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9/25/08:

This is a screenshot (taken 9/25/08 at approx. 5:55pm), not a live interactive page, because our statistics page when left publicly available is targeted by internet spam bots.

By Mahmoud El-Yousseph

Artwork from the Sabra refugee camp in Lebanon.

Sabra and Shatila are two Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut, Lebanon where over two thousand Palestinians were massacred during three days in September 1982 by hundreds of Lebanese Phalange and Haddad militiamen with the aid and support of the Israeli Defense Forces.

During the 1982 Israeli invasion into Lebanon and siege of Beirut, U.S. Envoy Phillip Habib managed to have a written agreement whereby Palestinian fighters would leave Lebanon, providing a U.S. guarantee to the safety of Palestinian refugees left behind in the camps.

After Palestinian fighters evacuated Lebanon, the Israeli army sealed off Sabra and Shatila refugee camps and established a command post at the Kuwaiti embassy, a seven-story building overlooking both camps.

Present at the command post were the primary architects of the atrocity: Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon and Chief of Lebanese Forces Intelligence Elie Hobeika, along with high-ranking Israeli army officials.

In the early morning of September 16th, the Israeli army allowed bloodthirsty armed militiamen to enter the camps, provided with weapons, bulldozers, and communication equipment. They were also given hashish and heroin to help them maintain “courage.” For 48 hours, the militia participated in wholesale slaughter and rape. Women and children were not spared. The Israeli army lit the skies over the camps by firing flares during the nights, and also prevented residents of the camp from escaping. A group of refugees who reached the one of the Israeli checkpoint were ordered by soldiers to return back into the camp – even though they told soldiers that people are being slaughtered inside. This encounter was documented by a Scandinavian news crew. 

Ellen Siegel was an American nurse from Baltimore who volunteered at Gaza hospital in Sabra camp. She was rounded up with 20 other foreign medical personal. Upon hearing the radio communications that the butchers inside the camp were ready to execute all of them, an army officer stopped the order and ran back to the camp to rescue Miss Siegel and another female nurse from Holland. The rest were lined up against the wall and executed. Miss Siegel was among 3 Americans who testified in the Kahane Commission, the Israeli official inquiry into the massacre.

No adjectives exist to describe this heinous atrocity. This crime was beyond all human and moral comprehension. However, an American journalist and researcher, Janet Stevens was among the first people to visit both camps the day after this ugly crime. She wrote the following testimony to her American friend Franklin Lamb:

“I saw dead women in their houses with their skirts up to their waists and their legs spread apart; dozens of young men shot after being lined up against an alley wall; children with20their throats slit, a pregnant woman with her stomach chopped open, her eyes still wide open, her blackened face silently screaming in horror; countless babies and toddlers who had been stabbed or ripped apart and who had been thrown into garbage piles.”

As the news and images of the massacre were broadcast worldwide, shockwaves, anger, and resentment were felt everywhere. I do remember exactly having the same feeling during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In fact there were a lot similarities: The number of casualties almost the same, in both cases the victims were innocent civilians, and the perpetrators of both crimes were ruthless criminals who did not value human life. 

In Israel, 400,000 protesters took part in a peace rally in Tel Aviv demanding the resignation of Ariel Sharon and demanded he should be tried for war crimes. 

An Israeli commentator denounced Sharon’s complicity into the massacre in a commentary, which said in part, “…you can’t toss a snake into a cradle, then act surprise when the baby gets bitten.”

Meanwhile the Kahane Commission in Israel turned out to be a “kangaroo court” where the outcome was essentially predetermined, and the process was compromised. Several high-ranking military officers were found negligent, got a slap on the hand and later promoted. Sharon was forced to resign as the defense minister, and was barred for life from holding public office. Depsite all of this, Israelis elected him in 2001 as their prime minister. In 2005, President Bush called this certified war criminal as “a man of peace”. “The butcher of Beirut” would have been more accurate title to describe Ariel Sharon.

But what happened to the victims and those responsible for the massacre 25 years later is mind-boggling.

On June 18, 2001, several victims and other relatives sued Ariel Sharon for war crimes in a Belgium Court. But under pressure from U.S. and Israeli governments, Belgium dropped the case as inadmissible. According to Franklin Lamb, Belgium scrapped the case after US Secretary of Defense then, Donald Rumsfeld, told Belgium: “It is your goddamned Sharon Trail or NATO Headquarter, you choose!”

