The prime minister of Turkey returned home yesterday from the world economic forum to a hero’s welcome.  His “marvelous” feat was the act of walking out of the summit after a heated exchange with Shimon Peres regarding the Israeli aggression against Gaza.

Erdogan has also made some fiery statements regarding Gaza and is slowly being viewed as one of the harshest opponents of Israels’ aggression. Erdogan, speaking at a municipal election campaign rally in Anatolia, said Israel was

“perpetrating inhuman actions which would bring it to self-destruction. Allah will sooner or later punish those who transgress the rights of innocents.”

If you look past these statements and his “walkout” at the summit, it’s very clear that Turkey is Israel’s greatest ally in the region.

• Turkey has a long history of close ties with Israel. It was the first Muslim country to recognize it in 1949.
• In 2006 the Israeli foreign ministry characterised its relationship with Turkey as “perfect”.
• Turkey is Israel’s 8th largest trading partner and their annual trade is worth around 4 billion dollars.
• Turkey and Israel have a military alliance. Their militaries have conducted joint exercises particularly their navies. Israeli pilots even trained in Turkish air space, flying training sorties from a Turkish base near Ankara. Israel has supplied unmanned air vehicles to monitor Kurdish rebel activities in Turkey’s southeast.
• The Erdogan government appointed General Buyukanit’s as Chief of Staff of the armed forces, he is known to be pro-Israeli and one of his jobs has been to weed out anti-Israeli sentiment among Turkey’s senior military brass.
• In 2006 the Jerusalem Post reported that Israel and Turkey were negotiating the construction of a multi-million-dollar energy and water project that will transport water, electricity, natural gas and oil by pipelines to Israel.

So we shouldn’t be duped by these empty symbolic acts, Turkey and Israel might be having a lovers tiff, but that’s all it is.

One last point to mention is that if the Turkish people can give Erdogan a hero’s welcome for walking out in protest, imagine the welcome he’d get if he used his resources as a deterrent to end the conflict once and for all. It just takes one brave man and the whole Ummah will be behind him, inshAllah.

When Foreign Secretary David Miliband had visited India, little did he know his views on the Mumbai attacks would cause a media furore. His comments on the issue of Kashmir sparked a scathing attack on the foreign secretary from the Indian media as well as the India’s foreign ministry reacting strongly, saying India did not need unsolicited advice on internal issues.
 
In his article in the Guardian, Miliband said resolving the Kashmir dispute would help deny extremists in the region one of their main calls to arms and allow Pakistani authorities to focus more effectively on tackling the threat on their western borders.

The Pioneer accused Miliband of “domestic grandstanding and ideological posturing that only left his Indian hosts convinced of Whitehall’s marginal status in international politics”. A number of Indian newspapers at the weekend quoted officials as criticising Miliband’s “aggressive” attitude in meetings.
 
Having gained independence from Britain for nearly 64 years, it is quite arrogant of Britain to maintain a colonial mindset and interfere and direct India’s foreign policy. But it is not surprising, as many of the developing countries (former colonies of Britain) and indeed the Muslim World look up to Britain and its system. However since India has become the new powerhouse for the economy in the World, it feels competent enough to direct its own progress and enlightenment.
 
The reason for the outburst by the Indian Foreign Ministry is understandable, as you would never hear a Minster from Britain address or instruct solutions to the Senate at United States Capitol for its domestic problems or The Palais du Luxembourg where the French Senate meets. It is most condescending when one country’s leader tells another country’s leader how to run things in his own country.
 
Yet, when it comes to the Muslim World, its open season in advising – if not dictating – the foreign policy of a country. The most recent example is Egypt and its impotency in dealing with Israeli aggression against the Palestinians. There are countless examples where Ministers from the West go and visit the Muslim World and all that they are told is what and when do to things.
 
This state of affairs shall remain until a change is adopted. A change of sincere leadership, an independent system modeled on Islam as oppose to the Western form of governance and a political vision that will make the Muslim World a global leader in its affairs.

Al hamdulillah I’ve heard many productive ways of helping the Palestinians in Gaza, like asking the Arab armies to move, making dua, sending charity and boycotting Israeli goods. However, looking for solutions from your local MP and the UN is the height of political naivety.

