Courtesy Conn Hallinan

An Afghan policeman is seen inside a destroyed house whom the Afghan government said was bombed by U.S.-led coalition forces on Friday in Azizabad district of Shindand, in Afghanistan August 23, 2008. Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Saturday condemned a U.S.-led coalition air strike his government says killed 76 civilians, most of them women and children. REUTERS/Mohammad Shoiab

Every war has a story line. World War I was “the war to end all wars.” World War II was “the war to defeat fascism.”

Iraq was sold as a war to halt weapons of mass destruction; then to overthrow Saddam Hussein, then to build democracy. In the end it was a fabrication built on a falsehood and anchored in a fraud.

But Afghanistan is the “good war,” aimed at “those who attacked us,” in the words of columnist Frank Rich. It is “the war of necessity,” asserts the New York Times, to roll back the “power of al-Qaeda and the Taliban.”

Barack Obama is making the distinction between the “bad war” in Iraq and the “good war” in Afghanistan a centerpiece of his run for the presidency. He proposes ending the war in Iraq and redeploying U.S. military forces in order “to finish the job in Afghanistan.”

Virtually no one in the United States or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) calls for negotiating with the Taliban. Even the New York Times editorializes that those who want to talk “have deluded themselves.”

But the Taliban government did not attack the United States. Our old ally, Osama bin Laden, did. Al-Qaeda and the Taliban are not the same organization (if one can really call al-Qaeda an “organization”), and no one seems to be listening to the Afghans.

We should be.

What Afghans Say

A recent poll of Afghan sentiment found that, while the majority dislikes the Taliban, 74% want negotiations and 54% would support a coalition government that included the Taliban.

This poll reflects a deeply divided country where most people are sitting on the fence and waiting for the final outcome of the war. Forty percent think the current government of Hamid Karzai, allied with the United States and NATO, will prevail, 19% say the Taliban, and 40% say it is “too early to say.”

There is also strong ambivalence about the presence of foreign troops. Only 14% want them out now, but 52% want them out within three to five years. In short, the Afghans don’t want a war to the finish.

They also have a far more nuanced view of the Taliban and al-Qaeda. While the majority oppose both groups –13% support the Taliban and 19% al-Qaeda – only 29% see the former organization as “a united political force.”

But that view doesn’t fit the West’s story line of the enemy as a tightly disciplined band of fanatics.

Whither the Taliban

In fact, the Taliban appears to be evolving from a creation of the U.S., Saudi Arabian, and Pakistani intelligence agencies during Afghanistan’s war with the Soviet Union, to a polyglot collection of dedicated Islamists to nationalists. Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar told the Agence France Presse early this year, “We’re fighting to free our country. We are not a threat to the world.”

Those are words that should give Obama, The New York Times, and NATO pause.

The initial invasion in 2001 was easy because the Taliban had alienated itself from the vast majority of Afghans. But the weight of occupation, and the rising number of civilian deaths, is shifting the resistance toward a war of national liberation.

No foreign power has ever won that battle in Afghanistan.

War Gone Bad

There is no mystery as to why things have gone increasingly badly for the United States and its allies.

As the United States steps up its air war, civilian casualties have climbed steadily over the past two years. Nearly 700 were killed in the first three months of 2008, a major increase over last year. In a recent incident, 47 members of a wedding party were killed in Helmand Province. In a society where clan, tribe, and blood feuds are a part of daily life, that single act sowed a generation of enmity.

Anatol Lieven, a professor of war at King’s College London, says that a major impetus behind the growing resistance is anger over the death of family members and neighbors.

Lieven says it is as if Afghanistan is “becoming a sort of surreal hunting estate, in which the U.S. and NATO breed the very terrorists they then track down.”
Once a population turns against an occupation (or just decides to stay neutral), there are few places in the world where an occupier can win. Afghanistan, with its enormous size and daunting geography, is certainly not one of them.

Writing in Der Spiegel, Ullrich Fichter says that glancing at a map in the International Security Assistance Force’s (ISAF) headquarters outside Kandahar could give one the impression that Afghanistan is under control. “Colorful little flags identify the NATO troops presence throughout the country,” Germans in the northeast, Americans in the east, Italians in the West, British and Canadians in the south, with flags from Turkey, the Netherlands, Spain, Lithuania, Australia and Sweden scattered between.