As for the militiamen who took part in the killing, they all received amnesty from the Lebanese government.

Elie Hobeika was killed in a car bomb in Beirut 20 years after the massacre. His killing took place days after he gave an interview threatening to turn more damning evidence against Ariel Sharon in the Belgium Court.

Two of Hobeika’s top lieutenants were assassinated in separate incidents.

Ariel Sharon suffered massive stroke in 2006 that ended his political career. Later, Israel’s cabinet declared Sharon officially “permanently incapacitated” until this day.

Finally, remember the 3 Americans who testified in the Kahane Commission?

Janet Stevens was killed during the 1983 bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut. She was pregnant with her first child, a baby boy. Mrs. Stevens went into the Embassy to seek more aid for the Lebanese people in the south and Palestinians in Beirut who were affected by the Israeli invasion and by the massacre. Mrs. Stevens’ best friend, Franklin Lamb is a prominent researcher and author, frequently writing about the Middle East . Their work and sacrifices for human rights represent America’s beautiful face.

Ellen Siegel continues to write letters, make calls, and write op-ed pieces to bring justice for the victims of the Sabra and Shatilla massacres and to promote genuine peace between Palestinians and Israelis. I had the privilege of meeting her in 1985 in a Washington, D.C. hotel lobby. She has returned to Lebanon several times. She is currently in Lebanon for the 26th anniversary of the massacre to stand in solidarity with the Palestinians. To honor and pay tribute the victims and their loved ones, she will be placing roses on the soil of the mass grave of the victims, and intend to silently recite Kaddish, the Hebrew prayer for the dead.

– Mahmoud El-Yousseph is a retired USAF Veteran. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com. Contact him at: elyousseph6@yahoo.com.

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Nabeel Gareeb, the CEO of MEMC, has weathered many storms and has always rescued his company to safety. It is largely due to his efforts that MEMC involved in the sale if wafers and related intermediate products to the semiconductor and solar industries has become a global leader in the field. Even as Hurricane Ike was battering the West Coast MEMC did not face any major damage and and its operations are back to normal according to a company press release.

The continuing progress of MEMC has been spearheaded by Nabeel Gareeb who was recently named by the Forbes magazine as the highest paid CEO under the age of 45. His annual pay package for 2007 was a whopping $79.6 million.

Gareeb joined MEMC as CEO in April 2002. Gareeb’s appointment came after Texas Pacific Group purchased the company from its German owners in 2001 and recapitalised the business.

Prior to joining MEMC, Gareeb was the Chief Operating Officer of International Rectifier Corporation, a leading supplier of power semiconductors, where he was responsible for worldwide operations, research and development and marketing.

He joined International Rectifier in 1992 as Vice President of Manufacturing and subsequently held other senior management positions. Gareeb immigrated to US from Pakistan more than 25 years ago. He holds an MSc in engineering management, and a Bachelors in electrical and electronic engineering.

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Growing numbers look for suitors living abroad as one way of escaping grim conditions at home

Courtesy Ayesha Akram, The Star

LAHORE, PAKISTAN–When their daughter turned 23, Qaisra and Ibrahim Sheikh became jittery.

Qaisra was eager to find a good proposal for Saira (the eldest of her three children), who completed her bachelor’s degree from the Lahore School of Economics in June. Qaisra’s criteria for her prospective son-in-law were simple: a well-settled, highly educated man who rivalled her daughter’s 5-foot-10-inch height. Ibrahim wanted a liberal Muslim. But both parents, who manufacture packaging machines, were absolutely adamant about one attribute – they wanted a suitor who was living outside Pakistan.

“Considering the political and economic conditions in this country, both my husband and I were interested in finding a husband for our daughter who was settled abroad,” Qaisra said. “We realized that given how the political situation was spiralling downward, keeping our daughter here would be unfair to her.”

Saira Sheikh got married in July to Naghman Azmat, who works for Macro Technologies in Boston. According to her mother, Saira was even more eager than her parents to move abroad after marriage.

“She would constantly tell me it’s not worth it to live in this country,” said her mother. “She believed salaries were not increasing while inflation was peaking, leading to a horrible quality of life.”

