يسمونها شعور تأكيد الذات, أو الشعور بالأهمية, هذه محققة بالمؤمن, لكن من طريق مشروع.
من سلك طريق العلم رفع الله له قدره :
 (ذكرهم الله فيمن عنده): الإنسان عندما يسلك طريق العلم يرفع الله له قدره, والدليل:
﴿وَرَفَعْنَا لَكَ ذِكْرَكَ﴾
[سورة الشرح الآية:4]
 فالمؤمن له مكانة ناتجة من غير نسبه, وغير حرفته, وغير دخله المالي, له مكانة دينية.
 سمعتم عن أحد الدعاة, توفي قبل أسبوع قامت القيامة لوفاته.
 شيخ الأزهر السابق توفي رحمه الله, كان رجلاً صالحاً, كان تحت يده مئات الملايين, كان يسكن في بيت مساحته مئة متر, في الطابق الرابع, معه التهاب مفاصل, طاولته فرماكية, كتبه بالكراتين, مشي في جنازته ستة ملايين, أي مكان بمصر إذا قدموا له أرضاً يُنشىء فيه معهداً شرعياً, كل هذه الأموال الطائلة و مات فقيراً, لا يوجد عنده شي, وكان بالإمكان أن يكون أغنى الأغنياء بألف طريق, فمشي بجنازته ستة ملايين, هذا العلم.
((إن الله يرفع بهذا الكتاب أقواماً))
[مسلم عن عمر بن الخطاب]
 يرفع بهذا العلم أقواماً، هذا الرجل الذي توفي قبل أسبوع تقريباً جاء إلى الخليج, استقبله أمير البلاد, استقبله على غير النظام البروتوكولي, مرة مرض, وضع تحت تصرفه أربع طائرات ملكية ليُعالج من خلالها, فما الذي رفعه؟ كتاب الله, تفسير هذا القرآن رفعه, أمضى حياته مديدة في تعليم العلم, في شرح القرآن, في تفسيره.
 فالموت شيء رائع جداً, أمة بأكملها تتأثر لموت هذا الإنسان, فلذلك: العلم يرفع أقواماً:
﴿وَرَفَعْنَا لَكَ ذِكْرَكَ﴾
[سورة الشرح الآية:4]
العبرة أن يغادر الإنسان الدنيا ومعه زاد كبير :
((إن الله يرفع بهذا الكتاب أقواماً، ويضع به آخرين))
[مسلم عن عمر بن الخطاب]
 مرة الذي توفي, ذهب لإجراء عملية بلندن, انصبت عليه مكالمات هاتفية, وانصبت رسائل بعدد فلكي, فسألوه بإذاعة لندن: ما سر هذه المكانة التي حباك الله إياها؟ قال: لأنني محسوب على الله, كلام رائع, أي أنا لست محسوباً على جهة أرضية, أنا محسوب, وقد لا أكون أهلاً, لكن لأنني محسوب على الله, الآن: فلان محسوب على فلان, فلان على الفئة الفلانية, كل الناس يعتزون بانتماء أرضي.
 قال: لأنني محسوب على الله.
 فهذا العلم شيء لا يصدق, معي تفاصيل عن سيرة العلماء السابقين.
 يقول الظاهر بيبرس: "والله ما استقر ملكي حتى مات العز بن عبد السلام".
 أي له مكانة تفوق أي مكانة في المجتمع, بسبب زهده في الدنيا, واستغنائه عن دنيا الناس, وبسبب أعماله الصالحة, هذا طريق العلم.
 عندنا أحد علماء الشام, عندما توفي- كان شيخ القراء- مشي بجنازته مليون إنسان، إذا أردت أن تعرف مهنته, كان يعمل في صنع الدولات, أما القرآن فرفع شأنه.
 الآن: علماء كبار, قد يكون أصله قصاباً, لكن هو الآن يعد أول قارئ في الشام مثلاً؛ فهناك علماء, و قراء, و مفسرون, و محدثون, فهذا العلم يرفع الإنسان, فأنت تحقق بالعلم كل أهدافك, حتى الأهداف المعنوية, الإنسان يحب العلو في الأرض, هكذا فطرته, أنت متواضع لله, لكن الله يرفع شأنك, يرفع لك ذكرك.
 إنسان قد يسكن في بيت فخم, و قد يركب أجمل مركبة, و قد يتمتع بكل مباهج الدنيا, عندما يموت يترك كل شيء, أما من ترك علماً ينفع الناس من بعده, هذا ذهب إلى الآخرة, ومعه زاد كبير, والعبرة أن تغادر الدنيا ومعك زاد كبير.
العاقل من يبحث عن الأعمال التي تذهب معه إلى الآخرة :
 دائماً ابحث عن ما الذي يدخل معك في قبرك؟ هنا بيت فخم بقي بالدنيا غادرته, زوجة رائعة غادرتها, مكانة اجتماعية غادرتها, أما الدعوة إلى الله فتذهب معك إلى الآخرة, تعلم العلم ذهب معك إلى الآخرة, أعمال صالحة ذهبت معك إلى الآخرة, هنا بطولة الإنسان, يعمل عملاً يذهب معه إلى الآخرة, أما كل مكتسبات الإنسان فتبقى في الدنيا, يغادرها وحده.
 والله مرة دخلنا إلى تعزية في أحد أحياء دمشق الراقية, يقدر بيت المتوفى بمئة وخمسين مليون ليرة، صاحبه بمقبرة الباب الصغير, بعدما دفن, ما هذا الصالون؟ ما هذه الزخرفة؟ ما هذا الجبصين؟ ما هذه الثريات؟ ما هذا السجاد؟ بيت مساحته أربعمئة متر, مطل على حديقة, أثاثه قريب من نصف ثمن البيت, وصاحبه بالقبر.
 هذه الدنيا, هناك خطأ كبير استراتيجي, عندما تضع كل مكتسباتك بالدنيا, هذا مثل مشهور: "لا تضع كل البيض في سلة واحدة".
 فأهل الدنيا وضعوا كل البيض في سلة واحدة, فجأة غادروا الدنيا, غادروها صفر اليدين.
 أنا أحب أن ألقي ضوءاً: الذي طلب العلم, وعلّم العلم, ومات, إنسان يشتهي الموت, أحياناً يشتهي الموت بهذا الشكل, ترك أثراً كبيراً, ترك شعوراً بالوفاء شديداً, هذه الدنيا, وهناك أناس يموتون, فيرتاح الناس منهم, هذا مستريح ومستراح منه.
 الآن أحياناً تجد شخصاً يقرأ القرآن, مات, له تسجيلات بعد سنة, سنتين, ثلاثة, خمس سنوات, عشر سنوات, وهناك مغن يموت, المغني مات, والقارئ مات, لكن القارئ ينتفع الناس بقراءته إلى يوم القيامة, ويرقى بها, والذي غنى يزداد ندماً بعد موته إلى يوم القيامة, والحياة واضحة جداً.
 هذا الحديث من أصول الأحاديث أيها الأخوة:
(( من سلك طريقا يلتمس فيه العلم سهل الله له إلى الجنة طريقاً، و ما اجتمع قوم في بيت من بيوت الله يتعاطون كتاب الله و يتدارسونه بينهم إلا نزلت عليهم السكينة –اطمئناناً- و حفتهم الملائكة – إلهاماً-, و غشيتهم الرحمة–عطاء-, و ذكرهم الله فيمن عنده – رفع الله ذكرهم وشأنهم–, و من أبطأ به عمله لم يسرع به نسبه ))
[رواه مسلم في الصحيح عن أبي هريرة]


