English

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ يَا ابْنَ رَسُولِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ يَا ابْنَ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينالسَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ يَا ابْنَ فَاطِمَةَ الزَّهْرَاءالسَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ يَا حَبِيبَ اللَّهِ السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ يَا صِفْوَةَ اللَّه السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ يَا أَمِينَ اللَّهِ السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ يَا حُجَّةَ اللَّهالسَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ يَا نُورَ اللَّهِ السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ يَا صِرَاطَ اللَّهِ السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ يَا بَيَانَ حُكْمِ اللَّه السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ يَا نَاصِرَ دِينِ اللَّه السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا السَّيِّدُ الزَّكِيُّ السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا الْبَرُّ الْوَفِي السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا الْقَائِمُ الْأَمِينُ السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا الْعَالِمُ بِالتَّأْوِيل السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا الْهَادِي الْمَهْدِي السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا الطَّاهِرُ الزَّكِي السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا التَّقِيُّ النَّقِيُّ السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا الْحَقُّ الْحَقِيق السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا الشَّهِيدُ الصِّدِّيقُ السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ يَا أَبَا مُحَمَّدٍ الْحَسَنَ بْنَ عَلِيٍّ وَ رَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَ بَرَكَاتُه

SHAFAQNA – With a hijab on her head, Puerto Rican and Mexican flag keychain dangling from the ignition, Diana Serrano sings along to salsa music while driving through the multicultural streets of what used to be the most American of all cities. When in the mood for something more spiritual, she’ll switch to a voice recording of the Quran.

Serrano is a Hispanic-Muslim, a rapidly growing yet largely unknown segment of Orlando, the site of the June 12 massacre at a gay nightclub that killed 49 people, the majority of whom were of Hispanic descent.

“When people find out I’m Hispanic it fascinates them because they don’t expect to see a Latino-Muslim,” Serrano says. “They assume I’m an Arab who speaks very good Spanish.”

Though the Latino culture and the Muslim religion have influenced each other for more than 800 years, it has only been in the last few months that the two have attempted to band together — at least in Orlando — largely because of the current political conversation.

Presumed Republican nominee Donald Trump’s insistence that a wall be built on the Mexican border has alienated many Hispanics, an important demographic of the voting population, while his call to ban Muslims from immigrating to the United States in the wake of the Orlando and San Beardino shootings has drawn the ire of many worldwide.

In Orlando, the two communities formed an informal partnership called the “Black and Brown Coalition,” and for six months they have been working on solidarity as well as empowering both communities to vote in November and become more politically engaged.

“After the attacks by Mr. Trump, we felt it was important to further our communications and work together to oppose bigotry against us,” says Bassem Chaaban, director of outreach for the Islamic Society of Central Florida.

Reports that Omar Mateen, the killer in the Orlando massacre, pledged his allegiance to radical Islam during the shooting, has not frayed the relationship between the two groups, officials say.

“This is not about one community against the other,” says Carlos Guzman, president of Orlando’s Puerto Rican Leadership Council. “Historically we share blood. Politically we are both tagged as minorities so we have a lot in common and we both need to help and protect each other.”

Growing diversity

While the presence of iconic Disney World has long given Orlando the reputation of an All-American city, it is in fact rapidly becoming among the most diverse.

Many of the tourist shops in town can be found on the aptly named Inteational Drive, on the west side of the city.

Latinos make up 30 percent of Orange County, while Florida has the third-largest Hispanic population in the country, at 24 percent and rising, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Orlando has a seen a large influx of people from Puerto Rico move to the city in recent years as the island has gone through some of its most troubling economic times in the last 50 years. Entry-level jobs in the tourist industry and at Disney have appealed to a large number of young Puerto Ricans.

On Goldenrod Road, on the largely industrial east side of town, you can find the Old Cuban Café, where all of the employees greet you first in Spanish. On a chalkboard near the bakery, people have written such sayings as “Viva Cuba Libre,” which translates to “Long Live a Free Cuba.”

A half-mile away from the café is the Islamic Society of Central Florida, where to enter you first pass a security guard. On the premises are a mosque, a school, nursery school, free clinic and cemetery. Farther up the street, the group holds a food bank each Saturday. An overwhelming majority of the people served are Hispanic, many of whom live in low-income housing nearby. The weekly food bank draws about 300 people, says Serrano, the office manager.

Rasha Mubarak, a regional coordinator for the Council of Islamic-American Affairs, or CAIR, said that many Muslims were present when the names of the victims were read aloud at a public vigil. Many of the victims’ families spoke only Spanish.

CAIR created a group chat on the messaging app Whatsapp. They asked for Muslims who could translate. Dozens of Latina Muslims came out, wearing “I speak Spanish” stickers below their hijabs.

“The Muslim community in Central Florida is growing so fast,” Mubarak says.

There are at least 39 mosques and Islamic schools in the Orlando metro area alone — and it’s not like they’re concentrated in one area. Mosques are sprinkled over the map, built near churches and Cuban bakeries, temples and Mexican grills. “There’s not, like, a Muslim neighborhood. We’re very integrated into the society here in Central Florida,” Mubarak says.

The city — as well as Central Florida — is full of immigrants from many different countries. The alleged shooter at Pulse demonstrates that: Mateen was bo in America, but to parents from Afghanistan, while his first wife is from Uzbekistan. His second wife was bo to Palestinian parents.

The SWAT team that killed Mateen had two Hispanic members, according to the New York Times. The Orlando Police Department is 18 percent Hispanic, while many of the doctors, technicians and nurses who tended to the victims are of immigrant families as well as members of the gay and lesbian communities. Most of the victims were of Hispanic descent, and several immigrated directly from Mexico and Puerto Rico.

While there has been a large outpouring of support from around the world for the gay and lesbian communities, there are some who feel compassion and support for the Hispanic community has lagged behind.

“Although the overwhelming majority of the victims were Hispanic, that was largely omitted from the narrative,” Zoe Colon, director of the Florida chapter of Hispanic Federation said at a news conference. “The fact that it is not stressed and not emphasized in Central Florida makes it really difficult.”

There has been debate over whether Hispanics were targeted. At least one account indicates that they may have been. According to one survivor, Mateen walked into the bathroom and told hostages that he didn’t have a problem with black people. “You guys have suffered enough,” he reportedly said.

Clean to meet her God

Serrano awakens each moing at 4:30 a.m. It is time to wash away her sins.

She washes her right hand three times, her left hand three times. She washes her elbows three times and her feet three times. She washes her face. She must be clean to meet her God.

She kneels down on a rug in her home facing the northeast — to remember the direction, she just says “Titusville, that way” — and prays in Arabic. Her head touches the ground, as if becoming one with the earth.

She prays five times a day. She has an app on her phone that gives off a “call to prayer,” which is a voice singing in Arabic “Allah is great, Allah is great.” The app also has a compass so she will know which direction to face. Sometimes the app goes off when she is at the movies.

She grew up in New York, the daughter of a Mexican mother and Puerto Rican father, both devout Catholics. She was also a Catholic, though there were parts of the religion she felt unsure about. Serrano searched for a new direction in adulthood.

She became a Jehovah’s Witness for a short time, and when she attended a Muslim service six years ago in Florida, she knew she belonged. She retued home wearing a hijab, wondering how her parents would react. Her blind father ran his hands over her head and gave his blessing.

Serrano — whose Muslim name is Miriam, which means “Mary” in Arabic — says the sexual abuse scandals involving Catholic priests are among the reasons Hispanics are departing the church.