The Sheikhs aren’t alone. Anxiety over Pakistan’s future, its shaky political and economic conditions, the recent change in leadership and the growing influence of Islamist groups are making many parents of prospective brides feel uneasy.

Shahrukh Jehangir, who runs a marriage bureau in Lahore, says the trend has completely changed in the last five years.

“Earlier, parents wanted to see their daughters settle down close to home,” she said. “Now, they just want to send their daughters as far away as possible.”

Jehangir says every third family who comes to her looking for a groom is eager to push their daughters to greener pastures. In some cases – like Kaukab Perveen, a housewife in Karachi – the search was for a bride abroad who could help her son settle down in a country other than Pakistan. Her 22-year-old son got engaged last year to a 19-year-old in Saudi Arabia whose father makes elevators.

“The numbers in which Pakistanis are flocking abroad are unprecedented,” said Lahore-based lawyer Hina Jillani. “Previously, we would only see economic migration amongst low socio-economic classes, but nowadays even well-off sectors of society seem to be rushing toward greener pastures.”

Pakistani brides are heading to Canada, the United States, Europe, Singapore and more recently Australia. There are 124,730 Pakistanis living in Canada, according to Statistics Canada.

While mothers are scuttling to find foreign-settled grooms for their daughters, would-be mothers like Mariyam Ali Ahsan, are rushing abroad in their seventh month of pregnancy to ensure their child is born with the “dearest of all gifts – a U.S. passport.”

“The future seems so awful in Pakistan that after I got pregnant everyone began pushing me to head to the United States,” she said, cuddling her 3-month-old son. “Frankly I wouldn’t want my child to grow up here.”

Ahsan says the $10,000 she and her husband spent on the airfare and hospital bills in New Jersey were worth it.

“It’s the best investment we could have made in our child’s future,” she said.

For Fiza Mustanzil, whose husband owns his own electronics business in Lahore, the decision to have her first baby in the U.S. was a difficult one.

“I wanted to be with my mother and my family for the baby’s birth but my husband was adamant the birth should take place in America so the baby would receive U.S. citizenship,” said Mustanzil, who has just returned from Houston with her 2-month-old daughter Anaya. In retrospect, she believes they made the right choice. “At least our daughter now has the option of fleeing the country if the situation worsens,” she said.

Gynecologists in Pakistan have also begun witnessing this trend.

Those who can afford it and those who have privileges tend to make the choice to travel abroad for the delivery in order to obtain nationalities for their children, said Dr. Ghazal Mehmood, head of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad.

Though it’s hard to put numbers on the trend, anecdotal evidence suggests it is definitely on the rise.

“The brain drain the country is currently facing is unlike anything we have encountered in the past,” said Muhammed Hafeez, chair of the sociology department of the University of Punjab.

“The push factors are evident: political instability and the plummeting security situation are scaring many away.”

The climate of fear is harming everyone, especially investors. Given that under United Arab Emirates laws, the purchase of property leads to a permanent residency status, many investors are turning their eyes to the Persian Gulf.

“Out of every 10 investors who I’m in touch with, at least four have either moved to Dubai or started purchasing property there,” said Sheikh Al-Abid, who advises investors on real estate in Dubai. “This has all happened in the last two to 2 1/2 years.”

Almost every businessman who can afford to invest $1 million or more has turned his sights to the U.A.E., according to Al-Abid.

Those who can’t afford to buy a condo in the Persian Gulf look toward countries favouring highly skilled immigration. Immigration consultant Suhail Amir says the number of people searching for a way out of Pakistan has definitely doubled in the last few years.

“Simply looking at my clientele and the clientele of a few colleagues, at least 2,000 people emigrated last year from Lahore only,” said Amir.

Saira Sheikh, who has changed her name to Saira Naghman, is now settling in to her new life in the United States. Her mother regularly browses her daughter’s Facebook to view photographs she has uploaded.

“See how happy she looks,” said her mother, pointing at a picture of her daughter and son-in-law. “I think we definitely made the right choice in sending her away.”

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By Elder George, MMNS

A continuation of practices that began a long time ago has led to the huge financial crisis on Wall Street. Large amounts of investor money continually seek areas in which to invest and “make their money work and grow.” In the 1980’s these investments created the savings and loan crisis. In the 1990’s these investments created the high tech crises. This decade has seen these investments create a mortgage crisis. When the dust settles on the present financial excesses of greed and corruption, the holders of large sums of money will again seek a place where they can “make their money work and grow.”