“But the flags are an illusion,” he says.

The UN considers one third of the country “inaccessible,” and almost half, “high risk.” The number of roadside bombs has increased fivefold over 2004, and the number of armed attacks has jumped by a factor of 10. In the first three months of 2008, attacks around Kabul have surged by 70%. The current national government has little presence outside its capital. President Karzai is routinely referred to as “the mayor of Kabul.”

According to Der Spiegel, the Taliban are moving north toward Kunduz, just as they did in 1994 when they broke out of their base in Kandahar and started their drive to take over the country. The Asia Times says the insurgents’ strategy is to cut NATO’s supply lines from Pakistan and establish a “strategic corridor” from the border to Kabul.

The United States and NATO currently have about 60,000 troops in Afghanistan. But many NATO troops are primarily concerned with rebuilding and development – the story that was sold to the European public to get them to support the war – and only secondarily with war fighting.

The Afghan army adds about 70,000 to that number, but only two brigades and one headquarters unit are considered capable of operating on their own.

According to U.S. counter insurgency doctrine, however, Afghanistan would require at least 400,000 troops to even have a chance of “winning” the war. Adding another 10,000 U.S. troops will have virtually no effect.

Afghanistan and the Elections

As the situation continues to deteriorate, some voices, including those of the Karzai government and both U.S. presidential candidates, advocate expanding the war into Pakistan in a repeat of the invasions of Laos and Cambodia, when the Vietnam War began spinning out of control. Both those invasions were not only a disaster for the invaders. They also led directly to the genocide in Cambodia.

By any measure, a military “victory” in Afghanistan is simply not possible. The only viable alternative is to begin direct negotiations with the Taliban, and to draw in regional powers with a stake in the outcome: Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, China, and India.

But to do so will require abandoning our “story” about the Afghan conflict as a “good war.” In this new millennium, there are no good wars.

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Courtesy Yitzhak Benhorin

Barack Obama’s new running mate praises Israel In 2007 interview with ‘Shalom TV’

US Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) (L) and his vice presidential running mate Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) attend a campaign event at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois, August 23, 2008.     REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski

WASHINGTON – Senator Joe Biden, who was chosen by Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama to be his running mate in the upcoming US elections, has previously declared himself to be a Zionist. Calling Israel “the single greatest strength America has in the Middle East,” he also revealed a Jewish connection in an interview last year.

During the interview conducted by the Jewish ‘Shalom TV’ Biden said, “I am a Zionist. You don’t have to be a Jew to be a Zionist.” He also revealed that his son is married to a Jewish woman, of the Berger family from Delaware, and that he had participated in a Passover Seder at their house.

He added that “probably my most poignant Seder memory is not with the Bergers, but what happened right after I came back from meeting Golda Meir (in 1973). I had predicted that something was going on in Egypt. And I remember people talking about what it meant to them if Israel were actually defeated.”

Biden presented himself as a friend to Israel, which he referred to as the US’ greatest Middle East ally.

“Imagine our circumstance in the world were there no Israel. How many battleships would there be? How many troops would be stationed?” he asked.

He also called comments about Israel’s connection to the war in Iraq “insulting”, explaining that “if tomorrow, peace broke out between Israelis and Palestinians, does anybody think there wouldn’t be a full-blown war in Iraq?”

Regarding the terror attacks in Israel, Biden said the Sept. 11 attacks made American parents feel what Israeli parents have been feeling. “The difference between now and before 9/11,” he said, “is that many Americans can taste what it must feel like for every Israeli mother and father when they send their kid out to school with their lunch to put them on a bus, on a bicycle or to walk; and they pray to God that cell phone doesn’t ring.”

‘No pardon for Pollard’

Biden also commented on Jonathan Pollard, sentenced to life in prison for espionage charges. “He has to serve his sentence. There’s a rationale, in my view, why Pollard should be given leniency. But there is not a rationale to say, ‘What happened did not happen and should be pardoned’,” he said.

“My worry is that, if I were president, to go and pardon Pollard would make a lie out of the notion that there are certain rules. You cannot give classified information, period. Even to a friend. If this were Great Britain, it would be the same thing.”