“When a lot of things started to surface about priests, that was problematic and then they started questioning the church,” Serrano says. “Why do I have to confess my sins to a man who was committing atrocities worse than the sins I am committing?”

According to Pew Research, 4 percent of Muslims in the United States are Hispanic, or about 112,000.

“The highest number of converts in our mosques are Latinos,” says Chaaban, of the Islamic Society of Central Florida.

Serrano lived in New York during the 9/11 attacks. Her then-husband, who worked at the stock exchange in one of the towers, survived. She says she held no animosity toward Muslims in the months that followed. But now that she is a Muslim, she says she feels the eyes upon her after every incident.

As she drove to work Monday, the day after the Orlando shooting, she was worried about people’s reaction to her. She had been visiting Epcot one day when she overheard someone in Spanish say to another, “Do you think she has a bomb?” Of course, that person had no idea Serrano spoke Spanish, too.

“After every event that has taken place — San Beardino, Fort Hood — yes, you are worried, coming out of the house, driving or whatever,” she says. “But it happened here.”

After work she drove to Publix, and before she entered she said a small prayer. She made a particular effort to keep her head up and her eyes focused on people she encountered, which is normal for her anyway, she says, as people who look down are perceived to be someone hiding guilt. She said she received mostly smiles.

That night Serrano attended a vigil for the victims in downtown Orlando, and again she was somewhat worried, calling her friends already there to see where they were standing. At the vigil, she said, people came up to her and handed her cards that said, “You Matter.”

“We have to stand up and unite, especially with this upcoming election,” Serrano says. “Because if not, then what’s going to happen to us?

“Where am I going to get shipped to?”

An American citizen, she grew up in Queens — the birthplace of Donald Trump.

SHAFAQNA – Shortly after last weekend’s tragic mass shooting at the Pulse dance club in Orlando by a homophobic Islamic terrorist, Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, quickly doubled down on rhetoric that had prompted numerous commentators to call the billionaire demagogue a fascist earlier this year. Even though the terrorist, Omar Mateen, was an American citizen bo in New York, Trump once again called for a ban on Muslims entering the country, while fear-mongering about refugees and the screening process in a rambling speech full of blatant and egregious lies.

Trump (and Republicans) seem determined to lea absolutely nothing from the latest attack, not least the need for common sense gun control measures that would help prevent someone like Omar Mateen from buying guns — particularly assault weapons that serve only one purpose: to kill.

Instead, Trump is peddling the same asinine policies that he has been touting over the past year; policies that have a strong emotional appeal, but are widely rejected as absurd and foolish by most experts. Throughout his campaign, Trump has frequently submitted plans that were obviously thought up on the spur-of-the-moment, usually in response to a major news event. The most notorious knee-jerk policy was his aforementioned Muslims ban, which the billionaire thought up shortly after the San Beardino shooting. After slightly backtracking on this plan last month and claiming it was just a “suggestion,” the billionaire is now aggressively promoting it again and congratulating himself after Orlando.

In this frenzied mindset, critical “thinking is a form of emasculation,” while action is “beautiful in itself,” and “must be taken before, or without, any previous reflection.” Naturally, “distrust of the intellectual world has always been a symptom of Ur-Fascism.”

The most apparent themes of the Trump campaign have been nationalism, xenophobia, the scapegoating of religious minorities (i.e. Muslims), the rejection of diversity, and the anti-intellectual backlash against the “politically correct” liberal elite, which tends to mean experts (e.g. climate scientists), professionals, and academics. Above all, any kind of cultural differences or political disagreements are seen as treasonous or “un-American,” which arises from what Eco calls the “fear of difference.”

“In mode culture the scientific community praises disagreement as a way to improve knowledge. For Ur-Fascism, disagreement is treason,” he writes. “Besides, disagreement is a sign of diversity. Ur-Fascism grows up and seeks for consensus by exploiting and exacerbating the natural fear of difference. The first appeal of a fascist or prematurely fascist movement is an appeal against the intruders. Thus Ur-Fascism is racist by definition.”

The intruders and enemies are everywhere in Trump’s paranoid worldview. The “criminal” and “rapist” Mexicans are stealing American jobs, the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims are resolute on killing Americans and infidels, the foreigners (e.g. Chinese) are laughing at us and ripping us off in trade deals. In the Trumpian perspective, every single problem that America faces can be explained by some insidious outsiders who are determined to humiliate America’s proud heritage and history of “winning.” Which leads us to another feature of Ur-Fascism: social frustration.

“One of the most typical features of the historical fascism was the appeal to a frustrated middle class, a class suffering from an economic crisis or feelings of political humiliation, and frightened by the pressure of lower social groups.”

Finally, the Trump movement is united by national identity (of course, national identity does not mean all Americans, but those who Sarah Palin refers to as “real Americans” — after all, Omar Mateen was an American citizen). According to Eco, national identity is reinforced by a nations real or imagined enemies:

“The only ones who can provide an identity to the nation are its enemies. Thus at the root of the Ur-Fascist psychology there is the obsession with a plot, possibly an inteational one. The followers must feel besieged. The easiest way to solve the plot is the appeal to xenophobia. But the plot must also come from the inside: Jews are usually the best target because they have the advantage of being at the same time inside and outside.”

For Donald and his legions, it is the Muslims, Mexicans and Chinese who are cunningly plotting against us on a global scale.

Fascism is ultimately more of a pathology than an ideology, engendered by destructive passions, fueled by resentment, bitteess and fear. The Trump movement has revitalized a dormant impulse in American politics, one that is as prone to paranoia as it is to violence and bigotry. And while it seems unlikely that Trump will win in November, the neo-fascist movement that he has breathed new life into is just as unlikely to go away after 2016.

By Conor Lynch –  writer and joualist living in New York City. His work has appeared on Salon, AlterNet, Counterpunch and openDemocracy

SHAFAQNA – On the 29th of March, Eyewitness News, on WFTV channel 9, released a story airing extracts of an academic presentation I had given at the University of Michigan in 2013. They have grossly misrepresented the facts and published a story that is far from the truth. Simply stated, it is libel and defamation. Further aggravating this incredible misreporting is WFTV’s violation of AP standards and practices, which requires reporters to at least attempt to contact subjects directly for a response before publishing statements about them. Had they done so here, which they certainly did not, I would have refuted every such claim made in the first instance.

“Killing homosexuals is the compassionate thing to do” is a dangerous statement wrongly attributed to me and I can see why many people have become offended on hearing such a statement as aired on WFTV. The impression given by WFTV is that I am openly sanctioning the murder of homosexuals. This is wholly false in every sense. Furthermore, the edit and misattribution of my words represents one of the most blatant and reprehensible breaches of ethics in joualism. It is never acceptable to misrepresent sources.

Firstly, as an academic seminarian, I point to fundamental principles of academic discourse to engage in academic discussions on various views, whether I agree with them or not – as stated in the 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure ‘Academic freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research. Freedom in research is fundamental to the advancement of truth. Academic freedom in its teaching aspect is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the teacher in teaching and of the student to freedom in leaing. It carries with it duties correlative with rights…’ The defamatory publication by WFTV attempts to silence academic discourse by manipulating my discussion to imply that I condone violence.

Secondly,  the speech was presented as an academic exercise – not a personal opinion, verdict or in support of violence. Such academic settings from the outset, by their very nature, are distant and mutually exclusive to those that incite hatred.