Society has been imbued with the concept of making its money work and grow. Thrift institutions bombard people with different investment options such as IRAs, mutual funds, certificates of deposit, stocks, bonds, precious metals, and international currencies. People are continually told,  “Don’t let your money just lie around, put it to work.” This concept has affected and infected all of society.  

The current financial situation validates the Islamic views of riba. It has led to corruption and the gain of the few off the backs of the many. Fewer and fewer people are controlling larger and larger sums of money. The number of banks, investment houses, airlines, shipping companies, and automotive manufacturers continue to decline as the concentration of economic power increases. Chairman Bernanke of the Federal Reserve had the power to invest 85 billion dollars in AIG without asking anyone’s permission. He can’t get fired either. That’s power.

Since 1990 the value of the stock market has increased fourfold. On the other hand, the person who toils for a living has seen his savings, retirement income, and investments decrease in value due to the inflation caused by the financial speculators.

The validity of riba aside, the collapse of our financial institutions represent but a part of the collapse of the grossly materialistic Western society especially in America. We have seen flooding occur from Iowa to Ohio and from Illinois to Florida and throughout the Gulf coast. Tornados ravaged areas where tornados rarely occur. Wildfires devastated California in the spring. Hurricanes and tropical storms left their mark through much of the Southeastern states. These natural disasters were not accidental—there are no accidents in God’s universe. These excesses of weather have cost the government billions of dollars. To this we add the collapse of the financial markets, and the cost of our involvement in Iraq. We continue to spend more than we earn and this practice will ultimately create economic collapse.

Whatever congress decides upon this week will be a patchwork for a corrupt system. The system cannot be “fixed;” it is built upon unsound principles. Western society is built upon gross materialistic thought and the self-aggrandizement that emanates from it. Whatever is in accord with the spirit or nature survives; whatever isn’t, collapses. As the Messenger of Allah has said’ “Do not crave for property lest you should be absorbed in the desire of the worldly life.”  

The entire modus operendi of Western society is based upon desire of the worldly life—it knows no better and is paying the price of its profound ignorance.

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

Over time, as I have studied the history of the markets, I have become convinced that what passes for conventional wisdom is anything but that. We still hear the trite sayings and tired old maxims about “investing for the long term,” that “stocks always go up over time” and that being fully invested is the best way to go. Yet, I am convinced that these maxims are responsible for more investor losses than gains.

Prof. Karl Popper

Instead, I find information in more unlikely places that helps me boost clients’ long-term stock performance. One source is the work of Karl Popper, professor of Logic and Scientific Method at the London School of Economics from 1949 to 1969. I discovered references to his work while reading books by some of the smartest people in finance, George Soros, famed hedge fund investor, and Nassim Taleb, author of the books The Black Swan and Fooled by Randomness. Both of these thinkers, who have done well for themselves in the markets, point to their esteem for Popper and describe how he has inspired and led them in the right direction in their pursuits of market profits.

In a collection of Popper’s essays, I found a little gem that many others may not have though meaningful. This nugget of information involves Popper’s opinion of the work of Charles Darwin, author of the well known Origin of Species, a controversial treatise, to say the least, in today’s society and halls of education. While Popper thinks highly of Darwin’s work in general, he is not convinced that it shows how the future of human development will unfold.

I have spent much time thinking about this passage from Popper’s lecture on Historicism from 1936. Yes, it goes back that far and has been sitting there, waiting for the philosophical investor’s consideration for all this time, seemingly with few seeing or appreciating it. Popper’s contention with the Theory of Evolution centers on whether any degree of certainty exists with how Darwin draws conclusions. Popper believes there is not certainty and explains as follows:
‘’But can there be a law of evolution? Can there be a scientific law in the sense intended by T.H. Huxley when he wrote: ‘.he must be a half-hearted philosopher who.doubts that science will sooner or later.become possessed of the law of evolution of organic forms – of the unvarying order of that great chain of causes and effects of which all organic forms, ancient and modern, are the links.?’

‘’I believe that the answer to this question must be ‘No,’ and that the search for the law of the ‘unvarying order’ in evolution cannot possibly fall within the scope of scientific method, whether in biology or sociology. My reasons are very simple.