Biden is currently serving his sixth term in the US Senate, is of Irish descent, and was born in Pennsylvania. He became an attorney in 1969 and in 1972 was first elected to Senate. Just a short while later, his wife and one of his children were killed in a car accident. His two sons were injured but recovered fully.

Biden became a senator at the age of 30, which is the earliest age at which one can be elected to the Senate according to US law. He continues to reside in Delaware and makes the two-hour journey to Capitol Hill by train every morning.

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By Sumayyah Meehan, MMNS

Computer-generated image of the Burj Dubai.

The world has never seen anyone who can match the death-defying feats performed by Evel Knievel, the Greatest Stuntman to have ever lived. Although many have tried and succeeded with their own risky stunts, no one has ever dared go to the extreme heights Knievel went to in order to wow spectators and fans. That was until now.

We should have seen this one coming. Dubai undertakes constructing the tallest building in the World, Burj Dubai, which is still under construction and already stands at 630 meters tall and is expected to reach 900 meters by completion, which would make it twice the size of the New York Times building in the US State of New York. And before the plaster can even dry on the walls, the daredevils and extreme sport junkies have already begun to descend on this tiny Gulf nation. So far, two men have ‘base’ jumped from the Burj Dubai. Only one was successful. A British citizen jumped from the 150th floor landing on the ground as Dubai police waited to arrest him for trespassing. He faces up to a year in prison. Another man, a French citizen, did not even make it to the building as he was arrested when police spotted him with his ‘jump’ gear.

Now the world’s most infamous daredevil known as ‘Spiderman’, hailing from New York, has set his sites on the Burj Dubai. In a recent interview, Alain Roberts was quoted as saying that his plans for the future include scaling the monstrous building. Roberts has already been arrested numerous times for criminal trespass, endangerment and graffiti as he often spray paints a message once he scales a building. He has already scaled the current top three largest buildings in the world, so climbing the Burj Dubai will definitely be on the ‘To Do’ list of the seasoned adrenaline junkie. However, the climb will still be illegal. It remains to be seen just how Roberts not only plans on entering the country (authorities in Dubai have most likely already been alerted to his plan) but also his strategy for evading security at the Burj Dubai. If the attack on the World Trade Center taught us anything it is that tall buildings are targets for terrorism simply because of their iconic status and the number of people they can hold. And at the Burj Dubai security is already tight as a drum even though it is not yet complete. Perhaps ‘Spiderman’ will exchange his red-leotards in favor of a black ‘burqa’ for the Burj Dubai climb?

If Evel Knievel were still alive even he might marvel at the boldness of the latest stunts that use the World’s tallest structures as a base. However, when it comes to the mammoth Burj Dubai, daredevils might think twice about climbing, or even jumping, from the very top once completed. Architects have already anticipated that the top of the structure will sway a bit in the wind due to the sheer height of the building. It is estimated that the Burj Dubai will sway at least 1.5 meters, which could make even veteran daredevils lose their balance, or perhaps at least their lunch.

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By Elder George

I came across a news item this week that stated Scotland now has more marriage ceremonies conducted by the state than by religious institutions. This trend represents a natural outgrowth of Western thought, which does not understand the purpose of marriage. It considers marriage a legal vehicle to administer the convenience of living together for the purpose of satisfying personal desires. State conducted marriage ceremonies do not require any obligation to the rest of society or any societal obligation to the married people. It does not infer any sanctity on marriage and does not concern itself with its permanence.

The natural purpose of marriage is to ensure the propagation and preservation of the species including its spiritual growth. It is a communal activity attended by all members of the tribe, for their safety and preservation depend upon proper unions and their offspring. Native societies throughout the world conduct marriage ceremonies, which express the seriousness of the union. Marriage represents more than a utilitarian arrangement of the peoples, it also serves as a manifestation of spiritual understanding and activity. All religions sanctify marriage.

Even within materialistic Western society, religious sects can be found that place a big emphasis on marriage and family. An example is the Amish or Pennsylvania Dutch. All their marriage ceremonies are religious and are conducted in the home. Divorce is non-existent. This religious sect has resisted “modernization,” in many respects. They are organic farmers and shun the use of all chemicals. They do not use modern machinery but rely on horse-drawn farm equipment. Men work the fields and women nurture the family. They do not vaccinate their children and have never had a case of autism among them.