Thirdly, also wrongly attributed to me was the phrase ‘the only way gays and lesbians can be forgiven is to die’. This is nonsense. Islam states they must repent before God like any other sinner. As mentioned in the original 1 hour lecture, a school of jurists have ruled that the sentencing is solely under specific circumstances which rarely arises in the real world. Moreover, the WFTV story stated that I have ‘been condemning homosexuals since at least 2013’. This is also untrue. Taking quotes out of context and misrepresenting me the way it was done is not only unethical and dangerous in this context; it also calls into question the credibility of the news organization. The speech at the University of Michigan, in 2013, was the first and last time before March 29th that I had spoken about the issue. Love the sinner, not the sin is an Islamic philosophy and way of life. Hence, the term ‘condemning’ qualifies to actions, not people. Thus, WFTV’s statement that I have ever, let alone continue to, condemn any person or group of people is blatantly false.

I request that the above statement be included in the online version of the WFTV story posted here http://www.wftv.com/news/local/iranian-doctors-planned-talk-on-islam-and-homosexuality-outrages-some-in-sanford/185803158
There were no attempts on behalf of the reporters and staff at WFTV to contact me directly for a statement, therefore again breaching a major tenet of joualistic ethics. Please afford me the courtesy of representing myself in your news story as this was denied to me before the story aired on television and now, on the Inteet.

Peace be upon you all

Sheikh Sakleshfar

For accuracy’s sake we are inviting our readers to refer to the following links to see for themselves:

 “Islam and Homosexuality” – By Dr. Sekaleshfar

Link to the ABC News Australia interview: http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2016/s4481907.htm

Original lecture “Islam and Homosexuality”, which caused the controversy. The lecture was given in an academic setting at the University of Michigan. It was given in 2013 and not 2016. at the University of Michigan. The topic was chosen by U of M students and not Dr. Sekaleshfar himself. The link to the 2013 lecture.

SHAFAQNA- This is) an account of the Imam after the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, the date of his birth, the evidence for his Imamates the period of his succession, the time of his death, and the place of his grave. (It also provides) a brief outline of the reports about him.

The Imam after the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, was his son al-Hasan, the son of the mistress of the women of the worlds, Fatima, daughter of Muhammad, the Lord of messengers, may God bless him and his pure family. (Al-Hasan’s) kunya was Abu Muhammad. He was bo in Medina, on the night of the middle day of the month of Ramadan, three years after the hijra (624).

His mother, Fatima, peace be on her, brought him to the Prophet, may God bless him and his family, on the seventh day in a silken shawl from Heaven, which Gabriel had brought down to the Prophet, may God bless him and his family. He named him Hasan and sacrificed a ram for him (in the ceremony of aqiqa).

[It is reported by a group (of authorities), including Ahmad b. Salih. al-Tamimi on the authority of Abd Allah b. Isa, on the authority of Jafar al-Sadiq b. Muhammad, peace be on him;]

Al-Hasan, peace be on him, was the most similar person to the Apostle of God, may God bless him and his family, in form, manner and nobility.

[It is reported by a group (of authorities), including Ma’mar, on the authority of al-Zuhri, on the authority of Anas b. Malik, who said:]

No one was more like the Apostle of God, may God bless him and his family, than al-Hasan b. Ali, peace be on them.

[Ibrahim b. Ali al-Rafi’i reported on the authority of his father, on the authority of his grandmother Zaynab, daughter of Abu Rafi’ – and Shabib b. Abi Rafi’ al-Rafi’i on the authority of those who told him – she said:]

Fatima, peace be on her, brought her two sons, al-Hasan and al- Husayn, peace be on them, to the Apostle of God, may God bless him and his family, at the time when he was suffering from the sickness from which he died.

“Apostle of God,” she said, “these are your two (grand) sons. Give them something as an inheritance.”

“As for al-Hasan,” he replied, “he has my form and my nobility. As for al-Husayn, he has my generosity and my bravery.”

Al-Hasan b. Ali, peace be on him, was the testamentary trustee (wasi) of the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, over his family, his children and his followers. He bequeathed him to look after his position and (the position of) his taxes (sadaqat) and he wrote him a covenant (of succession) which is well-known. His testamentary trusteeship is obvious in terms of the outlines of religion, the essential characteristic of wisdom and good-breeding. A great number of scholars have reported this trusteeship and many of the men of understanding have realised the truth of this through his (attitude to) the world.

When the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, died, al- Hasan addressed the people. He reminded them of his right (to authority). The followers of his father pledged allegiance to him in terms of fighting those he fought and making peace with those with whom he made peace.

[Abu Mikhnaf Lut b. Yahya al-Azdi reported: Ashath b. Suwar told me on the authority of Abu Ishaq al-Sabi’i and others, who said;]

Al-Hasan b. Ali, peace be on them, addressed the people towards dawn on the night in which the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, died. He praised and glorified God and blessed the Apostle of God, may God bless him and his family. Then he said:

There has died tonight a man who was the first among the early (Muslims) in (good) actions. Nor did any later (Muslims) attain his level in (good) actions. He used to fight alongside the Apostle of God, may Allah bless him and his family, and protect him with his own life. The Apostle of God, may God bless him and his family, used to send him forward with his standard while Gabriel supported him on his right and Michael supported him on his left. He would not retu until God brought victory through his hands.

He, peace be on him, has died on this the night on which Jesus, son of Mary, was taken up (to Heaven), on which Joshua, son of Nuh, the testamentary trustee (wasi) of Moses, peace be on him, died. He has left behind him no gold and silver except seven hundred dirhams of his stipend (ata’), with which he was intending to buy a servant for his family.

Then tears overcame him and he wept and the people wept with him.

Then he continued:

I am the (grand) son of the one who brought the good news. I am the (grand) son of the waer. I am the (grand) son of the man who, with God’s permission, summoned (the people) to God. I am the (grand) son of the light which shone out (to the world) . I am of the House, from whom God has sent away abomination and whom God has purified thoroughly. I am of the House for whom God has required love in his Book, when God, the Most High, said: Say: I do not ask you for any reward except love for (my) kin. Whoever eas good, will increase good for himself [ XXXIII 33 ]. The good is love for us, the House.

Then he sat down.

Abd Allah b. al-Abbas, may God have mercy on him, arose in front of him and said:

People, this is the son of your Prophet, the testamentary trustee (wasi) of your Imam. So pledge allegiance to him.

The people answered him saying:

No one is more loved by us nor has anyone more right to succession (khilafa).

They rushed forward to pledge allegiance to him as successor. That was on Friday on the eleventh of the month of Ramadan in the year 40 A.H. (660). Then he assigned (the posts of) the tax collectors and he gave instructions to the goveors (of the provinces). He sent Abd Allah b. al-Abbas to Basra. He took charge of all the matters.

When Mu’awiya b. Abi Sufyan leat of the death of the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, and the people’s pledge of allegiance to his son, al-Hasan, peace be on him, he sent a man of secretly to Kufa and a man from Banu al-Qayn to Basra. They were to write reports to him to undermine affairs for al-Hasan, peace be on him. Al-Hasan, peace be on him, leaed of that. He ordered the Himyari to be brought out from among (the tribe) of Lakhm in Kufa. He had him brought out and executed. (Al-Hasan) wrote to al-Basra, ordering the Qayni to be brought out from among the Banu Sulaym. He was brought out and executed.

Then al-Hasan, peace be on him, wrote to Muawiya:

You sent men to use deception and to carry out assassinations and you sent out spies as if you want to meet (in battle). That is something which will soon happen so wait for it, if God wills. I have leat that you have become haughty in a way that no wise man would become haughty. In that you are just as al-Awwal described:

Say to him who desires the contrary of the one who has died: Prepare for another like him, as if (from the same) root.