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Sunday, September 18, 2011

Daily Hadith, 18-09-2011

Daily Hadith, 18-09-2011

Narrated: 
Yahya said that Malik said, concerning two associates, "If they share one herdsman, one male animal, one pasture and one watering place then the two men are associates, as long as each one of them knows his own property from that of his companion If someone cannot tell his property apart from that of his fellow, he is not an associate, but rather, a co-owner " Malik said, "It is not obligatory for both associates to pay zakat unless both of them have a zakatable amount (of livestock). If, for instance, one of the associates has forty or more sheep and goats and the other has less than forty sheep and goats, then the one who has forty has to pay zakat and the one who has less does not. If both of them have a zakatable amount (of livestock) then both of them are assessed together (i.e the flock is assessed as one) and both of them have to pay zakat. If one of them has a thousand sheep, or less, that he has to pay zakat on, and the other has forty, or more, then they are associates, and each one pays his contribution according to the number of animals he has - so much from the one with a thousand, and so much from the one with forty. Malik said, "Two associates in camels are the same as two associates in sheep and goats, and, for the purposes of zakat, are assessed together if each one of them has a zakatable amount (of camels). That is because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'There is no zakat on less than five head of camels,' and Umar ibn al-Khattab said, 'On grazing sheep and goats, if they come to forty or more - one ewe.' " Yahya said that Malik said, "This is what I like most out of what I have heard about the matter." Malik said that when Umar ibn al-Khattab said, "Those separated should not be gathered together nor should those gathered together be separated in order to avoid paying zakat," what he meant was the owners of livestock. Malik said, "What he meant when he said, 'Those separated should not be gathered together' is, for instance, that there is a group of three men, each of whom has forty sheep and goats, and each of whom thus has to pay zakat. Then, when the zakat collector is on his way ,they gather their flocks together so that they only owe one ewe between them. This they are forbidden to do.