The population of the Amish has increased rapidly and they are purportedly the fastest growing religious sect in America. They have moved far beyond the borders of Pennsylvania and now have a presence in 28 states. A custom of the Amish is to leave the land to their heirs, but with so many heirs many Amish have moved on to where land is more readily available.

The Amish are but one example of those who have not prostituted the fundamentals of their faith for fame or fortune, and they have reaped great rewards. They have family, good health, and prosperity in the sense that their earthly needs are provided for. They do all of this without the intervention of the government. They do it without advanced education either, as Amish children do not receive formal education beyond the eighth grade; all further schooling comes from within the community.      

I did not write this article for the purpose of promoting the religion of the Amish but to show that there are those within the materialistic Western culture who have resisted modernization, maintained their faith, remained independent of the government, and prospered as a result.

Marriage is a spiritual undertaking supported by religious ritual and dogma. It is not a state institution. This is an important consideration for Muslims, for the pressure imposed by Western society on the entire Islamic community is to be more “modern” and “moderate.” Fundamental truths are neither modern nor ancient and their practice does not go out of style.

Elder George’s website is www.mensaction.net and he can be reached at 212-874-7900 ext. 1329.

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By Bob Wood, MMNS

We’re hearing lies again! It’s just as simple and nasty as that. Perhaps we should always hold that thought as the default assumption when listening to reporters in the financial media or someone employed by one of the big brokers. Paying heed to what they offer most likely goes against our own self interests and goes towards fulfilling theirs alone.

One reason often used as justification for buying stocks in one of the world’s most over-valued markets, the U.S domestic stock market, is the familiar refrain: ‘’stocks are cheap,’’ and that determination is based on whatever valuation metric seems to fit the day’s premise. Wall Street does a great job of at using metrics that favor its premise, regardless of whether valuations are truly cheap or mighty expensive.

Lately, we’ve been hearing that stocks are cheap based on forward-earnings estimates. Forward earning are just that –estimates, and we’ve been hearing that hoopla for the past few years. But then, what good would it do stock and mutual fund sellers to admit that stocks are expensive based on real-world ways of measuring them?

Stocks and funds must be marketed and sold, so, logically, advertising them as “cheap” works much better than admitting they are expensive now but might get even more pricy over time. So the master sales people simply begin with their premise and then work the statistics and other rationale to fit it. Thus, we hear again and again that stocks are cheap, based mainly, now, on those forward-earnings estimates.

One problem with using forward estimates is that you are investing based on someone else’s best guess as to how high earnings will go in the future. But how good has the Wall Street record been for predicting earnings in recent quarters? Let’s remember that those leading financial firms missed forecasting almost entirely the housing and mortgage market crises and the resulting hits to earnings.

How many of them anticipated the steep drop in earnings for big Dow components like G.M., Citigroup and AIG earlier this year, while continuing to promote those stocks based on forward earnings from last year or the year before? Those large companys’ earnings have been hit so badly that the Dow Jones Industrial Average no longer has a usable P/E multiple!

Perhaps the worst reason for using specious earnings estimates is extrapolating them into an average-forward earnings estimate. We now hear that the S&P 500 sells at a ‘’reasonable 15 times forward earnings and, while not exactly cheap, it’s not all that expensive either.’’

But we heard that last year, too, so wouldn’t you expect, with the market’s dropping since last October, the average P/E for those stocks would be about 13 or 14? However, in the latest edition of Barrons, the average P/E for the S&P 500 is listed at 25!

If these assertions about forward earnings estimates were right over the past few years, when are we going to see the markets sell at the average valuations we’ve been promised? How long can these promoters continue to tell us year after year that the market is cheap based on such flawed assumptions regarding corporate profits? Do they assume that investors will never catch on?

Another lie that is becoming embarrassingly hard to pitch is that the stock market is the way to get rich for anyone with available capital to deploy. Again and again, I ask people how many investors they know who became wealthy by investing in stocks. Each time, I get answers that Wall Street would not want to hear.