I and the one among us who has died are like the one who goes in the evening so that (the other) may come in the moing.

Muawiya replied to him with his letter, which there is no need to mention. There followed between him and al-Hasan, peace be on him, correspondences messages and disputes regarding the right of al- Hasan, peace be on him, to authority and the unlawful seizure of power of those who came before his father, peace be on him, and of Mu’awiya’s attempt to strip the nephew of the Apostle of God, may God bless him and his family, from his authority and of their (the House’s) right to it apart from them. (All these) matters would take too long to describe.

Muawiya set off towards Iraq. When he reached the bridge of Manbij, al-Hasan, peace be on him, reacted. He sent Hujr b. Adi to order the leaders of Amman to set out and to call the people together for war.

They were slow to (answer) him and then they came forward. (Al- Hasan) had a mixed band of men: some of them belonged to his Sh’ia and to his father’s: some of them were members of the Muhakimma (i.e. Kharijites) who were influenced by (the desire of) fighting Muawiya with every means (possible); some of them were men who loved discords and were anxious for booty; some of them were doubters; others were tribal supporters who followed the leaders of their tribes without reference to religion.

He set off until he came to Hammam Umar, then he went on to Dayr Kab. He stopped at Sabat, just before the bridge and spent the night there. In the moing, he, peace be on him, wanted to test his followers and make their situation clear with regard to obedience to him, so that in that way he might be able to distinguish his friends from his enemies and be in a clear mind (about his position) to meet Mu’awiya and the Syrians. He ordered the call to be made:

The prayer is a general one (which all should attend) (al-salat jamia).

They gathered and he went up on the pulpit and addressed them. He said:

Praise belongs to God whenever a man praises Him. I testify that there is no god but God whenever a man testifies to Him. I testify that Muhammad is His servant and His apostle whom He sent with the truth and whom He entrusted with revelation, may God bless him and his family. By God, I hope that I shall always be with God’s praise and kindness. I am the sincerest of God’s creatures in giving advice to them.

I have not become one who bears malice to any Muslims nor one who wishes evil or misfortune tor him. Indeed what you dislike about unity (jama’a) is better for you than what you like about division. I see what is better for you better than you see for yourselves. Therefore do not oppose my commands and do not reject my judgement. May God forgive both me and you and may He guide me and you to that in which there is love and satisfaction.

[He reported:]

The people began to look at one another and asked each other, “What do you think he intends by what he has just said?

“We think that he intends to make peace with Muawiya and hand over the authority to him” they answered.

“By Gods the man has become an unbelievers they declared and they rushed towards his tent. They plundered him to the extent that they even took his prayer mat from under him. Then Abd al- Rahman b. Abd Allah b. Ja’al al-Azdi set on him and stripped his silk cloak from his shoulder. He remained sitting, still girt with his sword but without his cloak. He called for his horse and mounted it. Groups of his close associates and his Shia surrounded him and kept those who wanted (to attack) him away from him. He said:

Summon (the tribes of) Rabia and Hamdan to me.

They were summoned to him and they surrounded him and defended him, peace be on him, from the people. A mixed group of others went with him (as well). When he was passing through the narrow pass of Sabat, a man of Banu Asad called al-Jarrah b. Sinan caught hold of the reins of his mule. He had an axe in his hand. He cried:

God is greater (Allaku akbar)! You have become a polytheist, Hasan, just like your father became a polytheist before.

Then he stabbed him in the thigh. It penetrated right through to the bone. He seized (al-Hasan) by the neck and they both fell to the ground. A man from al-Hasan’s Shi’a called Abd Allah b. Khatal al- Tai; pulled the axe away from his hand and struck him with it in the stomach. Another man called Zubyan b. Umara attacked him, struck him upon the nose and killed him. Another man who had been with (al-Jarrah) was caught and killed.

Al-Hasan, peace be on him, was carried on a stretcher to al- Mada’in where he was lodged with Sa’d b. Masud al-Thaqafi. The latter was the goveor of (Ali), the commander of the faithful, peace be on him, there and al-Hasan had confirmed him in that position.

Al-Hasan, peace be on him, was distracted by his own (discomfort) and with treating his wound. (In the meantime) a group of the tribal leaders wrote secretly to Mu’awiya offering to accept his authority (lit. to listen and obey). They urged him to come to them and they guaranteed to hand over al-Hasan, peace be on him, when they got to his camp, or to kill him treacherously.

Al-Hasan, peace be on him, leat of that when a letter came to him from Qays b. Sa’d, may God be pleased with him. He had sent Qays with Ubayd Allah b. Abbas (to go on ahead) when he had set out from Kufa to meet Muawiya and to drive him out of Iraq, and make himself a commander of a unified people (jama’a). He had said to Ubayd Allah:

If you are struck down, then the commander will be Qays b. Sad.

Qays b. Sad’s letter arrived informing him that they had stopped Muawiya at a village called al-Habubiyya opposite Maskan. Then Muawiya had sent to Ubayd Allah b. Abbas, urging him to come to him and offering him a million dirhams, half of which he would give him immediately, and the other half on his entry into Kufa. Ubayd Allah had slipped away in the night with his close associates to (join) Muawiya’s camp. In the moing the people found their leader missing. Qays b. Sa’d, may God be pleased with him, said the prayer with them and took charge of their affairs.

Al-Hasan’s awareness of the people’s desertion of him increased, (as did his awareness) of the corrupt intention of the Muhakkima (the Kharijites) against him, which they made obvious by cursing him, accusing him of disbelief, and declaring that it was lawful to shed his blood and plunder his property. There remained no one to protect him from his unfortunate predicament except the close associates from his father’s Shia and his own Shia, and they were a group which could not resist the Syrian soldiers.

Muawiya wrote to him about a truce and peace treaty. He also sent him the letters of his followers in which they had guaranteed to kill him treacherously or to hand him over. He offered him as many conditions as he wanted, to answer his (call) for peace and he gave his (swo) covenant by whose fulfilment everybody’s interests would be served. Al-Hasan, peace be on him, did not trust him. He was aware of his deception and his attempts at assassination.

However he could find no escape from assenting to his demands to abandon the war and bring about a truce because of the weakness of his followers’ understanding of his right, their corrupt attitude towards him and their opposition to him. (In addition, he was aware) of the view of many of them in declaring it lawful to shed his blood and to hand him over to his rival. (He also knew) of his cousin’s desertion (of him) and his joining his enemy, as well as the inclination of the people towards the immediate present and their reluctance (to show conce) for the future.

Therefore he, peace be on him, bound himself (in a treaty) with Muawiya as a result of the confirmation of the proof (of his situation) and with the excuses before God, the Most High, and all the Muslims, of what had taken place among them. He stipulated:

That the cursing of the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, should be abandoned and the practice of using the personal prayer (qunut) in the formal prayer (salat) (as prayer) against him should be set aside;

That his Shia, may God be pleased with them, should be given security and that none of them should be exposed to any evil; That each of them who had certain rights should attain those rights.

Muawiya accepted all that and made a treaty with him to observe that. He swore to him that he would fulfil it. When the truce had been concluded, Muawiya went on until he reached al-Nukhayla. That was on a Friday; he prayed the mid-moing prayer (duha al nahar) with the people, and he addressed them. In his address, he Said

By God, I have not fought against you to make you pray, nor to fast, nor to make the pilgrimage, nor to pay zakat. Indeed you do that (already). I fought so that I might have power over you and God has given that to me when you were reluctant to (obey) Him. Indeed I have been requested by al-Hasan, peace be on him, (to give him) things and I have given things to him. All of them are now under my foot. And from now on I will not fulfil anything.