 What he meant when he said, 'nor should those gathered together be separated,' is, for instance, that there are two associates, each one of whom has a hundred and one sheep and goats, and each of whom must therefore pay three ewes. Then, when the zakat collector is on his way, they split up their flocks so that they only have to pay one ewe each. This they are forbidden to do. And so it is said, 'Those separated should not be gathered together nor should those gathered together be separated in order to avoid paying zakat.' " Malik said, "This is what I have heard about the matter."

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Daily Hadith

Daily Hadith, 17-09-2011

Narrated: Aisha
(the wife of the Prophet) On the day when the sun Khasafat (eclipsed) Allah's Apostle prayed; he stood up and said Takbir and recited a prolonged recitation, then he performed a prolonged bowing, then he raised his head and said, "Sami'a-l-lahu Lyman Hamidah," and then remained standing and recited a prolonged recitation which was shorter than the first. Then he performed a prolonged bowing which was shorter than the first. Then he prostrated and prolonged the prostration and he did the same in the second Raka as in the first and then finished the prayer with Taslim. By that time the sun (eclipse) had cleared He addressed the people and said, "The sun and the moon are two of the signs of Allah; they do not eclipse (Yakhsifan) because of the death or the life (i.e. birth) of someone. So when you see them make haste for the prayer.

Daily Hadith Narrated: Abu Huraira

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
Peace and blessings be upon the Beloved Prophet Muhammad,
As-salamu-alaikum your daily hadith from ahadith.co.uk

Daily Hadith,

Narrated: Abu Huraira
Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) said, "Any person who takes a bath on Friday like the bath of Janaba and then goes for the prayer (in the first hour i.e. early), it is as if he had sacrificed a camel (in Allah's cause); and whoever goes in the second hour it is as if he had sacrificed a cow; and whoever goes in the third hour, then it is as if he had sacrificed a horned ram; and if one goes in the fourth hour, then it is as if he had sacrificed a hen; and whoever goes in the fifth hour then it is as if he had offered an egg. When the Imam comes out (i.e. starts delivering the Khutba), the angels present themselves to listen to the Khutba."

Friday, September 16, 2011

Islam in Deutschland



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[English Trans!]-Khatmul Quran Duaa-Sheikh Sudais (2008)



SAMOTALIS: Immigrants have children for benefits, says Asian peer Baroness Flather said Pakistani and Bangladeshi families had large families to get a bigger house Continue reading the main story Related Stories PM: Learn English or risk benefit Welfare plans p

SAMOTALIS: Immigrants have children for benefits, says Asian peer Baroness Flather said Pakistani and Bangladeshi families had large families to get a bigger house Continue reading the main story Related Stories PM: Learn English or risk benefit Welfare plans p: "The UK's first female Asian peer has used a debate in the Lords to criticise Pakistani and Bangladeshi families for having too many children.
Baroness Flather suggested people in some minority communities had a large number of children in order to be able to claim more benefits."

Netherlands: Doctors' union wants debate on boys' circumcision

 
 

Netherlands: Doctors' union wants debate on boys' circumcision


Netherlands: Doctors' union wants debate on boys' circumcision

Via RNW:
The circumcision of girls is already banned in the Netherlands, but the circumcision of boys should now be the subject of public debate, says the KNMG federation of doctors.

The KNMG is calling on human rights groups and the children's ombudsman to make explicit statements on the issue.

Muslim and Jewish organisations are not pleased with the move. "Circumcision is a precept of our faith, which we want to continue observing," Driss El Boujoufi from the umbrella organisation, the union of Moroccan mosques, explains to Trouw newspaper.

The Jewish point of view also couldn't be clearer. "No appreciable change can be made to the practice of circumcision," says Rabbi Raphael Evers of the NIK Orthodox Jewish umbrella organisation.

(source)
See also: Netherlands: Doctors would like to ban circumcision