We have to remember that it was Britain that helped to create Israel in the first place and has been supporting it and helping to arm it for the last 60 years.

In 2007 when David Cameron was discussing the proposed British boycott of Israeli academic institutions he went as far as saying that he believed there was something “in the DNA” of Conservatives that was “profoundly impressed” by what Israel has achieved, and he also declared himself a Zionist.

What sort of record does Britain have in “resolving” crises in the Muslim world? Iraq and Afghanistan are just two examples. Over a million people dead and millions displaced. Surely it would be better for us to lobby our MP’s NOT to get involved and to leave us to sort out our own affairs?

As far as the UN is concerned, a resolution that disadvantages Israel would likely not be passed as the USA would veto it. The UN has been turned into the mouth piece of the Security Council and nothing will be passed that counters their interests. To add insult to injury Israel has already bombed UN buildings in Gaza. Even if a resolution was passed would it make any difference? Israel has broken 66 UN resolutions in its history – more than Iran and North Korea combined – and has also regularly flouted international law.

Israel doesn’t even follow its own laws issued by its own courts. Regarding the building of settlements on Palestinian land, Peace Now said “[The data] indicates the direct violation of Israeli law carried out by the State itself, driven by the architects and leaders of the settlement movement.”

Even if we were to receive verbal condemnation by the British government and by the UN this is simply not enough. This is a time that requires immediate defense of the Palestinians and this can only be done by the Arab armies. So instead of utilising all our energy in lobbying our MP’s, let’s try to ratchet up enough pressure on our rulers to send the armies, and if the rulers are not willing then they should step aside and let someone else lead us instead. Hamdulillah we have already seen the fruits of this work, as high ranking Egyptian army officers have been arrested because of their despair at Mubareks reluctance to defend the Palestinians.

The Prophet (saw) said

“The master of martyrs is Hamza and the one who accounts the tyrant ruler and is killed doing so”

May Allah give our brothers the victory in defending their land and move the Arab armies to help them. Ameen.

When you had become president of the USA, little did you know that the world would turn into affray.
Your time as commander in chief was nothing more than being a petty thief.

Looting and polluting the world was the game, while your people in Katrina brought you shame,
With the lowest voter approval in history, your father must be thinking that’s no mystery!

As a youngster you had multiple accounts of alcohol abuse,
its no wonder in your speeches you seem to have a few screws loose.

Having been the only president to emerge from a room alone with a bruise across the cheek,
Dee Dee Myers was wondering how you managed to convince it was just a pretzel to your clique.

 Your intelligence is comparable to the intelligence on Iraq, false, limited and full of conjectures.
Every time you fly into a foreign state, we don’t want to listen to anymore of your lectures.

Eight years in power did you learn nothing but greed, rejecting Kyoto, rejecting UN approval, rejecting the interests of the people apart from your own.

Heralded to the world that Iraq would greet you with cheers and flowers,
but all that we witnessed was you being hurled two shoes and abuses.

You said “I will leave the presidency with my head held high”,
but a small time Iraqi journalist nearly hit the bulls –eye.

The world approved of this historic gesture and let that be your farewell departure.

Before you jump to the pictures, please read this:

I want to apologise for the earlier post I wrote about preparing for Hajj. I haven’t deleted or edited the post, mainly as a reminder to myself, but the tone of the post was totally wrong. Worrying about the state of the toilets or getting conned is not what Hajj is about. Honestly such issues are so insignificant. I can only feel a deep shame for even making it a part of my thoughts. True, there are many hardships and tests when you embark for Hajj, but all faithful servants of Allah, Most Merciful, will only rejoice in praise and thanks at accepting the most privileged of invitations. You are coming as a guest of Allah, Most High, so what type of guest are you if you are one that complains?

Medina

The way the tour operator I used organised the trip was to go directly by flight to Medina. Spend 5 days there, then head to Makkah 5 days before the actual Hajj began.

Visiting Medina, isn’t a part of Hajj, but it is a great sunnah to visit Medina after completing Hajj.