Then he went on until he entered Kufa. He resided there for several days. When the pledge of allegiance by its inhabitants had to be carried out, he went up on the pulpit and addressed the people. He mentioned the commander of the faithful, peace be on him, and that he had taken from him and from al-Hasan, peace be on him, what he had taken.

Al-Hasan and al-Husayn, peace be on them, were present. Al- Husayn, peace be on him, rose to reply but al-Hasan, peace be on him, took him by the hand and made him sit down. Then he, himself, (al-Hasan) arose and spoke:

O you who mention Ali, I am al-Hasan and Ali was my father. You are Muawiya and your father was Sakhr (Abu Sufyan). My mother was Fatima and your mother was Hind. My grand father was the Apostle of God and your grandfather was Harb. My grandmother was Khadija and your grandmother was Futayla. May God curse him who tries to reduce our reputation and to diminish our nobility, who does evil against our antiquity and yet who has been ahead of us in unbelief and hypocrisy.

Groups of the people in the mosque shouted out: “Amen, Amen”

When the peace between al-Hasan, peace be on him, and Muawiya was concluded in the way we have mentioned, al-Hasan, peace be on him, left for Medina. He resided there, restraining his anger, staying close to his house, and awaiting the command of his Lord, the Mighty and High, until Muawiya had completed ten years of his administration. (Then) the latter decided to have the pledge of allegiance given to his son, Yazid, (as his successor).

He communicated secretly with Ju’da, daughter of al-Ash’ath b. Qays- she was the wife of al-Hasan, peace be on him – to urge her to poison him. He gave an undertaking to her that he would marry her to his son, Yazid, and he sent her a hundred thousand dirhams. Juda gave him the poison to drink but he lingered on sick for forty days. He passed along his (final) road in the month of Safar in the year 50 A. H. (670).

At that time, he was forty-eight years of age. His succession (to the Imamate) had been for ten years. His brother and testamentary trustee (wasp), al-Husayn, peace be on him, undertook the washing and shrouding of his body, and buried him with his grand mother, Fatima, daughter of Asad b. Hashim b. Abd Manaf, may God be pleased with her, in (the cemetery) of al Baqi.

Reports of the Cause of the Death of al-Hasan, Peace be on him, and of Mu’awiya Poisoning him, the Story of his Burial and the Actions and Statements Conceing that.

[Isa b. Mihran reported: Ubayd Allah b. al-Sabb’ah told us: Jarir told us on the authority of Mughira, who said:]

Muawiya sent to Juda daughter of al-Ashath b. Qays:

I will arrange for you to marry my son, Yazid, on condition that you poison al-Hasan.

He also, sent her a hundred thousand dirhams.

She did that: she poisoned al-Hasan, peace be on him. (Mu’awiya) gave her the money but did not marry her to Yazid. Instead he gave her a man from the family of Talha as a substitute. The latter gave her children. Whenever any argument occurred between them and the clans of Quraysh, they would revile them saying:

Sons of a woman who poisons her husbands.

[Isa b. Mihran reported: ‘Uthman b. Umar told me Ibn Awn told us on the authority ot ‘Umar b. lshaq, who said.]

I was with al-Hasan and al-Husayn, peace be on them, in the house. Al-Hasan, peace be on him, came in from outside and then went out again. He said:

I have been given poison to drink several times but I have never been given poison like this. A bit of my liver has come out of my mouth and I began to tu it over with a stick I had.

Who gave you the poison to drink, al-Husayn, peace be on him, asked him, and what do you want for him? Do you want him killed? If he may remain as he is, then God will be more terrible in His vengeance than you. It he may not remain as he is, then I should like to be free of any blame.

[ Abd Allah b. Ibrahim reported on the authority of Ziyad al- Makhariqi, who said:]

When death was close to al-Hasan, peace he on him, he summoned al-Husayn, peace be on him, and said.

My brother, I am leaving you and joining my Lord. I have been given poison to drink and have spewed my liver into a basin. I am aware of the person who poisoned me and from where I have been made a subject to this deceitful action. I will oppose him before God, the Mighty and High. Therefore by the right I have with regard to you, say nothing about that and wait for what God, the Mighty and High, will decide conceing me.

When I have died, shut my eyes, wash me and shroud me. Then carry me on my bier to the grave of my grandfather, the Apostle of God, may God bless him and his family, so that I may renew my covenant with him. After that take me to the grave of my grandmother, Fatima daughter of Asad, may God be pleased with her, and bury me there.

My brother, the people will think that you intend to bury me with the Apostle of God, may God bless him and his family. For that reason, they will gather to prevent you from doing it. I swear by God that you should not shed even your blood into the cupping-glass in (carrying out) my command.

Then he made his testamentary bequests to his family and his children. (He gave him) his heirlooms and the things which the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, had bequeathed to him when he had made him his successor, had declared him worthy to occupy his position, and had indicated to his Shia that he was his successor, and set him up as their sign-post after himself.

When he passed on his (final) jouey, al-Husayn, peace be on him, washed and shrouded his (body). Then he carried him on his bier. Marwan and those of the Banu Umayya who were with him had no doubt that they would try to bury him beside the Apostle of God, may God bless him and his family. They gathered together and armed themselves. When al-Husayn, peace be on him, approached the tomb of the Apostle of God, may God bless him and his family, with (the body of al-Hasan) so that he might renew his covenant with him, they came towards them with their group. ‘A’isha had joined them on a mule and she was saying:

What is there between you and me that you should allow someone I don’t want to, to enter my house?

Marwan began to recite:

O Lord, battle is better than ease.

(Then he went on:)

Should Uthman be buried in the outskirts of Medina and al-Hasan be buried alongside the Prophet, may God bless him and his family? That will never be while I carry a sword.

Discord was about to occur between the Banu Umayya and the Banu Hashim. Ibn ‘Abbas hurried to Marwan and said to him;

Go back to where you came from, Marwan. Indeed we do not intend to bury our companion with the Apostle of God, may God bless him and his family. But we want him to be able to renew his covenant with him by visiting him. Then we will take him back to his grandmother, Fatima, and bury him alongside her according to his last instructions conceing that. If he had enjoined that he should be buried alongside the Prophet, may God bless him and his family, you know that you would be the least able to deter us from that. However, he, peace be on him, was much too aware of God and His Apostle and the sacredness of his tomb to bring bloodshed to it as others have done (who) have entered it without his permission.

Then he went to A’isha and said to her:

What mischief you bring about, one day on a mule and one day on a camel! Do you want to extinguish the light of God and fight the friends (awliya’) of God? Go Back ! You have been given assurance against what you fear and have leaed what you wanted (to know). By God, victory will come to this House, even if it is after some time.

Al-Husayn, peace be on him, said:

By God, if there had been no injunction to me from al-Hasan, peace be on him, to prevent bloodshed and that I should not even pour blood into a cupping-glass in (carrying out) his command, you would have known how the swords of God would have taken their toll from you, you have broken the agreement which was made between you and us, you have ignored the conditions which we made with him for ourselves.

Then they went on with (the body of) al-Hasan, peace be on him, and they buried him in (the cemetery of) al-Baqi’ beside his grandmother, Fatima daughter of Asad b. Hashim b. ‘Abd Manaf, may God be pleased with her.