And now, with the implosion of the mortgage market and the ‘’financial innovations’’ that Alan Greenspan promoted so highly as Chairman of the Federal Reserve – when this current mess was constructed, even the brokers themselves are going bust! Remember the venerable Bear Stearns?

Have you looked at performance charts for other large financial firms like Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and others? Not good! If those players can’t make money in the markets for themselves, how are they going to make money for their clients?

Some well regarded analysts are whispering that the basic business model for big brokers and investment banks is broken and that many of them will soon fail. Those who will survive are rapidly diluting the value of their shares held by investors by raising capital to offset billions of dollars in losses from their internal operations.

The staggering losses are being painfully endured by shareholders of the biggest and oldest financial firms in the country. Aren’t these the same financial leaders who would lead us down the royal road to stock market riches?

So far, these and other financial firms around the world have admitted to losing about $500 billion, with credible estimates from analysts like Nouriel Roubini suggesting that far greater losses are yet to come. And this does not include the billions of dollars in mortgage losses now being felt at Fannie and Freddie, the two largest buyers of those products!

How many times have you heard that stocks have never endured a 10-year period of losses in the modern history of our U.S. markets? Yet, we now can see that over the past 10 years, our markets have gone nowhere! And since most investors do not beat the market over time, what can be assumed about true investor performance over that time?

That the stock market has garnered investors nothing in the past 10 years shows only the nominal performance of the major averages. But with inflation rapidly accelerating, the loss in real terms flies in the face of those assertions that investors who hang in for the long haul will invariably be rewarded.

How many times in the past couple of years have we heard that we are nearing a bottom in housing problems, only to see further deterioration? Even leading home builders are saying they don’t foresee an end of their troubles any time soon.

How many times have we heard from leaders like Hank Paulson or Ben Bernanke that the subprime mortgage mess would be “contained” and do only minimal damage to the overall economy? How many times has Bernanke testified before a Congressional panel or committee, explaining that he sees inflation moderating in the coming fiscal quarters. Meanwhile, during the past week, we heard the highest inflation figures in the past 17 years!

How many times has President Bush told us what great work his administration is doing on fiscal policy and how the Federal budget deficit is on track to become balanced–with no deficit projected in another five years or so? But last month, the federal budget deficit hit an all-time high for one month, over $100 billion. Oh, and Congress raised the national debt ceiling, again, by a not-so-inconsequential amount, $800 billion. If Bush and team are doing such a wonderful job, why such massive borrowing?

We also heard in past years that the falling dollar was good since it boosts exports and helps bring down our messy trade deficits. But the dollar has been tanking for the past six years, and the trade deficit is still setting new records each year!

Are you getting my drift? We’re being led down the path to financial ruin, and all the while, our leaders in Washington and on Wall Street are telling us to expect nothing but good times ahead. The big brokers promise us expert advice on all things financial while they themselves are blowing up on whatever they’ve been selling.

And once again, investor losses are piling up, and we see this stacking up as the lost decade for investors. But then, when have investors profited over the long term in stocks? That ‘’stocks-for-the-long-run ‘’ premise may be the biggest lie of all.

Have a great week.
Bob

Bob Wood ChFC, CLU Yusuf Kadiwala. Registered Investment Advisors, KMA, Inc., invest@muslimobserver.com.

By Susan Schwartz, MMNS

More than 40 courageous humanitarians, inspired by the suffering and deprivation of the people in Gaza, sailed two ships into Gaza with no interference from Israeli authorities and effectively broke the siege that the Israeli government has imposed there.

The diverse international group of volunteers were greeted by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and thousands of cheering Palestinians.

Anticipation of the boats’ arrival had lent a celebratory air to the waiting crowd. Police had to control traffic and set up tents for people while they waited. Tears were interspersed among the cheers as the boats approached and the magnitude of the event began to dawn on the people. Balloons were given out, and children jumped into the water in their excitement. The FreeGaza people had been hampered by stormy seas and breakdowns in their electronic communications. Many had received anonymous threats, and the specter of an Israeli assault on their ships and persons was always imminent. Their intent had been to stay in 24/7 communication with the outside world, and they blamed the Israelis for jamming the equipment.