‘’The evolution of life on earth, or of human society, is a unique historical process. Such a process, we may assume, proceeds in accordance with all kinds of causal laws, for example, the laws of mechanics, of chemistry, or heredity and segregation, or natural selection, etc.

‘’Its description, however, is not a law, but only a singular historical statement. Universal laws make assertions concerning some unvarying order, as Huxley puts it, i.e., concerning all processes of a certain kind; and although there is no reason why the observation of one single instance should not incite us to formulate a universal law, nor why, if we are lucky, we should not even hit upon the truth, it is clear that any law, formulated in this or in any other way, must be tested by new instances before it can be seriously taken by science. 

‘’But we cannot hope to test a universal hypothesis nor to find a natural law acceptable to science if we are for ever confined to the observation of one unique process. Nor can the observation of one unique process help us to foresee its future development.’’

Exactly! It seems so clear to me, though you may feel free to interpret that passage as you wish. You can even decide that it is meaningless to your investing efforts. But I hope you’ll take another look at what Popper proposes. To me, it means a lot indeed!

I do not claim to be a philosopher or great thinker, but a certain simplicity in this passage, to me, validates much of what I do as an investor. I have long run opposite to what passes as conventional wisdom, and the work of today’s financial academics, who fill their books and our heads with information on how to invest, fails one simple but critical test: it doesn’t work!

We hear again and again that asset allocation, diversification and staying invested for the long term are the best available methods for investing success. Yet we just can’t find many people using those methods and succeeding in making money over long time periods.

Countering what Popper wrote and having become more familiar to investors today is Jeremy Siegel, professor of Finance at the prestigious Wharton School of Business. He has written several books on investing and is considered an expert on the markets, which I consider — rubbish.

Call me a fan of Charlie Munger, partner of Warren Buffett, who has called Siegel “demented’’ — ‘’for comparing apples to elephants in making future prediction’s’’ about market direction. Can you believe Siegel has the nerve to tell us that he can see the future for the markets? At least it seems that way in his latest book, The Future for Investor, excluding the fourth re-hash of his well-worn Stocks For The Long Run.

My objection to Siegel’s body of work is that he looks at what has happened in the past and extrapolates those events and returns into future performance. For instance, he claims that a losing ten-year period for stocks has never happened, even though we are now reading about and experiencing the ‘’Lost Decade’’ for investors in our domestic markets.

As Popper declared about evolution, the story hasn’t yet been told in its entirety. It is still unfolding and cannot be considered scientific law, since we have yet to witness a full cycle from beginning to end. We cannot assign causal connections to future events, since so many big variables are changing. Future outcomes will not necessarily look like those from the past. Just because we buy value stocks that have previously outperformed others gives no assurance that they will outperform in future cycles as well.

Siegel looks at what has happened previously but seems to avoid implications from how much times and the world have changed since the early or mid-1900s. Then, America was a rising power, technologically and demographically, and past market returns considered far fewer investing options than have been available in more recent periods.

As Popper has noted, humans observe what the past reveals, make some decisions influenced by the past, and make other decisions that are different enough to change future outcomes. We all can see how the world has changed economically. Consider the resurgence of countries like India and China and the immense implications affecting the world economy — as well as our domestic stock market.

Simply too many options exist for investors now that were not available in the past, and our economy has changed dramatically from the one based on manufacturing and exporting in the past. Our debt-burdened, service-oriented economy is so much different than economies from past periods, and Siegel’s treatise glosses over that factor entirely.

Just because small cap stocks have outperformed other investments in past cycles means nothing when we assess future performance. That past out-performance often leads buyers to bid up small cap stocks to valuations even higher than those in past cycles, since investor confidence has risen with comfort from the historic record. Neither may stocks out-perform bonds over longer time periods, since this thinking comes from the same false confidence supplied by past records. And the vastly different economic picture seen now in the U.S., with a weaker middle class and heavy concentration of wealth in the hands of a very small number of us, presents a wholly different set of possible outcomes for future stock market performance.

For my financial philosophy, I’m siding with the thinking and work of Karl Popper regarding his observation relating to outcomes espoused by the Theory of Evolution: investing theories such as Modern Portfolio Theory are not scientific laws. Take it for what you will, but to me, that thinking and brief quote from Popper are more meaningful than all the books written by Siegel and many others. And now I know why one of the great investors of our time, George Soros, thinks so highly of him.