Complete ref:

Kitab al Irshad (The Book of Guidance)
Pages 279 – 289
By Sheikh al Mufid
Translated by I.K.A Howard
Published by Tahrike Tarsile Quran
Paper back, I.S.B.N 0-940368-11-0

Contributed by Br. Ali Abbas, [email protected]

Vladimir Putin attends Seliger 2014 National Youth Forum...epa04374013 Russian President Vladimir Putin talks during the Seliger 2014 National Youth Forum in the Tver Region, Russia, 29 August 2014. Russia will not be drawn into a large-scale conflict, but will fend off any aggression against itself, President Vladimir Putin said on 29 August 2014. EPA/MIKHAIL KLIMENTIEV / RIA NOVOSTI / KREMLIN POOL

SHAFAQNA – President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that an attempt to topple the Syrian govement “wouldn’t help a successful fight against terrorism and could plunge the region into total chaos.”

Peskov made the statement while asked to comment about an inteal document in which dozens of US State Department employees called for military action against the Syrian Army.

This comes as the US administration sought Friday to contain fallout from the leaked inteal memo, but showed no sign it was willing to consider military strikes against the Syrian army.
Several US officials said that while the White House is prepared to hear the diplomats’ dissenting viewpoint, it is not expected to spur any changes in President Barack Obama’s approach to Syria in his final seven months in office.

One senior official said that the test for whether these proposals for more aggressive action are given high-level consideration will be whether they “fall in line with our contention that there is no military solution to the conflict in Syria.”

The document was sent through the State Department’s “dissent channel,” a conduit for voicing contrary opinions meant to be classified.

White House spokeswoman Jen Friedman said Obama is open to a “robust discussion” on Syria but she insisted that deliberations by Obama’s national security team have already taken a very close look at a range of options.

A former senior US official said the unauthorized disclosure of a confidential cable of this type “corrodes the trust between the president and those who serve him.” Other US officials pointed out that the cable does not carry the signatures of any senior State Department officials, such as assistant or deputy secretaries or ambassadors.

SHAFAQNA – The word “saint” seems to have accumulated some negative associations in the West. When we describe someone as a “saint” we don’t always intend a compliment. We can mean someone with a cloying niceness, or a holier-than-thou religiosity. A saint isn’t someone we would want to spend any time with.

We’re cynical today and more than a little egotistical. We like to think we appreciate someone who has a bit of the devil in them, a bit of edge, like us. The saint is a damp squib. If we probed this, we might find that this attitude is not just the result of a superficial understanding of spirituality, it may also be our ego’s means of protecting itself. Genuine sainthood threatens us; it’s good to make it into a caricature we can look down at.

Perhaps it’s not entirely our fault. We can blame religious authorities who have foisted “saints” on us in the past for self-serving reasons. We have a right to be suspicious of their authenticity. We have a right to want to run the other way when someone starts yakking about saints.

And to speak of Muslim saints brings an added complication because, in the West, we have been used to primarily thinking of Christian saints, which suggests celibacy and monasticism. These are valid spiritual practices, but they are misleading when speaking of Muslim saints, most of whom mixed with society at large, eaed a livelihood, married, raised families, etc.

But where did this word come from, and what does it really mean? After a little research, I discover that it shares the same root as the word “sacred” and ultimately stems from the Proto-Indo-European root sak. It’s therefore as old as any word can be, and it carries the idea of being consecrated or dedicated. This raises the question of to what? Whereas most of us are directionless, or to between a thousand different directions, the saint is someone whose whole being points towards something. This is what Rumi is, what St Francis is. And though these living signs look different, they are pointing in the same direction. As for what lies in that direction: it would be tempting to simply say “God”. But perhaps it is more fruitful to say “our humanity”.

Contrary to the caricatures we may have imbibed depending on our cultural background, the saint is not an insipid or repressed figure, nor a socially dysfunctional layabout lacking certain human qualities. On the contrary, the saints exist to make us more human. In Islam, the saint is the insan al-kamil, the completed human being, someone who displays the full spectrum of human potential and who directs us to a fuller, more authentic life. It is also worth noting that in the English language the words “holy” and “whole” share the same Germanic root. They not only share the same sound, they originally shared the same meaning.

The saint’s wisdom can be funny, shocking, and compassionate all at the same time. Yunus Emre for example:

Those who leaed to be truly human
found everything in being humble.
While those who looked proudly from above,
were pushed down the stairs.^[i]

Like the saintly father of American letters, Ralph Waldo Emerson, who said, “We but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents”^[ii], the Sufi saints teach us a way towards true individuality and self-reliance. Again, Yunus tells us:

Those who became complete
didn’t live this life in hypocrisy,
didn’t lea the meaning of things
by reading commentaries.^[iii]

Rumi, too, points out that we lead half-lives and haven’t actually experienced the capacities of our humanness. For instance, he shows us we wallow in the five physical senses, blind to the existence of five spiritual ones:

The way of the outer senses is the way of donkeys –
O rider, have shame! You molest even the asses!
There are five senses other than these five senses,
They are like gold, and these outer ones like copper.^[iv]

However, the saints do not seek to make life difficult for us; on the contrary, they help us remove burdens. Emerson was fond of this wisdom from Ali: “Thy lot or portion of life is seeking after thee; therefore be at rest from seeking after it.”^[v]

The frank humanity of the saints means they are a real joy to be with, in person, amid the ambience of their shrines, or via the written wisdom they left behind.  The great Sufi, Futayma, expressed this when she said: “The sage is one who revives your heart when you sit with him.”^[vi] In my experience, those who are genuinely saintly have an all-embracing humanity about them. We come away from them affected in subtle ways, trailing blessings in the months that follow. Otherwise, they may appear quite normal, making no attempt to develop a mystique.

I do not mean to reduce the saints to merely being rounded individuals who are fun to be with. In fact, having our hearts revived can sometimes be a very painful process, and sitting with a saint can be excruciating. We are forced to see ourselves as we truly are. But this, of course, is a great blessing.

Nowadays, we sense there is a hidden elite who own or manipulate most govements, financial institutions, and multi-national corporations. They serve the whims and desires of their egos, and their greed is insatiable. We can see the saints of the diverse religions as their mirror image. The saints, too, are a hidden elite, yet they serve humanity. If the word “elite”, even here, raises alarm bells, could this be our reluctance to accept that there are people who have unlocked more of their humanity than us, and from whom we may lea? We have allowed an unscrupulous elite to take control of our outer world, but the idea that a selfless elite might guide us through our inner world is outrageous.

Some may laugh and say that mere virtue wields no power whatsoever. Yet Rumi suggests that the power of the saints is of cosmic significance. He is not interested in the cult of the personality, but is pointing to a mysterious reality:

Ordinary people may show mercy now and then;
the saint’s mercy is expansive and universal.

His personal mercy has been absorbed in the whole—
the mercy of the Sea becomes the guide.
O you who have just a personal mercy,
come merge with the universal.^[vii]

The oceanic humanity of the saints embraces us all, even whilst we sell our own for a trifle. But do we have the courage and humility to regain our humanity by exploring theirs?

^[i]The Drop That Became the Sea, trans. Kabir Helminski and Refik Algan
^[ii] “Self Reliance” from Essays: First Series
^[iii]The Drop That Became the Sea
^[iv]Mathnawi II, 48–49, trans. Nicholson
^[v] “Self Reliance”
^[vi]Women of Sufism, ed. Camille Helminski
^[vii]Mathnawi III: 1807-1809, from The Rumi Daybook, trans. Kabir and Camille Helminski

SHAFAQNA – Believing in saints has become one of the most controversial doctrines in the Islamic world today. For some Muslims, revering saints is an integral part of Islamic belief and practice, while others believe that an Islamic saint is nothing less than idolatry. What has made this more than an inteal religious conflict is what Muslim critics of sainthood believe they must do in order to keep Islam pure.