Mr. Haniyeh has invited Arab League leader Amr Moussa to visit Gaza. He has also called on Egypt to open the border for entry and exit from Rafah into Egypt.

A blockade of their vessels, the SS FreeGaza and the SS Liberty, by Israeli authorities had also been considered a possible response, and the ships carried enough supplies to idle for two weeks should they be unable to land. Greek and Cypriot authorities examined both ships and declared that they were free of weapons.

Israel relented but made it clear that the boats will be inspected before they are allowed to depart and that this is not a precedent for future similar missions. Each future mission will be judged by the Israelis based on individual circumstances.

The activists have brought toys, batteries for hearing aids (forbidden by the Israeli authorities because of supposed dual use), water filters (also forbidden by Israeli authorities) to supply Gaza residents with potable water, and some medicines.

One of the first activities of the volunteers has been to accompany Gaza fishermen to an area in the Mediterranean seven miles from shore. Fishing is one of the most popular occupations for Gaza residents, and the Oslo Accords gave them the right to fish up to 20 miles off shore. However, the Israeli Navy has interdicted fishing boats and generally harassed the fishermen, rendering that means of livelihood problematic at best.

Travellers include Greta Berlin, Mary Hughes, and Paul Larudee, all three activists in the International Solidarity Movement ( ISM); Lauren Booth, the sister-in-law of former British Prime Minister and current Middle East envoy, Tony Blair; Hedy Epstein, a Holocaust survivor, and Anne Montgomery, a nun, the latter two in their eighties.

There was a sense that this is the beginning of the end of the blockade of Gaza. The volunteers bravely defied the Israeli government and, in effect, stared it down. The main stream media have begun to take notice. Every traveller will take back to his or her home an eye witness account of the Israeli siege of Gaza.

The trip has thus far also included a visit to a hospital in Gaza City which has seen the most damage from Israeli military aggression. A physician there told volunteer Mary Hughes that 50 children have died because Israel would not permit them to leave Gaza for Israel where medical treatment would have saved their lives. Hundreds of others have died because the Israelis have denied them life saving treatment. Babies have been born to mothers at checkpoints and died because Israeli soldiers would not permit them access through the checkpoints to hospitals. Babies in incubators and patients who require dialysis for kidney disease are at extremely high risk because Israel allows the hospital only a few hours of electricity a day, and these patients will be disconnected from life saving equipment for most of the day.

The travellers had lunch with Mr. Haniyeh and were presented with medals for their heroism. They visited homes where enthusiastic Palestinians greeted them with hugs and kisses. The presence of this international band gave them hope and a reason to be optimistic.

FreeGaza has defied the Israeli siege of Gaza, a small step toward eventual liberation, but a step that not only touches the residents of Gaza but the rest of the world. The volunteers have told their story through some media outlets. More will follow as the volunteers return and address wider audiences.

The freeGaza project was conceived two years ago and was often hampered by financial considerations. To learn more about the movement and to contribute funds – payment for the boats has not been completed – please visit: www.freeGaza.orf.

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2008 – CAIR-Houston Annual Dinner – Ambasador Edward Peck – Attorney Neiyyar Izfar – Group Photo.

Ambassador Peck At CAIR-Houston Annual Dinner

About $150,000 was raised at the Houston Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-Houston) at a local hotel. Program started with recitation of Quran followed by President of CAIR-Houston Dr. Tarek Hussein welcoming everybody. Special Mayoral Proclamations were given by Bill White of Houston and James Thompson of Sugar Land. Congressional Proclamations came from Sheila Jackson Lee, Nick Lampson and AL Green.

Keynote speaker on the occasion was Former Ambassador Edward Peck. His speech was followed by Co-Founder of CAIR Nihad Awad giving accomplishments and explaining the reactive (like protesting in a civil manner against wrong policies) and pro-active (like educating the mass) work of CAIR (including Scholarship programs for Muslim Students in Journalism and Law.

Former Ambassador Edward Peck served as Chief of Mission in Baghdad (Iraq 1977 to 1980) in the Carter Administration and later on in the career became Ambassador in Mauritania. His topic of speech was: “American Muslims: Communicating Understanding”.