Have a great week.
Bob

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

Each New School of GET is Another Candle Kindled in Pakistan: Syed Waqqas Jafri in Houston

“Ghazali Education Trust (GET) was established in 1995 by a small group of friends, some of them were Professors at the University of the Punjab, Lahore,’ informed Syed Waqqas Jafri, President of Ghazali Education Trust (GET) Pakistan, as he spoke at the Iftar-&-Dinner in Houston hosted in his honor by Helping Hand for Relief and Development.

“We have come a long way from 35 original schools to now 278 in 13 years; more than 32,000 girls and boys (50%-50%) taught by highly trained 1,200 plus teachers. We train all the teachers on regular basis, as they have to go through different refresher courses many times a year. With this teachers’ preparation program and our patrons’ zeal to establish exemplary institutions, each new school is Blessing of God as another candle kindled in Pakistan and we ask people to come forward and kindle at least another 100 such candles  in the next few years.

“Pakistan has given much brain power to the world, especially in the fields of engineering and medicine. As such it is incumbent upon all the resourceful Pakistanis and their friends living outside of Pakistan to lit Pakistan with education and GET is one of the best options because their vision of “Better Society through value based education” is whole encompassing and most effective at grassroots level, so as to bring the radiance of education to all the people of Pakistan,” exclaimed South Region Coordinator for Helping Hand.

“Our major American partner is Helping Hand For Relief and Development, who have adopted over 100 schools and 200 orphans. Reach GET via Helping Hand to avail tax deductibility facility by contacting ILyas Hasan Choudry, South Region Coordinator at 832-275-0786 or contact GET Houston Rep. Muhammad Ahmad at 832-366-3351”, added Syed Waqqas Jafri.

Three Days Before Ike Houston City Hall Iftar-&-Dinner Party Well-Attended

On the Wednesday before the Hurricane IKE struck the Greater Houston Region, hundreds of Muslim families gathered in front of the City of Houston Hall for the Annual Iftar-&-Dinner. The Honorable Mayor Bill White and Honorable City Councilpersons M. J. Khan, Jolanda Jones, Peter Brown and Adrian Garcia; were in attendance. This year saw record number of people attending. Faraz Khan, son of Councilman M. J. Khan is his keynote address said that Ramadan brings the ingredient of thankfulness in a person. As such we need to be thankful to God for all the Blessings. God has informed us in Quran that if we do not thank human beings for their services, God will not be happy. We need to thank our governments and people running these administrations for bringing safety and law-&-order to our societies. Mayor White lauded the Muslim community for their societal service.

Two Masajids Got Severely Damaged By Ike

One of the oldest Muslim Institutes of Houston Madrasae Islamiah located in Southwest Houston near Bintliffe and US 59, got badly damaged by Hurricane IKE. The second floor library and prayer areas got flooded and roof and walls got stained and broken.

Congressman AL-Green and the City of Houston Councilman Masrur Javed Khan visited Madrasae Islamiah. Talking to people after early afternoon Zuhar Prayers, Hon. AL-Green said he will do his best to see how FEMA can assist Madrasae Islamiah in their recovery and rehabilitation effort. Madrasae Islamiah can be reached at 713-772-7000.

In the meantime, one of the most beautiful Masjids of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston (ISGH) called Masjid Hamza got badly damaged by Hurricane IKE. Volunteers worked extremely hard to clean the Masjid: Affected Carpet has been removed and all the floors have been mopped.

With the assistance of Electric Generator provided by the Islamic Circle of North America Relief (ICNA Relief), after a gap of two nights, the Night Isha-&-Taraweeh Prayers were held in a Make-Shift Tent provided by ISGH at the Masjid Hamza, also known as Mission Bend Masjid, located at 6233 Tres Lagunas; Houston; Texas 77083: Now the Electric Power has returned to the Masjid.

With the Grace of God and assistance from everybody, Masjid Hamza will be soon fixed. How one can help in this endeavor: For this, please contact Brother Aftab Silat, General Secretary of ISGH at 832-646-5681.