Click on each picture to see the description and full size (10.1mp ~4mb)

Masjid an-Nabawi

Masjid an-Nabawi

The original part of Masjid an-Nabawi

Uhud

Jabal al-Rumah

Makkah

I have no pictures from inside the Masjid. After I completed my ‘Umrah (I was doing Hajj Tammattu’), I thought if I should take some pictures. I was a little unsure though. I could see many visitors inside with their cameraphones, but I didn’t want to spoil my intentions in thinking that I was a tourist, so I made a du’a to Allah to send a sign. As soon as I had finished the du’a, my camera just overheated and went dead. That was sign enough!

Masjid al-Haram

New levels for sa'ee

Masjid al-Haram

Al Umrah gate - Safa/Marwah

Mina

Muzdalifah

Big Shaytan - Jamaraat

Who are you?
It is not a conventional question that one asks in day to day affairs. However, it is food for thought for those who ponder which culture or group of people to fit into, or even governments that need to incorporate the immigrant population into their social strata. Nevertheless, it is a very important question that everyone asks themselves knowingly or unknowingly, which essentially gives basis to their likes and dislikes, personality and a sense of belonging to a community.

So, the answer to the question above can be answered in a variety of ways ranging from a name or a nationality to a certain political belief. All of these are correct if answered in a certain context, but to inform the other person sitting in front of you (and also for yourself to a certain degree) your answer should encompass an identity that will offer a comprehensive outlook of what you represent and strive to preserve. Why is that relevant? To put it simply, because it will help in guiding you through those ethical dilemmas, or during a period of life when you are located in a strange environment. It will help give you a sense of direction and purpose while you are entrapped in a “hand to mouth” lifestyle.

When there are individuals in a society who are unable to attain an identity, this not only becomes a problem for the individual but for all of society at large as well as those responsible for the smooth running of society, the government. There will be phases any individual may undergo in an attempt to define himself and ultimately be content, but unfortunately there are many identities the media, friends, work colleagues, celebrities, politicians and parents impose on the person. As a consequence these multitudes of identities will lead to actions which lead to actions riddled with contradictions and ultimately result in misery and depression. The multiple identities become the yard stick by which you will measure progress, and because you have different identities (i.e. criteria) you will inevitable fail in one of them.

Giving a vignette to the above blurb will help spell out what I am trying to explain.

Imagine a person X that comes to the UK when he is a young teenager. His background is that he is born to a conservative family, is familiar sub-continent culture and has come from a rather closed environment. Imagine the disruption caused by the society he has entered upon varying from open kissing on the streets to the individualistic sentiments expressed by everyone in one form or another. Eventually he will encounter criticisms from peers, whether it is from college students to work colleagues or even MPs, about certain values or actions that he performs from day to day.

The person starts to evolve his already existing identity to a more palatable one for the society he lives in. This can vary from hanging in the secular–liberal crowd (which his parents might dislike) to a drug taking-gangster crowd where the law might have problems. Now who appears to be affecting the impressionable youths of society? This individual will feel the contradictions in his action and emotions, he will have to tear away from his old self and re-invent himself so he can be accepted in the host community. Every human wants to belong to something, and this provides him the justification to abandon all of his roots which gave birth to his values, personality and loyalty to a community.

This basically boils down to what are the core fundamental beliefs the individual carries about life. As this will define who he is, why and what is to come, establishing answers to these questions with conviction will lead to a  comprehensive identity. A person who has no purpose, no knowledge of why he exists or what he stands for will eventually be lost  with no fixed identity and shall be throughout his/her life chasing someone else’s identity with no real hope of finding happiness in the long run.

As Muslims, it is clear where the source of our identity originates from and that is the Qur’an. Thus if someone insults out beloved prophet (saw), that means they have insulted our identity. If someone belittles or ridicules Allah’s(swt) Laws, that translates into mocking our identity. If a nation attacks another nation populated with Muslims, it is seen as an act of war on our identity. If a nation is suppressing another nation by propping up a dictator on its population, that means it suppresses our identity.

So for those people who do not understand Muslim sentiments on the above scenarios, ask yourself the question if someone insulted your identity in society how would you feel?