Edward Peck argued against invading Iraq prior to the March 2003 invasion. He argued, in part, “When you take out Saddam Hussein, the key question you have to ask then is, what happens after that? And we don’t have a clue. Nobody knows, but it’s probably going to be bad. And a lot of people are going to be very upset about that, because that really is not written into our role in this world is to decide who rules Iraq.” And this is exactly what happened.

Mr. Peck has been highly critical of U.S. policy toward Israel, arguing through the Council for the National Interest (CNI) in which he plays an active role, which the U.S. should be more even handed in its Middle East policy. He argues that while Hezbollah could be considered a terrorist organization, it is no more terrorist than Israel or the U.S. itself. He supports a dialogue with Hezbollah. He claims that in 2000, at the Camp David talks, Israel offered the Palestinians “12 little Bantustans.”

Edward Peck concluded his presentation with this: “In 1985, when I was the Deputy Director of the Reagan White House Task Force on Terrorism, they asked us — this is a Cabinet Task Force on Terrorism; I was the Deputy Director of the working group — they asked us to come up with a definition of terrorism that could be used throughout the government. We produced about six, and each and every case, they were rejected, because careful reading would indicate that our own country had been involved in some of those activities. After the task force concluded its work, Congress got into it, and you can Google into U.S. Code Title 18, Section 2331, and read the U.S. definition of terrorism. And one of them in here says — one of the terms, “international terrorism” means “activities that,” I quote, “appear to be intended to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping.” Yes, well, certainly, you can think of  a number of countries that have been involved in such activities. Ours is one of them. Israel is another. And so, the terrorist, of course, is in the eye of the beholder.”

Open House presentations ended with refreshments followed by Parents going to their children classes and talking with the teachers about the upcoming School Year. For more information about Iman Academy, one can visit http://www.imanacademy.org/

Iman Academy Schools Fulfilling the Pledges: Sheikh Hamed Ghazali

“As Superintendent three years ago, I together with my team announced that we will take Iman Academy with the Blessings of God to the next better stage: With the Grace of God, we have achieved that: Today Iman Academy is an Exemplary School; our Students to Teacher Ratio has improved; except for one teacher all others are either certified or in the process of getting the certification; we have Arts and PE Instructors and many other such achievements,” These were the words of Sheikh Hamed Ghazali, as he greeted all the parents to Open House at the beginning of the School Year 2008-09. One of the founding members Abdul Hameed Duamni also spoke on the occasion explaining how everyone at Iman Academy is diligently working to build the next generation: He requested everyone to help in the construction of new facilities.

Earlier Principal Ijaz welcomed everyone, which was followed by PowerPoint presentation by Assistant Principal Kashan Ishaq, who talked about building the character of students and importance of participation of all the teachers and parents in the process of educating and training of students.

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By Syed Aslam

Abu Nasar Mohammad ibn Al-Farabi, also known in Europe  as  Alpharabis was born in Wasij,  the province of Farab in Turkestan, in 872 CE. His father belonged to a noble family of Persian origin. He received his early education at Farab, Bukhara and higher education at Baghdad, where he studied  logic, philosophy, music, mathematics,  sciences and many other languages.. He was a pupil of the great translator and interpreter of Greek philosophy, Abu Bishr Matta of Baghdad. He traveled Ciro, Damascus, Harran and  finally to Aleppo. Here he became part of the literary circle in the court of Saif al-Daula Hamdani  the ruler of Syria. The king offered him  the position of a Judgeship which he accepted, but later on he took teaching and writing  as his main profession.  Close to end of his life  al-Farabi left the city he was teaching and wandered on his own in the countryside to reflect and to write, it was probably his desire  to reform his society that inclined him towards Sufism. His travels brought him to Egypt and finally to Damascus where he died  in year 890 CE.

Al-Farabi was a great Muslim philosopher, who also made considerable contributions in logic, music, psychology, sociology, mathematics and medicine. He was a prolific writer and as such he authored more than one hundred books and commentaries.  He was the first Muslim thinker to develop a non-Aristotelian logic which he divided in two categories first the “Idea” and second the “proof.” In his treatise, The Virtuous City  he has discussed in great detail the social psychology of the masses. It is the best source for al-Farabi’s political philosophy,  while this work embraces Platonic themes, it is in no way an Arabic clone of Plato’s Republic. Here he lays down in Platonic fashion the qualities necessary for the rulers.  He identifies four different types of corrupt city: these are the ignorant city, the dissolute city , the turncoat city  and the straying city  His ideal virtuous city  is that which wholeheartedly embraces the pursuit of goodness and happiness and where the virtues will clearly abound. The heart of al-Farabi’s political philosophy is the concept of happiness. The virtuous society, according him is a society  in which people cooperate to gain happiness.