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By Geoffrey Cook, MMNS

Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan arrives to a news conference in Ankara September 22, 2008. Erdogan said on Monday Turkey would overcome the current global financial crisis with a minimal impact and pledged to maintain stringent fiscal discipline.    REUTERS/Umit Bektas

Washington–In the August 29th (#10:36) issue of this paper, I composed an article on “Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.”  That article was based on extracted comments of Ibrahim El-Houdaiby in a Symposium held at the Center for Islam and Democracy (CSID) in the American capital during last summer.

The Conference addressed the question of the influence of the Turkish Peace and Justice Party (Adalalelet ve Kalina Paristi) – or the AKP upon their neighboring Arab Democratic Movements.  Today, I shall look westward from Asia Minor and the Nile towards North Africa’s Maghreb’s Democracies.

The first presenter from the Mahgreb was Mohammed Yakim, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Party of Peace and Justice in Morocco.

For him, the Turkish experience mainly encompassed Civil Society parameters.  His Party of Peace and Justice in the far west of the North African Arab-speaking States, has positioned Democracy together with Human Rights. 

The Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of Turkey have many commonalities, but Al Mamlakah al Maghribibayah (Morocco) is an Islamic State by its Constitution whereas Ankara’s Charter declares itself to be a secular entity.  Further, Rabat’s Democratic Parties are dissimilar from those in the West whereas Istanbul is emulating Europe for the purpose of entering their Union (i.e., the E.U.). 

Mohammed stated his Party of Peace and Justice and Development in Morocco has stabilized the national terrain although the nation suffers from Balkanization brought on by the weakness of its political Parties and the fracture between the kingdom’s social classes.

The next presenter was Aberzak Makri, one of the founders of the Movement for the Society of Peace in Algeria, stated, “Democracy can be the only sure guarantee of [for] the State…” 

Dealing with religious issues is largely legally accomplished (either through sacred or secular statutes). 

One of the central differences between the contemporary Turkish and Arab federations is the “Constitutional” role of the military.  In Anatolia the Generals are the defenders of the Secular State while, in most Arabic-speaking realms, the officers take more of a back seat to the political functioning of their nation states.  The Turkish military accepts its people’s Democratic rights whilst this is far from true in the budding Arabic Democracies. 

Aberzak’s Party was formed in the 1970s.  During this time (to the present) over four hundred of its workers have been slain by Islamists!

A considerable number of their members are women.  For the most part the Movement has been free of harassment from the authorities.  The association’s values are thoroughly Islamic!  Our “Main goal isn’t Islamism…but good governance.” 

Our “Economic vision is Liberal [in the contemporary sense].  [That includes] Open markets fiscally…while [maintaining] a balance between the public and private sectors.”  Further, Makri holds to the “Zakat principle to elevate the populace from poverty.”  Central to his and his faction’s efforts is to resist public corruption.  It is “Corruption…[that] creates Terrorism!”

The religiously Established but Secular State institute a societal stability.  Terrorism has damaged individual lives and the stability of the social order!  The land of your birth must assure liberty and the hope for change! 

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A claw is a curved, pointed appendage, found at the end of a toe or finger in most mammals, birds, and some reptiles. Somewhat similar fine hooked structures are found in arthropods such as beetles and spiders, at the end of the leg or tarsus for gripping a surface as the creature walks. A claw is made of hard protein called keratin.

Claws are used to catch and hold prey in carnivorous mammals such as cats and dogs, but may also be used for such purposes as digging, climbing trees, etc, in those and other species.

Similar appendages which are flat and do not come to a sharp point are called nails instead.

The correct term for an arthropod’s ‘claw’ is a chela (plural chelae). Legs bearing a chela are called chelipeds. Chelae are also called pincers.

In tetrapods, claws are made of keratin and consist of two layers. The unguis is the harder external layer, which consists of keratin fibers arranged perpendicular to the direction of growth and in layers at an oblique angle. The subunguis is the softer, flaky underside layer whose grain is parallel to the direction of growth. The claw grows outward from the nail matrix at the base of the unguis and the subunguis grows thicker while travelling across the nail bed.
The unguis grows outward faster than the subunguis to produce a curve and the thinner sides of the claw wear away faster than their thicker middle, producing a more or less sharp point. Tetrapods use their claws in many ways, commonly to grasp or kill prey, to dig and to climb and hang.

A talon is the claw of a bird of prey, its primary hunting tool. The talons are very important, without them the bird would not be able to catch its food.

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