SHAFAQNA – IHRC has lodged a protest with the UN over its decision to remove Saudi Arabia from a blacklist that had cited Riyadh for killing and maiming children in its continuing involvement in the civil war in Yemen.

According to unnamed sources within the UN, the decision came about after threats from Riyadh and its allies that they would withdraw funding for UN programs if the move was not reversed.

The decision to include Saudi Arabia was based on evidence compiled by the UN itself that Riyadh was responsible for at least 60 percent of child deaths and injuries last year, killing 510 and wounding 667.

The Saudi-led coalition began a military campaign in Yemen in March last year with the aim of preventing Houthi rebels and forces loyal to Yemen’s ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh from taking control of the country.

The Houthis, Yemen govement forces and pro-govement militia have been on the UN blacklist for at least five years and are considered “persistent perpetrators.” Also appearing again on the list is al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

IHRC finds it deeply disturbing that the UN should cave in to what is essentially a campaign of blackmail led by Riyadh. It is an affront to justice and a hammer-blow to the credibility of the UN in holding to account those who violate inteational laws.

This is not the first time the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has wilted under pressure over child deaths. He intervened last year to prevent the blacklisting of Israel over child casualties in the Gaza Strip arising from Tel Aviv’s 2014 assault codenamed ‘Operation Protective Edge’ under pressure from Washington.

That appears to have set an alarming precedent that has encouraged other human rights abusers, particularly those on which the UN is financially dependent, to view the UN as a paper tiger which can be manipulated at will.

The UN decision also undermines the principle of universality by sending the unavoidable message that the UN operates a differential system of justice in which the wealthy donor nations are above the law while those who cannot afford to threaten or intimidate the organisation are subject to sanction.

We cannot buy the Secretary General’s reported justification that the most recent reversal was one of the most painful and difficult decisions he has had to make and that he acted in the face of the “very real prospect that millions of other children would suffer grievously if, as was suggested to me, countries would de-fund many UN programmes.”

The letter states: “The truth of the matter is that your job of upholding principles and rights requires an accompanying integrity and resoluteness without which your organisation might as well not exist. Without the will and courage to stand up to the powerful the UN risks becoming a laughing stock in the eyes of politicians and public alike. The UN cannot protect rights in one place with any conviction while effectively giving the green light for them to be abused elsewhere. We hope that you will reverse your decision and restore Saudi Arabia to the blacklist.”

The letter can be read in full here

IHRC press release

SHAFAQNA – This Ramadan 2016, Shafaqna had the privilege of interviewing Hujatul Islam wa Muslimeen Dr Ghulam Hussain Adeel, a prominent and renowned religious scholar of the Shiite school of thought.

Taught in Qom where he received his early education, Dr Adeel then moved to the UK where he obtained his PhD.

For the past two decades Dr Adeel, the chairman and founder of Hidayat TV has worked to disseminate Shia Islam, and taught others about AhlulBayt pure Islamic tradition.

Shafaqna Urdu conducted an exclusive interview with him on the multi-faceted personality of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani (R.A).

Following is an excerpt of the interview:

Allama Ghulam Hussain Adeel: Hazrat Ayatollah Ali Sistani (R.A) the great Marja of this era. At this epoch of Islamic history we find only two such great personalities with a rare wisdom and insight, one is Hazrat Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei (R.A) and Second  Hazrat Ayatollah Ali Sistani (R.A). Islamic Foqaha have been bestowed upon us by the Family of Holy prophet (PBUH) and they have certain qualities, that is, they immense self control, protect the religion, against all the humanistic lusts, bound to orders of Allah Almighty, thus people are obliged to follow them.

Allah has specially blessed the followers of Holy prophet’s (PBUH) family and bequeathed them with great scholars, who are rich in knowledge like Imam Khomeini (R.A) and Ayatollah Khoi (R.A). Even at present there are hundreds of thousands scholars but Hazrat Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei (R.A) and Hazrat Ayatollah Syed Ali Sistanti (R.A) stand tall among them.

I have been with Hazrat Ayatollah Syed Ali Sistanti (R.A) for about an hour recently, and I have a comprehensive idea of such a great and meaningful personality. I have also met his son and son- in-laws.

Allah has granted authority to Shiite scholars and they are spreading the light of Islam through such great scholars.

Hazrat Ayatollah Syed Ali Sistanti (R.A) is a convincing religious scholar, who was also pupil of Hazrat Ayatollah Khoi (R.A), who gave the guarantee of Ijtehad for Hazrat Ayatollah Syed Ali Sistanti (R.A). If we talk about his political insight, it was just because of his astuteness that foreign destructive powers faced a humiliation in Iraq. They wanted to divide Iraq into three parts and take over its natural resources but they failed because of his far reaching insight.

Neither he used the word Shiite nor Sunni rather Muslim. He issued a historic edict that there is no difference between Shiite and Sunnis and insolence of their holy places is forbidden, this reflects the great wisdom he has because these powers of destructions wanted a conflict between Sunnis and Shiites, his historic edict foiled this heinous conspiracy against Muslims.

Today, we see that Sunni and Shiites fighting against Daesh alongside each other and those forces who wanted to shred apart Iraq are trying to run from Iraq. The credit of this current situation indeed goes to for Hazrat Ayatollah Syed Ali Sistanti (R.A).

SHAFAQNA – Plagued by the poison the Black Flag army has dispensed onto the land, Iraq remains a nation very much at war – fragmented in its lands, to apart in its ethno-sectarian make-up … occupied still by the powers that be, that and won’t let go, Iraq has not yet spoken its last.

If Iraq does not yet breath peace and unity, it is nevertheless leaing to think, and imagine itself the nation-state it always was, and forgot to be – all because one of Shiite Islam most devoted sons held vigil in Najaf.

For those who know their history, and recognize in Najaf both the capital city of Islam’s First Imam, and the resting place of Islam’s greatest martyr – the very soul the last prophet of God raised upon his blessed shoulders so that he, Ali ibn Abutalib would reach to the Heavens, Najaf seems indeed an evident choice.

If Kufa was indeed Imam Ali’s political capital, it is Najaf he chose for his last resting place … after murderous hands dared raised a sword against Islam’s Sword.

A holy city among holy cities, a beacon of hope, salvation and true allegiance, Najaf has always stood an island over the tumult of worldly affairs, a shrine, and a protection against the pettiness of men. There, behind the walls of its mosques, its schools and its libraries, the greatest religious minds of our ages have flourished and shun forth a light, which time only elevated, never to dim.

A jewel of Shia Islam, Najaf sits a beating spiritual light – a symbol of time long gone, a reminder of a leadership lost, a witness to the Words, a custodian still to Ahlulbayt tradition, a keeper of the oath once given.

A city of Islam, Najaf bows to no one but God. A city of Islam, Najaf guards the shrine of Islam’s First Imam, he, who stands the gate to Knowledge itself.[1]

It is there, in Najaf, the city which witnessed the last breath of our Imam, that a teacher would come and forever change the fate of Iraq. Fate would have it, that his own mind was moulded to the teachings of yet another brilliant son of Najaf, Ayatollah Abul Qassim al-Khoei.