Al-Farabi authored two voluminous books concerning the knowledge and intellect, Categories of Science and  Epistle on Intellect. The first work illustrates neatly al-Farabi’s beliefs both about what can be learned and the range of that knowledge. He divides his work into five major chapters: namely, science of language, science of logic, mathematical science, metaphysics and political science and concludes with  a sermon on the importance  of acquiring knowledge. It is the second book  which provides perhaps the most useful key to al-Farabi’s complex theories about the intellect. In this work he divides ‘intellect  into six major categories in an attempt to elaborate the various meanings of the Arabic word ‘aql. The first intellect  is discernment ; the individual who acts for the good of the people, is characterized by this faculty. The second  intellects is that which has been identified with common sense and the third  is natural perception.  The fourth  may be characterized as ‘conscience’:  which is a quality whereby good might be distinguished from evil. The fifth intellect is both the most difficult and the most important, it could be of four types, potential intellect, actual intellect, acquired intellect and  active intellect.  The sixth and last of the major intellects is Divine Reason or God himself, the source of all intellectual energy and power.

Al-Farabi undertook the meticulous study of ancient philosophy, particularly of Plato and Aristotle, absorbing the components of Platonic and neo-Platonic philosophy, which he integrated into his own Islamic philosophy, whose chief source was the Qur`an and the various sciences of Qur`an.  He tried to understand the ideas of Plato and Aristotle and expressed in his book The gathering of the ideas of the two philosophers. The main aim of this work was to revive and reinvent the neo-Aristotelian tradition of Alexandria. It seems he succeeded and was honored by title of “the second master” of philosophy (Aristotle being the first). He wrote rich commentaries on Aristotle’s logic and physics  His synthesis of philosophy and Sufism paved the way for Ibn Sina to develop his philosophical thoughts. Al-Farabi loved music and wrote a book on it, titled; The Book of Music. He invented a number of musical instruments and his pure Arabian tone system is still used in the Arabian music. He has discussed the therapeutic effect of music on the soul in his treatise. In physics he carried out the first experiment concerning the existence of vacuum. He concluded that air’s volume can expand to fill the available space.     

Al-Farabi represents a turning-point in the history of Islamic philosophical thought, since he was the first Muslim thinker to use universal reason in his his philosophy. He lived in a historical period during which the central Khelafat was falling apart into small independent states.

He was very concerned to restore the unity of Islamic thought through logic within the Islamic culture.  He made the political science the core of his philosophy basing on the system of rule which governs the nature and on Qur`an. He believed that the aim of knowledge was the knowledge of God, his attributes and his laws permitting human beings to achieve highest level of wisdom and intellect. Education is one of the most important social phenomena in al-Farabi’s philosophical system.

It is concerned with the human soul and makes sure that the individual is prepared from an early age to become a member of society, to achieve his own level of perfection. Indeed, the whole activity of education, in his  view, is the acquisition of values, knowledge and practical skills by the individual.

The goal of education is to lead the individual to perfection since the human being was created for this purpose, and the goal of humanity’s existence in this world is to attain happiness, which is the highest perfection—the absolute good.

Al-Farabi’s concepts of essence and existence provided a base for the elaborated metaphysics of Ibn Sina and thence of Thomas Aquinas. 

The  comparisons between the tenfold hierarchy of intellection produced by al-Farabi and the similar hierarchy espoused by Ibn Sina, each of which gives a key role to the Tenth Intellect, shows that in matters of emanation and hierarchy Ibn Sina owes a considerable intellectual debt to his predecessor.

Al-Farabi influenced many other thinkers as well. A glance at the period between 870 CE and  1023 CE where four major Muslim thinkers were born and flourished during this period, were heavily influenced by al-Farabi.

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