In hindsight, it seems only natural … In hindsight it appears evident that just as Najaf towered over the Islamic world under the leadership of Imam Ali, for his faith was true, and bore no equal; that, as hordes descend onto Iraq to swallow Islam whole, Imam Ali’s followers would oppose a resistance, and a might only Najaf could inspire.

From his religious retreat in Najaf, a quiet figure in Iraq’s broken socio-political landscape, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani has risen a giant among the people, together a guide and an inspiration for those who still hold Freedom as their God given right.

But how much is actually known of the Grand Ayatollah’s role in inspiring Iraq back to unity? What knowledge do we truly entertain of the cleric, who singlehandedly demonstrated what true Resistance can achieve, when anchored in Islam?

While Ayatollah Sistani’s character differ from that of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the forefather of Iran Islamic Revolution, in both those clerics it is Shia Islam purest voice which speaks – it is the teachings of Imam Ali, Imam al-Hasan, and Imam al-Husayn which echo still; each to its own particular light, but all from the same source.

But how could one man imprint so much onto a country? A country at war at that …

For a secular mind such a question remains impenetrable. To those who understand and know Islam for the wisdom it offers, the ethical model it champions, and the Freedom it fiercely guards, and forever strive to promote, Ayatollah Sistani’s role in pulling Iraq out of the precipice it was heading toward, was easily foreseeable.

There is great power in Islam, and much of its source is rooted in the very Resistance which the Prophet Muhammad presented, and which his progeny then lived by, and for.

A man of God whose life purpose has been to serve the divine, and the divine alone, Ayatollah Sistani has inspired generations of men, and women to reach further out from their station, so that they would also find purpose in their submission to God. There lies a concept seculars and liberals fail to grasp.

A Justice onto the world Islam offers Freedom in Submission to God. But there could never be real Freedom without absolute Submission, and only through Submission can one rise truly Free.

Freedom comes at a cost though – just as submission does, since one can only bow to God’s will and find Liberty in the exercise of His Commands. It is from this desire to serve God which resistance was first bo.

Resistance in Islam is first enounced in Muslims’ declaration of faith, when testament is made that there is only One God, and that Muhammad is His prophet. Behind those words lies a Truth which suffers no association, no challenge, no contention. In the service of this Truth, and this ideal, Resistance is worship … and worship becomes an act of Resistance.

It is Ayatollah Sistani’s faith, his submission, his devotion, and his strengthen dedication to Islam’s purest tradition which allowed for Resistance to rise a rampart once more against those who seek destruction as their daily bread.

Before the evil of Daesh, before the clamours of those new Kharijites, Ayatollah Sistani offered but the certainty of a life spent in Islam’s light.

It was his call, not that of Baghdad which millions answered as if one.

It is under his impetus, and not that of Iraq political seat of power, that Iraq was pulled from the abyss.

It is his voice, his rallying cry, and the trust he put in all Iraqis which echoed a fierce wind of resistance throughout the scorched nation. If Iraq fell an orphan to the clutch of Wahhabism, it is as a free, united nation it rose against its invaders.

Beyond creeds, ethnicities and political affiliations, Iraq was forged once more before the shrine of its Imam. And while it was Ali’s followers again who answered first the call of their brethren, it is Iraq as a united, yet pluralist body which pledged its allegiance to the flag.

Ayatollah Ali Sistani’s commands it needs to be said, came not by way of force, or obligation – but injunction.

A servant of Shia Islam, it is the Grand Ayatollah’s respect of men’s innate freedom of choice which compelled millions.

A leader at the service of his people … of all people, it is ultimately Ayatollah Sistani’s character which commanded respect, called for loyalty, and inspired true nationalism.

A light today has been awaken in Najaf … a light similar to that which was brought forth to Iran … the same light which has defined, fed, and sustained Islam: Justice.

By Catherine Shakdam for Shafaqna

[1] https://www.al-islam.org/tahrif/cityofknowledge/

SHAFAQNA – The United Nations have acknowledged, in a report called “They came to destroy”, that fighters from the Islamic State armed group are committing genocide against Yazidis in Syria and Iraq. In 2014, IS jihadists massacred Yazidis in Sinjar. Tens of thousands were forced to flee. Thousands of girls and women were taken captive to be used as sex slaves.

Despite only being an estimated 700,000 Yazidis in the world, they have, at different times over centuries, been victims of oppression because of their religion. They are neither Muslims, nor Arabs and their faith is unique. That is the main reason why IS despise and target them.

“The islamic State armed group have made up an excuse to target them, and make their women and children sex slaves, and that is that they are ‘koufar’, meaning that they are non-believers or infidels,” Nuri Kino, the founder of A Demand For Action, a global initiative which seeks protection for ethnoreligious minorities in the Middle East, told RFI.

“They also say they are devil worshippers and that is just an excuse to kill people, to abduct, to destroy and to try to eradicate a whole population.”

In theory, the specific mention of genocide in this UN report is a major step forward since not so many “massacres” are recognised as such. The UN definition requires certain criteria.

“A genocide is an anti-group crime, it’s an inteational crime, with the specific intent to destroy a targeted group, so that’s the threshold of proof, and we’ve heard direct testimonies from the victims, especially the women,” Vivit Muntarbho, one of the UN commission members in charge of the inquiry, told RFI.

“In our past reports, we had already found other violations, such as crimes against humanity, war crimes, but the difference this time is that genocide is the crime of crimes, and it should really trigger a more assertive response, particularly from the Security council, bearing in mind that both Syria and Iraq are parties to the genocide convention which calls upon them to both prevent and punish genocide.”

The Yazidis themselves have welcomed the report.

“It means a lot to us, and we are very grateful, it was long overdue,” Hémin Anthony Chamon, the president of the organisation called “Yazidis of France, told RFI.

“We have worked really hard for Weste countries to recognise what was and is still happening against Yazidis. Already in February, the EU Commission and the United States had acknowledged our plight, and said that this was a genocide. Now, the United Nations say it’s an on-going genocide…

“It is a leap forward. However the Yazidis need to remain on their guard, because it has yet to be approved by the UN general assemby and security council.”

It it is difficult to say if this will really lead to the prosecution of jihadists on charges of genocide. Some would argue that this is could change a lot of things, while others are skeptical at this stage.

“Even though it’s going to open up some form of a breakthrough, and I think that people will use this, and use it as a platform to try to open up legal avenues, and even political avenues… but because the UN is so politicised, and the issue is so sensitive in that it’s overlapping to many different interests, that it might actually fall short,” Catherine Shakdam, a political analyst on the Middle East, told RFI.

“Even though something has been given today, I’m not sure the UN will actually follow through, or that politicians will actually follow through, and help change anything.

“It’s a form of political postering where they are giving something to the public so that they can’t be blamed and can’t say that they haven’t done anything at all, so they’re giving a little nugget to the public to say ‘well this is what we’re saying, this is where we stand’… but I don’t really think that it’s going to be the breakthrough that people expect, and that the people deserve.”

The use of the word genocide is a breakthrough. However, a previous attempt to ask the UN security council to refer Syrian war crimes to the inteational criminal court failed due to objections from Russia and China.

The four independent commissioners claimed at least 3,200 Yazidis women and children were still being held by the militants.

SHAFAQNA – The Grand Ayatollah Safi answered a question about diving and fasting.

Question: Please explain the ruling about fasting for those individuals whose job is diving in deep waters.

The Grand Ayatollah Safi: According to Wajeb precaution, going under water with diving clothes, makes the fast void, but if the person is inside a submarine which is like a room and the body is not under water, the fast is not void.

Source: PERSIAN SHAFAQNA